The Journey Home
After the fear surrounding their failed reunion, Scully realizes that the only place she and William need to be is with Mulder- wherever that may lead.
I wrote this story last year for the MSR Fanzine and today I am able to share it with you all. Hope you enjoy it.
Late January, 2002
9:58 p.m.
The apartment was lit by only a couple of lights as Scully placed clothes into the large, black duffel bag that sat on her bed. She was precise with her choices; only packing what she needed now and not further into the future.
Taking her dark blue toiletry bag into the bathroom, she added only the bare minimum of items. Soaps, shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush and toothpaste, tampons, and her makeup bag. Zipping the golden zipper, she switched off the light and left the room.
Packing it beside her sweaters, she picked out three pairs of shoes. Boots and a pair of sneakers were added to the duffel, the other pair left out to be worn. She closed her eyes, letting out a deep breath.
“Nearly done. Come on,” she whispered and then opened her eyes.
Adding a blanket to the duffel, she looked around the room before nodding as she zipped and secured the bag. Carrying it silently out of her room, she set it beside William’s matching bag she had packed earlier that day.
Every article of his clothing, extra diapers and wipes, blankets, some toys, extra bottles, her breast pump, and his own toiletry bag were packed, ready for their rapidly approaching departure.
From the kitchen chair, she picked up the backpack she would now be using as William’s diaper bag.
Running her hand along the back side of it, she drew in a breath, tears stinging her eyes as she thought of the other contents it held.
Three days ago, she had come to the Gunmen’s at their request, where they presented her with items Mulder had asked them to procure before he’d had to leave.
Doctored passports, driver’s licenses, social security cards, and birth certificates. A handful of credit cards bearing fake names that had been chosen. A substantial amount of cash, along with information to account numbers for three bank accounts, all of them in different names that matched the drivers licenses.
“He didn’t tell me,” she had whispered, looking at the picture of herself on a license which bore the name Sally Stenson.
“He wanted to be sure things were ready, just in case they would be needed,” Byers had said and she laughed out a small sob.
“Well, they definitely are,” she had said, remembering how she felt just a couple of days ago as she stood on the train platform, watching the train passing her by, knowing Mulder had been on it and she had been unable to reach him. Sighing, she set the license down.
“Alright,” Frohike had said suddenly and rather gruffly, picking everything up. “I got this.” He had left the room without looking back and she stared after him in confusion.
Byers had sighed and when she looked at him, she saw sadness in his and Langly’s eyes.
“It’s not how I want this to be,” she had said and Byers shook his head as he touched her arm and attempted a smile.
“No. It’s how it needs to be.”
Late last night, a soft knock sounded at her apartment door and for a second she had stood frozen. She had reached for her gun and walked quietly to check who it was and had seen Frohike standing on the other side, holding a beat up leather backpack in his hands.
“It’s all in here,” he had said, stepping across the threshold as she closed the door and set the gun down on the table. “This is an old backpack of mine that I used a long time ago. There’s space that I created between the lining where I would put stuff I didn’t want seen by the fuzz. I’ve put everything of yours in there and sewn it up, to keep it hidden. When you get where you’re going… you take it out and keep it somewhere safe.”
“Frohike,” she had breathed, taking the backpack from him. “Thank you.”
“Yeah,” he nodded, looking down at the ground and then back up at her. “Be careful. Take care of each other.”
“We will. Thank you.”
She hugged him, thanking him again, and he left immediately after the embrace had ended.
He had done the job perfectly. No one would ever suspect what was hidden within the backpack unless they literally tore it apart.
Placing it beside the duffel bags, she clasped her hands together and looked around the apartment that she had lived in for so long.
Anything that held sentimental value had been taken to her mother’s house two days ago for safekeeping, including the fish tank and all the fish. Everything else would be taken care of once she and William were gone, Byers had assured her, though she found she was not really worried about it.
Leaving behind the physical was surprisingly easy, with the exception of her mother.
Her mother understood why they had to leave, but that did not mean she wanted it to happen. It had been a very tearful goodbye and watching her holding William until the last possible second, had almost caused Scully to change her mind.
Almost.
But she had to go. And they both knew it.
There were too many worries and questions that weighed on her and she needed to be with Mulder to figure them out.
Glancing at the clock with a sigh, she hurried to the bathroom to take a quick shower, change her clothes, and put on her sneakers.
Hurrying through her last few tasks, a light knock sounded at the door and she jumped. Another two knocks and she knew it was Langly.
He walked in silently, picked up the bags, and carried them down to the waiting van as she put on the backpack and then placed a sleeping William into the carrier sling, shushing him softly when he began to fuss.
Nodding resolutely as she gently patted William’s back, she walked out the door, locking it behind her.
Frohike took the backpack from her as he helped her inside, sitting down on the floorboard and leaning against the side of the van. It was unsafe and illegal, but she did not care so long as she would not be seen as they drove.
“We'll take the back streets, stay off the highway,” Byers said from the driver's seat. “Should be there in about twenty minutes.”
“Okay,” she said, closing her eyes as she held William close when he whimpered in his sleep.
Twenty minutes felt both like forever and no time at all when they reached the station and Byers parked the van. Langly got out, grabbing the bags, as Frohike stepped out with the backpack and reached a hand in to help Scully.
He took a paper bag from the backseat and placed it into the backpack along with two bottles of water before he closed it up and helped her put it on.
“I made you some breakfast burritos,” Frohike said, his voice gruff once again. “They should be good for the journey. Stay in your compartment. Don’t come out until you reach him.”
“Right,” Scully said with a nod as she adjusted both the backpack and William’s carrier.
She stared at all of them as Byers walked up to join them, the keys held nervously in his hands.
“Thank you for everything,” she said softly, tears pricking at her eyes. “Thank you for… being there for both of us. All of us.” She rubbed William’s back and they nodded. “I…”
“You need to get going, Agent Scully,” Byers said, taking her ticket from his inside jacket pocket and handing it to her. “Be careful.”
“We will.”
She grasped his hand and he nodded, smiling softly. Frohike sighed as she looked at him and stepped forward to embrace him.
“Goodbye,” she whispered and he grunted, patting her back.
Langly walked beside her to the train platform, carrying her bags. They waited silently until it arrived and he followed her to her compartment. Setting the bags down, he hugged her quickly, hurrying from the train as it began to leave the station.
Standing by the window, she watched him run to join the others. They all held up a hand and she did the same, staying until she could no longer see them, and then stepping inside of her compartment and locking the door.
Making up the small bed, she stacked the duffel bags in front of the door. Taking off her shoes, she laid down with William in her arms, exhaustion overtaking her as she fell asleep instantly, the train bouncing along as it carried them west.
__________
Nearly a full day was spent in the compartment, opening the door only to hand her ticket to the ticket agent, her gun held out of his view, just in case. Thanks to the food and water Frohike had provided, and the bathroom in her small room, she did not have any need to leave.
She created a safe space for both of them, William wide eyed as he looked out the windows and the world beyond them.
When the next stop was announced, the town in which she and Mulder had previously arranged to meet, Scully felt her stomach drop. The bags were repacked, William once again in his carrier sling and her backpack on, when she opened the doors to leave.
It was dark outside, the winter sun already down when she bumped down the hallway with her cumbersome bags. A kind older man offered to help her, but she graciously refused.
The brakes squealed as the train began to slow and she stood waiting at the door, her bags in her hands and heart racing. William shifted and she looked down at him with a smile. He smiled back and she let out a deep breath when the train stopped completely.
The doors opened and she swallowed hard as she made her way off the train. The ticket attendant appeared and helped her, placing her bags on the ground beside her with a smile.
Scully picked up her bags and walked away from the people milling about the platform as quickly as she could, considering the awkward weight of the bags she carried. Her eyes were peeled for the enclosed bus stop, praying Mulder had done as he had planned and taken out the overhead light to keep them in darkness.
Catching sight of the small building, her pace and heart rate quickened, looking over her shoulder and thankfully finding no one following her.
As she approached, a figure stepped from the building, but remained standing in the darkened doorway. She paused before she recognized the person’s frame and she whimpered softly, moving faster.
The bags were abandoned as she reached him, her arms outstretched as he stepped towards her.
“Scully,” he breathed, pulling her into his arms, William protesting in loud surprise as he did. She laughed, tears in her eyes, as she hugged him back. “God, I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too. So much,” she said, over the sound of William’s cries. Mulder held her tighter, whispering her name into her hair.
Pulling back, he held her face in his hands and kissed her softly three times. He shook his head, his thumbs rubbing her cheeks as he smiled.
“I love you.”
“I love you too,” she said, holding onto his wrists, her tears spilling over.
“And you,” he said, letting go of her face and opening the sling carrier to look down at William. “How are you, my son? God, he’s gotten so big. Can… can I hold him?”
“Of course you can.”
He took him from the carrier and held him, smiling as he stopped crying and stared, looking from Mulder to Scully. He smiled, shoving a fist into his mouth and Mulder chuckled as he shook his head again.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said, kissing him and then her again. He bent to pick up one of the bags as Scully picked up the other one. He smiled at her and she smiled back as she wiped the tears from her cheeks, William blowing raspberries as they began to walk from the darkness to Mulder’s car.
_____________
Two years later, in a small town in Tennessee, a taxi drove up a long dirt road, stopping in front of a farmhouse with a large wraparound porch. Rocking chairs, big and small, adorned it. Potted plants were set out by the pillars along the porch, many bright colored flowers sprouting from them. Two different sized swings were hanging at the end of the porch, the grass around the house green and luscious.
The taxi driver stepped out to take the two large suitcases from the trunk as the screen door squeaked open and then slammed closed. Scully hurried across the porch to greet her mother who had just gotten out of the taxi and was looking at her with a teary smile.
“Mom,” Scully said, tears clogging her throat.
“Oh, Dana,” Maggie said, holding her tightly, both of them crying happily as the screen door squeaked open again.
“Mama?” William asked and Maggie laughed as she stepped back to see the little boy she had missed every day for the past two years.
She walked up the steps to take him from Mulder, who handed him over with a smile, as he helped Scully with the suitcases, the taxi driving away.
Hours later, the sun setting, Scully stood watching William and her mother sitting together on one of the swings, William pointing and jabbering away to her as the swing moved slowly and she laughed.
“Hey,” Mulder said softly, his arm going around Scully’s shoulders. She wrapped her arms around his waist, sighing contentedly. “Are you happy?”
“Yes. Very happy.”
“Good.”
“And you?” she asked, looking up at him.
He looked down at her and smiled, letting that be his answer and she smiled back, her hold on him tightening as he put his other arm around her.
“Good,” she said, resting her cheek against his chest as he hummed and kissed the top of her head.
“Yeah,” he said.
Somewhere nearby a dog barked, prompting William to repeat the sound, causing all of them to laugh. Maggie made the swing go a little higher as William barked again and she pulled him onto her lap.
“Oh, William,” she said, kissing his head and sighing. “I’ve missed you and I love you so much.”
“I’m beyond happy,” Scully whispered, her eyes closing as a warm breeze whistled through the grass and trees, Mulder humming again as his hand moved gently up and down her back.
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