PROGENESIS (Revised Edition) Written by: T Bishop

Story developed by: Tracy Griffen, Teresa Bishop, David Bishop, 
and Char Chaffin.

Rated: PG-13 for language Category: MSR/X-File

Summary: The eighth season baby mytharc explained.

Disclaimer: The characters in this story belong to Chris Carter, 
1013 Productions and FOX Television.  However, the story concept 
is our own.  The idea for this story was born on the night 
'Requiem' aired.  



Feedback: Anxiously awaited at tbishop27@mindspring.com



Author's notes:  This fic was originally posted in June of 2000. 
I have recently written a sequel to this story titled FOOTPRINTS 
IN THE SAND.  In preparing to post the sequel, I decided to 
repost the original story again.  But, in the meantime, a man 
named Chris Carter decided to play around with my timeline of 
events... and so I've made a few changes to the original posting 
to reflect the update.

This was truly a team effort.  I would like to thank my 
collaborators who helped bring this idea to life - Tracy, Char, 
and my wonderful husband David.  I also want to thank Shoshana, 
Tess, and Wylfcynne for beta; Keleka for her efforts; and 
Grasshopper for archiving.  And one more special thanks to the 
members of SISTER SPOOKY for their insight, support and 
encouragement - you're all Goddesses!!!

And a very special thanks to Marybeth for her beta work on this 
revision.



You can find all of my stories archived at: 

The Literary G-Spot http://tbishop.freeservers.com/ or 
http://arcticfox42.phpwebhosting.com/Tbishop.htm







PROGENESIS (Revised Edition)



Prologue: 





Scully's trembling hand rested just briefly against the door to 
Mulder's hospital room.

"You okay?" Walter Skinner asked, his normally gruff voice now 
soft with concern.

"Yeah - I'm fine..."  She quickly wiped away the tears forming at 
the corners of her eyes, fighting another hormonal display.  It 
had been hell for her, going from being a strong and controlled 
FBI field agent to an overly emotional pregnant woman stuck 
working behind a desk.  Good with the bad, Scully had to keep 
reminding herself. She'd been blessed with a child, a miracle; 
what right did she have to complain about the inconveniences?  
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she tried to offer an 
explanation to her boss's worried inquiry.  "I guess I'm just a 
little nervous.  All this time I've been searching... hoping and 
praying that he'd be returned safely. And now he's back, and I'm 
not sure how to approach him." She laughed, looking down at 
herself.  "I mean, Jesus, look at me. There's no way I can break 
the news to him gradually."

Skinner smiled, putting a hand on Scully's shoulder in sympathy. 
Mulder had been missing for months.  And in all that time, Dana 
Scully had stubbornly refused to give up hope.  She'd clung to 
her belief that they would find him someday.  Until Bureau 
regulations intervened, she'd physically searched for him 
herself.  But once her pregnancy could no longer be hidden, it 
became mandatory that she lose her field agent status.  

The day he had to pull her off fieldwork was still fresh in his 
mind; she'd pleaded with him, citing her need to continue to 
search for her partner.  But there was no getting around the 
Bureau's policy on the matter.  He'd given her the title of SAC, 
and as much leeway as he possibly could to handle the case - from 
the confines of the Hoover building... the X-File of all X-Files, 
the disappearance of Agent Fox Mulder.  She'd coordinated the 
efforts as best she could, frustrated as hell to be tied to a 
desk on a case so personally important to her.  But in the end it 
was really the best place she could be.  And Agent Doggett, 
assigned to work with her in Mulder's absence, provided the 
legwork her investigation required.  

>From the very beginning, Scully's pregnancy had been hard on 
her; physically she just wasn't up to chasing around the country 
interviewing abductees and so-called experts on the subject of 
UFO phenomenon.  On more than a few occasions his agent had 
fainted dead away during the course of her workday.  And while 
she assured him that it was just a normal symptom of pregnancy 
that some women experience, Skinner had a hard time remaining 
calm about the whole thing.  

He'd tried not to coddle her because that only seemed to 
infuriate Scully, but there was a part of him that couldn't avoid 
looking after her just a little.  He felt he owed it to Mulder, 
considering that he'd let the man down when he was supposed to be 
watching his back that day in Oregon.  He felt responsible, and 
guilty as hell for failing his friend.  Keeping a watchful eye on 
Scully was really the only way he could atone for such a huge 
mistake.

Scully summoned her courage, drew in one more deep breath, then 
pushed the door open and entered Mulder's hospital room.  His 
eyes were closed, and for a minute she thought he was sleeping.  
Even though she'd always believed in her heart he would come back 
to her, she was overwhelmed seeing the realization of her dream 
lying there safe and relatively sound not more than ten feet 
away.  She stood frozen just watching him, trying to convince 
herself that this was real, as she had been since Skinner showed 
up at her apartment that morning with the news.  Mulder had 
actually come home.

His lids fluttered open, and his head turned slowly to look at 
her. It took exactly three seconds for his eyes to take her in 
and register the shock.  Scully counted them - three seconds. 

"You picked a hell of a time to ditch me, Mulder."





*  *  *  * 





CHAPTER I



Mulder was released from the hospital after several days of 
observation and testing.  Other than his amnesia and a little 
electrolyte imbalance, if there was anything else wrong with him, 
the best in modern technology could not find it.  Scully took him 
home, unable to let him out of her sight. 

She tucked him in bed after seeing to it that he'd taken his meds 
and finished off a full glass of water.  The IV had eliminated 
his mild dehydration, but Scully was, nevertheless, determined to 
fuss over him.  

To Mulder's way of thinking, it was HE who should be fussing over 
HER.  Scully - pregnant.  No matter how much he tried to wrap his 
brain around it, the idea was still amazing to him.  Amazing and 
wonderful - and more than a little disquieting too.  He'd made it 
his life's work to elucidate the unexplainable, to solve strange 
paranormal riddles, and challenge traditional thinking; but this, 
his and Scully's miracle baby - the facts pointed to something 
more earthly than divine intervention, and it troubled Mulder 
deeply.

"Do you want anything to eat?" she asked him as she folded up the 
clothes that he'd left in a heap on the floor, setting them 
neatly on the chair in the corner of his bedroom.  Scully cleaned 
when she was nervous or worried about something; which was 
probably why her apartment was always impeccably tidy.  She was 
uncomfortable around him, not sure of what he was thinking, and a 
large part of her afraid to find out.  They had been lovers for 
only a short time when Mulder had suddenly been taken away; their 
intimate relationship was still new to her.  She'd never been one 
to let people inside her inner sanctum.  In fact, the more Scully 
loved someone, the less likely she was to expose herself and 
thereby risk rejection or disapproval. Her insecurity had been a 
stumbling block in their relationship for years.

"No."  He caught her hand as she reached for the empty glass on 
his nightstand.  "Scully, stop..."

"What?"

Mulder knew this woman all too well.  She couldn't hide from him, 
as much as she might like to.  He'd let things go when they 
weren't important; let her keep some secrets because he knew it 
was her nature to internalize and deny, but not this time.  Some 
things had to be discussed, no matter how uncomfortable they made 
her.  "Sit with me.  I want to talk to you."

"You should rest.  We can talk later."  Scully attempted to 
retreat the moment he pinned her with that stare, but he refused 
to let go of her hand.

"Scully, we have to talk about this."

"This?"  She pretended to be oblivious, even though she knew full 
well what was on his mind.

He ignored her game.  "The baby - you've been avoiding the 
subject."

She looked everywhere but into his discerning eyes, fearful of 
his ability to read her soul like the pages of an open book.  
"Mulder, you've been missing for months.  You have no memory of 
where you've been or what happened to you during that time. Your 
body is in a weakened physical state; mentally you're still 
trying to adjust to the shock.  Now isn't the time to..."

"Scully," he interrupted, tugging on her hand until she finally 
relented and sat beside him on the bed.  "I'm happy... if you 
are." He could see she was fighting tears.

"Of course I'm happy, Mulder, I'm having a baby."  Her chin 
trembled and she bit her lip, determined to remain in control.  
Goddamn hormones; she silently cursed the tears that were forming 
in her eyes.

He looked at her swollen stomach, an anomaly he couldn't help 
being wary of.  "I'm no medical expert, but the tests that were 
run on you previously seemed pretty conclusive.  No ova.  How is 
this pregnancy even possible?"

"Why do you have to question everything, Mulder?"  

"Are you telling me you haven't?  You don't want to know?  A 
miracle happens inside your own body, Agent Scully, and you're 
not the least bit curious to investigate?"

She already knew where the conversation was going.  "This isn't 
an X- File, Mulder."

"Are you sure?"

She glared at him.  "Yes."

"Because you don't want it to be?"  It was more of an accusation 
than a question, designed to provoke her; because he knew the 
best way around her front of denial was a sneak attack on her 
weak flank. Get Scully mad enough and she'd forget discipline and 
charge.  A dangerous strategy, but one that he knew quite often 
worked with her.

Scully stood up angrily, jerking her hand from his.  "Because 
it's not!  Just drop it, Mulder, all right?"

He pushed himself up in the bed until he was sitting fully 
upright. "I'm only trying to understand - how?"

She sighed.  Her answers would most certainly lead to more 
questions, but she supposed she did need to offer him some 
explanation - as much as she knew he wasn't going to like what 
she was about to tell him.    "Remember when I went with the 
Smoking Man, when he told me he had the cure for cancer?"

Mulder nodded, his brow knit with concern at her mention of the 
old villain.  

"Well, I didn't tell you this before..."  She threw him a 
fleeting guilty look, "but I'm fairly certain he drugged me at 
one point. I fell asleep in the car on the way to his cabin, and 
when I woke up it was the next morning and I was in bed.  My 
clothes had been removed; I was wearing a pair of pajamas."  She 
watched Mulder's eyes harden with fury as she continued her 
story.  "He claimed that I was just exhausted from the journey; 
that he carried me inside and I didn't wake up when he..."  She 
couldn't finish; it was just too humiliating.

Mulder rolled his eyes at the absurdity of it.  "Why didn't you 
tell me this?  Of course he drugged you, Scully!  Jesus!"  He 
scrubbed his hands over his face and let out a heavy sigh, 
frustrated all over again that Scully had allowed herself to be 
manipulated and deceived so easily by this man.  "That 
black-lunged bastard had you impregnated!"  He climbed out of 
bed, too enraged to lie still any longer.  "I swear to God I'm 
going to kill that son of a bitch for doing this to you!"

Scully tried to put a calming hand on his arm as he paced by her. 
"No, Mulder you don't understand - "

But he was too furious to let her explain.  "I understand all too 
well, Scully!  I know the evil that man is capable of!  He 
tricked you into going away with him so he could use you as a lab 
rat!  And now you're carrying a life inside you that's some 
premeditated conception of CGB Spender's immoral design!  For 
what purpose... I don't even want to begin to imagine!"

"Mulder... no."  She shook her head slowly.  "It doesn't work 
that way.  You can't just randomly and at will implant an embryo 
in a womb and expect it to grow.  Reproduction is a little more 
complicated than that.  The uterus has to be made ready first.  
It's not something that can be done over night.  He couldn't have 
- "

"Who knows what evil that devil is able to accomplish?  I don't 
doubt him capable of anything any more."  Mulder's heart ached. 
Scully had been through so much... now this.  He'd wanted to 
believe the child was his - that he had at last given her 
something other than sorrow and misfortune; but deep down inside 
he'd feared something like this since he'd first found out about 
her pregnancy. "I'm sorry, Scully."  He put his arms around her, 
her rounded belly pressing between them as he held her close.  
"I'm so sorry he did this to you."

"HE didn't.  You did," she insisted.

If that's what Scully wanted the world to believe, Mulder could 
not find it in his heart to refuse her; he would of course 
maintain any story she wished to put forward.  "As far as I'm 
concerned that's all anybody else has to know, Scully.  But I 
think for obvious reasons it's important that WE know the truth. 
 We should run whatever tests we can."

"I have."  She rested her head against his chest, enjoying being 
in his arms again after so long with only her memories of him for 
comfort.  "I'm no longer barren, Mulder.  My ovaries are healthy 
and functioning normally."

"How is that possible?  All your ova were taken from you.  Could 
they have been put back?  Isn't that unlikely?"

"Actually, closer to impossible."  She reluctantly allowed a few 
inches between them so she could face him with the news.  "That's 
why I ran further tests.  You're not going to believe what I 
found.  My ovaries are basically new - regenerated somehow."  She 
was excited to finally share the news with someone; someone she 
could trust with this astonishing secret.  "Mulder, I had my 
appendix out when I was nine, it now appears I have grown a new 
one."

"That's not unheard of - "

"No, you're right, it's rare but it happens.  Not like this 
though. I had my appendix out nearly 28 years ago.  This 
regeneration was a very recent development, and relatively 
sudden.  And there's more. All the scars on my body have faded - 
vanished.  The transformation was so gradual, I didn't even 
notice what was happening until they were almost gone."

"What are you saying?  Are you trying to tell me your body is 
spontaneously healing itself?"

"Something like that, Mulder.  Have you ever heard of progenitor 
cells?"

"Yeah, they're cells that are capable of self-renewal, right?"

She nodded.  Mulder's font of knowledge on all subjects never 
ceased to amaze her.  "Yes, progenitor cells or stem cells are 
the foundation source of the body's tissue - human building 
blocks essentially; they have the ability to differentiate 
themselves - to become cells of any type.  There's been a lot of 
research, but as of yet no one has been able to isolate a 
progenitor cell with embryonic properties - one that could become 
a liver cell or a heart cell or a brain cell for example.  THE 
human progenitor cell - one that could become anything.  Recent 
research has suggested that even mature stem cells, such as from 
the adult brain or bone marrow, can change into progenitor cells 
for other types of tissue.  But the genetic code has yet to be 
broken that would enable us to take advantage of the regenerative 
properties of these parent progenitor cells.  If we could unlock 
the code and figure out how to trigger these cells into renewing 
themselves we'd have a cure for..."

"For just about everything," Mulder finished for her.  

Scully shrugged.  "In theory.  There's been extensive cancer 
research in this area."

"You're telling me you believe old CGB really has the cure for 
cancer?  That he's unlocked the code to these progenitor cells?  
And what?  Put that cure in you?"  Mulder was overwhelmed by what 
she was suggesting.  

"I haven't been able to prove it yet, but I believe that's 
exactly what he's done to me.  My DNA structure has already been 
mutated by the virus that I was exposed to, but I believe I've 
isolated an immuno-genetic sequence that's been altered, possibly 
with some kind of biochemical triggering mechanism."

It was almost too much to assimilate all at once.  "Scully... 
this would mean..."

"That my cancer isn't just being held in check by the implant in 
my neck anymore; it's cured.  And my body is now able to heal 
itself by using its own cells to regenerate new tissue.  At least 
to some extent."

"That's incredible!"  At last Scully would be free of the chip in 
her neck.

That had been exactly her reaction when she'd analyzed the lab 
results and discovered their implications.  "Yes, it is."

As happy as he was by the promise of what this meant for Scully, 
something was still troubling Mulder, gnawing at his gut.  "Why 
would CGB want to give you this and not tell you about it, 
Scully?  That man does nothing out of the kindness of his heart. 
 What's in it for him?"

"I wouldn't pretend to know what motivates him to do the things 
he does.  All I DO know is, for whatever reason, I've been given 
my life back.  And this baby, OUR baby, is a celebration of that 
fact.  I hope you share my joy."

"Of course I do."  He kissed her forehead, masking his 
apprehension with the tender gesture.  Then he placed both his 
hands on the swollen curve of her belly, wondering at the miracle 
within. "Is there really somebody in there, Scully?"

She giggled.  "I hope so.  I'd hate to think I was just really 
fat. Although, these days, I'm feeling positively rotund 
regardless of the reason."

"You've never looked more beautiful," he told her honestly, 
admiring her anew.  She WAS beautiful, filled with life, her blue 
eyes sparkling and happy.  She'd changed her hair again, wearing 
it longer than he remembered it used to be.  But the biggest 
change wasn't anything physical - her spirit had been reborn.  
She was looking forward to the future, instead of mourning the 
past.

Blushing at his blatant flattery, she fought an embarrassed smile 
telling him, "I think you'd better get back in bed, Mulder.  It's 
obvious you're not in your right mind."  She urged him toward the 
mattress once again.

"Make you a deal," he negotiated, tugging at her as she tried to 
settle him back beneath the covers.  "I'll get back in bed if 
you'll join me.  I've missed you, Scully.  I need to hold you for 
a while."

He didn't have to do much in the way of convincing.  Upon his 
gentle urging, Scully sighed dramatically, pretending reluctance 
as she give in.  Then she toed off her shoes, climbing into the 
bed with him. She maneuvered herself around until they were face 
to face, sharing one pillow.  

Staring into her eyes, Mulder was transfixed - losing himself in 
the shining blue of her loving gaze.  Caught up in her spell, he 
scarcely realized he was being lured in until it was too late and 
his lips were caressing Scully's in a lingering kiss.

A whispered exhale of breath left Scully as their lips parted. 
Mulder's kisses never failed to send a shudder through her; even 
the most tender displays affecting her deeply and in ways she 
couldn't begin to describe.  He wrapped her in his embrace, 
holding her as close as he could, with their unborn child safely 
nestled between their two bodies.

"It's good to be home," Mulder murmured, closing his eyes and 
delighting in their reunion as he drifted off to sleep.





*  *  *  *  





CHAPTER II





Apprehension continued to plague Mulder.  He couldn't give up his 
worry that Scully's pregnancy had somehow been maneuvered by CGB 
as part of a greater plan.  He'd made Scully tell him every 
detail she could remember about her adventure with the Smoking 
Man.  She didn't want to, but his insistence finally wore her 
down and she gave in to, as she called it, his "need to make an 
X-File investigation out of a simple act of procreation."  But 
what she told him only served to further convince Mulder that 
creating this baby had been CGB's goal all along.   

"Why such an elaborate plan, Mulder?  Spender went through a lot 
of trouble.  Why not just abduct me and do what needed to be 
done?" 



"He needed your cooperation or you would have been suspicious.  
He knows you would have run tests on yourself if you suspected 
something had been done to you.  He didn't want you to discover 
that you were fertile again.  If you didn't know, you wouldn't 
try to prevent the pregnancy."

She laughed.  Mulder was really reaching with this one.  "And how 
exactly did Spender know you and I were about to become lovers?" 
She quirked a brow in challenge.

"He didn't.  Although I'm sure he noticed we were heading in that 
direction.  And he certainly gave you a big push."

"What are you talking about?"  

"His remarks about you not allowing yourself to love me.  He 
goaded you, Scully.  Planted the seed.  You accused him of being 
a pop psychologist, but I think his psychological strategy worked 
brilliantly.  He knows us better than we know ourselves.  He knew 
you'd be compelled to prove him wrong."

She didn't like to think of herself as being that predictable, 
but she couldn't deny her resentment of Spender's comments; they 
stirred in her a certain amount of rebellious desire.  It was 
something that she'd brooded over obsessively after he suggested 
it.  Was she really the one holding back?  Then there was that 
whole business with Daniel suddenly... it HAD been her decision 
to get into Mulder's bed that night - he'd only left the door 
open in invitation... "Damn you, Mulder!  Why can't you leave 
this alone?"

"Because we need to know the truth, Scully!  Spender went through 
a lot of trouble to orchestrate this pregnancy!  I want to know 
why!" He hadn't meant to yell at her.  His anger at CGB just got 
the better of him.  When he saw her crumble into tears, he 
immediately regretted the sharp tone he'd taken with her.  This 
was a different Scully than the one he'd always known.  She was 
extremely sensitive and prone to uncharacteristic emotional 
displays.  It had been a difficult year for her, between the 
pregnancy and his abduction; yet she'd managed to stay so strong 
in the face of it all.  "Hey... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell 
at you."  He pulled her into his arms and she melted against him, 
wetting his T-shirt with her tears.

"Oh God, Mulder... What if you're right?  What if that monster 
did set us up?  What does he want with our baby?  After what I 
went through with Emily..."  She closed her eyes, tormented by 
the picture of that innocent little face.  "I just can't lose 
another child."

Mulder tried not to let his own fears run away with him.  Scully 
needed him now.  She'd endured too much alone.  "Shh..." he 
comforted, whispering into her hair.  "Nothing's going to happen 
to this baby, Scully.  I promise you. I won't let it.  I swear." 
 He rocked her gently in his arms, rubbing her back.  Mulder had 
never broken a promise to Scully; he was determined he never 
would. 





After all the complications she'd suffered, Scully ended up 
giving birth a week past her due date.  Seven pounds to the 
ounce, she delivered a healthy baby boy.  They named him Adam.  
Very much his father's son, with thick dark hair and pouting 
lips.  And, as Mulder gratefully remarked to Scully, 'the kid got 
lucky on the nose.'  

Intending to make good on his promise that their son would come 
to no harm, Mulder made the necessary security arrangements for 
the baby's arrival well in advance.  In doing so, he went to the 
extremes that any new father might, provided he happened to be an 
FBI agent and prone to paranoia where losing loved ones was 
concerned.  

The hospital was like Fort Knox.  There were FBI agents guarding 
the door to Scully's room, and surveillance teams on every exit. 
 On top of that, Mulder had the Gunmen watching the teams from 
the Bureau; trusting no one, as the saying goes.  

Skinner, himself, had allowed for it all when brought up to speed 
on the situation. After Mulder's abduction, he too was a bit 
paranoid. The last thing Walter Skinner wanted to be responsible 
for was someone kidnapping Mulder and Scully's baby.  He gave his 
agent carte blanche to use Bureau resources where the infant's 
security was concerned - at least until they got to the bottom of 
this latest conspiracy.



Scully hung up the phone beside her hospital bed.  "Mulder?" she 
called quietly to the man sitting across the room holding their 
tiny, precious bundle, only hours old.

"Yeah, Scully?"  He didn't look up at her, too preoccupied with 
studying the sleeping face of the newborn wonder he held in his 
arms. Mulder had never seen anything quite so remarkable in all 
his life.  

"Would you please go down into the lobby and escort our son's 
grandmother past your security goons so she can visit her 
grandchild?"  It was said very calmly and sweetly; that in and of 
itself scared the hell out of Mulder.

Then he looked up at her, arms crossed over her chest, anger 
darkening her normally pale blue eyes - he hadn't thought of 
himself as the kind of man who would hide behind a baby, but at 
that moment, Mulder was glad to have Adam as a shield.



*  *  *  *



After Maggie left and the baby was swaddled and tucked away in 
his bassinet, Scully quietly read Mulder the riot act.  

Even though Mulder and Scully apologized all over themselves to 
Maggie, she had been deeply offended by her run in with Agents 
Roberts and Jeffries.  Margaret Scully was a very determined 
woman, much like her daughter.  And she had no time to answer a 
bunch of stupid questions or produce identification when her 
grandson was growing older by the minute and she'd yet to set 
eyes on him.  So she'd unwisely tried to push her way past the 
guards, and the two no nonsense agents had immediately pulled 
their weapons on her.  This hadn't pleased Maggie in the least, 
nor had it pleased her daughter to hear of it.

"What's next, Mulder, are you signing us up for the FBI's witness 
protection program?"  Scully knew she was being unduly hard on 
him, but the whole incident with her mother had been very 
upsetting; and after thirteen hours of labor and an exhausting 
delivery, the last of her patience had long ago been used up.  

Mulder was physically tired and emotionally drained from the 
experience of becoming a father, but he knew Scully's irritation 
was justified.  He was mad at himself for the debacle.  He sat 
beside her on the bed and hung his head penitently.  "I'm sorry 
about your mom, Scully."

"I want our son to have a normal life."  Even as she said it, she 
knew she was deluding herself.

"So do I, but not to the exclusion of his safety."

"You and I can protect him.  He doesn't need an entourage of 
bodyguards."

"I'll admit, I may have gone a bit overboard, but it's only 
because I'm scared, Scully."  He reached for her hand, 
intertwining their fingers, needing to reinforce the connection 
between them.  "You and the baby are everything to me.  I can't 
risk losing you.  I'll do whatever I have to do to keep you both 
safe."

She looked down at their linked hands, reflecting on how they'd 
always been there for each other.  In the very beginning, as 
partners, duty had bound them together.  Then they'd become 
friends, and their sense of responsibility for each other grew 
with each passing day.  Somewhere along the line their friendship 
had developed into love, making it a co-dependency, a commitment 
of the heart. Each step along the way it became increasingly 
difficult to face the danger, because there was so much more at 
risk.  And now...  "It was bad enough when it was just us.  But 
now we have a child to protect... Oh, Mulder, will it ever end?"

"I don't know.  But it's getting old, Scully," he sighed, feeling 
more tired than he'd ever felt in his life.  "Really old."





*  *  *  *



CHAPTER III



It was bitterly cold that February morning.  Mulder had just 
arrived at the hospital to pick up Scully and Adam, hadn't even 
gotten out of his car yet when he spotted trouble.  Adrenalin 
pumping, he already had his gun in hand as he exited the sedan 
and broke into a full run across the parking lot.  

He literally attacked the old man, grabbing him by the lapels of 
his trench coat, shaking him hard.  "What do you think you're 
doing here!"  

"I came to see my grandson, of course."  The response was calm, 
as if the man with the perpetually burning cigarette in his hand 
had failed to notice the younger man's rage.  "And to extend my 
congratulations and best wishes to the new parents.  You and Dana 
must be very proud."

"You're not getting anywhere near that baby, Spender!  Let me 
make that perfectly clear!"  Mulder growled the threat.

"You would deny me the right to see my own grandchild, Fox?"  He 
feigned incredulity in the face of fury.

Mulder laughed at the audacity and outright impudence of CGB to 
suggest any sort of familial bond between them - then to go even 
further and demand paternal privileges no less!  "I find this 
delusion of yours that somehow you and I are related extremely 
offensive.  I'm not your son, old man!  And you have no rights 
whatsoever where MY son is concerned!"

"If it weren't for me, the child would never have been born."  He 
watched for Mulder's reaction.

"I know what you did."  Without letting go of the old man's coat, 
Mulder pressed the barrel of his gun into CGB's neck.

The Smoking Man revealed no outward concern for his own safety, 
speaking calmly as if they were carrying on a conversation over a 
cup of coffee.  "And yet you refuse to let me see the result of 
my good deed?"

"Good deed, my ass!  What's in this for you, Spender?"

"Not for me.  For all of us - for mankind.  Don't you realize 
what that boy is?"  He spoke excitedly this time; though his soul 
had long since died, leaving his eyes emotionless and empty.

"Yeah!  He's my son!  And he'll be the death of you if you go 
anywhere near him!"  It was all Mulder could do to stop himself 
from putting an end to all of this here and now; just one pull of 
the trigger and CGB Spender would be no more. 

"He's the new Savior.  He is the first human with natural born 
immunity to the alien virus.  Immunity to all disease.  The end 
result of a project that will ultimately save all of us."

"A project?"

"Yes.  We took the cells from your brain during the apex of your 
hyper-cerebral episode two years ago.  A tissue sampling was 
taken from deep within the temporal lobe, in an area of your 
brain determined, through EEG mapping, to have been newly 
activated.  Our hope was to stimulate those same cells in a host 
brain.  The direct tissue transplantation failed, unfortunately. 
But we were able to isolate and fractionate out the 
neuro-chemical transmitters that activated these stem cells in 
your brain.  From this a serum was made.  Since we are not yet 
able to synthesize this serum, we only had a limited quantity and 
needed to choose our experimental subject wisely."

"So you chose Scully as your guinea pig."  Mulder wondered if he 
could get away with murder in broad daylight in a public place. 

"Yes.  She was the perfect test subject.  She's immune to the 
alien virus.  Her cancer was only in remission because of the 
chip.  And her infertility would be an easy way to judge the 
success of the project.  And then of course there was you.  The 
fact that the likely father of her offspring was also immune to 
the alien virus and special in his own right because he had the 
genetic predisposition to produce these neuro-chemical 
transmitters..."

"So you'd have a chance of getting your hands on more.  You lousy 
son of a bitch!  Scully and I will not allow our son to be one of 
your test subjects!"  In a few seconds it wouldn't matter if he'd 
get away with it or not; it was quickly becoming a necessity that 
the old man die.

"The child won't be harmed.  I promise you."

"Just like you didn't harm Gibson?"

"What we had to do to the boy was unfortunate, but necessary.  I 
assure you."

"You tortured that poor kid!  Treated him like a lab rat!  Your 
butcher doctors opened his head up like a can of soup.  Without 
any remorse at all for what you were doing to a little boy - 
without any regard for his life!"

With a slightly trembling hand Spender tried to bring a cigarette 
to his lips for a long overdue fix.  "The sacrifice of one boy 
for the good of the planet.  Surely you can understand why we did 
what we did."

"I won't allow my son to be a sacrifice!  Not for any reason!  
I'm warning you, Spender!  I'll kill you!  You lay a hand on him 
and so help me God I'll take you out!"

"I've been dead before."  He smiled, just turning up the corners 
of his mouth enough to taunt Mulder.  "I was a dying man.  As 
soon as we got the confirmation of Agent Scully's pregnancy, I 
was able to inject the last of the serum into my own ailing body. 
 It not only cured my terminal illness, it allowed my body to 
heal itself rather nicely after Alex Krycek thought he'd left me 
for dead."

"If I have to drag you down to hell myself and watch you burn - 
I'll do it!  Do you understand me?  Stay away from my family, 
because I promise... if I kill you, you won't be coming back!"  
With that, Mulder shoved the Smoking Man away, giving him one 
last threatening stare, then forced himself to turn his back and 
walk off, heading with a determined stride toward the hospital 
entrance.

Before Mulder was even out of sight, CGB lit up another 
cigarette, relishing the nicotine smoke as it filled his lungs.  
This baby, his grandson, was the future.  If the boy's father 
couldn't see that, couldn't understand the importance of the 
project, then when the time came he would do what was necessary 
for the greater good of mankind. As he watched Mulder swallowed 
up by the automatic doors at the hospital's entrance, CGB 
remembered the words of a very insightful man... "You must 
sacrifice the things you love."





*  *  *  * 





CHAPTER IV



"No Mulder, I don't think Adam has a genetic predisposition for 
insomnia.  He just doesn't know day from night yet."

"Are you sure?  Hmm... He does seem to sleep fine when I'm 
holding him.  It's setting him down that causes the problem."  He 
gazed down at the infant now dozing peacefully, curled up on his 
father's bare chest.

Scully sighed, struggling to keep her eyes open as she thumbed 
through the pages of "Your Baby and Child," hoping to find a 
solution to their son's apparent sleeping disorder.  They'd been 
home several days and she was continually surprised at how one 
little baby could baffle and befuddle two intelligent, 
well-educated adults.  It was really embarrassing.    

A knock at the door startled them both.  Exchanging worried looks 
with Mulder, Scully put down the book and went to check through 
the peephole, to see who on earth would be calling in the middle 
of the night.

One look and she grabbed the first gun she saw, Mulder's 
SIG-Sauer, from its holster on the table by the door.

"Scully?"  Mulder was already getting up, clutching the baby 
close, afraid his pounding heart would wake up Adam.

She said only one word, a name.  

"Krycek."  

That was enough.  Mulder had feared this since his encounter with 
the Smoking Man at the hospital.  The wolves were already 
circling around their little lamb. And this wolf was a 
particularly dirty dog; sometimes representing himself in the 
proverbial sheep's clothing so that he could more easily make the 
kill.  Mulder rushed Adam into the bedroom, placing him in his 
cradle.  He retrieved the pistol he knew Scully always kept in 
her nightstand drawer.  Returning to the living room, he 
positioned himself at the entrance to the bedroom hallway, then 
gave Scully a nod.

She tried to swallow over the lump in her throat, only to find 
that her mouth had gone dry.  And while Scully just wanted to 
grab up her baby and hide someplace safe, she knew there was no 
such place.  It was up to her and Mulder to stand in the face of 
danger and protect their son from harm.  Cautiously, she opened 
the door.

"I see new parenthood has done wonders for your paranoia," Alex 
Krycek quipped at finding himself the intended target of two 
guns.

"What are you doing here, Krycek?"  Scully glared at the man 
standing before her, ready to pull the trigger if he made a move 
that was even the slightest bit threatening.

"You both know by now that your son is the result of the old 
man's latest project." 

"We know," Mulder told him, wondering how Krycek fit into all 
this.

"I won't bore you with the details, but suffice to say, for a 
short time I had within my grasp the power to change the world."

"You stole the serum?"  Mulder had tried on many occasions to 
decide where Krycek's allegiances fell.  He was more certain than 
ever that his rival's loyalties were only to himself.

"I liberated it, my friend."  When he smiled his eyes turned to 
obsidian and caught flame in the soft light of the hallway.

"For a short time?" Scully asked.

"It's not easy to deceive the devil."

"Are you here looking for sympathy?"  Mulder's tone gave no 
indication that he would give any.

"Actually..."  He produced a small wrapped package from behind 
his back, and held it out, offering it to Scully.  "I have a gift 
for the baby."

She looked at the small box, wrapped to look like any of the 
dozens of gifts little Adam had already received, wondering what 
kind of a trick this was.  Considering the bearer, she had no 
idea what to expect.  Warily, she accepted the parcel with a 
polite, "Thank you."

Alex nodded then said simply "Udacha," and was gone.

"Good luck?"  Mulder frowned as he came over to where Scully was 
standing, staring at the tiny package.

She sighed, putting Mulder's weapon down on the table.  It 
briefly crossed her mind that the box could be rigged.  But that 
didn't feel right to her.  "Maybe he was being sincere."

Mulder threw her a doubtful look.  He would have preferred she 
wait until the Gunman checked out the package, but Scully was 
already tearing away the pastel ribbons and wrapping, seemingly 
unconcerned about any potential danger there might be.  A few 
seconds later the contents had been revealed.  The box contained 
two things: a computer disk suspiciously similar to the one 
Scully had retrieved for CGB with the supposed cure for cancer 
encoded on it, and a slip of paper with a handwritten note.  
Scully read the words aloud.  "I've sent the devil back to hell, 
and his henchmen burn with him."

"Scully," Mulder said, the realization just dawning on him.  "Did 
you notice?  He handed you that with his left hand."

"It wasn't gloved," Scully whispered, as she reviewed the scene 
in her mind.  She hadn't thought about it at the time, but it was 
true. Krycek had regrown his arm.  

Mulder nodded.  "He must have used some of the serum on himself."

"That would make sense."  It thrilled and frightened Scully to 
imagine herself possessing such regenerative properties as to be 
able to grow a new limb.  But there were far greater implications 
that troubled her as she considered them.  Was it possible that 
Clyde Bruckman had been right about her after all?  No, that was 
ridiculous, she admonished herself. She simply refused to believe 
in a possibility THAT extreme.  Even as she denied it, she 
remembered Alfred Fellig...  

People don't live forever; she chided herself for even 
momentarily entertaining the thought.  Besides, she didn't want 
to live forever, not without Mulder.  Scully recalled very well 
the things Fellig had told her about life and love.  She'd rather 
share a finite existence with Mulder than spend immortality 
alone.  And Adam, too, would likely be capable of these things.  
It was ironic, really.  They had become X-Files themselves.  "But 
why he would do this for us?  Give us this disk, which likely 
contains the formula for what he referred to as 'the power to 
change the world,' and also destroy the men who would harm our 
son.  Why?"  She turned the note over in her hand noticing for 
the first time words printed in Russian on the other side.  

Later the translation would give both Mulder and Scully pause as 
they reconsidered the man they'd once believed to be their enemy. 



"Dlya Nashih Detei" (FOR OUR CHILDREN)





*  *  *  *



Alex Krycek watched, fascinated by the image on the tiny black 
and white screen.  He studied the shadows, looking at every 
detail, as was always his way - worrying about what others failed 
to see. Marita reached out and clasped his left hand between both 
of hers, squeezing it gently.

"Can you feel that?"

"Yes.  The process is nearly complete now."  He returned her 
grasp, showing her how much his grip strength had improved.  
"It's almost fully functional, and getting stronger all the 
time."

Marita smiled, brushing her fingers over the newly formed hand in 
amazement.  If she hadn't personally witnessed this miracle, she 
would never have believed it possible.  The serum Alex had stolen 
from the old man - the little bit that he'd managed to keep for 
himself - had worked.  Alex's body was now capable of healing 
itself, regenerating - just like the aliens could.  That part of 
it frightened her.  While Alex claimed he had only become more 
human - unlocking genes that evolution hadn't yet made accessible 
to the rest of the human race - this trait he was exhibiting 
seemed wholly alien to her.  And as Marita's gaze returned to the 
monitor, she beheld the likeness displayed there with quiet 
concern.

"A girl," the lab tech remarked, studying the grainy picture on 
the ultrasound machine.  "Definitely a girl."

The proud parents-to-be exchanged smiles.  "What shall we call 
her?" Marita asked Alex.

He didn't hesitate; the name rolled out of his mouth with perfect 
Russian intonation.  "Evaneiia Alekseia Krycek."

Marita nodded and smiled, approving of his choice.  Reaching out 
to trace the image of their daughter as she squirmed and moved 
about on the screen, Marita greeted her aloud with the English 
translation of her name.  

"Hello, Eve."  







~To be continued in FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND~



Life is too short to drink bad wine.



Author's endnotes: Forgive me if the Russian isn't perfect.  I 
researched as best I could, a language I know absolutely nothing 
about.  Hopefully I haven't insulted anyone with my ignorance.

A special thank you to David, for christening this fic 
"Progenesis," brilliantly playing off CC's "Biogenesis" and 
combining our story themes of progenitor cells, progeny, and the 
Book of Genesis into a clever title.  Is it any wonder I married 
the man?