Closure

[kyouryokusenshi]

Title: Closure
Rating: PG-13
E-mail: kyouryokusenshi@michirutenou.com
Spoilers: Irresistible, Orison, Season 8
Author's Notes: Yes, the title was inspired by the British movie "Closure" starring Gillian Anderson.
Keywords: Mulder/Scully romance. Doggett/Scully friendship.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters.

Summary: What if Donnie Pfaster had escaped prison a year later?
Mulder has returned, Scully is pregnant with Donnie on the loose. Will
he succeed and get his last victim?

Scully was preparing breakfast when she was startled by the news
forecast. She almost dropped her glass of milk in effort to turn up
the volume on the TV. Despite Mulder's return, Scully couldn't believe
things would suddenly take a turn for the worst. Donnie Pfaster had
been released. Just as she nearly slammed her glass down on the table,
she heard a knock on the door. She jumped, her hand moving to cover
her belly protectively. "Who is it?"

"It's me," came the familiar voice.

She sighed and nearly swung open the door. She couldn't have been more
relieved. "Mulder, you scared me," she gasped.

He held his hands out to steady her shaking form. "I'm sorry, I heard
the news and I was just worried about you."

Although he was attempting to reassure her, this just made her go numb
at the thought that Pfaster might come after her again. "I can't
believe this, why now?" Mulder immediately guided her to the couch
before her knees gave.

He switched the TV off. He knew she was meaning because of her
pregnancy. "He's only going to kill again and I was his last victim."

"You don't know that, Scully. Maybe not," despite his own fears, he
was only trying to comfort her. He knew her pregnancy was high risk
and the last thing he wanted was for her to have more complications.

She was close to tears and Mulder knew she not only feared for
herself, but also their baby. Their baby. Despite the way he acted
initially about her pregnancy, he had grown to love and cherish the
life she carried as much as he cherished her once he realized the baby
was his.

A moment later, Scully's phone rang and she looked at the caller ID to
see it was Skinner.

"Scully?"

"Scully, it's Skinner."

Cutting right to the chase, she spoke. "Sir, how could Donnie Pfaster
be released? He's harmed so many women."



"I know, Scully. Believe me, but apparently there's nothing they can
hold against him now. He claims to be a free man, unless he makes a
second attempt..." Which of course there would be, he didn't stop.

"Will all due respect, he won't stop. Why should another innocent
woman stuffer?"

Skinner knew where she was going with this and he understood. Scully
had a lot more at stake now and she already had a difficult pregnancy.

His toned suddenly changed. "I know, Dana, I know. Believe me, I'm
working on it. Building up something against him will be difficult."

After she hung up she looked over at Mulder, exasperated. It was lunch
time and her stomach was growling. "Despite the situation, I'm
starving."

Trying to lighten the mood, Mulder smiled. "Well you are eating for
two, want to go and get some take-out?"

Scully rolled her eyes, although glad for the distraction. "I'm quite
well aware that I'm carrying a basketball sized baby around that
increases my hunger demands, Mulder. Maybe he takes after you," she
smiled and for the first time, she saw Mulder's features soften at the
indication that he was a part of this miraculous conception. He
recently started to come around to the idea of being a father, but she
didn't want to push him. It would work out in time. "Just go ahead and
pick up some Chinese food, Mulder."

"But, Scully, I don't think that's a--" he hesitated.

Scully sighed. "Mulder, I'll be fine for 20-30 minutes. I've been home
all day. My doors and windows are locked up tight."

Mulder definitely knew she wouldn't settle for being coddled, but he
knew she wouldn't relent. "OK, but I'm calling in the order and
picking it up so I'll only be gone 10-15 minutes tops."

"Okay, just make sure to order me some schezuan beef."

"Coming right up," he pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number
stored in his contacts.

Scully went to take a quick shower and change out of her night
clothes. It was past noon and she didn't feel productive lounging
around on a weekend in her PJ's. She was only gone about five or ten
minutes to realize Mulder had already left, using his key to lock the
door behind him.

Scully sighed as she returned to her bedroom to dry her hair and put
on her makeup for the day. She could have sworn she heard a shuffle
and her heart raced. There was no way anyone could have gotten in. All
the windows and front door were locked. She proceeded back to the
bathroom to apply her makeup. She gazed at her expanded belly in the
mirror. It never ceased to amaze her that she was really carrying a
miracle and Mulder was back to share this with her. She placed both
hands on her belly, ready and willing to do whatever it took to
protect this gift god had given her.

She pulled her makeup bag and its contents plummeted to the floor
scattering as her heart dropped at the sight behind her.

"Hey there girlie, you didn't let me run you a bath."

Scully started to scream and bolt before he clamped his hand over her
mouth. Using a few old FBI self-defense techniques, she punched him in
the gut and started to run. But she wasn't able to get far before he
recovered grabbing her ankle. Scully screamed and had a fleeting
thought of her baby before bracing her fall with both hands, barely
avoiding the impact her belly would have made with the ground. Despite
her large girth, she tried to pick herself up before she realized her
legs were trapped. "Nooo!!! Don't do this, I'm pregnant. PLEASE! I'm
having a baby!" She remembered yelling these exact words to her
captors several months ago who had tried to kill her with their
supposed "god". She knew her efforts were futile.

Roughly, Donnie pulled her onto her back and she could feel the
gravity change as her huge belly stuck out into the air. He used a
free hand to curl a strand of hair behind her ear. "I can see that,
pregnancy must really agree with you. Your hair is longer, soft and
glowing," he took in a breath.

Scully seized that opportunity to deliver a swift quick to where it
counts and struggled to pull herself upright. He grunted and she took
that opportunity to run towards her bedroom and for her gun. Despite
the pain, he was right behind her and managed to grab her arm, pull
her back causing her to lose her footing and plummet into her glass
mirror. She gasped at the impact and she felt her breath sucked from
her. 'Oh god, my baby'. "No!!" she cried. "Mulder!!!" she knew her
efforts were futile. "I'll kill you if you hurt my baby, you bastard!"

She moved to deliver her elbow into his face, which he easily caught
and pushed her forward. She hated the fact she was so vulnerable
because of her pregnancy and her movements weren't what they were
before. "I'm not going to hurt your baby, pretty lady, if you
cooperate." Scully closed her eyes and felt the tears. She should have
listened and went with Mulder. 'God, how could I have been so
selfish'. All she could think about was getting out of this alive and
making sure her baby was okay.

Scully grunted as he twisted her arms behind her. "Now, if you just do
what I say, girly girl, I won't hurt you."

Mulder almost had a heart attack when he returned to discover the
wreckage of Scully's apartment. The food dropped to the floor and he
began to hyperventilate as he surveyed the surroundings and assessed
the damage. "Scully!" He bolted from room to room finding no sign of
her. "God dammit," he screamed.

At that moment, he felt as if he could cry. Scully was taken in his
absence and he could only hope and pray she and the baby weren't hurt.
Things had been difficult for them lately, but he had grown to love
the baby just as much as he loved her. He couldn't bear the thought of
losing them.

Instead of calling 911 right away, he called Skinner first. They
needed to get a team out looking for Scully as prints were taken from
her apartment. Although, he already knew who had done this. He could
have bet his life on it. Scully was the one who put him away, she
would be the first one he came after.

"Skinner."

"Skinner, I..." his voice started to break as he tried to form the
words.

"Mulder? What happened, tell me what happened?" Skinner could sense
the strain in Mulder's voice and knew something was gravely wrong if
he was on the verge of a breakdown.

"She's gone. Scully's gone, he took her," he spit out. "The son of a
bitch took her."

Mulder could hear the long string of curses from the other line before
he said. "I'm on it; we'll find her, Mulder. She's going to be okay,"
and the phone was slammed down.

It didn't take long for Skinner and Agent Doggett along with a parade
of FBI to arrive at Scully's apartment. It seemed as if everything was
taken in as evidence. Hair particles, finger prints.

Doggett was head of this investigation under Skinner and he honestly
wouldn't trust anyone else with this since he was technically out of
the X-Files and the FBI.

Mulder sat in the kitchen as the investigators did their work. Skinner
approached him. He didn't look up. "We're going to find her, Mulder."
Skinner looked around the kitchen, averting his gaze. He understood
the responsibility Mulder felt.

"I shouldn't have left; we could have ordered pizza in. I tried..." he
felt his voice begin to break and he took a deep breath. "I wanted her
to come with me, but she promised me she hadn't left today and the
door and windows were all locked."

Skinner turned towards him. "How do you suppose he got in?"

"The door was unlocked when I came back. I locked it when I left. He
could have been hanging around, waiting and then picked the door."

Skinner nodded. It made sense. He knew Mulder was feeling guilty for
the past few weeks since his return. He had only recently made it up
to Scully and come to terms with things.

"None of this was your fault, if that guy wanted her, he would find a
way. You couldn't be with her 24-7. I will make sure if this guy gets
out of this alive, he will be put behind bars for life. Doing what he
did to those women is sick, but a pregnant woman is even more
disturbing."

Mulder nodded as Doggett approached them. His contorted features bore
sympathy for him and his partner he had come to respect and develop a
close friendship with. Mulder knew he couldn't bear anything happening
to her either.

"If it's any consolation, Agent Mulder, we're doing everything we can
to find her," he looked resolute. Doggett could imagine what Mulder
was going through. He'd lost his son. Spent much time with his
partner, Monica Reyes, searching for him...only to find him dead. He
wasn't going to let that happen to Agent Scully.

Mulder remembered the case file Monica Reyes had brought to his
attention and he was sure it was the reasoning behind his
determination to find Scully. He respected the man for that. He
nodded. "I know."

When the investigators concluded their search, Skinner followed Mulder
into the bedroom. He watched as Mulder surveyed the surroundings and
the shattered mirror in particular. No longer concerned about
tampering with evidence, he touched the frame and rand his hand along
the surface until he spotted a spot of blood.

All of a sudden, he felt as if the wind was knocked out of him and he
doubled over. He was vaguely aware of Skinner yelling out to him as
images exploded into his head. "Mulder!!" she had screamed. What
caused the most exploding feeling in his gut was of Scully being
thrown into the mirror. "I'll kill you if you hurt my baby, you
bastard!"

He could see and feel her fear and it had him visibly shaking. He
heard his name being called in a distance, but it wasn't Scully.
"Mulder! Mulder, what's happening?!!"

A moment later he was staring into Skinner's concerned face. "Mulder?
What was that just now?" He reached to pull him to his feet. Mulder
looked in a daze as he tried to breathe. "I could feel her. She was
trying to get away, she was terrified. She called for me."

Skinner watched Mulder's distant expression and he was afraid to ask
his next question. "How did you know all that?"

He shook his head. "I don't know...the tests. I think it had something
to do with the tests they did on me. I touched the wall and I just saw
what happened."

Skinner nodded. He was familiar with the case of Mulder's declining
health. He had been dying and the aliens had done something to reverse
the process. "She'll be okay, I promise," he wasn't sure who he was
trying to reassure more, Mulder or himself.

"I think, I think she might have taken her phone with her."

Skinner looked at him before it dawned on him. "Let's see if we can
get any trace on its signal and we'll need the gunmen for that. Give
Doggett and the search team a break.

Scully had awoken in a bedroom. She had no idea how long she had been
unconscious, but she could have guessed it was for several hours. She
knew nothing but the fact that they must have been in some motel. He'd
left her in the trunk of the car while he had checked into the room.

Her wrists were tied to the bed and a gag had been put in her mouth.
With startling fear, she felt cramping in her abdomen. She still had
another month before she was due. Tears began to make their way down
her face at the thought of something happening to her miracle baby.

She had no clue where she was and Donnie was nowhere in sight. She
began to put incessantly on the rope, in hopes that it would loosen.
It did, finally and it was the same time the door opened. She quickly
stopped her movements to give him a deathly stare.

"What's the matter, girly girl? Don't you like baths?"

Scully grunted and turned away. He came towards her, analyzing her
hair. "What kind of shampoo do you use?"

"I think you have fine hair." He moved away to the next room, which
appeared to the bathroom. Her pulse quickened as she heard the sound
of running water. She knew she had to get out of there and fast.

To her relief, he came and removed the bondage, but what came next she
was unprepared for. "I can't chance that you will run off, girly girl,
so you will have to undress with supervision. Scully couldn't bear how
humiliated she was going to feel at getting naked in front of this
man, especially with the girth of the baby.

She removed her jacket and saw him turn at a knock on the door. Her
heart had jumped into her throat, but Donnie had his hand over her
mouth as she began to scream. With dawning realization, she realized
she still had her phone inside of her underwear in hopes Mulder would
have the gunmen trace its location.

She heard several whispers. Donnie could hear bangs on the door. "Now
you'd better be quiet while I answer the door or I'll make sure you
and your baby don't make it out of this." Scully just stared at him,
crippled with fear. As he moved to turn away, she noticed the gun by
the window he had held at her at gun point.

Her legs moved suddenly as if they had a mind of their own and she
made a swift move to grab the gun. Before Donnie could grab the door
handle, a bullet shot through the air and he slumped to the ground.

At the same time, the front door busted open with Doggett, Skinner and
his task force inside. Scully stared at the blood oozing from his
head, hyperventilating as she slowly lowered the gun.

Voices shot through the air, but she couldn't tear her gaze from the
body as Doggett neared her side. She sucked in a breath of air and
placed a hand to her mouth, letting the gun drop to the floor.

"Agent Scully, are you okay?!"

She couldn't form the words, but she nodded vigorously, unable to look
at him.

He gingerly brought her away from the scene. "It's over now, Dana, you
stopped him."



"I can't explain what made me pick up that gun. He hadn't hurt me or
done anything to me yet."

Doggett nodded. "You did what you had to."

A tear slipped from her eye. "I didn't even stop to think about it, or
why I was doing it. It could have been god telling me it was the right
thing to do, but now I'm not so sure. I just killed him."

He sighed. "You were protecting yourself and your baby. It was
self-defense, Dana, and I'll make sure any reports reflect that fact.
He wasn't going to stop what he was doing. You're a mother first and
an agent second, as a father I only could wish someday my son's killer
will be brought to justice, so no one else would have to be hurt."

Scully nodded as another tear slipped from her eye and stared at him.
He sighed and they both turned when Mulder appeared in the doorway,
stricken. Agent Doggett stepped aside, nodding at him.

Mulder rushed over to her as Doggett walked over to Skinner. "She's
going to be okay, she's just a little shaken. We should get some
medics out here though, just to have her examined."

Skinner nodded as he watched Mulder nearly wrap her in his arms.

"Oh god, Scully," he whispered.

"Are you okay, is the baby okay?"

"I think so, but I need to have it checked."

"This is my fault, I shouldn't have left you."

"No, Mulder, it's not. He wasn't going to stop until he got what he
wanted."

At that moment, Mulder could care less who was watching. He kissed her
forehead and allowed her to cry. "It's going to be okay, it's over."

A few days later, Scully had returned to her apartment once it was
cleaned up and orderly again. Her doctor had given her the all-clear
on her and her baby's health. The cramps were just from stress, but
she was advised to take it easy until her delivery date to prevent any
complications.

The report reflected self-defense just as Agent Doggett had promised
it would. But she couldn't shake the fact that she had shot him like
that, without being provoked. All she could think about was her baby
and not allowing the bastard to continue to see the light of day.

Mulder could sense her reluctance to explain what had happened to her,
but he knew they had gotten there just in time, thanks to the gunmen.
He sat down next to her on the couch, wrapping his arm around her.
"Scully, are you okay?"

She nodded with a sigh.

"I know I've told you this a dozen times already, but none of this is
your fault. He wasn't going to stop."

"I know, I just, I can't explain what made me do it. I'd like to
believe it's what god had wanted me to do, but I'm not so sure," she
whispered, looking down.

"Don't beat yourself up over it. You did well, Scully."

For the first time since she'd been in the hospital, he'd reached
over and splayed his hands over her belly, moving his hand in circles.
"I honestly don't know what I would have done if something happened to
either of you, Scully. I was so afraid. I would have killed him myself
if I had to."

Scully smiled and placed her hand over his. She couldn't have been
more overjoyed at how well Mulder was adjusting to her pregnancy. She
couldn't imagine having this baby without him. She sensed there was
something more. "And?"

He looked away. "When I came back and went into your room...after he
took you. I saw what happened. I could feel you, your fear and I heard
you call my name."

Scully gasped, tears welling in her eyes.

"I think, it's because of what they did to me. All I did was touch the
wall and I felt my knees crumble underneath me. It was unbearable."

"Oh, Mulder."

"I might never be the same man, but I hope you will have me, because I
couldn't imagine my life without you or the baby."

Tears were streaming down her face at this point and she pulled him
into a tight embrace. "I'm not going anywhere, Mulder. You're stuck
with us," she added with a laugh, caressing his hair.

"Good, because I couldn't imagine it any other way."


END

A/N: The idea of Donnie Pfaster coming back in season 8 was a great
idea given to me by my friend Billie. I was going with the idea that
he came back in season 8 rather than season 7. Please R&R!!