THE X-FILES
	"AROUND THE WORLD IN TWELVE MONTHS"
	Part Eleven
	"A Period on the Pacific"
	By Alien Girl
	comixgirl@juno.com
	www.geocities.com/Area51/Underworld/1113

	Rating: PG-13 for a nice beach scene ;)

	Classification: Adventure, Mulder/Scully Engaged, some Historical
References

	Spoilers: I am not a spoiled kid. Now where the heck are my truffles?!?!

	DISCLAIMER WAS LOST AT SEA AND NEVER SEEN AGAIN.

	Song Disclaimer: Yay, very nice nice nice song! This part's song is "You
Got A Way" by Shania Twain (I think...) I got it from the "Notting Hill"
soundtrack, which is a VERY good soundtrack for a very good movie that
you all must see because Hugh Grant reminds me of Mulder, and the song is
very sweet and fun to listen to...too bad I don't own it!! :P

	Summary: An uncharted island with a mysterious secret leads Mulder alone
on a dangerous quest that will determine the fate of 'The Believer'
forever...

	Author's Notes: WOW! This is the last part before the very very end!!
UNBELIEEEVABULL! Well, I hope you all enjoy reading this one, 'cause I
know I'm going to enjoy writing it! Same thing with Egypt...I had no idea
what to do until this idea came up and completely took over the story.
BIG CONNECTIONS to "An Inquiry in India" and junkthings like that. I have
a feeling this one is going to be the longest one considering it's time
frame. But it's definitely exciting (and shippy...) and has some cool
things in it that are very characteristic of a good ol' case-file story.
Crazy things happening!!! :):)

	On with the show!!

	------------------------------------------------
	*******AROUND THE WORLD IN TWELVE MONTHS********
	............"A Period on the Pacific"...........
	******************By Alien Girl*****************
	------------------------------------------------

	"You Got A Way"

	You got a way with me,
	Somehow you got me to believe,
	In everything that I could be,
	I gotta say, you really got away...

	You got a way it seems,
	You gave me faith to find my dreams,
	You'll never know just what that means,
	Can't you see, you got a way with me?

	(Chorus)
	It's in the way you want me,
	It's in the way you hold me,
	The way you show me just what love's made of,
	It's in the way we make love.

	You got a way with words,
	You kept me smilin even when it hurts,
	There's no way to measure what your love is worth,
	I can't believe, the way you get through to me.

	(Chorus)

	Oh how I adore you,
	Like no one before you,
	I love you just the way you are...

	(Chorus)

	It's just the way you are...	

	-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_


	7:17 A.M.
	Tuesday, July 17th, 2000
	Somewhere in the Mid Pacific Mountains
	Pacific Ocean

	"Shhhh! Keep the dog quiet!"
	"This is soooo hilarious..."
	"Stop laughing, he'll wake up!"
	"Hehehee...I can't help it!"
	"Woah, careful caaaaareful....good!"
	"Come on, come on, get back!"
	Moby stared around confusedly at where his friends had dropped him,
uncertain of his intended purpose to being here. It was then that he
noticed Fox Mulder, still sleeping soundly with the covers up to his
chest. Scully was not present...oh yes, she had gone up to get breakfast
already.
	Moby walked across the bed to where Mulder was, and sniffed him a
little. Then the pomeranean puppy began to dutifully lick Mulder's face. 
	At first Mulder's didn't react. Then, slowly, a smile spread across his
sleepy features. He shifted a little beneath the covers and murmured
something undistinguishable. Troi, Samantha and Langley snickered to
themselves from the hall.
	Moby continued to lick Mulder's face, this time moving to his chin and
jaw. The smile on Mulder's face doubled in size. "Hmmmmm....Scully....."
	All three onlookers burst into a croaking, desperate laughter. Troi
tried to hide her laughter in her hands, but it still escaped in
hiccuping sobs of hilarity. Langley had his mouth open, but no noise was
coming out. Samantha was snickering uncontrollably.
	Meanwhile, Moby had begun applying his doggy slobber to Mulder's neck.
He shifted around restlessly under the covers, his left hand hovering
over the dog as if holding an imaginary Scully. "Uhhmmm....." He mumbled
again.
	Troi was rolling on the grounf with stiffled laughter, while Samantha
wished for all the world that she had remembered her SamCam.
	Then, Mulder finally opened his eyes. And in an instant, his image of
Scully changed into the face of a slobbering Moby.
	"DAAAAGH!!"
	Mulder sat up in a fury, and Moby leaped off the bed. Mulder shook his
head, trying to clear his mind of his previous mental images. It was then
that he picked up a hysterical laughing just outside the room.
	Samantha poked her head into the room, a mischevious grin spread all
over her face. "Good morning, Fox! Sleep well?"
	Mulder cocked his eyebrow at his snickering younger sister. Slowly,
carefully, he reached behind him and grasped at his pillow....
	WHOMP.
	Samantha didn't even have time to blink before the pillow hit her
head-on in the face. When she finally regained herself, she saw her
brother chuckling to himself at the efficiency at which he had enacted
his revenge.
	"Oh, yeah...." Samantha hurled the pillow striaght back where it had
come from, but Mulder caught it before it collided with his face. He then
stuck his tongue out at her with a very childish grin.
	Samantha instantly took up his challenge. She ran into the room making
something like a war cry, grabbed up another pillow and began swatting at
him furiously, laughing the entire time. Mulder fought back with his own
pillow, although he had the upper hand with his size and strength.
	"Hey, some help over here?" Samantha called desperately as Mulder
continued to bat her with the pillow. Troi charged to the rescue and
rushed in. She grabbed up another pillow, and she and Samantha both began
attacking Mulder. Even though he was outnumbered, Mulder was still
beating them back tirelessly. That is, until Troi reached over and
grabbed a soda off the desk next to the bed, shook it up furiously, and
opened the cap in Mulder's face.
	Mulder let out a horrified cry as a steady stream of warmish, sticky
pepsi struck him head-on and splattered all over his face and bare chest.
	"AAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGUUULG!!!"
	"Hey, watch it with that thing!" Samantha warned as she herself tried to
avoid Troi's chaotic soda attack. Troi was laughing madly, Moby was
running back and forth and barking, and Samantha had accidentally ripped
one of the pillows on the nearby desk, causing fluff and feathers to fly
everywhere.
	It was about that time that Scully entered the room.
	All activity instantly ceased. Mulder had Troi pinned against the bed
with one arm while she still held the sputtering soda above her head, and
Samantha was frozen behind Mulder with her half-full pillow raised over
his head. None of them spoke. Even Moby stopped barking.
	Scully raised both her eyebrows at the mischevious trio and the horrible
mess they had made.
	"Why is my nice warm bed covered in soda?"
	Troi grinned hopefully. "Because of this!" She held out the soda.
	"I think I am able to figure that out myself."
	"We were just having...an arguement." Sam explained as a feather landed
neatly on her nose.
	"Oh, yeah?..." Scully smiled mischeviously. "I'll help you, then!" And
she launched herself at Mulder.
	"Wait, Scully!" Mulder caught her in his arms. "You're in no condition
to be jumping around like that..." His voice was serious and concerned.
	"I'll jump on you all I like!" Scully countered back. "Since I'm
pregnant I can't have any fun? You act like I've broken both my legs or
something!"
	"It's just that...oh, never mind! This arguement is finished, anyway,"
Mulder quickly stood up. "And put those sheets in the wash!" Mulder said
to Troi and Samantha.

	Scully followed Mulder out onto the deck. Mulder was still in his
pajamas, but he didn't care, and neither would anyone else on the ship.
The refreshing salt sea breeze hit him hard, and he breathed it in with
ecstasy. All around them for miles and miles was nothing but the crisp
blue planes of the Pacific Ocean, broken only by various whitecaps caused
by the wind. They were weeks away from civilization, right in the middle
of a jungle of isolation. 'The Believer' chugged directly down its
computer-charted course, stopping for nothing in its way unless the
autopilot was taken over manually.
	"I see the same thing every day, and even if it does get boring, I can't
help but admire for the first few seconds I see it," Mulder mused to
himself.
	Scully went up to the rail, leaning over to observe the rushing, foaming
waters churning beneath their massive vessel. "I could stay on this ocean
forever. After staying on this ship for a whole year, it seems like we've
always been here..."
	Mulder joined her. "Well, I don't care where we call 'home'...I just
know that whenever I'm with you I am home."
	Scully looked at Mulder. "And since when did you start getting all
sappy?"
	"Since I ran out of guilt."
	"Great...I can't *wait* to see what's left when you run out of
sappiness..." Scully punched his shoulder playfully.
	"Land!!" A sudden voice from the captain's quarters broke into their
conversation. "There's land straight ahead!"
	Mulder and Scully quickly ran back to the captain's quarters, where
Maggie was looking carefully at the navigation computer. On the computer,
a small landlmass began to appear on the screen. Maggie appeared *very*
concerned. "We're coming up on a small island, it's right in front of us.
I'm taking the ship off of autopilot."
	"What island is it?" Scully questioned.
	"I don't know! I've checked out position on a dozen maps, and according
to all of them there isn't a spot of land for at least 800 miles." Maggie
paused, staring at the screen. "According to all our charts, we're coming
up to an island that doesn't exist."
	"But that's not possible!" Scully protested. "Even if an island is
uninhabited, sattelite imaging still provides a complete picture of all
landmasses on the globe, no matter how small they are."
	"Well...perhaps the sattelites couldn't quite *see* this island..."
Mulder said mysteriously.
	"Mulder, you *better* not be suggesting that this is a ghost island,
'cause if you are..."
	"A ghost island was the last thing I was thinking. There could be other
reasons why a sattelite didn't record it."
	"What's going on here?" Samantha, Troi and the rest of the group made
their way into the captain's quarters at hearing the excited discussion
coming from within.
	"We're coming up on an uncharted island," Mulder said, his voice tinged
with adventure. "We're going to stop at it."
	"If it's uninhabited, why are we bothering to stop?" Scully asked.
	"Just because it's uncharted doesn't mean it's uninhabited..." Mulder
winked at her.
	(I have a bad feeling about this....)
	Slowly, the island in question came into view. At first it was nothing
more than a grayish blotch on the horizon. They watched in fascinated
silence as they drew closer and the island became more visible. It was
still somewhat unclear, but they could distinguish the purplish splotch
that was mountains and the greeish splotch that was trees. Closer, and
they could see the white stretch of sand and the bright blue shallow
water that surrounded and defined the island.
	At last, they were about 1/3rd of a mile from their destination. They
could just barely pick out individual grooves of trees, and they could
tell where the waves broke on the shore. However, there was  something
else in front of the island...but not quite on it. They couldn't tell
exactly what it was.
	Maggie cut the engine, and they stared in silence at the foreboding
island. "The water's getting too shallow for 'The Believer' to go
through," Maggie said matter-of-factly. "I suggest that we drop anchor
here, and then we can continue on to the island in 'The Skeptic'."
	Nobody argued against the idea, so the cable for the anchor drop was
pulled, and the ship ground to a halt. "We should have at least one
person who will stay behind with 'The Believer'. We'll take a radio with
us, and once we've determined that the island is okay, then we'll come
back and get them." Mulder explained.
	"I can watch the ship," Tina volunteered. 
	"Alright, then I also suggeat that we take quite a few supplies with us
on 'The Skeptic'. There's no telling what we're going to encounter on
that island, even if it is uninhabited."
	Everybody nodded in solemn agreement. Maggie, Samantha and Troi quickly
ran off to the kitchens and storage facilities to get a few things they
might need. Mulder and Scully went with the Lone Gunmen down to the
bottom level to get 'The Skeptic' up and running and prepare for their
exploration.
	Mulder couldn't help but stare at Scully as they descended down the
metal staircase into the dimly-lit rooms below. She was nearing the end
of her fourth month, and her pregnancy was starting to show. Her chest
had grown a little larger, her hips were wider, and her stomach was just
slightly more rounded. It wasn't obvious to the casual observor, but
Mulder could easily tell.
	Of course, Scully tried to hide it. She was eating less and tried to
exercize more even if they were on a boat. Sometimes she would even suck
in her stomach whenever he was around. Scully never wanted to admit that
she was getting fat, even if it was because she was pregnant. She was
trying to enjoy her days of looking young and trim while she still could.
Even after the baby was born, she would still retain an understated
cubbiness that comes from motherhood. Mulder was always careful to never
hurt her feelings as far as her weight went, and made sure to compliment
her on her body, knowing that she appreciated it.
	The loading and preparing of 'The Skeptic' was carried out quickly, and
within less than half an hour the group of eight was ready to go. Troi
wanted to take Moby, but Scully wouldn't allow it, saying  the could come
back for Moby later if they wanted him. Mulder, Scully, Sam, Troi,
Maggie, Frohike, Langley and Byers all climbed into the small white
speedboat and took their seats. Tina fooled around with the controls
until the giant double doors of the hull groaned and opened outwards,
allowing a rush of seawater to flood the holding bay of 'The Skeptic'
	Mulder sat at the wheel and started the engine. "We'll be back soon!" He
said to his mother.
	With that, 'The Skeptic' slid out of the hull of its larger companion
and into the sapphire blue waters of the Pacific.
	The sun hit the faces of the eight suddenly, then cleared and gave them
a view of the island ahead. It gleamed in the bright morning sunlight,
and reflected on the light green waters that surrounded it.
	"Well, here we go." Mulder said. The engine gurgled against the water
and then the speedboat shot forward, skimming against the blue water
briskly. For a few more moments they remained in the deep blue waters
which caused 'The Skeptic' to jump and jolt over the waves. Then the deep
water gave way to shallower water, where the bottom of the ocean was
barely visible beneath the crystalline liquid. The could see an amazing
garden of coral below, with sea fans and sea anenomes waving about in the
wake their vessel created. There were blue, purple, yellow, pink and
green corals with different formations and patterns. The water was very
still, it seemed that the surging Pacific Ocean all around did nor affect
its constant calm.
	"This place gives me the creeps," Troi said out of nowhere.
	"What do you mean? I think it's beautiful, and very peaceful," Samantha
responded. 
	"That's just it....it's *too* peaceful. It's so calm and quiet that it's
frightening. And haven't you noticed that there's been no fish or other
ocean wildlife since we entered the shallow area? Normally there's a
million different kinds of fish and crabs in a coral reef, it's necessary
for the environment."
	Mulder and Scully stared down into the water. And indeed, there was not
a single fish in sight. "They might have been scared off by the boat..."
Sculyl suggested.
	"Somehow, I don't think so..." Mulder said mysteriously.
	"I'm starting to feel it too," Byers mumbled uneasily. "Something about
this doesn't seem right."
	"What is THAT?!"	Frohike pointed ahead of them. 'The Skeptic' was now
rapidly approaching the grayish blotch they had seen in the distance.
They could now tell that it was made out of metal; the sunlight gleamed
off its smooth surface. It looked like a metal sculpture, some abstract
form of art. It stood separate from the rest of the island, on a small
patch of sand that was separated from the island by a thin stretch of
water that was only about a foot deep.
	Mulder felt his pulse quicken. "I'm taking us in to see what this is,"
He said in a curious voice, twisting the wheel. 'The Skeptic' turned and
headed straight for the metal sculpture while its occupants waited in
nervous anticipation.
	They glided up to the grayish object smoothly. The hull of 'The Skeptic'
soom buried itself in the sand, and Mulder cut the engine.
	Silence reigned. They stared at the object long and hard, taking in
every detail. A single seagull settled down on top of the thing, looking
like an aquatic vulture. Not a word was spoken, but enough was said in
the silence to fill a book.
	It was an airplane.
	Mulder was the first to approach. Without taking his eyes off the plane,
he took off his shoes and rolled up his pant legs. He then clambered over
the side of the boat and into the shallow green water, feeling the soft
sand rush between his toes. He sloshed through the water carefully until
he was up on the sand patch.
	The plane was obviously much larger close-up, and Mulder studied it. He
didn't know much about planes, so he couldn't tell what type it was.
However, the metal was rusted almost beyond recognition and cracking. He
could tell from the style that the plane was practically decades old...it
looked like it had been made in the Twenties. There was a single seat for
the pilot, and the dashboard and windshield were smashed and cracked.
Mulder ran his eyes over the rest of the plane. It was a sad, pitiful
grave of a plane, with pieces of seawees fluttering from its broken
wings. It seemed to have a spirit about it that was at one time proud,
daring, seeking adventure. But now it was bowed low in the sand, having
lost its longing for adventure and excitement many years ago.
	Mulder sighed and motioned for the others to come ashore. "It's
okay...it's just an airplane."
	Everyone followed Mulder's example and waded to the shore. Troi looked
at the framework and rusted metal quizically. "That's an *old* plane..."
	"I wonder what happened to the pilot," Sam said quietly.
	"Even if the pilot did survive the crash, they wouldn't still be alive
if the plane is as old as it looks," Scully said, trying to find a
rational explanation for a very unrational situation.
	"How do you suppose the plane crashed?" Frohike remarked as he circled
the fallen aircraft.
	"I don't know...I don't see any bullet holes or other signs that it was
shot down. Perhaps the pilot lost control of the plane, or maybe it ran
out of fuel."
	"Is there a name on the plane?" Troi asked after a pause.
	Mulder could make out a line of letters painted in yellow on the side of
the plane. However, the words were completely rusted over and unreadable.
Mulder shook his head. "I guess we'll never know..."
	"That's it," Troi said decisively. "I'm officially scared of this place
now."
	"Well, you're gonna have to overcome that fear..." Mulder turned his
gaze towards the island. "We're going to go over to the large section
now."
	"Are you *sure* we should? I mean, from the look of the plane..."
	"The plane's too old to have been threatened recently. If my judgement's
correct, then it might have been shot down in the 30's or 40's, perhaps
during the war, even if we don't see any damage. The plane's not going to
tell us anything...if we want to find out what this place is really
about, we'll have to go to the island itself."
	Without another word, Mulder went around the back of the plane and began
to wade across the strip of shallow water to the empty beach on the other
side. Scully sighed and followed...there was no use trying to talk Mulder
out of this one. His curiosity had been sparked, and it would take all of
the Pacific Ocean to douse the flame.
	Slowly, the left the plane's resting place and tread through the warm
water to the other side. The sand was as soft as powder and the water
warm, making the walk seem relaxing. The beach loomed ahead...a strip of
perfect, untouched sand that remained white right until the edge of the
water. The sand gave way to shrubs, palm trees, and then a forest of
tropical trees that was too thick to see through. The palm fronds rustled
in the ocean breeze, but other than that, nothing moved.
	Finally, they reached the pure, shimmering beach. All eight people stood
barefoot in the silky sand, awed into silence at the beauty of this
tropical paradise. It was like nothing they had ever seen before, even in
Cuba and Australia.
	"I'm half-expecting a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex to come bursting out of
the trees roaring any minute..." Mulder couldn't help help but apply his
dry humor to the place.
	"Maybe not dinosaurs, but...*someone* has been here..." Samantha pointed
a nervous finger at what lay in the sand a few feet from them.
	Footprints.
	At that moment, some of the shrubs ahead of them rustled.
	Mulder held out both his arms, signaling everyone to freeze. Nobody
dared to move a muscle or breathe a sound. Mulder's eyes bored into the
spot where the foliage had been disturbed. The leaves shuddered again. "I
think there's something..." He didn't finish his whispered comment.
	From out of the bushes emerged a small boy.
	Mulder's group stared. The boy stared back. He looked to be about eight
or nine. He had very dark skin, black, ruffled hair, and huge, brown,
curious eyes. He didn't have a shirt on, and his hands were caked with
wet sand. He appeared to be very nervous, if not somewhat interested.
	"So much for the island being unihabited..." Frohike whispered.
	"He's just a boy, he won't hurt us," Samantha said.
	"Yeah, but he might have parents who will!"
	Mulder didn't take his eyes off the boy. He extended a hand, showing
that it was safe for him to approach them. "Come out!" Mulder said,
hoping the child would understand.
	The boy didn't move. Mulder began to feel uneasy. "I don't think he
knows English," He whispered to Scully. He tried again to get the boy to
come out of his cover. He motioned with both of his arms for him to come
forward. "No hurt you!" He said in as gentle a voice as possible.
	The boy cocked an eyebrow at Mulder quizzically. "Do you have some sort
of problem, mister?" He said in perfect English.
	Mulder's jaw dropped in surprise. "You *do* know English?" He said in a
shocked tone.
	"Yeah," The boy said, although his tone of voice would have been better
suited for "DUH." The boy stepped out of the foliage, and they could now
see that he was wearing a pair of red swim trunks. No longer appearing
nervous, he strode right up to Mulder and extended a hand. "My name's
Josh. What's yours?"
	Mulder was momentarily startled by the sudden change from primitive
native to courteous Westerner. Then he took Josh's hand and shook it. "My
name's Mulder."
	Josh stiffled a snicker at the name. "Did your plane crash or were you
in a shipwreck?"
	Mulder was struck dumb again. "Uhhh...neither. We saw this island from
our boat and we came here to see what was on it."
	This answer apparently surprised Josh. "You mean you actually *wanted*
to come here?"
	Mulder was not sure how to respond. "Um...yeah."
	"Do you have any pigs or geese on your boat?"
	*Another* strange question. Mulder stole a confused glance at the
others. "Well, um...not any live ones, but we do have pork and bacon..."
	"Even better!" Josh instantly brightened. "Come on, I'll take you to the
village." He tugged on Mulder's arm, urging Mulder to follow him.
	"Village? You mean there's *more* people here?!"
	"There's *lots* of people here!" Josh said as if it were common
knowledge. "And then you'll have to meet Uncle Freddy and Mrs.
President!" Josh then bounded over to where the woods began. "Come on,
follow me!"
	"This is getting stranger every second..." Troi said. "There's a whole
*village* here? With a *President*?"
	"And a Mrs. President at that..." Frohike mused.
	"Well, there's no use in just standing around here..." Mulder said,
squaring his shoulders. "We should probably find out what exactly this
island has in store for us."
	Mulder latched his fingers with Scully's, feeling a reassurance come
from her tight grip. They took one last look at the white beach, and then
followed Josh into the jungle.
	At first, they were surrounded by nothing but tropical trees, with lush
green leaves and trunks covered in moss. Then almost instantly, the trees
gave way and a path appeared before them in the middle of the forest. It
was obviously used often; there was no undergrowth in the dirt at all.
Josh trotted down the path ahead of them. "It's kind of aways from here,
but we'll soon get to it. Just keep walking, it's impossible to get
lost."
	None of Mulder's group said anything, they just walked in complete
silence. They were too shocked to say anything anyway, too confused at
what their young host had told them. Yet at the same time, they all had a
sense of excitement, anticipating what lay in store for them.
	Nobody knew how long it took for them to walk through the jungle. It
seemed to take hours, yet at the same time it seemed that no time passed
at all. Before they even realized it, the thickly-woven trees began to
thin out and something began to appear through the green trunks. Josh
skipped ahead and beckoned excitedly. "Come on, we're there! Although
we're not at the best part of the village, we'll get there very soon."
	As they exited the jungle, something completely unexpected met their
eyes. It was indeed a village...but the homes were Western-style, made
out of wood and some iron reinforcements with wood and reed roofs. There
were lawns, gardens, roads and people as if this were a normal civilian
neighborhood. It seemed that the only thing missing was cars or other
forms of transportation.
	"Mulder...what *is* this place?" Scully whispered to him in awe.
	Josh continued to beckon. People who were outside their houses stopped
and stared, looking at the small group as if they were ghosts. Then, they
all stopped what they were doing and began to follow the small procession
led by Josh. There were men, women and children from all nationalities,
all dressed in civilian clothing.
	It was then that they came to a river that ran through the center of the
village. The river was very large, and a bridge had been built over it.
On the other side of the river there were more than just houses...there
was a large round building, like a meeting hall, and several other
buildings that looked like public facilities. They were all constructed
completely out of wood and iron and had uniform reed roofs covered with
tar.
	Josh ran to a small structure in the middle of the square, where a
ship's bell had been mounted. Josh began to ring the bell furiously,
sending a loud clanging sound throughout the entire village.
	The bell worked like magic. Mulder, Scully and the group stood in
surprise as *everyone* in the entire village came out to meet them, most
of them coming from farther back in the settlement that they couldn't
see. They surrounded the group of eight in a circle, staring and
chattering among themselves excitedly. All they themselves could do was
stand in silence and wonder what was going on.
	"Hey, people! The president's coming!" Somebody yelled.
	Instantly, the entire crowd fell silent. Several people moved aside
respectively as "the President" came up to Mulder's group.
	She was a middle-aged woman, looking to be in her late 30's or early
40's. She was obviously American, but had a dark tan to demonstrate much
time spent in the sun. She had short, blondish-brown hair which was
pulled behind her head. She wore jeans, a faded green top and a brownish
leather jacket with badges sewn in that looked to be decades old. But the
most obvious thing was her smile, which was broad and mysterious, telling
of hidden secrets and wisdom.
	She extended a hand towards Mulder. "Ms. Amelia Earhart, sir! It's a
pleasure to meet you."
	Mulder froze. He didn't bother to raise his hand or even twitch his
lips. All he could do was stare, not believing a single word this woman
had just said. "No you're not," He said flatly.
	Amelia Earhart raised her eyebrows at him. "I'm not? Well, who am I,
then?"
	Mulder shook his head. I don't know, but you're *not* Amelia Earhart.
She died decades ago!"
	Amelia shrugged her shoulders. "Well, if I'm dead, that means you are
too, 'cause if I'm dead this must be heaven!"
	Mulder tried desperately to figure out what was going on here. This
woman definitely *looked* like the few pictures he had seen of Amelia
Earhart. But she didn't look a day older than the pictures. Even if
Amelia Earhart *was* still alive and this was her, she'd still be at
least 110 years old.
	Samantha spoke Mulder's thoughts. "If *you're* Amelia Earhart, then what
are you doing here? And why aren't you any older than when you were last
seen?"
	Amelia nodded slowly. "All of that will be explained in time, believe
me. But first, I would like to welcome you all to our humble home!" She
gestured out towards the village. "We have built it entirely off of
materials from wrecked ships and planes and what we could find on the
island. There are about 75 people here including myself, all survivors
from plane crashes and shipwrecks."
	Mulder, Scully and the rest of the group looked around at the other
peopel. They smiled back at them, as if to prove Amelia's statement to
them.
	"But come now, we do not get newcomers often nowadays! We must celebrate
your arrival! Would you all like to come down to the cantina for a drink
and a bite to eat? We shall give you the best things we have, you are
quite welcome here." Amelia turned back to the road, motioning for them
to follow. They exchanged glances, then followed her down the road.
	Amelia squeezed in between Mulder and Scully quickly. She was obviously
very enthusiastic about all this. "You two seem to be the leaders of this
group. Could I know your names?"
	"I'm Fox Mulder," Mulder pointed to himself, then pulled Scully back to
his side. "And this is Dana Scully."
	"You married?"
	"Engaged, actually," Mulder grinned broadly. "We plan to get married
once we get back to the states."
	Amelia nodded happily, but the look in her eyes claimed otherwise.
"Also...do you know what year it is?"
	Mulder didn't even bother pondering over why there were such strange
questions being asked. Things were strange enough as it is. "It's
mid-July in the year 2000."
	"Wow, 2000! We haven't had any newcomers since 1995! You will have to
tell us what has happened in the world these past five years."
	Mulder swallowed. To tell all that had happened the past five years
would take *another* five years. "When we have lots of time, yes..."
	"Oh, don't worry. You'll have all the time in the world." Amelia paused.
"So...how did you come here? Ship or plane?"
	"We came here by ship. We saw the island from our houseboat and we came
out here to investigate. We were wondering what was on this island."
	"Bet you weren't expecting this, we're you?"
	"This is the *last* thing we were expecting."
	They came to another bridge, this one a lot larger than the first. They
crossed over to the other side of the river, and were left staring at
what looked like a tropical resort. There was a two-part cantina with a
bar and restaurant, and a large flat area surrounded by benches and with
a fire-pit in the center that looked like a dance area. The resort area
was on the top of a small cliff, and they could hear the sound of water
rushing over the edge.
	Amelia pointed to a small building on the other side of the river,
surrounded by palm trees. "That's the Waterfall House. It's reserved
especially for newcomers. You can stay there tonight. You'll have a
fantastic view of the beach, and you're surrounded on both sides by
waterfalls. Truly a great place, you'll love it."
	"Why does she keep calling us 'newcomers'?" Langley whispered under his
breath to Frohike. 
	They strode across the open space, and Amelia led them into the cantina.
Inside it was cool, and there was a small hand fan working on the bar.
"They have electricity!" Maggie said in surprise.
	"We have all modern facilities except for television and phone lines.
Only what we really need." Amelia knocked on the wooden bar expectantly,
and a tall, red-haired man came out. He smiled at Amelia, then he finally
noticed "the newcomers". 
	"Fred, I'd like you to meet Fox Mulder and Dana Scully and their
friends," She said, tossing her hair back. "Everyone, this is Fred
Noonan! He is my co-pilot, my husband, and my best friend. It was him and
me...we were the first ones to find this island. When we established our
government here, they wanted to make him Vice President. But he refused,
just because he loves to work with food and drinks," She smiled
affectionately at the tall redhead. "The kids love him. They call him
Uncle Freddy. Fred, fix up the best drinks you have! This is a special
occasion!"
	After a moment's hesitation, the entire group sat down at the bar with
Amelia in the center. They looked to her expectantly, searching for some
sort of explanation to this wondrous place.
	Amelia Earhart cleared her throat. "I know you all want to know what
this is about, all the newcomers do. I won't keep you in suspense any
longer.
	As you all know, I think, I came here in the year 1937. Fred and I were
flying close to here when we suddenly lost control of the plane.
Navigation, steering, radio...everything went dead. We couldn't get the
landing gear to retract. We thought that we weren't going to make it, but
luckily we landed on the very edge of the island, on a sand patch that
sometimes gets separated from the island by the tides. We were lucky to
both be alive, and we set to work exploring the island. 
	We survived as best as we could, considering that we had nothing. We
built ourselves a small hut and ate whatever we could find, which was
mostly fruits and berries. We don't know how much time passed, but later
on some people came to the island in a raft, and we built some more huts.
Over time, more and more people came to the island from wrecked ships or
planes. We were able to recover materials and possessions from the
wrecks, and began to build our own community. After we gathered enough
people we established our own government with our own set of laws.
Eventually we accumulated enough people and materials to build what you
see today. The big waterfall, the one up in the mountains, is where we
generate our electricity. There are also several ore caves in Ore
Mountain where we mine for iron and make steel."
	Amelia's voice became slightly more mysterious. "But there is one thing
we have discovered...it is impossible to age here. We never grow old, the
children never grow up. However old you are when you arrive is how old
you shall be forever.
	This island is very mysterious...the plants grow and the animals are
born and die, but we never change. I'm not sure why...I guess it's
because of our souls. We are confined here in this paradise where time
does not exist."
	For a long while, nobody spoke. Fred arrived with some drinks, and at
seeing their faces, said nothing and left the drinks on the bar. Mulder
looked at Amelia Earhart, then at the floor, running his thumb along his
lip. Surprisingly, he did not find himself disbelieving Amelia's
testimony, even if it wouldn't seem possible even by paranormal
standards. "So you have no way of getting off the island?"
	Amelia was caught by the question, and she stuttered a few seconds. "No,
not actually getting off...."
	"Well, you do now!" Mulder said, his face brightening. "We came here in
a speedboat, but we have our houseboat outside the coral reef. We can
transport everyone back to the States! You have *no* idea how much
attention you would get if everyone found out you were still alive..."
	"Mulder! *75 people* on 'The Believer'?!!" Scully hissed in surprise.
	"I don't think that will be possible," Amelia shook her head sadly. 
	"Mmmm, this stuff is delicious!" Samantha said, staring at her drink in
surprise. "You *have* to show me how to make this stuff...I used to be a
bartender a long time back, you know."
	"Well, now that you know how we came to be here, I insist you enjoy
yourselves! This really is a wonderful place to live. Come, and I will
show you around the rest of the island completely."

5:52 A.M.
	Wednesday, July 18th, 2000
	Orban Island

	Scully awoke to the sound of a distant rumbling in her ears.
	She blinked, and stretched, feeling surrounded by warmth and humidity.
She felt her fingers brush Mulder's chin, and she remembered where she
was. She sighed heavily with content, and nestled down further into his
arms.
	They were both in a large hammock, stretched between two palm trees, out
on the beach with a clear view of the sun-warmed Pacific. Everyone else
had slept inside the Waterfall House, but Mulder and Scully had preferred
the hammock out under the stars for obvious reasons. The sun was
beginning to rise, painting to ocean over with pink and purple splashes.
The air smelled of ocean salt and morning dew on the jungle leaves.
	At feeling Scully shift her weight, Mulder slowly returned to
consciousness as well. He could feel her stomach pressed up against his,
and he ran his fingers along her side. He smile. "She's getting bigger
every day."
	Scully let out a small laugh and brought her gaze down to his hand. "You
know, it's strange...sometimes I wish she would never be born."
	Mulder paused, looking at her as if to say, (*What* on earth are you
thinking?!...)
	"No, not like that. I just mean that...I could protect her for the rest
of my life. Keep her inside me forever. I know it's a little early to be
thinking about this, but...there's so much out there in the world, not
even *counting* all the things that have happened to us. I just know that
as long as she's within me I can keep her safe."
	"Scully...I'm certain that with a mother like you, she'll be safe until
the day you die, and then maybe after that."
	Scully chuckled, and sighed as she stared up at the lavender sky above,
its last stars vanishing into the morning. She was tired with all they
had explored yesterday. "This place is perfect," She said with content.
	"That's the thing..." Mulder said, his tone betraying that he did not
share her sense of peace. "It's *too* perfect. Something about this keeps
bothering me. After all that Amelia and the people here have shown us, I
do believe that this island prevents people from aging. But I have the
sense that there's something they're not telling us."
	"What do you mean?"
	"Well, think about it. They said that everybody here came from plane
crashes and shipwrecks, so that is understandable. But if they have the
materials to build a beach cantina, a theatre and a power plant, why not
build a boat so they can leave the island?"
	"Mulder, I think it's obvious. This is a paradise on earth. Why would
they want to leave?"
	"Don't you think it would get boring, Scully?" Hr turned to her. "Being
stuck in the exact same surroundings, never seeing anything change, never
aging a day. If I had to stay here, I think I would go mad. I don't
understand why no one wants to leave."
	"We can ask Amelia once we get up and see her," Scully suggested. Mulder
began to lift himself out of the hammock, but Scully pulled him back
down. "But I'm too tired to get up yet."
	Mulder agreed and settled back down, deciding that a few more hours on a
beach in a hammock with a half-dressed Scully was a perfectly good idea.

	"It's amazing how good this food is considering how little materials you
have to work with!" Samantha commented around the breakfast in her mouth.
"And you have to cook for *75* people besides."
	Amelia Earhart nodded. "So far we haven't had any professional chefs
land on the island...all our cooks learned to do so when they came here.
If definitely beats unripe bananas and coconuts, which is what Fred had
for nearly two years in your time when we first came here."
	The entire group was sitting in the eating hall with Amelia and most
everyone else on the island who was up for breakfast. The eating hall was
actually two longhouses next to each other, and was where most everyone
on the island had their meals.
	Mulder took a big swallow of orange juice and then turned to Amelia.
"It's been great that we've been able to meet you and to get a tour of
the island, Amelia. But whether or not you would like to leave, we need
to get back to the States. We do have many people waiting at home for us.
We plan to leave tomorrow, after we've gotten to stay another night. But
I was wondering if I could have your permission to tell people that you
are here on this island when we return to the U.S. I'm sure everyone
would love it if they knew what really happened to Amelia Earhart."
	Amelia instantly stopped eating. She was silent for a long time, staring
down somewhat shamefully. "I'm afraid that's not possible."
	"What's not?"
	Amelia sighed sadly. "It is impossible to leave the island."
	"*What* do you mean?" Mulder asked in surprise.
	She looked at Mulder with sincere regret. "That is the problem with our
paradise...it is impossible to leave. Once you come to this island, you
can never go home...you will live here forever."
	Mulder's jaw dropped. He couldn't beliebe what he was hearing. "How on
earth can you say we can't leave?! There's nothing to stop us! There's
nothing surrounding the island but normal ocean!"
	"There is more than that. Surrounding the entire island is an invisible
barrier, like a wall of glass. It even goes up over the top, blocking out
the sky. Nobody is sure what the barrier is or how it got there...it is
another one of the mysteries of the island. And we do think that it is
connected to the island's prevention of aging, sort of a suction wall of
the stalled time condition. It will let people in, but it won't let them
out. Anything that passes through it is locked inside. The moment you
entered the coral reef, you passed through the barrier."
	Everyone in the entire group was staring at Amelia with looks of
disbelief and horror. "Well, couldn't we break the barrier? Or sneak
beneath it?" Troi protested.
	Amelia shook her head. "You wouldn't believe what some people have done
to try and escape...people have built rafts and flying contraptions. Some
have proposed digging a tunnel from the island beneath the coral reef and
out into the Pacific Ocean. All manners of ideas and machines have been
thought up...and all of them have failed."
	Mulder stood up from his seat, as if the exercize his need for power
over this situation out of his control. "No...I don't believe it. I
*refuse* to believe it until I see it for myself."
	"I'll show you, then."

	The walk through the Western Forest was much shorter than the first time
they had tread through with the boy on the beach. As the first time, they
walked in silence, but this time the silence was for a different reason.
Nobody was sure how to react to Amelia Earhart's claim...it didn't seem
possible that they could never return home.
	Within time, the jungle gave was to the beach where Mulder, Scully and
their group had first come ashore. It was exactly the way they had last
seen it....perfect white sand, swaying palm trees, crystalline waves that
lapped against the shore. The sky was a cloudless blue. 
	Out aways from the island itself was the sand patch, with the grave-like
skeleton of Amelia's last airplane. Scully couldn't help but notice the
hidden sadness in Amelia's eyes as she gazed at her decaying dream.
	"So where is this barrier you keep talking about?" Troi insisted,
wanting to prove Amelia's statement wrong as quickly as possible.
	"You'll see it soon enough." Amelia paused, then pointed at some
seagulls hovering about in the sky. "See those seabirds? The children
sometimes come here to watch "the gulldroppings"."
	As she spoke, one of the seagulls began to fly away from the island, out
to sea. They all watched as Amelia followed the bird with her finger. It
soared out easily across the coral reef, wings motionless. Then, as it
reached the end of the light aqua-blue water, it's perfect flight was
broken. It flew sideways and then up, flapping its wings in a squawking
flurry. Then it twisted around a few more times in the air before diving
headfirst into the sea.
	"Even the birds can't escape it," Amelia explained. "We do have a
problem with seabird overpopulation because of that. But as you can see,
there is something invisible that surrounds our island and separates us
from the outside world. If you want to try and go through it yourself, go
ahead...just know that you'll most likely end up with your boat
overturned in the water."
	For a long time, nobody said anything. Mulder stared out across the
shallows in silence, as if trying to will the barrier away. The island
answered his silent plea with a stubborn refusal. Mulder's shoulders
slumped, admitting defeat. (This can't be true......)
	A sense of hidden panic from Scully caused him to turn to her. Her face
was pale and expressionless, and her arms wrapped around her stomach.
"You mean.....I'm going to have to stay pregnant with Melissa
*forever*?!" She asked in a small, frightened voice.
	Amelia appeared surprised, then saddened. "You mean you're *pregnant*?"
	"Four months," Scully said mechanically.
	"Oh, no..." Amelia shook her head, putting her hand to her forehead.
"Not this again..."
	"What do you mean?!" Mulder demanded almost fiercely.
Amelia sighed heavily. "We had a pregnant woman come here once, only she
was right into her ninth month. We had our doctor perform a C-section so
that she could have the baby. The mother and the baby both survived the
operation...but the baby died a few weeks later. It couldn't survive as a
premature newborn, and there was nothing we could do to help it."
	Scully stood there for a moment, then slumped to the sand on her knees.
She would not, *could* not believe that she could not have her child now.
Not after they had been through so much. Scully put her head in her
hands, looking away from everyone. 
	Mulder walked over and sat down next to her. He had never seen Scully
act like this before...she was usually very strong, especially in strange
situations like this, and was very good at hiding her emotions, no matter
how intense they may be. Mulder tried to think of something to say...but
what was there to say? (How could we possibly ever get out of here?!)
	Mulder didn't even notice when Amelia Earhart came and kneeled down next
to him on his other side. She spoke in a quiet voice so that only he
could hear. "I normally don't tell this to anyone until they've been here
longer, but...there is a *possibility* of being able to get home."
	Mulder stopped, and turned to stare at her. "What is it? You have to
tell me!"
	"I'm not saying this will work," Amelia held up her hands quickly. "And
I never will know if it does. But I do know that an exit exists. And I
must warn you that the entire process is *very* dangerous and may land
you in a much worse situation than you are now."
	Mulder came close to gripping Amelia's shoulders and shaking her with
excitement. "You have to tell me what it is *now*. I don't care how
dangerous it is, just as long as we can go home!!"
	Scully heard Mulder's pleads and earnestly joined in on the
conversation. Amelia sat down in the sand between them and began her
explanation.
	"In the very center of this island is a mountain, which we named Race
Mountain. And at the very center of the mountain, close to the top, is a
cave. The cave is only big enough for about two people to stand in. But
that cave  is where all of the island's time-stopping energy is
concentrated. It's almost like the island is a vortex where the cave is
the very center of the gyre. But to enter will not only stop time for you
like the rest of the island...it will also project you *backwards* in
time."
	At first, Mulder was completely dumbstruck. Then his face brightened at
what she was saying. "You're talking about a time-travel machine?"
	"In a sense, yes, but more of a time funnel than a time machine. When
you step inside and travel backwards, you will essentially *erase* time
that has existed proceeding your jump. Then, by your act, another reality
has been created, so that the reality that you are familiar with is now
nonexistant."
	"So when you time-travel, the *entire* world relives time the same as
you do?" Mulder said, completely fascinated with the concept. "Aren't you
afraid that something may happen to radically alter world history,
something that shouldn't take place?"
	Amelia shook her head. "No...I've found that people basically make the
same choices even when given a second chance."
	Mulder pondered that thought for a moment, then returned to the subject.
"So what you're saying is that me or somebody else could enter the cave,
go back in time, and make a different choice that would prevent us from
every coming here in the first place?"
	"That's what I'm saying."
	"But then wouldn't we all remember that we were here on the island?"
	"It's a complicated process," Amelia said, pushing her hair out of her
face. "Only the person who does the actual time-jumping will remember
anything about it, it's a side effect from passing through the vortex.
When you jump back, you will create a new reality, and in that reality
you will *merge* with the you that existed at that time. Time is all
about choices. Once you arrive in the past, you must make a different
choice as to whether you will arrive at the island or not. You may make
other choices, but it seems that the time cave only recognizes the choice
that relates to it directly. Once you make that deciding factor, the time
cave will spring you back to the present time like a rubber band. Then,
you will retain memories memories from both the reality you destroyed and
the reality you created, because you altered them both."
	There was one question that came to Mulder's mind as he listened to
Amelia's words. "Well, if *you* knew about this cave, why didn't you use
it? You could have gone back in time and altered your future, you could
have been able to return home."
	The female pilot shook her head, a mysterious grin spreading across her
fine features. "Some things in this world were simply meant to be."
	A secretive silence embraced the conversation until Scully spoke. "Well,
if this time cave *does* work, how far back in time do you go? It
wouldn't do you any good if you went back to the Dark Ages."
	"Again, time revolves around choices. The time cave will throw you back
to whatever time you had made the deciding choice that connects to the
cave. The jump cannot be exact, so it will send you back either a little
before or a little after your choice. You just have to hope you don't end
up after the choice you were supposed to change."
	"So our deciding factor would be yesterday morning, when we chose to
come to the island when seeing it." Mulder said, finally beginning to
understand the concept.
	"No, it would be *before* that," Scully explained. "The fact that we saw
the island is not the deciding factor...the fact that this island is on
our route at all is. We would have to go back to when we first made the
decision to take that route."
	"But when was that?"
	Scully had to think for a moment. "We've had 'The Believer' on autopilot
for most of the way here...but I believe that we recorded our course into
the autopilot while we were in the Indian Ocean."
	"So all we have to do is go back to that time, enter a different course
into the computer, and the ship will go around the island and never to
it!" Mulder nearly leaped out of the sand with excitement. He turned to
Amelia Earhart and shook her hand vigorously. "You have *no* idea how
great this is!"
	Amelia smiled. "I'm just surprised you believed my story so easily! For
most people it takes a lot more convincing..."
	"Oh, I believe you, alright," Mulder said without hesitation. "And trust
me, I don't believe anything unless I'm absolutely sure it's true!"
	"Liar....." Scully mumbled under her breath.
	"Take us to the cave right away," Mulder instructed. "The sooner we can
get there, the sooner we can get home!"


	11:40 A.M.
	Wednesday, July 18th, 2000
	Orban Island

	Next to The Fire Mountain, Race Mountain was the tallest landmark on the
island. It was small compared to most mountains, but still large enough
to wear them out as they climbed up its steep, rocky path.
	Amelia Earhart led the group of eight up the mountain, since she knew
the path best. A small group of the townspeople followed behind
aways....only some of them remembered the cave, having tried it
themselves before...and failed. The others had heard stories about it,
but never remembered it because time had been rewritten into a different
reality. All the children wanted to try it, but the parents strictly
forbid such an act.
	Amelia and Mulder had explained to everyone in detail their plan of
using the time cave to go back and change their future so that they would
never come to the island. There had been much controversy and disbelief
at first, but finally Mulder convinced them that this was the only way to
get off the island.
	Despite their obvious discomfort with the whole situation, Maggie and
the Lone Gunmen had thoroughly explained to Mulder what he had to do. The
autopilot was controlled by the navigational computer, which could be
accessed by a series of codes. The codes were easy to memorize...it was
the actual course that would be difficult to fix. Mulder would have to
rechart the course by entering in a series of global positioning points,
which would have to be found by using maps. The changed course would have
to be far enough away so that they did not come within a large radius of
the island.
	Mulder could feel his pulse racing up and back with each step he took.
He knew that he ultimately would have to be the one that stepped into the
time cave. He was filled with a sense of both excitement and fear.
Excitement that he was getting to do this, and that he was getting them
off the island. But fear from the knowledge of what might happen on his
dangerous quest. The Scully that he had known for the past three or four
months would vanish into oblivion, as would everything else he deemed to
be fact. It was a concept that he had trouble grasping.
	"We're almost there," Amelia informed them, breaking his thoughts.
Mulder helped Scully up over a large rock, and noticed that she didn't
feel much heavier since the last time he had held her up. (I have to go
through with this...or Scully will never see her baby grow.....)
	By now they were very far up the mountain, and getting close to the top.
Mulder stopped for a few seconds and admired the view atop the small
peak. He could see the entire island from where he was standing. The
Western Forest and the Coconut Forest stood out on either side of the
mountain, a carpet of luscious gree leaves that grew without restraint.
He could see the black-and-brown roofs of the village, the only sign of
civilization on the island. He could see most of the smaller mountains
except those behind The Fire Mountain, which was an old inactive volcano.
He saw the white strip of sand and the light blue strip of shallow water,
both which bordered the entire landmass. The whole landscape sparkled as
if it were a fresh painting, a newly-polished jewel. It was truly a
paradise on earth.
	But every paradise had its price.
	(It may have a price...but not if I can deal my way out of it,) Mulder
thought.
	"We're there."
	The words stopped everyone in their tracks. The steep, rock-laden path
had suddenly given way to a large flat ledge, large enough to hold about
20 people. The ledge was carved into the mountain, as if someone had
taken a giant ice cream scoop and scooped out a chunk of the rock. And at
the far end of the wall was a narrow entryway, just large enough for
someone to crouch down into.
	Mulder stared at the hole, the hole that was their only possible exit
off the island. He was suddenly ovecome with a sense of
terror...terrified of what, he didn't know. He could *feel* energy
pulsing through the rock, seeming to send a vibration through his body.
	Suddenly, Scully stepped up beside him. "I'm coming with you, Mulder."
	Mulder choked, his expression becoming stern. "*No* Scully...I'm doing
this alone. I'm not going to let you endanger yourself when there's no
need to."
	"Speak for yourself!" Scully snapped back. "Did you *actually* think I
would let you go and leave me behind?! I'm going with you, whether you
want me to or not."
	He stood his ground firmly, looking down at her with concerned eyes. "I
*can't* let you do that, Scully..." His voice became softer as he placed
his hands over her stomach. "You can't risk losing the baby."
	Scully started to speak again, but clapped her mouth shut. Mulder was
right, no matter how badly she wanted to remain at his side. She looked
at the ground in an attempt to hide her pinched expression. "I'm only
staying because of the baby..." She said, as if trying to excuse herself
for not going with Mulder.
	"I love you, Scully..." Mulder whispered to her, putting his hands on
her shoulders. Scully forced back sudden tears at the sound of those
words. She tried to answer in kind, but her voice had become lodged in
her throat. Mulder didn't need her to answer...her eyes told all.
	"I'll see you a few months ago," He said with a small smile.
	She nodded, trying to regain her strong self. "I'll wait for you here."
	"Hopefully not. I'd like to see you waiting for me on 'The Believer' out
on the Pacific Ocean, on our way home!"
	They embraced tightly. Mulder held onto Scully for assurance, for
strength, for stability. He was going to need all that he could get.
Scully held him back, knowing that no matter what changed the past few
months, that she would always remember this.
	After what seemed to everyone else an eternity, they pulled away from
each other. Mulder looked at all his friends with a small smile, showing
that he was ready to go.
	"You remember all the codes and coordinates for the computer, Mulder?"
Frohike swallowed.
	"Couldn't forget them, Frohike."
	As Mulder headed for the cave, he stopped at Amelia Earhart. The ancient
pilot smiled at him. "I know most people say they hope they meet again,
but I guess that wouldn't work here!"
	Mulder shook hands with her. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Mrs.
Earhart."
	"Same for you, Mr. Mulder. I wish you all a safe journey back home."
	Mulder cast one last final glance at all his family and friends, letting
his gaze last longest on Scully. Then he slowly turned, crouched down and
entered the cave.
	Surrounded by darkness, he crawled on his hands and knees towards the
unknown end. He could feel the vibrations very well now, coursing through
his bones and making his teeth chatter. There seemed to be some strange
humming coming from within the cave, like bees droning dully. He was
surprised that he hadn't heard it outside before. As the droning grew his
heart pounded faster, and faster...
	Then he saw it.
	The narrow tunnel suddenly gave way to a much larger cavern. In the very
center of the cavern, there seemed to be a pillar of strange bluish
light, flickering and casting fearful shadows on the smooth rock wall.
Mulder stared at the light pillar for a frozen eternity, completely
mesmirized by its flickering mystery. Then, very, very slowly, he began
to walk towards the light, like a moth drawn to a flame.
	He reached out his hand to it, his fingers trembling, as the light dared
him to touch it. He placed his fingers within the bluish light, and the
dull droning suddenly heightened as if he had struck a chord. He quickly
withdrew his hand again.
	Then, without another thought, he stepped inside completely.


2:34 P.M.
	Tuesday, March 30th, 2000
	Bombay, India

	He let out a shout as the world spun in a fabulous kaleidoscope of
colors, then he felt his knees go weak and he collapsed onto what felt
like the ground.
	"Mulder!" He heard Scully's voice as if she were yelling at him from a
helecopter hundreds of feet above him. He didn't even bother to respond.
His entire body felt as if he had been ripped out of his skin and then
had it sewn back on him. His brain comprehended nothing, not even who he
was. "What's a Mulder?" He mumbled dazzedly.
	And suddenly, he saw Scully's face above him, he attentice blue eyes
looking down at him with concern. "Mulder! What happened?!"
	Hearing Scully speak suddenly brought him back to reality, (or actually,
back to an entirely different reality,) and he remembered all that had
just happened. The only thing he could think of the whole experience
was...(That HURT!)
	"Mulder, come on, don't just lay there."
	Mulder shook his head and struggled to get to his feet. "I'm okay..." He
groaned.
	"What was *that* all about?" Scully said in a puzzled voice. "You're
just standing there when all of a sudden you jolt like you've gotten an
electrical shock, and collapse!"
	(It worked!) Mulder felt triumph at this feeling, knowing that Amelia
Earhart *had* been right and he really *had* gone back in time. "I'm
fine, I'm okay. I just, um...just blanked out, I guess..."
	Scully gave him The Eyebrow, but didn't question him further. She gave
him her hand, and helped him to stand up. Then she began to check his
head for injury, something wrong with him. "I don't think you're alright,
Mulder. People just don't collapse for no reason..."
	"No, really, I'm fine. Don't worry about it."
	Scully was still a little unsure, but she decided to listen to him
anyway. "Well, if you're sure you're alright, you can help finish packing
by putting these books in your room," Scully reached over to a pile of
boxes and handed Mulder a stack of thick, decaying books. It took Mulder
a minute to remember that they were the books Benton had given him. 
	Mulder's throat became dry. "Scully, what day is it?"
	"It's Tuesday, Mulder."
	"No, I mean what day of the *month* is it?"
	Scully shot Mulder a confused look. "The 30th...you told Frohike when he
asked you this morning, remember?"
	Mulder nodded dumbly. Before he could say anything else, Scully walked
off with two large duffel bags under her arms.
	He just stood there, watching her go. Then, he finally stopped to take
stock of his surroundings.
	They were at a dock, with 'The Believer' resting in the water before
him. The dock was crowded with the bags and materials that they used
whenever they went ashore. He could see the rest of the group either
milling around the dock or carrying their things to 'The Believer'.
Looking beyond the dock, he could see jungle trees and some thatched
roofs native to India. A massive array of sights, sounds and smells
instantly informed him that he was in Bombay, India.
	(Yes...) Mulder breathed a sigh of thankfulness. (I've arrived before
the choice I'm supposed to change! Looks like I'll really be able to pull
this off.)
	He still didn't move from where he was standing, the jump backwards
through time was still making his head spin. And he was still trying to
grasp the fact that he actually *had* time-traveled, and this wasn't just
some crazy dream.
	But it was his standing there on the dock, holding Benton's books, that
he placed dates with events and realized something that made him nearly
have a heart attack.....
	Scully wasn't pregnant yet.
	An incredibly strong wave of thoughts and emotions and worries and fears
bowled over him. Scully wasn't pregnant yet! They had yet to have the
fight and then the tears and the apologies and...
	(Do I have to do that all over again?) Mulder thought with horror. (Do I
have to live though that fight and those words all over again? And then
waking up in the morning with that heavy feeling of guilt and regret?)
	Mulder remembered quite well his reactions to what he and Scully had
done. All throughout their time in Australia he had been wishing, wishing
that he could go back in time and fix things so that it would never start
in the first place.
	But with what he knew now, about their daughter...would he still want to
prevent the pregnancy, and save himself from the guilt?
	(NO.) Mulder didn't even consider the other alternative. He would do it
all over again, right down to Scully's three cruelest words..."YOU RAPED
ME."
	Mulder didn't even want to think about having to live with the knowledge
that Scully could have a baby, except for his preventing it. It wasn't
like Melissa was the only child she could ever have. But at the same
time, he had an unconscious feeling that by jumping backwards in time he
had killed their unborn daughter, and that it was his duty to reviver
her, to bring her back to life. As a father, he didn't have a choice.
Even as himself he didn't have a choice.
	He was prepared. He was ready. He would take whatever steps were
necessary to get Scully pregnant. (No...no, not whatever steps were
necessary.) He would never physically force her to sleep with him. That
would be disgracing the very thing he was trying to do. (I'll just have
the same thing happen as last time...she will come to me with what she
found out, I will argue back with her, she'll say something that pushes
the limit. I'll go to my room, she'll follow, and we'll talk about what
happened and things will flow from there... Literally.) The last thought
caused him to grin.
	But then again...what had caused her to get so angry at him in the first
place? 
	Looking down at what he held in his hands, he instantly remembered the
answer...
	(THE BOOKS!)
	He remembered what Scully had told him...she had recalled the event of
his possession of her after reading a section out of one of Benton's
books.
	(But if the books aren't there on the desk for her to read, how will she
remember it and then get angry with me?)
	Mulder's stomach suddenly knotted up with fear. Things weren't going the
way he thought they would. He also realized that the fact that he had
time-traveled at all had caused the change. If he hadn't suddenly become
dizzy and taken a header, Scully wouldn't have come over to him and then
afterwards handed the books to him. She would have just taken them up to
her room because she didn't know what else to do with them.
	(*Now* what have I done...)
	Mulder was feeling more and more anxious with each passing second. He
had imagined that a lot of thigns would change when he went back in time,
but he hadn't thoguht that they'd start changing so drastically the
moment he arrived.
	Mulder's original mission to rechart the course of 'The Believer' and
prevent them from going to the island was almost completely forgotten as
he focused on his new quest to get Scully pregnant once again. As he went
over the possibilities, he began to get even more worried. (What if even
after Scully looks through the books again she doesn't read the section
about possession? And what if she does and still doesn't remember
anything? What if she doesn't follow along with me the entire way from
the arguement to the confession to my bed? And even if we do sleep
together, what if she still doesn't get pregnant? The chances of my exact
same genes meeting her ova are next to impossible. What if she becomes
pregnant with a boy instead of a girl? Will it still be the same?)
	Mulder forced himself to put all of his doubts and questions aside.
There was no way he would be able to recreate exactly what had happened
that night in India. But he could try as best as he could.
	(Tonight...tonight we'll see what happens.)


	11:07 P.M.
	Tuesday, March 30th, 2000
	Off the coast of Bombay, India

	Mulder remembered the chilly atmosphere well, and it sent a shiver down
his back. The entire day he had said very little to Scully, as if fearful
that something in his voice would betray both his physical and emotional
anticipation. He was still trying to get used to existing in this time,
still not used to looking at Scully's slim figure and remembering that he
womb was void of their daughter. Not to mention the fact that his skin
still felt prickly all over; why he didn't know.
	He crept into Scully's room without a sound. Checking around quickly to
make sure she wasn't there, he stepped in completely, not bothering to
close the door behind him.
	Apparently Scully was in the mood for some relaxation...she had lit
several large, sweet-smelling candles that were sitting all around the
room. She must have gone to the kitchen to get something to eat; he would
have to work fast. Oh yes, he remembered...she said that she was going to
take a long shower and then read.
	(Well...I'll just giver her some reading material.)
	Mulder brought out Benton's books, like a secret weapon. He placed them
on Scully's desk so that she was sure to find them. Then he picked out
the book he needed..."The Complete Guide to Ghosts and Othe Entities".
Then, just to ensure that Scully would find the section on spirit
possession, he turned to it so he could leave it open for her.
	(Animal spirits...spiritual warfare...the basic proportions of an
apparation...here, spirit possession.)
	Mulder lay the book down the the desk open, just waiting for Scully to
read it. His biggest risk was whether or not Scully would remember his
possession of her just by reading about it. He couldn't just straight-out
tell her that he possessed her, or she wouldn't get angry. It was the
fact that he had kept it a secret from her that had made her so furious.
	Mulder couldn't help but grin at his well-prepared trap. (So far,
everything's going according to plan...)
	"Mulder, what are you doing?"
	Mulder jumped right out of his skin. He spun around like lightning,
hearing something clunk as he knocked it over, but completely ignoring
it. He stared at Scully with wide, surprised eyes. Caught red-handed.
	"What are you doing waiting here in my room?" Scully continued
suspiciously.
	"I, uhh...." Mulder stuttered for a minute, racking his brain for an
acceptable excuse. "Um...came to kiss you goodnight?" He instantly kicked
himself for spitting out such a lame excuse.
	"Are you sure that's *all* you came to do?" Scully raised her eyebrows
at him.
	"No! I mean yes! I mean..."
	Scully suddenly became distracted by something else. "Mulder, look out
behind you!"
	Mulder twisted around again and nearly screamed in horror. The thing
that he had knocked over when turning to Scully was a candle. But now the
candle's flames had caught fire to the book and was burning the pages
away! 
	"NO!" Mulder flung back the candle and tore the pages out of the book in
a desperate attempt to save them from the fire. The heat from the burning
paper caused him to drop it on the floor, where it began to fold and
crumple.
	(No no no no no no no!!) Mulder moaned mentally as he stomped up and
down on the paper. Finally, after several stomps, he put the fire out.
	The two-page section on spirit possession lay in a black, charred,
crumpled mess on the floor of Scully's room. It was completely
unreadable.
	Mulder stared at his hopes lying crushed on the floor in a burnt pile,
his face almost completely expressionless. He couldn't possibly express
this as a look on his face. Then he looked at Scully. She was staring
back at him, entirely speechless. She looked at him as if to say, (What
just happened here?!)
	When suddenly, Mulder came up with a brilliant idea.
	His deadpan, unbelieving expression changed into a small smile as he
stared at Scully. The surprise she had grew as his smile did.
"Mulder...are you okay?"
	"Scully, get dressed."
	"*What*?"
	"Just hurry up and get dressed, Scully! Anything you can find, but you
should probably find something warm."
	"Mulder, where *exactly* are we going?" She said even as she headed for
her closet.
	"We're going out on the town. Just us two."
	"Why?"
	Mulder's smile broadened. "You'll see why later. You just have to trust
me with this."
	Scully stood looking at him for a moment, then went to her closet.
Mulder stared at the burnt pieces of paper on the floor one last time
before picking them up and throwing them in the trash. He didn't need
anymore...he had a new plan. The plan was foolproof, he was almost
certain that he would be able to get Scully pregnant again. Yet he would
be able to do it without the added guilt he had felt the last time.
	He had to wait awhile before Scully finally found an outfit that suited
her. She emerged from her bathroom wearing black slacks and an
ivory-white shirt with a coat over it. "Is this okay?" She asked for his
approval.
	"It's perfect," His grin broadened. "Come on, let's go."

	"Come on, Mulder! When're you gonna tell me the real reason for us doing
this?"
	"The fact that we've had a rough past few days and I want us to enjoy
some time alone isn't enough?"
	The two were sitting in a moonlit cafe' out somewhere in the more subtle
quarters of Bombay. In fact, the cafe' rested close to the shore,
surrounded by the jungle on one side and the beach on the other.
Somewhere in the background a small band was playing Indian music, which
wafted through the air and gave the atmosphere an understated mysterious
quality. There was a small stick of incense burning on the table, filling
their nostrils with scents of flowers and spices that could be found
nearly right outside the cafe'. The moon and stars reflected on the
indigo water, while the sounds of the jungle's night creatures could
barely be heard beneath the music.
	For Mulder, it was exactly what he wanted. The surroundings were
perfect, they were subtle and romantic and daring. He needed to get
Scully in the mood for what he was eventually going to do...and for that,
she would need to be relaxed, expectant of anything, ever-so-slightly
seductive, and somewhat not completely conscious, but still not be upset
when it was all over. And for that, a few glasses of good wine to loosen
her up wouldn't hurt. 
	Scully took another long sip of her wine, the effects beginning to show
through slightly. Her eyes were a little glazed, and she appeared to be
in a dreamy mood. She stared directly at Mulder long and hard, a smile
hovering over her lips.
	For an instant, Mulder froze with fear. (She knows what I'm thinking,)
The thought leaped into his mind. (She's reading my thoughts, I know
she's done it before. She'll find out what I'm really up to, and then she
won't want to go through with it!!)
	"Mulder, what are you really up to?"
	Mulder felt a giant lump form in his throat. "W...what do you think I'm
up to?"
	"You're trying to get me drunk, Mulder, and I want to know why!" She
said in a not-quite-authoritative voice, even as she reached again for
her wine.
	"Looks like you're the one doing all the drinking to me...I'm not making
you do anything."
	Scully took one last sip and put down her glass for good. "Fine then. I
can't think of what it is."
	Mulder sighed with relief. It was just his imagination taking control;
Scully didn't really know about his true intentions. He looked up at her
expectantly, smiling. "Hey...want to go for a walk?"
	"Through the *jungle*?"
	"No, not the jungle! Through town! Just walk around town before we go
back hom, soak in the culture."
	Scully thought for a moment. "Oh...alright. But you know my mom will be
upset if she finds out we stayed out too late..."
	"Oh, come *on* Scully! You're not a little kid, you can stay out till
dawn every night if you like! Just come with me, I guarantee you won't
regret it."
	"Why would I regret walking around town with you?"
	"Exactly!"
	Mulder left the tip on the cafe' table and took Scully's hand. She
instantly melted, feeling a mixture of the wine, the moonlit jungle,
Mulder's touch and her own emotions. She would follow him over a cliff if
he wanted to go there. With an ear-to-ear smile, he led her out of the
cafe' and onto the dirt sidewalk that paralleled the road.
	"It's so different from the US..." Scully sighed as they slowly tread
along the path. "Out here you can acutally see all the stars, and smell
something besides car exhaust and cigarettes."
	"Yeah," Mulder agreed, falling into the mood of their exotic backdrop as
well. "It's almost like this place brings out a different side of you...a
side that you didn't know existed, where you can do anything and get away
with it."
	"It is strange..." Scully mused. "We've had so much freedom for this
past year almost, but we've never taken advantage of it."
	"We have a lot of freedom tonight," Mulder slid into Scully's line of
thinking. "What's to stop us from taking advantage of it now?"
	"You should know, Mulder! It's because..." Scully trailed off, searching
for an answer. For some reason, she wasn't surprised when she couldn't
find one. "I don't know why. We seemed to have a good reason before."
	"Did we?" Mulder looked at her questioningly. "If you really stop and
think about it, what's been stopping us for these past seven years? If
the way we felt about each other then is the same as how we feel about
each other now, we could have dealt with any obstacles."
	Scully swallowed. "It was you, Mulder! You were so thick-headed, that
every notion I had of doing something about it was brushed off by your
ignoring me!"
	"No, it was you! All those hints I dropped and attempts to tell you were
crushed every time I didn't react the way I wanted you to."
	There was a brief, misty silence, in which they just walked along the
path, listening to the sounds of the Indian night.
	"I guess that was the one place were our 'unspoken communication' shut
off, isn't it?" Mulder said with a smirk.
	Scully was deep in thought. "I guess so."
	At that moment, a very different-looking building appeared out of the
midnight darkness...it was not like the normal Indian architecture they
were surrounded by. It was a small, whitish-gray building, with a brick
slate roof and stained-glass windows. The building was topped with a
small steeple in the shape of a cross.
	Scully appeared confused. "I didn't think they would have a church in
Bombay..."
	"Interesting..." Mulder said with a smile that glowed. "You want to go
take a look at it?"
	Scully said nothing, she just nodded. There was something that Mulder
was leaning towards...but what she couldn't tell. Even in her slightly
spaced-out state she could tell that there was something going on that
she didn't know about. 
	But she went along with it anyway. They walked over the road to the lone
church. It stood in the middle of the hungry jungle, appearing
luminescent against the dark green tree leaves. Mulder and Scully walked
up to the front door, staring up with awe at the intricate carved designs
and stained glass windows that loomed above them.
	Mulder gave Scully one last glance before pushing the heavy, creaking
door aside and leading her within.
	It was colder inside the church then it was outside. There were rows and
rows of wooden pews ahead of them facihng a podium in the front. There
were candles lit all over the entire church, making it seem as if all the
stars in the heavens had congrated here for some special event. The
stained glass windows caught the moonbeams in their colorful nets and
projected images onto the stone floor. Scully could see wooden confession
boxes hidden away in one corner...this was a Catholic church.
	At first, they just stood there at the entrance, as if they had just
walked in in the middle of a sermon. Then Mulder began to slowly walk
down the aisle between the pews. He appeared to be searching for
something.
	"Mulder, where are you going?" Scully whispered urgently. Even though
apparently they were the only ones there, Scully still found herself
instinctively whispering.
	"Who's there?!" A sudden, hoarse voice called out in Hindi, making them
both jump. An elderly man, dressed in a priest's robe, suddenly emerged
from one of the rooms nearby where he had been studying. He began to talk
quickly in Hindi, appearing very upset at their intrusion.
	Mulder tried to calm down the frustrated priest. "Wait, we speak
English!"
	The priest had no problem switching languages. "No thieves! There's
nothing of value here!"
	"We're not here to steal anything," Scully quickly interjected. "We just
saw your church along the road and we stopped to take a look inside."
	"And..." Mulder quickly added. "We were wondering if you could do us a
favor."
	Scully was taken aback. Mulder certainly hadn't mentioned *this* before.
"What favor, Mulder?"
	Mulder looked at Scully, his breath quick and anticipating. "I...I was
wondering if you would do us the honor of bearing witness to our
marriage."
	Scully was completely lost for words. Her entire vocabulary vanished
into thin air, as did her remembering to breathe. She couldn't believe
what Mulder had just said...yet at the same time she *had* to believe it.
	Mulder wanted them to elope!
	The priest was obviously quite shocked at this sudden declaration.
"Um...may I ask how long you two have known each other?"
	"Seven years. And we've loved each other every minute of it."
	"Well...I guess that sounds fair to me...if you're both willing..."
	"Mulder, you want us to get married *now*?" Scully finally found her
voice again, but she still cracked a little on the words.
	"Why not, Scully?" Mulder hurried back to her, taking up her hands with
his. "Tonight we can do *anything*. There's no reason why we can't right
now...what's stopping us? Just promises, promises made to family and
friends. Scully, we're far beyond waiting for the right time, why should
we wait any longer? It's just us two, right here, right now, and it
couldn't be more perfect!"	Scully stuttered, searching for something to
say. "What about the wedding we had planned for D.C. and what about mom
making that dress for me..."
	"We can still have a big, giant ceremony when we get back home, we don't
have to change that at all. And we don't have to tell anyone about this,
either." He looked into Scully's eyes. "Do you *really* feel comfortable
having a big wedding, with the entire world watching us? I don't. So,
that's why we should do it now, when we're alone, and it means more than
all the cake and presents and fancy decorations they can muster."
	Scully looked carefully at Mulder, searching for the slightest hint of
humor in his eyes, anything that would suggeat that this was just another
one of his jokes. She found none.
	And she was unbelievably happy that she didn't Her shocked face widened
into a smile, a broad smile that she hadn't felt in a long time. "Okay
then...let's do it."
	Mulder smiled back, having to forcibly restrain himself from laughing
aloud with sheer happiness. He turned back to the priest excitedly. "Yes,
we're both ready! Can you stand over there, at the front of the aisle?"
	The priest obeyed, somewhat bewhildered at being approached by two
complete strangers and asked to perform a marriage ceremony. But he felt
no reason to refuse them, so he went to the front of the aisle.
"Um...whenever you're ready, I guess..."
	Mulder held Scully's hand tightly, squeezing her hand fingers within his
own. He could feel her pulse raving beneath her skin, fast and nervous.
He knew exactly how she felt. His breath came faster, and he felt himself
shiver inside with anticipation.
	Then, together, they walked up the aisle at a brisk pace, passing by the
nonexistant people in the pews without a second glance. They looked at
the priest to avoid looking at each other, knowing they'd both be unable
to make it to the front if they did so.
	After what seemed like an eternity, they reached the front of the
church. The priest coughed nervously...he was obivously not used to doing
this. "Uh...would you like to say your own vows, or do you want me to say
them?"
	"We'll say them!" Mulder said quickly, and gave Scully a mischevious
smile. "You want to go first, Scully?"
	Scully gulped, and turned to face Mulder. How could she begin this?
"Well.....okay. Repeat after me."
	"Repeat after me," Mulder mimicked.
	"Mulder, come on!" Scully laughed.
	"Mulder, come on!"
	Scully gave up. "I, Fox Mulder..."
	"I, Fox Mulder..."
	"Do take this wom...um, me, to be your lawfully wedded wife..."
	"Do take you to be my lawfully wedded wife..."
	Scully choked on her words at hearing Mulder call her "wife".It was a
word she never thought she would hear him say, yet here it was, ringing
in her ears over and over like bells.
	"For better or for worse..."
	"For hopefully more better and less worse..."
	Scully giggled. "In sickness and in health."
	"In sickness and in health..." Mulder said the words carefully. He had
watched Scully go through every kind of sickness imaginable, through
cancer, aging, and alien entities. He could handle anything that
threatened her health.
	"From now to forever."
	"From now to forever and after that." He beamed.
	Scully gasped, unable to carry this on anymore. She was beginning to
break down. "Your turn," She said in a voice barely above a whisper.
	Mulder felt himself begin to grow hot all over. "Do you, Dana Scully,
Head Director of Paranormal Pathology Medical Division Dana Katherine
Scully MD, take this obsessive, screwed-up, guilty-conscience,
believer-of-all-things man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
	"I do."
	"Are you sure?"
	"I'm positive!"
	"Okay then," Mulder laughed. They looked to the priest for the final
seal of approval. 
	The priest shrugged. "Well...by the power invested in me, I now
pronounce you husband and wife! You may now kiss the..."
	Before the priest could even finish his sentence they were kissing,
kissing like he had never seen before at any wedding. They wrapped their
arms around each other tightly, eyes shut with ecstasy. Mulder lifted
Scully clear off the ground with the strength of immense happiness,
laughing inside their kiss. She squeezed his neck in response, never
wanting to let go for as long as they lived. After the longest, most
trying seven years that could ever be known in mankind, they had finally
made official what had already taken place a long time ago. It was a
physical representation of their spiritual bond, I final destination for
an intense and fulfillinf journey. It was perfection.
	Mulder finally pulled Scully's lips away from his, his eyes glazed over
with tears of happiness. "We're married, Scully!" He said as if
announcing it to the entire universe. "We're finally married!"
	"I know!" Scully gasped back, still struggling to recover from the kiss.
She was full to the brim with unbelievable heat and passion, and barely
able to control herself. She felt like she was laughing, but the sounds
came out more like a shout, an exclamation of the wonderful feelings that
boiled within.
	"You wanna go celebrate?" Mulder panted.
	"How would we do that?"
	"I don't know! Let's go run around on the beach, take a walk through the
jungle, spend out entire budget on useless trinkets, anything!"
	"Let's go back to the boat," Scully sighed.
	"Yes, let's go back to the boat." Mulder felt a piece of him inside
doing a victory dance. He had taken the biggest step that would lead his
mission to success, and he had finally completed what he had been longing
for since that first day in the basement office seven years ago. "Thank
you very much!" He said to the priest. "You don't know what this means to
us!"
	"You're welcome..." He said slowly.
	Scully took a few steps forward, feeling dizzy. It had all happened so
fast she couldn't believe it. They were married. Just like that, and they
were together forever, legally husband and wife. She couldn't believe how
easy it had been. Somehow, she had always had the preconceived notion
that their marriage would be an enormous change, a huge adjustment she
would have to make in her life, a big event that would take a long time
to prepare for. But it was not that way here...their union had been so
simple that it almost felt like an everyday occurence. It was as if they
had gotten married a long time ago.
	"Come on," Mulder threw his arm around her shoulder, drawing her in
closer. "Let's go home."
	They turned down the aisle and exited the church, leaving the priest
standing there. He stared at the empty church, utterly shocked and
confused. Then he turned and went back to his studies. 

	The walk home was silent physically, but not mentally. All along the
entire path they had a mental conversation, spoken through their hands
and arms and indestructible grins. In time, they arrived back at 'The
Believer', glowing in the brilliant moonlight. Careful not to awaken
those already on board, they walked up the gangplank and down the stairs
in complete silence. Scully walked down the long corridor in a daze,
feeling as if the ship were at sea when in reality they were resting by
the shore perfectly still.
	They stopped at Mulder's room, and still silent, he led them inside,
making sure he clicked the door shut behind him. Scully stared around
blankly at the darknened room, then turned back to Mulder. "Why are we in
your room, Mulder?" She asked somewhat brainlessly.
	Mulder came up to her until he was standing directly over her, his eyes
boring deep into hers, the emotions and sensations building up inside him
and threatening to make him burst. He brought his arms around behind her
back and his lips up to hers, closing his eyes. "This isn't my
room......this is our honeymoon suite."
	Outside, beyond the darkened bedroom, the boat was completely silent.
The moonlight danced in sparks of light on the surface of the ocean like
a million moving stars. The dock slept as well. The jungle was filled
with the soothing sounds of the night, leaves rustling, birds cooing,
large cats purring. The sky was filled with stars, all twinkling with
their unique bursts of light.

7:07 A.M.
	Wednesday, March 31st, 2000
	Off the coast of Bombay, India

	Mulder awoke slowly, blinking his annoyance at the bright rays of
sunlight peering through his window. He closed his eyes to avoid the
light that burst across his vision, and tried to shift his weight to make
himself more comfortable.
	A heavy weight resting on his chest prevented him from doing so. He
opened his eyes again, and Scully's slightly ruffled red hair filled his
vision. He could feel her breathing slowly into his neck.
	His mind was hazy. The night before...a sense of deja vu. Then he
remembered...the island, the cave, the jump backwards, and then how he
and Scully had....
	He smiled. If he remembered correctly, in his previous reality, Samantha
came in and woke him up for breakfast, after Scully had left. This time,
however, he didn't care if Samantha came in and saw them entangled like
this. He put his arms around her, running his fingers through her damp
hair and running his other hand down her spine.
	He was nearly certain that he had accomplished his mission. Just in
holding Scully against his chest he could feel the difference, could feel
the secret she held within her.
	A secret only he would know of. He couldn't tell anyone about his
knowledge, not even Scully. She...and the other him...would have to find
out for themselves.
	"Hey...Scully. Wake up."
	Scully didn't reply. She was apparently in a *very* deep sleep. "Scully,
c'mon...get up!"
	She didn't even snore at him. Mulder leaned down and kissed her forehead
gently.
	This time, she stretched and allowed her eyelids to flutter open. At
first she was slightly confused that her pillow seemed to have a
heartbeat, but then she relaxed into his skin. "Hey Mulder." She said
with content.
	He toyed with strands of her hair between his fingers. "How do you
feel?"
	"Aside from feeling perfect?"
	"Yeah."
	"Tired."
	"Me too."
	Scully finally became aware of their questionable position. She began to
sit up. "Mulder, we'd better get out of here before someone come in and
sees us..."
	"Please stay," Mulder said, grabbing hold of her arm. His voice was
pleading.
	Scully submitted. She laid back down on the bed next to him. "I'll stay,
then."
	There was a momentary silence. Then Mulder cleared his throat nervously.
"So...what do we do now?"
	"What do you mean?"
	"Should we...continue this?"
	"If you want to," She grinned.
	"We'll wait," Mulder decided, knowing they wouldn't have to wait as long
as originally planned. "It would be...difficult to continue without being
found out. This is our secret...I want to keep it a secret as long as
possible."
	"Okay...I won't tell if you won't tell."
	"I won't."
	Mulder wished more than anything that he had done this the first time
around. He didn't feel the same dragging guilt he had felt when he had
woken up and found Scully was not by his side the first time. Even if
Samantha had come in on them together, it would have been better to face
the consequenses together then for him to suffer through his inner shame.
Seeing and feeling Scully beside him, and knowing what she kept to
herself gave him an immense sense of peace and comfort.
	"Did you enjoy it?" He asked.
	"Mmmm?" She was still a little drowsy.
	"Did you enjoy it?"
	Scully snorted a laugh. "What do you think all that noise was for?"
	Mulder laughed back. He ran his hand down the back of her shoulder. "I
just...did it mostly for you."
	"'Mostly for me'??"
	"No! Yes! I mean...never mind. It's too early in the morning to sound
intelligent."
	There was a brief silence, in which Scully lay staring at the ceiling,
thinking. "Did you have us do all that yesterday evening just for this?"
	"What do you mean?"
	"Did you have us elope just so we could end up here, because you wanted
it?"
	"No!" Mulder became indignant. "Aw, Scully, I'm offended! Thinking I
only had us get married 'cause I wanted to sleep with you!" He gave her a
playful shove.
	Scully laughed and shoved him back, playing along with his little game.
Mulder became slightly more concerned. "Would you be angry if that was
the reason?"
	"No. Heck, I'd probably be doing it for that reason!"
	"Well, I just figured that since we're now married, we might as well
start acting like a married couple."
	"You're a *very* good actor," Scully said with a giggle.
	"Just as long as Samantha's not shooting the film."
	Scully carried on the joke. "The costume designer wouldn't have to do
much work."
	"And the script would be interesting to read..."
	"Alright, enough of that," Scully stretched, trying to get the kinks out
of her muscles. "We should get up now, I think that breakfast will be
ready soon, and we don't want them coming down here looking for us."
	"Oh, alright..." Mulder released Scully from his arms. She stood and
stretched again, instantly feeling the cold outside wind attack her bare
body. She quickly reached down for her clothes and headed for the door.
	"Scully?"
	"Hmmm?" She turned to face him.
	"I love you."
	Scully smiled broadly, and slipped her shirt over her head. She mouthed
the words back to him and quietly exited his bedroom.
	Mulder stared at the door for awhile after she left, an enormous grin on
his face. He stretched across his mussed and damp bed luxuriously, taking
in the scent that still lingered in the sheets. (Things couldn't have
gone better.)

	The afternoon sun glittered though the large curved windowpane as Mulder
slipped into the abandoned captain's quarters. He locked the door behind
him to ensure that no one would interrupt his dangerous process. He had
already (hopefully) accomplished his mission of getting Scully pregnant
again...not he had to complete his *real* mission of steering 'The
Believer' away from this island. 
	The day had seemed to go by very slowly. He and Scully had said very
little to each other, fearing that the slightest sound would give away
their entire secret. He had watched carefully as they had entered the
course in for the autopilot. He didn't dare interrupt there, or they
would become suspicious as to why he wanted to change the course so much.
	Mulder headed for the navigational computer, which sat waiting for him
on the large workspace next to the wheel. Remembering all of the access
codes the Gunmen had given him, he was able to instantly bring up the
program that controlled the ship's direction.
	He was met with a large map, with a line demonstrating their intented
route to Australia, Japan and then across the Pacific. He zoomed in on
the area where the island was, or at least what its closest coordiantes
had been. He thought for a moment, then grabbed up a nearby map on the
table to look again.
	If only the island was on the map! Then it would be easier for him to
chart his course around it. But instead he had to go by where they
figured it was closest. Mulder scanned the map and its coordinates,
mentally planning a course that would take them in a wide curve past the
island. Then, certain of what to do next, he went back to the computer.
	He halted for a minute. He knew that this would be his deciding factor
in the force of the time-jump, and once he completed his course that he
would be thrown back to an entirely different future. (Shoot, I'm going
to have that prickly skin feeling again...)
	But it wasn't his skin that he was really concerned about. He wondered
what sort of Scully would be waiting for him four months from now...a
barren one or a pregnant one, an angry one or a content one. (I guess
I'll just have to find out...)
	On the navigational computer, he switched on the edit section and saw
charts of their coordinates and distances between them. Looking at the
map for reference, he carefully entered in the new coordinates, making
sure that not a single number was wrong. If he messed up with the
coordinates even slightly, he could steer the boat to Siberia instead of
home.
	Finally, he entered in the last coordinate and was left with a small box
saying: PROGRAM EDITED COURSE. He clicked on the box, and was met with
another message box:

		OKAY TO PROGRAM EDITED "COURSE 4" INTO
			NAVIGATION CONTROLS? Y/N

	Mulder's finger hovered over the Y-button. This was it...this was his
changed choice. This is what he had come back in time for in the first
place. 
	(Please, please let it work...)
	He pressed down on the button.
11:43 A.M.
	Wednesday, July 18th, 2000
	Pacific Ocean

	He felt the back of his skull hit something hard, and he groaned, and
rolled over onto his side. His vision, like the back of his head, was
black and blue, completely senseless.
	"Mulder!" He heard a familiar voice, and the feel of a familiar hand on
his head. "Mulder, what happened?!"
	"Uhhh, Scully..." Mulder was able to realize what had happened the
second time around much quicker. Once again, his skin stung against his
body and his balance was about as good as a drunk flamingo's. He wearily
reached up and felt Scully's arm. 
	Scully rolled Mulder over onto his back, cradling his head in her arms,
her eyes filled with worry. "Mulder, what on earth happened to you?!"
	Mulder quickly forced his eyes open, needing to know what happened.
"Where are we? When are we?!"
	Scully was surprised by his sudden outburst of energy. "Mulkder, I think
you should just keep laying down for a minute..."
	"Are we in the ocean? Does Melissa exist?! Do you know Amelia
Earhart?!!"
	"Mulder, I think you *really* hit your head hard. Amelia Earhart? What
are you talking about?!"
	"You don't know her! You haven't met her! YES!!" Mulder exclaimed,
sitting up and raising both his hands in triumph.
	At that moment, Samantha walked by, and Scully looked to her
desperately. "I need your help...I think Mulder's lost his mind."
	"Really? I thought he lost it a long time ago."
	Mulder's expression became more serious. "Is the baby okay? Is Melissa
okay?!"
	"What? Um...Melissa's fine, Mulder...which is more than I can say for
you..."
	Mulder's smile broadened until it reached from ear to ear. He looked
more carefully at Scully now...and yes, she did have her slightly chubby
features and the beginnings of her round belly. Letting out something
like a laugh, he grabbed Scully, lifted up her shirt, and kissed her
stomach. "I love you, Melissa Samantha Mulder!!"
	Scully backed away from the overenthusiastic Mulder, quickly putting her
shirt back. *This* was definitely strange...Mulder was just walking back
downstairs when he toppled and fell backwards, hitting his head. And now
here he was raving about Amelia Earhart and kissing her stomach! "That's
it, Mulder..." Scully said decisively. "You're going down to our room and
you're going to lay down and take several large pills to calm you down
until I can figure out what's wrong with you..."
	"No, Scully, I'm fine," Mulder claimed, getting to his feet. "I'm
just...really happy to see you! And see...um, feel, or...hear...know
Melissa's here!"
	"No way am I trusting you, Mulder..." Scully shook her head. "Let me
have a look at you."
	Mulder complied, bending down so she could observe him for head injury.
She ran her fingers through his hair, searching for a lump or an implant,
but found nothing. Except for his deranged attitude, he appeared
perfectly healthy. "See, Scully, I'm fine!" He said with outstretched
arms.
	She had to test him. "How old are you?"
	"I'll be 40 in October."
	"Who's the President of the United States?"
	"What kind of a question is that?"
	"Alright, you sound sane to me. Just don't go tripping over the boat
rail, okay?"
	"No problem!"
	Hearing Maggie call her name, Scully walked off to the captain's
quarters, and Samantha gave her brother a weird look and exited, leaving
Mulder standing alone close to the prow.
	Mulder was in a disastrously confused state. His mind was suddenly
bombarded with millions of thoughts and memories, making his skull ache.
He retained four months' worth of memories of both the nonexistant
reality and the new reality. Many of them were very much the same, but
some conflicted with each other and fought for the position of truth in
his mind. It was as if he had come to a fork in the road, and then split
off into two Mulders, and then come back together again. Amelia Earhart
had been right...not that much had changed in the new reality he had
created. They had still met Shay in Australia, and had gone out on the
outback to find the catiburr. They had still discovered that Scully was
pregnant in Japan, and Mulder had still had to fight the ronin warrior to
get Samantha back.
	Mulder finally had enough sense to snap out of his trance and see where
he was. He was standing on the deck of 'The Believer', close to the prow.
All around the ship there was nothing but the foaming blue-gray Pacific,
and the cloudless blue velvet sky. There was not a spot of land as far as
the eye could see.
	Mulder smiled to himself. He had done it...even with so much at stake,
he had pulled through completely and brought things back to the way they
should be. (We're going home.)
	The only thing that bothered him was that only he would remember the
island they had escaped from...nobody, not even Scully, would *ever*
believe  his story about an island stuck in time and him time-traveling
backwards in order to change their fate. He alone would know of a lost
paradise on earth where time stood still, of a plane's sad grave on the
edge of the beach, and of the pilot who once flew that plane. 
	(Some things are just meant to be.......)


	10:05 A.M.
	Saturday, August 12th, 2000
	Close to Ohikilolo Beach, Hawaii

	Scully stood in front of the mirror, staring long and hard with a
forlorn look on her face. (Let's try this again...)
	She took off the green-and-blue bathing suit, glaring at it defiantly.
Then she sucked in her stomach as best as she could, even though she
inwardly knew that she couldn't just hold her breath the entire time they
were in Hawaii. She grabbed up the swimsuit again as if preparing to do
battle.
	She slipped her legs carefully through the bottom, and brought it up
over her stomach and chest. Then she reached her hand around the button
the clasp together in her back...and stopped. The swimsuit just couldn't
fit around her entire body. She slumped dejectedly, admitting defeat. 
	"Scully?" She was startled by a vouce and a knock on her bathroom door.
"We're coming up on Hawaii, we're going to dock in about 15 minutes.
Don't you want to go and look at the island?"
	"I can't go to Hawaii, Mulder!" Scully moaned. "I'm just going to stay
on the boat while you go!"
	Mulder could detect that certain tone in her voice...she was having
another crazy mood swing. Whenever she got into one of those strange
moods she acted like anyone *but* Scully. Mulder wished he could
videotape it all just so she could watch it later and laugh at how
ridiculous she sounded.
	"Of course you can go to Hawaii, Scully! What's to stop you?"
	"My swimsuit won't fit!" She wailed. "I'm all ready to enjoy myself on
the beach in my swimsuit in Hawaii like I've always wanted to, and now my
swimsuit won't fit because I'm too fat!"
	Mulder sighed, but couldn't help grinning to himself at Scully's
distress. "How many times do I have to tell you, Scully? You're not
fat...you're *pregnant*."
	"Same thing!"
	"It is not! Look Scully, for being pregnant, you're actually pretty
slim. Many women just take on pound after pound when they're pregnant."
	"But they lose it all when the baby is born! And I just know that this
stuff is going to stay with me forever..."
	"Scully, could you please let me in so I don't have to talk through the
door?"
	"Fine..." Scully took a few minutes to put back on the clothes she had
on before. Then she opened the door for Mulder, still scowling. She took
one look again and pouted, "Even *you* have a smaller waist than I do!"
	"Of *course* I do, Scully, I'm a male!"
	Scully would not be comforted. "If only babies didn't get
so.....*large*."
	"You're not even at six months yet, Scully! She's going to get bigger
than she is now."
	"Oh, great!" Scully threw up her hands and sat down on the toilet cover.
	Mulder mentally kicked himself...that was the wrong thing to say. "Well,
you don't *have* to wear a swimsuit, you know. Just wear some really
loose clothing."
	"But I wanted to show off! I've never really gotten a chance to
before..."
	"You *will* be showing off," Mulder grinned. "You'll be showing off our
daughter. Everyone who sees you will know that you're going to be a
mother soon, and all the women will get really jealous, and all the men
will wish that you were their wife because anyone *that* beautiful must
have a beautiful baby!"
	Scully was trying not to believe Mulder's ranting, but she couldn't help
but blush. "And what will *you* be doing?"
	"I'll be gloating, walking around with you with a grin on my face that
will drive everyone else nuts."
	The remainder of Scully's self-pity evaporated into her laugh. If there
was one thing she loved about this man, it was his ability to make any
bad situation seem perfectly easy and humorous, whether it be trapped in
an alien pod surrounded by snarling extra-terrestrials, or not being able
to walk down the beach in her swimsuit.
	Mulder lifted her up from her sitting position. "let's go out on deck
and see this place."
	Scully nodded and followed Mulder out of their room and up to the deck.
The 50th state of the US stood before them in all its fabled glory. The
beach was crowded with skyscrapers, palm trees, small buildings and
*many* people. A large majority of the boats there were cruise boats and
large houseboats like 'The Believer'. They stood at the edge of the rail,
gazing out at their approaching destination. "It's pretty," Mulder
sighed, "but not quite as untouched and pure as the other island..."
	"What other island?"
	"Oh! Um...just an island I read about somehwere that we passed on the
way here..." Mulder muttered quickly.
	"It'll be *really* nice to be on land after being on this boat for two
whole months...especially since it's going to take *another* month just
to get back home."
	"You know what?" Mulder said, staring at the beach thoughtfully. "I just
realized something. The entire time we were on the X-Files, I think that
we went to every state in the country...*except* for Hawaii. This is the
first time we've ever been to Hawaii."
	"That's because nothing paranormal happens here," Scully concluded. "So
much for your theory of something paranormal occuring everyplace we go on
this trip."
	(That's what *you* think,) Mulder thought with an inward grin.


	1:39 P.M.
	Saturday, August 19th, 2000
	Ohikilolo Beach, Hawaii

	"Hey, Scully...you wanna head back here? I doesn't look like there'd be
anyone hanging around here..."
	"Mulder, it's just a bunch of trees and bushes! Of course nobody's back
there 'cause there *is* nothing back there."
	"Appearances can be deceiving, Scully...let's go take a look."
	Scully looked at the tiny, hidden grove of palm trees and fern plants,
and then back at the rest of the beach resort. She could see almost the
entire way down the beach in the brilliant white sun. The transparent
waters of the Pacific lapped against the shore peacefully, allowing
little kids to run out far away from the shore and still not be in danger
from depths or waves. A few palm trees spotted the white sand all over
the beach, and she could see tall silver hotels in the distance. The rest
of the group was close by...Troi was out in the water, trying to get Moby
to swim out as well, but the little pomeranean refused to touch the
water.
	They had been staying at Ohikilolo Beach, Hawaii for nearly a week now,
and there were only a few more says until they headed out to sea again.
It was very nice to finally be back on land again after being on the ship
for nearly two months, and Scully was not quite ready to put on her sea
legs again, even if she was a sailor's daughter. Their stay in Hawaii had
been one of the most enjoyable experiences Scully had had for a long
time. Except for the fact that she couldn't show off herself on the beach
in her swimsuit because of her ever-expanding stomach. She never stopped
complaining about the storm they had been caught in, which had delayed
them a few days. She continuously claimed that if they had gotten to
Hawaii earlier that she would be able to show off on the beach in her
suit...even though a few days wouldn't have made much of a difference
anyway.
	Now Mulder led her towards the small grove of beach flora, hidden
carefully behind a cropping of rocks. They had taken a walk down the
beach and were now aways from the main crowd. The ocean wind slapped
Scully's long flowered skirt against her knees and blew strands of hair
in her face. Mulder was wearing a pair of black swim trunks and a damp
gray T-shirt from when Samantha dunked him under the waves. Scully didn't
understand why he didn't just take off the wet T-shirt...of course, she
would have liked it if he wasn't wearing a shirt in the first place.
	Mulder pushed aside a fern leaf so that Scully could pass through the
foliage. His face was bright with excitement. "Come on...you have to see
this!"
	Scully stepped into the space that was surrounded by the trees, ferns
and rocks. She took in a breath...it was a small, enclosed little cove,
with the water splashing against the untouched sand and the palm fronds
providing relief from the sun. It had a palm-covered table and chairs
with a stereo on the table, so it seemed the resort still had its
influence on this place. But you had to look carefully to find it, and it
seemed that nobody had found it yet. 
	"It's gorgeous," Mulder said, breathing in the sweet Hawaiian air. "And
it's all ours!"
	"Mulder, what if this is a reserved spot for people..."
	"Scully, you can't reserve a beach! It's just someplace that nobody has
thought to look for yet. Let's stay here awhile."
	Scully sighed, and seated herself down in one of the white beach chairs.
The rest of the group may want to play in the ocean, (especially
Mulder...) but she was content to just stay on the beach and watch. She
turned on the stereo, flipping around between radio stations. She finally
found one that suited her, playing fairly soft, romantic music.
	Mulder looked ready to head for the water again...it was amazing with
how bad a sailor he was that he enjoyed being in the water so much. He
then slipped his damp shirt over his head, rolling back his shoulders.
Scully just sat and watched him intently, basking in the sight of Mulder
in nothing but swim trunks. How perfectly his muscles glided beneath his
skin, like liquid metal...how the sun glistened off his slightly damp
chest...how the wind played through his dark strands, like fingers
running through his hair...his wonderful hands with their tampered
fingers, flexing, just perfect for neck massages...and then his skin,
*much* better tanned than hers...it was a smooth bronze color, especially
on his chest, like hot chocolate and whipped cream....mmm, delicious....
	(Snap out of it, Scully! Don't go running off with your instincts again!
There's time for that later...)
	Then her image of him was gone as he splashed into the ocean with a clap
of upset water. When he reappeared, his hair was plastered to his head so
that he looked like one of the Beatles. He shook water from his head like
a dog, now causing his hair to stick out like a hedgehog. "It's like
swimming in a giant bathtub, the water is so warm! You *have* to get in
the ocean, Scully!"
	"And what do you suggest I swim in, Mulder?" She asked with raised
eyebrows.
	"Swim in the nude! I won't mind!" He grinned cheekily.
	"And what do you suppose will happen if someone finds this cove and sees
us skinny-dipping in the ocean?"
	"They won't find us...this place is protected by an invisible force
field that I stole from an extra-terrestrial evidence center in the
Pentagon."
	"I might enjoy it, but I don't think Melissa would..."
	"Sure she would! It's never too early to start swimming lessons," Mulder
insisted.
	"Mm-hmm...and when did *you* learn how to swim?"
	"No comment," Mulder mumbled quickly, and dropped back beneath the
waves.
	Scully smiled to herself as she watched him dart back and forth beneath
the surface. The water was nearly transparent, so she could see him
underwater perfectly, moving along the sandy bottom. In a sense, Scully
wished that she *could* swim with him in the ocean. She had never seen
Mulder this exhuberant, this carefree, this...*happy* before. It made her
glow inside to see him so full of life. And he *deserved* this happiness
as well. He had spent most of his life without the feeling of true,
unstoppable joy, and now he was finally getting what he really needed,
even after Scully was certain that he would never be able to accomplish
that kind of feat.
	After some time, Mulder waded back to the shore again, his entire body
dripping wet, as if he had been dipped into candy glaze. Lacking his
towel, he just stretched himself out in the sun, letting its golden rays
dry him off instead. Once again, Scully had to stop her runaway
imagination before it took her places that she didn't need to go.
	At that moment, another song came on the radio, spiraling into the air
with its easygoing notes. Scully recognized the popular Shania Twain
song, even though she hadn't heard it in awhile.
	"You got a way with me...
	You gave me faith to find my dreams...
	You'll never know just what that means...
	I have to say, you really got a way..."
	When Scully looked up at Mulder again, she found him staring straight at
her. She opened her mouth to say something, but she didn't even know what
he wanted.
	"Scully.....you want to dance?"
	Scully's face instantly brightened. She couldn't even remember the last
time they had danced together. She got up from her seat, and walked to
him at the water's edge on rubbery legs. 
	She halted, almost afraid of touching him. "You're all wet, Mulder," She
said lamely.
	"Not really; you won't get wet. Come on, just dance with me."
	Scully complied. She put one hand on Mulder's shoulder and the other on
his arm, and he put his hands in place as well. She swallowed, her
stomach feeling light even though she was pregnant.
	"It's in the way you want me...
	It's in the way you hold me...
	The way you showed me just what love is made of...
	It's in the way we make love..."
	Unlike their first dance in the pub in Cuba, this song was slow and
melodic, and their dance was slow in response. Mulder and Scully stepped
across the sand carefully, not noticing the tide swirling around their
feet. Scully slid her fingers over Mulder's smooth shoulder muscles, and
she could almost feel the warm water evaporating off of his skin,
steaming. She felt herself gliding along the beach like liquid in time
with the music, her entire body melting into a form of pure relaxation.
	"Oh, how I adore you...
	Like no one before you...
	I love you just the way you are..."
	Mulder led Scully through the Hawaiian surf, his movements becoming slow
even though his heartbeat was racing. He stared into her eyes...like the
Pacific, deep and mysterious, yet pleasant and inviting. Inviting him to
spend the rest of eternity here on this beach, to strip away her
self-supportive exterior and sweep her off her feet. He watched her dance
gracefully and without fault. It was just like her...graceful and without
fault. 
	"It's in the way you want me...
	It's in the way you hold me...
	The way you showed me just what love's made of...
	It's in the way we make love..."
	The lyrics were making them both grow dizzy with the hot feeling of
being in each other's arms. It was like they were melting into the
lapping surf, the world spinning and flowing until it had whirled into
oblivion, and all that was left was them and nothing else. As the song
drew to a close, they slowly stopped their dancing.
	"It's just the way you are..."
	The song ended, leaving them standing there in the surf, looking at each
other. Slowly, they srew in closer and closer until their lips met and
then locked permanently together. They wrapped their arms around each
other simotaniously and without opposition. A different type of wave
whirled around them and swept them off their feet...a wave of sensations
and passions, building up speed and strength until it crashed with a boom
on the shores of their lips.
	But the kiss didn't stop. It continued on and on and on, causing them to
hold their breath. Mulder opened his mouth wider to try and take in
oxygen, and Scully saw it as an invitation. She moved in harder on him,
massaging his gums with her lips. *Then* she brought out her
tongue...tasting the inside of his mouth, sighing with ecstasy. Mulder
fought back with his own, bringing up both his hands to her head and
pressing her face against his own. Scully's body fell loose and helpless,
concentrating all of her energy on her mouth and tongue. 
	Mulder smiled within their kiss...he was ready to explore. His lips
wandered away from the inside of her mouth to the outside, nibbling at
her upper lip.
	This simple action flared the passion instantly. Scully became more
savage, letting out some unidentifiable sound and digging her fingers
into his shoulders. She bit at his chin eagerly, moved her way to the
edge of his face until she found his ear. Mulder shivered as she pressed
her tongue against the sensitive skin behind his ear, sending electric
fire to every nerve in his body. And then his fingers were in her hair,
brushing away her auburn strands and feeling her scalp beneath. He turned
his head to the side in an effort to get in a better position and burried
his lips into her cheek. She tilted her head up so that he could move
down her neck.
	All other outside sounds; the wind in the palm fronds, the drone of the
radio, the rumbling of the ocean against the shore, were drowned out by
the emotions rushing in their ears. Somewhere in the distant background
they could feel the water swirling beneath their feet, but it was almost
completely overpowered by the kiss, the exploration, the sensation. With
each new movement it became more passionate, switching back and forth
between quick and slow.
	Scully buried her face into the warmth of Mulder's chest, the scent of
ocean spray and Hawaiian sand crystals filling her nostrils. Even the
taste of salt water on his skin didn't discourage her...it almost
attracted her. She brushed away at the thin salt layer with her lips to
get to the sweet skin underneath.
	Mulder wanted to feel Scully's lips again, but he was content to kiss
her forehead, her neck, and run his fingers through her hair. She was so
loose, so willing, so wonderful...he breathed quick gasps into her skin,
feeling his heart beat forcefully against her body. His body was reacting
violently to this rush of sensation, and he could feel his entire body
pulsating and shivering with heat and electricity.
	Scully's legs were failing her. She felt like she was sinking into
quicksand; she was no longer able to support her own weight. Mulder
brought his arms around her to catch her, pressing his fingers into her
broadened hips and pooling the material of the skirt between them. She
sighed heavily, and brought her lips back to his, releasing a moan of
satisfaction at having the familiar taste again.
	Mulder went even farther. His hands moved up her body again, sliding
beneath her small tank top. She felt a tingling ripple vibrate through
her ribs as his wet hands smoothed down her skin up to her chest. He
pulled her in closer, barely noticing her rounded belly squeezed against
his abdomen, and felt his way all around her chest. Scully reacted just
the way he wanted her to...a groan, a slight convulsion. She squeezed her
lips against his tightly, biting down hard. He closed his eyes in pure
ecstasy, feeling his way from the front to the back, where he found her
bra clasp. They both began to sink to the sand, hands moving everywhere,
lips sucking.
	"You might want all children to leave the premises, parents...things are
going to get steamy!"
	Mulder paused for a split second, thinking that he had heard something a
long way off. Scully moaned in protest at his brief pause. He turned back
to Scully; it must be his imagination...
	"This is what we call the XXX-Files, folks! You'll never see anything
better than this!"
	There it was again! Mulder couldn't ignore it this time...he lifted his
head from Scully's, ignoring her protests. He caught sight of some
movement in the ferns at the edge of the cove...and a familiar flash of
metal and plastic in the sun...
	"Uh, oh..." The voice became extremely quiet. "I think we're about to
experience some technical difficulties..."
	Mulder's entire body steeled, his face grew hot with anger. "SAMANTHA!!"
	"SHOOOOT!!!"
	Samantha Mulder broke cover of the fern bushes and sprinted away just as
Mulder ran after her, sending up a spray of sand in his wake and yelling
at the top of his lungs. Scully stood and slowly walked over to where the
cove ended. Her body still tingled with the desire to feel Mulder's body
against hers...but she would wait until Mulder pounded the life's breath
out of Samantha first. It would be interesting to watch."
	"AHHHHAAAAAAHHHHHHHHAAAAAAHHHHHGGG!!!" Samantha cried aloud in terror as
she pounded down the beach, clutching her precious SamCam to her chest.
Mulder ran after her, picking up speed and with his much longer legs and
the energy spurred on by Scully's kissing.
	"SAMANTHAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" He yelled his war cry, filled with the desire
to get revenge. Everyone else on the beach, including Scully, watched in
surprise as brother chased sister in a heated race.
	Mulder was quickly closing the gap between them. Samantha looked back
quickly, saw Mulder right behind her, and redoubled her efforts. He was
getting closer and closer and closer until......
	SPLOOOOSH!!!
	Mulder grabbed Samantha by the shoulders as he caught up to her and
thrust her down. She tripped over an incoming wave and splashed down
head-first into the shallow water. Mulder followed, but caught himself
before he actually hit the water. Samantha surfaced, coughing up salt and
sand. Luckily for her, she had had her water-proof carrying case on the
camera, so it hadn't gotten harmed by the water.
	Mulder was not *quite* through with his sister yet. He pinned her to the
sandy bottom and sat on her legs to prevent her from escaping. "Hey, no
fair!" Samantha protested, trying to get up.
	"Yeah? Well, *I* don't think it's fair that you get to follow us around
with you camera everywhere we go!"
	"I'm just documenting what happens on our trip...might as well document
a common occurence!"
"Samantha...promise to get rid of that tape! You're *not* going to keep
it!"
	"Yeah, sure!"
	"PROMISE?"
	"I PROMISE!!" Samantha hid her hand beneath the loose sand so she could
cross her fingers.
	"Are you crossing your fingers?"
	"Of course not!" she lied. "Lemmie up, I'm completely soaked!"
	Satisfied with the defeat of his spying sister, he got up and let her
go. "And if I see you hanging around that cove again...and if you *tell*
anyone..."
	"Wouldn't dream of it!" Samantha grinned, getting up from the ankle-deep
water and trying to shake the wetness out of her skirt. Mulder walked
away from the ocean so he could head back to the cove and Scully. "Have
fun!" Samantha joked.
	Mulder turned back and pointed a warning finger at her. "Quiet, you!!"
	Mulder trotted back to the grove of palm trees and ferns, ignoring the
confused faces of his friends and the surrounding tourists. Scully was
waiting for him at the edge of the grove, her eyebrows raised. "Did you
twist her head off her neck and break all of her arms and legs like it
looked like you were about to do?"
	"No...I just shoved her headfirst into the ocean," He admitted.
	"Wimp."
	"Hey! I'm not going to be *overly* cruel to her. She's my sister, after
all."
	"Even if she now has a video of us making out on the beach?"
	"She promised to get rid of it."
	Scully snorted back a laugh. (Fat chance of that...) She thought to
herself.
	Letting Scully lead the way, Mulder followed her back through the trees
and leaves until they reached the hidden cove again. The stereo was still
going and the beach was still left alone. Only now Mulder knew that it
would be *extremely* difficult to just pick up where they had left off
after what had just happened.
	Scully was apparently not interested in trying to finish their ball game
anyway, now that it had been rained out. She settled back down in one of
the lounge chairs and stretched out to relax herself again. Mulder
thought about the lounge chair, but then decided to seat himself in the
much softer sand.
	Neither of them said anything for a moment. Scully was content to watch
the sun reflect off the waves and beam through the palm leaves, to just
relax and enjoy the quiet serenity of the place. However, she soon
noticed that Mulder was unusually quiet. He was staring at the sand
beneath her feet, his face expressionless, looking as if he was miles
away from their beach. 
	"Mulder? What is it?"
	Mulder was jolted out of his momentary daydream. "Huh?"
	"Is something bothering you?"
	Mulder's mouth suddenly went dry. As it turned out, something *was*
bothering him. It was a persistent little thought in the back of his
mind, and he had been annoyed by its presence ever since he had returned
to the future. Everything about the way the new reality had gone was well
for Mulder, and he was not upset about it at all. But there was something
he had learned from his old reality that he had not fixed yet. And he had
never seemed to find the right time or place to do it. This was probably
not the best time or place either, but at least Scully was in a relaxed
state, where she might not get angry at him easily.
	The problem was, how would he possibly tell her?
	He decided not to go leading her around in circles with this...he would
get right to the point. "You remember back a year and a few months ago?
When everything was happening and I was...with you?"
	Scully was completely caught off-guard by his sudden launch into an
explanation...this wasn't like Mulder. She raised her eyebrows at him in
surprise. "I thought you didn't ever like talking about all that."
	"Well, there's something about it that's been bothering me for awhile,
and...I just need to tell you now to avoid anything bad between us
later."
	"'Anything bad between us'?"
	"Scully..." Mulder forced back all of his doubts, not daring to
hesitate. "...Do you remember one time on a night back then, running from
two assassins in an alley?" Mulder got up on his knees and took her hands
in his.
	Scully had to think for a moment...she had tried to repress the event
into the depths of her memories, along with everything else that had
happened during that time. She nodded slowly.
	Mulder took a deep, slow breath, looking away from Scully's eyes
momentarily. "And...you got trapped in a dead end. You started looking
around and...you were able to see me then."
	*Now* Scully was beginning to remember things. She looked to Mulder to
see if he wanted her to answer. He wasn't expecting anything from her, so
she kept silent."
	"I...I know you don't remember what happened then...and I never told you
because I didn't want you to ever find out. But...just lately it's kept
surfacing, and I want to get it out and let you know."
	"I'm listening."
	"I...That time where you remember nothing...that was me. That was me
inside you."
	"What do you mean?"
	"I was *inside* you," Mulder said in a halting voice, loosening his grip
on her hand and letting his fingers drop to the sand. "I could...I could
feel myself as you. I shot those two assassins. I took control of you,
just...slipped myself inside." He locked his eyes with hers.
	"Possession." Scully said, her voice firm. It was only half of a
question.
	Mulder nodded.
	"Why?" Scully couldn't think of anything else to say.
	"To save you!" Mulder explained. "It was the only way I could think of
to save you! I mean, it worked, didn't it? They fired at you, but...you
didn't get shot. It was me."
	"How did you...?"
	"I don't know! It just seemed to be the natural...thing to do."
	Scully closed her eyes. She was having trouble believing all of Mulder's
words...yet they were sparking memories within her. She remembered the
sudden flash of cold through her veins, the shrinking back into the
darkness, the feeling of moving and breathing without her consent. And
then the distant sounds outside...and her return to consciousness.
	(That was Mulder.)
	It made perfect sense, despite its absurdness. She looked at Mulder...he
was sitting quietly in the sand, staring at nothing, as if in shame. "Why
didn't you tell me this earlier?" She asked.
	"I didn't want you to know. I was afraid..." He swallowed hard. There
was something in Scully's eyes that was making those fears come alive.
"...Are you angry with me?"
	Scully was unsure of how to answer. She was filled with mixed feelings,
both anger and forgiveness. But which one would she answer him with?
"I'm...*surprised*, for one, to hear you say all this. And wondering if
you ever stopped to consider how *I* might have felt."
	"It was very spur-of-the-moment," Mulder insisted. "I thought about it
afterwards. Scully...my foremost thought was to keep you from getting
hurt. That was my reason for existing then..."
	"Mulder..." Scully could see that he was beginning to break down with
painful memories, and the fear of her reaction. "It's okay. I believe
what you're saying, and I'm not incredibly angry at you. I'm just upset
that it happened at all. And I'm upset that you didn't tell me earlier."
	"I *know* what I did hurt you, Scully," Mulder said quickly, his eyes
somewhat glassy. "I'm not trying to deny anything. I guess I'm just
trying to tell you...I'm sorry..."
	Scully got out of the lounge chair and sat next to him in the sand.
"Possession or not, Mulder, you saved my life. I think that can make up
for anything you think you did wrong."
	Mulder breathed heavily. "It feels so much better to hear this from you
instead of something else..." He felt the dead weight of doubts and
emotions being lifted from his chest. It was a wonderful feeling...to be
able to let out all that had been bothering him, and to hear Scully be
more understanding and forgiving than she would be expected to be. Scully
moved Mulder around to her side so that they faced the ocean, and they
stared out at it together.
	"You remember all that?" Mulder asked.
	"I remember it now."
	A small silence.
	"It was such a long time ago..." Mulder sighed. "*I* barely remember it
now."
	Scully leaned her head against his shoulder. "You can forget about it
now, if you want."
	Mulder shook his head. "I'll never be able to forget. But it is nice to
finally reconcile."
	They gazed out at the ocean together, listening to its soothing beat.
Mulder smiled...now, he was completely free. He had gotten rid of the one
thing that had been bothering him, he was alone with Scully on a hidden
beach in Hawaii, and he was going to be a father in just four months.
	(I guess this is what they mean by paradise.)


	3:44 P.M.
	Monday, September 4th, 2000
	Pacific Ocean

	The horizon was a perfect streak of true blue...but was broken only by a
brownish strip that had just appeared in the distance. 'The Believer'
sped towards that brownish strip full-speed, eager to reach its next
stop.
	"Too bad we're not going to stay that long in Central America," Scully
commented from the captain's seat next to the wheel. "But mom says she
wants us to hurry up and finally get home."
	"*I* want to hurry up, too!" Mulder grinned. "The sooner we get back,
the sooner we can have our wedding!"
	"Well, we've *already* had our real wedding, Mulder."
	"Yeah, but this one's just so your mom and Sam can get a lot of pictures
and so you can actually *wear* that dress she made."
	Scully sighed. "Poor mom...no matter how much she'd like to believe it,
the new design for the dress isn't going to hide anything. Everyone is
going to know."
	"Of course they'll know! It doesn't matter what all of your family's
Catholic friends think...if they don't think we have a right to be
married just because you're pregnant, they can leave!"
	"Just leave?"
	"After I have the Lone Gunmen beat them up, that is."
	Scully laughed at Mulder's joke. "I'd like to see Frohike *try* and beat
someone up..."
	"Actually, he tried to beat me up once."
	Scully was interested. "Who won?"
	Mulder pretended to take offense. "Scully! You even *doubt* that I
overpowered Frohike?!"
	"Of course not! I'm just wondering who won!"
	Mulder slumped dejectedly. "Frohike did."
	Scully burst into uncontrolled laughter. "I can jsut picture that troll
pinning you to the ground! Aw, I thought you were the indestructable
Mulder! The Fox Mantle, the Great Muldeeni!"
	"I *would* have beaten him if he hadn't tripped me!"
	"*Sure*, Mulder," Scully nodded. "I believe you..."
	"You'd be the first..." He sighed.
	"Mulder, everyone believes you now! The entire *world* believes you now,
after all that's happened...what more do you want?"
	"Well, Scullt...do you *still* believe everything I say regarding the
paranormal? Because you still seem to manage to question it right till
the very end."
	"I don't think I'll ever be able to believe something as easily as you,
Mulder."
	"Good," Mulder grinned. "Let's keep it that way."
	Scully sighed, and stared aways past Mulder at the large map of the
world posted on the wall. The red line and red pins now crossed over
nearly every part of the map...from D.C. to South America to Antarctica
to Africa to Europe to India to Australia to Japan and finally past the
Hawaiian islands. Their journey was very quickly coming to an end.
	It overwhelmed Scully to think of what had taken place and how much they
had changed in the past year. They had started out fresh, alive, ready
for relaxation and enjoyment after the past two months before the
apocalypse. Yes, they had gotten a lot of relaxation and enjoyment, but
it still seemed that no matter where they went, they still managed to get
themselves into every paranormal situation possible. If she knew Mulder
and herself, that curse of paranormality would probably follow them
around until the day they died.
	(And our daughter's going to grow up in this sort of family...) Scully's
thoughts suddenly turned to the unborn child within her. (I've always
wanted to have a family in a normal place and time, and have my children
grown up without fear of the unknown. But that's obviously not going to
be the case here.)
	But, looking back at Mulder caused her to smile. She couldn't have asked
for a better soulmate to help her do the job of parenthood.
	Mulder cocked an eyebrow at her. "Scully, you okay? You got kind of
quiet there for a minute."
	"Just thinking...thinking about how nice it will be to be home again."
	Mulder stared past her, out the large curved window, at the approaching
shores of Central America. Beyond them lay the Panama Canal, the
Caribbean Sea, and then their home.
	Mulder had a thought. "Should we have your apartment be our home or
mine?" 
	"How about *neither*?" Scully said with a smile.
	"You're right...we'll turn 'The Believer' into a real house and live in
it forever!"
	Scully liked that idea, impossible as it was. They may arrive back in
D.C. soon, but until then, this boat with Mulder was the perfect home.

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

THE END OF PART ELEVEN

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

Author's Notes: WOW! That one was LOOOOONG!!! But at least it's finally
done! I dunno about all yous, but I *liked* this one, just because it was
real different, and it switched things around a lot. I know, I realize
that it was *very* Mulder-and-Scully heavy and there wasn't much of the
other characters in there, but they'll probably pop up a lot more in the
last part. Last part...AAAGH!!! THE NEXT PART IS THE FINALIE!! Woe is me,
"Around the World" will soon be done...but it'll be worth all the work!!
:)
Take a guess as to what I want next! You have three choices...feedback,
feedback, and feedback. You're right...I want FEEDBACK!!! :):) Loved it,
hated it, or had a love-hate relationship with it? Whatever it is, I'll
be happy to receive it, but flames will burn fuel for 'The Believer'!