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Title: Going Away Summary: Someone's going away, and nobody's happy about it (Post-Existence). "I've got to go away. She'd rehearsed the lines over and over as she drove home. She'd only been back at work after her maternity leave for two weeks. This was not going to be easy. For her, for Mulder, or for William. She was still assigned to the X-Files, but she'd reached an agreement with Doggett, Reyes, and Skinner that allowed her to work part-time. Mostly, she did forensics and research. This way she didn't have to do field work. She could use the FBI resources to try to find out as much as she could about what Kryeck and the others wanted with William. And she was still looking for answers about Mulder's abduction. She pulled the car to a stop in front of the building and got out. She slowly walked to the building. As she walked up the stairs, she frowned. She wasn't supposed to be going out of town. She wasn't supposed to leave Mulder or William. She sighed, knowing how much this was going to hurt. . As she walked down the hall to her door, a smile broke through. It was nice knowing they were waiting for her. Mulder was probably reading with William lying asleep across his chest. Or, ar least, he started to read before he succumbed to the warmth of William and fell asleep himself. It was amazing how fast they'd fallen into a routine. About three weeks ago, Mulder had started his new job teaching psychology at University of Virginia in Arlington. That combined with her shortened hours at the FBI had allowed them a semblance of the normal life they'd always thought was unattainable. Now, she was about to change all that. She took a deep breath and put the key in the door. She found inside exactly what she thought she'd find: Mulder asleep on the couch with William stretched out across his chest, an X-File lying on the coffee table. Both of them were softly snoring. She walked to the couch and watched them for several moments. How could she disturb this? How could she not come home to this, even for one night? She shook off the guilt and pain. She ruffled his hair and Mulder let out a groan as he woke up. "Scullllleee," he exhaled as his eyes focused on her. "Hey, Sleepy." "Hmmmm.... a little power nap with the little guy..." he offered as explanation. "Mmmm hmmm." She bent over and gave him a quick kiss. She was a little surprised when he pulled her back for a deeper kiss. "Now that is a proper 'Honey, I'm home' kiss." He smirked. She looked at him but didn't answer. "What's wrong?" He'd only looked at her for like thirty seconds and already he knew something was wrong. She walked around the couch and sat on the coffee table. She looked at William, still snoozing on Mulder's chest. She exhaled slowly, trying to remember her rehearsed words to tell Mulder. "Kersh fired you." "What?!" She looked up at Mulder, her eyes wide. "That's the only thing I could figure that would have you acting like this," Mulder surmised. "Am I right?" She shook her head. "No, I'm not fired." She looked him in the eye. "I have to go away." His brow furrowed and confusion filled his face. "Why? You're not doing field work..." She shook her head again. "Kersh wants me to do a forensics consult in Los Angeles." "Kersh?" The name came out of his mouth like he was spitting it. "What does he have to do with it ? And why can't they send the body to Quantico for you to slice and dice 'em?" "No," she sighed loudly, frustrated. "The coroner has asked for a forensics consult on a case involving exsanguination. Since that is technically an X-File and they need forensics, that's me. I asked Kersh to have them send the body. He said they wouldn't. So, I have to go." "Kersh. That bastard!" He was getting more upset. "He just loves running you up the flagpole. Hasn't Doggett gotten anything on him, yet? I want that man to go down. And now!" His raised voice had upset William's sound slumber. He was squirming on Mulder's chest, waking up. Mulder tried to calm him by rubbing his back. It wasn't working; William started to whimper a bit. Scully reached over and picked up William. She pulled him close and he snuggled in, recognizing his mother without even opening his eyes. He fell back asleep in her arms. She looked up at Mulder who was now sitting up and staring at William in her arms. "I have to go," she continued the speech she'd practiced. " I have to make this business trip. I promise I'll call every morning and night. You can call me on my cell whenever you want. It's only for a couple of days. I promise I'll be back as..." He stopped her by putting his finger to her lips. "I know, Scully. I know. You have to go." He smiled at her. "We're just going to miss you." She smiled back. "I know." They closed their eyes and leaned against each other , foreheads touching, for a couple minutes. Mulder was the first to move, reaching to stroke her cheek. "I'm starving," he said in a hushed voice. "Any of that spaghetti left?" Scully nodded. "In the refrigerator." Mulder smiled and got up, heading for the kitchen. Scully took William into the bedroom and laid him carefully in his crib. He stretched and moved around a bit, but soon settled back to a restful sleep. Satisfied, Scully headed to the kitchen. Mulder was in the process of microwaving the leftover spaghetti. "Smells good," Scully said through a yawn. "Mmmm. Looks like I'm going to have to put you to bed immediately after dinner." There was some glee in his voice. "That would probably be a good idea since William will have us up a couple times, as usual. I could definitely use the extra sleep." "Who was talking about sleep?" She looked at him, wanting to smile but refusing to give him that. "Come on. We're gonna have to make up for the time we're going to lose while your in L.A." He raised his eyebrows up and down comically. She didn't say a word. She just moved past him and took the spaghetti out of the microwave. He moved in and started kissing her neck. "Mulder! I thought you said AFTER dinner." "Hmmmm..." was his unintelligible response as he continued kissing her neck. It felt too good to protest anymore. She set down the spaghetti and began kissing him back. A few moments later, a baby's crying interrupted them. They stopped and looked at each other. Their faces were a mixture of frustration and amusement. "I'll go," Mulder said. "No, I'll go," Scully asserted. "I'm need to start making up for that lost time, too." Mulder nodded. "I'll keep the spaghetti and me hot until you get back." The End Hope y'all enjoyed it! Please send all feedback to spkyteach@aol.com.
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