Title: Fairy Woods 

Author: Andrea

Rating: G

Category: MS?, UST, S, post-ep for Closure

Spoilers: Up to and including Closure

Disclaimer: All found within belong to CC et al

Notes: Thank you to Dan, Aly and the girl upstairs
for speedy beta reading.

Please send feedback to ardywyn@hotmail.com

*******************************************************

"You want me to go where?" I wasn't sure I'd heard him correctly.

"Aw, c'mon, Scully. Didn't you ever have a special place when you were
growing up? A place where you felt safe?" He was so excited, I didn't
know if I would be able to turn him down.

"Mulder, we never stayed anywhere long enough for me to connect to a
place. My family were my constants. Some of them were a constant
pain, but they were all I had. There is no old homestead for me to make
a pilgrimage to."

He nodded, "Well this place isn't on the Vineyard, Scully."

I breathed a sigh of relief. I really didn't relish a long trip right
now. He must be referring to his parents summer place.

Summer was almost here. Mulder's spring had been quiet owing mostly
to the fact that he had still been recovering from a horrendous winter.
Even though he claimed that he was finally free, it had seemed to me
that he had spent, if possible, more time in reflection.

We didn't talk about it much. There was so much I wanted to ask him,
but couldn't. Did he think his years of searching for his sister had
been a waste? Or did he believe that his search led him to the truth?
What about all of the other things he had seen?

Cassandra had told us that Samantha was with "them". I guess it's easy
to understand why Mulder would prefer to believe that his sister was
starlight and that the experimentation was over. I just couldn't help
but wonder why, after everything he's seen, that it was this fantastic
theory he chose to cling to.

Granted, he said he'd seen an apparition of her and I couldn't bring
myself to tell him that it was probably an hallucination brought on
by physical and emotional exhaustion, combined with his all-consuming
need for an answer.

At least there was one thing we agreed on now. His sister was gone. I
didn't tell him my theory, though. I really didn't care how he dealt
with it, as long as he did. Even though he had been more quiet than
usual over the past few months, he wasn't depressed. Skinner was
convinced that he was, but I tried talking our boss into letting me be
Mulder's watchdog. And even with my track record in this department, he
consented.

I wasn't entirely convinced that Samantha was dead, but the little girl
that Mulder knew most certainly was. After reading her diary and seeing
the medical reports, I was convinced that if she had survived, she
would be an entirely different person and she likely would have little
or no memory of her family.

These were theories I chose not to share with Mulder, he had found his
peace and that was all that really mattered to me.

"So where then, Mulder? Rhode Island?"

"So you'll come with me?" His smile lit up his face.

"If you want me to join you, yes, I'll come."

"Actually, it's in upstate New York," he grinned, sheepishly.

"Upstate New York! Mulder, we'll never get a flight."

"I know. I was planning to drive," he informed me.

"Drive! That'll take at least...at least..." I sputtered.

"7 hours," he finished for me.

It was shaping up to be a gorgeous weekend in June, and here was
Mulder, grabbing life by the testes again, wanting to spend the whole
time the car.

"We'll end up spending the whole weekend in the car," I whined.

He shook his head, "If we leave now, we can be there tomorrow morning.
You can sleep in the car."

"What about you? You need to sleep too," I reminded him.

"I still don't sleep all that much, besides, I'm too excited."

How did I get talked into these things? It wasn't a case. It's not
like I was his girlfriend, but I guess I was all he had. The bugger
had me over me over a barrel. He knew I wouldn't turn him down.

"Why New York, Mulder? You've never mentioned New York before."

"I'll tell you on the way."

"I thought you said I was going to sleep in the car," I protested.

"Scully, it's only 8 o'clock. We should be on the road in an hour. I
know that car rides usually put you to sleep, but you can stay awake
for a couple of hours, can't you?"

It actually took less than an hour. After 7 years of working with
Mulder, I could be ready in a flash. We were fairly quiet until we hit
I-95.

"So?" I asked.

"What?"

"Why New York, Mulder?"

"My mother's family was from upstate New York. We used to go there in
the summer sometimes. When Sam was six she found this place and showed
it to me. That's where I'm taking you."

My eyes instantly burned with tears. I wondered why he had never
mentioned this place before.

"So this was Samantha's special place?" I asked, trying to keep my
voice even.

"I had forgotten all about it, actually," he said quietly. "Then, in
California, when I saw her and she put her arms around me, I remembered
this place. It felt like that's where we were."

"The place where she felt safe." My voice cracked as I spoke. I felt
Mulder's hand cover mine. He squeezed it gently.

"Why did you wait until now to go?" I wondered suddenly.

"We only went there in the summer," he said softly.

"Thank you, Mulder."

"What for?"

"For wanting to share it with me." He didn't answer, he just squeezed
my hand again.

Mulder knows me too well. The next thing I knew, early morning light
was shining into the car. I couldn't move; Mulder's head was on my hip.
So much for not needing sleep. From what I could see out of the window,
we appeared to be in a truck stop. Right now I was envious of the
truckers. I bet those sleeper cabs were a damn sight more comfortable
than the window of the car.

"Mulder," I said softly, stroking his hair. I really didn't want to
wake him, but I couldn't stay like this.

"Mmm," he mumbled in his sleep.

"You couldn't go without sleep as long as you thought, I see," I
teased, still stroking his hair.

He sat up, rubbed his face with his hands and shook his head.

"We're almost there. I stopped here because I thought we might want
breakfast and bathroom facilities."

"How much further is it?" I asked, checking my watch - it was 6 a.m.

"About another hour."

So after availing ourselves of the facilities, which were far cleaner
than I had anticipated, we joined the truckers for breakfast.

"You know, Scully, they say that you can tell a restaurant must
serve good food if truckers eat there," Mulder leaned across the table
to tell me.

I glanced around the restaurant.

"Mulder, these men look like heart attacks on two legs. I think all you
can expect here is food that will have more fat in it than you should
probably consume in a month."

"I said good not healthy," he pointed out.

My mouth was full of the last of my bacon and eggs when Mulder waggled
his eyebrows at me. "See, told ya."

"Shut up, Mulder," was my brilliant comeback, full mouth and all.

It was 7 when we hit the road again. We took mainly back roads now,
and in less than an hour, Mulder turned off onto what was little more
than a path. He stopped the car at a little bridge that spanned a 
creek. He turned the car off and opened his door.

"You're going to leave the car here?" I asked in surprise.

"I don't think I'll be blocking anybody. If I won't risk that
bridge, no one else would, either."

Well, he had a point there.

"Bring the blanket," he called back to me as he crossed the bridge.

"Mulder, whose property is this?" We were traipsing through a cow
pasture.

"I dunno, some farmer's," he shrugged.

"It doesn't belong to your mother's family?"

"Never did," he informed me. "They used to live in a little village,
just over there," he pointed behind us.

"Are you going to visit while you're here?"

"They haven't lived here in 20 years."

Mulder was far less concerned about trespassing than I was. Sensing my
concern, he reached for my hand, and held it securely.

"No one will care that we're here, Scully, and if they do we'll just say
we got lost, okay?"

"How is it that your sister found this place?" We were pretty far from
the car now.

"We were out here exploring with my cousins," he explained.

I smiled up at him. So, Mulder did have a somewhat normal childhood, up
until Samantha was taken. I was glad that he had that to look back on,
at least.

Then Mulder stopped, looking straight ahead. About 50 yards in front of
us loomed a stand of oak trees. Surrounding them was a small wall of
rocks, covered in vines.

"Fairy Woods," Mulder whispered.

"Pardon?"

"That's what she called it; the Fairy Woods."

I looked up at him. Tears were sliding down his cheeks. God, it killed
me when Mulder cried. I didn't even know why he was crying, but tears
were welling up in my eyes now too.

He started walking again, pulling me along with him. As we got closer I
could see that there was no undergrowth on the ground under the trees.
No bushes, no small trees, just soft grass that was about 10 inches
high, and paler green than normal grass.

Looking up, I could see the early morning sky through the canopy above
me. The tree trunks were almost bare until they reached the canopy. I
wondered if this was a natural phenomenon. If it had been maple trees
I would have thought not, but these were oak trees.

When we climbed over the rocks it was almost instantly quieter, the
trees obviously having a muting affect. The air seemed still, but
warmer and fresher somehow. It had an instant calming affect on me.

"I can understand why Samantha felt safe here," I said softly. "A place
has never had this kind of affect on me before."

"That's the fairy magic," Mulder tried to smile, but he couldn't stop
his mouth from quivering.

"Who put those ideas into her head?" I grinned at him.

"For your information, Scully, I didn't believe in that kind of thing
when I was a kid, that came later. I don't know where she got it. Fairy
tales, I guess.

"I was just teasing, Mulder." I was worried I might have upset him.

"I know," he smiled at me and picked up my hand again. "You don't
have to tread softly around me, Scully. I need you to be you. I count
on your constancy. I need it."

The lump in my throat prevented me from speaking, so I just nodded.

"Do you mind if we stay here for a while?" He asked after a few
minutes.

"We drove all night to get here! You'd better believe we're staying for
a while," I seemed to have recovered my voice nicely.

We cleared away some of the fallen branches and spread the blanket on
top of the wispy grass. I laid back and looked up through the trees.
Mulder settled down beside me.

"I wonder what made me remember this place?" I think it was supposed to
be a rhetorical question, but I answered it anyway.

"When you encountered your sister's apparition you were left with the
feeling that she was in a safe place. It must have triggered the
memory," I offered my explanation.

"When we climbed over the fence, did you get the feeling of being at
peace, Scully?"

"I did," I admitted. "It was like all of the tension drained out of
me."

"That's what I felt when I saw Sam in California, that exact feeling."

"And you remembered feeling it here?" I asked.

He nodded and was silent beside me for a couple of minutes.

"I've never been here at night," he said finally.

"Well, I don't think I could last that long without eating, but we
could come back tonight, if you like," I offered.

 He nodded and then whispered, "I want to be here in the starlight."