Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999

Title: By Her Side: The Edict (six parts)
Author: Vickie Moseley <vmoseley@fgi.net>
Summary: Continuation of the By Her Side series. Bill put his foot
in his mouth and Mulder has to stay at Maggie's house, sharing a
room with him.
Category: S H MRS
Spoilers: Not many, just general knowledge
Rating: PG, only used the really bad word once
Disclaimer: I don't own them, Fox, Dana, Maggie, Bill or Charlie.
I do claim the tree, since CC didn't think of that one. And neither
of us own God. So I won't infringe on CC's or God's copyrights.
Archives: Anywhere the series is and any where else you want, just
ask :)
Comments: Back at gunpoint <G> er, I mean by popular demand,
Bill Scully, the reformed jerk. And one of these days, Maggie gets
to have her say, but not this time :)

By Her Side: The Edict (1/6)
by Vickie Moseley
vmoseley@fgi.net
part one

Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. It's been . . . aw, I know I
went to Confession sometime before the wedding . . .

Face it, God, this isn't really a formal Confession. I'm saving that
for when I finally get this whole mess untangled in my mind. I
refuse to have a sit down with Father McCue listening in until I
know exactly what I'm charged with. I know that I'm being
punished for a whole slew of sins, but to be honest, I'm running
down the 'big Ten' and I'm having a hard time putting some of my
infractions in categories.

The big one is obvious. 'Thou shalt not lie.' OK, I realize I've
broken that one. Hell, I've run over that one with a steam roller!
But God, and I'm not trying to get 'Jesuit' on you or anything with
a bunch of what ifs, but is it really a sin if you are telling the lie to
protect someone you love? Someone or someones who really need
your protection?

Remember, in _The Sound of Music_ when the old nuns are
standing there while Maria and the Captain and all those kids are
hiding in among the graves and the one old nun tells the Nazis that
the Von Trapps aren't there? Now, give it to me straight, God.
Was that really a sin?

Not that Mulder and my baby sister are in any way to be compared
to Maria and Captain Von Trapp. Or even that snot nosed kid Kirk
or what ever the hell his name was. Now Dana, she might be
compared to Lisle or Leslie or what's her face. She gets all dewy
eyed sometimes lately and to tell the truth, it's been kind of fun to
watch. But Mulder . . . well, I'm at a complete loss. Maybe Max,
the dumbass producer. Hell, I don't know. And I would _never_,
God, never in a million years compare my mother to the SS. Well,
maybe in efficiency and ability to get the truth out of an
informant/prisoner. But just because she's so good at it, God. Not
because she's ruthless or evil or . . . where the hell was I?

Oh, yeah, so did I really break that Commandment? I mean, my
soul's waiting for an answer here, God, so give me a handle on this,
please.

It seemed like a punishment without a crime from the start. I felt
that through the evening I had done a stellar job of 'honoring my
mother'. I was the one who suggested we go out to dinner and I
didn't even balk too much when Mom decided to have Dana and
her appendage, ur, I mean 'partner', come along. I even did a
pretty fair job of 'love thy neighbor as thyself' assuming anybody
would consider Mulder to be my neighbor. I have become privy to
a secret. A really big secret that means a lot to my sister and her
partner. I found out, and am completely OK with it, that my sister
is in love with her partner. And they are actively . . . well, God,
that's really for Dana to confess, but I'm sure you get the picture.

Now, all that is fine and dandy, most of the time. Dana doesn't live
at home, she's not really breaking that 'first rule of dating' edict
that Dad handed out to each of us when we were 14. Mine and
Charlie's went something like 'you don't screw around until you're
married. But if you do, you don't do it in this house!' Missy told
me, after her little talk, that the girls received a much shorter
version. 'You don't screw around until you're married!' She
broke that one the next week. Dana, on the other hand, St. Dana
was never a worry to Dad in that department. I guess, technically,
Dana's breaking that edict now because she and Mulder aren't
married, but I think Dad would see the 'joined at the hip' action the
two of them have as being as much like a marriage as you can get
without registering for china.

But what remains is that second half of the edict and so help me, if I
can't have sex with my wife when I come to my mother's house,
then my sister shouldn't be doing it, either!

So why the hell did I help?

Before I get in a whole lot of trouble with that statement, I don't
mean 'help' as in participate. All I did was 'allow' the 'incident' to
occur. I was not personally involved in any of it. I intend to keep it
that way.

But along the way, there were a whole lot of little infractions that I
knew I'm gonna be paying for in the afterlife. And I would really
like to do my penance and get on with my life here and now.

Mom was the one who decided that Mulder looked tired and really
needed to be watched over more closely. The fact that Mulder
looked tired because he and my sister had been 'humpin' like
bunnies for the entire afternoon didn't cross my mother's mind.
And since that was the deep, dark secret that was being kept from
her by the three of us, it didn't cross my mind to point out to her
that _any man_ who'd gone ten rounds with a red head was likely
to look like shit. I dated a red head in my first year at Annapolis. I
married a blond, but she's a red where it counts. From where I'm
standing, Mulder must have the stamina of a horse.

But Mom, dear, sweet, 'take in any stray cat' Mom, just had to
take care of Mulder. At her house. Where I was staying, as well.

My dad bought a four bedroom house. He and Mom got the
master bedroom, meaning it had more closet space. Charlie and I
got the attic dormer room, which was hotter than hell in the
summer and colder than a witches you know what in the winter, but
it was all ours. Dana and Missy each had their own rooms because
for the longest time, they fought like cats and dogs and Mom was
afraid she'd wake up one morning and find both of them dead by
each others hands.

The dormer room, our 'old' room, has since been converted to
storage. Fine, you live in a house for twenty years and you
accumulate 'stuff'. Besides, I think all my high school yearbooks
are up there somewhere and I'm not about to jeopardize their
resting place by suggesting that we all chip in and clean out the
attic.

That leaves three bedrooms available. OK, three people in the
house, three bedrooms, that seems like a great solution to me.
Except Mom has decided that with all the grand kids (Matty) now
coming along, she wanted to 'fix' up what was once Dana's room
and make it a nursery/play room. Currently, the room sits
completely empty, with Mom's rocker in the middle of it, until she
pressures me into putting up the old crib or youth bed when we're
out visiting sometime.

Two rooms available. Three people. I haven't slept in the same
room as my Mommy since I was two, so that's out. There is no
way I'm staying in the same house if Mom and Mulder share a
room and I think Mulder himself would have some problems there,
so that's out. My, oh gosh, look at the sleeping arrangements.

But there is a catch and a big one. In what was once Missy's old
room and then somehow in Mom's mind got turned into mine and
Charlie's room (I think Charlie slept there in his junior and senior
years of high school and I only slept there when I was home on
breaks or leave) there is a nice, relatively comfy double bed.

One bed.

Two guys, both of whom have standing relationships with
significant others now forced into one room with one bed.

That was my first punishment without a crime.

Mulder took one look at the bed and turned white as a ghost. I
know I wasn't looking that much better. Mulder eyed Mom and
then me and said in a close to squeaky voice "I'll be fine on the
sofa, Mrs. Scully."

Mom laughed it off. "Oh don't be silly, Fox. And don't worry, you
two guys are too big to both fit on that double bed. Bill, go up to
the attic and bring down the sleeper bed."

The sleeper bed. The sofa in the den was looking much better in
my mind. I remember Charlie sleeping on that sleeper bed when he
went through his 'bedwetting' period shortly after we first moved
to Maryland. I was trying desperately to remember if Mom and
Dad had replaced the mattress as I dragged the rusty old thing
down the attic steps.

Mom opened it up and sure enough, they hadn't gotten around to
buying a new mattress. Mom looked a little contrite and patted my
arm. "I have a mattress pad, Sweetheart." As she started into the
hall she turned and added "and I think I have one of those vinyl
mattress bags, too."

I just smiled and nodded and tried not to break any molars in the
back of my mouth.

"I'll take the sleeper, Bill. No sense you being put out, it's your
house, after all." This from Mulder, who was looking at the sleeper
bed like it was a bed of nails. No, I think he probably would have
preferred the bed of nails at that point.

"No, no, Mulder. That's all right. Not a problem," I told him,
hoping to convince both of us. "I'll be fine. Besides, Mom would
never agree to you sleeping on the sleeper bed. You need the rest,
remember."

I didn't mean for that to sound so sarcastic, God, it just came out
that way. At least he had the good grace to look a little on the
contrite side, too.

The mattress pad was one of those upside down eggshell things
that, with a flannel sheet on top of it, didn't really feel that bad. As
a matter of fact, it was pretty comfortable, if I didn't stop to think
about Charlie for more than a second.

We'd brought Mulder home directly from the restaurant, which
meant he had no clothes to speak of. Mom found some old sweats
Charlie had left behind in a drawer and although they were kind of
ratty, they fit Mulder. At least he wouldn't have to sleep in his
skivvies, something I didn't really want to witness. Finally, we
were ready for bed.

Mom came in after we'd climbed into our respective beds and stood
at the doorway, looking a little unsure of herself. I think this was
more than the 'slumber party' she'd envisioned when she'd first
suggested it. To be honest, she was probably wondering if I'd been
play acting for the evening and was going to wait until her back was
turned before I smothered Mulder with his own pillow. Whatever
she was thinking, she finally broke the silence.

"Fox, are you still on any medicine? If so, I want to keep it down
in the kitchen so I can make sure you're taking it."

He got a sort of 'why me' look on his face and sighed. "I'm off the
antibiotics, Mrs. Scully. I have some pain pills, but I really only
take them if the pain is too much to sleep through."

Mom considered that a moment. "Are you sure you don't want to
take one now?"

He shook his head. Poor guy, I would have sunk through the floor
at this point. Or blown my top. He's a grown man, for Cripes
sakes, why the third degree?

"I'm fine, really, Mrs. Scully. Thanks for taking care of me, but all
I really need to do right now is sleep."

Mom smiled at him when she told us both good night, the same
smile I remember from my own childhood. Whoa, wait a minute.
It's bad enough I was giving this guy my sister, now I was handing
over my own Mother, as well! Un hun, no way, time to regroup!

But then, I remembered. Mom gave Tara that same look at the
hospital the first night after Matty was born. Dad told me
something the day of my wedding to Tara. Mom doesn't replace
her children, she just collects new ones to go with the old. Like
that gawdawful Girl Scout song Missy used to sing 24/7. Make
new friends, but keep the old . . . I fell asleep listening to my other
kid sister, singing that song in my head.

And woke up to the sound of my own name, being repeated in a
harsh, panicked voice over and over again.

I hit the deck feet first, shouting "Battle stations" as loud as I could
and then realized, there was carpet under my toes. No ship I've
ever served on has had carpeting on the deck. It's sort of
impractical. That one thought brought me to full wakefulness.

It was dark. It was Missy's old room in Mom's house. The voice
was coming from my sister's partner.

In the darkness, only the light from a streetlight to go by, I could
see Mulder, sitting straight up in bed, panting and wild eyed. He
was still talking, but now it was low and hard to hear.

"Scully, put the gun down . . . Don't listen to her, Scully, God,
don't listen to her! Scully, you don't want to do this, you're
stronger than this! God Scully!"

Then he jerked and he half-screamed out my name again, which I
now realized was actually my sister's name, and fell forward,
sobbing.

I was shaking like a leaf, just watching him. I walked around the
sleeper bed and came to sit on the edge of the double bed. I put my
hand out to touch his shoulder. "Mulder. C'mon, man, it's just a
dream." Dream, my ass, it was a whopper of a nightmare, but I
didn't think I needed to point that out to him. "Mulder, wake up."

Slowly, with tears still streaming down his face, he sat up and
looked at me. He got a really scared look and then it slowly just
faded to confusion. "Bill?" he asked, his voice shuddering a little.

I smiled at him, just to reassure the guy. "Yeah, Mulder. It's Bill.
We're at my Mom's. Remember?"

He wiped at his nose with the back of his hand and took a deep
breath. "Your Mom's? Yeah, I remember now. I'm at your
Mom's."

"Right," I said nodding my head like an idiot. "You're safe, you're
at Mom's."

He got a wide eyed look again. "Scully," he said and threw the
covers off to rush over to his pants on the floor. He fumbled
around for a moment and cussed a blue streak then looked up at
me. "Phone, where the hell is the phone?"

"Uh, Mom has one in her room. And there's the one in the kitchen
. . ." I was talking to thin air. The man can move, when he's on
the warpath.

I know it was an intrusion, but I followed him down to the kitchen.
I got there right when Danie must have answered. I didn't mean to
eavesdrop. OK, God, yeah, I did mean to eavesdrop, but I had
been jolted out of a perfectly contented sleep, damn it and I
deserved an explanation. I was pretty sure listening in was the only
way I'd get one.

"Scully," he said, sort of breathless. He closed his eyes for a
second, then searched around the room, finally staring at the
microwave. "Um, 2:45." My sister obviously wanted to know the
time. I could have lived without that knowledge, myself.

"No, no, it's not that. I'm fine, really. I just . . ." His voice trailed
off and I could see him pacing the length of the kitchen. He
couldn't see me in the dining room, or he really didn't give a shit, I
don't know which.

"Yeah, you could say it was bad," he sort of snorted. "Linda
Bowman paid me a visit in my dreams." More pacing. "Yeah, I
know, it didn't happen, but Scully, every time I have that dream I
just relive what I saw. I mean, my God, I saw you . . . whether it
was real or not, I saw you blow your brains out right in front of me
and I couldn't do a fucking thing to prevent it." His voice was
catching as he rushed the last words out and I felt like the world's
biggest heel for standing there listening in on a private
conversation.

"God, I miss you," he sighed and wiped at his face. "I just want to
hold you tonight. I don't even want to . . ." he trailed off and sort
of chuckled at something she must have said. "No, I'm not 'tired
of you', Scully. Not by a long shot. I just need you so bad." The
guy was gonna throw up from the roller coaster his emotions were
on.

"I know. Yeah, well, I don't mind, really. Your Mom is sweet to
worry about me. If this makes her feel better, I don't mind. God
knows I've caused her enough pain . . ."

In another time, I would have agreed with him. But now, I could
see what that guilt was doing to him. For Danie's sake, I wish he'd
just get over it and move on.

"Bill's on the sleeper bed. . ." That got my attention. "Hey, I
offered to sleep on the sofa _and_ then the sleeper and he refused.
Said your mom would never stand for it." I crept closer to hear if
my name would be further mentioned in vain at this point.

"I don't know what's gotten into him, either, but I'm not
complaining. He's not a bad guy, I guess. Still, I think I got the
pick of the litter."

I had to agree with that statement, too.

"I love you, too. Yeah, that does sound nice to hear, doesn't it?"

I took that as my cue to beat it up the stairs. By the time he made it
up to the room, I was under the covers and doing a pretty good
imitation of 'dead to the world' if I do say so myself. I heard him
shift under the covers and punch the pillows a couple of times.
Then he sighed once or twice and the room grew quiet.

I hugged my pillow and missed my wife until morning came.

end part one

===============================================
By Her Side: The Edict
by Vickie Moseley
part two

When I woke up, and really it was more like a light doze I'd been
in, it was full morning and I was alone in the room. I tossed off the
covers, hit the showers and felt almost human by the time I made it
down to the kitchen for breakfast.

Mom was standing at the stove, a spatula in her hand, staring at
some eggs on the griddle. She looked up and smiled at me when I
walked in.

"Good morning, Sweetheart! Coffee's on the counter. How do
you want your eggs?"

"Over easy. Two of them, please. I'll make the toast." I reached
in the bread drawer and discovered Mom had rearranged the
kitchen again. I found the bread on the second try.

"Toss in a couple for Fox, he's in the den watching the morning
news," Mom advised me. Thank heavens she hadn't decided to
trade in her four slice toaster. I made four slices, medium brown
and buttered them before placing them on plates near Mom.
"Thanks, sweetie," she said with a wink. "Go call Fox, the eggs are
almost done."

I walked into the den and found Mulder stretched out on the sofa,
remote in his hand, sound asleep. I kicked at his foot and his eyes
dragged open.

"Wake up, barnacle. Breakfast is ready," I told him. He nodded
and sort of rolled forward to a sitting position. He looked like
death warmed over, definitely not like a guy who'd just gotten 9
hours of sleep.

"Be there in a minute," he said and hauled himself to his feet. He
swayed a little and I grabbed his arm, sitting him back down again.

"Are you OK, Mulder?" It wasn't a question, it was more of a
demand for information. He sighed and shrugged.

"I'm fine."

"Bullshit," I told him. "You looked like something the cat hacked
up."

His eyes lit into a grin. "So _that's_ where Scully gets that
expression."

I glared him down. "Don't try to change the subject."

He shook his head. "Genetics, it's a bitch," he sighed. "I'm OK,
Bill, really. I just didn't sleep that well last night."

"After the nightmare?" I asked him.

He got a look on his face like I'd just revealed I had evidence that
his father was a cross dresser. "I was hoping you forgot about it,"
he muttered.

"When somebody yells my name for five minutes just three feet
from my ear, I tend to remember," I told him with as blank an
expression as I could get.

"Boys," we heard from the kitchen. "Boys, your eggs are getting
cold."

I groaned. 'Boys'? We're both over thirty-five, for Cripes sakes.

Mulder perked up at her voice. "Saved by the Mom," he said and
started off to the kitchen. "Right there, Mrs. Scully."

I stood and stared at his back a moment. I was not going to let him
deflect this. I knew I just couldn't watch him kill himself and still
look myself in the mirror. Besides, Danie would think _I'd_ done it
to him.

After breakfast, Mom had a couple of things she needed help with,
so I didn't really see much of Mulder. I do know that the one time
I saw him, he was on the phone, talking to guess who? It's really
unnerving to have a guy talking on the phone, whispering sweet
nothings to you when you're standing right behind him. He keeps
forgetting, my name is 'Scully', too.

It's amazing. Tara can have a job jar that I barely look at, but when
I'm at Mom's house, suddenly I'm putting up shelves, tightening
the spring the screen door and putting a new curtain rod up in the
'nursery', as if it's ever going to have furniture. After the
nightmare of the previous night, I was seriously thinking of
dragging down my Boy Scout sleeping bag and 'camping out' in
there for the night. It was worth a thought, at least.

By the time lunch was ready, I was ready. More than ready. I
pulled up to that table and downed a full sandwich and a bowl of
soup before I realized Mom was staring at Mulder.

"Fox, please. Just another half a sandwich? You're skin and
bones!"

He was shaking his head, an indulgent smile on his face. "Mrs.
Scully, I can't afford new suits. Please, I'm full. It was wonderful.
Thank you." He sighed again and I noticed the dark circles under
his eyes.

Mom noticed too, apparently. "Well, why don't you lie down
upstairs, try to get some rest. I have to go out this afternoon. The
Altar Society has organized a quilting circle and they invited me to
join them weeks ago. Will you be all right here?"

"Mom, it's not like you're leaving the guy on the streets. I'm
here," I pointed out. It's a testament to how far I've come that I,
one, suggested that arrangement, two, didn't gag on the statement,
and three, that Mom took me seriously.

"You're absolutely right, dear. Where was my head. You two
boys will be fine," she declared. Mulder didn't look too sure of that
statement, but picked up his plate and carried it to the sink.

Mulder sort of retreated to the den again, pulling out one of Mom's
movies to pop in the VCR. After cleaning up the tools from the
curtain rod, I decided to join him.

"McClintock," I commented as I sat down in the big easy chair.
Mulder had again commandeered the couch, but from the way he
was looking, he needed to be lying down.

"Yeah. Gotta love that mud fight scene," he said with a smile and
we settled into silence, watching the movie.

"So, you have those kinds of dreams a lot?" I asked.

He groaned and threw his arm up over his eyes. "Bill, I don't think
your Mom has enough beer in the refrigerator for us to have
another 'conversation' like the one we had at your house," he told
me from behind his arm.

I laughed. "C'mon, Mulder. I asked all the hard questions last
time. This is the easy stuff. Besides, . . . I'm a little worried about
you. You look like shit today. You looked a lot better yesterday,"
I told him.

He dragged the arm down and gave me a sigh. "I had more sleep
yesterday," he said and from his expression, I knew he was being
up front with me.

"So we dragged you away from Dana's apartment because you
need rest and now you aren't getting any rest. Damn, that was a
great idea," I said and meant every inch of the sarcasm I tossed on.

He laughed a little. "No big deal. I'll be home in, what, three
days." He sighed. Three days must have seemed like a life
sentence to him.

"You miss Dana," I said out loud, even though I had just had the
thought.

"I just talked to her," he told me, but by the look in his eyes, I'd hit
the nail on the head.

"Geez, you two are pathetic," I said, shaking my head.

That caused a bristle out of my companion. "Look, it's not the sex,
Bill. We've had sex _twice_ since we came back from San Diego.
We aren't exactly breaking land speed records here!" He closed his
eyes and sighed again, this time in disgust. "Besides, it's the
holding that helps me sleep."

"Spooning?" I asked. He shot me a look that showed how little he
knew about this 'couples' stuff and I explained. "You lie on your
side, she's 'spooned' up against your back. Or vice versa."

He shrugged. "Sometimes. Mostly, I'm on my back, I sleep better
that way, and she's curled up on my side with her head right here."
He pointed to his 'good' shoulder, the one that wasn't mostly
stitches. "I can move my head just a little and smell her perfume,"
he was almost tearing up when he said it.

"Tara buys her shampoo from some store at the mall . . ."

"Bath and Body Works?" he interrupted.

"Something like that," I told him. "It costs 6 bucks a bottle, but
God, that smell." I close my eyes, trying to bring that smell to me.
"It's like flowers blooming out your window in the summer. I love
that smell."

"A couple of years ago, Scully changed perfumes. I almost lost it.
Actually, she almost killed me. She came back from this autopsy
and she was walking around the office with her nose sort of
screwed up. She said, what's the smell, it's like something died.
And I said . . ."

I couldn't help myself. "It's your perfume?"

He nodded and I almost busted a gut laughing. "You have
_always_ had a death wish, haven't you?"

"It's a gift," he said with a shrug. "But then I went to the store on
my lunch hour and let this woman squirt about fifty of those sample
bottles on little pieces of paper until I found the right one."

"And you bought her a bottle of it," I said proudly.

"Hell, no. I bought the whole damned line!" he declared.
"Perfume, body mist, bubbling bath beads, body lotion. If they'd
had a shampoo, I would have bought that, too. Cost a bundle. But
by the next day, things were back to normal."

"Good man," I congratulated him. We fell back into silence, but
my mind was going a mile a minute. I knew what needed to
happen. I just had to figure out the details.

Well, the devil is in the details, God. You know that. And this was
no less the case. The first part was easy. Well, sort of easy. I
picked up the phone and called my sister.

Dana was a little surprised to hear my voice. "What's wrong?
What did you do to him?"

"I didn't _do_ anything to him and why do you keep thinking I'm
going to?" I demanded.

"Because I know you, Bill. You've been acting really funny lately.
Like you're beginning to like Mulder or something. I know you're
just lulling us into a false sense of security before you put Tabasco
in his applesauce or some other famous 'Bill Scully prank'."

Ouch. It's a real pain when you fight with someone who knows all
your little foils. I admit, at one time, that would have seemed a
great idea. But I'm a reformed jerk. I'm trying to make amends.
I'm trying to be good.

"Danie, cut it out. I'm not planning anything. OK, maybe I am, but
not a bad thing. A good thing." I then went on to explain about
my little 3 am wake up call. Of course, she knew most of it, but the
fact that I was telling her all of it really hammered in the point.

"So what are you saying, Bill? That I should come to Mom's and
sleep with Mulder in the big bed so he can get the rest he needs,"
she snorted over the phone.

"Something like that."

My tone must have gotten her attention. "He really didn't sleep last
night?"

"Not after 2:45, he didn't," I told her.

"Damn it. And I suppose he doesn't have his sleeping pills with
him."

"Danie, he doesn't need to be doped up. He needs some . . . TLC.
That is what he's here for, isn't it?"

"He'd _have_ TLC, Bill, if he were sleeping at my place, where he
belongs." OK, so she had a point but beating a dead horse wasn't
going to get us anywhere.

"Look, do you want to help the guy out or what?" I demanded.
"He _is_ your boyfriend."

"Partner," she corrected.

"Dana."

"OK, OK, I get the point." She was quiet for a moment. "Mom is
going to suspect something."

"We'll tell her that your apartment is being fumigated," I said
brilliantly.

"We're on a schedule. They did it last month, and I stayed with her
then," she replied.

"Your heat went out."

"It's not that cold yet."

I thought for a moment, then it hit me. The perfect excuse. "You
flushed a tampon down the toilet and the super says he can't get to
it till tomorrow!" I _knew_ that one would work because Tara had
done that in our last apartment and in desperation, I'd fixed the
damn thing myself. If they'd just let me on my ship . . .

She was quiet, real quiet. "Actually, that might work," she finally
admitted.

"Great. I'll lay the groundwork. You just show up about seven
with a packed bag. Let me do the rest."

I hung up the phone, rather pleased with myself. Then it dawned
on me. The hard part was yet to come.

end of part two

=================================================

By Her Side: The Edict
part three

I don't know which of us were more nervous, Mulder or me. It
was almost six-thirty and Dana had called about an hour before
with her sob story of the clogged toilet. Mom had verbally chewed
her a new one for being so irresponsible, she'd lived in base housing
for years, she should have known better, yadda, yadda and so on
and so on. I couldn't help but smile a little, it was nice to hear
Dana get the 'evil voice' for once, but then I realized little sister
would focus her attention on evening the score and I got a little
worried. Danie's always been pretty good at getting even.

Mulder, on the other hand, just wanted Dana there. Mom had
come back from the quilting bee with a whole armful of vitamins
and nutritional supplements from the GNC at the Mall and more or
less pried the poor guy's mouth open, then poured it all down him.
It made me gag just to watch. And the really sad part was Mulder
sitting there, obviously feeling like shit, but still being nice enough
to go along with Mom's 'doctoring'. I may have blamed him for a
lot of stuff before, but nobody deserves that kind of treatment.

When we heard the door open and a gust of cold air in the hallway,
I thought he was going to trip over himself getting to his feet. He
started off to the hallway, but Mom had cut him off at the pass and
was coming the other way from the dining room. He skidded to a
halt. It would have been funny, if it had been some romantic
comedy on HBO. He was standing there, his arms twitching at his
sides, jumping out of his skin to take my sister in a big hug and
probably an X rated kiss, but my mother was there, so the best he
could do was a "Hi, Scully. How was your day?"

Dana took off her coat and hung it in the closet. She turned and
gave Mom a quick hug, then finally looked at her partner. I could
see it took every second of those two minutes for her to restrain
herself from throwing the guy down on the floor and doing porn
video-worthy activities on Mom's thick beige carpeting.

"Hi, Mulder. How are you feeling?"

He licked his lips. She licked hers. Never saw a remote kiss
before, but that was as close as anyone is going to get.

"Fine." They said it in unison.

I had to hold back a groan, and get my mother out of there before
they broke something. "Mom, what's cookin'? Can I give you a
hand in the kitchen?"

Suddenly, everyone's looking at me like I've sprouted wings. I felt
the need to defend my manhood. "Hey, I did a tour in the kitchen,
you know. I can cook," I said confidently.

"I'll let you cut up the vegetables for the salad," Mom said with a
smirking kind of grin. As if to say that's the most she expected out
of me.

I would have taken offense at that, but my intent was to remove my
mother from the scene and since she was now heading to the
kitchen under a full head of steam, my mission was accomplished. I
flashed Mulder a thumbs up, a grin to my sis, and I followed Mom.
I didn't drag my feet, mind you, but I wasn't two steps away when
I heard clothes rustling and lips smacking together and soft
moaning and it made me grin all the way into the kitchen.

Dinner was delicious, but then, my Mom was the chef. I love my
wife, and she's a whiz in the kitchen, but give me my Mom's beef
stew everyday of the week and I'd be a happy man.

I was pleasantly surprised to notice that Mulder was a member of
the clean plate club. I think Dana had more than a little influence in
that area. Every time I noticed his fork starting to sag, Dana would
reach under the table, squeeze his knee, and suddenly, he was Mike
Mulligan and the steam shovel. Guess he was thinking he needed
the energy.

I chewed a little slower and decided I was going to have to come
up with a very good plan.

After dinner, Dana and I did the dishes. She washed, I dried and
for the first time in _my_ memory, we didn't fight. Life was going
pretty good.

"So, Einstein, how are we going to work the sleeping
arrangements?" she asked as she scrubbed out the roasting pan.

"You stake out the couch in the den, then, after Mom's asleep, I
come down and switch places. Piece of cake."

"Unless Mom gets restless in the middle of the night," Dana pointed
out.

"I'll huddle down in the covers. With the blanket, in the dark, one
body looks like another," I countered and smacked her on the
backside. "Don't be such a worry wort."

And God, that's when you got involved. Not that you aren't
always involved in the workings of the universe, but apparently,
things on cable just weren't making it for you that night, and you
decided to get some jollies messin' with ole Bill Scully.

Unfortunately for one of Mom's good glasses, I was drying it when
Mom entered the kitchen. "Bill, Dana," she said, all breathless and
excited. "Look who's here!"

The glass shattered just seconds after I looked at the doorway and
saw the smiling face . . . of my baby brother.

"Charlie!" Dana squealed. What a little shit, she was washing a
fork and they don't break, especially when they're just dropped in
water. She turned to go over to Charlie, but I grabbed her arm
before she stepped on my mess.

"Dana, watch the glass," Mom commanded and went to grab the
dustpan and broom.

Dana stepped over the glass and I just stood there, mouth open.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I didn't mean it to come out
quite like that, but hell, I was just a little surprised.

"Glad to see you, too, Big Bro," Charlie laughed.

I felt the flush rise in my cheeks. "Sorry, Charlie," I said in the tone
I'd used when we were kids. "You just surprised me. I thought
you were working out of Penobscott Bay these days."

"I had a meeting down here at the Joint Chiefs. I just found out this
morning and to be honest, I didn't expect to have to stay in town
long. I was going to give Mom a call, but the meeting ran long
and when it got extended to tomorrow, I figured I'd just come on
home. Hey, is that stew I smell? Did you guys leave any, I'm
starving." Same old Charlie, the bottomless pit.

Mom laughed and it was good to hear. "Of course, I always make
enough to feed the fleet, you know that. I just figured Bill and Fox
could finish it off at lunch tomorrow."

"Fox? As in Mulder?" Charlie shot me a look. The last time we'd
talked, I was still in my 'Fox Mulder is the anti-Christ' phase. Oh,
shit. I had a lot of damage control to do.

"That's, right, Sweetheart, I forgot," Mom piped up. "You've
never met him. He's in the den, resting."

"Resting," Charlie said evenly and I could see him coming up with a
few ideas on how to 'help' Mulder rest that would have made me
proud in an earlier era, but were now scaring the hell out of me.

"Charlie," I jumped in. "A couple of weeks ago, Mulder . . .
Mulder was shot in the line of duty. He stepped in front of a
gunman who was aiming at Dana. Took a bullet in the chest."

That took some of the wind out of his sails. "I had no idea."

I hated the hurt look he was giving me, that look like I was keeping
something from the 'little brother' again. "They were in San Diego
at the time. That's the only reason I know so much about it."

Dana took over at that point. "I'm sorry, Charlie-man," she said,
taking him into a sisterly hug. "I've been so busy, getting back to
work and taking care of Mulder, that I sort of forgot to call you
about it. But it's OK. He needs to rest for a couple more weeks
and then he'll be back tossing pencils at the ceiling to see if they
stick. I'm just glad you're here and you two finally get a chance to
meet. He thinks you're a figment of my imagination," she
chuckled.

As she led Charlie arm in arm out of the room, I just knew the night
had gotten a whole lot longer.

end of part three

=================================================

By Her Side: The Edict
by Vickie Moseley
part four

This started out as pre confession confession, God and it's turning
into my memoirs, but I swear, from the point Charlie walked in the
house, the whole place went to hell in a hand basket, in a manner of
speaking.

Charlie was angry and hurt that I had obviously started to 'side'
with the enemy without telling him. That was a major laugh to
begin with because he's always been the one telling _me_ I should
give the guy a break. I think he was just feeling like the odd man
out and nothing pisses off the youngest member of the family more
than being out of the loop. At the risk of the entire project, and
that's how I'd started thinking of the evening's sleeping
arrangements, I was going to have to let the little shit in on
everything. And then figure out how to duct tape his mouth shut so
he didn't tell either Mom or Dana that he knew what was going on.

But all that would have to wait until after the introductions. We
walked into the den to find Mulder sprawled on the sofa. Poor guy,
with the little sleep he'd gotten during the night and me pounding
nails and revving up the drill all day, he was one tuckered puppy.

Dana got all warm and fuzzy, went over and sort of knelt next to
the couch. She was watching him sleep. God, I wonder if Tara had
any idea how often I used to do that when she'd take her afternoon
nap while we were waiting for Matty to make his appearance. I
couldn't get enough of watching my wife, lying on our bed or on
the sofa, her face rounded as much as her belly. It still makes me
feel kinda tingling inside. A definite masculine tingling, mind you,
God, but tingling, none the less.

Dana had an expression on her face, and I'll be damned if it didn't
seem a lot like the expression I've had on my face. Sort of a 'thank
you' expression. Like we're both thanking you, God, for bringing
these people into our lives.

Then she reached over and stroked his cheek with just one finger.
Shit! I figured that was a dead give away to both Mom and Charlie
and had to hold back a shout, but Mulder's eyes fluttered open and
he gave her this smile that told the universe 'I love this woman with
all my heart'. Shit again! Why don't they just take out a full page
ad in the Sunday NYTimes?

I looked over at Mom, but she seemed to be studying the mantel of
the fireplace. Charlie had his mouth open and I reached over and
knocked it shut with the knuckles of my fist. He glared and started
to say something but I grunted out a near silent 'later' and he shut
up, but still pouted.

Mulder seemed to come around to the fact he and Dana weren't the
only ones in the room. He shot her a look and they both sort of,
well, just 'distanced' themselves. Just like two soap bubbles that
get stuck together and then become individuals again. I know a lot
about soap bubbles now, because Matty has taught me when I give
him his bath.

"Don't tell me this is the infamous brother Charlie?" Mulder said
hoarsely and Dana helped him sit up on the sofa. He started to get
up, but it was obvious that was painful. I was really proud of my
little brother when he moved over and extended his hand to Mulder,
so the guy didn't have to get up.

"I've heard a lot about you, Agent Mulder. It's good to put a face
with the stories," Charlie smiled and I started breathing again. The
little shit probably does great with the brass at the five sided
building.

"Charlie's here for a meeting. Imagine our luck," Dana said and I
was pretty certain her teeth were clenched, but I was the only one
who seemed to notice.

"Well, I can see the family resemblance, so I guess you must be the
'real' Charles Scully," Mulder said, intentionally ignoring Dana's
comment, or so I could determine by the way he squeezed her hand
without looking her way. "How are things up in Maine?"

>From that point on, it just got too 'chit-chatty' for me and I went
into the kitchen to finish the clean up job on the glass I broke.
Mom came in a few minutes later and started some coffee. I
thought all was well until I felt her hand on my arm.

"I want a moment with you, Bill."

Panic. Sheer, undiluted panic hit my stomach. In the space of ten
seconds, my whole life flashed before my eyes. Those were the
same seven words Mom had used when she confronted me with the
motel receipt so many years ago.

"Mom, um, the coffee. Shouldn't we get the coffee out there?
Charlie's probably thirsty. Oh, wait, I don't think he's had dinner,
either . . ." I was babbling. I knew it, she knew and it wasn't going
to help me one iota.

"William Dennis, be quiet and listen to me."

I've had Admirals get less attention than I was giving the woman
standing in front of me. No wonder Dad used to say he wasn't the
head of the house, he was only the XO.

"Your sister has every right to make her own friends. I know you
haven't always approved of her working relationship with Fox, but
it is her decision. Now, I've been sensing a lot of tension between
you and your sister, ever since she walked in that door this evening.
And that little display when Charlie got here. What was that all
about?" she demanded.

I stood there, totally unprepared for this attack. Mom had it all
wrong. She thought I was up to something, but she was way off
target on _what_ I was up to.

"Mom, you're imagining things," was all I could come up with.
"Dana and I are fine. I'm fine with her and fine with her
relationship with Mulder."

Mom raised an eyebrow. What had I just said?

"Partnership! I meant to say her _partnership_ with Mulder. I
mean, yeah, sure, I wish she'd decided to go anywhere else but the
FBI, but as long as she's there, I think Mulder will continue to look
out for her. I mean, Mom, for God's sakes, he took a bullet in the
chest for her! That's more than we could ask for, wouldn't you
say?"

Mom's eyebrow lowered but her gaze narrowed. "Yes, I would
say it's more than we could ask for. That's what I've been saying
for five years, Bill and I'm just glad you finally see what I'm talking
about. But I still get the feeling you are up to something and I'm
going to find out what it is. Just a warning."

She picked up the coffee pot and grabbed some mugs. "And don't
hit your brother again, either."

I was dazed, standing there. I didn't move for a long time. Finally,
Charlie came in. I let out a sigh of relief.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Great. More demands.

"Charlie, look, I know what you're thinking and you're wrong.
There isn't much time . . ."

"You mean Dana and Mulder aren't shacking up and you're in on it
and you're all keeping it from Mom?" he asked, a perplexed look
on his face.

It was my turn to raise an eyebrow, but he kept talking.

"What? You think I chose 'intelligence' because of the office
furniture? Besides, you can _smell_ the pheromone in that room.
How long have they been at it? Can't be too long, they still both
look dewy eyed."

I needed a chair. I was barely able to get to the kitchen table. I
didn't think I could talk but I had to.

"Not long. I think they've really only been at it once or twice."

"Well, the guy did look pretty bad. Man, Dana must be something,
banging a guy that close to a hospital bed. But then, there was that
guy in med school . . ."

"What guy in med school?" Now it was my turn to demand.
"There wasn't any guy in med school! She was a cloistered nun in
med school!"

Charlie just gave me the same look I get from Tara when I say
something monumentally stupid. "Bill. There were about four guys
in med school. One was a prof, but she wasn't in any of his classes
and it didn't last long. It's only been in the last five years that our
sister has been a 'cloistered nun'. But I figured something was up.
The dam had to break sometime. I'm just glad the poor sap didn't
get killed before they figured it out."

I shook my head. Somewhere, in all that, I agreed with the little
shit. But I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of telling him.

"So, anyway, what _are_ you up to?"

This was going to be harder than I thought. "Mulder needs to rest.
He was in bad shape in San Diego . . ."

"Then maybe Dana shouldn't be doin' the horizontal bop on the
guy," Charlie said with a smirk. I wanted to wipe that smirk off on
the floor, so he'd shut up and listen to what I had to say.

"No, it's not like that. He needs to rest and he can't do that by
himself."

"Yeah, right," Charlie said. God, I'd forgotten what an annoying
little shit he could be.

"No, he has these nightmares. They're pretty gruesome. And the
only way he can calm down is to . . ."

"Screw our sister?" Charlie's grin was getting entirely too big for
his little snot nosed face.

"Would you just shut up!" I yelled, then realized we weren't the
only ones in the house and quickly lowered my voice. "He just
needs her to hold him. They don't have to _do_ anything. Just
hold each other. You know, or at least I _hope_ you know how
that is," I added in exasperation.

Charlie turned serious. "Yeah, I know how that is," he said and I
could see the many hours at sea, away from the one person who
makes your sorry life worthwhile reflected in his eyes. "OK, so
what do I need to do?"

"Go along with whatever I come up with," I told him.

He looked a little suspicious of that, but shrugged and headed out
for the den. I sat thinking for a few minutes. How could this
work? We had two bedrooms, a total of three beds and now we
had five people crammed in the house. Hell, maybe Tara would
take me up on the offer of coming out while I was on leave and
we'd have the whole damned family here!

I had to press down the hysterical laughter that just didn't want to
go away.

Rational thought. That's what I needed. To be rational. OK, how
would Mom work this? Charlie is the youngest and did show up
last, so Mom, in her infinite wisdom, would relegate him to the
couch in the den. Mulder and I would again take the beds in
Missy's/Charlie's old room and she and Dana would . . .

Oh shit. She and Dana would share her room! It was bad enough
when I was just swapping places with Dana on the couch in the
den. Now I had to figure out how to get Dana out of a bed that
Mom was sleeping in, and not wake up Mom. Mom's not exactly a
light sleeper, she slept through Mulder's little scare-fest, but even
she would wake up with people jumping in and out of her own bed.

I was sitting there, trying to think of a way to drug my Mother into
a deep slumber, when Dana came in.

"Why were you yelling at Charlie?"

"Because he's a snot nosed idiot, what else is new?" I asked as I
rubbed my forehead and got up to rummage through the cabinets.
"Mom got any aspirin in here? Or whiskey?"

"You told him," she accused, her voice low like she'd known I was
a screw up all along.

"Didn't have to," I shot back. "You two were 'screwin' each other
with your eyes out there. He caught on a mile away. He knows
everything."

"He'll tattle. He always tattles," she pouted, and she probably
didn't even realize she was a 35 year old woman talking about her
kid brother 'tattling' on her.

"Maybe not. He's willing to go along with it. Remember, you
were in med school when Charlie discovered the opposite sex. We
aren't talking celibacy on his part, either," I assured her.

Dana shrugged, like she wanted to argue but was too tired and
worried to give it the effort. "I'm going out there and tell her that
with all these people in the house, Mulder can come over to my
place and I'll keep an eye on him there," she said, watching me
pour a nice shot into my glass and slam it back in one gulp.

"Oh, yeah. And she isn't going to think that's an excuse for you
two to be up to something?" I asked, wiping my mouth on my
sleeve and going for another.

"I've done it before. When he's been really sick, coming back from
a bad case or an injury. He slept in my bed, I slept on the sofa.
Mom knows about it because she stopped by one time and woke
me up. So she wouldn't be suspicious."

"Fine," I told her. I was sick of the whole thing anyway. The idea
that Dana could get herself out of this mess she'd made was worthy
of another shot of whiskey. "Don't let the screen door hit you in
the ass on the way out," I smiled at her.

She flipped me the bird and smiled back. I turned to my drink, but
she called my name and I looked up.

"I just wanted to say 'thanks'. I know this can't have been easy for
you, and well, I appreciate the trouble you've taken." The smile
she gave me was one I'd missed seeing, even though I hadn't
realized it.

"Hey, don't sweat it. Besides, now you're 'his' worry, and not
mine," I said. She started to say something, probably to tell me that
she hadn't been 'my' worry for a very long time, but, God love her,
she didn't. She just smiled and left me sitting there with my half
poured drink.

I was ready to put the bottle back, thinking that things were getting
back to normal. Charlie was here, he and I could talk shop a little.
Mom would eventually want to watch ER, and we'd have to go
somewhere other than the den so we didn't disturb her and
Anthony Edwards. Dana would take Mulder back to her place and
they could hump like bunnies or sleep curled up like kittens for all I
cared. I'd call Tara about midnight and tell her how much I missed
her. Life would be good, calm, peaceful.

And then came the crash.

end of part four

=============================================

By Her Side: The Edict
part five

I don't know why you chose that exact moment, God. I mean, the
old silver maple tree in the front yard had been threatening to split
since we moved into the place. The first words out of Dad's mouth
when our car pulled up in front was 'Maggie, we have to have that
tree removed soon or it's gonna split and hit a car'. Well, Mom
had a few other things to attend to, like getting us all in school and
putting the house in order and Dad shipped out a week later, and
somehow, the old tree stood up for all that time.

Until the least opportune moment, when it split right down the
middle and crunched Charlie's rental car. Not to mention,
successfully trapping all the other cars in the double driveway.

I gotta tell you, God, I'm counting on you to take a few 'points' off
my sins. I mean, you were obviously setting me up. At least a few
of my transgressions could be chalked up to entrapment. But I
guess I'll have to wait to see if it counts.

Anyway, Dana was the first out the door, followed by Charlie,
Mom and Mulder. Since I was the furthest from the crash site, it
took me the longest to get there.

The tree was a complete loss. And the car, well, I sure hope
Charlie took out that extra 9 dollars a day that would cover the
deductible on his insurance. The five of us turned back into the
house and Charlie started making phone calls.

He joined us in the den. "They city said the tree is on our property
and since there's no real storm to account for the crash, it's our
responsibility to remove it," he said sadly. "And Budget said the
soonest they can be out is tomorrow morning."

We were trapped.

Dana sighed, Mulder gave me a sad smile and shook his head.
Charlie looked like he was going to start crying.

Mom looked around the room and decided to cheer us all up.
"Hey, enough of this. It's not the end of the world! It's a car, no
one was injured. We're safe and we're home. I've got an idea.
Why don't you break out the cards and play a game or two?"

Dana looked at the clock and rolled her eyes to me, we silently
noted it was about 15 minutes to ER. "Sure, Mom. That's a great
idea."

Suddenly, we're in a game of five card stud in the kitchen. Playing
for stale pretzels that Danie found in the back of the pantry. And
all eyes turned toward me.

"So, Bro, how are we working this 'musical beds' thing tonight?"
Charlie asked innocently.

Mulder choked on his iced tea. "Musical beds?"

Dana sighed and gave me a look that spoke of piano wire and
Columbian neckties. The woman has violence on her mind far too
often for my tastes.

"Face it, you two need some time together." There, that should
have ended discussion.

"I'm fine," Mulder said sullenly. Christ, oh, uh, sorry, God, I mean,
shit, I was trying to help the guy and he was taking offence?

I was about to tell him that I was tired of hearing him holler my
name out in the middle of the night when Danie took his hand on
top of the table.

"I've missed you," she said simply. He melted, right there and then.
It took them a minute to acknowledge the rest of us on the planet,
but when they did, Mulder looked to Charlie.

"You know," he said to Charlie. Charlie shrugged and then
nodded.

"I was starting to think one or the other of you was gay," he added
with a grin.

I groaned. "Geez, Charlie, get some manners!" At that both Dana
and Mulder looked at me with the same astonished expressions and
broke out laughing.

"But back to business, how are we working this tonight?" Charlie
asked again.

"We aren't," Mulder replied.

"We are," I said, a bit forcefully, maybe, but it was for the guy's
own good.

"Bill. This is your mother's house. I'm not sleeping with your
sister without benefit of marriage while I'm a guest in her house.
Talk about manners," he muttered as he went back to his cards.

"Mulder. I didn't say you two could have an orgy," I replied,
drawing his attention back to the topic. "I think you need sleep.
And so does Dana. You admitted that you do that better when you
two are in close contact. She can sleep on the goddammed sleeper
bed for all I care, but at least she'll be in the same room."

That seemed to settle it. Now it was time to lay out the battle plan.
God, at Annapolis, we studied the battle of Midway. It was a
blueprint for the aggressive capture of a decisive naval victory. I am
not bragging when I say those planners had nothing on the four of
us.

Mulder, it was decided, would go to bed first (before ER ended),
but only after Dana checked his temp and pulse and basically felt
him up. Of course, I wasn't going to tell her that's what it sounded
like to me. I would go up next, claiming exhaustion after a day of
hammering and drilling. Next, Dana would feign some level of
tiredness. By this time, Mom would probably see the yawns Charlie
would attempt to look casual and go off to bed herself.

An hour after Mom went to bed was about our best guess for when
she would be in REM sleep. I know, it was an inexact
measurement, based on some stupid sleep study of middle aged
women in London that Mulder had participated in while at Oxford,
but it was the best we could come up with.

At that time, Dana was going to get out of bed. If Mom woke up,
or even moved, Dana was to go to the bathroom, get a glass of
water and come right back to bed to try our little switch an hour
later. She would turn the hall light on and then off again, to alert
the others of the change in plans.

If Mom didn't move, however, Dana was to come to the room
Mulder and I were inhabiting. Since I would still be awake, I
would relinquish the room to my sister and her, um, partner. Then
I would go down to the den where I would tell Charlie it was time
to move out.

Here is where the plan got a little tricky. Charlie, since he is about
60 pounds lighter than I am, was to go up to Mom's room, and
climb into bed, pretending to be Dana. Now, when they're asleep,
if it weren't for the short hair on one of them, Dana and Charlie
_do_ look a hell of a lot alike. It might not fool Mom when she
was fully awake, but in the dead of night, when she was basically
asleep, it might work. That's what we were hoping for, of course.

But that wasn't the end of the evening. We couldn't have the light
of day hit our little 'rearrangement'. We had to 'regroup' before
Mom woke up and found us. And I had a plan for that, too.

I have a really cool watch that Tara bought me for Christmas. It
has all these gadgets, including an alarm, which is pretty loud for a
little watch. I set the alarm for 5 in the morning. I might not be
able to get Mulder a full eight hours of his 'snuggle' time, but I
figured getting him five hours might just push him over the
nightmare hump and he could get the rest he needed. At 5 bells, I
was to get up, go roust Dana, who would then relieve Charlie and
Mom would wake up promptly at 6:15 as she's done since before I
was born, never to be the wiser.

Great plan, huh?

Too bad it didn't work, huh?

end of part five

========================================

By Her Side: The Edict
part six

Oh, but it really looked like it was going to, God. I mean, really,
really work. The first part went off without a hitch. Dana did her
little 'impromptu' exam and then came downstairs. I could tell she
was worried when she sort of slumped down in one of the
armchairs. I made sure Mom was occupied with some medical
drama unfolding on the screen so that I could sneak a word with
her.

"So?"

"He's exhausted, Billy. He was doing so well at my place. I mean,
he'd improved to the point I felt like I could go out of town on that
case for VCS. But he hardly slept while I was gone apparently, and
then when we got home . . ."

"Homecoming's a bitch," I commiserated with a smirk. "They're
great, but they can also be a bitch."

I got a kick out of the fact that she actually blushed as she smiled at
me and nodded in agreement. "Then, well, last night he didn't
sleep, either. That's almost a week without any real rest. Sure,
he's not doing anything much, but his body needs the serotonin that
only sleep brings. If this keeps up, he'll be back in the hospital
before the weekend and he'll really be pissed at me if I let that
happen."

"Then we'll make sure he _sleeps_ tonight," I told her in a whisper.
"Think you can keep your mitts to yourself?" I teased.

She gave me a very evil eye. "I've been the picture of restraint for
five years. One night, I can handle," she assured me confidently.

And so we all went to bed. At the time, I was congratulating
myself on exactly how well planned it was and how everything was
going off without a hitch. I know, God. You looked down and
saw a man in serious need of a humbling experience. I guess, on
some level, I should thank you for that.

At exactly 12:03, Dana made her way into our room. I have to
hand it to her, if I weren't looking for her arrival, I wouldn't have
heard her enter. Must be all the training, but she was like a ghost.
Not there one minute, there the next. I got out of the little sleeper
bed and started for the door. Before I got all the way there, she
reached out and grabbed my arm, giving it a squeeze.

"Thanks, Billy. I owe you, big time."

I wanted to tell her, no you don't. You don't owe me anything
because I've been a complete and total shit to your partner, and
you, for the last several years. But at that moment, God, well,
looking in her eyes, I remembered what absolution really feels like.
And promised myself that I'd make it to confession sooner than
every other decade. Forgiveness is just too good to pass up.

I hesitated at the door and watched her crawl under the covers.
Mulder had originally intended to stay awake until she arrived, but
his body had other ideas. Even though he looked sound asleep, I
saw him reach out the moment her weight hit the mattress. His
arms went around her and she snuggled up against his chest, just as
he'd described to me earlier in the day. He sighed, and a tiny smile
formed on his face. I couldn't see Dana face from where she'd
burrowed into his shoulder but she appeared to have just melted
into place around him. I closed the door, missing Tara more than
anything.

After giving Charlie the go ahead, I could have just laid down to
catch some winks. But I knew that Tara would have Matty in bed
and it was the perfect time to call her.

Tara and I talked for half an hour. Thank heavens I reversed the
charges. We talked about Matty and about Mom. She asked about
Mulder and I sort of slipped and let her know that _I_ would be
collecting on our bet. Hey, since Charlie knew, why should I keep
Tara in the dark?

And then I told her how much I missed her. I decided right then, it
was just too much effort to stay with Mom. I would go home to
San Diego in the morning and hope my Commanding Officer didn't
find out.

What can I say, God? Tara's voice relaxes me. It sounds like such
an insult to say that her voice puts me to sleep, but it does. It's got
this soothing quality and after hearing it, I just want to grab a
pillow and dream. Dream of her. Dream of her shoulders and her
back and her hands and her face and her lips and . . . well, you get
the point.

So I plead temporary insanity. I'm insanely in love with my wife.
Which is how I managed to sleep through the alarm. Which is how
I found myself opening my eyes to find my mother and my very
contrite little brother staring down at me where I was positioned on
the couch.

"I want to know exactly what you think you were doing, William
Dennis Scully, and I want to know now!"

Charlie had the good sense to run off to the showers. Mom had
already given him an earful before they came to wake me up. I
stood up, straightened my shoulders, licked my lips and prepared to
take my punishment.

"It's all my fault, Mom. I set it up. But they are two consenting
adults, and they have little enough quiet in their lives. They need
each other. If you have a problem with that, I understand, but I
think if you'll remember what it was like to be young and in love . .
."

That was when she burst out laughing. Well, it was more of a
giggle. But it was enough to make her sit down and wave me to sit
with her.

"Bill. You would think I just caught _you_ upstairs asleep with
Tara in your arms." Then she gave me a raised eyebrow. "But it
would have been in a motel room, wouldn't it?"

My lip still hurts from where I bit into it. But I didn't say a word.

"Bill, all this was really unnecessary, you know."

"It was?" I asked, not sure where she was headed.

"I've known about Fox and Dana for, well, since they arrived home
from San Diego."

"But Mom, they were certain that you didn't . . ."

"Don't ask, don't tell isn't a new concept, dear. It just took the
military a while to pick it up."

"Dana wanted me to keep it quiet, but Mulder can't sleep without
her, and he really needs to sleep, Mom or he's gonna end up back
in the hospital and he really hates hospitals, I know . . ."

Mom put her hand up to stop me. "Why doesn't Dana want me to
know? That's all the information I need."

"Because she feels that if you know, they should tell Mrs. Mulder
and they seem to think that might be a, well, a security risk," I told
her.

Mom blew a breath out. I knew from experience that meant she
was thinking. Finally she nodded, almost like she'd been having a
conversation in her head.

"When your brother gets out of the shower, go in and wake up
Dana. Try not to wake up Fox. I'll go back into the bedroom and
pretend to be asleep." She glanced at her watch. "It's not even
seven bells. We can still pull this off."

So see, God, that's how I forced my mother to lie to my sister to
protect my sister from her lover's, oh, sorry, partner's mother
finding out that the two of them . . .

Oh, hell, you were there, you know what it was about.

I felt almost guilty waking up Dana. She looked so cute, all curled
up around Mulder. He definitely looked 'dead to the world'. I
wanted to check his pulse, but Dana placed a kiss on his mouth
before she crawled out of bed and he smiled a goofy little smile in
his sleep.

"How's he doing?" I asked, more to keep her from noticing the
time, then anything.

"Better. This really helped, I think. His breathing got better as the
night progressed, his color is better than it was last night. Pulse is
steady. Heart and lungs sound real good this morning."

"You would know," I grinned at her. She hit me in the arm, but
grinned back, just the same.

She looked over her shoulder down the hall and to the window
there. "Mom overslept?"

"A little. We're in luck. Get in there quick, before she wakes up."

"Or I could say I woke up to shower and get to work?" she
suggested.

"That would work. And it wouldn't be a lie."

She looked at me thoughtfully. "I really do hate lying to her, Billy.
I would love to tell her all about us. I know she would be thrilled."

"You're right. She would be," I smiled. Irony. It's truly
something to behold. Keeps your life hopping, I guess. "Hey, I'm
headin' home today."

"Missing Tara?" Dana asked with a knowing smile.

"Very much. How will you handle tonight?"

"That one's easy. Mulder has an early doctor's appointment at
GUMC tomorrow. I'll just tell Mom that I'll crash on his bed." At
my questioning look she laughed. "He sleeps on his couch. Mom
knows that."

By breakfast, we were all in pretty good moods. Mulder made it
down about 8:15, looking like a new man.

"Did you sleep well, dear?" Mom asked. I was getting good at the
cloak and dagger stuff, because I didn't even choke.

"Great, Mrs. Scully. Fantastic, really. It's all the TLC, I guess."
He looked like the cat that ate the canary and then was named king
of the cats.

"Well, it's been our pleasure, dear," Mom said, ruffling his hair just
like he was one of us boys. In a way, I guess he is now.

Charlie shoved off at 9 when the rental car companies arrived with
a tow truck and a couple of replacement vehicles. He offered Dana
a ride to the metro stop so they left together. I gathered my duffle
and made noises soon after that.

"Going home so soon, Sweetheart? It seems like you just got
here," Mom told me as we stood at the door.

"Well, I hate being away from Tara, now that Matty's such a
handful."

She gave me a hug. "Be extra good to her. She's a sailor's wife,"
Mom told me and I'm sure there were tears in her eyes. But I
didn't put them there, God, I swear I didn't.

"It's been good to see you again, Bill," Mulder said, taking my
hand.

"Yes, you too," I told him. I meant it. I was really beginning to
see that he wouldn't be that bad as a family member. A family
member who happened to live on the other side of the continent,
mind you.

He walked me out to the rental car. "Thanks, Bill. I know you
haven't always approved of me, but I appreciate your efforts. It
means a lot to Dana."

"Just keep being good to her. Then neither of us have anything to
worry about," I told him. Then, I just couldn't help myself. I gave
him a hug.

It wasn't a tight hug. More like a 'Castro meets Breshniv' kind of
hug. But it felt right.

I'm outside St. Anthony's right now. Maybe Father McCue has
enough time for one quick confession. I need all the forgiveness I
can get.

The end.

Vickie

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"We're gonna party like it's
1999"

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^