Welcome To The Harem

Genesis by Medie
Summary: "It's all bullshit. There're no assurances, Agent Mulder, you can't even be sure of your next breath." Doggett/Shannon.

Title: Genesis
Author: M.Edison
Archive: XFMU natch. *G* Anywhere else, please ask me first.
Rating: PG-13 (Doggett's got a potty mouth *G* what can I say? *laughs*)
Feedback: Yes please, keep it polite! But send to medison@thezone.net
Keywords: Doggettfic, Alternate Universe, Doggett/Shannon (as in McMahon)
Romance, implied MSR.
Spoilers: General ones for Essence/Existence and some of Season 9
Warning: Not really beta'd.
Disclaimer: I don't own 'em. If I did, well we won't get into that. ;-)
Summary: "It's all bullshit. There're no assurances, Agent Mulder, you can't
even be sure of your next breath."
Author's note: Thanks to Azar for getting me on this road *G*, bringing me
back to XF in time to meet Doggett, Reyes & Shannon McMahon (who only
appeared for a couple of eps but totally captivated my imagination) and the
magic they make. Thanks also to Azar who gave me the idea (and a line or so
*G*) for the twist at the end.

This story spawns a series that she and I will be co-writing together so
everybody pester her for her additions. (The one I've seen thus far is
*FANTASTIC!*)

Anyway, on to the story.

"Genesis"
by M. Edison
---------------
It was like being hit by a transport truck or, more accurately, slamming
into a parked one while running at full speed. One second there was nothing
in front of him then he was falling backwards, having bounced off what felt
like a brick wall.

Landing on his ass, Mulder stared up at the man who'd stepped in front of
him. He was a stranger: lean with a craggy, weathered face. He stared down,
unmoved, the force of the collision having had absolutely no effect. His
blue eyes were hard, like glittering shards of ice.

"Who the hell are you?" The FBI agent demanded undaunted.

"No one," The newcomer replied, his voice colored by an accent that seemed a
perfect marriage between the South and New York. "Go back upstairs, Agent
Mulder. Isn't safe down here."

"Mulder?" Scully's voice floated her question to him from the elevator where
Skinner and Krycek flanked her.

"Stay there!" He yelled back, not taking his eyes off the other man as he
moved to his feet.

"Go back upstairs." The blunt order was repeated. "Nothin' you can do to
stop Rohrer."

"What do you know about Knowle Rohrer?!" Mulder demanded, his gun seeming to
materialize in his hand.

The threat was greeted with an amused smirk. "Hell of a lot more than you
do." He countered evenly. "Take your partner and your friends and go back
upstairs. This isn't any of your business."

"It's about Scully and her baby!" Mulder snapped back. "They're my
business."

"So I've heard." The other man replied with a chuckle. "Look, you wanna live
long enough to see that baby born? Take Scully back upstairs like I'm tellin
' ya and we'll take care of Knowle . . . And the others."

"Heard? We? The others?" He didn't know what to question the mystery man on
first and it seemed that was exactly the way he wanted it.

"There're more. Rohrer wasn't lyin' when he told Agent Reyes 'bout that
program." The lean man paused suddenly, tilting his head and listening
intently. "Outta time, Mulder. Take Scully and go back upstairs."

"No."

The bullheaded refusal earned him a mocking laugh. "They were right. You
really don't know when to quit." Laughter vanished and the blue eyes turned
to granite. "This isn't your war, Mulder. No truths you wanna find, believe
me. Go back to chasin' your flyin' saucers. You're not ready for this."

Releasing the safety, the federal agent glared hotly at the newcomer. "I
want answers. The real truth."

"About the baby? No, you don't. You want assurances. You wanna know all's
right with the world, that Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny are on the job,
and all good agents go to heaven." A wry smile twisted his lips. "It's all
bullshit. There're no assurances, Agent Mulder, you can't even be sure of
your next breath. Hell, with pollution bein' what it is, you can't even be
sure of the one in your lungs." He paced away a few steps. "Free advice:
take Scully, leave. Forget the FBI, forget the X-Files, forget the Truth.
Only things that matter now are Scully and the baby she's carryin'. Go."
Turning, he walked away. "It's a new world, Agent Mulder, and you don't
belong in it."

Mulder opened his mouth to argue . . . then everything went black.

Looking over his shoulder, Doggett grinned wryly. "Gotta admire the man's
persistence."

Shannon McMahon frowned at her partner as she propped Mulder up against a
support post. "Yeah, I'll admire it. Right up until it gets him killed."

"You've got to die sometime."

The tall woman pushed to her feet and smirked at him. "Present company
excluded?"

He chuckled, gesturing for her to follow him. "Knowle?"

"Neutralized for now." She replied promptly, falling into step with him.

The voices of Mulder's companions caught their attention and they moved
swiftly out of the parking garage.

"What about the baby?" She asked, sliding into the car next to him.

"Left a couple guys to keep an eye on 'em while they're here." He started
the engine and sent the car racing out onto the street. "With Knowle out of
the way for a while, we've got some breathin' room."

"Not much." Shannon pointed out logically. "We've still got the matter of .
. . "

"I know." His grip flexed on the steering wheel, the only sign of
irritation. "We'll worry about that when we're clear of this."

"Knowle's seen us now." She added. "He'll report back to the Project heads."

"Let 'im." Doggett groused. "They're irrelevant."

-----

The shadows hid her tall form as she watched the embrace between the two
agents. Her attention wasn't on the couple however, but the child between
them. He was but the first. There would be more. She knew that. But Doggett
was interested in this one.

Shannon's blue eyes focused in young William and she felt a rare swell of
empathy for him. He didn't know yet what lay ahead for him and she wished
she could change it. Children didn't belong in their world. Didn't belong in
their war.

It had been the final straw for her, for John, for the other prototypes that
had followed them. They'd all been recruited from the military; Navy, Army,
Air Force, Marines . . . it didn't matter the branch. They'd been recruited
for the Project and they'd accepted the risks. These children didn't know
anything about risks, invasions, or genetically enhanced soldiers. They only
knew the love of parents that were barely even theirs. So much had been
done, so much altered, the original genetic material of their parents was
all but undetectable.

What had been done to these innocents was inhuman. It was the reason they'd
broken away from the Project and turned on their creators. It wasn't right,
to bring innocent children into the world for the pure purpose of death.
They couldn't stop the births of the ones already in utero but they could
prevent any more from being created . . .

Her eyes crystallized with her resolve.

Starting with Dana Scully's child--instinctively Shannon laid a protective
hand over her own abdomen--and their own.



FINIS