Title: Searching For the Truth Author: Erin M. Blair E-Mail: eblair@sonic.net Classification: SRA--Story, Romance, Angst Content: Mulder/Scully Married. Mulder POV. Spoiler: Memento Mori. Rating: PG Archive: OK to archive: Gossamer and Xemplary. All others, please ask me first. Please forward to ATXC. Disclaimer: The characters of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully don't belong to me. They belong to Chris Carter, 1013 Productions, and the FOX network. No infringement is intended. However, the character, Katherine Scully (Mulder), is mine. Author's Note: This story follows up "Finding The Truth" in the universe where Katherine Scully is working with her father, Fox Mulder, in the X-Files. Dana Scully-Mulder had died giving birth to Katherine or has she? Feedback: Most appreciative and welcomed. Summary: Fox Mulder finds word that will change his and Katherine's lives forever. -------------------------------------- SEARCHING FOR THE TRUTH Written by: Erin M. Blair -------------------------------------- "Dad, what's wrong?" I looked up from the case files to see my daughter, Katherine, looking concerned about what I saw in front of me. Lately, she had been having an easier time calling me "Dad" since she had found out that I had never abandoned her. I would never do that since she's the only part that I had left of Scully. With the exception of her hazel eyes that she had inherited from me, she looks and acts so much like her mother. "I was just looking at a new X-File that we're going to work on..." "It doesn't sound that you want us to go. Do you?" "It's not that I don't want to go, it's just that I'm worried..." "Why?" "I'm afraid." "Of what?" Katherine asked, concerned. "Tell me as your partner, not as your daughter." "All right, Agent Scully. This warehouse. I saw this facility before." "When?" "When your mother was diagnosed with nasopharengeal tumor," I said, with a sigh. I could tell that Katherine was shocked, but she tried to hide that. "Katherine? Are you all right?" "I'm fine... It's still a shock to me---" "I know what you mean... When I found out, I couldn't believe it. I *refused* to believe." "Mulder, why don't you tell me more about the warehouse?" Katherine asked, using what her mother used to call me. You don't know how much I miss Scully. I miss Scully so much, but I know that she's within Katherine. I know that she lives on in her. I have to believe that. I took a deep breath, and then, I continued. "It's where I saw the clones... The ova that they took from your mother when she was abducted." "If she couldn't have children..." "How did you came to be?" I finished her question. I drew a deep breath, and looked at Katherine. "They hadn't took all her ova as *they* thought. One of her ovaries were depleted..." "She still had one ovary which still contained ova," Katherine said, as she finished my thought. "Correct," I replied. "I remember when she told me. She hurried down the hallway to see me at our basement office. She said that we're going to have a a baby. She threw her arms around me and I could feel her heartbeat. We were both thrilled. She called you "our little miracle." I still remember that day..." Katherine nodded thoughtfully as she looked at me with her hazel eyes. I could tell how moved she was as eyes were misty with tears. * * * We were at the warehouse where the Kurt Crawfords should me the ova. I had Langly, Byers, and Frohike let us bypass the old mainframe. It's quite interesting that they hadn't upgraded the warehouse to a better system when we broke in before. "It's almost like *they* want us to find out something," I said, as Katherine nodded. "Sounds like it," Katherine replied. With a glance, I could tell that she was worried at what we're going to find. I knew that she was hiding her fear. She was just like her mother---my Scully. "What happens if...?" "What?" "That Mom's alive." Ever since I received the information from my source about a startling discovery of the truth at the warehouse, the thought of Scully being hidden here was in the back of my mind. "I'd thought of it too." "I know that it's not possible, Dad. We all know that she's dead. Ever since my regression, I know that she's within myself. A part of me tells me that the regression was a sign... Your source gave you this information to find out for ourselves if Mom's still alive." She looked at me with her hazel eyes as she waited for me to answer. I gave myself a little laugh as she said "a part of her" which means the part that she had inherited from me. "You know what you sounded like? Don't you?" "Who?" "Me. It's something that I would've said. Once." "I was trying to make sense of this. It doesn't mean that I actually think that I believe." "Just now, you sounded like your mother..." "I know," Katherine said, simply. She shrugged. "I guess that I'm both skeptic and believer." I nodded. She was more open to extreme possibilities than Scully was when I first met her. Katherine was a product of both our belief systems and our love. She was mixture of us. "You're more open than she was when I first met her." "I guess," Katherine said, mumbled. I heard a noise, and we walked in the direction of the sound. We stopped at a door with no windows. There's nothing that told us what was behind it. "Do you remember this area?" Katherine asked, curious. "No. I don't remember," I said, with a sigh. It took me a second to realize what I had to do. I watch Katherine got out her gun and I did the same. For a second, I could imagine that she was Scully. I know that Katherine isn't Scully. She has her own personality and identity which came from the both of us. Looking at me, I knew that she thought that I was too scared at opening the door so she decided to do it. I *wasn't* scared at opening the door. I wasn't sure if I wanted to see what was behind the door. We walked in very cautiously at the room. It was filled with tanks filled with green liquid. "I'd seen this before many times. Nothing new," I whispered. "Had you seen this room before?" Katherine asked. "No," I whispered. "I hadn't seen this one before." We walked towards the tanks, and we looked inside of them. "Who is she?" Katherine asked, curious. She peered at the glass, trying to figure out who the woman was. From her facial expression when she looked at me, she knew. She didn't have to tell me. "It's Mom." She paused. "But how?" "It's possible that she was taken after she gave birth to you..." Katherine peered at the glass to look at her mother again. "She looked as though she hasn't aged since she gave birth to me." She paused. "I'd never seen anything like this. Could the green liquid be some life preserver?" She was mystified at what she saw before her, but I knew that she wanted an logical explanation. "There's got to a logical reason behind this..." "Never mind that. We have to find a way to get her out of there..." "Are you sure that we can? What happens if the green liquid is preserving her life?" "Maybe... Maybe not." "What are we going to do?" I walked around, and I saw a canister that would break the glass. Katherine shot me a look of disbelief, but I ignored her. With the canister, I broke the tank with glass shattering. With Katherine's medical expertise, we helped get Scully out of the tank. Scully's alive... "I just can't believe it," Katherine said, as she whispered to me. "This changes things, doesn't it?" I nodded. "She's back in our lives, Katherine." Katherine whispered back. "She doesn't know me, Dad." "I'm sure she does," I said, with a whisper. "Mulder?" Scully said, weakly. She was laying down on top of Katherine's warm jacket. Her blue eyes focused on me and then she looked at our daughter. I went to my Scully, and I bent down. I stroked her auburn hair and I gazed into her eyes. I was so excited that I could hardly talk. "I'm here, Scully." "How long have I been gone?" I didn't know how to answer that, but I have to tell her. "You've been taken after you gave birth to Katherine. We thought you died..." I paused. "You've been gone for a long time..." "I know," Scully said, with a sigh. She looked at Mulder's hand and noticed the wedding ring that she gave him. "You never took it off..." "No. I didn't want anyone to get close to me," I said. I noticed Katherine looking as though she didn't want to get in the way of our reunion. "Scully, this is our daughter, Katherine Dana Sc..." "Mulder, it's Katherine Dana Mulder," Scully said, as she smiled at Katherine. "That's what we named her when she was born." She wanted her daughter to come a little closer. "Katherine?" Katherine leaned in closer to her mother. "Mom? It's true what Dad said." "Somehow, we had a strong connection, Katherine." Scully see Mulder smiling. "I don't believe that way, Mulder." She paused. "I know what my Mom had done to the both of you." "You do?" Scully nodded. "Yes." "But how?" "I just know. You're my daughter, Katherine. You remind me so much of myself," Scully said, as she watched her husband trying to find her clothes. "Mulder, what are you looking for?" "Your clothes," I answered. I found her white blouse, black pants, and her black jacket along with her gold cross necklace. "I thought that I would never see these again..." "Found it?" I nodded. "Yes, I did. I never thought that I would see this outfit again... I thought that it---" Scully sat up, and she took her clothes from me. With Katherine's help, she was able to dress herself in front of me. It's amazing to see her, looking so young. She hadn't aged a bit. Her auburn hair had no trace of grey, and her body was still tight with youth. She looked the same when I last saw her after she gave birth to our daughter. "You thought that you'd never see me with these clothes again?" "Yes," I said, simply. I could tell from Katherine's facial expression that she looked concerned for Scully. I am too. She'd been gone from our lives for such a long time that she needed to be updated with the events. Events that didn't include her. "Mom," Katherine said, her voice was full with concern. "We've got to get you out of here." Scully nodded. "I know." She paused. Her blue eyes were misty with unshed tears. "Katherine, I've missed all your growing up years... Will you ever forgive me?" "Katherine blamed herself for your death..." "My what?" Scully asked, shocked. "Your death," I answered, as I gently stroked her shoulder-length auburn hair. "I know how shocked you are, but that's what we were led to believe." "I understand..." Scully turned towards our daughter, and she hugged her. "Katherine, it's not your fault. I'm alive. I'm not dead. After you were born to us, they took me. They ran various tests on me to see if I could be a test subject to the liquid..." "The green liquid?" I asked. "Is it alien?" "I don't know, Mulder. I can't answer that," Scully said, with a sigh. "I told Dad that it's some kind of life preserver, Mom." "You're right," Scully said, as she smiled at me and our daughter. "Mulder, she's just like me." She paused. "I had a feeling..." "Mom, I'm a FBI agent..." She smiled at me. "Was this your doing, Mulder?" "No... We hadn't met then. She wanted to be like you, Scully. She's a medical doctor with emphasis in forensic medicine and taught at Qauntico for two years. After that--" "I can tell Mom, Dad. After that, AD Skinner assigned me to the X-Files as Dad's partner." "Your Dad's partner?" Scully inquired, as she frowned when she looked at me. "You didn't know that Katherine's your daughter then?" "No. Your Mom raised her, not me. That's why she's known as Katherine Dana Scully, not Katherine Dana Mulder. I was told that both of you were dead..." I paused. "Anyway, I treat Katherine like as mentor-student relationship..." "She's the future," Scully said, with a sad smile. "She's going to get the whole division when we're both gone..." "Hopefully, not for a long time," I said, with a grin. * * * I was at my house that Scully and I had bought when we first became husband and wife. I still can't believe that I have Scully back along with our daughter, but I do. I know that I have to be patient as everyone needs their time to be adjust to these changes in our lives. Me patient? I never been patient. It's totally out of character for me to start now, but I'd grown up in the past several years since Scully's "supposed" death. Really. I watch my Scully reading the paper, and she gives me a smile. "Scully?" "Yes, Mulder?" "I'm so happy that you're back. You don't know how I missed you," I said, as I touched the outline of her face. "I missed you too," Scully said. She looked at me and knew that I wanted to tell her something. "Is there something on your mind?" "Are you coming back to the FBI?" "I haven't thought about it," Scully said, with a sigh. "Are you thinking about Katherine?" I nodded. "Are you?" "Yes, I am." "I have this idea..." I noticed her arching her eyebrows, and I knew that she was very skeptical. "Scully, hear me out." "Don't I always?" Scully asked, with a smile. "All right, tell me." "Katherine's our future in the X-Files. Correct?" "I agree with you. She's definitely a good agent. I'm impressed how good she is." "She gets it from us, Scully. Anyway, we can teach her everything about the X-Files in our own X-Files division. What do you think?" "That sounds fine to me. I do have to get recertified, and explain why I'm not dead..." She paused. "This must be the third X-File you have on me." "I know." * * * "Mulder! Will you please get the door? I'm going to be taking a bath," Scully said, as she peered into my study. "A bath? Want me to help you?" I said, as I turned to face her. "If you want to," she said, with a smile. "I heard a doorbell. Katie's coming over." "You mean Katherine?" Scully nodded. "Katie was a nickname that I gave her when I was carrying her." She shrugged. "I don't think that she'll mind if I use it." "Go ahead, Scully. You need all the time in the world to reconnect to her." "Thank you," she said, as she gave me a warm kiss on the lips. "You don't know how much this means to me." "I do, Scully. When Katherine came back into my life, I wanted to spend every second with her to make up for all those lost years." "That's how I feel, Mulder. I want her to know me." "She already does," I said, as I caressed her lower back where I often touched her. "I know that." I paused. "Go ahead, Scully. Take your bath, and I'll show her in." "All right. It'll only take a few minutes..." I nodded. With a smile from Scully, I walked downstairs to the foyer where I opened the door to face Katherine. "Hi Katherine." Her hazel eyes sparkled at me, as she gave me a quick hug. "I still can't believe that Mom's alive." I nodded. "I can't believe it myself, but I'm happy that all of us are together." "I know," Katherine said, as she followed me to the living room. She took off her tan colored trenchcoat to reveal a white cotton, long sleeved blouse and tan pants. She put her trenchcoat on the sofa. "Mom wanted me to stop by. She wants to "get to know me" but you know something, Dad?" "What?" "She doesn't have to." "I know that. Both of you are very similar." "There's something else. You know how I'm your partner---" "Are you saying that since your mother's back that I don't want you there on the X-Files?" Katherine nodded. She sighed. "I guess that's what I'm trying to ask." She paused. "What's going to happen?" Scully entered the room, and she heard our daughter's question. "Your father and I have been discussing that. It's going to take me some time to used to being a FBI agent, but I want you to continue working with the both of us." She smiled at Katherine, and then, at me. "You know something, Katherine?" "What?" "Your father and I always knew that you'd be the one to continue our search for the truth. You're the future of the X-Files..." "I am?" "Yes," I replied. "Someday, you're going to have them." I looked at Katherine, and then, I looked at Scully. "Like your mother said, you're going to continue our search for the truth..." "What truth would that be?" Katherine asked, with a smile. I thought for a moment, but I couldn't find the words. It was a good question, but I always thought that it was about Samantha. Maybe it's not about my sister, but it's all about family and the human spirit. I don't know, but I wish that I knew. "You'll know when you find it, Katherine. I know you will. You just have to find the heart to search for it," Scully said, with a sigh. She took a quick pause. "It's all about faith." "Scully?" "Yes?" "I have already found my truth. You," I said, as I stroked her face gently. "I had no idea what I would find in the warehouse, but I had a feeling that I would find you. You _are_ my truth." She put her arms around my shoulders and she whispered in my ear. "I know, Mulder. However, both you and Katherine are my truth." End of Story