Begin: Each In His Prison (3/5) That thought was sick as hell and he knew it. But there wasn't much else to look at in the room and his brain wasn't working right. Her red gold hair fell back from her beautiful serene face. Her breasts were swollen and her stomach was slightly distended. He could see a few light pink stretch marks on the front of her hips and the sides of her breasts - other than those and the brownish rose of her nipples, her pale skin was luminous. The wedding ring on her left hand was still shiny. She was a real blonde. Skinner took all this in while Scully made her visual observations of the body in the autopsy bay. She had called him at the office this afternoon to tell him Agent Mulder's wife had died. Skinner had said all the proper things. Then Scully had called him at home tonight to ask if he would go with her while she did the autopsy. She didn't think she could do it alone. He hadn't hesitated when he said "yes." That was how Assistant Director Walter Skinner ended up standing over a woman he should have never, ever seen undressed. That was what was bothering him most at the moment - that she was nude. Scully didn't seem to notice. Another highly inappropriate thought. He wondered idly how long it would be before Scully did this to Mulder's body. Or to his. He'd seen Mulder's wife only a week ago when he had dropped off paperwork at Mulder's apartment. It wasn't his job to do that - it should have gone through channels or by messenger or mail - but he'd wanted to check on them. Elizabeth had been there, asleep on the couch, while Mulder and Scully worked at the desk beyond her. Except that now her belly wasn't as swollen and she was undressed, she looked exactly the same. Scully had told him the baby was a boy. She didn't know his name; Mulder would have to choose one and he wasn't to that point yet. Skinner guessed the baby was still in the nursery in the hospital upstairs. Scully's mother was with Mulder somewhere. He didn't know a lot about Mulder and Scully's personal lives, but there probably weren't many people she could call to babysit Mulder right now. So somewhere in the hospital, Maggie Scully was sitting with a dazed Mulder. Skinner had met her - Maggie Scully. She was quite a woman. So was her daughter. Scully had taken care of everything. She had called everyone that needed calling, gotten her mother for Mulder, and now she was doing the autopsy on his dead wife. She'd also done the autopsy on his mother; he'd heard that. She'd probably take care of the baby too, if Mulder wanted. Skinner didn't understand why she stood by Mulder, but he respected her for it. From what he could gather though, Mulder had gotten involved with Elizabeth while profiling a case. He'd seen a picture of Mulder kissing her in the report - the perpetrator had pinned it to a child's dead body. After that case, Mulder and Scully had started dating. They didn't call it that, but everyone knew. After a few months, their romantic relationship suddenly stopped. He'd found Scully crying in the basement office. Skinner's next piece of information was seeing Elizabeth's pregnant belly at dinner one night after work. The pieces fit. He'd driven Scully home that night. Mulder had asked to work at home while Elizabeth was on bed rest. Skinner had just finished approving that request when the notification from personnel came changing Agent Mulder's marital status from single to married, adding his new wife to his insurance policies. He'd stopped by Mulder's apartment just last week, and then there was a message on his voice mail early yesterday morning - Mulder saying Elizabeth was having the baby and he would call when he had more news. The next call had been from Scully. Scully was quite a woman. He doubted Mulder had asked her to do this autopsy. She was doing it because one day, Mulder would want answers and she wanted him to have them. No matter what it cost her. Scully had stopped dictating and picked up a scalpel. She poised her hand over the woman's chest and stopped. Skinner waited a long minute, then put his hand in the small of her back, the same place he'd seen Mulder touch her. Scully exhaled and pressed her blade into the flesh. A trickle of dark blood flowed down between the dead woman's breasts as her skin parted. ********** He signed a blank request for leave and slid it under Mulder's apartment door. Scully had taken some time off as well, so Skinner had no idea how Mulder was faring. He felt powerless to help them, so he did what he could. Mulder could take up to six months off without it effecting his job, and his duties and schedule could be rearranged after that. Skinner couldn't imagine what it was like to have to raise a baby born to a dead wife you didn't love, and then to have to return to work with the partner that you did love. For other reasons best left unsaid, Skinner was willing to allow Mulder to stay away from the office as long as he wanted. He might have several hundred agents under him, but he took a special interest in what happened with these two. He was meeting Scully at the airport this afternoon for a flight to San Antonio. That was where this little affair began and where Elizabeth had wanted to be buried. Scully had spoken to his secretary, saying Mulder had flown down with the body yesterday. Kimberly told him that the baby's name was William Mulder. Will. Considering the circumstances, it seemed appropriate for many reasons. ********** Skinner hadn't seen Mulder touch that baby yet. He wasn't so sure less-than-a-week-old babies were supposed to be flying around the country and going to their mother's funeral, but he didn't know for sure. Maybe it was normal. He'd like to ask Scully, but they'd arrived late and gone directly to the service at the cemetery. The minister was speaking and he didn't want to interrupt. The baby must be premature. It took nine months and Mulder's first encounter with Elizabeth had been in early March. Thanksgiving was this week - either the baby came early, or Mulder was a trusting man. He wondered who else was standing around the grave counting months. A round brunette was holding the baby currently, standing beside a huge man in a deputy's uniform. Mulder was staring expressionlessly at the freshly-dug grave. A man in an expensive suit stood beside him, reeking of over-paid lawyer. Occasionally the man nudged Mulder, who moved and spoke in the appropriate way. After the service, the people moved inside the building next door for a buffet. That was all Skinner could think to call it. There were rows and rows of tables filled with food. There must be a term for this besides let's-all-eat-after-the-burial, but he'd never heard one. It happened every time an innocent person was buried before their time - someone should think up a name and copyright it. He stood at a window gnawing on a piece of fried chicken and watching the groundskeeper shovel dirt into Elizabeth Mulder's grave. People here didn't live very far from nature. Women kept filling his plate. Every time he even twitched, some female with big breasts, a twangy accent and huge hair piled on another piece of something deep-fried. He'd meet Sharon in Texas; it had taken years for her hair to return to a normal altitude and shade after they moved away. He thought of those university days with Sharon after the discovery of the Pill but before his nightmares had started. Those carefree days were long gone. A piece of pecan pie appeared on his plate and Skinner sighed. He should have worn his old wedding band. Mulder was standing in a corner looking stunned. People would come up to talk to him and the attorney would nudge him for a response. Occasionally someone would pass by him carrying his son and he would look at the baby with surprise. Like it had just appeared unexpectedly and he wasn't sure exactly what to make of it. Scully was trying to blend into the walls. A tall man with dark blonde hair was pursuing her relentlessly. Skinner was too far away to hear what the man was saying, but he looked a little drunk. He began to move protectively in her direction. Scully had fled towards Mulder, who was oblivious. As Scully reached him, the tall man came up behind her and draped an arm over Scully's shoulders. His voice was slurred when he spoke. "She's cute too. I didn't know you had a set." That got Mulder's attention. Skinner walked faster. "So, is she as good as your wife was, cause I'll take her instead?" Skinner seemed to spend an inordinate amount of his time stopping Fox Mulder from killing people, but this time he thought he might allow it. Mulder was interrupted by the deputy sheriff, who implemented some old- fashioned Southern justice. The deputy apologized to Scully, who he called "missy," saying that "Todd" was upset and drunk, then he took him out behind the building and beat the hell out of "Todd" himself. Skinner packed Mulder into the rental car while the deputy's wife strapped the baby in the back seat. He saw Mulder's weirdo friends ushering Scully towards their van. They'd stood watching with binoculars from the parking area during the burial and refused to come inside for the food afterwards. Two of them were wearing Kevlar. The short weirdo in the hat caught Skinner's eye and nodded, brushing his finger on the side of his nose. Skinner drove back to San Antonio as fast as possible. Not only did he want the hell out of Texas, but he was afraid that little creature in the back seat would start to make noises. He didn't know where Mulder was staying and he got a blank look when he asked, so he took him back to the hotel rooms he and Scully had reserved. Let Scully try to get it out of him. He actually had to pull Mulder out of the car. Skinner had taken out the baby and the bags, but Mulder didn't move. Finally, he'd led him through the lobby by his sleeve. Holding on to Mulder with one hand, and the baby seat and the bag-o'-baby-crap in the other, Skinner was sure people would mistake them for a gay couple. Mulder was too damn pretty. Skinner decided he really needed to see a shrink. He deposited Mulder and the baby in the hotel room and went back to get his and Scully's bags and close up the car. Scully and the weirdos were just parking. They walked back to the rooms together to find the baby squalling and Mulder staring at his son curiously, almost as though he should do something. ********** "He has Acute Stress Disorder. I can't believe the hospital let him have the baby," Scully was saying. Mulder was staring at her numbly. Occasionally he reached out and felt her hair. The bearded weirdo was doing something to the baby that made it stop crying. Skinner hoped it didn't involve opiates. "What does that mean?" Skinner asked. He'd seen plenty of men with expressions like Mulder's. "It's like PTSD, just sooner," Scully answered. Skinner nodded - he knew exactly what Posttraumatic Stress Disorder meant. "We should do the eye thing. I've read about people treating PTSD with it on the Internet. Can you do the eye thing, Scully?" The weirdo that needed a haircut was speaking. Make that the blonde weirdo that needed a haircut. "I don't think that's the best plan, Langly..." "Come on, Scully, we could try it. I've read about it and..." Blonde weirdo was whining. "I'M NOT DOING THE DAMN EYE THING, LANGLY!" Scully screamed. She seemed to be on the verge of tears. "Go watch the baby for a while and let me help Mulder." The weirdos retreated into the adjoining room and closed the door. Skinner felt helpless again. He didn't like it, but personal experience told him nothing could slay Mulder's demons except Mulder. Scully had helped Skinner with a few of his own nightmares. He doubted she knew it, but Scully had that effect on men. She was all that should be right in a world where men killed children and monsters lurked in the shadows. She was the cool hand on your forehead when you had a fever, the electricity of a first kiss, and the smell of freshly sharpened pencils. Clean sheets dried in the sun and Christmas morning. Ensuring she stayed in this world was Skinner's greatest blow against the demons he'd created for himself. Scully was half on, half off the love seat beside Mulder. She was stroking his hair and murmuring to him. Mulder laid his head on her shoulder and cradled his face in her neck. She twisted and her skirt slipped until Skinner could see the lace at the top of her stockings. Skinner went next door when Mulder's shoulders started to shake as he cried. Fox Mulder was a lucky man. ********** Mulder came in at night. Skinner had seen the light on in the basement office on long after midnight when Scully was gone. He always brought the baby and a German Shepherd. He was still on extended leave. Except for approving the continual stream of paperwork, Skinner had not had contact with Mulder in months. His gut instinct told him Scully hadn't either. When she was taking care of the baby, he'd made sure all her cases were local- mostly loaners on local autopsies. Once Mulder had the baby back, though, he'd let her go on regular X-Files. Maybe 'let' wasn't the correct word. They had flown back to DC on the crowded plane thinking Mulder was doing better. As good as a man gets having just buried his wife. He aware of what was happening and making small talk. He even expressed some interest in his son. Skinner had left him with Scully at the airport. He thought about Mulder often over the next few days, but being an Assistant Director is a busy job. And certain people still frowned when he paid too much attention to one pair of his agents. Especially when one of those agents was Spooky Mulder. He left Mulder to Scully and got back to his work. He'd bumped into her on Saturday a week later. Literally, bumped. Apparently, when no one else is in the building, Scully would just use the men's room in the basement instead of going all the way upstairs to the lone ladies room. He'd opened the door to go in when a small figure walked right into his chest. He'd thought at first it was one of Mulder's little gray men escaping. This alien had breasts and smelled like musky vanilla. Scully had turned scarlet with embarrassment. She stammered out something about it being closer and no one ever being down there and... Scully's cell phone rang. She listened, said about five words, and hung up. "The Gunmen want me to go check on Mulder. He doesn't answer his phone." That was bad. Skinner thought Mulder would interrupt sex to answer his phone. He'd heard some people did that. "You want a ride?" "Let me get my purse," she said. "I'll meet you in the parking lot." Skinner still needed to pee. Skinner loved the movie "American Beauty." He had a copy on DVD while it was still in theaters - you could get things like that when you were an Assistant Director. He'd had dreams of women wearing nothing but rose petals - unfortunately Agent Scully and Agent Mulder's wife among them. The drunk man at the post-burial buffet was right; they were a nice set. Skinner had bought a big BMW instead of a 1970's Firebird. Assistant Directors made more money than magazine writers. Skinner drove his new toy, Scully worried. She had gotten Mulder settled in his apartment and left, thinking he was all right. He'd had a crib and various baby stuff - it had been there, ready, before. When she'd called him later he had made small talk. Everything was "fine." Mulder seemed to know what was happening. The baby was "fine." They stopped and picked up a bag of greasy burgers that Skinner could already feel clogging his arteries. Scully wanted to make sure Mulder was eating and this was what he liked. It was amazing that the man had lived this long. Mulder answered the door, glad to see them. A friendly German Shepherd wagged its tail and bustled excitedly. It wasn't until Skinner walked in that he got worried. Any place Mulder existed was usually cluttered, but his apartment was filthy. There were piles of clothes everywhere. Empty baby bottles and dishes were on the floor. Mulder hadn't shaved. Scully just stepped over the piles and went in, so Skinner followed her. The apartment smelled bad - or that might be Mulder. "Sorry to drop by without calling. Your phone doesn't answer." Scully was smooth. "I unplugged it. It might wake her." Mulder looked calm. "We brought you dinner," Scully said, dumping out the bag onto his table. "Scully, she won't eat that. The smell of it will probably make her start throwing up again." Now Mulder sounded annoyed. "Has the baby been sick, Mulder?" Scully was shooting Skinner worried looks. "No. He's just fine." Scully picked up a hamburger and handed it to Mulder. When he took it, the dog began to bark, wanting a bite. Mulder's reaction was a blur. "Shut up! You'll wake her!" Mulder screamed and hit the dog, knocking it across the floor. The dog yelped and the baby woke up and began to cry. "Shut up! You're going to wake her up! She needs to rest!" he continued to yell. Scully was too shocked to act. Skinner was careful to keep his voice low: "Who will wake up, Agent Mulder?" He had a feeling he already knew. " 'Lizabeth." ********** Scully took the baby and Skinner took the dog. Both went directly to respective ERs. Amazingly, both were fine. Mulder had smiled and told them good-bye as they left. He went back inside to wait for his dead wife to wake up. Scully made two calls in the car - one to recall her mother for more Mulder-sitting duty and one to a pharmacy for a refill on a prescription for anti-psychotics. Mulder seemed to have a standing order. Skinner really hadn't required that kind of information. Skinner liked the dog, who Scully said was named Lucille. Skinner was glad she would also respond to Lucy. They went jogging together, driving together. She was a chick magnet. He let her sleep on the bed and lick off the dishes. It was nice to have company; he just had to remember not to leave his shoes out where Lucy could get them. Mulder showed up at his apartment door a month later; thin, but neat and clean. "The doctor says I can have the dog back, sir." Lucy was already excited - dogs must be very forgiving. Mulder bent down and nuzzled her. "Thanks for keeping her." Mulder looked like a sane man to Skinner. "No problem, Agent Mulder. How are you doing?" "I have a good day every now and then. 'Lizabeth is buried in Texas and my apartment is clean. I've even been bathing and eating. I see the psychiatrist twice a week." Mulder trying to be glib and failing. Skinner got Lucy's leash, hooked her up, and handed the lead to Mulder. "I'm glad you are feeling better - you owe me three pairs of loafers and a pair of running shoes." Mulder actually smiled before he walked away. Skinner wondered what would happen when he came for the baby. After a brief period of panic, Scully was a good foster-mother. Bureau gossip had her sighted with a stroller in a mall and reading baby care books during lunch. She had stopped even her rare dates with men. Skinner needed to look into getting Kimberly a raise. His secretary was better then the CIA when it came to knowing everyone's business. Scully's mother watched the baby when she had to work, so she would appreciate daylight work hours. Hint, hint, boss. Skinner just made it happen and said nothing. ********** Mulder came to get the baby when it was four months old. Skinner knew because he found Scully crying in the basement office again. Maybe she always went there to cry. Maybe she did it every night and he only knew about on the few nights he had found her. He'd have to check more often. This time a year ago, he'd sent Mulder off to Texas to profile while Scully had been home sick with the flu. He was responsible for beginning the chain of events that ended with her sobbing alone in her partner's basement office. It's easy to confuse protectiveness with lust. The two aren't that different in the male mind - the animal part of the brain that growls low and barks "mine!" Skinner worked hard at not being sexist. He was all for equal pay for equal work and the like. He just had a hard time seeing women get hurt. Not that he wouldn't trust Agent Scully to cover his back, or any female agent, for that matter - but he'd rather they didn't have to. Women were these wonderfully soft creatures that smelled so good. They deserved to be cherished, not abused. Women weren't any less valuable than men, but - thank God- they were different from them. Even strong ones like Scully. He'd been relieved to know she was safely in a morgue in the greater DC area doing autopsies during normal working hours these last few months. That she went home to a baby and a normal life. He would have preferred to keep it that way. She would have kicked his ass if she had known. Skinner closed the door and wrapped his arms around her without thinking. She was shaking again. He knew immediately what had happened to cause her to hide and cry like that. She's smiled, handed the baby over to Mulder, wished them well, and came here to cry her heart out. He'd like to have a few words with Agent Mulder about the value of a good woman. It was a long, long time before she stopped crying and was limp against him. Skinner had always privately believed women this small must be missing some parts - maybe a kidney or a lung. Pressed hard against him, Scully didn't seem to be missing any parts. He saw his hand stroking her cheek; moving of its own free will. He should try to stop it, but his other hand was busy rubbing her back. With both hands occupied, he'd just have to stay there and caress her. His head grew heavy and he rested it on top of hers, his eyes closed. Her form melted against his. His hand slid from her face to the back of her head. His fingers tangling in her vivid hair, he turned her face up to meet his. Her mouth opened and yielded to him. That was what it would be like - her body opening and yielding to his. Skinner wanted to see her - to see what was in her eyes. He opened his eyes and looked into hers. And stepped back. Walter Skinner was an honorable man. ********** She wanted to go back to regular duty. She wanted to get as far away from DC as possible without transferring to another field office. Skinner just made it happen and said nothing. After awhile, Scully seemed to be coping better. She must have known taking care of Mulder's son was a temp job. Maybe she was hoping a full-time position would become available. Maybe she missed the baby's daddy. Kimberly reported sightings of her at the gym and the new exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. No dates, but sometimes lunch with co-workers when she was in town. Skinner bought Kimberly a vulgarly expensive gift for her birthday. While Scully was off on cases, Skinner began to notice the lights in the basement office. Kimberly hadn't had much gossip about Mulder. As far as anyone at the FBI knew, he was taking extended family leave following the birth of his son and the death of his wife. A few recent sightings jogging with a stroller and dog and playing basketball while a baby slept courtside. The secretarial pool seemed to be the best source for Mulder-watching, particularly since it was warmer now and he sometimes took off his shirt. Kimberly had actually said that. Skinner would have died of embarrassment if she had said they had his own jogging route mapped out. They didn't - did they? As much as he dreaded it, Skinner needed to talk to Mulder. He was running out of leave time. He could push it off on someone else through channels, but it was better for him to do it. Less explaining to do. Security called him when Mulder entered the building at ten at night Skinner stood outside the door feeling awkward. He'd come from home in his jeans - he'd feel much more in command of Mulder if he were wearing a suit. Not that it helped much, but you took whatever you could get with Agent Mulder. Wearing jeans, he felt like they were going out for a beer. He couldn't lurk very long before the dog smelled him and begin to bark happily. Skinner knocked. It made him look less like a stalker. Mulder answered the door and looked normal. Completely unlike a man that had fucked around on his wonderful partner, dumped her when he got another woman pregnant, expected her to play nice with his new wife, dumped his baby on her while he was having a psychotic break, and then demanded his child back without a word. He wasn't certain it had happened like that, but that was Skinner's version. "I wanted to talk with you about your leave time, Agent Mulder. You are about to run out of paid leave, but you can take more unpaid leave if you want it." "At eleven at night, sir?" The dog had woken the baby and Skinner was surprised at how easily Mulder comforted him. He picked up the boy and held him to his chest, murmuring to him. He looked too big to be the same screaming bundle Scully had carried out of Mulder's nasty apartment six months ago. Mulder walked back to his desk and sat down. He gestured and Skinner pulled up a chair across from him. The baby was nestled in Mulder's left arm, happily drifting back to sleep. "He looks like you." Skinner was feeling a yearning. Sharon hadn't wanted children. "He looks like his mommy, but he's got my dark hair. He's got her temper too - he's quiet until you get him really good and mad and then he has no mercy." Mulder sounded like a proud father. Skinner had to make an effort not to smile at the bastard. "What are you doing here, Agent Mulder?" Skinner waited for the smart remark about this being his office. "It smells like her." Mulder was quiet for a few seconds. "I feel close to her when I'm here. I can feel her. Sometimes she leaves her jacket behind and it smells..." He searched for the words. "...Like musky vanilla." Skinner finished. He couldn't believe he'd said that. That comment could put him out of a job. High Bureau Officials did not have relationships with the agents they supervised. Maybe he could convince Mulder he'd been smelling her from across the room. He hadn't meant the smell of her perfume though - he'd meant the smell of her. Mulder was nodding. "Yep - just like musky vanilla. Will and I spent a whole afternoon at perfume counters searching for that smell so I could buy some. I thought it would remind both of us of her. No store in DC has it - you must have to go to the source." He seemed so at ease. That was not a phrase he would have associated with Mulder. Brilliant, driven, tormented, impulsive, and arrogant came to mind. "How much medication are you on, Agent Mulder?" "Not a thing, actually. Since before Will came back. I just had to get my head on straight." Mulder cocked his head to the side. "What are you doing down here, sir? There are about a dozen people under you who could have told me I was about to stop getting paychecks." Mulder paused and looked at him pointedly. "I'm not interested in a pissing contest." Skinner didn't answer immediately. The dog had laid her head on his knee and Skinner scratched behind her ears. She liked that. "I missed the dog." "You wanted to arrange conjugal visits? She's a very attractive dog." "Women always stared at her when I took her jogging," Skinner replied. He was dodging and he knew it. Direct was always best. "Have you talked to her?" Mulder shifted the child and leaned back. "What do I say? I don't think 'I'm sorry' begins to cover it." "Did you love her?" Skinner's words were clipped. He didn't know which answer he wanted to hear. The one Scully needed or the one he needed. "Like nothing else." Mulder's response was immediate. "No one can hurt a woman like the man she loves." Mulder sat quiet for a long time, looking back and forth between Skinner and his sleeping child. Skinner weighed his next words before he spoke them. "There is no contest, Mulder. But if I find her crying again, there will be. I'll only see her get hurt by you so many times and I'm only so strong." With that, Skinner stood up, opened the door and left. He didn't know why he had even bothered to go home. Skinner was back at his desk at five the next morning. Except for security and custodial, he was alone in the building. He shuffled a lot of papers and got nothing accomplished for about an hour. His mind was in other places. He finally walked down to the basement office. The light was off and the door was locked. Good thing he had a key; seniority had its privileges. He had no idea what he was looking for, but he knew it when he found it. On a sheet of copy paper laying on Mulder's desk was a note written in a barely legible scrawl. I'm coping. I'm sorry. I love you. Mulder. Skinner smiled. His respect for Mulder as a man had just ratcheted up a notch. Skinner respected him professionally, but had always thought he was an emotional coward. Looked like he was laying it all on the line this time. He relocked the door, went upstairs and waited. For about five months. ********** Mulder was due back at work in November - one year after his wife had died. Only a few more weeks. Agent Scully had solved a few high profile cases on her own and the gossip was running wild that Spooky Mulder the prima donna might refuse to work with her now. Not true, as far as Skinner knew. He'd been able to assign Scully to better cases once she didn't want to keep running off to Bumfuck. Mulder was due back in two weeks assigned, as before, as an agent on the X-Files. Scully hadn't put in a request for a transfer. Mulder continued to make his late-night pilgrimages to the basement office. Out of desperation, Skinner finally asked his secretary straight out. Usually Kimberly just updated him, but she hadn't been forthcoming lately. Maybe he'd missed Secretary's Day. Scully had been seen the usual places. She'd turned down Agents Westfall and Markham for dinner and a movie, and drinks, respectively. She had gotten a new Coach purse on sale - quite a find - and her favorite hairdresser had quit to back to college. Mulder was wearing sweats when he jogged. He was reporting his weight to the bureau as back to his normal one-seventy and change after fluctuating ten pounds each way in the last eighteen months, which was a shame because he was cuter at about one-eighty. He'd requested several phone traces a few months ago, but Kim didn't know why. He did his grocery shopping with the baby and he was adorable. Skinner couldn't tell if Kimberly meant the baby was adorable or Mulder was adorable and he didn't want to ask. He couldn't pick and choose the gossip he got when he had to beg. Rumors traveled at light speed through the Bureau, and if Kimberly didn't know anything about Mulder and Scully being a couple, that probably meant it hadn't happened. They had always been a hot topic. Skinner did as he usually did when there were personal problems with Mulder and/or Scully - he meddled. Security called him at home again when Agent Mulder came in, with the baby and dog, of course. Skinner used his cell phone to call Scully to come in to the office immediately. He met her in his office forty-five minutes later. She looked uneasy. Considering he had ordered her to meet him in an otherwise empty building at ten o'clock at night, he wasn't surprised. "I would like to see your files on the Anderson case." Business-like and to-the-point. "I'll have to go get them sir - I wasn't aware you wanted the report until Monday. They're in Mulder's office." Mulder, son, and dog had been playing fetch with an Appalachian Voodoo doll. None of them had looked embarrassed. Interesting that it was still "Mulder's office" after nine years. "I'll walk down with you." Scully seemed jumpy standing beside him in the elevator. "Agent Scully, I want to apologize if I have ever done anything that made you uncomfortable or distrusting of me. I want you and Agent Mulder both to be safe and free to pursue happiness, however you find it." "You're a good man and you've been a good friend, sir. You've made my life bearable for the last year and a half and I will always be grateful for that." Although her words were polite, they were weighty with meaning. By Scully standards, it was a soul-baring soliloquy. Scully looked at him out of the corner of her eye for a second. Then she turned, stood on the very tips of her toes, and kissed him on the cheek. His greatest reward was a glowing Scully smile - those were rare. Grown men have been known to grin like total idiots in their presence. The dog heard them immediately and came bounding out to greet Skinner again as soon as the elevator opened. The big German Shepherd had a short memory - she was delighted all over again. Mulder had been giving Lucy free run of the place when he came down earlier. There had been no further discussion of their "pissing contest." Scully hadn't run away - that was a good sign. She continued to walk down the hall toward the office. Skinner hung back. A little boy with dark hair stepped out the door and toddled a few steps on unsteady legs toward them. Scully stopped, shocked, and then squatted down and smiled again in unabashed happiness at Will. Will seemed uncertain and stopped. He looked back at his father, who was coming out the door behind him to investigate the barking. Mulder's eyes lit up when he saw her. Will pointed a chubby finger at Scully and asked slowly "Mama?" The Assistant Director turned around and silently got back on the elevator. Mulder picked up his son and walked toward them. Will asked again, "Dada. Mama?" Mulder smiled and answered "I don't know Will - let's ask her." The elevator doors closed. Skinner just made it happen and said nothing. ********** End: Each In His Prison (3/5)