From: Donna Honeycutt <donnah@donnas-stories.com>
Date: Sun, 1 Oct 2006 11:49:18 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: True Family (1/2)
Source: direct

Reply To: donnah@donnas-stories.com

Title - True Family - Part 1/2
Author - Donna
Email address - donnah@donnas-stories.com
URL - http://www.donnas-stories.com/
Rating - NC-17
Category - AU, Mulder/Other, MSR
Spoilers - None
Keywords - AU, MSR
Summary - What if he had Will when he met Scully?
Feedback - Please
Archive - Anywhere, just let me know so I can visit

Disclaimer - Mulder, Scully, the Lone Gunmen and Skinner 
all belong to Chris, 10-13, and Fox - Bless them for it!!  No 
infringement intended. 

True Family - Part 1/2

He rushed into the ER barely waiting for the automatic doors 
to open enough to let him in.  The boy in his arms seemed to 
be covered in blood but he was quiet, only whimpering a little 
in his father's arms.  "Help me."

She looked up at the sound of barely controlled panic in the 
man's voice.  One look told her what she needed to know.  
"Follow me."  She dropped her bag behind the nurse's 
station and led them into the first empty cubicle.

"Let's put him here on the table," she said gently.  For an 
instant she didn't think he would release the boy, but then he 
nodded and carefully lay the boy on the table. 

"Now, what happened here?" She took a piece of gauze and 
dabbed carefully at the cut above the boy's eye.  "Can you 
tell me your name?"

"W-Will, Will Mulder."

"That's a nice name.  Now I want you to take three deep 
breaths.  Can you look at my finger?  Follow it as I move it?"  

He did, relaxing at her calm manner.

A nurse joined them then.  "Sir, if you could come with me, 
we can - "

"No!"

The nurse drew back but before she could ask again, the 
doctor shook her head.  "Are you Mr. Mulder?"

He nodded.

"Why don't you stand down there?  Put your hand on his leg, 
just stay here with him."  The nurse shook her head, but 
didn't contradict the doctor, just taking the insurance card he 
held out for her.  

"I'm Dr. Scully.  I'm going to clean this up a little and see 
what's going on, okay?"

The boy nodded.

"He fell.  I wasn't, it shouldn't have happened."

"Daddy, it was an accident," the boy said quickly.

"I'm sure it was," Dr. Scully said smoothly.  "How old are 
you?"  She continued to clean the wound.

"I'm five."

"You're tall for five."

"I look like my Dad."

"Yes, you do.  You have his eyes and coloring."

"Will there be a scar?" his father asked quickly.

"Not if I do my job right," she smiled over at the worried 
father.  "You're going to need a couple of stitches but you'll 
be fine."  She looked back at his father.  "Do you know when 
he had his last tetanus shot?"

"Uh, no."

"Okay, we'll give you a booster but that should do it."

"All the blood - "

"Face and scalp wounds bleed heavily, but you can see 
yourself, it's a very small cut."

He leaned forward and examined the wound now that it had 
been cleaned.  She was right, it was fairly small, but the man 
didn't look all that reassured.  "I was afraid his eye . . . His 
mother's going to kill me."

"It was an accident, Dad.  I shouldn't have let go before I had 
my feet set."

The man shook his head and Dr. Scully kept quiet.  It was an 
accident.  She saw things like this all the time.  His level of 
guilt seemed too high.

"I'm going to numb this just a little, to put in the stitches.  
It'll just be a little sting."

Will looked over at his father, who nodded.  "Just a sting, 
Kiddo.  Then we'll get some ice cream, okay?"

"Okay," the boy said in a small voice.  He remained stoic 
during the procedure.  In fact his father seemed to grimace 
more than he did.

"There.  All fixed up.  You'll be as handsome as ever and get 
to wear a cool bandage for a couple of days.  Do you have a 
headache?"

"No."

"Good.  Now I want you to just lie here for a few minutes 
while your Dad fills out some paperwork, then you can go 
get that ice cream he promised."  She carefully ruffled Will's 
hair and smiled over at his father.

He managed to smile sheepishly, and followed her out to the 
nurse's station after reassuring Will. 


She stood beside him as he signed the appropriate papers.  
"He really is okay."

Mr. Mulder looked up at her.  "Thank you."

She smiled.  "I'm glad I was here."

They both looked around when Will joined them.  "Hey, 
Kiddo, you were supposed to wait for me."

"I'm okay.  Can we get that ice cream?"

His dad chuckled.  "Sure."

"Hey, can Dr. Scully come with us?" The boy looked up at 
her.

Mr. Mulder blinked, then looked back down at Will.  "I, uh, 
she's probably busy, Kiddo."

"Are you?" Will looked up at her.

"I, well, no.  I'd love to get some ice cream."

"Can you leave?"

"Actually I was on my way out when you arrived."

"What?" Mr. Mulder looked up quickly.

"It's okay.  I wanted to stay."

"Do you at least work here?"

She grinned and winked at Will.  "Not really.  I'm a 
pediatrician and I was here on rounds."

"Oh geez, I'm sorry - "

"Ice cream would make up for it.  Where are we going?"

"There's a Coldstone not far from here." Mr. Mulder gestured.

She nodded.  "I've passed it, but I've never had an excuse to 
stop.  Uh, there might be one problem.  You two look a little 
Texas Chainsaw Massacre-y."  She looked down at their t-
shirts.

"Oh shi-shoot."  She wasn't exaggerating.  He was covered  

in blood where he had held his son.  Will's shirt was little 
better.

"Maybe I can help."  She winked at Will and stepped back 
into the hall.  Everyone was busy so she grabbed a couple of 
scrubs and returned.  "Okay guys, you can change in the car.  
Why don't I meet you at Coldstone?"

"You will come?" Will asked immediately.

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it."  They headed outside and 
turned toward different parking lots.

*****

Will waved as she entered the ice cream parlor and she 
moved in that direction.  "You came!"

"Of course I did.  What are you going to order?"

"They have an ice cream split that's just my size.  It's good!" 
Dr. Scully smiled at him.

"That sounds like a lot."

"What would you like?" Mr. Mulder asked, rising.

"How about a scoop of chocolate?"

"Just chocolate?" Will protested.

"I like chocolate."

Mr. Mulder nodded and left them to place the order.  He 
returned shortly with a smaller version of the famous banana 
split, a cup of blueberry cheesecake ice cream and a cup of 
'death by chocolate' with chocolate syrup and sprinkles.

"This is a cup of chocolate?" She stared down at the 
concoction in front of her.  

"Yeah," he grinned.

"I'll have to triple my time in the gym next week."

He gave her a slow perusal, causing some color to rise in 
her cheeks.  "You look fine to me."

"Thank you," she looked down at her ice cream.  "By the way, 
I'm Dana Scully."

He stuck out his hand to shake.  "Dana, I'm Fox Mulder."

"Fox?" she asked, surprised.

"He likes to be called Mulder," Will said quickly.

"I don't know, Fox suits him, don't you think?" She winked at 
Will, who grinned.

Mulder rolled his eyes and picked up his spoon.

"Don't eat too fast, Will," Dana said quickly.  "The last thing 
you want right now is an ice cream headache."

Will nodded and took a smaller bite.  Dana asked questions 
as they enjoyed their treat.  She looked over at Mulder when 
his cell phone rang.

"Sorry." He pulled the phone from his pocket and looked 
down at the display.  

"Is it Mom?"

He nodded and when Will reached for the phone, handed it 
to him without answering himself.

"Hi, Mom.  Yeah, everything's fine.  Uh huh, we went to the 
park."  The boy nodded, not looking at either his father or 
Dana.  "A banana." He glanced down at the sundae in front 
of him, but didn't bat an eye.  "Sure.  Okay, did you want to 
talk to Dad?  Okay, see you tomorrow."  He broke the 
connection and handed the phone back to Mulder.

Dana watched them; the man's face was so carefully blank, 
interpreting his son's careful version of their day.  Then 
without looking at Dana, Mulder spoke softly.  "Divorce."

She nodded.  That much had been obvious.  "How often do 
you two get together?"

"Wednesdays and every other weekend.  Sounds like a 
cliche doesn't it?"

"Actually you two seem extremely close," she said quietly.

Mulder looked up quickly and took a deep breath.  "Thanks."

"So, you know what I do, how about the two of you?  I'm 
assuming you're a student, Will.  What about you?"

"I write."

"Really?  Anything . . . Oh my god, you're M. F. Luder!"

He grinned shyly while Will beamed.  "He's great.  Have you 
ever read any of his stuff?"

"I have, and had the nightmares to prove it," she laughed.  
"Funny, you look normal."

Mulder chuckled at that.  "I do?  That's a relief."

"That's some imagination you have."  She turned to Will.  
"Have you read any of his 'stuff'?"

Will laughed.  "I get the watered down version, before he 
adds all the scary bits."

"Will's a writer too.  He gives me great ideas.  Sometimes I 
forget his perspective, but he brings me right back."

Will's delight at those words was obvious.  Dana watched 
these two, envying them their closeness.  She had let this 
part of her life slip to the side she realized.  She'd have to 
make more effort to see her family, get away from the office.

*****

She turned off the TV and started to rise when the phone 
startled her.  She wasn't on call.  She picked up the receiver 
quickly.  "Hello?"

"Hi, Dr. Scully?"

"Yes, Will? Is that you?  Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, kinda.  I'm back with Mom, but . . . look could you call 
my Dad?  He's not okay.  Mom was really mad about the 
accident and they had a fight, well Mom had a fight and Dad 
just took it.  Could you check on him?"

"Will, I'm not sure - "

"Please.  He had a good time with you yesterday.  I could tell.  
Please?"

Torn, she sighed.  The boy seemed so worried and for some 
reason it made her feel concerned, too.  "What's his 
number?"

She could feel the relief coming across the distance.  "201-
555-3404. I gotta go.  Thanks."  He was barely whispering 
that last and was gone.  Now what?  She shook her head, 
took a deep breath and before she could rationalize a way 
out of it, dialed the number.

After the third ring he picked up.  "Hello?"

"Mulder?

"Dana?  Is that you?"

"Yes," she smiled at the wonder in his voice.  "I thought I 
should check on my patient."

"Oh, yeah.  Will's doing fine.  He's back home."

"You mean with his mother?"

"Yeah."

"How are you?"

"I'm fine."

"You don't sound it," she pressed.  

He didn't respond immediately.  Finally, "It's hard to let him 
go."

"I can only imagine.  The two of you were almost symbiotic."

Again there was silence on his end.  Just as she was going 
to give him an out, he spoke.  "Look, this is embarrassingly 
last minute, but do you have plans for dinner?"

"D-dinner?  Uh, no."

"Would you like to grab a bite with me?  I know it's - " It 
sounded like he was already backing off, surprised at his 
audacity.

"I'd love to," she interrupted.

It seemed to take him a moment to catch up, then, "I don't  

have reservations, but - "

"No.  Please, I don't want to have to dress up.  You know, 
I'm really in the mood for a pizza."  There was silence for a 
moment.  "Mulder?"

"Just trying to get my heart beating again.  I don't think a 
woman has ever said that to me before."

She chuckled, more comfortable now.  "I guess I'm low 
maintenance."

"Quick, before you change your mind, where do you live?"

Laughing, she gave him the address in Georgetown.  She 
was smiling when she hung up.  This was new for her. 

He made it to her place quicker than she had thought, but 
she was ready and answered his knock with a smile.  She 
was wearing casual navy slacks and a lighter blue, short 
sleeve sweater that brought out her eyes.  He too was in 
casual slacks and a dark grey t-shirt with a sports coat.  
"Come on in, let me get my jacket."

He stepped inside and looked around.  "This is a nice place."

"Thank you.  It's big for just me, but I'm beginning to get 
used to it.  My accountant says it's a good investment."

"How big is it?"

"Come on, take the tour.  It's three bedrooms."  He had 
entered to a foyer leading to a great room.  There was a 
formal dining area and small balcony.  The kitchen was well 
appointed, with a small eating area.  The master suite was 
beyond that.  On the other side of the condo were two 
bedrooms and another full bath.  One of the bedrooms had 
been turned into an office.  Live plants and personal touches 
decorated it nicely.

"This is great."
 

"Thanks.  I haven't been here that long, but it's getting there.  
What about your place?"

"Oh, I moved to a one bedroom over on Hegal in Alexandria.  
It's fairly close to Will and doesn't take too much 
housekeeping."

"Where does Will sleep when he's over?"

"He gets the bedroom.  I usually sleep on the couch 
anyway."  He glanced over at her sofa and coordinating chair.  
He'd never fit on that.

"On the couch?"

He shrugged.  "I'll be writing or something and just go to 
sleep.  It's too much trouble to move.  The place isn't this 
neat either."

She smiled then.  "I can't take too much credit for that.  Not 
being here that much helps.  So where are we going?"

"Have you been to Sal's? It's not far from here."

"I've seen it, but I've never gone there."

"Then you're in for a treat."

*****

He led her into the restaurant and to a booth near the back.  
"Mulder!  Good to see you.  It's been a while."

Dana looked up at an older man who was placing a couple 
of menus in front of them.

"Sorry about that, Sal."

"You've been busy; I've read your latest."

"And?" Mulder looked up at him.

"It scared the piss out of me, like always. 'Cuse me, ma'am." 
The older man grinned.  "Iced tea?"  He glanced over at 
Dana.

"Would you like a beer, Dana?"

"Actually iced tea would be great." 

Sal nodded and turned away, smiling to himself.

"You come here often?"

"I used to.  Lately I haven't gone anywhere much." He looked 
thoughtful as though just noticing this.

"Deadlines?"

"I could use that as an excuse, but I think I've just been too 
lazy to bother."

"You don't seem the lazy type."

"Thanks."  He opened the menu, though he remembered it 
well from previous visits.

She had him order and he was pleased at her enjoyment.  
They talked as they ate, getting to know each other.  After 
their meal, he found he wasn't ready to take her home.

"Do you have a curfew?" he asked smiling.

"I'm not ready for this evening to end yet," she admitted.

He drove over to the mall and found a parking space.  They 
walked together toward the Lincoln Monument.  She felt his 
hand on the small of her back, leading her gently toward a 
bench.

"Don't take this wrong, but I'm almost glad Will took that fall; 
I mean, since he's okay now."

"He's a very bright and perceptive boy."

Mulder looked up suddenly.  "He asked you to call me."

Her blush betrayed her and he closed his eyes shaking his 
head.  "God, am I that pathetic?"

"You're not pathetic in the least.  Your son was worried 
about you."

Mulder wouldn't look at her now.

"Actually, Will did me a favor," she continued.

"What?" he glanced up.

"I would never have had the nerve to call you if he hadn't 
called me."

Startled he just blinked at her.  "I'm that intimidating?"

"Well, you're a famous man, and very good looking."

"With this nose?" he demurred.

She smiled gently.  "GQ, remember?  Yes, I saw the layout."

He was blushing now.  "That was dumb.  They just wanted 
some authors and I - "

"And you look like a male model.  I don't go out much, but 
I've never gone out with a famous author."

"Flattery will get you everywhere," he quipped but he looked 
slightly less depressed.  "You don't go out much?"

She shrugged.  "I work a lot and sometimes it's just too 
much trouble."

"Like moving to the bed?" he asked with a hint of a grin.

She blushed, but nodded.  "Sounds like we're both in ruts."

"You don't suppose Will has the right idea?" he asked shyly.  

"Umm, I'm enjoying it."

His face lightened and his smile lit his eyes.

"I do need to know something, Mulder."

"Anything."

She rolled her eyes, but the squared her shoulders.  "How 
long have you and Diana been apart?"

The question obviously caught him off guard, but he nodded.  
"The divorce was finalized a little over two years ago.  We 
were 'apart' before that."

"Two years?  I didn't think it had been that long."

"It feels a lot longer," he said quietly.

"How long were you married?"

"A couple of years.  It was never . . . "

"Never what?"

"We got married because she was pregnant with Will.  She 
was going to get rid of . . . I didn't force her, at least I don't 
think I did, but when I realized there was a child of mine, 
possibly mine, going to be born I couldn't just give her some 
money and walk away."

"I'm glad you couldn't.  Will's worth it."

"Yeah, he is."

"Did you ever doubt he was yours?"

Mulder nodded.  "I thought about it a lot, until I saw him."  He 
smiled then.  "He was the spitting image of me."

"He still is," she agreed.

His smile faded.  "I wish I could spend more time with him.  I 
worry."

"Don't you think she's good with him?"

"I'm sure she is."

"Well you sound confident," she mused.

"No, really Diana is a good mother, but he called you to 
check on me."

"He saw the fight?"

"He's seen too many fights, just like I did."

"Are you parents divorced?" 

He nodded.  "Since I was 14."

"I'm sorry."

He looked up and around then as though just realizing their 
surroundings.  "It's dark."

She looked up as well.  Dark?  They'd been together for 
hours.  "I didn't realize."

He gave her a little smile then.  "I should get you home."

She nodded, though she wasn't all that anxious to end the 
evening.

He walked her to the door and for just an instant she thought 
he was going to kiss her goodnight, but he stepped back and 
they said their goodnights.  She closed the door behind him.

*****
 

He hadn't called and she wasn't sure how she felt about that.  
She knew she missed his company, but they barely knew 
each other.  

She was in her kitchen, trying with no enthusiasm to decide 
on dinner when her doorbell rang.  She went to the door and 
checked the peephole, then threw it open.  She bent over to 
take Will into a hug.

"I, uh, I know we didn't call - " Mulder started.

"I was thinking about you, wishing you would come over," 
she stated simply, straightening up and smiling at him.  She 
looked back down at Will.  "How's the head?" 

"I'm good.  It itches."

"That's a good sign.  It shows that it's healing.  May I see?"  
Will nodded and let her move the bandage away from his 
stitches.  "That looks very good.  You can have the stitches 
out in a day or so."

Mulder returned her smile as Will looked on.  "We brought 
dinner."  He held up the bag and she grinned at the aroma of 
Chinese food.

"Then you're more than welcome." She carefully replaced 
the bandage and led them to the kitchen where she pulled 
out some plates.  "I have iced tea and juice."

"Iced tea is good," Mulder said with a laugh.

They spent dinner catching up.  Dana hadn't realized that 
Will was in school, and got him to talk about his lessons.  
She found ice cream in her freezer and chocolate syrup in 
her pantry to Will's delight.

After eating their sundae's they moved to the living room and 
continued to visit until Mulder looked down at his watch.  
"We need to get going, Kiddo.  I don't want to get you home 
late."

"Dad - "

"He's right, Will.  You don't want to be late, but you're 
welcome to come back here anytime."

That seemed to please him and he turned back to his father.  
"Do it."

"Will, get your jacket," Mulder said, ignoring his words.

"Come on."

Dana looked back and forth between the two of them.  "Do 
what?"

Mulder glared down at Will, who grinned back up at him.  
"Come on, Dad."

Dana turned to Mulder and waited.

"He, uh, he wants me to kiss you goodnight."

"Oh." She blushed deeply.

"See, Dad.  She's thought about it too."

"You knew he was precocious," Mulder said quietly.  "Sorry." 
He turned Will toward the door.

"It's okay."  She followed them to the door and Will took her 
hand, looking up at her.  She smiled down at him, then over 
at Mulder.  Without thought she rose on her toes to brush a 
small kiss on Mulder's cheek.  He turned at the last minute 
and their lips met, and held.  Time disappeared.  

When they broke the kiss he kept his hand on her back to 
steady her.  Neither spoke, but Will was grinning ear to ear.

"We, uh, we need to go," Mulder finally said.

She nodded. "Th-thank you for dinner."

"Thank you for letting us in." Mulder nudged Will.

"Yeah, thank you, especially for the ice cream."

"Any time.  Be careful." She watched them walk to the 
elevator.  Mulder looked back meeting her eyes, then 
stepped on the elevator.  She closed the door and locked it.

It took a long time to get to sleep that night.

*****

She didn't know what to expect, but when the phone rang 
the next evening, she knew before she even picked up the 
receiver that it was him.  "Hello."

"Are you speaking to me?"

"Most certainly," she smiled.

She could feel him relax.  "I don't have Will this weekend, but 
I wondered if I could still see you."

"That could probably be arranged."

He could hear the smile in her voice.  "Good.  Since we've 
already done the pizza thing and the Chinese food thing, I 
thought I'd make reservations so you could see that I can 
handle tablecloths as well."

"I suspected you could."

"Well now I can prove it.  Tomorrow night? Seven?"
 

"I'd love to."

He seemed speechless for a moment.  "Uh, great.  I'll see  

you then."

"I'm looking forward to it, Mulder," she assured him.  They 
spoke for another moment or two, then hung up.  She found 
she couldn't stop smiling even as she headed to her 
bedroom to check her wardrobe.

She left her office on time the next evening and hurried 
home to change.  She'd settled on a royal blue, form fitting 
dress with spaghetti straps and a straight cut bodice that 
was a little shorter than she usually wore, and the strappy 
sandals a little higher.  She curled her hair and put on a 
touch more makeup.  When she stepped back to check 
herself, she actually laughed.  She hadn't been this excited 
about a date in ages.

She took a deep breath when the doorbell rang and headed 
in that direction.

She opened the door and smiled up at Mulder.  His mouth 
had dropped open.  It took him a couple of heart beats, then 
he entered the apartment at her unspoken invitation.  "You're 
beautiful."

"Thank you."  She looked him up and down.  She'd only 
seen him in jeans prior to this.  That suit did not come off the 
rack.  "You look very nice yourself."

"This old thing?" he grinned, then he pulled the bouquet of 
spring flowers from behind his back and her smile grew.

"You're spoiling me."

"I'm trying," he admitted and followed her into the kitchen to 
get a vase.

"Where are we going?"

"The Four Seasons."

"Are you kidding?  How did you get reservations there since 
you called me yesterday?"

His face colored slightly.  "Sometimes it's nice to be well 
known."

She blinked.  She'd forgotten he was a best-selling author.  
Nodding, she arranged the flowers and placed them on her 
dining room table.

"You ready to go?"

Dana nodded and picked up her bag and a light wrap.  He 
took it from her and placed it around her shoulders, then with 
his hand on her back, led her to his car.  They were quiet, 
slightly nervous, on the ride.  He gave the car to the valet 
and took her hand to lead her inside.  They were escorted to 
their table immediately.

Mulder ordered wine and an appetizer.  When they were 
finally alone she met his eyes.  "I'm not used to service like 
this."

"It's not all it's cracked up to be.  It's the reason I don't go out 
much."  Even as he spoke a woman approached their table.

"Aren't you M. F. Luder?"

"Uh, yes ma'am."

"I hate to bother you, but could I ask for an autograph?"  She 
extended a napkin.

He forced a smile and took the napkin, scribbling his name.

"Thank you so much.  I've read all of your books and - " She 
seemed ready to pull up a chair.

"Thank you.  I hope you enjoyed them.  If you'll excuse us," 
he rose from the table and held out his hand to Dana.  He 
led her onto the dance floor and took her into his arms.

They danced in silence for a couple of minutes, then she 
looked up at him.  "I see what you mean."

"I'm sorry.  It's usually the tourists - "

"Don't be.  You can't blame her for being excited about 
seeing you and I'm enjoying the dance."

He seemed to relax a little at that and pulled her a little 
closer.  They danced until their food arrived.  He held her 
chair and they silently toasted with their wine.

They talked about school.  He had her laughing at stories of 
his time at Oxford and she told him stories of her sleepless 
nights during medical training.  They danced a few more 
times and others left them alone, though she saw more than 
one person point them out.  It felt strange, a side of fame she 
had never contemplated, but he ignored it. 


They shared a dessert, chocolate cheesecake, and coffee.  
They took the bottle of wine with them when they left.  He 
carefully locked it in the trunk, then headed back to her 
condo. 

Once there she invited him back inside and waited while he 
retrieved the bottle of wine.  She pulled out some wine 
glasses once they were inside and comfortable.  "I didn't 
want to ask in the restaurant, in case one of your fans was 
sitting too close, but I am curious why a man like you writes 
the stories you do.  I mean, they're very dark and you seem 
to be - "

"Normal?" he asked quietly.

She hesitated, watching him.  "I've upset you.  I'm sorry.  I 
don't mean to come across like a - "

"You're not, and I'm not upset."

She was quiet then, but she didn't believe him.  Finally she 
reached for her glass of wine.

"Dana - "

"It's okay.  I'm sorry.  Have you spoken to Will since 
Wednesday?"

"I don't want to give you the pat answer.  My imagination 
is . . . vivid, but that's not . . . "

"You don't have to talk about this."

"I don't know if you'll want to see me again." He shrugged.

She met his eyes then.  "I don't know what you're thinking, 
but I enjoy your company and if you want to see me again, 
you will."  She gave a self-depreciating chuckle then.  "Missy 
would be appalled."

"Missy?"

"My sister.  I've been 'available' every time you've called.  
That would horrify her."

"You have a sister?"

She nodded.  "And two brothers."

"Wow."

"Remember, we're Navy.  Whenever Dad docked we added 
to the family.  Bill and Missy are older and Charlie is younger.  
I thought I'd mentioned them."

He shook his head.  "I have a sister too."

"Older or younger?" He was acting stiff and she felt regret 
again that she had stumbled into what seemed to be such an 
uncomfortable topic.

"Samantha is younger."

"Mulder, please, what's wrong?  What did I say?"

"My darkness, where I get my stories, it's Samantha."

"Your sister?  What does she have to do with it?"

He drained his wine and looked down at his hands.  
"Samantha disappeared when she was eight.  I was twelve."

"Disappeared?"

He nodded, not looking at her.  "I was there, but I don't . . . 
we never found her."

"Oh Mulder, I'm so sorry." Her hand came to rest on his arm 
and he looked up, meeting her eyes.

"I didn't hurt her."

"I know that, Mulder."

He blinked at that but continued.  "There was no evidence.  I 
was unconscious when my parents got home.  I've had 
nightmares about that night for years.  That kind of thing 
really enhances an imagination."

"Mulder, that's terrible.  I'm so sorry."

He shook his head.

"They didn't, your parents didn't blame you, did they?"

"They never said they did."

"All those fights you mentioned, the divorce . . .  Mulder, 
every child believes they are the cause of their parent's 
divorce."

"I know.  But in this case - "

"Mulder, talk to me."

"I have one of those memories; I never forget anything, 
except that night.  The thing is; no one seemed to want me 
to remember."

"Maybe they were trying to protect you," she offered.

He huffed an unamused laugh.  "No, protecting me is not 
something my father would go out of his way to do.  He 
didn't want me to remember."

"Was he . . . "

"Involved?"  Mulder nodded, "but not the way you think.  It 
was their fights that I remember."

"Their fights?"

He shook his head.  "It was a long time ago."

"I don't think so; not if you're still having nightmares."

"Have some more wine."  He poured them both another 
glass, emptying the bottle.  She accepted the change of 
subject.  This was obviously difficult for him to talk about and 
they didn't know each other that well.

She took a sip and started to rise, to put on some music, but 
he caught her hand.  "Don't go."

"I wasn't going - " 

He moved closer and she found herself focused on his lips.  
He took the glass from her hand and placed it back on the 
coffee table.  His hand cupped the back of her head, drawing 
her gently toward him.  She came willingly and their lips met.

It was the same as the other night.  She became lost in him 
as their tongues dueled and their hands explored.  When 
they broke apart one hand cupped her cheek while the other 
brushed her hair away from her face.  "Dana?"

She swallowed, looking deeply into his eyes.  After a 
moment she nodded.

"We're moving fast."

"We're both adults," she responded.

He leaned in and kissed her again.  

She rose and held out her hand.  He took it, and followed her 
silently into her bedroom.  He stood with his back to the bed, 
watching her.  She reached up and slipped his suit coat from 
his shoulders, then loosened his tie.  She pulled it slowly 
from around his neck and smiled slightly to see his Adams 
apple bob.  She unbuttoned his shirt, tugging it from his 
slacks.  The shirt followed his coat and then his t-shirt.  Her 
hands lightly brushed the hair on his chest and then his 
nipples.  He tensed, hissing slightly at the sensation.

"Dana - "

She didn't speak, just unbuckled his belt.  She slid it out of 
the belt loops and draped it over her shoulder.  He drew a 
sharp breath at the sight.

She smiled then and he drew her against him.  "You're not  

playing fair."

"I'm not?"

"You're still wearing too many clothes."

"Maybe you should handle that." She met his eyes.

He didn't speak, turning her from him and taking hold of her 
zipper.  He slowly drew it down, revealing her strapless bra.  
He held her hand as she stepped out of the dress.  Her lacy 
panties drew his eye and he sank to his knees in front of her.

"Muld - "

"Shh."  He slipped the damp underwear down and kissed her 
curls.  She held her breath and he kissed his way back up to 
her navel, then her breasts.  His hands moved behind her 
and the clasp of her bra came apart.

His pupils dilated as he gazed at her breasts.

"Now who's wearing too many clothes?" she whispered.

He picked her up and lay her gently on the bed.  As she 
watched he lowered his zipper and stepped out of his slacks.  
His desire was obvious and her eyes widened.

He knelt on the bed beside her and kissed her again, then 
watched as she hooked her fingers into the elastic of his 
boxers.  He smiled as he returned to his feet and watched 
her lower them.  Her eyes gleamed as he sprang free.

He returned to his hands and knees, not allowing himself to 
get too close.  He leaned in nuzzling her neck.  "You're so 
beautiful."

Her hands traced his muscles then tried to pull him closer.  
He resisted and she moaned.  "Wait."  He dipped his head 
and began loving her beasts, her belly, the inside of her 
arms until she was writhing beneath him

"Mulder," she moaned.

"I want to love all of you."  He nuzzled her curls and his 
tongue flicked out to taste her.  She arched, gasping for 
breath.

His tongue dipped into her, bringing to life senses she'd 
forgotten. She shattered like crystal when he concentrated 
on that small bundle of nerves, her hand buried in his hair.

He pulled her to him, holding her tenderly against him while 
she came back to herself.  When she got her breath back he 
caressed her face.  "Dana?"

"Damn," she said softly.

He grinned.  "You enjoyed that?"

"Enjoyed, yeah." Her eyes were gleaming.  He groaned 
when she wrapped her hand around him.  "Now it's time for 
you to enjoy."  Her hand moved slowly up and down as she 
tightened and loosened her fingers.

"Car-careful."

She nodded as her tongue laved his nipple.  He forced 
himself away from her and she looked up, questioning him.  
He was breathing heavily but managed to touch a finger to 
her lips.

"Protection?"

She nodded and pulled open the drawer of her bedside table.  
There was an unopened box of condoms inside.  He smiled 
as he pulled the tab to remove the cellophane from the box.

He pulled one of the gold disks from the box and she took it 
from his hands.  As he watched as she tore open the 
package.  Her hands were firm but gentle as she rolled the 
latex over him.  He forced his eyes to remain open, not 
wanting to miss a second of watching her.

She moved closer, opening herself to him.  He didn't hesitate 
now, moving with her, knowing she was ready but moving 
slowly nevertheless.  This was too good to rush.  She was 
tight, but she didn't seem to be in any discomfort, judging 
from the look in her eyes.  When he was completely 
sheathed within her, he stopped, just to watch her for a 
moment, then together they began to move.

She met his long slow strokes in perfect synch; their eyes 
locked on one another.  Then her hands moved down his 
body and cupped his ass.  He hissed when her nails sank 
into his flesh and he watched the grin on her face.
 
"Oh, so you want to play rough."

Her smile vanished as he increased his speed and though 
she hadn't thought it possible, his depth.  Then his fingers 
joined the party and her breath grew shallow.  "Muld - "

He found that sensitive spot again and fondled it, watching 
her.  Her eyes widened as her body spun out of her control 
again giving herself over to him.  Her convulsions 
surrounding him sent him over the edge as well.  Her arms 
held him as he shuddered above her and collapsed partially 
atop her.  Her hug tightened when he tried to move away.

"I'm too heavy."

"You're perfect."

He nuzzled into her neck and stayed where he was.  He 
fought sleep; they had never been together and it seemed 
uncool, until he realized she had drifted off under him.  He 
gave in then, pulling her closer in his arms.

When he woke a short time later, he quietly left the bed and 
slipped into the bathroom.  Now the dilemma, did he return 
to the bed or leave?  He'd had no nightmare yet, and he 
found he wanted to stay.  There was something about this 
woman that drew him; hell, he'd even talked about 
Samantha to her, at least a little.  Did she want him to stay?  
He certainly hadn't expected this to happen on their first date, 
or was it their third?  He smiled at the question, then 
returned to the bedroom.

She opened drowsy eyes.  "Can you stay?"

"Would you mind?"

Her smile gave him all the answer he needed as she 
scooted over to give him room.  He pulled her back against 
him and they drifted off, only to wake several times during 
the night to reconnect.

They slept late, then fixed breakfast together.  Or she fixed 
breakfast and he kept getting in her way, touching her, 
caressing her, kissing her.  Laughing she was threatening to 
banish him to the other room when the phone rang.  "Don't 
you dare add any butter to that.  Just stand there and try to 
be good," she warned him as she reached for the phone still 
looking at him.  He had put back on his slacks and his shirt 
hung open, revealing the chest she had been pressed 
against last night.

"Hello?"

"I wish I could be there with you and Dad.  He's so happy 
when he's with you."
 
"W-Will?" she looked up at Mulder, stunned.  He hurried to 
her side, silently asking the question.

"Yeah, it's me.  I just wanted you to know how glad he is to 
be there.  Sometimes he's afraid to admit stuff like that; like 
he doesn't deserve it or something."

"I'm very glad he's here too," she said softly, watching the 
man's eyes turn green in front of her.  "Did you call his 
apartment?"

"No.  I knew where he was."

She didn't have a response to that.  "Would you like to speak 
to him?"

"Sure."

Silently Dana handed the phone to Mulder and moved away 
to give him some privacy.  He followed her though, seeming 
to need her proximity.  "Will?"

She turned back to the eggs, stirring them, not sure what to 
think of this turn of events.

When he hung up she turned to him.  He looked as though 
he'd been caught stealing cookies from the jar.

"Mulder?"

He's . . . intuitive."

"Intuitive?  Mulder - "

"He knows me; he knows when I'm upset, when I'm . . . 
happy, though he doesn't see that as often."

"How?"

Mulder shook his head.  

"That's how he knew to call me when he got back to his 
mother's place that night."

Mulder nodded.  "I'm sorry he - "

"Don't be.  I've already told you that.  He did me a favor."

"Did he?"

She reached up a pulled his face down to her, kissing him 
gently.  He shivered slightly with the contact, then his arms 
went around her. 

"Mulder, how did Will know?"

"I don't know."

"Has he ever . . . "

"I haven't been with anyone since I left Diana."

She blinked at that.  Over two years?  Did she believe that?  
But it felt true. 

As though reading her thoughts, he glanced toward the 
bedroom.  "The box wasn't opened."

She shook her head. "I bought it when I moved in."

His eyes lit up then.

"You changed the subject," but her lips were curving up.

"Will.  I don't know how he knew I was here, but yes, he 
seems to feel my emotions.  He called you after that fight 
because he knew I was upset.  He doesn't have much 
chance to feel me happy."

"He feels you."

Mulder shrugged.  "I don't think about it.  Even as an infant I 
was better with him.  I could calm him when Diana had pretty 
much given up."

"You must have bonded early."

"Yeah.  It wasn't an easy pregnancy.  She told me she . . . 
she wasn't happy to be pregnant."

"Were you there when he was born?"

"No.  I'll always regret that.  He came early, not really 
dangerously so, but I'd gone on a book signing in the city.  
By the time I got there, she was having a C-section.  They 
didn't let me in; it was an emergency so I had to wait.  They 
let me see Will as soon as he was stable."

She turned to the stove and took up the eggs.  They were a 
little dry but not burnt.  "Did he look like you then?"

"God yes."  He took the seat she indicated as she brought 
the toast and he poured the juice.  "I've never seen Diana in 
him."

She nodded and took a bite of eggs.

They were quiet now.  When they had finished he rose.  "I 
should get out of here."

"Mulder - "

"No, it's okay.  I'm sure you have things you need to do."

"Will I see you again?" She asked quietly.  "Or should I ask if 
you still respect me?"

His eyes widened in horror as his mouth fell open.  "Is that 
what you - Dana, don't ever think that.  There is one thing; I 
do admit you scare me."

"Scare you?"

"I don't ever want to leave here."

She bit her lip as her shoulders relaxed.  "What?"

"Sorry, now I'll scare you too."

"Maybe a little, but not enough to stay away."

His finger lightly caressed her jaw line.  "Thank you."  He 
swallowed then and took a deep breath.  "I'm gonna go 
home, take a shower and change.  I need to write for a 
couple of hours, then I'll call you.  Maybe we could do 
something tonight."

She nodded.  "I'd like that."

*****

True Family - Part 2/2


She had finished cleaning the kitchen and taken a shower.  
There was a load of laundry going when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Are you mad at me?"

"Will?  No, no I am not mad."

"Do I scare you?"

This child was very different than the children she worked 
with daily.  "I'm surprised at how close you are to your 
father."

"Does it bother you?"

"I guess the fact that you knew he was here troubled me a 
little."

"I'm sorry."

"No, don't apologize, Will.  Your father needs you.  You're 
the most important thing is his life."

"You're important to him too," Will offered.

"I hope to be."

"You already are, Dr. Scully."

"I'd like to get to know you better, Will."

"Really?"  The sounds of hope and happiness intermingled in 
his voice.

"Definitely.  Maybe you and your Dad could come over on 
Wednesday.  We could plan something."

"Yeah, that would be great!  Uh, I need to get off.  I'll talk to 
you later."

"Thank you for calling, Will."  The line was dead   Had his 
mother come into the room?

*****
 
When they arrived Wednesday night, she had dinner ready.  
They talked about their days and Will explained the project 
he had to do for class the next day.  "I brought most of what I 
need, but I forgot the construction paper.  I need blue and 
brown and orange."

"I'm afraid I'm a little low on that myself," Dana admitted.

"Then I guess we're going to have to make a trip to the 
store."

"Mulder, why don't you leave Will here?  If you trust me, that 
is."

He grinned, catching sight of the look of delight on Will's 
face.  "Yeah, I guess I could trust a pediatrician for few 
minutes."

"Gee, your confidence is overwhelming," Dana rolled her 
eyes, but was smiling too.

"I won't be long," Mulder chuckled, ruffling Will's hair.  He 
winked at her as he closed the door.

"Want to help me in the kitchen?" she turned in the direction.  
Will jumped off the couch and followed her.  "Do you help 
your mother with the cooking?"

He shook his head.  "She doesn't like me to be around her 
much."

Dana looked over at him.  "Excuse me?"

"She's not . . . comfortable around me; not like you."

"Will, what does that mean?"  Her first instinct had been to 
reassure him that he was seeing it wrong, but this boy would 
only pretend to accept her comfort.

"You know."

"No, I don't.  Will, she went to court to get custody of you.  If 
she - "

"That was to keep Dad from having me."

That silenced Dana for an instance.  Was it true or had he 
picked that up from Mulder?  "Do you want to talk about it?"

Will shrugged, taking one of the carrots she offered him.  "I 
think she's afraid of me.  She knows I can pick up on Dad's 
moods.  Even when I was little, she didn't want me to sit in 
her lap or hold her hand when we went shopping.  She'd put 
me in the cart and then not touch me again until she had to 
take me out."  Will looked Dana in the eyes then.  
"Sometimes I wonder if she's my real Mom."

"Wh-what?" Dana stared at him.

"You could check for that, couldn't you?"

"Will, you know she's your mother."

"I know Dad married her because she was pregnant," he 
said it matter of factly.

"Will, a lot of marriages start out that way.  That doesn't - "

"Oh, it doesn't bother me, Dr. Scully.  I wouldn't get to spend 
as much time as I do with Dad if they hadn't gotten married."  
He shrugged.  "Sometimes when she thinks I'm asleep she 
talks about it."

"Talks about it?"

"Yeah.  There's this person, I guess he's her friend; anyway 
she talks to him at night.  She calls him.  She tells him how I 
creep her out, how this wasn't what she'd bargained for."

Dana took a seat at the kitchen table and Will joined her.  
"Will, I - "

"I don't know who he is.  She always checks to make sure 
I'm asleep before she calls him."

"But you're not."

Will grinned then.  "I'm good at pretending."

"Will, I'm sorry you're having to - "

"It's okay.  I get to see Dad every other weekend and he 
loves me enough to make up for her."

"Will, she gave birth to you, she nursed you - "

"No, she didn't nurse me.  Dad got to the hospital in time to 
give me my first bottle.  It's one of his favorite stories.  And 
when they brought me home, since Dad works at home, he 
kind of took care of me.  Mom wasn't . . . "

"Honey, a lot of women have what's called Post-partum 
depression.  It's still being studied, but - "

"Would she still be having it?"

Dana blinked at that.

"I wish I could live with Dad.  He's not afraid to touch me, he 
lets me sit in his lap and he talks to me."

Without thought, her arms came out to him.  His mouth 
dropped open, then he was on his feet, racing around the 
table.  He was in her lap and her arms closed around him.  
She was rocking and holding him before she realized it.  This 
was a mistake.  There was no way to know if her fledgling 
relationship with his father would come to anything, but this 
felt right as though holding her own child.

That's where they were when Mulder returned.  He'd started 
to knock, but for some reason tried the knob.  They hadn't 
locked the door behind him and he entered quietly, ready to 
chastise them for it when he spotted them.

He was beside them in an instant.  "What's wrong?"

Will looked up at him.  "Nothing.  We're just hugging."

Mulder met Dana's eyes and saw the truth of it in her 
blushing face.  "Well, good.  I . .  . I'm glad nothing's wrong."  
He dropped the bag on the table.

Reluctantly Will left Dana's lap and they watched him work 
on his school project.  All too soon it was time to leave, so 
Dana found a box lid to hold the precious montage.  She 
gave him another hug at the door and Mulder gave her a 
chaste kiss and a promise to call.

She finished cleaning off the table of the supplies she had 
volunteered, but that didn't keep her mind from the 
conversation.  Of course there were women out there who 
didn't enjoy motherhood, she had met a couple in her 
practice, but why fight so hard for custody unless Will was 
correct and it was just to hurt Mulder.  Was it money?  Surely 
Mulder would pay a generous alimony, wouldn't he?  Yes, 
she assured herself.  She already knew if he could have Will, 
he'd pay anything the woman asked.

*****
  
Since it was a pretty day on Saturday, they headed for the 
zoo.  It was crowded but Will seemed to enjoy that and it 
added to Mulder's anonymity.  Will was wearing his 
backpack and at one point Mulder offered to carry it, but Will 
refused.  

When Mulder left them to get some drinks, Will quickly pulled 
the backpack around and opened it.  "Dr. Scully," he pulled 
out two sealed plastic bags.  "I got what you need."

"What I need?  What are you talking about?"

"To check to see if Mom is my mother."

"Will, I didn't say - "

"Please.  You know who could run the tests.  We don't have 
to tell Dad.  This is my Mom's hair," he handed her the bag, 
carefully lettered in his handwriting.  "And this is mine, just 
like on TV.  Please?"   He was looking around her now, to 
make sure his father wasn't on the way back to them.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea, Will.  You know she's your 
mother - "

"No, I really don't.  If she is, I'll drop it and you and I will be 
the only ones that know this happened.  Please."  He was 
pleading now and she realized how serious he was about 
this test.

"I'll . . . I'll think about it."  But she took the two small bags 
and stuffed them down in her purse.

The rest of the day went well and Mulder hadn't noticed 
anything.  

On Monday she reached into her purse to dig out her car 
keys and found the bags.  She had purposefully shoved the 
thoughts of this away while they had spent time together, 
and Will had not mentioned it, but now the conflict was back 
full force.  She knew she should just throw the hair away and 
tell Will that she had decided against it, but he had been so 
earnest about it.  What in the world was going on in his 
home that would cause a boy as young as Will to truly 
believe the woman raising him was not his mother?

Shaking her head, she headed for the office.  Instead of 
going over the charts of the patients she would see that 
morning, she headed for the lab.

"Dr. Scully, long time no see," the young technician, Barry, 
smiled when he spotted her.

"I know.  I'm sorry.  I seem to have less and less time to get 
to everything."

He smiled gravely.  "So, what do you have for me?"

"Would you believe a maternity test?"

"Did you say ma-ternity?" He took the bags she held out to 
him.  "Court case?"

"It could be, depending on what you find," she admitted.

"It's gonna take a few days."

"It's not a top priority.  Don't push anything back to get to 
this," she cautioned.

"Okay, I'll give you a call when I know something." He 
winked at her and she smiled indulgently.  He'd been flirting 
with her since he'd come to work in the lab.  He was much 
too young, but it did give her a lift, especially since part of 
her wanted to snatch the bags back and tell him to forget it.  
Instead she let herself out and went across the street to 
work.

*****

He almost didn't answer the phone, anxious to pick up Will 
and meet Dana.  "Hello?"

"Mulder, it's Dana.  I'm sorry to be calling so late, but I'm 
afraid I can't meet you tonight."

"What's his name?  Think I could take him?" Mulder asked, 
sinking onto the couch.

"Probably.  I have a new patient, a very new, very early 
patient.  I'll be staying at the hospital tonight."

"A premature baby?"

"Yes.  She's a fighter and fortunately she's female.  
Statistically that makes her stronger, but it's going to be a 
long night.  I am sorry."

"Dana, you're a doctor.  These things are going to come up.  
Don't worry about us; just take care of your patient."  He 
shoved down his disappointment.  Those hours with her and 
Will made him feel like he had a family finally.  Yes, he had 
spent a few nights with her now, but not enough.

"Thank you and tell Will I'll see him soon."  She hung up and 
sighed.  She would miss seeing them, but that tiny baby girl 
needed her tonight.

*****

Dana let herself into the nurse's station.  She could use the 
computer in the back and get a cup of coffee.  She sat down 
with the cup of bitter brew and started typing in her notes.  
She had her back to the door.  She didn't turn at the tap on 
the door, concentrating on getting her last note entered.  
Satisfied she leaned back.  "Come in."

"You sure?"

She whirled around at the sound of his voice.  "Mulder?  
What are you doing here?"  She didn't try to disguise the joy 
on her face.  He saw that and returned her smile.

He held up a paper bag.  "I figure you missed dinner."

"Uh, I did.  What time is it?"

"9:30. I took Will home; then thought I'd stop by."

"I didn't realize it was that late.  What did you bring me?"  He 
offered up the bag and she pulled out the sandwich.  "I'm 
starving."  She opened the sandwich and looked up at him.  
"What is this?"

"Turkey and spouts on whole wheat with light mayonnaise."

"And you picked this out?" Her eyebrow was rising.

He grinned.  "I told the guy to make me the healthiest 
sandwich on the menu."

She chuckled and took a bite.  "So what did you and Will do 
tonight?"

"Not much.  He had homework and we went over his spelling 
words.  He's good."

"I'm not surprised."  

He grinned as she took a large bite of her sandwich.  "You 
were hungry."

"It's good and I really appreciate it."

"I wanted to see you, even if we couldn't spend a lot of time 
together.  How's the baby doing?"

She opened her mouth, but her beeper went off before she 
could speak.  "Sorry."  He nodded and watched her check 
out the message.  She picked up the phone and dialed an 
extension.  "This is Dr. Scully."

"The results on the NICU patient are ready.  They're printing 
out now."

"Good.  I'll come down for them."  She hung up and turned 
back to Mulder.  "I have to go down to the lab."

"I know.  I'll let you get back to work."

"Thank you so much for the break."

"It wasn't much of a break," he demurred.

"You don't know how good a break it was," she gave him a 
quick kiss on the cheek, then rubbed the lipstick off with her 
thumb.  "Walk me to the elevator?"

He took her hand and led her in that direction.  With visiting 
hours over, the elevator was empty when it arrived.  With a 
gleam in his eye, Mulder pulled her inside and pressed the 
button.

If she was a little disheveled when the doors opened several 
floors below, there was no one to notice.  She adjusted her 
coat and headed for the lab.
 
"Dr. Scully, hi.  Your stuff is coming off now.  Oh, by the way, 
Barry left you some DNA results that came up a few minutes 
ago.  We don't have a code to charge it."

Dana stopped in her tracks.  She had successfully forgotten, 
or at least shoved aside, the DNA test she had requested for 
Will.  How could she have been so stupid?  She had no 
business encouraging this.  She came very close to telling 
the tech to toss the information, but that wasn't feasible, and 
the work had to be paid for anyway.

"Charge it to the office, please."  She accepted the envelope 
as well as the information on her patient.  She shoved the 
envelope deep in her lab coat pocket and opened the 
information on the baby.

*****

It had been a long night, but the baby was stable, breathing 
on her own and they were supplementing oxygen.  Dana 
walked out with Dr. Kuhn.  "That was great work, Bob."

"Thanks.  I always enjoy adding to my premie survivors."

"You think she'll make it?"

"I wouldn't want to be quoted to the parents, but she's got a 
good chance."

Dana smiled, then her hand found the envelope she'd 
stuffed there earlier.

"Dana?  You okay?"

"Yes," she looked down at the envelope in her hand.  
"Another patient."

"It never ends.  Can I help?"

"No, this one's more mundane, but thanks."

He nodded and peeled off to check his pager.  She wearily 
made her way toward the parking deck.

She entered the car and tossed the envelope into the 
passenger's seat.  Once she had parked at her building, she 
glanced over at it again and forced herself to pick it up.  She 
hurried inside and with no other excuses sank onto the 
couch and tore the envelope open.

The words at the bottom jumped out at her first.  "No 
Relation".  No relation?  That was impossible.  The woman 
had been pregnant; she couldn't have faked that.  Had there 
been a mistake?

Her mind wandered over a dozen scenarios - switched 
babies?  Mulder hadn't been there for the birth but surely . . . 
that little boy had to be his.  Those eyes, that lower lip - but 
were they real or did she just want to see them in each 
other?

What was she supposed to do?  There was no way she 
could just tell that little boy anything about this.  But what did 
that mean?  She tucked the information into her purse and 
got ready for bed.

She did fall asleep from sheer exhaustion, but it didn't last 
long.  Whatever the dream was that woke her, she couldn't 
remember it, but her mind refused to shut down once she 
was awake.  Between her newest patient and information 
from the DNA test, she finally got up around four a.m. 
defeated.  She took her shower and got ready for the day.

She was leaving the hospital after checking on her patient 
when her cell phone rang.  "Hello?"

"Good morning.  How's your patient?"

"Mu-Mulder."

"Uh, yeah.  Dana, are you okay?  Did the little girl - "

"She's doing okay.  I just left there."

"Is something wrong?  Are you - "

"I'm sorry.  I didn't sleep well."

He nodded, though she couldn't see him.  "Do you think 
you'll have some time this weekend?  I thought maybe we 
could do something."

"Yes, please."

"Dana, are you okay?"

"I will be, especially if I can see you."

That left him speechless for a moment.  "Thank you.  Friday 
night?"

"Yes.  I'll have to be at the hospital for little while."

"No problem.  I'll take any time I can get," he smiled.  "Why 
don't you call me?  We can go out late."

"Or stay in?"

Again he had to take a breath.  "Yeah, yeah we could do that 
too."

"I need to get to work, Mulder."

"Me too.  Look, if you need to talk, you can call me any time."

*****

She let herself into the bathroom as he left to make coffee.  
She smiled as his hand caressed her shoulder.  His need to 
touch her felt good.  She'd never had a lover like him, one 
that made her feel as wanton as he did delicate.  

Once in the bathroom, her gaze fell on his hairbrush.   She 
watched her hand extract a few hairs and hold them.  Was 
she going to do this?  She heard him coming her way and 
stuffed the hairs down in the pocket of her robe.


Monday morning she hurried to the lab prior to her first 
appointment.  Barry looked up and smiled.  "You're 
becoming a regular."

She nodded, trying to hide her agitation.  "I have one more 
DNA test I need run."

"The case is getting hotter?"

"You could say that.  Is there any way I could have this by 
Wednesday evening?"

He looked around, then leaned in closer.  "Just for you."

She did chuckle then, at least her ego was getting a nice 
workout.  She let herself out and pushed this to the back of 
her mind again.

*****

Her afternoon had been devoted to paperwork, which was 
not her first preference, but it needed to be done.  Besides, 
she wanted to be out of here on time tonight.  She was 
meeting Mulder and Will for dinner.  Her Wednesdays were 
beginning to revolve around them and she knew this was a 
relationship she wanted to pursue.

When the phone rang, she picked it up without looking away 
from the computer screen.  "Dr. Scully."

"Hi, it's Barry."

"Barry, hello.  Do you already have my results?"

"Well, yes and no.  The hair you brought me Monday; it's 
from the same person you brought before."

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah, it's identical to the male hair you brought last time."

"Not a father and son?"

"No, ma'am.  This isn't even a twin thing.  It's the same 
person."  When she didn't respond, he tried again.  "Dr. 
Scully?  You there?"

"Yes, I . . . I'm sorry I wasted your time.  I didn't . . . "

"Hey, it's okay.  I'm going to fax you the results anyway, but I 
wanted you to be at the machine."

"Thank you.  And please, charge that to the same account."

"Will do, Dr. Scully.  If you ever need - "

"Thank you, Barry.  I do appreciate this."

"Yeah, uh, okay.  I'm faxing this now.  Bye."  He hung up 
when she didn't respond.  He hadn't thought the information 
would upset her like that, but it obviously had.

She sat at the desk, staring at but not seeing the computer 
screen in front of her.  How stupid could she be?  The boy 
had wanted to live with Mulder so he had given her his 
father's hair to test.  Of course there was no relation 
between Mulder and his ex-wife.  She dropped her face into 
her hands.  How gullible could she be and how angry should 
she be for being used like this?  Will was only five years old.

She heard the fax machine in the hall whir to life and rose 
from her chair.

*****

Dana pulled into a parking space outside of Mulder's 
apartment and killed the engine.  She was still angry, at least 
disturbed, over what had happened, and she needed to calm 
down.  He was a little boy who was trying to be with his 
father.  He was an extraordinary child to have come up with 
this scheme and she had allowed herself to become involved 
enough to be taken in.  She shook her head and left the car.  
Later, she could dwell on this later.

Mulder answered her knock quickly and gave her a semi-
smoldering kiss when he let her in.  "It's good to see you."

"I've been looking forward to seeing you all day."

His brow furrowed.  "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she managed to smile up at him, but it wasn't 
the smile he had come to know.  Before he could ask again, 
Will raced from the other room.

"You're here!"  He threw his arms around Dana's hips and 
hugged her tight.  She closed her eyes even as her arms 
went around him.  He looked up at her.  "Are you okay?"

She actually chuckled at that.  "You two are certainly a 
protective bunch tonight."

"We care about you," Mulder said simply.

"I know.  I care about both of you.  It's just been a long day.  
This is the best part of it."

Will smiled and Mulder seemed to relax.  "Well, I hope it 
continues to be, because I cooked tonight."

"Now, there's something to brighten my mood," she laughed 
lightly.

"I think I've been insulted," Mulder looked down at Will, who 
grinned.  "I'll get you a glass of wine and you can help Will 
with his spelling words while I check on dinner."  He took her 
jacket then and ducked into the kitchen for her glass.

She took it from him and followed Will into the living room.  
They sat beside each other on the couch and she picked up 
his spelling book.

"Dr. Scully," he whispered, "have you found out if she's my 
mother?"  He glanced back toward the kitchen.

"Will . . . " her voice was flat.  She should not have come 
over here tonight.  She could have found an excuse if she'd 
wanted to.

He turned back to look at her.  "Did you find anything?"

"You know I didn't, Will.  Let's just not talk about it."

"What, what do you mean?"

"Will, Will I understand that you're not happy sometimes with 
your mother, but you shouldn't have tried to trick me - "

"Trick you?" his voice was a little louder now but he didn't 
even look toward the kitchen.

"Let's just forget it, Will." She opened the spelling book, but 
he just stared at her.

"I didn't trick you.  I wouldn't do that."

"Will, please - "

"Do you think I lied to you?"

"Will, calm down.  I don't think you - "

"I didn't!  I don't lie.  You have to believe me!"

She realized that Mulder had joined them and was staring at 
her from the doorway.  "Dana? Will?  What's going on?"

"Dad, I didn't lie.  Tell her I didn't lie!"

"Calm down, Will.  Tell me what you're talking about." He 
looked at Dana then.

"Mulder, I . . . " she sighed, looking down and shaking her 
head.

"Okay, you're both scaring me."  Mulder took a seat on the 
coffee table, facing them.

"I, Mulder, I did something stupid."  He just waited for her to 
continue, taking Will into his lap.  Her heart sank.  "I'm sorry."

"What did you do?"

She looked at Will and tried to smile.  "We have to tell him."

The boy nodded from the safety of his father's arms.  Mulder 
looked down at him confused.  "Yeah, you do."

Scully took a deep breath.  "Will asked me to do him a favor.  
I, I should have come to you, but I . . . "

"You wanted to help him out?" Mulder asked.

She met his eyes then, he was trying to help her.  "Will 
thought that maybe his mother wasn't his biological mother."

Mulder's head jerked down toward his son, but he didn't 
speak.

"He asked me to run a test and . . . and I did."

Now Mulder's head swiveled up toward her.  "You - "

She seemed to deflate before his eyes.  "Mulder, I . . . "

"So what did you find?" his voice was hard now.

"The test, the test didn't show anything.  Will substituted your 
hair for his, so - "

"I didn't!  Dad, I didn't.  It was my hair.  I pulled it out myself; 
it hurt!  It's the truth, Dad; cross my heart."  He was crying 
now and Mulder's arm tightened around him.

Dana seemed to curl up on the couch and wouldn't look at 
either of them.

"Dana - " The sound of the oven timer startled her and she 
jerked.  Mulder, watching her, sighed.  "Let's eat, guys.  
Then we'll figure this out."

"Mulder, I should go.  I've ruined - "

"Please don't leave.  You haven't ruined anything.  Come 
on."  He held out his free hand to her and led them both to 
the table.  

They were quiet.  Will mainly pushed his food around.  Dana 
tried to eat, but her appetite was gone.  After a few minutes 
Mulder put down his own fork.  "Okay guys, we need to clear 
this up.  Will, grab your stuff; we might not have time to 
come back by here before I have to get you back to your 
mother's."

"Where are we going?" Will looked up from playing with his 
food.

"To see the guys."

Will's eyes lightened a little, but Dana only looked confused.

"Come on, I'll explain on the way."  Mulder shoved back his 
chair and rose.  Dana didn't move.

"Maybe I should just go on - "

"No, please."  He held out his hand and she sighed, but took 
it.

Mulder led his silent charges out to his car and seated them.  
After he was in traffic he glanced over at Dana.  "These guys 
are a little . . . strange.  They help me with research and, and 
I like them."

"I'm not sure why we're going to see them."

"Because they can get to the bottom of this.  Will is a pretty 
honest kid - "

"I know that."  She glanced into the backseat and found him 
watching her.  His expression was so yearning.  "I know 
that," she repeated.  "I should never have - "

"I appreciate you helping him out, Dana.  Now we have to 
find out what happened.  Since Will insists he pulled a hair 
from his own head, and it matched mine, let's just get the 
guys to check everything out."

Dana's brow furrowed, but she didn't argue.

She was more than a little surprised at the building when he 
pulled over and parked.  It wasn't a place she would have 
brought a child, especially at night, but he seemed confident, 
so she let herself out of the car and watched him take Will's 
hand and felt his other hand come to rest on her lower back, 
guiding her inside.

Will kept on the other side of Mulder, his feet dragging, 
instead of walking between them, and Dana's mood plunged 
even further.  The relationship had been destroyed and she 
was the one who had destroyed it.

It took several minutes to get inside.  Dana looked at all of 
the locks and the surveillance camera but kept quiet.  A 
short man with a couple of day's growth of beard stood in 
front of them.  "Mulder my man, and you brought Will, 
excellent!  Come on in."  He looked Dana up and down and 
Mulder's arm went around her.  "Nice, Mulder."

"Back off, Frohike.  She didn't know I associated with the 
likes of you and I don't want her spooked off."

"So, to what do we owe the pleasure of your company on a 
school night?" Frohike tousled Will's hair while he looked up 
at Mulder.

"I need you to run a test."

"Cool."  A blonde with long stringy hair moved toward them 
and Dana looked up at Mulder.  He gave her a reassuring 
grin.

"Where's Byers?  I want her to still respect me in the 
morning."

Langly grinned and pointed over his shoulder.  A man with a 
neatly trimmed beard and suit joined them then.  Stepping 
around the blonde, he approached Dana.  "I'm John Byers."

"D-Dana Scully."

"This is Dr. Scully?" Frohike moved closer.

Mulder raised one finger and Frohike stopped again.

"What can we do for you, Mulder?" Byers interrupted.

"I'd like you to run a paternity test."

All three men gaped at him then.  "You're kidding, right?" 
Langly blurted out.

"Yes and no.  There was some confusion with another test.  
Will's mine, there's no doubt of that, but I'd like this other 
cleared up."

All three just looked at him for a moment.  Byers moved first.  
He nodded to Mulder and headed for the other room.  The 
other two moved in opposite directions and took seats at 
computers.

Mulder squatted down in front of Will.  "Do you understand 
what's going on?"

The boy nodded.  "You want to prove that I really did pull the 
hair out of my head.  Daddy, I did, honest."

Mulder pulled Will against him, hugging him tight.  "You 
should have told me you had questions about your mother."

"I just . . . if she found out she'd blame you or, or maybe not 
let me see you."

Mulder just closed his eyes and held the boy tighter.  

Byers reappeared then.  "Ready?"  He leaned down to Will 
and took a swipe of the inside of his cheek.  He capped the 
container and took it over to Frohike.  When he returned he 
did the same for Mulder and took that the Langly.  "We won't 
get them confused, Mulder.  Don't worry."

Mulder nodded, then moved over to Frohike's worksite.

That left Dana and Will alone.  They took a seat on the 
couch and after a moment Will looked up at her.  "You hate 
me, don't you," Will said, his voice full of hurt.

"No, no Will.  That can't happen.  I wouldn't have started this 
if I didn't care so much about you."

"But you think - "

"Will, I handled this all wrong, but that's my fault, not yours.  
You and your Dad cause me to do things I don't usually do."  
She gave him a small smile.

"Why?"

"Because I love you."

His eyes widened in wonder.  "You love me?"  She nodded, 
cupping his cheek in her hand.  "What about Dad?"

"I, I think I'm falling in love with him too."  The smile on the 
boy split his face, his eyes dancing.  

She jumped when Mulder's hand came to rest on her 
shoulder.  She looked up, blushing furiously.  His eyes bored 
into hers.  Nothing was said, but he pulled her up to her feet 
and gave her a kiss, a promise of things to come.

"We need to get going.  I don't want Will to be late."

"Dad!"  He sounded betrayed.

"I know, but neither one of us needs to get in trouble with 
your Mom while we get everything straightened out."

"Will I be able to come live with you?"

"I promise I'll try."

The boy relaxed then and gave them both a hug.  Dana 
looked over at Mulder, her concern obvious.  He just 
nodded.  "Come on, guys."

She remained in the car while Mulder took Will to the door.  
Will had hugged her neck from the backseat, but his 
whispered "I love you too" had brought tears to her eyes.

When Mulder returned to the car, he didn't ask, just turned 
toward his apartment.

"Mulder - "

"Wait."

She sighed and seemed to burrow into the passenger's seat.  
When he stopped the car he turned to her.  "Please come 
back inside with me."

She opened her mouth, but then just nodded and exited the 
car.  His hand came to rest on her lower back and led her 
inside.  Once inside she turned to him immediately.  

"Mulder, I'm sorry.  I don't know what I was thinking.  I was 
totally irresponsible.  I should never - "

"Don't apologize, Dana.  Please.  I should have seen how 
unhappy he was.  I thought I was projecting my feelings on 
him."

She shook her head, but his hands caught her face and 
brought it up to him.  His kiss stopped her.  "Are you really 
falling in love with me?"

It was the tiniest of nods, but it was all he needed.  His arms 
closed around her.

*****

He picked her up at her apartment the next night.  "Before 
we go to dinner, we need to stop by the guys' place.  I got a 
call."

"They have the information already?" Her eyebrow rose.

He grinned.  "Their lab doesn't have the back up yours 
does."

She shook her head, but let him lead her to the car.

He held her hand as they waited for the door to be unlocked.  
He had her precede him inside and found Byers standing 
there waiting for them.  He glanced at Dana, then back at 
Mulder.

"I got your message."

Byers nodded.  "I, uh, we - "

"We didn't know you were bringing company," Langly came 
up behind Byers.

"She's not 'company', Langly." Mulder drew her closer.  
"Anything you say to me you can say to her."

Frohike joined them, hearing the last words.  "You might 
want to take a seat, Mulder."

"What's wrong?  The test, is something wrong?"

Byers looked over his shoulder at the other two, then back at 
Mulder.  "We've run the tests twice.  It's running a third time 
now."

"Three times?" Dana spoke then.  "Why would you do that?"

"Because we didn't understand the results," Frohike 
responded.

"And they were?" Mulder spoke up.

After one more glance at Dana, Byers nodded.  "The 
samples were identical; as though they came from the same 
person."

"He's my son."

"Actually - " Frohike started.

"He's you," Langly interrupted.

"I beg your pardon?" Dana turned to him.

"He's a clone," Frohike said flatly.

Dana smiled at that, sure he was joking.  "Very funny." 

Silently Byers handed her the report.  After a last glance at 
Langly, she looked down at the paper.  Immediately her 
attention was riveted.  "There has to be a mistake."

"You saw us take the samples.  We were very careful."

"That's, that's not possible.  We don't have the technology 
for human cloning."

"Well someone does," was Langly's response.

"And she had a strange conversation last night," Frohike 
added.

Mulder turned and stared down at the little man.  "And you 
know that how?"

"Uh, well . . . "

"You had my son tap Diana's phone?"

Frohike and Langly turned to look at Byers.  After a second 
of panic, Byers took a deep breath and met Mulder's eyes.  
"Uh, Will mentioned to us that his mother had these strange 
conversations with some man after he goes to bed at night.  
The calls upset him, it was part of the reason he wanted the 
test done in the first place.  We offered to, uh . . . "

"You had my son tap Diana's phone," Mulder repeated.

"Yeah," Byers nodded.

"You should hear it, man," Langly slouched in the chair.

Byers and Frohike nodded their agreement.  Mulder looked 
over at Dana and shrugged.  He took the earphones that 
Frohike held out to him.  He listened for a few minutes. 

Dana looked back down at the report Byers had handed her.  
She realized that Mulder had sunk into the nearest chair.  
"Mulder?"

Instead of speaking, he met each of the three men's eyes, 
then closed his eyes.  After a moment he rose.  "Get rid of 
the information.  Get it off of your computers, really off, so 
that no one can retrieve it from your hard drives."

"Mulder - "

"Burn the hard copies, burn them and stir the ashes."

"Mulder, I don't understand," she stood looking down at him.

"I'm not sure I do either completely.  We need to talk." That 
last was directed at Dana.  She nodded.

She kept quiet then, they all did.  He took her hand and 
pulled her toward the door.  "Thanks, guys.  I'll, I'll be in 
touch.  Get your computers cleaned, don't forget."

"We'll take care of it, Mulder," Byers assured him.

He hurried her to the car and she had to nearly run to keep 
up with him.  He was obviously shaken by whatever he had 
heard.  They drove in silence.  She realized he wasn't 
heading for the restaurant when he got on the highway 
headed south.

"Mulder?"

"I'll get you home in time to get ready for work."

"I'm not worried about that."

She saw that tiny nod and was silent.  

After several miles, she noted that his knuckles were white 
around the steering wheel.  She reached over and pulled his 
little finger free.  "It's okay, Mulder. Whatever it is, it's okay."

He grasped her hand then and placed it on his thigh, then 
covered it with his own.  "I hope so."

Her brow furrowed, but she didn't push him, just squeezing 
his leg and being with him.

He left the highway finally and pulled into a motel parking lot.  
"Not the fanciest place."

"It's fine and you probably won't be recognized," she gave 
him a worried smile.  "Why don't I check us in, just in case?"

He looked surprised, then grateful.  "I don't deserve you."

"I disagree.  I'll be right back."  She let herself out of the car 
after a quick kiss and headed inside.

She was back quickly with the keycards and led him inside 
through a side door close to the stairs.  She opened the door 
to their second floor room and he followed her in.

She turned to look up at him.  "Do you . . . are you hungry?"

He shook his head.  "I need to tell you about my sister."

She nodded, and took a seat on the bed.  He sat facing her 
in the only chair.

"Mulder, you've already told me about her disappearance.  Is 
there something else?"

"It bothered me that I couldn't remember that night," he said 
quickly, anxious suddenly to get the words out.  "Oh, it gave 
me some great stories to write, but besides losing 
Samantha, I had this hole in myself . . . in my soul."  He 
shrugged.  "Something traumatic had happened to me and I 
had blocked it out.  When I got back from Oxford, the 
nightmares increased.  Maybe it was being back here, close 
to home.  I started drinking.  That didn't last long, but I 
realized I needed help.  I started seeing someone, a shrink, 
and he finally recommended hypnotic regression."

He gave Dana a rueful grin at her expression.  "I know, but 
he did help me."

"You remembered?"

After a moment he nodded, but didn't continue.

"Mulder, I know you brought me here to tell me something.  
Please, talk to me."

He stared down at his hands.  "The lights went out.  
Samantha called out my name, afraid, then the house 
started shaking, like a earthquake.  There aren't a lot of 
earthquakes on the Vineyard.  Then she started screaming, 
begging me to save her.  That's when the light came on, not 
inside the house, outside; at first it was red, then hot white, 
the brightest light I've ever seen.  It was searing and it came 
in every window, the spaces around the doors . . . She kept 
screaming and I could see her then.  She, she was on her 
back, floating away from me.  I know," he looked up at her 
and his look was pleading.  "She was weightless.  I ran for 
the desk.  I knew Dad kept a gun on top of the desk in a 
locked box.  I knocked it off to the floor and it broke open.  I 
dropped to my knees to pick it up and the front door opened.  
It wasn't locked, it never was back then.  I saw it, a gray, an 
EBE."  He faced her then.

"I'm sorry, a what?"

"An EBE; exterrestrial biological entity.  An alien."  He 
seemed to run down, like his batteries had given out.

She just blinked.

"Ready to call the white coats?"  He sounded defeated.

"I'm still listening.  Mulder, please talk to me."

In a grateful voice he continued.  "He, it, came inside.  The 
police said I must have frozen because I didn't fire the gun, 
but that wasn't true.  I pulled the trigger, and I kept on pulling 
it, but the gun wouldn't fire.  It just walked toward me and 
reached out.  It touched my forehead and, and I woke up 
three days later in the hospital."  He was silent then, staring 
back down at his hands.

He jumped slightly when her hand came to rest on top of his.

"Any questions about why I didn't want to talk about it?"

"Do you have any physical evidence?"

"Me."

"What?"

He took a deep breath.  "I was a bright enough kid, good 
solid B's, until that night.  After that I was an A+ student all 
the way.  Dana, I can remember every book I've ever read, 
every movie I've ever seen, hell, every conversation I've 
ever had.  I'm one of those people who can look at a page 
and recite everything on it."

"What shook you up about the phone call Will tapped?"

"It's the first time I realized my parents, at least my father, 
was involved."

"Your father?"

"My parents fought, they fought a lot before Samantha was 
taken.  Not so much afterward, because . . . well, they were 
both numb; Dad from booze and Mom from Valium.  But 
before, Dad had 'friends' that came by.  Mom hated them; 
she didn't want them near us.  There was one; he came by 
the most often.   He was the scariest of them.  His eyes . . . 
he was completely cold.  He smoked all the time, he'd light 
the next cigarette from his current one."

"What about him?"

"That's who Diana was talking to on the phone."

She was silent for a moment.  "You're sure?"

He nodded.  They sat there for a long moment, then he met 
her eyes.  "Dr. Scully, do you believe in the existence of 
extraterrestrials?"

"I believe in Fox Mulder.  I haven't thought too much about 
the rest."

His jaw had dropped open at her words, then he clutched 
her to him.

*****

She answered the knock and her eyes narrowed.  "What are 
you doing here?  Where's Will?"

"He's safe.  I wanted to talk to you," Mulder stepped into the 
apartment without waiting for an invitation.

"I don't believe we have anything to say to each other."

"Just one thing, Diana.  I want full custody of Will."

"Right, Fox," she sneered at him.  

"I'm not kidding.  I can take you to court."

She straightened up then.  "Have you lost your mind?"

"You know I have grounds." He spoke calmly, his tone 
matter of fact.  

"Grounds?  What are you talking about?"

"He's not your son."

She blinked at that, and actually took a step back before she 
could stop herself.  "What, what do you mean?  Of course 
he's my - "

Mulder shook his head.  "I've done the testing, Diana.  I'd 
rather not have the information made public.  I think we both 
know it's not the kind of thing certain people would want well 
known, but he's mine and I want him with me."

"What, what kind of test - "

"Diana."  It was only the one word, but she retreated another 
step. 

"You can't be serious."

Mulder didn't respond to that and she paled slightly.  "Why 
did you, why did you test . . . "

"It's not important.  He wants to come live with me and I want 
him there.  Do you want me to contact my lawyer, or do you 
want to handle this more discretely?"

"I, you're crazy."

Mulder smiled then.  "Never denied it, Diana.  But I'm taking 
Will and I'll go through the court system and full publicity if I 
have to."

"Where is Will?"

"He's safe."

"That's kidnapping!"

"No, it's my weekend.  He's not supposed to be back to you 
until Sunday evening.  I want this cleared up by that time.  I 
can call my attorney right now."  He pulled his cell phone 
from his pocket.  When she didn't speak, he began to dial.

"Stop.  May I, may I see the tests?"

"Of course."  He pulled a copy from his inside jacket pocket 
and handed it to her.

She just held it, growing even more pale.  She obviously had 
not expected such cooperation.  She didn't bother to look at 
the paper.

"Diana?"

"You can't do this."

"I've done this.  That's your copy; obviously, it's not the only 
one.  I would suggest that you call your friends and tell them 
you're giving him to me.  You might also mention that the 
information you're holding is extremely available.  I think you 
understand me."

He turned then and moved toward the door.

"Fox."  He looked back.  "Don't do this.  It could be 
dangerous."

Mulder nodded.  "That's why the information is so readily 
available.  I wouldn't think that the people you work for would 
like this to be made public.  I'm fine with keeping it between 
us, as long as you and your friends stay away from my 
family, from the boy."

He reached for the doorknob and let himself out without 
another word.  In the elevator he leaned against the wall and 
closed his eyes.  Did it work?  He headed for the guy's 
place, taking the long way and doubling back several times.

They were already releasing the locks when he approached 
the door so he was inside in minimal time.  Dana was beside 
Frohike and her arms went around him instantly.  When they 
finally broke apart, she rested her head against his chest.  
"How did it go?"

"That's what I'm here to find out," he squeezed her and 
looked over at Frohike.

The older man winked and led him back toward the 
computers.  Byers was sitting there listening to something 
through the headphones.  He spotted Mulder and removed 
them quickly.

"Where's Will?"

"He's with Langly.  There was a new videogame . . . "

Mulder smiled then.  "Good, we won't be disturbed.  Did 
anything happen?"

"Did it," Frohike chortled.  "Your elevator didn't get to the 
next floor before she was on the phone."

"Did you get it?"

Byers smiled.  "That kid of yours is a natural.  Want to hear 
what we picked up?"

Mulder reached for the headphones.  When the recording 
went silent, he closed his eyes.  He felt Dana's arms close 
around him.  "Have you heard it?"

"Yes."

"You might want to take off running now," he said quietly.

"No where I want to go, Mulder, except with you."

"Why?  You didn't bargain for this."

"I don't know that I can explain it, but you, both of you, are 
important to me.  I don't want to lose that."

He opened his mouth, but then just closed it and pulled her 
close again.  That's were they were when Will raced in.

"Dad!" He threw his arms around both of them.

"Hey, Kiddo." Mulder lifted him into his arms and pulled Dana 
into the family hug.

"Am I going to live with you?"

"Workin' on it." Mulder assured the boy.  Will nodded and 
grinned at Dana.

"Dr. Scully will be with us too, won't she?"

Dana blinked at that, but Mulder's grip on her didn't loosen.  
"I'm counting on it."
If possible Will's grin grew wider as Dana gaped at both of 
them.  "We'll talk after this weekend.  Okay?"

Slowly Dana nodded her head, a small smile now gracing 
her face.

*****
Denoument

It was early, but Will wasn't with him.  He was safe with 
Dana.  The guys had been thorough in their check of her 
apartment and both of their cars.  It was an exercise he 
would continue for a long time.

He hadn't heard from Diana since he had confronted her.  
That was more annoying than frightening so far, but he 
would contact his attorney if it was necessary.

He exited the elevator and headed for the apartment. At the 
door he squared his shoulders and rang the bell.  There was 
no answer.  He tried again, then knocked.  Damn it, she 
should be home.  Finally he pulled his old key out of his 
pocket.

It fit and he pushed the door open.  He stopped dead still, his 
eyes scanning the place.  It was empty, bare to the walls.  
Even the pictures were missing.

Carefully he stepped inside.  Had she left him a note, 
anything?  He headed for Will's room and opened the door.  
It hadn't been touched.  Everything was there, all of his 
clothes, books, toys, just waiting for him to return.

He approached the bed and saw a note half hidden under 
the pillow.  "We agree to your terms, Mr. Mulder."  That was 
it, nothing else.  He picked it up using his handkerchief. 

He backed out of the room and closed the door.  Now he 
had an official question to ask Dana.


***





      Donna 
http://www.donnas-stories.com/ 
   
  "Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in 
private and wash your hands afterwards."

Robert Heinlein

  If every customer who vists Wal-Mart in a week bought one 
long-lasting compact fluorescent (CF) light bulb, that would reduce 
electric bills by $3 billion, conserve 50 billion tons of coal and 
keep one billion incandescent light bulbs out of landfills over the 
life of the bulb. - Fortune Magagine 8/7/06