Title: Pod #113
Author: Gwen Purcell
Rating: PG
Spoilers: The Truth, small one for Red Museum, Duane Barry, 
all things 
Keywords: MSR
Summary: Will Mulder and Scully ever be at home again?
Feedback: Sure
Archive: If you want. *blush*
Beta: Thanks so much to Shoshana for the very prompt and 
thorough beta.


Scully squinted her eyes as the late afternoon sun flooded the 
car. Where were they today? Colorado, they were somewhere 
in Colorado. After so many days on the road, it was getting 
hard to remember. At first it had been exciting. She had 
Mulder back with her. He was not just a dream, a fantasy; he 
was real. It was just the two of them against the world, on the 
run. Every night they made love, making up for so much lost 
time. Then they snuggled together in sleep. Truth be told, that 
was Scully's favorite part. She loved having him so close that 
she didn't even need to reach out to touch him. At any time she 
could breathe in his scent and it would calm her. She could 
open her eyes and see his dear face, placid in sleep. That part 
was still good. She loved being with Mulder, but this aimless 
wandering around the country, never knowing where they were 
or where they were going, was wearying. 
As much as Scully had told herself that this was the right thing 
to do, that she could not live without Mulder, she couldn't help 
thinking of what she had given up to be where she was now. 
Would she ever see her mother again? Or William? Even Bill 
and Tara were lost to her, and little Matthew. Tara had written 
to her just two weeks ago, saying that Matthew was looking 
forward to starting kindergarten in the fall. As her mind started 
to drift to Melissa and her father, Scully shook her head to clear 
her mind. It did no good to dwell on the past. This was her life 
now. She had chosen it.
Scully looked over at Mulder. He kept his eyes on the road, but 
he seemed a little different today. In recent days, she had 
noticed that he seemed tired too, bored with the routine of 
driving all day. But today, he seemed to have a tiny bit of a 
smile on his face and he looked like he was hiding something 
from her. Right on cue, he reached over and squeezed her 
hand. Then he quickly withdrew his hand to turn north onto 
Route 13. He grinned at her. "Ready for a treat, Scully?" 
"Always," she replied, looking at him quizzically. "Are we 
stopping soon?" 
"Pretty soon. There's a place to eat coming up, and then we 
will stop for a while."
"Good. You've been here before, Mulder?" He was beginning 
to look like the cat that swallowed the canary, and she could tell 
he was enjoying her confusion. Before he had a chance to 
respond, he pulled into the parking lot of the Big K Barbeque 
pit. A quick vision of a previous barbeque meal with Mulder 
flitted through Scully's mind, and she smiled as she got out of 
the car.
The service was good and the food was excellent for a place out 
in the middle of nowhere. Mulder continued to refuse to 
divulge his 'treat', and Scully indulged him. It had been so long 
since she had had something good to anticipate, that she felt 
herself being drawn in by his excitement. Once back in the car, 
they both were in a good mood. Mulder drove further up Route 
13 until he finally came to a storage facility in a remote area. 
Grinning, he pulled into the lot and announced, "Here we are!"
"This is it?" Scully asked, trying to keep her disappointment 
from the obviously delighted Mulder. 
"Be right back," he called, as he ducked into the small office. 
He returned seconds later, with a facility employee. Mulder 
placed his hand at Scully's back and steered her towards pod 
#113. The sandy-haired employee, Tony according to the name 
on his shirt, unlocked the door and said, "There you go, Mr. 
Carson. You let me know when you're done."
"We may be a little while," Mulder muttered.
"Okay, then," Tony replied, and strode off towards his office, 
leaving Scully all the more curious about what she would find 
in the pod.
Mulder grabbed her hand, and mumbled into her ear, "Your 
name is Denise Carson, if anyone asks. I'm Rick."
"You're getting better with these undercover names," Scully 
smiled. "Now show me what is in here."
Mulder opened the door and turned on the light. He stood back 
to let Scully see inside. He was not surprised at her audible 
gasp. "Mulder, oh my God, look at this. It's home. Oh, my 
God." She turned back to him and buried her tear-streaked face 
in his t-shirt. "I needed this so much, but how…"
He wrapped his arms around her and whispered, "You didn't 
really think that I could just get rid of my couch when I moved 
in with you, did you? It held too many memories. I had it sent 
here, along with some other things that I wanted to keep and 
some things for you. I was fairly sure that we would eventually 
come to this." Scully pulled back to look at his face. He 
smiled gently, "Sit down, and make yourself comfy."
Scully eased down onto the familiar black leather couch. It still 
smelled like Mulder. She closed her eyes and smiled. This 
couch was full of memories. "I feel like I need popcorn," she 
murmured. 
Mulder chuckled and sat down beside her. He slipped his arm 
around her shoulder and she laid her head against his chest. "I 
don't have popcorn, but there may be some things in these 
boxes that will interest you." For the first time, Scully noticed 
the boxes piled in the shadows around the sofa. On top of one 
sat the small statue of Buddha. Mulder moved the statue and 
took down the top box. Placing it on his lap, he opened it, and 
drew out a framed photo of himself, Scully and little William. 
"Oh, Mulder, I thought that photo was lost forever when I had 
to leave so quickly! I'm so glad you still had your copy."
"I didn't dare keep it with me, Scully, even though I so wanted 
to have you both close to me. This place was far enough away 
from New Mexico that I didn't think any one would know it 
was ours." Mulder placed a kiss on the top of Scully's head and 
pulled her closer to him. "I came here only twice while I was 
away. It was as often as I dared. I was here on your birthday, 
and on William's."
"Oh, Mulder," Scully began, and then tears began to fall.
"Don't cry, Scully. Look, there's more. I had hoped that this 
would make you happy."
"It does, Mulder. More than you can know."
Mulder reached into the box and brought out his photo of 
Samantha, one of Melissa and one of William and Maggie 
Scully.
Now Scully was curious. "Mulder, where did you get those 
photos?"
"From your mother," he replied, settling back into the couch. 
"After you were abducted, she offered me a photo of you. 
Umm, this one." Mulder pulled out a smiling photo of a young 
Dana Scully. "She said it was taken shortly after your 
graduation from med school."
"It was," Scully grinned. "It was at a picnic at a lake near 
Charlie's house. His little boy was just a baby then. It's been a 
long time since I've seen his family."
"After my mother died, I had some things from her home that I 
wanted to keep and my apartment seemed too vulnerable for 
storage. I had explained to your mother that there was a 
possibility that we would have to disappear some day and 
wouldn't be able to contact her. She asked me if I could keep 
some things in a safe place for you. I talked to the guys and 
they suggested a storage pod in the middle of nowhere, so I had 
things sent here for safekeeping." Mulder set the photo of 
Scully's parents up on the stack of boxes where she could see it. 
Then he stood up and went to another pile of boxes. He 
removed one and handed it to Scully. "This is yours. I haven't 
looked at it. It's all from your mom."
Scully's hands trembled as she opened the lid. The first thing 
she removed was a letter from her mother. She scanned it 
quickly and then said, "Mulder, listen to this-"
Dearest Dana,
If you are reading this, then it means that you and Fox have had 
to go undercover somewhere. I understand that you have done 
this for your own safety, and for that I applaud your decision. 
It does not mean that I will miss you any less. Fox has 
explained to me that this could happen. I want you to know 
that I trust him to take good care of you, better than anyone else 
could at this time. He loves you, Dana, I know you love him, 
too. Please take care of each other. In this box, you will find 
some small remembrances of your own life and your family. I 
hope they will bring you comfort. I will pray for you 
constantly and I hope that one day you will return home.
All my love,
Mom
"When did she write this, Mulder?"
"She gave it to me shortly after you were returned from your 
abduction," Mulder marveled. "She knew even then."
"She knew before we did," Scully replied, as she pulled items 
from the box. It contained copies of her diplomas, a family 
photo album and a picture of her and Mulder looking at one 
another. "I don't remember this picture being taken, do you?"
"No, I guess that proves her point! We didn't even know 
anyone else was there." Mulder smiled. " I guess she would be 
happy to see us now."
Scully planted a quick kiss on his lips and pulled a small 
stuffed dog from the box. "Look, it's Shep! We had a dog like 
this when I was in grade school. We had to give him away 
when Dad was transferred, and I was so sad that he bought me 
this little stuffed dog that looked like him. Mulder, I can't tell 
you what all this means to me."
"I'm glad you like it." Mulder squeezed Scully's shoulder and 
got up from the couch. "I really wanted to look for some things 
while we we're here," he said, pulling out another box. 
Outside, the early evening dusk turned to dark, and still the pair 
inside the pod was enthralled, rediscovering their memories and 
sharing them with each other. Mulder pulled a small Yankees 
cap from a box. "Here it is, Scully! This is what I've been 
looking for. My dad took me to a game when I was about 
seven and he bought me this cap. I want William to have it."
"Mulder," Scully replied gently, "We may never see William 
again."
"Yes, we will. I'm going to take it with me when we go. We'll 
find him, Scully, we have to." He looked into her eyes. "We 
will find him together."
Scully nodded. She had her doubts, but when Mulder set his 
mind on something as precious as William, she didn't want to 
discourage him. Imagine, being a real family!
While visions of family meals and PTA meetings filled Scully's 
head. Mulder continued to dig through the boxes. He emerged 
with a small leather-covered box with a latch. "Here it is," he 
murmured.
Scully watched while Mulder opened the jewelry box. He 
moved a few items, until he came to the one he was looking for. 
"Scully," he said quietly.
She froze, waiting for Mulder to say what she hoped he would. 
A shiver ran through her and she answered, "Yes, Mulder."
"I love you, and please don't say 'Oh, brother!'"
Scully relaxed and smiled. "Not a chance this time. I love you, 
too, Mulder."
"Good, because I want us to be together always. I don't have a 
real engagement ring for you, but I want you to have this 
sapphire ring that belonged to my grandmother. She and my 
granddad had a long, happy marriage, and that's what I want for 
us. Marry me, Scully?"
A lump formed in Scully's throat, almost preventing her from 
responding. Finally, she squeaked out. "It's-it's beautiful, 
Mulder. Thank you. And yes."
Taking her left hand in his, he slipped it on her ring finger, and 
kissed it. "Someday I will get you a real engagement ring, and a 
wedding ring, too, but I wanted to ask you now." He drew her 
into his arms and kissed her soundly.
"This ring is perfect. I don't want any other. This moment is 
perfect, and believe me, it's not how I'd pictured it." Scully 
raised up to capture his lips with hers and kissed him gently. 
Mulder smiled.
"Do you think Tony will be back, asking us to leave?" Scully 
asked, as they moved to a reclining position on the couch. 
Before Mulder could answer, there was a knock on the door. 
Mulder rose from the couch and said a few words to the young 
man.
When he turned back to the couch, he stopped to open one 
more box. Scully looked at him, vainly trying to cover a yawn. 
"Don't worry, we're done unpacking for today. I just needed 
one more thing." Mulder pulled the warm Indian print blanket 
from the box. He spread it carefully over Scully, and then 
slipped under it himself. She nestled into his arms.
"This is the best treat I've ever had, Mulder."
"I'm glad you liked it," he whispered, pulling her tighter against 
him.
Moments later they were both asleep, and the happy faces of 
Maggie and William Scully smiled down on them from atop the 
pile of memories in the corner.