Flight into Egypt:  Remembrance (6 of 10)
by Vickie Moseley

Hale Household
9:06 am

Father and son were in the backyard, amid a 
glorious summer morning.  The yard had been 
transformed recently.  Although considerable 
lumber and construction equipment was taking up 
the front yard, the backyard now looked like a Little 
League Baseball camp, complete with paced off 
bases.  Mulder and William stood on the pitchers 
mound.

"OK, sport, now Dad wants to teach you the fine art 
of the knuckleball," Mulder said with a wink as he 
knelt down beside his son.

"Chuckleball," William repeated incorrectly, but 
with all the seriousness of the answer to a question 
on an orals review.

"Knuckle, William.  Knuckleball.  See, see how 
Daddy has his knuckles right up against the ball?  
And when you throw the ball, it doesn't spin so it 
flies funny.  Like this," he said, giving the ball a 
pitch and the two, father and son, watched it wobble 
through the air toward the net backstop Mulder had 
ordered from the internet.  "See?  Did you see how 
it went all wiggy?  The pitcher won't know what's 
coming at him.  He'll think it's going way over out 
of his strike zone so he won't swing at it."

William nodded solemnly.  "Can I try, Daddy?"

"Sure thing, son.  Here, just give me your hand."  
Mulder took the small boy's hand and tried to 
fashion the fingers around the Rawlings leather ball 
in the traditional knuckle grip, but soon discovered 
there was a growth issue involved.  William's 
toddler hands were small and the fingers were still 
too stubby to get around the ball.  "Well, maybe 
we'll have to practice it on a tennis ball for a while.  
Let's go find one of those fuzzy green balls Mommy 
uses when she plays with Aunt Mary."

"Are you intending on going to class today?" Scully 
called from the back door to the kitchen.  

"Aw, Mom.  Can't you call me in sick?" Mulder 
shot back with a wide grin.  Scully made a face at 
him and retreated back into the kitchen.

"Daddy, are you sick?" William asked anxiously as 
he looked up at his father.

"No, buddy, no.  I just wanted to play hooky.  Stay 
home and play with you," Mulder answered 
truthfully, then realized that probably wasn't the 
best answer because it might lead to more 
questions.

"But you have to teach class so the students can 
learn," William countered, his expression just as 
solemn as when he was concentrating on the 
knuckleball technique.

"I know, I know.  But sometimes, when the day is 
this pretty and warm and you've got a good friend to 
play with -- "

"I'm the good friend, right?" Will asked hopefully.

"You're my best friend, buddy," Mulder answered, 
lifting his son up into his arms.  "You and your 
Mom and your sisters.  You are all my best friends.  
My best friends and my family.  I love you so 
much," he added, hugging the boy close.

"You're my best friend, Daddy," William agreed.

They made their way into the kitchen, which was 
organized chaos at that moment.  Meg had Sammi 
in the infant bathtub on the kitchen table, the baby 
was cooing as she splashed in the water.  Scully was 
sitting at the table, talking to Missy, who was 
nursing again.  Occasionally a workman would 
come through to fill his coffee thermos and head 
back to the construction on the far end of the house.

"You'd been get moving or you'll be late," Scully 
warned.  "It's already after 9."

"I'm always the first one there," Mulder pointed out 
as he started to fill his own travel mug with coffee 
but noticed the carafe only had half a cup.  "What 
happened to the coffee?"

"I can't have all those men working back there and 
not offer them coffee," Scully said as if it were 
perfectly self-evident.  "Here, you can take the rest 
of mine."

"It's decaf," Mulder whined.  "And you put milk in 
it," he added with a frown.

"I made a new pitcher of tea just a few minutes ago.  
It's in the fridge," Meg offered with a grin.

"You're a life saver, Meggie," Mulder told her and 
went about filling his travel mug with iced tea.  

William came up behind Mulder and hugged him 
around the legs.  "Play hooky, Daddy," he begged.

"I would, buddy, but I really need to get to class.  
You can stay and play with Meg.  How does that 
sound?"

"Meggie's my friend," Will told his father.

"And you are my friend," Meg told the little boy 
with a smile.

"This is just a very friendly place," Mulder 
pronounced and looked around for his briefcase, 
which he finally found next to the front door.  
Scully was behind him, carrying Missy, who was 
still nursing.

"Doesn't that hurt, doing that while you're 
walking?" Mulder asked with a wince.

"Not at all.  As a matter of fact, Mulder, women 
long ago used to carry their babies with them into 
the fields as they worked."

He leaned in close, so that only Scully could hear.  
"Bet you couldn't autopsy like that," he said with a 
smirk.

"Try me," she countered with a self-satisfied grin 
and gave him a kiss goodbye.

"I will, later.  I'm late.  Love you!" he called as he 
bounded down the front porch steps.

It was a forty minute drive on a nice day, when 
Mulder was fairly certain the Montana Highway 
Patrol wasn't watching, so he made it just in time to 
get to his class and set up the projector and DVD.  
Soon, the classroom was filled with students, 
mostly girls, he now noted after his conversation 
with Scully a few mornings before.  "All right 
people, wipe the sleep out of your eyes, break out 
the jujubes and Mike and Ikes, we have a classic on 
our hands.  I found '13 Ghosts' -- the original, not 
that crummy remake, on Netflix the other night.  
Remember, we're analyzing the plot -- "

"Plot?  What plot?" joked a tan young man in the 
second row.

"Very funny, Mr. Andrews," Mulder retorted in a 
perfect deadpan.  "If you can keep your eyes off 
Ms. Halstrom halter top and up here on the screen 
for the length of the movie, I think you will find that 
there is indeed a plot, and a pretty complex one.  
Mr. Bailey, if you would be so kind as to hit the 
lights?"

An hour and a half later, there was a loud gasp as 
Mulder turned off the DVD right at a particularly 
suspenseful moment.  "That's all the time we have 
today, kiddies.  We'll finish this up on Thursday."

"Dr. Hale, has anyone ever told you that you're a 
sadist?" asked the young Mr. Andrews.

"If you're that into the movie, Jared, just rent it.  Or 
better yet, show up on Thursday.  Seems like you 
have a problem getting to both classes during the 
week," Mulder said, folding his arms.

"I work on Wednesday nights," the young man 
admitted with a blush.  "I only oversleep on 
Thursdays."

"Hey, I tended bar to get through college, too.  I 
know it's rough, but sometimes you just have to 
drag your sorry -- butt -- out of bed and get to class, 
ya know," Mulder commiserated.

A young lady with a flower tube top and cut off 
jeans waited for him at the door.  "Dr. Hale, I lost 
my syllabus," she said with a sorrowful expression.

"Did I just give you one last week, Lindsay?" 
Mulder asked as he walked down the hall of the 
academic building, with the girl trailing behind him.

"You did, but I put it in my car and I think my little 
brother made it into spit ball.  I need another one," 
she said with a hopeful smile.

Mulder shook his head and opened the door to the 
English Department offices.  The Department 
secretary, Miss Jenkins, looked up quickly when 
they entered the room.  

"Lindsay needs another syllabus, Miss Jenkins," 
Mulder said as he headed toward the little office 
that was assigned to him and another professor.

"Dr. Hale, when you have a minute?" Miss Jenkins 
said formally.  Mulder was still getting used to Miss 
Jenkins.  He suspected the woman was older than 
many of the buildings on campus.  The professor he 
shared his office with had jokingly said the old bat 
was actually the ghost of the former Department 
secretary who simply refused to leave her post.  

He dropped his briefcase on his desk and grimaced.  
Whenever he had to deal with Miss Jenkins he 
could never shake the feeling he was being called to 
the principal's office.  Or called on the carpet in 
Skinner's office.  

That thought caused a twinge in his chest.  He'd 
never burdened Scully, but she wasn't the only one 
who sometimes missed their old life.  He often 
wondered how AD Skinner had fared since their last 
meeting, provided the man had even survived the 
backlash that had caused the disappearance of DD 
Kersh from the FBI org chart he'd found on line.  
He'd noticed that AD Skinner's name was not 
among the phone listings.  That saddened him more 
than he was willing to admit.

"Dr. Hale?" Miss Jenkins called.  He realized he'd 
been woolgathering while the 'old bat' was waiting.  
It was time to face the music.

"Yes, Miss Jenkins?  If it's about replacing the 
carafe to the coffeemaker, I promise, I'll pick up a 
new one before next week."

"Oh, yes, the carafe.  Thank you, but that's not why 
I needed to talk to you," she said primly.  "There 
was a gentleman here earlier today asking for you."

"A man?  Asking for me?  A student or maybe a 
parent?"  For some reason, it disturbed Mulder 
greatly that someone had been looking for him.  If 
Scully had been around she would have accused 
him of being 'Spooky' again.

"Yes.  A nice gentleman, fifties, I would say.  He 
wore a nice suit but was terribly wrinkled.  Bald, 
wire rimmed glasses . . ."

Mulder's heart froze in his chest.  The description 
Miss Jenkins had given was Walter Skinner.  But 
could it really be Walter Skinner?  He'd seen too 
much to take things at face value.  But if it really 
was Skinner, what was he doing here, in Montana?  
"Did he leave a name?" he asked anxiously.

"No, he didn't, though I did ask.  He said he would 
be by later, after class.  I directed him to the student 
center for coffee, since our coffee pot is inoperable 
at the moment," she said and went back to her 
typing.

"Um, thanks."  Mulder turned and went back to his 
office.  He sat at his desk with the lights still off.  
What should he do?  Call Scully?  Leave?  Go 
home, pack up the kids and the five of them head 
for the hills, Canada, Mexico, anywhere they could 
drive until they ran out of land?

But on the other hand, what if it really was Skinner 
and he needed their help?  Could he run from their 
old boss?  Could he deny anything to the man who'd 
risked his career and his life to save Mulder from 
certain death?  

Nervously, he chewed on his bottom lip and 
watched the door.  When it opened a few minutes 
later, he jumped a foot and then forced himself to 
relax.

"If you don't mind taking a seat, I'll see if Dr. Hale 
is in," Miss Jenkins said formally.  Mulder could 
hear them plainly.  Hell, anyone in the outer office 
could probably hear Mulder's heart pounding in his 
chest.  Miss Jenkins tapped on the doorframe, since 
he'd inadvertently left the door open and smiled 
thinly at him.

"Your visitor is here, Dr. Hale," she said and stood 
aside.  Mulder nodded, wiped his sweating palms on 
his pants legs and rose stiffly.  He walked slowly 
toward the outer office and Jenkins gave him a look 
that bordered on impatient disgust.  He cleared his 
throat and looked at the man sitting in one of the 
waiting room chairs.

Walter Skinner had been watching the door to the 
hallway when Mulder entered, but he jerked his 
head around and up to face the young man.  For a 
moment, neither moved, neither spoke.  Then, 
slowly, Skinner rose to his feet.  He seemed 
nervous, almost as nervous as Mulder felt.  
Carefully, he extended his hand.  Holding it so that 
Miss Jenkins didn't notice, a small cut probably 
made by a penknife, marred the surface of his index 
finger.  A tiny drop of bright red blood hung to the 
edge of the cut.  Mulder's breath caught in his throat 
and his fought the urge to touch the blood.  Their 
eyes met and Mulder nodded.  "If you could join 
me?" he said, jerking his head toward the door to 
his office.

"Certainly, Dr. Hale," Skinner replied and smiled 
wanly at Miss Jenkins, who was already back at her 
typing.

Mulder led the way into the office and then moved 
to close the door.  As soon as the door shut, both 
men let out a breath of relief.  "Sir, what are you 
doing here?"

"Mulder, my god, I never thought, I didn't think I'd 
ever find you," Skinner said in a rushed whisper.  

"How did you find me?" Mulder asked tersely.

"You bought a house.  The information was slipped 
to me."

"In DC?" Mulder prodded.

"No, in Los Angeles.  It's a long story."

Mulder crossed his arms.  "I have time."

Skinner remembered the other times he'd felt like 
this, under Mulder's microscope.  He knew the 
younger man trusted him, probably as much as he 
trusted anyone aside from Dana Scully, but that 
wasn't saying much.  Skinner looked around the 
room, wondering if that was the best place for their 
discussion.  Suddenly, he eyes rested on a framed 
photograph on the windowsill beside Mulder's desk.

In the picture, a smiling Mulder sat beside a radiant 
Scully, his arm around her waist.  William was 
perched on his father's knee, mugging it up for the 
camera.  Scully's lap was taken up by a bulging 
maternity dress; her face was full, as it had been 
when she was carrying William.  

Mulder watched the reaction on his former boss's 
face.  "That was taken on our anniversary," he said 
with a fond smile.

"Anniversary?  You're married?" Skinner asked.

Mulder winced.  "Not exactly.  Scully has decided 
that we -- well, we treat March 6 as our anniversary.  
People around here think we've been married 12 
years."

Skinner frowned without understanding and then he 
slowly nodded.  "That was the day Scully was 
assigned to the X Files, wasn't it?"

"The day after, actually.  It was the day we left for 
Oregon, on our first case," Mulder corrected.

In the darkened room, Skinner wiped at his eye and 
cleared his throat.   "You both -- all three of you 
look very happy," he said.  "You had twins?  Twin 
girls?"

Mulder looked at Skinner warily.  

"The same way I found out about the house," 
Skinner explained with a shrug.

"Which means you aren't the only one who knows," 
Mulder said flatly.

"I had to do some digging to find you, Mulder.  And 
it was a long shot."  Skinner was suddenly very 
tired.  He sat heavily on the old battered couch 
along the wall.  "I went to the Van de Kamps," he 
said evenly.  "Gibson Praise was there.  He told me 
William was gone and he believed he was with 
you."

"The Van de Kamps were clones," Mulder said, 
perching on the edge of his desk.  Skinner raised his 
eyebrow and Mulder shrugged on shoulder.  "I can't 
tell you how we got there, how we found him.  I just 
. . . I had a little help from above.  But when we 
arrived, there were two puddles of green goo on the 
floor, and I found William in a crib in the basement.  
It looked like they'd built the nursery down there on 
purpose.  I think the rock walls of the basement had 
magnetite in them.  There was a hole in the wall 
near the crib."

"My god," Skinner gasped.

"We must have just missed the action, because 
William was screaming but he was fine.  Not 
dehydrated or anything.  He was hungry."  Mulder 
smiled at the memory of their first stop and 
discovering that Scully's milk had come back in.  
"We didn't stick around to ask questions."

"The farm was burned to the ground, recently from 
the looks of it.  For a while, I thought he was still 
there, that they had been burned in the fire," Skinner 
explained.  He looked back up at Mulder.  "Clones?  
How could that be?  I made the contacts, I made 
sure that everything was handled --"

"Sir, Walter, you can't blame yourself.  Even if they 
were clones, they were taking good care of him.  I 
sometimes wonder if they were just waiting for us 
to come get him.  But the others, those hybrids -- "

"The supersoldiers," Skinner interrupted.

"Whatever they are, like Rohrer, they must have 
gotten there first.  But they didn't touch him.  He 
was perfect.  Still, we got as far away from there as 
we could that first day.  We came north and settled 
here."

"You've been here all this time, two years?"

Mulder nodded.  "We thought we were off their 
radar," he said sadly.

"Something has been happening.  The men who 
were on your jury, the ones Gibson told us weren't 
human, they're systematically being killed."

"What's been turned up during the investigations?" 
Mulder asked, leaning forward with interest.

"That's just it.  There haven't been any 
investigations.  It's being covered up.  They just 
cease to exist.  They have no families to put up any 
protest.  They're names are removed -- it's like they 
never existed."

"But within the Bureau -- " Mulder blurted, 
confusion plain on his face.

"I don't know what to tell you, Mulder.  I'm no 
longer in a position to know what goes on at the 
top," Skinner said, holding his hands out in a sign of 
resigned frustration.

"They didn't fire you, did they?"

"No.  Worse.  They put me in VCS as an agent.  I'm 
not even allowed in the field.  Remember your old 
duty on background checks?"  He waited for the 
young man to grimace and nod.  "I think I have 
your old chair."

"Damn it," Mulder huffed out a curse.  

"Look, I came to warn you as much as to see you 
again.  I knew that if you were here, had been here 
long enough to settle in, that you wouldn't be 
expecting anyone to come after you now."

Mulder rubbed his face with his left hand.  "I want 
you to come back home with me."

Skinner shook his head.  "No, Mulder, that would 
be too dangerous.  The last murder occurred in Los 
Angeles.  Agent Kallenbrunner and I both witnessed 
it."  

At the former prosecutor's name, Mulder flinched.

"It's all right.  We're sort of on the same side.  At 
first I thought he might be in danger, that the 
murderer might come after everyone at the trial.  
But when Galbriath was killed in LA, I chased the 
killer down an alley.  He had every opportunity to 
kill me.  But he didn't."

"Maybe someone scared him off," Mulder 
suggested.

"No, he even spoke to me, right before he punched 
my lights out.  He told me to go home, before I got 
hurt."

"Not the usual greeting card of a killer," Mulder 
mused.

"My thought precisely.  But he might be following 
me now and I can't risk leading him to your home.  
Not with Scully and the little ones there."

Mulder chewed on his lip and then reached behind 
him to grab the phone.  Hastily he dialed a couple of 
numbers and pursed his lips, waiting for the pick up 
on the other end.

"Scully, it's me.  I've got someone in my office who 
doesn't know the meaning of the words 'you're 
coming home with me.'  Do you think you could 
persuade him?"  He then handed the phone over to 
Skinner with a shit-eating grin.

Skinner's eyes flared as he took the phone and put it 
to his ear.  "Scully, it's Walter.  Walter Skinner."  
He had to hold the phone out to avoid a busted 
eardrum.  He tried, unsuccessfully, to get a word in 
edgewise, but in the end, he was nodding, even 
though the other party couldn't see him do it.

"Yes, of course.  But I don't want to be a bother --  
No, that' wasn't what I was implying.  No, I'll be 
there.  We'll be leaving -- " he looked up at Mulder 
for a time and the man glanced at his watch and 
held up three fingers.  " -- three o'clock, I guess.  
Yes, I'll do that."  He glared at Mulder as he handed 
him the phone.  "You set me up."

"Sure as shootin'," Mulder said with a smile.  He 
took the phone and talked to his partner for a few 
brief minutes and then hung up with an "I love 
you."

"Well, I have a class in an hour, so let's head over to 
the local McDonald's and I'll let you spring for 
lunch.  Then, you're welcome to hang out here, or 
sit in the class."

"What are you teaching?  Psychology?" Skinner 
asked, following Mulder out of the office.

"English.  I have two sections this summer.  Intro to 
novels and Horror movies: fact or fiction."

Skinner rolled his eyes and shook his head.  "Why 
am I not surprised?"  

end of part 6

Flight into Egypt:  Remembrance (7 of 10)
by Vickie Moseley

Hale Household
4:00 pm

"Honey, I'm home," Mulder quipped as he ushered 
Skinner into the house.  "And I brought the boss 
home with me.  Remember, no witchcraft."

Skinner just rolled his eyes.  Mulder was enjoying 
himself too much.  Suddenly, from the hallway, a 
ball of blue and red streaked across the floor and 
attached itself to Mulder's leg.

"Hi Daddy!" squealed William, hugging on for dear 
life as Mulder tried to walk with the new appendage 
on his leg.

"Hey, buddy!  Did you have fun today?" Mulder 
asked.  Will nodded vigorously.  "Good.  I want you 
to meet someone."

Will looked up and noticed that his father was not 
alone.  His eyes grew to the size of saucers and he 
sidestepped his way around Mulder's legs until he 
was peeking out from behind them.  Skinner tried to 
look as non-threatening as possible.

Mulder saw his son's reaction and smiled.  "He's not 
used to a lot of people.  We have some friends and 
Scully and I take him to church, but we're pretty 
isolated out here."

"I understand," Skinner said casually.

Mulder knelt down so that he was eye-level with the 
boy.  "William, remember Mommy and me telling 
you stories about where we used to live and the 
people there?"  The little boy was chewing on his 
bottom lip, an exact replica of his father under 
stress, but he nodded in acknowledgement.  "Well, 
this is Walter Skinner."

At that, William's eyes lit up and he smiled a big 
toothy grin.  "Uncle Walter!" he cried out and 
lunched toward Skinner's legs, almost knocking the 
man over in the process.  

Skinner was stunned, but recovered quickly and 
picked the child up into his arms.  "Hi, William.  
Boy, you sure have grown since the last time I saw 
you."

"I was a baby!" William confirmed.  "We used to 
live far away, but now we live here by the Old 
Man."

Skinner looked over at Mulder for interpretation.  
"The mountain behind the house.  During certain 
times of the day it sort of looks like an old man," 
Mulder explained.  Skinner nodded.

"Walter?"  At the sound of her voice, Skinner jerked 
his head up and saw Scully standing in the doorway, 
a smile on her face.

Scully looked years younger than he last 
remembered.  Her hair was longer, pulled back in a 
ponytail that made her look like a teenager.  She 
was wearing denim pants cut just below her knees 
and a loose shirt that looked like it could have 
belonged to Mulder, the sleeves rolled to her elbows 
and the shirttails knotted at her waist.  This was not 
the world-weary traveler who had begged his help 
to save her partner's life on that night two years ago.  
This woman was whole and happy.

"Walter," she said again and this time stepped 
forward to encircle his waist in a hug.  She looked 
up at him and smiled.  "You're a sight for sore eyes.  
C'mon, dinner's almost ready.  I made beef stew and 
biscuits."

"I thought that's what I smelled," Mulder grinned 
appreciatively.  "C'mon, buddy.  Let's show Uncle 
Walt where he can wash up."

They had just finished dinner, Skinner couldn't 
remember when he'd last tasted food, much less 
enjoyed it so much, when the small radio on the 
cabinet let out an ear-piercing squeal.

"Sammi's awake," William said knowingly.

When a second cry joined the first, he smiled 
brightly.  "Missy's awake, too, Mommy," he told his 
mother.

"How is it they always seem to know when we're 
eating?" Mulder groused as Scully pushed away 
from the table.

"They are your daughters, Mulder.  They probably 
smell the food," she said.  "You guys finish up.  
Meggie made banana cake this afternoon.  Will, 
show Daddy where you helped her put the cake.  I'll 
be down when I get them fed."

"Call when you want to come down.  I'll help 
carry," Mulder called to her retreating back.

"The cake is in the pantie, Daddy," Will said, 
pointing to the back of the kitchen.  

"Pant-REE, Will.  I'll get it.  Can you get little 
plates and clean forks?"

Will nodded and scurried over to the cupboard.  He 
pushed a step stool into place and scrambled up it, 
allowing him to reach the requested plates.  
Carefully, he counted.  "One - two - three -- Daddy, 
do I count Mommy?"

"You know Mommy loves banana cake, Will.  
Better count her, too," Mulder answered.  

Skinner watched in awe.  Mulder carried a metal 
cake pan over to the table and pulled a spatula from 
the crock sitting next to the stove.  By this time Will 
had placed the plates and forks on the table and had 
already crawled up into his booster seat, 
anticipation on his chubby face.  Mulder looked 
over at his former superior and raised an eyebrow.

"Something wrong, Walt?" he asked, concerned.

"I just . . . I just didn't . . . I don't know what I 
expected but -- "  Skinner was having trouble 
putting his feelings into words.  "I guess I thought 
you'd be in hiding."

"Living in ratty motels, changing hair color each 
time we moved, never staying in one place more 
than a week or two?" Mulder supplied.

Skinner looked up abruptly and held Mulder's gaze.  
"Yeah, I guess so."

Mulder cut the cake and placed a small piece on one 
plate, placing it in front of William.  He cut three 
larger pieces and placed them each on plates, 
handing one to Skinner and keeping one for 
himself.  He put the last piece at Scully's place for 
her return.  "We did, you know," he said after he'd 
sat down, his cake untouched.  

Skinner kept silent, eating his cake, but looked over 
at Mulder.

"That first night, after we'd had the run in with that 
black lunged -- you know who and we'd escaped the 
black helicopters, we ended up in a motel in 
Roswell."  Skinner cracked a smile as Mulder 
continued.  "We fully intended to hit the road the 
next day and keep running, just as you thought we 
did."

"What changed your mind?" Skinner asked.

Mulder's eyes drifted over to his son and his lips 
formed a soft, fond smile.  "We'd forgotten to pack 
something," he said simply.

"But how . . . how did you find . . .?"  Skinner didn't 
want to say too much in front of the boy, it was 
obvious this 'little pitcher' had inherited his father's 
'big ears', not to mention an innate intelligence from 
both his parents.

"I had a dream, a vision, I don't know what you 
would call it.  My father and Scully's, they came to 
me and told me where to find . . . what we were 
missing most.  I drove straight there, the next day.  I 
didn't even tell Scully for fear it might just have 
been a stupid dream, that it wasn't real.  But he was 
there, as I told you, in that basement.  God, I'd never 
been so happy and so scared in my life," Mulder 
admitted with a smile.  "And that was it.  That 
night, the second night we were on the run, I was 
told to come here.  I didn't know what I'd find, 
didn't know how we were going to fit in.  It just all 
worked."

Skinner pulled off his glasses on the pretense of 
cleaning them, but Mulder caught him wiping his 
eyes when the older man thought he wasn't looking.  
"I'm glad.  I hated the thought that . . . well, let's be 
honest, you two had been through more circles of 
hell -- "

"'Heck,' Uncle Walter.  Mommy don't like naughty 
words," William advised him in hushed tones.

Skinner bit the inside of his cheek to keep from 
laughing.  "No, I seem to remember that about your 
mother," he agreed.

Skinner helped Mulder and Will clean up after 
dinner.  Scully called down a little while after and 
Mulder ran up the stairs to help her carry the twins 
down to see their 'Uncle Walter' too.  The three 
adults talked quietly while Mulder rocked one baby 
and Scully held the other, Will playing with Legos 
at their feet.  When the clock on the mantel chimed 
8 o'clock, Will started to whine.  "I wanna stay up 
with Uncle Walter," he said, rubbing his eye with 
one little fist.

"Uncle Walter will be here in the morning.  Maybe 
you can show him how to make oatmeal," Mulder 
suggested, lifting the small boy up onto his 
shoulders.  "Tell Uncle Walter 'good night'."

"'Night, Uncle Walter."

"I'll be back to help with the girls in a minute," 
Mulder said as he headed for the stairs.

"Can I help?" Skinner asked, almost afraid they 
might take him up on the offer.

"Sure," Scully said easily.  "Here, you take Missy 
and I'll take Sammi," she told him.  Carefully, she 
placed the infant in Skinner's large hands.  He was 
immediately enraptured by the tiny life he held so 
close to his heart.

"She's so light," he commented.  

"Thank heavens," Scully said breezily.  "Believe 
me, they felt like a lead balloon those last few 
weeks before delivery."

Skinner ended up being pressed into service reading 
William 'Dinosaur's Blanket', a story the boy knew 
by heart and kept encouraging the former Assistant 
Director when the man stumbled over the phrasing.  
Finally, with nightlights on and kisses given, all was 
quiet upstairs and the adults retreated to the living 
room.

"So you think they were supersoldiers?" Scully 
asked, sitting cross-legged on the sofa next to 
Mulder.

"I don't know what they were, Scully.  I just know 
that they've been in positions of power within the 
Bureau for the last two years.  And now, they're 
being systematically eliminated."

"Like the Smiths?  Like the Igor clones?" Mulder 
mused aloud.

"The supersoldiers could only be killed by 
magnetite and even then it takes incredible 
concentrations.  Still, why would there be one man -
- "

"Maybe not a man, Scully," Mulder interrupted.

"OK," she agreed with a frown, "one 'entity' going 
after all of them.  From what I gathered there were 
hundreds all over the world.  Maybe even 
thousands."

"I don't know," Skinner said with a frustrated growl 
as he leaned against the fireplace.  "I can only report 
what I know and what I saw with my own eyes."

Scully smiled at him.  "I know the feeling," she said 
with a wink.  She turned serious and looked over at 
her partner.  "Do you think he'll come for William?"

Mulder closed his eyes and let his head fall back 
against the sofa.  "It's possible.  Maybe even 
probable.  Tell me more about this Josepho 
character, the one who tried to take William," he 
said to Scully.

She shook her head.  "No, no, I won't accept that 
they're connected," she said emphatically.

"Scully, they're killing supersoldiers.  You were 
told once that William was thought to be -- "

"No!  Mulder, he's your son.  Your DNA.  He's not 
an experiment!"

"Scully, the experiment claim was just a red 
herring.  I know he's mine, I see me in his looks, his 
attitude and I'm not talking the fact that he's around 
me to mimic me.  But think about my life before 
William was conceived.  I was infected with the 
alien virus, not once but twice.  That could have 
changed my DNA.  I was so profoundly affected by 
the rubbings on that spacecraft that I almost died.  I 
had a growth in my brain, Scully.  And we never 
knew what they did to you, not entirely.  Yes, they 
took your ova, but not all of them, as we've proven 
twice already.  Maybe they weren't harvesting as we 
thought.  Maybe they were pruning, so that only the 
right ova remained."

Tears were streaming down her face as she glared at 
Mulder.  "They are our babies, Mulder.  How can 
you talk about them -- "

He softened and pulled her into an embrace, 
stroking her hair.  "I know they are our babies.  I 
love them.  I would die for them, just as I would die 
for you.  I'm not saying they're freaks, I'm saying 
they're special.  And the qualities that make them 
special could also put them in danger."

"What are you saying?" she asked, pulling back to 
meet his gaze.

"Maybe we should consider leaving.  Moving on."

"Running," she said flatly.

"For a while.  Just until we think it's safe," he 
offered.  At that, she hugged him again and the tears 
started once more.

"Jeff Spender said he cured William," Scully 
sobbed into his shirt.

"But what about the dream?" Mulder whispered.  
"The bad dream William had just a few nights ago."

"Daddy, Mommy?"  All three adults looked up 
suddenly as William appeared, sleepy eyed, in the 
doorway to the living room.

"Hey, buddy," Mulder said.  Scully sat up and 
Mulder opened his arms to the boy.  "C'mere.  Did 
we wake you?"

William shook his head, but crawled up on Mulder's 
lap.  Scully had turned away, wiping her eyes 
before turning to smile at her son and ruffle his hair.

"Too much excitement, having Uncle Walter here, 
huh, Sweetheart?"

"No, Mommy.  Missy and Sam woke me."

Scully looked over at the baby monitor on the side 
table and frowned.  "We didn't hear them."

"No," William said, with the same exasperated look 
Mulder often affected.  "Not the babies.  The other 
Missy and Sam.  The ladies!"

Mulder drew in a deep breath and licked his lips.  
"What did they say this time, Will?" he asked 
cautiously.

"They said to tell you to stay here.  It will all be 
OK."

Scully glanced over at Mulder.  He shook his head 
from side to side.  Skinner watched them and waited 
for an explanation.  When one wasn't forthcoming, 
he spoke up.

"Ladies?  What's he talking about?"

"It's late, buddy.  Daddy will take you up to bed and 
tuck you in."

"Daddy, they said we'd be OK.  We just have to 
believe," the little boy insisted as his father hefted 
him in his arms and started walking toward the 
stairs.  "And they said to tell Mommy not to cry."

Scully bit her lip but kept silent.  She waved a timid 
good night to her son and blew him a quick kiss.

"Scully?" Skinner asked when they heard Mulder's 
heavy footsteps in the upstairs hall.

"He has dreams, Walter.  We think . . . we think 
maybe he has visitations."

"Visitations?  That sounds religious," Skinner said 
slowly.

"Visitations from his dead aunts.  You do the math," 
Scully said wearily.

"And what he was talking about -- about staying 
here?  That came from . . ."

"My sister Melissa and Mulder's sister Samantha," 
Scully said, drawing in a deep breath.

Skinner's jaw dropped open.  "You aren't suggesting 
-- "

"Still can't believe, Walter?" Scully teased with a 
sad smile.  "Yes, I am suggesting.  I've had a visit 
myself."

Mulder rejoined them, settling back on the sofa and 
drawing Scully back toward him to rest against his 
shoulder.  "So, I guess that handles that problem."

"We have to believe," Scully said putting her hand 
on his chest and straightening up.  "But we don't 
have to wait here like sitting ducks."

"You want to get reinforcements?" Mulder asked.

"I think we should call Kallenbrunner," Skinner said 
quietly.

Anger flashed in Scully's eyes.  "No, not him.  He's 
a . . . a . . . that rat -- "

"Watch those naughty words, Mommy," Mulder 
teased.  When she flashed a glare in his directions 
he held up his hands in surrender.  "The man was 
just doing his job, Scully."

"The Nuremburg Defense, Mulder?  How lame!" 
she growled with a huff.  "No, I don't trust him."

"Then who?" Skinner asked impatiently.

"Do you want to call Doggett?" Mulder offered.

She shook her head.  "No, I don't think we could get 
him up to speed fast enough and besides, he would 
never believe half of what we know.  No."

"Well, I don't think Joe and Mary C. would be much 
help," Mulder said through gritted teeth.  "They 
aren't trained and I don't want to put them in 
danger."

"Scully, I know you don't like Peter Kallenbrunner.  
Hell, I don't like him, either.  But he did help me in 
Los Angeles.  And I think he's come to understand 
what his role was in that trial.  I think he regrets his 
actions.  For the record, he believes what you said 
on the witness stand, at least he does now."

"You trust him, Walter?" she asked.  "You trust him 
with my babies lives?"  Her hard expression and 
dark eyes warned him to tread carefully.

"Yes, Dana.  Yes, I do.  I think he can help us."

She nodded once and licked her lips.  "OK.  Call 
him.  We need him here by tomorrow."

Mulder showed Skinner where the phone was in the 
kitchen and he quickly placed the call.  In a few 
minutes, he was back.  "He got a flight, he'll arrive 
at Helena airport at 11 tomorrow."

"I'll pick him up," Mulder said.  "You stay here with 
Scully."

"You sure?" Skinner asked.

"I know these roads better than you, Walt.  I'll get 
there faster and be back faster," Mulder said with a 
thin smile.

"Walter, have you talked to m-my mom?" Scully 
asked, her voice cracking a bit under the stress.

Walter sat down near Scully and took her hand.  "I 
have.  We talk from time to time.  We went together 
to Arlington Cemetery to, um, well -- "

"When?  What day?" Scully asked.

"May 19, the anniversary, well, it's what has been 
put on the stones," Skinner explained with some 
embarrassment.

"The day the twins were born," Scully said with a 
sigh.

"She knows, Scully," Skinner told her.  "She called 
me, just a day ago.  She had a dream and you and 
Mulder were holding the babies.  She knows you're 
safe."

"I want to call her so badly," Scully said, tears 
running down her cheeks.  "I miss her so much."

Mulder pulled his partner back against him again.  
"You can, Scully.  You can call her.  Just as soon as 
this is all over."

end of part 7

<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>NEW WIP:  Flight into Egypt:  Doing it Right PG (8 of 10)</TITLE></HEAD><BODY><PRE>
Title:  Flight into Egypt: Doing it Right  
(Remembrance) (8 of 10)
Author:  Vickie Moseley  
Summary:  Changes come, life moves on.  But 
could it all be swept away?
Category:  Post The Truth, married fic
Rating:  PG 13
Disclaimer:  I think the copyrights of 10-13 
Productions and FOX are still intact so I'm still not 
making any money. 
Author's notes:  This is a much longer piece in the 
Flight into Egypt universe and it would be best if 
the readers found the first five stories on my 
website http://vickiemoseley.freeservers.com to get 
up to speed.  It will be posted one part every week 
until all ten parts are posted.   Total number of parts 
subject to change, if I get too wordy.
Feedback to vickiemoseley1978@yahoo.com  
Dedicated to 'Dana', Dawn, and Ba for all your help.  
I love you!

Flight into Egypt:  Remembrance (8 of 10)
by Vickie Moseley

Hale (Mulder) Household
9:15 am

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with 
you?"  Scully asked, biting her bottom lip.  She had 
been hovering around Mulder all morning, when 
she wasn't taking care of the kids or forcing more 
food down Skinner's throat.  He saw it as a defense 
mechanism, so Mulder was willing to forgive and 
forget, but he knew they needed to talk.

"Take a walk with me," he said suddenly, grabbing 
her hand and leading her to the front door.

"The kids," she reminded him.

"We aren't going far.  Meg is with the girls and I 
think Uncle Walter has Will under control."

Scully snickered at that.  "More like the other way 
around," she whispered, so as not to be overheard 
by the big man in the living room, squatting on the 
floor playing Legos with the small boy.

"We're just going outside for a moment, Walter.  I 
won't be far," she said loud enough to be heard over 
the growling sounds William was making as he 
showed off his latest creation:  a bright red 
dinosaur.

"We're fine, Dana," Skinner called back, not 
bothering to look up as he tried to disconnect two 
blocks that seemed to be permanently locked 
together.

The sunshine greeted them warmly as they stepped 
off the porch.  The air was full of the scent of 
freshly cut wood and the off-putting aroma of paint 
thinner and other construction site smells.  They 
could hear the men shouting to each other from the 
work going on at the back of the house.  Mulder 
pulled her along until they were walking through 
the trees to the right of the mowed front lawn.  
There was a little wash back there that turned into a 
creek in the spring rains.  It still had a trickle of 
water in it.  

"Mulder, I don't want to go far," she warned.

"I can still see the house," he told her.  Then he 
pulled her into an embrace.  "Now, tell me all about 
it."

She breathed in and sighed.  "I just don't like you 
going to the airport to pick up that . . . that . . ."

"His name is Kallenbrunner," Mulder reminded her 
with twinkling eyes.

"I was trying to come up with a suitable four-letter 
word and none were coming to mind," she retorted.

He laughed and hugged her harder.  "If there is one 
thing I'm sure of, it's my ability to handle 
Kallenbrunner."

She pushed against him so she could see his face.  
"It never occurred to you that this could be an 
elaborate set up?"

He frowned.  "Skinner would never -- "

She put her finger to his lips to interrupt him and 
allow her to explain.  "No, Walter would never do 
that.  But if Walter is being manipulated . . .  
Mulder, if this was some plot to find us, to find you, 
wouldn't it make the most sense to use someone we 
trust to carry out the deed?"

He thought about that for a moment.  "I just don't 
think -- "

"Well, at least that hasn't changed," she huffed and 
broke from his arms to reach down and pick up 
pebbles from the edge of the stream.  There wasn't 
enough water to skip stones as she wanted, but they 
did make a satisfying 'plop' as she tossed them one 
by one into the little pool by her feet.

"Hey, I don't think I deserved that," he said crossly.  
"I have been thinking."

"Mulder, you run head long into every dangerous 
situation you come across!" 

He looked at her in silent frustration and finally 
reached down to pick up some of the water-
smoothed stones.  His 'plops' were louder because 
they carried more force than hers.  "The last two 
years -- "

"The last two years _began_ because you had to 
single-handedly infiltrate Mt. Weather," she 
reminded him.  "And for what?  A date.  A date that 
may or may not lead to the invasion of alien 
colonizers."

"Oh, so now we get to the real issue," he growled.  
"Scully, I thought you believed me.  Remember the 
night in Roswell?"

She turned to him, her eyes shining with tears.  "I 
will never forget the night we spent in Roswell.  But 
Mulder, don't you see?  If they take you, if they kill 
you as they most certainly will do this time, how am 
I supposed to go on?"

"If William and the girls are in danger, how am I 
supposed to sit by and let something happen to 
them?" he asked softly, pulling her to him again.  
They just stood there, holding each other for several 
heartbeats.  "You need to stay here with the kids.  I 
could take Walter, but I want you to have the 
manpower.  I really don't think I'll be in danger.  I 
think Kallenbrunner is just as scared as we are right 
now.  He was an unwitting participant in the trial, 
Scully.  He had no idea what was going on."

"He could have stopped it," she said, looking up to 
capture his gaze.  "He was a former prosecutor.  He 
knew what they were doing was wrong."

"He was a pawn," Mulder reminded her.  

She nodded, silently.  He knew she wasn't 
completely convinced, but was forced into a corner.  
She never liked being forced anywhere.  "You have 
your weapons?" she asked tersely.

"I got up early this morning and cleaned them."  He 
pulled up the leg of his Dockers so she could see his 
ankle holster and turned, pulling up his short-
sleeved polo to show her the holster on his belt.

"Think you remember how to use them?" she asked, 
but her tone was lighter now.

"Oh, I can fire them all right.  Now, actually hitting 
a target -- well, that was always a question, wasn't 
it?"

She fought the smile that threatened to break out.  
"You'll call me, several times along the way," she 
intoned.

"Fifteen minute updates.  Sheez, not even Kersh 
was this anal," he teased.  At her sour expression, he 
cocked his head.  "Yes, I will call you along the 
way.  And we won't stop for anything -- black 
helicopters, tanks, rocket grenade launchers on the 
side of the road, Celebrity Skins centerfold 
hitchhikers -- "

She rolled her eyes.  "I really don't think you'll have 
to worry about that last one," she said, crossing her 
arms and heading back to the house.

"Hey, you have to admit, it's the prefect cover!" he 
called after her.

She was waiting for him next to the car.  She ran 
her hand along the roof of the black Ford Explorer.

"It's still got some speed, Scully," he reminded her.  

"I know.  So do you.  Just remember that," she 
reminded him.  She reached up on tiptoe to kiss him 
soundly on the lips.  "Be safe, be careful.  I love 
you."

"I'll call.  I love you, too," he told her, hugged her 
once more and got into the car.  She went up to the 
porch and stood, not waving, just standing there, 
already waiting for his return.  He watched her in 
the rearview mirror until he turned the corner.

Helena Regional Airport
10:45 am

Peter Kallenbrunner didn't know what to expect 
when he got off the plane.   Skinner had been 
cryptic on the phone, just saying that he needed 
back up on the case they'd been working together.  
Kallenbrunner wasn't a field agent.  He spent all of 
his days in the office, looking over requests for 
warrants, writing administrative orders, preparing 
briefs for the Department of Justice lawyers who 
normally took over prosecution of FBI cases.  In 
short, he was totally unprepared to back up a field 
agent and scared out of his mind when he stepped 
from the hot tarmac into the cool air of the Helena 
Regional Airport's one multi-functioning terminal 
building.  That's when he came face to face with his 
worst nightmare.

Fox Mulder.

A thousand thoughts scrambled and swirled through 
Kallenbrunner's mind.  Mulder was a convicted 
killer.  Mulder had escaped Death Row.  Mulder 
was very possibly armed and dangerous.  So why 
was Mulder standing there in Dockers and a polo, in 
public, in a crowd of people, looking like he was 
coming to pick up a family member for a vacation 
in the clean, mountain air?

"Agent Kallenbrunner, it's been a while," Mulder 
greeted him with outstretched hand.  "Do you have 
checked baggage?"

Peter fought to find his bearings.  "I-I-I, uh, no.  I 
just have . . ."  Meekly he lifted his briefcase up for 
inspection.

"Ah, the kind of man who brings a knife to a gun 
fight," Mulder joked and as he noticed the other 
man pale at his words, he dropped his head and 
chuckled.  "I'm kidding, Kallenbrunner.  I'm not the 
enemy here."

"Where's Skinner?" Kallenbrunner finally found the 
voice to ask.

"Back at our house, with Scully.  I didn't want to 
leave her and the kids alone and Skinner thought it 
best if I picked you up because I know the area."

"Kids?"  Kallenbrunner was still having a difficult 
time getting up to speed.

"Our son, William.  I think he was mentioned in the 
trial," Mulder explained casually.  "And twin girls, 
six weeks old."

While they talked, they'd left the confines of the 
terminal building and were now approaching a 
black SUV parked in the lot.  Kallenbrunner 
grabbed Mulder's arm and spun the man around to 
face him.

"It was a set up, a lie!  She didn't put the boy up for 
adoption.  You had the kid secreted somewhere, 
waiting for your escape.  Her testimony was staged!  
What else was a lie?  All of it?" he demanded.

Mulder sighed heavily and shook off 
Kallenbrunner's arm.  He waited while other people 
walked passed them to their cars.  "This isn't the 
place to get into this."

"Where is the place?" Kallenbrunner asked 
defiantly, crossing his arms.

"In the car, maybe," Mulder offered, unlocking the 
driver side door.  Reluctantly, Kallenbrunner got in 
on the passenger side.

Hale Household
11:00 am

Skinner looked up at Scully, watching her as she 
spoke on the phone.  She looked relieved when she 
hung up.  

"Was that Mulder?"

"Yes," she said and let a small smile play across her 
face.  "The flight was on time, they're on the way 
back.  It should take them about an hour."

"Good," Skinner acknowledged.  

Meg Hawthorne came into the room and smiled 
shyly at Skinner before going to stand next to 
Scully.  "The girls are bathed and changed and I just 
put them down for a nap.  Can I help you make 
lunch?"

"Meg, how does your mother get along without 
you?" Scully asked affectionately as she swiped a 
lock of honey blonde hair behind the girl's ear.  

"Oh, she says I only work this hard for other 
people," Meg said happily, going to the refrigerator 
to pull out meat and cheese.  "Is it all right if I take 
off in a few minutes?  A friend of mine called this 
morning and said the pool is open, so we're going to 
go swimming."

"That should be fine, Meg.  You've been a big 
help."

"Will Mr. Hale and his friend be back for lunch?  
His other friend, I mean," Meg corrected with a 
quick, nervous glance back at Skinner.  

"Yes, there should be four adults and then Will.  
Where is he?" Scully asked, looking around.  "Oh, 
darn, he better not be bothering the workmen again.  
I should go find him."

"Dana, you work on lunch.  I'll find the little guy," 
Skinner offered, glad for a chance to move around.  
In truth, he was as nervous as Scully and would be 
until Mulder and Kallenbrunner arrived.

"Thanks, Walter," Scully said, and went back to 
making sandwiches with Meg.

Skinner looked downstairs, and then upstairs, 
finally finding the boy sitting in the hallway outside 
his sisters' nursery, playing with cars.  

"Hey, William, your mom's looking for you," he 
said, gathering up the cars in his large hands and 
helped William rise to his feet.  "Let's go downstairs 
to the kitchen and let the babies sleep."

William frowned and looked back at the partially 
closed door to the nursery.  After a tug on his hand, 
he followed Skinner down the stairs.

Outside, over where the newest part of the house 
was coming into place, one of the men looked up at 
the window with the pink ruffled curtains fluttering 
in the breeze.  "I need to run back to the shop and 
get the other 'saws-all', Mike.  This one just started 
smokin'."

"Shit, what else can go wrong today?  Sure, Chuck.  
Just hurry.  We want to get the plywood up today so 
we can put the windows in tomorrow," the foreman 
answered.  

Chuck nodded and started to walk around the front 
of the house.  A breeze caught his long brown hair 
and threatened to blow it off the back of his neck.  
Carefully, he adjusted his hat, ensuring that the 
three bumps between his shoulders would continue 
to be hidden from view.

The Road between Helena and Mt. Airy
11:30 am

"So you're saying that these, what, these men who 
are disappearing are hybrids, they aren't human?" 
Kallenbrunner asked, not bothering to hide his 
disbelief.

"Scully can tell you more, she's the expert in the 
area.  But yes, they are hybrids, created to ensure 
the alien colonization that our government is hiding 
from the populace.  The date for colonization is just 
8 years away."

"And with this knowledge, you're sitting quietly in 
western Montana, raising kids -- that's absurd!"

"What can we do about it?" Mulder growled.  "We 
were there when one of the major players was 
eliminated.  Two, if you count Rohrer, who was 
movin' pretty good for a dead man the last time we 
saw him," he added with a sneer.  "But you're little 
part in this drama guaranteed that we had no choice 
but to lay low, to get out of the game."

"Look, at the trial, I was -- "

"Doing your job, yeah, that's what I told Scully.  I 
have to thank you.  You did a hellava job.  Bringing 
up our child like he was a tabloid headline, 
hammering on her how she'd given him up for 
adoption.  Ripping her to shreds on that witness 
stand!  If we weren't in such desperate need of 
manpower, I'd stop this car and stomp the shit out of 
you, you son of a bitch," Mulder roared.

Kallenbrunner swallowed and stared out the 
passenger side window.  "I'd feel the same way, if I 
were in your shoes," he said quietly.  "And I know 
it's a little late, and not worth much, but I am sorry.  
Not just for the things I said, but for my part in this.  
I thought I was doing the right thing, I believed in 
my superiors."

Mulder digested that for a moment before speaking.  
"And now?"

Kallenbrunner continued to stare at the incredible 
mountain scenery.  "Now, I don't know what to 
believe.  But my gut tells me to trust you on this."

Mulder nodded.  "For what it's worth, I accept your 
apology."

"Good," Kallenbrunner said, turning to look at the 
former defendant.  "Now, explain to me about that 
green goo stuff."

Mulder glanced at his watch and the surrounding 
landmarks.  "I better give you the TV Guide 
Highlights version.  We're almost home."

Hale household
12:10 pm

Mulder pulled into the driveway, and stopped the 
engine.  He frowned, looking at the house.  The 
construction crew wasn't working, but it occurred to 
him it was probably lunch hour.  Even so, the men 
had usually taken lunch in the shade of the big trees 
in the front of the house, away from the work site.

"Is everything all right?" Kallenbrunner asked as he 
exited the car.

"Yeah, fine," Mulder replied absently.  Even as he 
spoke, he unclipped his holster and pulled out his 
gun, keeping it low by his leg.

He wanted to call out, but at the same time, he 
couldn't overcome the feeling that something was 
wrong.  Carefully, he opened the screen door and 
entered the house, allowing Kallenbrunner in before 
stopping the door and closing it just as silently.  He 
heard noises coming from the kitchen.

"Where is the shop?"  It was Skinner and he 
sounded pissed.

"J-j-just up the road in Mt. Airy.  Not more than ten 
minutes drive," came a very nervous male voice.

"And this guy took off how long ago?"  It was 
Skinner's interrogator's voice; Mulder would have 
recognized it anywhere.  He broke into a trot and 
skidded to a stop when he reached the kitchen door.

Scully was standing, holding William close with 
tears streaming down her face.  The man Skinner 
was questioning sat on a chair, white as a sheet.  
Skinner was as angry as Mulder could ever 
remember seeing him.  The older man's head jerked 
up when he heard Mulder enter.  Mulder found 
himself facing Skinner's aimed weapon until the 
recognition hit and Skinner lowered the gun.  He 
turned his attention back to the witness and 
continued his questions.

"How long, how long has he been gone?"

"Twenty, maybe twenty-five minutes," the man 
stumbled over the words.  

"How long has he been on your crew?"

"He just came on a couple of days ago.  But he had 
references!  We checked him out.  He was bonded," 
the man explained and turned pleading eyes toward 
Scully.  "I'm sorry, ma'ma, I'm so sorry."

"What happened?" Mulder whispered in a hoarse 
voice.  Scully realized he was in the room and 
launched into his arms, William caught in the 
middle of their embrace.  

"The girls.  One of the men took the girls," she 
sobbed.

"When?"

"Just a few minutes ago.  A truck is gone."

"No, we would have passed them on the road.  
Scully, they're still here."

"Mulder, the trucks are four-wheel drive, he could 
have taken them cross country."

"No, we would see the tracks.  He's on foot, he just 
wants us to think he took the truck."

"Where would he go?" Scully demanded, her voice 
raw from crying.

Mulder thought for a moment, his eyes coming to 
rest on the view out the back screen door.  "The 
mountain.  He could hide them there, get away 
when we're all gone looking for the truck.  I bet we 
find the truck up there, too, hidden."

"Then we go look.  Mulder, we have to find them," 
she said, wiping at her eyes.

"Mommy?" Will asked, patting her cheek.

"Buddy, not now," Mulder said, patting his back.

"Mommy, when can I wake up?" William asked, 
ignoring his father.

Scully's face threatened to break again, but she bit 
her lip and brushed the hair off her son's forehead.  
"I wish we could all wake up, sweetie."

Kallenbrunner and Skinner interrogated the rest of 
the crew.  None of them knew the new man or much 
about him.  Finally, Skinner told the men they could 
go.

Mulder was pacing the kitchen, staring out the back 
door.  "He's got them up there, Scully.  I know it," 
he growled, chewing on his lip until a drop of blood 
showed in the corner.

"Then we go look," she said, handing William to 
Skinner.

"What?  No, wait, you have to stay here," Skinner 
objected.  "I'll go with Mulder."

Scully's entire expression froze and she glanced 
down at William.  "Will, pick up your cars and take 
them into the living room for a moment.  Mr. 
Kallenbrunner will go with you."  The three men 
exchanged glances and Mulder dropped his gaze.  
He knew there was a storm brewing and just hoped 
to ride it out.

Kallenbrunner smiled at the boy.  "C'mon, William.  
Show me your other toys."  The two left the room 
quickly.  As soon as they were out of sight, Scully 
turned on Skinner.

"If you for one minute think I am going to stay 
behind while you two go search for my daughters, 
you are in for a rude awakening," she hissed, her 
eyes on fire.  "Have you lost any memory you had 
of me?  Do you honestly think I've been that 
domesticated?"  

Skinner had the good grace to flinch at that 
comment.

"Now, we are wasting precious time.  If you want to 
help us, stay here with William!"

"Scully," Mulder interrupted meekly.  "I think I'd 
rather have Skinner with us.  Kallenbrunner can 
watch Will."

She glared at him for a moment, just for his 
impertinence.  Their eyes met and she searched his.  
He knew she was asking if they could trust the 
former prosecutor.  He also knew that she would 
trust his judgment of the man.  He nodded his head 
once.  

"OK.  Walter, tell Kallenbrunner he's to stay here 
and protect my son."  Her eyes told him what would 
happen to the man if anything were to happen to the 
child.  She turned to Mulder.  "I want everyone 
armed.  You know where my gun is.  Go get it.  I'll 
go get the flashlights.  We'll head out the back and 
take the trail up the mountain."

Peter Kallenbrunner sat on the floor, looking at the 
small boy playing with his cars and trucks.  The kid 
wasn't much different from his own son at that age.  
Mike was 13 now and was into comic books and, 
heaven forbid, girls.  But it was easy to remember 
the time when he would sit on the floor and play 
with toy cars for hours.

The former prosecutor-turned-agent was so intent 
on the little boy that the attack was completely 
unexpected.  One minute there was pain, right along 
the back of his neck where his head met his spine 
and then nothing, total blackness.

William looked up at the sound and his eyes grew 
wide.  He started to scramble backward, looking for 
anyone to run to.  But a big hand reached down and 
latched onto his arm in a firm but not painful grip.

"Come with me," said the voice that William would 
never forget.

end of part 8

Flight into Egypt:  Remembrance (9 of 10)
by Vickie Moseley

Hale Household
12:35 pm

"I want my mommy!" William cried as the large 
man picked him up and cradled him in his arms.

"I'm taking you to her," came the deep voiced reply.

"Why did you hurt Mr. Peter?" William asked, 
sniffing loudly and twisting to see over the man's 
shoulder.  Kallenbrunner hadn't moved since he'd 
been hit.  William knew his mom could make the 
man better, but his mom wasn't there.

"He would have been hurt.  He's safer here."

William turned back around and looked up at the 
man holding him.  "Who are you?" he asked, 
wiping his nose with his tee shirt since he knew his 
mom wasn't around to holler at him.

"I'm a friend."

William searched the man's eyes and recognized 
something there.  The little boy smiled.

On the Trail up the Mountain

They hadn't spoken since they'd left the landscaped 
area of the backyard.  Mulder was in the lead, 
Scully right behind him, Skinner bringing up the 
rear.  Scully was searching the right of the trail, 
Mulder the left.  Scully stopped and pointed to 
something about ten yards off the path.  A rusted 
pick up with the construction company's name on 
the side was sitting empty.  They circled the vehicle 
and Mulder wordlessly pointed to a flat tire on the 
driver's side rear wheel.  

"So he's on foot," Skinner said with relief.

"The mountain is riddled with old mine shafts and 
caves," Mulder said, his voice tense.  "It's going to 
be hard to find him.

"So let's get going," Scully impatiently hissed.  

Skinner looked over at her and gave her a grim 
smile.  She'd fooled him the day before, looking so 
much like any young mother.  He'd forgotten that 
she was as battle-tested as her partner -- as Skinner 
himself, for that matter.   

Mulder was already a few yards up the path.

Hale Household

The man let William down on the ground and was 
holding his hand gently.  "We have to hurry.  If you 
get tired, I'll carry you," he told the boy.

"Did you take my baby sisters?" William asked.  It 
was a long way up to see the man's face and the 
small boy's neck was beginning to hurt for the 
trying.

"No.  Someone very bad took them.  He thinks you 
and your sisters can hurt him."

William looked up again, amazed.  "They're just 
babies.  They can't hurt you.  'Less they grab your 
hair.  That hurts my mom," he said confidently.  
"Sometimes, when Meggie forgets to cut their nails, 
they can scratch," he added, showing a healing 
scratch only an inch long on his arm.

"They can hurt him, they can kill him and his kind.  
As can you," the man said in the same 
expressionless voice he'd been using since he'd first 
spoken to the child.

"Me?" William asked, incredulous.  "My mom 
would get real mad at me.  She doesn't like my dad 
to even talk about hunting squirrels!"

"You are special, William.  You and your sisters.  
You are the hope of your world."

William just looked at the man, not sure what he 
was talking about.  "Are we gonna find my mom?"

"Soon, William.  Very soon."

The mountainside

The three stopped at a point where the trail 
branched off.  Mulder glanced over at Scully and 
saw the determined look on her face.  How was she 
managing to continue, he wondered.  All he wanted 
to do was curl into a ball and hope the end would 
come soon.  He'd lost their daughters!  He never 
should have left them, never should have gone to 
the airport.  He should have been there.  A million 
thoughts were careening through his mind.  Then, 
he felt it.  A small, warm hand was slipping into his 
larger one.  He looked down and saw her blue eyes 
giving him a grim smile.

"We'll find them, Mulder.  We just have to hurry."

He wanted to pull her into a hug, kiss her long and 
hard for understanding, for knowing what he 
needed, but there wasn't time.  

"Which way?"   Skinner was still there, Mulder had 
almost forgotten there were three of them on the 
search.

"He's in the caves," Mulder said shakily, nodding to 
the trail that headed to the left.

"He could have gone up," Scully suggested, looking 
toward the peak of the Old Man.

"No, he wants to hide them until dark.  Then he'll 
sneak them out.  He may be waiting for others," 
Mulder reasoned.  

Scully closed her eyes.  "He could call to them, I 
suppose.  I have no idea how they can communicate 
with one another."

"Then we better hurry," Skinner interjected and 
headed off down the trail to the left.

"Mulder, you didn't do this," Scully said, although 
he no longer needed to hear the words.

"I know," he admitted.  

"We will find them," she said firmly.

"I just hope we're not too late," he choked out.

She tilted her chin up, squeezed his hand and pulled 
him along after her.  They had to hurry to catch up 
to Skinner.

Several yards behind

"Why?" William asked as the two of them hiked 
steadily up the trail.  The bounty hunter looked 
down at the boy and frowned.  

"Why did that man take my baby sisters?" William 
repeated.

"He wanted to lure your parents away."  At 
William's confused look, the man realized he was 
dealing with an immature intelligence.  "He wanted 
to trick them, lead them to where he can try and hurt 
them."

"Like the bad guys in the movies?"

"Yes, like bad guys," the hunter concluded.  
"Without your parents, you won't grow up to be 
who you are supposed to be."

"I'm tried," William decided.  Tired and a little 
afraid.  But he knew they had to hurry.

"I'll carry you," said the hunter.  With William in 
his arms, they made better time.

Inside the mountain

Skinner was having a hard time keeping up, the 
ceiling of the cave was too low and both he and 
Mulder had to bend over.  Scully was in the lead 
and there was no slowing her down.

They'd come in this cave by chance.  There had 
been no footprints, but the ground outside was 
primarily crushed rock and wouldn't have revealed 
any.  Skinner's heart was sinking.  He couldn't help 
thinking that he'd been in the house, he'd been left 
behind to protect Scully and the children.  He'd 
failed in that charge once before and he was just 
now beginning to live with the results.  

He was studying the floor of the cave as they ran 
when something caught his eye.  

"Hold up!" he shouted and stooped over to pick up 
the object that had glowed in the beam of his 
flashlight.  His eyes lit up with he saw what he had.

"Scully, look!"  He handed the small thing over to 
her and she gasped and clutched it.

"It's from Sammi," she said, turning the tiny white 
sock over to Mulder.  "Meg put Sammi in her pink 
sundress."  

Mulder's flashlight glowed on the tiny pink bow 
that was stitched to the lacy ruffle on the top of the 
baby's sock.  "They came this way," he said 
confidently.  He handed the sock back to Scully, but 
only have brushing it against his cheek.  "We're on 
the right path."

"Do you know this cave?" Skinner asked hopefully.

"Some of it.  We passed that part a long time ago.  
Will and I found it hunting mushrooms.  But we 
never went this far," Mulder admitted.  

"So we don't know what's ahead?"  Skinner saw that 
he'd only voiced what the other two had already 
realized.

"We go as fast as we can, but let me lead," Mulder 
said evenly.  Scully shot him a look, but upon 
seeing his steady gaze she nodded and moved aside 
to allow him in front.  "Keep checking out the 
ground, see if we find anything else."

"This could be bait," Skinner said.  When there was 
no response, he knew they'd already thought along 
those lines.

"Let's get moving," Mulder said gruffly and headed 
off again.

Further along the cave

The twins, for their small age, were amazingly 
quiet.  The thing that had once been a man looked 
down at them and scowled.  Two sets of china blue 
eyes stared back at him.  It almost looked as if they 
were thinking, planning.  He was fearful of them.  
He wanted to destroy them, but not yet.  That would 
be against orders.  

He stumbled and almost dropped the twin dressed in 
pink.  The twin dressed in green reached out a 
chubby hand and grasped her sister's dress.  If the 
thing now known as Chuck let himself believe he 
could almost say they were communicating, looking 
out for one another.  But in the deep recesses of his 
new brain, he remembered that babies as young as 
these weren't capable of higher forms of 
communication and were completely centered on 
self -- their own hunger and comfort.

Why were they growing so heavy?  It was taking 
more and more of his strength to carry them, but 
they had been so light when he'd picked them up 
from their matching cribs.  He'd been assured his 
strength was unending, that it was more than 
enough to carry out his mission.  So why was he 
stumbling with every other footstep and his arms 
felt like lead as he held the tiny infants?  The babies 
weren't even squirming, another oddity he would 
have recalled if he'd been able to focus his attention 
on the girls and not on his own sapping strength.  
But he had to keep going.  He'd mapped out the 
location days before even joining the construction 
crew.  Just a few more minutes and they would be 
in the spot -- the perfect spot for an ambush.

At the Hale Household.

"Dana, Ellery?"  Mary C. stood on the porch 
looking in the screen door.  The house had a few 
scattered lights on, but otherwise seemed empty.  
Meg's car, or rather Joe's old beat up Civic they'd 
given her, was not in the driveway, but the Hales' 
car was.  The workmen were gone, but it was 
nearing 3:00 and that usually meant the end of the 
day for most crews starting at 7 am.  Still, where 
could everyone be?

"Dana, it's me, MC.  I brought the labels for the 
church picnic.  Hey, is anybody home?"  Maybe 
they were all in the back, playing in Ellery's new 
'Yankee Stadium-West,' as Joe had dubbed the 
makeshift diamond.  "Are you out back?" she 
called, starting to step off the porch.  Just then, she 
heard a groan coming from the open living room 
window.  

Hurrying to the window, she peered in.  A man, 
from what she could see, was lying on the floor and 
he groaned again.  No one else seemed to be 
around.

"Dana, I'm coming in!" she announced loudly and 
rattled the door with enough force to jiggle the lock 
and open it.  In a second she was at the man's side.

He had a huge lump on the back of his head and 
small trickle of blood ran down his neck.

"Easy, easy does it," she murmured, as she looked 
him over, trying to see if he had other injuries.  He 
was dressed in a suit and his hair was neatly cut.  As 
he became more and more aware of his 
surroundings he sat up, startled.

"Where's the boy?" he demanded and reached for 
his gun that was holstered on his belt.  

Mary C.'s eyes flew wide and she scooted back, 
holding her hands up in surrender.  "What boy?  
William?  I don't know; I'm trying to find Dana and 
Ellery."

Kallenbrunner looked at the woman, who appeared 
harmless so he lowered his weapon.  "They're 
looking for the girls, a construction worker took 
them.  I was watching William.  Someone hit me 
and took him."

"Oh god," Mary C moaned.  "We have to call the 
sheriff."

Kallenbrunner rubbed the back of his head and 
winced when he hit the sore spot.  "I think that 
might be a good idea."

At the mouth of the Cave

"What's your name?"  The question came as a 
surprise to the large man carrying the little boy, but 
he reminded himself how exceptional the child was.  
Still the question itself was not an easy one to 
answer and not particularly critical to the task he 
had before him.

"Just call me 'Friend'."  

The boy seemed satisfied with that answer.  He'd 
finally flung his little arms around Friend's neck, 
making it easier to carry him.  But after they'd gone 
a few yards into the darkened cave, the child 
stiffened.

"What is wrong?" Friend asked.

"It's dark," William replied, as if that was all the 
explanation needed.

Friend shifted the child and searched through a 
pocket of his jacket, coming up with a long thin 
flashlight.  He flicked it on one handed and William 
smiled in its beam.

"Better?"  The boy nodded enthusiastically.  After a 
few more yards, though, he started to squirm in 
Friend's arms.  

"William, not now."

"Put me down.  Please."  The last word was added 
almost as an afterthought, a remembrance of a not 
too distant reprimand.

"We have to hurry," Friend answered impatiently.

"Please.  I can run," William promised.

With a worried expression, the big man placed the 
child on the floor.  Immediately, William started 
picking up small rocks near the walls of the caves.

"William, we have to hurry," Friend reminded him.

"Jus' a minute," the child retorted and grabbed 
another handful of pebbles before grabbing Friend's 
large hand.  "OK, c'mon!" the child demanded, as if 
Friend were the one causing the hold up.

In the cave

The passageway opened up to a cavern about the 
size of a living room.  There were boulders and 
stalagmites scattered about, perfect for hiding 
behind.  The entity that had been Chuck stumbled 
and dropped behind one of the boulders, almost 
losing the twin in green to the floor.  He shifted and 
leaned against the cold stone, panting for breath.  
What was wrong with him?

The babies looked at him, almost as if they were 
studying him.  Neither of the twins had made a 
sound all the time they'd been on the run.  Now, 
they looked at him owlishly, blinking in tandem.  
He glanced down at them impatiently.  He wanted 
to be done with this.  He should just crush them as 
he waited for the others.  But that was against his 
programming.  They were to be studied, like the 
other boy.  Only after anyone who might come after 
them had been killed. 

Along the passageway

Mulder came to a fork in the passage and stopped.  
He turned immediately to Scully.

"Left," she said confidently.

"I think right," Mulder said, pulling on his bottom 
lip.

"No time to think.  You two go left, I'll go right," 
Skinner said, pulling out his flashlight and calmly 
pushing past the two parents to the passage on the 
right.

"Once an AD . . .," Mulder muttered and Scully 
gave him a ghost of a smile.  She grabbed his hand 
for a quick squeeze before they start off down the 
passageway again.

They didn't hear the footsteps behind them as 
William and his new Friend come to the same fork.  
Without a thought, William pulled Friend into the 
passageway on the right.

Skinner hadn't gone far when the passageway 
opened up.  He flashed the light around the large 
cavern.  The boulders seemed to dance in the path 
of his beam.  He wiped sweat off his forehead, even 
though the cave was a cool 62 degrees, all the 
running and fear for the babies had left him 
sweating.  He heard a sound, off in the cavern.  One 
of the infants started to whimper and was followed 
immediately by the other one.

Skinner bit his lip, traded the flashlight for his 
service weapon, holding the flashlight just above 
the gun so that he was sweeping his target area with 
the beam.  The sound of the babies' cries was 
unnerving and worse yet the curved walls of the 
cavern caused an unnatural echo.  He wasn't sure 
from where the sound was coming.  Slowly, 
deliberating every footstep, he approached the 
center of the cavern.

From his left, there was movement, sudden, 
menacing.  He spun and brought up his weapon, 
only to have it and his flashlight knocked from his 
hands.  There were hands on his neck and he could 
no longer breathe, his windpipe was being crushed . 
. .

In an instant, the crushing stopped and Skinner felt 
himself lifted off his feet and tossed across the room 
like a rag doll.  As he blinked several times, slowly 
erasing the black spots before his eyes, he could see 
that his flashlight had landed upright against one of 
the boulders.  The beam shot straight up and 
illuminated the whole room.  Just to his right now, 
two men were locked in a struggle.  Much to his 
surprise, a small hand was helping him sit up.  It 
was William.

After assuring that Skinner was all right, William 
scurried away, behind another boulder.  Skinner 
looked frantically for his weapon, finally spying it 
on the ground just a few feet from where the two 
were still locked in a deadly battle.  Hands were at 
throats, eyes were bulging on both men.  The 
flashlight wasn't powerful, it cast large shadows and 
the room was more gloom than light so the battle 
took on a surreal look, as if in an old black and 
white movie.  The babies were crying and Skinner 
rolled to his knees, trying to home in on their 
voices.  He could hear bones cracking loudly and it 
appeared one of the combatants had the upper hand 
and would soon be victorious.  He wasn't sure he 
was happy with that possible outcome.

Out from the shadows, William darted once again, 
one hand stuffed in his pockets.  Skinner grabbed 
for the boy, but William danced around him 
gracefully, running right up to the two warriors.  
Skinner called out to him, but the boy ignored him.  
William pulled out a handful of pebbles, throwing 
them at the man who appeared to be winning.

That was all it took to turn the battle.  As the one 
fighter scrubbed at his face, writhing in pain, the 
other brought his locked fists up and landed a 
shuddering blow to the head.  The first combatant's 
head snapped back and he fell to his knees.  A 
second blow brought him to the floor where he fell 
into a fit before disintegrating into steel gray dust.

Skinner swallowed, rubbing his throat.  The victor 
turned to the small boy and smiled. 

"Thank you," he said, bowing slightly to the boy.  

"You're welcome," William said politely.

"William?" Skinner asked, trying to get to his feet.  
The victor of the battle towered over him, and 
Skinner looked up with apprehension.

"It's OK Uncle Walter.  This is Friend," William 
said casually, helping Skinner get to his feet.

"Thank you," Skinner said with a curt nod.

"Here you are!" William cried as he looked behind 
another boulder.  Skinner and Friend walked around 
the pile of dust that had been the supersoldier to see 
where William where had found the babies.

Friend picked up each child in one hand and 
Skinner held his breath.  Then Friend carefully 
handed both twins to Skinner.  "They look 
unharmed."  The babies stopped crying instantly 
and looked up at Skinner.

"They're fine," William replied, stroking Sammi's 
bare foot.  "Sammi lost a sock.  Mom's gonna be 
mad!" the little boy warned, shaking his head in 
dismay.

After all the tension of the last few weeks, it was 
more than Skinner could bear.  What started out as a 
chuckle turned almost instantly into a knee 
weakening, full body guffaw.  He almost dropped 
one of the twins, but Friend snatched the baby just 
in time.  That was enough to bring Skinner slowly 
back to his senses.  He leaned against a rock, 
cradling the infants.  

Before he had a chance to speak, Mulder was at the 
arch to the passageway, gun drawn on Friend.

"Step away from my children," Mulder growled, 
releasing the safety with one flip of his finger.

William threw himself in front of Friend.  "No, 
Daddy!  Don't hurt him!"

"William, come to Mommy!" Scully ordered when 
she took his place beside Mulder.  "Please, sweetie, 
come to Mommy," she pleaded.

"No!  Daddy can't hurt my Friend!" William 
insisted.

"He's not your friend, Will," Mulder ground out, 
never taking his eyes off his prey.  "Now go to your 
mother."

William looked at his parents and then up at Friend.  
He turned back to his father.  "No."

Skinner juggled each baby to a more secure 
position, wondering how Scully and Mulder had 
made it look so easy the night before.  He walked 
slowly over and handed the girls back to their 
mother.  Then he reached up and put his hand on 
Mulder's outstretched arm, lowering the gun.

"Will's right, Mulder.  He saved me.  He saved all 
of us."

"The bad man wanted to take us.  Just like my 
dream, Daddy," William explained.  Now that his 
father was no long threatening his friend, William 
rushed forward and threw his arms around Mulder's 
legs tightly.  "Friend helped me.  He didn't hurt us.  
'Cept, Peter."

"Kallenbrunner?" Skinner spun and shot a menacing 
look at Friend.

"I temporarily disabled him," Friend replied coolly.

"He hit him on the head.  Mommy, you have to go 
fix him.  I'll get the band-aids!" William cried and 
started out of the cavern into the passageway.  
Mulder reached out and grabbed the boy by the 
shirttail, stopping his progress.  

"We'll all go together," Mulder intoned.  Will 
looked contrite and nodded, taking his father's 
outstretched hand.

When they came out into the fresh air, the sun was 
setting, throwing the surrounding woods into deep 
shadows.  Mulder had Missy in one arm, his other 
arm around Scully who was cradling Sammi.  
William was holding tight to Skinner's hand, but 
occasionally would reach over and take the hand of 
his new friend.  Friend stopped and William pulled 
on Skinner's hand to alert him.

"It's time for me to leave you," Friend said as he 
bent low to speak directly to William.

"Are you gonna come back?" Will asked.

For the first time since he'd arrived, Friend smiled 
faintly.  "If you need me, I will be there."

Scully stepped over to the man, put a free hand on 
his arm.  "Who are you?  Why did you help us?"

"I was sent to help you.  There are others like me.  
We will always be watching."  He reached toward 
her and gently pulled at the cross hanging from her 
neck.  His smile returned for a moment as he looked 
into her eyes.  He then reached under his collar and 
pulled out a tiny silver colored chain.  On the end 
was a charm of several multicolored loops, 
interlocked.  "We also believe," he said.

"The colonization.  It's set for eight years.  Will it 
happen?" Mulder asked.

Friend looked him in the eye.  "Not if we can help 
it."

"What can we do, how can we prevent it?" Skinner 
asked.

"That is not your concern.  Trust me when I tell you 
that we will not allow it to happen."

"So what are we supposed to do now?" Mulder 
asked.

"Love each other," Friend said quietly.  In the blink 
of an eye, he was gone, right before their eyes.

end of part 9

Flight into Egypt:  Remembrance (10 of 10)
by Vickie Moseley

No one moved for several minutes.  Skinner was 
beginning to wonder if the others were even 
breathing.  Suddenly, one of the twins let out a 
high-pitched squeal, followed immediately by the 
other.  Scully looked over at her partner.  "They're 
starving.  Let's get home."

Mulder nodded.  Skinner automatically picked up 
William and the three adults carried the three 
children back to the house.

As they approached the structure, Scully stopped 
short.  The house was in an uproar.  Several sheriffs' 
deputies were searching the backyard and two 
approached them, hands on holstered weapons.  
"Identify yourselves, please," one of the deputies 
asked with barely veiled intent to fire laced through 
his calm demeanor.

"I'm Ellery Hale, this is my wife Dana and our 
children.  This is Special Agent Walter Skinner with 
the FBI," Mulder said calmly, his movements slow 
and measured to show no sign of threat.

"It's all right, Deputy!  Those are the victims," 
called out Peter Kallenbrunner, coming down the 
steps of the back porch.  He reached the group and 
vigorously shook Skinner's hand.  "I was certain 
we'd find you dead," he said, then dropped his gaze 
in contrition when he realized he'd spoken the 
words in front of William.

"My friend killed the bad guy!" William announced 
proudly.  Glances were exchanged between Mulder, 
Scully and Skinner and Scully spoke up.

"William, you've had a big day -- "  She was 
interrupted by a squeal from the back porch.

"Oh my god, you're safe!  Oh, thank God, thank 
God!"  Mary C. came rushing down the steps and 
swept William in her arms, kissing his head, before 
turning to kiss both the babies.  "Oh, I was so 
worried!  I got here and Agent Coleman was on the 
floor -- "

"_Kallenbrunner_" Peter corrected with a slight roll 
of his eyes.

" -- and we called the sheriff.  They searched the 
house, we couldn't find anything.  The agent said 
one of the construction workers took the babies and 
someone took William and I was terrified -- "

"MC, we're fine," Scully assured their friend.  
"Would you mind taking Will up to the bathroom 
and give him a quick bath.  He's filthy from running 
through the caves.  I need to feed the girls 
someplace quiet.  Ellery, Walter, I'll let you handle 
the nice deputies."  Scully and Mary C. beat a fast 
exit into the house.

"Should we be taking the kids to the hospital to 
have them checked out?" one of the deputies asked.

"No," Kallenbrunner said, shaking his head.  "They 
appear fine and they're in good hands now.  Let's 
take this inside so these gentlemen can make a 
statement.  But remember what I told the sheriff, 
this family is in the Witness Protection Program and 
there will be some questions they aren't at liberty to 
answer."

Mulder shot Kallenbrunner a grateful look.  Skinner 
gave him a nod in appreciation for his quick 
thinking.

Later that night, after the children were tucked in, as 
well as the two houseguests, Mulder lay on their 
bed on his back, hands locked behind his head, deep 
in thought.

"I'm exhausted," Scully said tiredly as she crawled 
into bed next to her partner.  "Hey, plan on getting 
under the covers?"

He looked over at her with a befuddled expression 
and only acknowledged her question when she 
pulled on the blankets under his back.  "Oh, yeah," 
he said, rolling over to allow her to pull the bedding 
down and then helping tug it in place.  Almost 
instantly, his hands were again behind his head and 
he was back to staring at the ceiling.

Scully turned off the bed table lamp and plunged 
the room into darkness.  It had taken Scully some 
time to get used to the pitch-blackness that was 
night in the mountains.  Having spent the better part 
of her life in medium to large cities, the absence of 
light pollution was a difficult adjustment.  Mulder 
once told her he only got used to it when he was 
living with Gibson Praise in a trailer in the middle 
of the New Mexico desert.  Finally, after two years, 
the darkness had become comforting to Scully.  
When there was a full moon, the light was almost 
too bright.  She remembered how the twins were 
most likely conceived on a night with a full moon.

She lay there in the darkness, studying her partner 
in his contemplative state.  She knew what he was 
thinking about.  It had been in the back of her mind 
all evening.  Through the commotion, the police 
statements, she'd thought of little else.  Even while 
the deputies were traipsing over her flower and 
vegetable gardens looking for possible footprints to 
a man that had been rendered a pile of carbonized 
shavings in a cavern in the mountain, she'd asked 
herself the question a thousand times.  Now she 
wanted his thoughts on the matter.

"Mulder, do you think it's over?"

He lay there a moment and just when she was ready 
to ask the question a second time, he rolled on his 
hip and drew her toward him.  "I have no reason 
and very little evidence to believe it's over, Scully."  
She tensed at his words and her heart fell.  "But I 
do."

She looked at him, just making out his eyes in the 
gloom.

"I do believe it's over," he repeated, speaking 
distinctly.

"You believe Friend was sent to help us?" she 
asked.

"I believe that there is something going on out there 
that we have very little knowledge of.  I don't know 
if we're even ready to look beyond the veil, as it 
were.  But I also think there are forces at work that 
we do understand, in a rudimentary way and those 
forces are working on our behalf."

She smiled at him.  "Is that an agnostic's 
explanation of God?" she teased.

He smiled back at her.  "I haven't been an agnostic 
for quite some time, I'll have you know.  I've seen 
too many miracles to doubt the existence of a higher 
power.  I don't know if the only way to find it is 
weekly attendance at Mass or life as a hermit.  I just 
know that you've given me what faith I have and it's 
in that light that I can believe we are finally safe."

"I believe it, too," she said.  She laid her hand on his 
shoulder, her leg thrown over his leg.  Their 
foreheads touching, they fell into a deep and restful 
sleep.

The Hale Household
the next morning

It seemed a little odd, sitting around the table eating 
pancakes, but Walter Skinner welcomed the feeling 
of normalcy it gave.  Kallenbrunner chatted with 
William about his lego dinosaurs, Mulder dabbed 
maple syrup on Missy's lips when Scully wasn't 
watching and Walter sat happily cradling Samantha 
in his arms.  It was all so peaceful and quiet.

"Walter, I think your cell phone is ringing," Scully 
said, breaking the spell.  

Skinner looked up, confused.  

"Remember, you were almost out of battery.  You 
put it on my charger in the living room."

He nodded and got up, placing Sammi in her 
mother's arms.  As he made his way into the living 
room, Skinner almost resented the intrusion of the 
phone.  He wasn't ready to leave this place and go 
back to the way things were.

"Skinner," he said gruffly.

"Walter?  Walter, this is Kim.  How are you?  I was 
beginning to get worried again."

He relaxed at the sound of her voice.  "Kim, I'm 
sorry, I've been so busy.  I'm fine.  I have a lot to 
tell you.  How are things going out there?"

"That's what I'm calling about.  Walter, the Director 
has been looking for you all yesterday.  Seems 
there's been some sort of hearing on your demotion.  
He needs to talk to you immediately."

This was it, he thought.  He was being fired.  Over 
the phone, no less.  "Kim, can you put me into his 
office?"

"Sure, hang on."

Back in the kitchen

"So there's no mention of the trial anywhere?" 
Scully asked again as she placed Sammi in her 
infant seat near Mulder.

"Nothing.  No mention of the trial, the conviction or 
the sentencing," Kallenbrunner assured her.  "And I 
checked the military databases as much as I could.  
I have some friends in the JAG office at Miramar.  
They came up with nothing, too."

"So if the trial never happened -- " Mulder started.

" -- you were never found guilty," Scully finished.  
She chewed on her lip for a minute as she flipped 
pancakes on the griddle.  

"I'm a free man," Mulder said in a whisper.

"You were never anything but a free man.  I'm not 
even sure if the trial was other than a hoax, and 
excuse to -- "  Kallenbrunner stopped when he 
glanced over at William, who was listening intently 
to the adults' conversation.  " -- eliminate certain 
problems," he said cryptically.

Mulder snorted at being labeled a 'problem', but 
understood the tact Kallenbrunner was using to 
spare his son.  "Then we could go back home," he 
said quietly.

"Well, there is the matter of being dead.  At least 
that's how your disappearance was handled.  When 
you didn't surface with Agents Doggett and Reyes 
and they both testified that they last saw you with 
helicopters firing on your vehicle . . . All of that 
could be overturned, of course, with proper 
documentation."

Walter Skinner reappeared in the doorway, looking 
shaken, but extremely happy.  "I've been 
reinstated," he said simply.

Scully was the first to give him a congratulatory 
hug.  "That's great news, Walter.  Back to being an 
AD, it must feel wonderful.  But what happened?"

He shook his head as he sat down and Scully 
dropped a plate of pancakes in front of him.  "The 
Director didn't give me any details.  Just said that 
OPR had reviewed my demotion and found some of 
the testimony and evidence collected at the time 
was invalid.  Then he asked me if I wanted my old 
title back.  Of course, I said yes."

"I guess that means the FBI is finally rid of those 
who were fighting against us," Mulder said 
thoughtfully.

"Our friend was very busy," Kallenbrunner said 
softly.  

"Mulder, I hope you don't mind," Skinner 
interrupted everyone's silence.  "I spoke briefly on 
your behalf."

Mulder's eyes narrowed but before he could speak, 
Skinner jumped in.  "I simply said that there might 
be some evidence that you were not killed in the 
desert.  I didn't give him any details.  Basically, I 
was paving the way.  If you want to come back to 
your old lives, you should have that option.  It's the 
least I could do."  He looked over at the two young 
people.  Mulder was avoiding everyone's looks, 
even Scully's.

"Look, if what Will's Friend said was correct, there 
is not longer a threat.  But there are still things that 
go unexplained, still cases that need your expertise.  
All I'm saying is that if you want to come back, I'll 
do everything in my power to make that possible.  
You can come back to DC; Maggie can see the kids 
whenever she wants.  It will be as if the last three 
years never happened."

Mulder looked down at his sleeping daughters and 
back up at his former boss.  "I need to put the girls 
down," he said abruptly.  Picking up both infant 
seats, he hurried up the stairs.

"Dana, I'm sorry if I spoke out of turn," Skinner 
apologized sadly.

"No, Walter, what you did was very thoughtful.  We 
just have a lot to think about right now."

She heard his footsteps on the stairs, but didn't 
follow him out the front door.  She chatted with 
Skinner and Kallenbrunner and decided to give 
Mulder some time.  But she vowed to herself that if 
he didn't reappear in an hour, she would look for 
him.

Mulder hadn't intended to go running, but found his 
feet in a steady rhythm on his old path.  It helped a 
little.  The sun was out, the day was warm, but this 
path ran near and through the trees, so the shade 
helped cool him, along with the soft summer breeze.  
He was trying hard not to think, not to let himself 
imagine all the doors that were suddenly popping 
open after being closed to them for so long.  He ran 
right past them the first time, but when they 
appeared again, he had to slow down and stop.

"Hey, guys," he said, as if it were perfectly natural 
to see three friends who had been dead for two 
years lounging beside the side of a dirt running 
path.

"Mulder, you're lookin' good," Langly said with a 
smug smile.

"You took our advice," Byers said with a slight tilt 
of his head.

"'Bout damn time you came to your senses," 
Frohike added.  "Oh, by the way, the girls are the 
spitting image of Scully.  God does answer 
prayers," he said with a wink.

Mulder bowed his head to accept the good-natured 
abuse but raised his eyes to his soulful companions.  
"We have the opportunity to go back," he said 
quietly.  

"Mulder, look at all you have right now.  You have 
a family, a woman who adores you, three kids who 
need you," Byers said, ticking the points off on the 
ends of his fingers.  "Do you really want to screw 
with that?"

"Scully wants to see her mom," Mulder interjected, 
toeing at the dirt.

"I don't see where seeing Mrs. Scully and you guys 
finally having a normal life are mutually exclusive," 
Frohike intoned.

"This isn't really us.  We aren't the Hales.  My name 
isn't Ellery," Mulder pointed out.

"Yes it is.  As much as it was ever Fox Mulder," 
Frohike retorted.  "Mulder, you gave up everything 
in that old life.  You deserve this life.  You deserve 
to be happy.  Take what you deserve.  Grab hold of 
it and don't let go."

"They have a point."  Mulder startled when he heard 
Scully's voice so close behind him.  He spun and 
she was standing there, smiling.  "Good to see you 
guys again," she said to the apparitions.

"Dana, you look truly lovely," Frohike said with a 
sigh.

"What he said," Langly added.

"It's good to see you again, Dana.  And the kids are 
beautiful, but then how could they be otherwise?"

"Thank you, John.  We're pretty proud of them."

"Mulder, all we're saying is that you have a good 
thing now.   Don't blow it.  The threat is over, the 
aliens have other things to worry about -- each other 
-- and you can have this life," Frohike said 
emphatically.

"But what about the Truth?" Mulder asked. 

"We've seen The Truth, Mulder.  We know exactly 
where it is.  The Truth . . . is in here, my friend."  
Frohike stepped forward, lightly touching Mulder's 
chest.  "And here," he said, pointing to Scully.  
"That's all the truth you need to know."

"If we don't go back, how will we see your mom?" 
Mulder asked, his eyes glistening with tears.

Scully put her hand on her partner's arm.  "Maybe 
there's another way."

When they made it back to the house, Mary C. was 
sitting in the kitchen, eyeing the two men across 
from her.  From the look in her eye, Scully figured 
they were both toast if either of them moved an 
inch.  Mary C. was tapping her finger on the 
wooden tabletop and giving them her best 'I'm the 
mother of five boys, don't mess with me' look.  
Skinner and Kallenbrunner appeared suitable 
nervous.

"MC, we just went out for a walk," Scully said, 
noting that MC had a cup of coffee in front of her 
already.

"I brought by the envelopes for the labels I left 
yesterday," Mary C. said evenly.

"Oh, yeah.  In all the commotion, I almost forgot 
about the church picnic."

Mary C. flashed her a look that said she had to be 
out of her mind to forget such an important event, 
but she said nothing.  

"Walter, Peter, did you get a chance to meet Mary 
C. Hawthorne?"

Kallenbrunner nodded meekly, Skinner just shook 
his head.

"MC, this is our old boss, Assistant Director Walter 
Skinner.  Special Agent Peter Kallenbrunner was . . 
."  Scully stopped, hesitant to get into how they had 
crossed path with the former prosecutor.

"We worked closely on a trial once," Kallenbrunner 
supplied.

Mary C. frowned.  "So you really were FBI agents," 
she said slowly.

"What we told you when Ellery was in the hospital 
is absolutely the truth, MC," Scully said, sitting 
down next to her friend.  "All of it."

"Joe just figured you were telling us that because 
you were in the Witness Protection Program, that 
Ellery was an accountant for the Sopranos or 
something," MC said with a shake of her head.  "So 
if these two have shown up on your doorstep, what 
does that mean?"

Scully looked over at Skinner for a moment.  "It 
means we have options we didn't have before.  I'm 
not sure what it means yet.  I know we've got some 
decisions to make."

"Let us know if you need help moving," MC said in 
a choked voice and stood up quickly, leaving the 
room on almost a dead run.  Scully caught her by 
the door.

"MC, wait, please," Scully called out.  "Please, 
wait."

She stopped with her hand on the screen door and 
turned to her friend.  "Dana, I don't mean to rain on 
your parade, really.  It's just, well, we're gonna miss 
you so much," MC said, tears streaking her cheeks.

Scully sniffed back tears of her own, but stepped 
forward, taking MC into a hug.  "Who says we're 
going anywhere?"

"But your old life, you can have it back now.  I 
don't know much about it, but it meant something to 
you.  And your families, they're all back east 
somewhere.  You'll want to be closer to them, 
especially with Will and the girls."

Scully pushed back so she could look her friend in 
the eye.  "My brother lives, or at least he was living, 
in San Diego.  My other brother lives in whatever 
port he's assigned.  My mom is used to traveling to 
see her grandkids.  As for Ellery, we're all the 
family he has."

"You mean Mulder," MC said as she wiped at her 
cheeks.  "You called him Ellery."

Scully chuckled.  "I think, given a chance, he'd 
prefer to be called Ellery.  He never really liked his 
name."

That night, after dinner, Mulder watched as Scully 
dialed a number on the phone.  Skinner was playing 
with Will in the living room, Kallenbrunner was on 
a flight back to LA.  It was just the two of them in 
the kitchen.  He knew the minute the other end of 
the line picked up.

"Hello, Mom?"

Epilogue

Helena Airport
July 3, 2004
11 am

William was climbing the metal rail that cordoned 
off the ticket counters.  Mulder was chewing 
absently on a few stray sunflower seeds he brought 
in from the car.  Scully was pushing the twins in 
their stroller, back and forth, back and forth.  With 
the exception of the children, the two adults looked 
more like they were waiting for their turn at the 
dentist than greeting a beloved family member.

Maggie Scully had been overjoyed to hear from her 
daughter.  She was even more pleased to hear that 
her dream was accurate, and that William was back 
with his parents along with two baby sisters.  There 
was little to cloud the overwhelming bliss or so it 
seemed until Maggie asked when they were coming 
home.

Hence the apprehension of the two partners.  After 
some thought and discussion, both Mulder and 
Scully decided to decline Skinner's offer to help 
them return to their old life.  Instead, they asked his 
assistance in making their new identities permanent.  
He had agreed and had been keeping them apprised 
of his progress.  By the end of the summer, Mulder 
would legally be G. Ellery Hale.  All that remained, 
he joked uneasily, was to make Scully legal.  And 
that was another topic of dissent.

Scully argued that what they had was enough.  
Mulder fought that if they were truly getting out of 
the car, they needed to make it legal and permanent.  
All this was debated while feeding and caring for 
three children under the age of 4.  They'd been 
going back and forth on the subject for almost two 
weeks and it was starting to wear on both of them.

As they were lost in thought, the first passengers 
started trickling into the main concourse.  Will 
climbed to the top rail of the banister, anxiously 
searching each face as it appeared.  He'd been 
studying the one photograph Scully still had of her 
mother, a snapshot taken at Will's baby shower and 
cut down to fit inside her wallet.  Suddenly, the boy 
let out a war whoop.

"It's Gran'ma!  I see her, it's my Gran'ma!!" he 
yelled, leaping off the railing and dodging between 
adults and pull behind luggage.  Mulder had to duck 
to keep an eye on the child, but after a moment, the 
small boy had reached his destination.  When 
Maggie finally appeared, she was carrying Will in 
her arms, showering him with kisses.  

"Oh, sweet William, Grandma has missed you so 
much!  Look at how big you are.  But you know 
what, I recognized you the minute I saw you 
coming toward me.  You look just like your 
Mommy at your age.  And I think I see a fair 
amount of your Daddy in that face, too," Maggie 
cooed happily.  She looked over and saw her 
daughter for the first time in over two years.  "Oh, 
Dana," she said with a gasp.  "I promised myself I 
wasn't going to cry!" she added, but the tears were 
making a liar of her.

"Mom," Scully sobbed and threw her arms around 
her mother and son.  "Oh, I've missed you so much.  
There have been so many times I just wanted to call 
you and hear your voice," she choked out through 
her tears.  

Maggie looked up and saw Mulder gazing at the 
reunion with a shy, hesitant smile.  "C'mere, Fox!  
Don't think you're getting out of this!" she chided 
and reached out her arms to gather him in.  Mulder 
came readily.  After a minute, Maggie pulled back.  
"And who do we have here?" she asked, crouching 
down to peer into the double stroller.

"That's Missy and that's Sammi," William explained 
as he pointed to each sister in turn.  "Missy's the 
quiet one.  Sammi likes to eat," he confided.

"So did your Mommy," Maggie told him in a stage 
whisper that caused the boy to grin up at his mother.

"Thanks, Mom," Scully said dryly.  

"They're beautiful," Maggie said, wiping away a 
few stray tears.   She caressed the cheek of each 
sleeping baby and then stood up to gaze at her 
daughter.  "I was beginning to think I'd never see 
you again," she said through fresh tears.

"Oh, Mom," Scully said, crying anew and wrapping 
her mother in her arms once more.

"Daddy, why is everybody crying?" William asked, 
wide eyed and concerned.

Mulder was having a bit of difficulty speaking, and 
had to clear his throat before addressing his son.  
"We're all just really happy, buddy.  It's been a long 
time since your Mommy and Grandma saw each 
other and we're just glad we're all together."

"That is absolutely right," Maggie agreed 
emphatically, ruffling the small boy's hair.  "Now, 
let's stop all this blubbering and show me around.  I 
don't think I've ever been to Montana."

Maggie and William talked almost all the way back 
to the house, only occasionally letting the other 
adults in the conversation.  Will told his 
grandmother about his friend and his Uncle Walter 
and their other friend Agent Peter.  Maggie frowned 
at some of the boy's recollections, especially the 
part where they were hunting in the caves for the 
twins.  Scully bit her lip and kept silent, Mulder 
tried unsuccessfully to change the subject.  Finally, 
he just assured Maggie that the matter was resolved 
and everyone was back safe and sound.

As they pulled up the drive Scully first frowned 
slightly and then broke into a big smile.  Across the 
porch was a hand made sign proclaiming 'Welcome 
Grandma Maggie' with tiny hand and footprints in 
different colors decorating the surface.  

"Meggie helped us make that, Gran'ma.  The 
footprints are from the babies 'coz they like to put 
their hands in their mouths," he explained seriously.

Maggie held back a chuckle and nodded at him.  
"Babies will do that, yes," she said.

As Mulder put the car in park and killed the engine, 
Maggie looked in wonder at the house.  
Construction was still proceeding, despite a few 
days delay and the new addition was finally taking 
shape.  As they got out of the car, a couple and 
several red headed children all came out of the 
house and rushed toward the car.

"Mom said we have to carry the luggage, Mr. Hale," 
one boy explained with a slight frown.

"Thanks, Jimbo.  It's in the trunk here."

"Mom, I want you to meet the Hawthornes.  This is 
Mary C. and her husband Joe.  The tall boy is their 
son Josh, then Jimmy, Sean and the little guy is 
Stephen and this beautiful young lady is our 
mother's helper, Megan," Scully told her mother 
with a bright smile.  "Everyone, this is my mother, 
Margaret Scully."

Mary C. stepped forward.  "It's really a pleasure to 
meet you, Mrs. Scully."

"Oh please, call me Maggie.  You have such 
beautiful children!  And so many!"

"Well, I hear you raised four with a husband at sea," 
MC said with a grin.  "But then, sometimes I think 
Joe's been at sea for years," she teased.

"Hale, I'm getting grief from the woman again," Joe 
said with a fake pout and sigh.

"MC, stop giving Joe grief," Mulder recited, 
obviously the expected result to Joe's plea.

Mary C. laughed, as did Scully and Maggie.  "Oh, 
c'mon.  Dana, we brought fried chicken and potato 
salad.  Oh, and Meg made up some PBJs for Will.  
There's iced tea and lemonade in the fridge.  Call us 
if you need anything, OK?"

"Aren't you guys staying for lunch?" Mulder asked 
as they all headed for the Hawthornes' Town and 
Country.

"Hell, no!  We didn't bring _that_ much food!" Joe 
exclaimed.  "Besides, you guys are coming over for 
a cookout tomorrow night.  We'll visit then."  He 
stepped over to lean in close to Mulder.  "As 
mothers-in-law go, she seems like an OK lady," he 
said in a whisper.

Mulder smiled.  "She's a keeper, Joe," he replied.

Jimmy had set the luggage up in William's room, 
which would be the guest room during Maggie's 
visit.  Maggie wandered through the downstairs 
with Scully, her daughter pointing out various items 
of interest with the enthusiasm of a real estate 
saleswoman.  When they'd finished the tour upstairs 
in the babies' nursery, Maggie turned and looked at 
her daughter.

"This is your home," she said evenly.

Scully bit her lip, slightly flustered at her mother's 
tone.  "Yes, Mom.  This is our home.  And when it's 
finished, it's even going to be better.  Mulder will 
have an office, the kids will have their own rooms -- 
"

"What I mean is, this is your _home_, Dana," 
Maggie repeated.  "When I came out here, I was 
intent on convincing you all to move back to DC, 
maybe even Baltimore if I could manage it.  I 
wanted you to be close to me."  Tears started to fill 
her eyes and her voice strained as she continued.  
"But I see that you have a home here.  You have 
friends who love you and help you, and a lovely 
house that looks so right for you.  I can't ask you to 
leave this," she said, finally letting the tears streak 
down her cheeks.

"Oh, Mom," Dana said, taking her mother in her 
arms.  "We'll visit, I promise.  Mulder promises, 
too.  Christmas, Easter, summer vacations when 
school is out, we'll come out east.  And you are 
always welcome here!  Now you have the ocean 
and the mountains as vacation spots."

Maggie smiled through her tears.  "Well, I always 
wanted a little retreat in the mountains."

"I hear sniffling in here.  Look, I'll allow it today, 
but tomorrow, no more crying," Mulder said with a 
twinkle of mischief in his eyes.  He was carrying 
both twins and Will was hanging on his leg.

"You are absolutely right, Fox, no more crying!" 
Maggie said, taking one of the babies in her arms.

"Ellery, Mom.  His name is Ellery now," Dana said 
softly.

"Oh, I'm sorry!  I keep forgetting.  You mean you'll 
let people call you Ellery when Fox upset you so?" 
Maggie asked, her eyes gleaming with mischief 
also.

"It's not a small, furry, woodland creature.  I can 
live with Ellery.  Even if I would have been 
roughed up on the playground just as much growing 
up.  But since I didn't go through that, I'm fine with 
it."

"I still get to call him Mulder," Dana confided only 
to her mother.  "MC makes wonderful fried chicken 
and I'm sure there's enough to feed an army, so let's 
go down to the kitchen and eat."

Will tugged on his father's leg as the others started 
down the stairs.  "Can we take Gran'am and show 
her the old man?" 

"After lunch, buddy," Mulder advised.  "We'll show 
her everything!"

"Except the bad guy in the cave," Will nodded.

"You're right, buddy.  We'll definitely skip the bad 
guy in the cave.  Remember, we don't talk about 
that around your grandma."

"She'd get scared?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Mulder allowed.

"OK, Dad.  It'll be our secret!  I hope Meggie made 
my sam'wich.  I don' like fry chicken."

Mulder sighed.  What else could he expect from 
their son?  The whole incident seemed to have run 
off the little boy like water on a duck's back.  He 
just wondered if Skinner could arrange to keep the 
X Files on hold until Will was out of college.

the end