TITLE: LORDS OF MAGIC 10: THE HUMANS AUTHOR: DONNILEE & FATCAT E-MAIL: DONNILEE@SNET.NET RATING: NC-17 CATEGORY: MSR SPOILERS: NOT A ONE. SUMMARY: Mulder and Scully find themselves on a magical world no one ever knew existed. They must fight for their lives and the lives of others if they are to ever make it back home again. DISCLAIMER: All characters used from the show, The X-Files, are the property of Chris Carter, Ten Thirteen Productions, and Fox Broadcasting. No copyright infringement intended. No money made here. DISCLAIMER 2: All references to elements of the game, The Lords of Magic, belong to the creators of the computer game, Sierra Games. No copyright infringement intended. I have not just stolen characters as I have in the X-Files. This time I've stolen an entire universe! Just showing that I'm an equal opportunity thief! THANKS: To my beta readers, Cratkinson, FatCat, and XochiLuvr, who keep me from making major boo-boos and looking stupid. I really appreciate it. Go team! Thanks so much. This one has been beta read to death! Any errors herein are mine alone. SPECIAL THANKS: To FatCat, who gave me added details and depth to add to this story to make it more full and rich. The whole Kale Project was her idea, and many of the details about that were written by her. Thanks for always watching my back! DEDICATION: I would like to dedicate this story to my late grandmother, Blanche (blan-shee) Claire Wright Green Taylor, better known as 'Tot'. She was Mahopac, Native American, and was probably the first person to excite my imagination, as she was a storyteller to end all storytellers. And yes, she was married more than once! LOL. She entertained my sister and me for hours by reciting epic poems and stories, filled with adventure and happy endings. She couldn't read well and she couldn't spell for shit, but she had what counted most; an unlimited supply of unconditional love and an imagination without limits. She died over a decade ago, in her own bed, at home, at the age of 84. I still miss her. So thanks to my Gramma Tot, for making me believe imagination can take you far. XXXXXXXXXX PART 1 (PG-13) SKULLDOWN DEATH TERRITORY We were left alone to make our decision while the rest disbursed to go retrieve the dead and haul them topside. The battles were over, the war was won, and Balgoth, the terrible demon minion of the God of Death, was gone. If there was a Drow here and there still alive, we didn't know about it. Since they would be killed on the spot if they showed up, we doubted we had any more major worries. Despite our victory, there was sadness. Many had been lost on all sides. We also couldn't ignore that, despite their evil nature, an entire race had been wiped out in one day. Many good things had emerged as well. No one could say that all the races didn't play their part and contribute to this victory. New respects were garnered for age-old enemies. This is not to say that racism was wiped out, not by a long shot. We hoped, though, that they would all think twice now before letting hatred lead the way. The portal had been found. It was in a small room behind Balgoth's main chamber. With his death, the magic wards that barred the door had fallen. The shimmering portal was obvious and stood in the center of the room - white and black energy pulsing in the shape of a doorway. We could only hope it would send us to Earth. The question was when to go. After a long discussion, we decided there was no way we could leave without saying goodbye to our hosts and the many other friends we'd made among the leaders of this strange but wonderful world. We'd also left a few things back in Astarte that we wished to take home with us. Other gifts were going to have to be left behind. We planned on returning the teleport keys and maps to the Dwarves, the healing cups to the Knights and so forth. Any gifts that had not been used up would be returned to the generous givers. We would use the teleports to say our goodbyes and return gifts swiftly. We would return that gift last, using it to return to Astarte to collect our belongings. We had no expectation that we would carry anything magical into the portal and have it emerge intact on the other side. My only hope was that we and our babies would survive the trip. Everything we wanted to take home, we would have to carry on our backs, so careful packing was in order. So was rest. We didn't know what we would encounter on the other side. Heaven forbid it dumped us someplace other than Earth. We didn't want to be exhausted at the start of the journey. So it was decided that we would help them gather their dead. A mass grave was dug and the bodies of the fallen were buried. A gigantic funeral was arranged and all the races participated with their various mages giving eulogies for the fallen. It was a happy time and a sad time. They agreed to meet back in Skulldown at the next full moon to discuss turning it back into the place it had once been. The roiling clouds had dissipated with the dark magic and the sun was shining on Skulldown. The Dwarves promised to erect a grand headstone for the mass grave, a monument to the dead. Skulldown had once been a meeting place where the races met to trade and exchange for goods not found in their territories. They hoped it could be that again. Old buildings were to be torn down and new ones erected, one for each race. Merchants could come and set up in their race's building and hawk their wares. Despite their losses, all the races were resilient and sadness was tempered with a festive attitude toward things to come. Our return to Astarte was bittersweet. We said our goodbyes, packed carefully and made ready to leave this place that we had come to call home. First we went to the Barbarians. Their gifts of the Chaos blades and the Gnosis wand had been used up, but we left the healing potions of the Amazons with them as thanks. Next, it was on to the Amazons, where the unused blue crystals were returned. They told us to take ten of them and give them to the Storm Giants to help the injured Faeries. Third, we went to the Knights. The haste spell had been used up, but the magic cups were returned to Troen and the king. The fire gauntlets were returned the Loopkar of the Fire Giants. Since they were too small for any giant, she suggested we gift them to a person of our choice. I later gave them to Joachim. Instead, I gave the enchanted sword to them. It still retained the enchantments of the Elves and the Storm Giants. They considered it a kingly gift. On to the Storm Giants, with whom we left the blue crystals for the faeries. They told us to let Shadar choose his own master. Finally, we went to the Dwarves and returned their teleport scrolls, and the wand of hell spikes. They let us use the teleport to return to the Elven territory. We both decided to wear the jeans we had come in. Scully wore a yellow toga that she hemmed to the length of a shirt. I wore a beige tunic and the leather belt that I'd had in my jeans. Neither of us had any idea what had happened to our boots, so we wore the leather boots that we'd acquired here. Scully took one of each type of crystal as a remembrance of her time here. No one suggested we return the Handfasting rings that contained blue crystal and sapphires in silver bands. I decided to leave my enchanted dagger and gifted it to Anzwen. He gave me a fine silver one in return. We packed enough fruit, vegetables and water to last a couple of days, along with a change of clothes; suede pants and tunics for each of us. Scully spoke to Shadar and told him that she had to leave and she would be forever grateful for his protection and assistance. He was clearly sad. She told him to choose a new master. He was slightly confused as this was not an option normally given to an Ice Drake. They went with whomever they bonded with. No one was more delighted than Medini, when the rebellious Drake chose her as his new master rather than returning to Atmos and choosing a Giant. The same ritual was conducted with Jadian and Brenneka. Jadian chose Joachim. He actually shed a few tears when the big, blue unicorn nickered at me and then turned to tap him on the shoulder and lay himself down on the ground. Brenneka chose Liessa, the Elven enchantress we had rescued from her prison. Being buried alive had left its scars on her but she was healing and having Brenneka was like a miracle for her. She was brimming with gratitude as though we'd told them whom to choose. Anticipating a long reign of peace, Anzwen and Ashante both wanted to accompany us to back to Skulldown. So did Joachim and Medini, who chose the middle of that trip to announce their romance. Ashante and Anzwen didn't let on that I had let the cat out of the bag, and for that I was grateful. Medini had resolved to go home and tell Imatra and Foamrider that she was resigning as general of the Amazon army. If Anzwen and Ashante would have her, she would like to move to Astarte and live with Joachim. They readily agreed, saying they would help her withtalks with her people if she needed them. We reached Skulldown three weeks from the time we left and stood in the underground of what was once the Drow stronghold. We were in the room where Balgoth had fallen. His body had disintegrated within hours after his death, leaving a nasty stain on the floor as the only testament to his having existed. We stood outside Balgoth's old chambers. Everyone was sniffling. This was not an easy good-bye. "What can we say?" I asked, shrugging. Scully sniffed and said, "We can never tell you how much your kindness meant to us. There are no words." Ashante smiled through her tears. "There are no words for what you did for us. You made us realize the time for delay was over. There is never a perfect time. I am now with child. Most of all, you fulfilled a prophecy and saved the lives of our entire planet." "Not by ourselves, we didn't," I argued. "It was a joint effort. We couldn't have exactly strolled in here by ourselves." Anzwen smirked. "Without you, the races would not have united. Of that, I'm sure." Medini smiled. "Joachim and I wouldn't have found one another either, I'm sure." I grinned at them. "You two be happy, all right? Have lots of little Amazonian Elves and tell anyone that insults you to go straight to hell." They both laughed, holding hands and nodded. Scully said, "He's right you know? Love is the most important thing in the world. Lead with your heart and you'll never go wrong." "We HAVE to go," I said. "Damn, this is harder than I thought it would be. There have been moments when I didn't want to leave. However, we may have saved your planet, but now we have to go home and try to save ours." "From whom?" Medini asked. I realized she didn't have all the stories we'd told Anzwen and Ashante upon arrival. "We got here because a ship crashed. We'd been abducted by the grays, the ones you call the other-worlders. They are planning to colonize our planet and infect everyone with a virus that would give them total control over us and turn us into a slave race." "Oh Goddess! How could I have forgotten?" Ashante exclaimed. She put her backpack on the ground and went down on her knees, digging to the bottom, and came up with two items. One was a fairly large flask that held about a pint. The other was a suede drawstring bag. "These were given to me by Katelanna. She knew how you'd gotten here. I don't know if you remember us saying we'd had our own run-ins with the other-worlders. The Barbarians developed a potion from the kale that they raise. It repels the other-worlders. We don't really know why. But she gave all the leaders potions. After the battle at Skulldown, she sent a messenger to me with these for you. One is the potion. This other is seeds so that you can grow your own kale." "Thank you," I said as I carefully took them from her. I made sure the spout was corked tight, then I removed a shirt from my bag and wrapped it around the flask to protect it. I buried it in the middle of my backpack. The seeds I hung around my neck like an amulet. "You have no idea what this means to us. You may have given us a way to defeat them." Ashante smiled. "I hope so. However, if things don't work out, you know, wherever you end up, you can always come back." I laughed. "We wouldn't be able to find you. You aren't on any map of the known universe on earth." She gestured to the doorway in front of us. "That portal works both ways, at least, that's what the old history books tell us." "Anyone know who made these portals?" Scully asked. Ashante shook her head. "No. We believe the Gods did before they left this world, but we really don't know for sure." Ashante handed us the coordinates of their planet in this solar system, along with the coordinates of the gray's world written on their odd cloth-like paper and Scully stuffed it into her backpack. There was no more left to say. We strapped our fashioned backpacks on our backs hugged each of them. They followed us into the room and stood against the wall as we stepped up to the shimmering wall. I held out my arms and Scully stepped into them. We embraced tightly and looked at our friends. "We'll never forget you," I said quietly. They all showed us sad smiles. "Same here," Anzwen said. "Good bye," Scully and I said together. We looked at each other and I said, "One, two." "Three," we said together and stepped sideways. XXXXXXXXXX We stepped into a void. I held her tightly to my body, as we seemed to spin, twirl and fall through space. I felt nauseated and swallowed hard several times to prevent throwing up. Scully clung to me. I opened my eyes once, seeing stars fly by and immediately closed them as I felt my stomach do a major flip-flop. It became hard to breathe and I heard Scully squeak. Then everything went black. XXXXXXXXXX A CAVE IN THE DESERT We awoke on our backs, laying on our lumpy backpacks. I groaned. Every muscle in my body hurt. I reached out and found Scully lying next to me. I opened my eyes and peered into the dim light. We were in some sort of cave. We were lying on a dirt floor. I sat up and slipped my backpack off and knelt next to Scully. I cupped her face and kissed her gently. "Scully," I called out to her. She moaned and her eyelids fluttered, and then they opened. She looked confused for a few seconds but then she focused on me, inches away from her face. "We're alive," she said. I smiled. "Yes, we are." "Where are we?" she asked. I leaned back and she struggled to sit up, grabbing her head. "Dizzy," she admitted. "We're in some sort of cave." We could see the walls all around. It was about twenty feet long and ten feet wide. Against the back wall, a shimmering veil of white and black could be seen, barely visible. "My God," she said. "It's there, the portal." I nodded. "Good. If we're somewhere other than earth, it means we can get back." "I won't relish that ride again. I thought Space Mountain was bad," she joked. I chuckled. "Want to look outside and see what's out there." She sighed heavily. "I guess we should." She peeled off her backpack as well and we steadied each other as we stood. The ceiling was about eight feet high so we had no trouble. I grasped her hand and we walked slowly toward the light at the opposite end of the cave. The doorway was less suited and was only about five and half feet high and only wide enough for one of us to squeeze out at a time. We had to push brush and tumbleweeds away from the opening but finally stepped outside. We emerged into a vast desert. Yellow sand, tumbleweeds and scrub brush as far as the eye could see. "Don't tell me we landed in the Mohave," she said. "Could be," I said. The sun was baking overhead and I felt the heat hit me like a wall. I leaned on the edge of the doorway to the cave. Scully leaned her back against my chest and I put my arms around her waist. Her hands rested on my forearms. "Any idea what direction we're facing?" she asked. I looked at the sun and said, "Well, if this is Earth and it's high noon, north is that way." I pointed straight ahead. "Which way do we go?" she asked. "Beats me. I'm glad we brought water canteens though." She nodded. "Well, I guess we pick a direction and start walking." "Nothing else to do," I said We went back into the cave and retrieved our backpacks. The first thing I did was to dig inside and make sure the kale potion was safe. It was still safely wrapped in my shirt and I replaced it with a sigh of relief. We both took a healthy swig from our canteens but decided to save the rest. We put our packs back on. They were more like canvas sacks with rolls of fabric made into straps. It was the best we could do. They stayed on our backs and had made the trip. That was all that counted. I pulled a leather thong from my jeans pocket and tied my hair back to combat the heat. Hair was already stuck to my head with sweat. Scully did the same. We exited again and I said, "We should recover the entrance." Scully nodded and picked up the branches and tumbleweeds we had broken on our way out and leaned them back up against the hole, stuffing them in the crevice, concealing it as best we could. "Should we mark it?" she said. "We probably should. Once we're out there, it will be hard to spot if we need to come back." She took off her backpack and pulled out a spare red bandana that one of the Elves had given her to hold her hair back. She tied it to one of dead branches leaning on the doorway. "Kind of defeats the purpose of hiding it, doesn't it?" I said. "We could put it on a stick out there somewhere," she suggested. "Yeah, let's do that." She retrieved it, stick and all and we began walking due north. About a half mile out, I said, "Put the stick here. We're far enough away, but close enough to determine due south if we find the stick." I studied the profile of the hill that contained the cave, committing it to memory for possible future reference. She nodded and jammed it into the ground. I bent down and scooped up sand around the base to anchor it a bit better. I was already sweating like a pig. "Jesus, it's hot," she grumbled. I nodded and took her hand. There was nothing to say. I estimated we'd walked about two miles when we saw the first rock outcropping high up over a dune. It was something to break up the shimmering expanse of sand and I pointed to it. Scully nodded and we headed for it, figuring at least it would be some shade for a while. It was farther away than it looked. Nearly an hour later, we finally reached it. The overhang did provide shade and we collapsed underneath it, removing our backpacks. "Maybe we should wait for night time. It gets cold in the desert. And walking would keep us warm," I suggested. "I'm really tired," she offered. I arranged our backpacks on the ground so we could use them for pillows and we lay down, holding hands. It was too hot to cuddle up. I have no clear memory of falling asleep, but the next thing I knew a snorting horse had me leaping to my feet and nearly knocking myself out when I whacked my head on the overhang. XXXXXXXXXX "Easy, young man," a gentle voice floated to me. I ducked down and stepped out from under the overhang and came face to face with a Native American Indian. He was about my height and easily sixty something years old. His white hair was held off his face by a beaded headband. He wore a blue chamois shirt and jeans and cowboy boots, all of which had seen better days. A string tie with a turquoise clasp completed the outfit. His skin was like shoe leather and wrinkled to point of looking like a prune. He reminded me of Albert Hostein. He was standing there, holding the reins of his horse, said snorting horse that had nearly caused me to knock myself out. "Who are you?" I asked. "I might ask you the same thing," he said slowly. "What are two white skins doing out here in the desert?" "We're lost," I said. He looked around. "Looks like it." "Can you help us?" "Depends on what you want," he said. "Civilization would be nice," I said, not wanting to insult the man and chase away what might be our only means of help. "You're not far, about three miles from town." "What town?" I asked, as Scully emerged from the overhang and peered at the Indian. "Roswell," he said. Both Scully's eyebrows went up at that answer. "Roswell?" she asked. "As in Roswell, New Mexico?" He nodded. "Yup. You don't even know what state you're in?" he inquired warily. "We were, uh, abducted and dumped out here." He looked even more suspicious. "Look, we just need to get to a phone," Scully pleaded. "We can call friends for help from there. Please." He looked back and forth between us and said. "All right." He turned and whistled. Two younger men about our age appeared from around the bend past the overhang. They were both mounted as well. "I'm Clive Riverman," he introduced himself. I shook his hand and then he mounted. "These are my sons, Jacob and Jeremy," he said, pointing at each one in turn. "Get your gear and climb up with the boys." We hastily grabbed our makeshift backpacks and put them on. "Thank you, we really appreciate this," I said. Jacob removed his foot from the stirrup so I could use it to pull myself up behind him. Once up, I removed my foot and he put his back in. Scully was mounted behind Jeremy. Jacob turned to me and said, "You mounted with skill," he said simply. "You have ridden before." I nodded and smiled. "Yes, both Scully and I have become expert riders." He nodded without further comment and turned to follow the others. They turned around and circled the overhang, still heading north. They broke into an easy lope and I sighed in relief. New Mexico. It could have been a hell of a lot worse. The irony that this was Roswell did not escape me. We would talk about that once we were alone. XXXXXXXXXX PART 2 (PG-13) ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO The Indians took us to edge of their reservation and pointed to the long, narrow tar road that headed off into nowhere. Despite being tired, we were grateful and thanked them profusely. I said, "Does it escape you that we are in Roswell, New Mexico, Scully?" She smirked. "What are you thinking?" she asked. There was no longer the instant denial that I'd come to expect. This trip had changed both of us in more ways than one. "Well, if the rumors are true, a gray's ship crashed here in 1947. I wonder why that is?" "You think it has something to do with the portal?" she asked. "I think it's possible. Maybe that portal gives off some kind of magnetic field that the alien ships are sensitive too. We crashed in Skulldown, remember? That was the site of the nearest portal as well. Perhaps on their other trips there they hadn't landed near a portal so they'd done so safely," I suggested. She contemplated that for a moment and then said, "You could be on to something there, Mulder. There's just no way to know. It is odd that both crashes were near portals, if in fact, the 1947 crash was an alien ship and not a weather balloon like they said." "You don't believe it was a weather balloon, do you?" I asked. She hesitated but shook her head. "Not any more. God, my whole paradigm has been turned upside down." "Believe it or not, so has mine. I believed in the crash, but even I could never have envisioned portals and other worlds with all that magic. I keep thinking I'm gonna wake up and find out I was in a coma and this was all one big dream." "I hope not," she said, reaching out, taking my hand. I smiled down at her. "I hope not too. I'm so in love with you, Scully. I need to be with you." "I know, me too." Another hour-long walk in the sun saw us gazing on the most beautiful site in the world, buildings made of wood and cement. We quickened our pace, reenergized and reached the town of Roswell. Oddly enough, it didn't seem weird at all. We passed a restaurant, a bookstore, a library, and a high school and headed toward the center of town. There, we found City Hall, a courthouse and a tax office, a couple of real estate agencies and another restaurant. Finally, we spotted a pay phone. I stepped up to it and said, "You don't happen to have a quarter in the pocket of your jeans do you?" She smiled. "Nope, fresh out." "Great," I deadpanned. A clock on the outside of the courthouse proclaimed the time to be 2:00 PM. Of course, I had no idea what the date was. I made a collect call to Skinner's office and got Kimberly. I heard the operator say, "Collect call from Agent Mulder. Will you accept the charges?" An audible gasp was heard on the other end of the line. "Yes!" Kimberly said. The operator clicked off. "Agent Mulder?" she exclaimed. "Hi, Kim. Is your boss there?" "Yes, he's in a meeting, but I'll interrupt him. Hold on." She put me on hold for about the longest thirty seconds of my life. Next thing I knew, his surly, gruff voice was accosting my ear over the line. "Mulder, where in the HELL are you?" "Nice to hear from you too, sir," I deadpanned. His voice was like music. He snorted. "Is Agent Scully with you?" "Yes, and we need help, sir." "What else is new? Where are you?" "Roswell, New Mexico." There was a pause for a couple of heartbeats. "Please tell me you're kidding," he said. "No, sir. We didn't choose it. We were, uh, dumped here." "Dumped?" "We were abducted, sir." "We figured that Mulder. By whom?" "Can we have this conversation another time? We are penniless and on the street. Could you call The Lone Gunmen and have them wire us some money so we can get a room. We've been traveling for ... a long time. We're exhausted." Skinner sighed. "Is there a Western Union nearby?" "Hold on." I turned to Scully. "Western Union?" She grabbed a woman passing by. "Ma'am, can you tell us if there's a Western Union nearby?" The woman looked at us suspiciously. I knew our clothes were a touch odd and we had to be filthy. "Uh, yeah, there's one over there at Oliver's IGA," she said quickly and then walked away at a brisk pace. I turned back to the receiver. "Yeah, Oliver's IGA, downtown Roswell." "I'll wire you some money, Mulder. How are you getting home?" "We hadn't gotten that far yet." "I'll wire some money and call the Gunmen. Then I'll book you a flight for home." "That would be great, sir. Thank you." "Are either of you hurt?" "Not really. I'm fine but Agent Scully needs to be checked out." "What's wrong?" he asked, sounding a bit more frantic. Good to know he put her welfare above mine. "She's not really hurt but she will need to see a doctor." "Mulder, don't pussyfoot. What's the problem?" I looked at Scully and she nodded at me. "We think she's pregnant." "Jesus Christ!" he cursed. "Can you just send the money? I can pay it back as soon as I get home." "Of course." "Thank you," I repeated. "You're welcome, and Mulder?" "Sir?" "Good to have you back," he said quickly. "Both of you." Was it me or was his voice a touch gruffer than usual? I smiled. "Good to be back, sir." XXXXXXXXXX ROWELL MARRIOTT ROOM 232 We picked up the money at the Western Union. He'd sent $1,000, much more than I'd expected. After signing and checking our receipts, we knew it was July 15, 2004. We'd been abducted on May 15, exactly two months ago. We'd been on Urak a lot longer than two months. There was no time to ponder it now. We got to the room, dropped our stuff, stripped, and climbed into the shower. We stayed there until both of us were in danger of turning into prunes. We immediately fell into bed and slept for twelve hours, waking at six o'clock the morning. I stirred, waking Scully accidentally. I felt better; a hot shower had done wonders for my aching muscles. I didn't feel like getting up yet, so I cuddled up behind Scully, pulling her into me. My morning erection pressed into the cushion of her ass and I hummed in contentment. No matter what happened, we were together now. She given no indication those things would change in that regard once we got back. Now that I thought about though, we hadn't really discussed it. She rolled onto her back and smiled up at me. The concerns must have shown on my face because she asked, "What's wrong?" I hesitated but then plunged forward. "We hadn't really talked about what we would do when we got back here." "In regard to what?" I swallowed harshly. "You, me, the baby or babies," I trailed off. She shook her head in exasperation. "What? You think I'm gonna dump you now?" I shrugged. "You needed me there," I said simply, as though that explained everything. She closed her eyes as though searching for patience. "Do you still love me?" she asked. "Of course I do!" I exclaimed. "Then what makes you think I don't still love you?" I shrugged again. "I don't know." "Mulder, you're impossible. I'm crazy in love with you. That's not going to change, no matter what planet we're on." "There's work," I cautiously reminded. "Screw work. This is more important. If we're lucky, I'm still pregnant with our child. Ashante said she could hear two heartbeats, but we never got time for a real examination, so I can't be sure. I don't feel any different though, so I'm hoping nothing changed. We're going to have a baby or babies together, Mulder. If you think that I'm leaving you behind for that ride, you've got another thing coming! You'll have to pull your weight, Mr. Man," she teased. "I wouldn't miss it for the world, Scully," I said, a feeling of acceptance finally sinking into my thick head. "We went through that handfasting ceremony together. Believe it or not, I feel as married by that as if it had happened in a church here on Earth. Mulder, I waited to marry until I found the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I wanted to be sure. I wouldn't have gone through that with you if I wasn't sure. Now, are we sticking together on this, or what?" I smiled at her, feeling my heart about to bust with joy. I leaned down. "Gladly," I husked out. Then I covered her mouth with mine. XXXXXXXXXX NC-17 PORTION XXXXXXXXXX "Up for a little morning nookie?" I inquired, as our kiss ended. "How about in the shower? I could use another one," she answered. She didn't have to ask me twice. I leaped out of bed and trotted for the bathroom. She chuckled and followed me more slowly. Lust took me over almost instantly, watching the water cascade over her perfect body. She hadn't lost any of her muscle tone. Her tummy was flat, her breasts sitting high and round on her chest with the new development of her pectoral muscles. I glanced down at myself and realized I was quite a bit bulkier as well. Although I'd noticed these changes on Urak, I hadn't paid a whole lot of attention to them. I'd had few other things on mind. Right now, all I had on my mind was making love to Scully. We washed each other's hair and then washed each other with soapy hands, eschewing the washcloth in favor of the skin on skin method. Finding a barber was going to be on my list of things to do. I'd worry about that later, too. I turned her and she braced herself against the tiled walls of the shower, the water beating down on her back. Her tight, muscular ass rose up like an invitation and I grasped her hips, lining up my shaft with her dewy entrance. I was hard and aching after this little exercise. I plunged my entire length inside her in one stroke. She moaned with what sounded like relief and I breathed out through pursed lips, fighting for control. I bent over, wrapping my arms around her waist and began to pump. She arched her back, changing the angle and I spread my legs as far as I could in the tub and snapped my hips, driving myself deep into her tight canal. She moaned louder and my pace quickened, the sound of vigorous sex filling the bathroom and echoing off the wall as our skin smacked together. My pelvis bounced off her tight ass again and again and I closed my eyes and reveled in the sensation of burying myself in her body over and over again. She hollered, "Harder! Oh God, fuck me harder!" I groaned and began slamming her with total abandon, forcing my eyes open to watch my engorged shaft slide under her perky ass cheeks and disappear inside her body, stretching her pussy around my thick cock. I felt my balls churning with cum and hollered, "Feels so good. Oh God, here it comes, Scully." She reached down with one hand and swiped hard over her clitoris once, then twice. I slammed into her and sent a gushing stream of hot, burning cum up against her cervix. "Oh fuck, I love you!" I shouted. She came hard, squeezing me, milking me as I ejaculated four more times. "Oh God, Mulder, yes!" she screamed. My last shot caused my load to leak out around my cock and I loved the site of the white foam at her entrance. I pulled out slowly and she sighed. "I love you too, Mulder." XXXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION XXXXXXXXXX We soaped up our hands and gently washed each other off. The water was getting cool again, and we jumped out, toweling each other off. We hadn't brought any clothes in so we brushed our hair and teeth wearing nothing but towels and exited the bathroom. We halted. Walter Skinner, Ringo Langly, John Byers, and Melvin Frohike were sitting in various places in our room. "Uh, hi," I said sheepishly, heading for my backpack. They were all smirking and I heard Scully slide her backpack off the dresser and retreat back into the bathroom. As casually as I could, I slid on my one pair of jeans and then dropped the towel. Our underwear hadn't made the trip. Commando it was. I pulled my gauzy shirt out and slipped it over my head. This earned me some raised eyebrows. "It's all I have," I growled defensively. Sudden tears pricked my eyes. Their smiles disappeared. Walter stood up from the chair by the window and picked up a paper shopping bag I hadn't seen before that was sitting on the table. He pulled out a new golf shirt with a collar and tossed it to me. I licked my lips and slowly drew the gauzy shirt off and opened the package. It was my size but with my added bulk, fit tight against my muscles and I glanced up at him. "Thanks," I said. "Mulder, what happened?" Byers asked. "You've been gone two months, but you look totally different." "Longer," I said. Plainly they didn't understand. "It's a long story." "We've got time," Frohike said. Scully emerged from the bathroom. This time the tunic she was wearing didn't garner any smart looks. Skinner tossed her a shirt similar to mine. She nodded gratefully. "Thank you," she muttered and went back in the bathroom. Langly asked, "What do you need most, Mulder?" "Food. We haven't eaten in over a day," I said, realizing it was true. Dinner on Urak day before yesterday had been our last meal. Langly said, "There's a diner across the street." I nodded. "Thanks for the money, sir. I'll pay you back." "No problem. I'm glad you're all right." Scully emerged again and looked at the guys. "Look, I know we owe you explanation. Right now though, we really just want some food and we want to go home." I leaned my ass on the dresser and held out my arms. She walked into them and I put my chin on her head. Her hair was down to her waist now and I could see the guys staring. Mine was to the bottom of my shoulder blades. "No haircuts where you were, huh?" Frohike joked. Scully snorted. "That was the least of our problems." "I can't wait to hear this," Langly declared. We packed up our stuff and checked out, stowing the makeshift backpacks in the back of their rented mini-van. We crossed the street and went into the diner. We all ate a hearty breakfast and the guys floated the conversation, telling us of the investigations they'd done while we were gone and the UFO sightings. While they were here, they wondered if I wanted to go to the UFO museum. I'm sure I shocked them when I said, "No, I just want to go home." "But," Frohike started. I held up my hand. "You guys are welcome to stay. I'm going home. When's our flight?" Skinner said, "I'm sorry, but I had to get a later flight to get us all on one plane. We don't leave until 4:00 PM tonight." "We'll tell you the story. That gives us time, Scully. We go back and mark the spot where we arrived." "Arrived?" "We'd need to pick up a GPS. There's got to be a Radio Shack or some other electronics store around here." "I think you better explain what you're talking about, Mulder," Skinner said. I glanced at my watch. We still had several hours. "Why don't you guys go over there now? We'll sit here and sozzle coffee with Walter." They took the hint that we needed to speak with him privately and they threw money on the table and headed out. Langly was already chattering excitedly about the gray versus green theory of alien skin. I smiled in spite of myself. My attention was drawn back to the table when Scully reached across the table and took my hand. I squeezed it gently and then looked at Walter. He glanced at our hands. "This your way of telling me you're together now?" he asked. "Yes, we have a long story to tell, but we got married, had rings made in the place where we were." "'Bout time," he said. We both laughed then in a short burst. "Sir, the place where we were, time was different. For us, we've been gone more than two months, more like at least twice that long." He nodded, not really understanding. Scully said, "You're not going to believe us." He just kept looking at us and waiting. When we didn't say anything, he said, "Try me." I sighed, gathering my thoughts. I closed my eyes and thought back to the day that they had grabbed us out of Scully's apartment. "Well, it started on May 15th, a Saturday. We were going to go on a picnic. We were in the kitchen when we suddenly heard the sound of someone in the apartment." He smiled and nodded. "Go on." "We went out into the living room with our weapons, which we always have on us. We had planned on going hiking so we'd had on jeans and boots. We never had a chance. They grabbed us. There were six of them. I killed one. I always carry my ice pick in my back pocket now on my days off or in my suit coat when I'm working." My hand went to my pocket and I was relieved to feel that it was still there. How that had made the trip to Urak and back was miracle. He looked us, waiting patiently. Scully said softly, "They were alien bounty hunters, sir. All of them." After we finished our story, Scully borrowed Walter's cell phone and called her mother. PART 3 (PG-13) DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT GEORGETOWN, D.C. A WEEK LATER Of course, he had a hard time believing our story. The only credible thing about it was that Scully was telling the same story. If it had been only me, I knew he would have written it off. We showed him the kale potion and the seeds, and explained that the people of Urak had found a way to repel the grays and given us the means to do it for ourselves as well. We would need to test these things once back in D.C. We would need a sample of the black oil to test it on. We discussed it and decided that contacting Marita Covarrubias would be the safest way to get some. At the end of our explanation, he told us that we'd have to think of a cover story. He couldn't put this in the official records, but he had reported our disappearance, formed a task force in fact, to find us. He'd also found burns on Scully's carpet, which confirmed for him that we'd been abducted. He believed in aliens, but crashing on another planet and meeting eight other races was a bit much for him to take in. Even so, he agreed to contact Marita for us and find a way for us to test the things we'd been given. He ended up reporting our return to the Bureau, saying persons unknown had abducted us, drugged us, and recently returned us. Officially, we had no memory of our abductions. He went on to say that we suspected medical procedures had been done on us, as Agent Scully's fertility was restored. That was as far as he was willing to go. We'd gone to her OB/GYN as soon as we hit D.C. He'd confirmed that she was indeed three and a half months pregnant with fraternal twins. He did note the oddity that one fetus seemed to be about three weeks ahead developmentally and he wanted to keep an eye on that. We discussed it afterwards, figuring that she had actually been impregnated with each child at different times. The first time was when we got stuck together and the second was during our handfasting. No need to give him that little detail. Meanwhile, we'd met with the guys and told them the whole story. Even they had a hard time believing it. Byers thought we must have been drugged and experienced some type of group hallucination. When Scully asked how a hallucination got her pregnant, Langly answered that we probably boffed while hallucinating. I almost took his head off. We gave them the location and coordinates of Urak, which was located in the Andromeda galaxy, according to our sources. Then we gave them the coordinates of the gray's planet. Despite wanting to believe, they didn't. However, in spite of their skepticism, they agreed to pass on the information and coordinates to their contacts who were always searching the heavens. XXXXXXXXXX ONE MONTH LATER Scully came out of the bedroom. She was showing now and I loved to just gaze at her. She glanced at the computer and saw the long text I was writing. "What are you doing out here every night, pounding away on that keyboard?" "What do you think I'm doing?" "Research? Trying to find information on Andromeda?" "Maybe," I said cryptically. She rose and eyebrow and proceeded into the kitchen. I shut down the computer after saving my work in a password protected read-only file. Life was going pretty well. We had taken a leave of absence. Lots had happened in that time. The biggest hurtle had been completed. We told our story to Marita and she had believed us. This went a long way towards convincing Skinner. She'd arranged for us to have everything we needed to test the potion. After years of unsuccessful experimentation on an unwitting public, Marita dropped the bomb that we had the solution on the Consortium. They were given an ultimatum. They could get on board with her as their leader, or they would go to jail. They tried to outwit her and steal everything from us. Big mistake. We took them down and numerous arrests for treason and various other crimes were made around the world. The irony of Marita running the good old-boys network didn't escape Scully or me and gave me a perverse sort of pleasure. A top secret project to grow kale and reproduce the potion, that had tested out as effective, for vaccines was created within the Bureau. It was code-named the Kale Project. They were merely sprouts at this time, but there were now kale plants growing in Tunisia and in hundreds of hidden locations around the world instead of hybrid corn that had was there before. The government had confiscated the wealth and property from the Consortium members that were now serving time and was using it to compensate the families of the individuals that had been used unwittingly as test subjects for all these years. Once we had made sure that the vaccine would work, we. We wanted to buy a house together, get settled and figure out what we were going to do. Saving the world had always been our main goal, but while the X-Files were still important, but we both realized that we couldn't be traipsing all over the country with two babies to fight the monster of the week. We certainly weren't going to leave them in someone else's care. Maggie Scully was ecstatic and supportive. She was thrilled to have her daughter returned, thrilled that she was pregnant, and even thrilled that Scully was with me. We explained about the handfasting that we both considered a marriage, but we agreed to plan a small civil ceremony followed by a big reception for the rest of the family to attend. Neither of us wanted to go through the rigmarole of being counseled by a Catholic priest when we knew each other better than anyone else in the world. Scully was not convinced the church would forgive her situation. We'd obviously had pre- marital sex, and that wouldn't sit well. We'd obviously lived together already and she wouldn't lie about those things. She adamantly refused to go to confession and ask forgiveness for our actions. Add to all that the fact that I'm Jewish and that was the clincher. No way. We had our small ceremony with a non-denominational minister from John Byer's Unitarian church. Scully's immediate family attended, including old Billy Goat, who was surprisingly cordial. Apparently, he'd finally figured out that I wasn't going anywhere. The Gunmen and Skinner had attended as well. We then went to a reception at the VFW hall where Mrs. Scully had invited everybody and their mother. We went along for the ride and had a good time. A DJ kept the crowd dancing and the food was good, but all I could think about was getting her home, and as Langly so delicately put it, boffing her. When we got home, that's exactly what I did. XXXXXXXXXX THE MULDERS' HOUSE FALLS CHURCH, VA 5 - 1/2 MONTHS LATER I heard a moan and raced from the bedroom to the bathroom, where Scully was taking a shower. She was enormous now. I couldn't imagine how her small frame was handling all the weight. I gave her nightly back rubs and cuddles and she loved to have me take her from behind. "What's wrong?" I asked as I burst into the bathroom and was assaulted by a wall of steam. "My water broke," she said calmly. "What do I do?" I asked, suddenly going completely blank on all the birthing information we had discussed. She laughed. "Nothing. I'm gonna finish my shower and then you're going to cook me breakfast." "Shouldn't we be going to the hospital? I'll grab your bag and go get the car running," I babbled. She turned off the shower and stepped out. I lovingly toweled her off as she stood for my ministrations. "Mulder, it will be hours yet. Don't panic. I'm going to need you on this one." I took a deep breath to calm myself and stood up, licking a water droplet off the top of her swollen breast. "Sorry, I'm better now," I said in a bland voice. She laughed and cupped my face, pulling me down for a long, leisurely kiss. "Now, how about that breakfast?" she asked. "Your wish is my command, Mama," I quipped. She snorted, slapping me on the ass as I turned to exit the bathroom. I loved that we could be playful together now. I made her breakfast, which she ate with enthusiasm. We'd been attending Lamaze classes so I did know what to do, I reminded myself. We went for a walk in the park across the street from the house and then returned home where I rubbed her back and then paced back and forth with her until her contractions were about five minutes apart. At that point, I insisted that we go to the hospital. She finally agreed and I packed her valise into the trunk and drove to the hospital while she called the doctor. She was wheeled into a birthing room that was set up for fathers to attend. Her doctor appeared with a nurse to assist and we began the long process of giving birth to twins. She had to have an episiotomy to avoid tearing, but otherwise, things went well. She couldn't believe how easy the birth had been. We could only attribute it to our new-found health. Our daughter was born first, seven pounds and pink and chubby. Our son was born second, amazingly only two pounds behind his sister, considering that he was three weeks younger. He was a bit small, so they put him in an incubator for the first 24 hours. Once they were sure both babies would breast feed without a problem, they packed us up and sent us home. Mrs. Scully complained about insurance companies and 'drive-thru births'. We had a house now in Falls Church, Virginia. It was a two story colonial with four bedrooms. We'd made a nursery in one with the expectation of needing two kid rooms later on, one for the girl and one for the boy. Who knew? Maybe we'd even fill the nursery again some day. I'd gone back to work and was contracting out to VCS for profiling assistance on the agreement that I wasn't to go out in the field more than an hour from home. I still worked out of the basement though. Both Skinner and I had insisted on it. I needed to have anonymity to work on the Kale Project when necessary and that meant having my own quarters. Other members of the Bureau only knew that I'd been recruited for some top secret project and they were not privy to any information concerning it. Scully had taken maternity leave when her leave of absence ran out. She was still being paid so we were in okay shape financially. It wouldn't have mattered. I had lots of money socked away from my inheritance as well as my own investments over the years. Scully was considering a teaching position at Quantico when she did return to work. We hadn't quite worked that out yet. Meanwhile I was working on my secret project. XXXXXXXXXX FRIDAY AFTERNOON THREE MONTHS LATER Melissa Margaret and Sean Ryan Mulder became the center of our world. When they were old enough, I was determined that they would have a full accounting of the miracle of their conception and birth. I had finally finished my own personal project, working in secret for hours at night while Scully slept. I needed only about half the sleep she did. The twins were three months old now and healthy as horses. So were we, for that matter. We'd lost none of our physical attributes that we'd gained in Urak and people commented on it frequently. We continued to work out at least twice a week, but didn't seem to have any trouble maintaining what we'd gained. I was excited when I came in from work. "You're late," she said frowning. Even though things had settled down, Scully still worried about me when I varied my routine. I smiled. "I have a good reason," I informed her. "Oh really?" she said, her skepticism plain. I set down my briefcase on the kitchen table and popped it open. I handed her an embossed cream-colored envelope. She cocked one eyebrow up inquiringly. "Open it." She opened it and pulled the card out. Her mouth dropped open and she read aloud: "You are cordially invited to attend a book party for the release a brand new children's novel by author, Fox William Mulder, May 15, 2005, at Barnes & Noble, Falls Church, Virginia from Noon to Four PM." "Book party? Release of a children's novel?" she sputtered. I grinned and reached into my briefcase and extracted the brand new hardcover. I'd just gotten a case of them today from my publisher. I'd had him send them to work. The rest were in my car. I held up the cover that showed an illustration of all the races from Urak around the outside in a circle. In the center was an illustration of us aboard our unicorns. She gulped and read the title. "'The Lords of Magic', a fantasy tale by Fox William Mulder." "When they get older, I want the twins to have a full accounting of the miracle of their conception and birth. I want them to know how those wonderful people took us in. Your pregnancy was a miracle, Scully, magic for sure. I want them to feel that sense of wonder for their existence. I want them to find it here on Earth, that wonder. I have an eidetic memory now but when I get old and gray, who knows? I could go senile and forget. I wanted it all down on paper while it's all still fresh and vivid in my mind." She began to cry silently and reached out, her bottom lip quivering. "Mulder, what a beautiful idea," she said, her voice wavering. She sobbed and threw herself into my arms. I held her and rocked her. "I love you, baby," I whispered. "I love you too, Mulder." THE END.