Chapter Six

Scully stood. She suddenly felt the need to move, to get away from him. She was afraid of what she might do if she didn't.

So he had children...he probably got married. I'm happy for him. Happy that he got a life...

Mulder stared at the screen. He felt a chill come over his soul as Scully stood and left his side. He was frozen where he sat.

"Scully...what if he's a nephew or something? I do have other relatives."

She shrugged. "Big coincidence, Mulder."

As much as he hated to admit it, he had a feeling that this Lieutenant Commander Lance Mulder was a direct descendant. He didn't know how he knew. He just did.

You knew it wouldn't be her, he chided himself silently. No matter how much you wish it was, she isn't...can't be...the mother of your children.

He heard her fall onto the couch. He got up and their eyes met. He could see that she was holding on to her composure by a thread. Her beautiful sapphire blue eyes were shiny with unshed tears. His were pained. For her. For him. He walked up to her and held out his hand. Her eyes focused on his hand. Long-fingered and graceful, she had always loved watching when he typed or reached for a sunflower seed. She placed her smaller, slender one into it. He pulled her up and into his arms. She fit neatly underneath his chin now that she was wearing combat boots provided by the Arusians instead of her heels and she realized how perfectly they fit together. She closed her eyes.

They didn't need to say anything. Every move they had made, every look that had passed between them had already said it all. Mulder could feel her trembling and knew that she could feel the same from him. He ran a hand through her fiery hair, and heard her suck in a breath. He cupped her face in his hands and looked deep into her eyes. It was an action that was not unfamiliar to them. Countless times, when everything and everyone seemed to be against them, he would look into her eyes, a strength in his that she envied. Little did she know that he saw the same strength in her.

"I hope you made me a godmother," she said, trying for humor, but the teary note in her voice told otherwise. I wish you made me a mother.

"Do I have permission to look up our histories now?" he asked.

"I don't think I want to know anymore," she said, pulling away. "But you go ahead."

She disappeared into the bedroom after giving him one last sad smile. The doors shut behind her with a hiss. He stood there for a few seconds. He pressed his hands together to stop their trembling. He was afraid. Because he knew the only reason he would ever turn to another woman would be if Scully were gone.

Mulder went back to the computer. But before he could begin his search, the door chimed. Grimacing, he got up to answer it.

Lance looked up at the tall man who had answered the door. Hazel eyes met hazel eyes and they knew who each was looking at. Mulder held out a hand. Lance took it.

"Nice to meet you, Lieutenant Mulder."

If the lieutenant was shocked that Mulder knew who he was, he didn't show it. "Likewise, Agent Mulder."

"Come on in."

Lance led Keith, Allura, and Nanny into the room. They refrained from sitting, save Lance. They were all too wired to sit still. At the sound of other voices, Scully came out of the bedroom.

"What's happened?" she asked.

"We know why you were brought here," Allura said, her hands clenching and unclenching. "Lance, Lieutenant Mulder here, inadvertently cast a spell that brought one of his ancestors back."

"So does that mean you can send us back?" Scully questioned, not exactly thrilled at the possibility. The sooner we get back, the sooner Mulder will find that woman.

Allura and Keith exchanged furtive glances.

"Not necessarily," Allura said. "It is true that every spell has a counter-spell, but we still have to find one for this."

"And time is running short," Keith added. "Lance is getting weaker by the minute. He's only staying awake with the help of stimulants. The longer you're here, the smaller the chances are that he will exist."

A sudden wave of dizziness seemed to come over him. He wiped his forehead and with shaky steps went to sit on the couch. Allura put a hand on his arm, concerned.

"Keith?"

"I'm not feeling too good myself," he admitted.

Nanny went to Keith's side and murmured some words over him, her necklace in her hand as she did. She said something in Arani, something that made Allura look tearfully at the commander and made Lance cover his face with his hands.

"What?" Mulder asked.

"Every life that Lance has touched will change if he does not exist," Allura said, her tone flat and tired. Her eyes never left Keith's face. "And every life that each of those other lives have touched will change. So much counts on one man. Nanny is trying to protect them but it won't last long. Lance will disappear in two days and then..."

The hand she had on Keith's shoulder clenched. He winced slightly as her nails scratched him through his jumpsuit, but it was a pain he needed to feel. He put a hand over hers and another on Lance's shoulder.

Scully went to stand beside her partner, her arm brushing his. He looked down at her and saw her calmness come over her like a mask. But her blue eyes were still filled with turmoil. She refused to meet his gaze. He knew her feelings for him ran deep, as did his for her, but he never thought he'd see the day when he'd know for sure how she felt. It gave him enough courage to take her hand in his, twining their fingers together. She still didn't look at him, but she squeezed his hand lightly.

"Can we help in any way?" Mulder asked.

"Most of the books are in Arani," Allura said, sounding apologetic. "As it is, we can't let too many people know about this because the consequences of these kinds of spells that exist are dangerous and great."

"How's your Arani, Keith?" Lance asked.

"Not too bad. I guess yours needs some work though," Keith said.

"That's an understatement," Lance said with feigned cheer.

The two old friends smiled. Mulder was impressed at the way they banded together at a time like this. Even though Lance caused so much damage that might tear at the fabric of their existence, there were no harsh words or blame put on him. Instead, they worked together to find a way out of their trouble. It was because either they just had a good sense of teamwork or this happened often. He guessed it to be the latter. The way they had rallied to find the source of the agents' appearance was laudable. By his rough count, approximately ten hours had passed since he and Scully had landed on that field, and they had already found the reason why they were there.

"Let's get to work," Allura said. "Agents, I'm afraid you'll have to stay in this room for a while longer..."

"Can't we come with you to where you're working?" Mulder asked. "We might be of some help, Arani or no Arani."

The Princess nodded. "Alright. I suppose I wouldn't like it if I was cooped up in here for too long either."

They filed out the door and headed for the castle archives.

Allura concentrated on focusing her thoughts on the task ahead. It was difficult. She was already having difficulty after realizing that Lance would be gone forever, but after learning that Keith...

She knew how Lance had saved Keith's life during a training exercise at the Academy. They were let loose in the wilderness in pairs during a snow storm and Keith had taken a particularly nasty tumble down a slope, cracking his head open in the bargain. Acting quickly, Lance had staunched the bleeding and made his friend stay awake with him until help could come their way. Keith had told Allura that he had never met a man with as much nobility as Lance. Despite the rough exterior, he told her, Lance had a heart of gold and a soul to match.

She watched him walk in front of her, pushing Lance's hoverchair. She put a hand to her mouth and swallowed hard, fighting back the tears. Lance, a close friend, and Keith, the man she had always hoped to be with forever...

Scully saw the young Princess bow her head suddenly. Mulder still had a death grip on her hand, but she reached out and put her free hand on Allura's shoulder. In Allura's eyes she saw an answering pain. They knew that there was a good chance that they were going to lose the important men in their lives.

"We'll find it, Princess," Scully assured her. "We'll find it."

Allura managed a small smile and nodded. She didn't say anything, but Scully saw that she appreciated her words.

They reached the archives and immediately, Scully and Mulder were hit with how cavernous it was. From floor to ceiling, books of every size, shape, and color filled countless shelves. One table in the middle of the room was heaped with various books. Allura had the nearly three dozen books from the rooms in the tunnels brought up. They headed towards that table. Without a word, they, with the exception of the agents, each took a book and began to read. Scully broke away from her partner and headed for the shelves, scanning for any titles she could understand. Mulder spotted a computer and sat down before it.

He immediately began searching the database for any mention of Scully. Before anything could come up, he heard the soft whir of Lance's hoverchair come his way.

"What are you doing?" Lance asked.

"I'm looking up information on Scully," Mulder replied. "I want to know what happened to her."

Lance frowned. "What do you mean? Don't you already know...how did you find out about me?"

"We were reading about the Voltron legend and your name came up. Scully forbade me to look up anything on us."

Lance nodded. His eyes flickered to the screen, but before Mulder could read anything, he cleared it. The older man turned on him with anger.

"What did you do that for?"

"You already know more than you should," Lance said. "I can't let you find out anything else."

"But..."

"He's right, Mulder," Scully said without turning around. "Make yourself useful and do some research."

"You're not doing any," he responded petulantly.

At that moment, she pulled a book about Arusian magic that was in English and found that there were several of them. Good archive. They've got everything covered.

"I am now," she said smugly.

Mulder snorted. Lance hid a smile as he went back to the others. He had reached the table when his head slumped forward, and his eyes closed. Keith jumped up and nearly fainted for his trouble. Scully rushed to them and laid Keith down on the floor.

"I'm a medical doctor," she told them reassuringly. "Just rest for a few moments. You got up too quickly." She moved to Lance. Mulder was already at his side. Scully raised the younger man's head gently and checked his pupils then moved to his pulse. "It's just a fainting spell, but his pulse is a little weak," she told the anxious onlookers. "I think those stimulants have overworked him. He needs some rest."

"Agent Mulder, can you put him on the couch?" Allura asked, pointing at a green plush affair that looked as if it had been used too much. "He won't like it if we put him back in his room."

"Sure," Mulder said. "And please, call me Mulder."

Allura's lips quirked. "Alright. Thank you, Mulder."

"He doesn't like his first name," Scully explained automatically as Mulder went to go do as the Princess asked.

"With a name like Fox, I can't blame him," Keith said, starting to get up. Allura helped him to a chair. "I think I should get some of Gorma's stimulants."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Scully said.

"My life is on the balance here...Scully, is it?"

"I can deal with Dana," she said.

"Dana, my life and Lance's life depend on our finding that spell to send you two back. I'm not going to spend the last possible days of my life resting."

"Don't say that, Keith," Allura said, her voice low. Her sky-blue eyes were liquid as she looked at him. "It's not the last days of your life."

"As much as I hate it...it might be, Allura."

A look of infinite anguish passed between them. Scully looked away. She felt like a voyeur. There was obviously something between these two and it was unspoken as the chaste touches they gave each other told her. She caught Nanny's eyes and saw that the other woman knew it. She only shook her head sadly and went back to her book. Scully took that as a cue and went back to hers as well.

As she stared at the pages of her book, Scully couldn't help wondering if she and Mulder had looked at each other like that once. A long time ago before her sister's death, Mulder's father's death, her abduction, and everything else in between, they had both been that young and innocent.

If things had been different...if he hadn't been so obsessed and if I hadn't been so afraid... she reflected. I would probably be surrounded by a brood of little Mulders.

She didn't doubt that they would have eventually gotten together. Maybe not as far as marriage, but far enough. She had been attracted to him from day one and she wasn't naive enough not to be able to recognize that he felt the same way towards her. But with time came the unbreakable bond between them, and she realized that she wouldn't give that up for the world.

A small smile marked her face as she began to read in earnest.