Someday-Part 6/7
Summary and disclaimers in Part 1

*****

FBI Headquarters 
6:51 P.M. 

Mulder was pacing the hallway outside the OPR conference
room. Cat and Skinner were sitting on the bench trying to
ignore his irritating movements. Monroe stood leaning
against the wall, watching Mulder with an amused expression,
his head moving back and forth as if he was watching a
tennis match. They were waiting for Scully. 

Mulder stopped and looked at his watch...again. Then he
glared at Skinner. "Her message said she'd be here." Skinner
said nothing in response. "She would have called me if she
was going to be late." 

"How?" Cat asked quietly. "You don't have your cell phone
with you." 

"She would have found a way!" he yelled. Both Skinner's and
O'Neil's eyes widened in surprise; Mulder rarely yelled. He
sighed, rubbing his hands over his freshly shaved face. Then
he looked down the hall toward the entrance of the building.
No one. 

"Something's wrong," he said. His voice was so soft, the
others almost didn't hear him. 

"Mulder..." Skinner started. 

He was interrupted when the conference room door opened.

"Mr. Skinner?" One of the OPR assistants stood in the
doorway. She looked very nervous, as if about to give bad
news. 

"Sir, we just received a call from the Metro Police." She
looked at Mulder, her expression pained. "Sir, the car Agent
Scully rented at the airport, it..." 

"Go on, Leslie," Skinner encouraged. 

"It was bombed, sir. They just got the fire under control.
They've confirmed that there is a body inside." 

"Agent Scully?" Skinner's voice was suddenly rough as sand
paper. 

"They're not sure. It's badly burned. They'll have to run a
dental check and possibly a DNA check as well. But they
believe that it is her, yes." 

For a long time, silence reigned. The pin that dropped to
the floor could indeed be heard by all. No one could look at
each other. No one could look at Mulder. 

Then, with a sound that reflected incredible agony, Mulder
turned and started down the hall. They all watched him now.
Skinner didn't stop him, even thought he hadn't yet met with
the OPR. He knew where Mulder was going; to the site of the
bombing. He was going to prove that Scully wasn't dead.
Skinner was afraid that he wouldn't succeed. He stood and
followed from a distance; Mulder would need someone to watch
out for him tonight.

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

Bethesda Naval Hospital 
20 hours later 

Five silent people sat in the tiny waiting room in the
basement of Bethesda. They were waiting for confirmation;
the DNA test to prove that Agent Scully had indeed been in
her car during the bombing was almost complete. This time,
the man pacing the floor was Scully's brother Bill. Her
mother, Maggie, sat quietly, her expression calm, despite
the horror of the situation. Cat sat next to Mulder, ordered
by AD Skinner to keep an eye on him. 

Mulder, his face devoid of expression, sat staring at the
floor. He had ignored everyone, even Maggie, since the
moment he had arrived. His jaw was sore from clenching his
teeth, and he knew his eyes were red from lack of sleep. But
they were dry; no tears. Not yet. 

Finally, a laboratory technician stepped through the door.
He looked exceedingly nervous. "Mrs. Scully?" 

Maggie stood and walked up to him. All eyes followed her.
All but Mulder's. "Yes?" 

"Mrs. Scully," the tech continued. "I'm sorry. The DNA was a
positive match. The body in the car was indeed your
daughter's."

Maggie hugged herself, dropping her eyes to the floor. "Oh,
God," she whispered. Bill came up behind her to grasp her
shoulders, helping her stay upright. Skinner, who had
entered the room following the tech, let his glance fall on
Cat, who looked to be near tears, and Mulder, who hadn't
moved a muscle. 

The tech muttered more condolences, then left. Skinner, who
was trying hard to hold back tears of his own, went up to
Maggie. "Mrs. Scully. I am so sorry. I don't have the
words..." 

Tears slid slowly down Maggie's face. Bill glared at
Skinner, then turned to Mulder. "She was fine in Spokane!
Happy! And safe. Then you had to get her involved in your
war!" 

Mulder didn't look up. 

"You bastard!" Bill continued. "She's dead because of you!" 

"William!" Maggie scolded, her voice strong. 

Bill turned startled eyes toward his mother. Even Mulder had
finally looked up, as if her shout had awakened him from
sleep. 

Maggie took a deep breath. "Bill, please. Dana was her own
person. She lived by her own rules and her life was not
dictated by anybody but herself. Fox is not to blame." 

"Are you sure about that?" Mulder's voice was rusty with
disuse. They all looked at him. "I didn't need to ask for
her help. I didn't have to get her involved." 

"And she didn't have to help you," Maggie argued. 

"But what if she couldn't refuse?! You know how she was,
loyal to the end." He couldn't believe he was talking about
her in the past tense. He stood. 

"Yes, but it was her loyalty to give!" Maggie's voice rose,
then she shook her head in frustration. She walked up to
Mulder and placed her hands on his face, forcing him to look
at her. "Fox! Dana loved you, but she would not do anything
life threatening that she didn't believe in, even if you
asked. I don't know what you both were involved with, but I
do have a feeling she died fighting the good fight." 

Maggie lowered her hands from Mulder's face, stepped back a
bit, then grasped both of his hands gently. "You WILL be
with Dana again. I know it." Giving him a small smile, she
squeezed his hands. 

"Someday." 

With that, she turned and lead Bill out of the room. 

Mulder stood stunned. That word. Was it just coincidence? Or
had Maggie been trying to tell him something? Without
another word, he left the room, intent on getting home. Cat
and Skinner looked at each other, then followed. 

"Maybe we should take his gun?" Cat asked. She knew Mulder
had been thought suicidal in the past. 

Skinner looked at her. "Let's just keep our eyes on him." 

Mulder heard them, but he ignored them and kept on walking.
He knew very well that if he wanted to use his gun on
himself, they would not be able to stop him.

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

Mulder's Apartment 
The Next Day 

Mulder lay sprawled on his couch, staring at nothing, trying
to keep his mind blank. It was pretty much all he had done
in the last 20 hours. It had been easy to slip into his
apartment, locking out the world (and Cat and Skinner). He
refused to answer the door, though someone knocked every
hour or so. He did not answer the phone. He barely even
heard the callers as they left messages. He did remember
getting the official notice that he had been 'sacked'. No
surprise there. He had also paid attention when Maggie
Scully had called, but lost interest when he realized she
was calling to tell him of the funeral arrangements. Fohike
had called once, asking if he was all right and to please
talk to him or he was going to come over and kick Mulder's
ass. 

He still had his weapon. It sat on the coffee table next to
him. He had almost used it more than one time since he had
left the hospital, but something held him back. He knew it
was Mrs. Scully's use of the word 'someday'. It had to be
coincidence. He contemplated calling her and asking her
outright what she had meant by the word, but he didn't want
to upset her if it was nothing. So he lay there listening to
caller after caller asking if he was all right.

Was he all right? All right? No! He was not all right! Half
of him was dead and the other about to die! Mulder felt rage
building, overriding the grief. It wasn't fair! For the
first time in so long, his future had actually been bright
once again. But now that light was gone. He should never had
found the X Files! They were to blame! 

He closed his eyes, not even hearing the phone ring one more
time. No. As much as he regretted this quest of his, which
had begun so long ago, he knew that he never would have met
Scully had it not been for the X Files. She would probably
be married, have kids, alive. But he allowed himself this
moment of selfishness, glad that he had known her. Glad that
she had made his life better, if only for a short while. 

But had that happiness really been worth it? he asked
himself. After all, the pain of her loss was unbearable. 

Still, that flame of hope that Maggie had kindled burned. 

With a groan, he sat up, amazed at how stiff a person could
become by laying in the same position for hours on end. He
got up, gabbed his keys, his jacket, and his gun, and headed
out the door. He had to talk to Maggie. Even if it meant
going through Bill.

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

Mulder left his apartment building, shaking his head sadly
when he noticed the agent assigned to watch him asleep in
his car. Skinner had obviously been distracted, sending
agents like that! He started walking for his own car, which
was parked down the street. As he got nearer, he noticed
what appeared to be a person sitting in it. He quickened his
pace. Suddenly, the car, and its occupant, disappeared in a
ball of white and orange flame as the car exploded. Mulder
felt the incredible heat on his face as he was thrown
backwards on the sidewalk. The blazing car lit up the night,
drawing people outside from the surrounding buildings. 

Mulder stood on shaky legs, and was suddenly grabbed by the
arm and dragged into the ally he was standing next to. He
turned startled eyes toward Alex Krycek. The man simply
smiled at him. Then he lead Mulder further into the dark,
man-made canyon. 

Mulder felt his shock from the bombing increase when he saw
who awaited him. Two men, a grey-haired, dignified dandy,
and a cigarette-smoking bastard. 'They meant to kill me,'
was his first thought. 'No. If that was their plan, they
would have succeeded.' 

Mulder's second thought was of Scully. What if this is what
happened to her? "Where is she?" he demanded. 

WMM smiled. "It's nice to see you again as well, Mr.
Mulder." 

"Where's Scully?" 

"What makes you think we have Agent Scully?" CSM asked. 

"Isn't this what you did to her? Blow up her car with
someone else inside, then let the world believe it was her?"

He looked at WMM. "Isn't that what you did for yourself?" 

WMM kept smiling. "Mr. Mulder, I am impressed by your
imagination. It has always had a tendency to reflect fact." 

She's alive! The man hadn't outrightly said it, but Mulder
believed it nonetheless. "Who was in that car?" 

"No one you need concern yourself with, I'm sure," WMM
continued. "But, if you want, it could be you. We can easily
arrange it." 

Mulder stared at the man. He was being offered the chance to
start over; to become someone entirely new. These men could
do it. They could manipulate dental records and even DNA
samples so that the man in the car could become him. "Why?" 

"Our 'former' colleagues want you gone. We decided to oblige
them," CSM answered. 

WMM reached out to hand Mulder a folder. Slowly, Mulder took
it from him, remembering that this was the man who had given
him the original vaccine years ago. The man who had
supposedly sacrificed himself to save both Scully and
Mulder. He opened the folder. Inside was a New York Driver's
License, a passport, a plane ticket and other information.
The pictures on the license and passport were his. The name
was not. "Who's Ian Zweifel?" 

CSM smiled behind his curtain of smoke. "You."

"Fox Mulder is dead," WMM said. "Ian Zweifel has a full life
ahead of him." He nodded toward the folder. "Take that
passport and use that plane ticket. It will take you to a
place where you can relax and think. Where you go from there
is completely up to you." 

"It's kind of like the Witness Protection Program, Fox. You
get to start over." 

Mulder didn't know how to feel. Did he really want to start
over? Did he really want Fox Mulder to die? It wasn't like
he had anything, or anyone, to live for anymore. But... 

"Why should I trust you, after all you've done to me in the
past?" 

"Fox," CSM said, and Mulder winced at the sound of his name
on this man's tongue. "You will die if you stay here. What
have you got to lose?" 

"We can contact one person you trust, but only one, and tell
him or her that you are still alive. Who that person is will
be your choice. But future contact with that person must be
severely limited." 

"Skinner," Mulder said without hesitation. The only other
people he cared enough about to tell the truth to were the
Gunmen, and Skinner would handle it better than them. 

"So you'll do it?" CSM asked. 

Mulder looked at Krycek. "What about him?" 

"He knows nothing. Do you, Mr. Krycek?" WMM asked. 

Krycek looked Mulder straight in the eye. "I envy you,
Mulder. You can leave all this behind. I won't ruin things
for you." 

Mulder had one more question on the tip of his tongue, but
he was afraid to ask it. He looked at the name of the place
he was supposed to be going to. Maybe that was his answer.
Then he looked up at the three men before him, three men he
had spent years hating. He nodded. "I'll do it." 

Mulder glanced behind him, back to where his car was still
burning with a stranger the world would know as Fox Mulder
inside. Firemen and police were trying to keep the
spectators away. When he turned back, Krycek and WMM were
walking away. CSM stood looking at him. 

"Good luck...Ian." He turned and began to follow the others. 

"Why are you doing this?" Mulder called after him. 

CSM turned and smiled. "I've grown much too fond of you and
Dana over the years." His gaze turned inward. "Maybe I do
have a heart after all." With one last puff on his
cigarette, he turned and walked away. 

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

Pine Lawn Cemetery 
Two Days Later 

It was an impressive gathering. Hundreds of people, some
truly in mourning, most just curious, were attending the
funeral. The Director of the FBI was there. As was the
Vice-president of the United States. Two agents of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation had fallen to what many
considered horrible terrorist attacks. Today the world was
here to say farewell. 

Sitting in the front of the crowd, listening intently to
Father McCue, sat the Scully family. Though Maggie knew
Mulder wasn't Catholic, she had decided to have him included
in the service with her daughter. Skinner, who had been left
in charge of Mulder's 'estate', had agreed. He sat next to
her, sliding glances her way from time to time, wondering if
she knew the truth; that this memorial service was all a
fake. 

He slowly looked around. He was sure no one else suspected
it. Bill Scully and his wife and son, Charles Scully and his
family, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends. Even Moira Anderson
was there, having flown in from Spokane the day before.
Scully was well represented. 

But Mulder had not been forgotten. Several agents from the
VCS and Behavior Sciences had come, as had the Gunmen. Byers
stood with his arm around Cat O'Neil, both of their faces
drawn and tired. Langly, in a conservative suit (the first
time Skinner had ever seen him dressed up) and Frohike both
looked as if they were suffering from hangovers.

Skinner faced forward again, but still wasn't paying any
attention to the priest's words. He looked down at the two
headstones laying side by side. If they were really dead,
this is how they should be buried, he thought. Together.
Even in death. It was appropriate. 

Soon, the service was over and the crowd began to dissipate.
He saw Monroe, who had been standing further back in the
crowd, come forward. "Sir," he said when he reached Skinner.
"I'm so sorry. I feel like there's something I could have
done to prevent this." 

Skinner shook his head. "You and O'Neil did what you could.
Nothing could have prevented this. Just feel fortunate you
and Cat weren't targeted as well." He sighed, looking back
at the headstones. "Maybe this is for the best." 

Maggie Scully heard this statement, and before she turned to
leave she gave Skinner a small, secret smile of agreement.

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

FBI Headquarters 
Later That Day 

O'Neil sat at Mulder's desk, her desk now, feet up, trying
to calm her frazzled nerves. She had officially been named
in charge of the X Files today. Her name would now grace the
door; Mulder's had already been taken down. She was happy
for her promotion, of course, but she wished desperately
that it hadn't come about the way it had. Why did Mulder
have to die? She felt the tears come again and quickly
brushed them away. She never cried. 

A knock on the office door startled her. She pulled her feet
off the desk and looked up in surprise as Justin Monroe
walked in. 

"What are you doing here?" 

He grimaced. "It's official. I've been assigned permanently
to the X Files." 

O'Neil smiled slightly. "You don't have to be so thrilled
about it." 

He shrugged. "Well, you know, Scully wasn't very happy when
she was first assigned here, either. She told me. But she
ended up liking it well enough."

"Yeah," O'Neil argued, "but she was being partnered with
Mulder, a brilliant, challenging agent whom she already
respected." 

"I think you're a brilliant, challenging agent, and of
course I respect you." Monroe sat down across from her.
"Just remember, I get my name on the door, too." 

O'Neil laughed softly. "We've got big shoes to fill, don't
we?" 

"Yes, we do," Monroe agreed. "But don't think we can replace
Mulder and Scully; I don't think anyone could. I think we
should just be ourselves: Monroe and O'Neil." 

"You mean O'Neil and Monroe, don't you?" 

Monroe sent her a glare without any real power behind it. 

"So, where do we go from here?" O'Neil asked, her mood much
lighter than it had been all day. 

"Well, first things first, O'Neil. I need to ask you a
question." 

She leaned forward, all business. "Shoot." 

"Is this Byers guy available, by chance?" 

O'Neil's eyes darkened. "Touch him, and you're a dead man,
Monroe." 

He just laughed.

*****

End of 6/7