TITLE: And Found: A Christmas Tale of Love and Hope
AUTHOR: Rae 
CATEGORY: MSR, S
RATING: No one under 18 admitted without being accompanied 
by an adult.
DISCLAIMER: Not mine. Although, I've heard whispers that 
they have more fun at my house... 
SUMMARY: Christmas is a time for miracles.
UMMMM:  This is un-beta'd.  All mistakes are mine.
This is a sequel to Lost: A Christmas Tale of Love and Hope 
that I wrote for the Secret Santa Fic Swap.  It isn't 
necessary to read it first, but it does set this one up 
nicely.
For sallie.  Because she asked.  Well, actually, she issued 
a challenge.
Merry Christmas, sallie, dear!

December 25, 2005
2:16am 
"He who has calmly reconciled his life to fate can look 
fortune in the face."
Scully slowly awakened to a small hand patting her cheek, 
and the faint smell of cinnamon and sour milk.
She opened her eyes and gasped.
"Oh my God.  William!"
"Merry Kissme, Momma."
"Oh my God."
She sat up and pulled her long-lost child to her breast, 
raining kisses on his head.  She drew in a long deep breath 
of his hair, relishing the lingering scent of baby shampoo 
and sweat. 
"William.  William.  William, my sweet boy.  You're here!  
I can't believe it."
Scully looked up to find Mulder standing at the foot her 
bed.
"Mulder?  How?  When?  Oh my God."
Mulder smiled and answered, "It's Christmas, Scully, and I 
made a promise."
"I've waited so long for this.  For you.  And for Willliam.  
And now you're here and I've got my baby in my arms and I 
still can't believe it.  Tell me I'm not dreaming."
Mulder climbed into the bed and settled beside Scully.  He 
wrapped his arms around her, told her she wasn't dreaming, 
and before she could answer, he kissed her long and deep, 
each reclaiming what they both believed they'd never have 
again.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*   
December 25, 2005
3:09am
"I knowed all along that they wasn't my mommy and daddy."
"How did you know, sweetie?"
Scully, Mulder and William were all still sitting in the 
bed, holding tightly to one another, afraid they'd lose 
sight of each other if anyone dared to let go.
"I heared them talking in my head, just like I heared you 
and daddy.  When I was a baby, I didn't knowed who all 
those voices were, but I always heared you talking to me 
and telling me you was sorry."
Scully tried to smile, but realized how miserably she was 
failing when she felt the tears rolling down her cheeks.  
She wasn't sure if she was trying to reassure herself or 
William.
"I did what I thought was best for my baby to keep you 
safe.  It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do.  But I 
promise, I won't ever let you go again."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*   
December 25, 2005
4:57am
"You should sleep, Scully."
They were curled into each other on the couch, watching the 
lights of the Christmas tree blink on and off.  William had 
finally fallen asleep and Mulder had pulled Scully away 
from the bed so that the two of them could catch up.
"I can't.  I just want to be here in this day, this moment, 
absorbing every detail no matter how minute.  I still can't 
believe that you're here.  And William, he's so beautiful.  
And he's here.  When did you find him?"
"Three days ago."
"How?"
"He called out to me."
"You heard him in your head?"
"Yeah.  I think he finally figured out that if he could 
hear us, then we could probably hear him, and he started 
calling out to us both." 
 
"I wish I could have heard him.  The two of you have this 
incredible connection.  I can't tell you how jealous I am."  
Mulder kissed the top of her head and ran his hands up and 
down her back.
"How did you get the people that were keeping him to let 
him go?" 
"He was in an orphanage.  His adoptive parents got sick and 
died in the days following the attacks.  I walked into the 
over-crowded home and said I wanted to surprise my wife for 
Christmas.  Money sped up the paperwork, and we came right 
here."
"Where have you been all this time, Mulder?  I haven't 
heard from you in three years.  I thought you were dead."
He gently wiped the tears from her face and told her how 
he'd been enlisted to help a renegade group run recons, and 
that through their hard work, they were able to stop the 
aliens from returning and destroying the remaining 
population.  The work had been grueling, and once you were 
"in", it was almost impossible to get in touch with loved 
ones.  In order to avoid mass hysteria, only those enlisted 
knew about the repeated attempts to attack the Earth.  
After three long years, those involved were finally 
confident that they'd destroyed the last of threats, and 
the human race could really start to rebuild Life.  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*   
"Who would give a law to lovers? Love is unto itself a 
higher law."
December 25, 2005
5:49am
When the soft, loving kisses had turned hungry, Mulder had 
pulled them both up from the couch, only to lay Scully on 
the floor beside the fireplace.  "I need more room", he'd 
told her, and immediately set to the task of removing the 
clothes from both their bodies.  
Scully bit her lip to keep from crying out.  She had missed 
this so much.  The tingle as Mulder ran his fingers from 
her ankle to her thigh, the butterflies that took flight in 
her belly as he took a stiff nipple between his teeth, and 
the long, liquid pull as he pushed himself inside.
The first time they came together, it was all about need.  
The need to be close, the need to feel the burn and the 
ache and the sweet release.  The need to know each other 
again, to feel the ripple of skin beneath fingers, and the 
solid press of one body to another.
The second time was slow and tender.  They reawakened the 
feelings they'd been forced to bury, reclaimed the love 
they held only for each other.  The passion that flowed 
between them was stronger than it had ever been.  
The third time was just for good measure.  They'd been 
without each other for so long, and were determined to make 
up for lost time.
As the light came in through the windows, Mulder rolled 
onto his side and pulled Scully to him so that her back was 
against his chest and her head was tucked under his chin.  
Scully softly whispered, "Don't ever leave me again."
"Never."
"I mean it Mulder, the world could come crashing down 
around us, but you are to stay right here.  They'll just 
have to do without you during the next apocalypse."
"Absolutely." 
While the world around them unknowingly awoke to a safer, 
new dawn, Mulder and Scully climber into bed, cocooning 
William between them.  They faced each other, clasped their 
fingers and entwined their legs, not wanting to lose any 
amount of contact they could maintain.  
And they slept.
end
Notes:
This story was written in answer to a photo manipulation 
challenge.  
As with Lost: A Christmas Tale of Lost and Hope, all the 
quotes are by Boethius, a Roman that lived long, long ago.  
He helped break through my writer's block in the last 
story, so I decided to use him again.