The Lambs: Part 2 (8/21)     
by Lamia (AKA so kiss me goodbye) 
                                        
Rating: PG-13 (violence, strong language)
Category: S                             
Spoilers: Seasons 1-9, Fight the Future           
Keywords: William; Colonization 
Summary: Liam van de Kamp's life changes the day two 
FBI agents kidnap him and his parents.
                                   
Author's Note: The Lambs is a three-part story (with prologue).
 

Chapter 18 

November, 2011 
New Mexico 

"Dr. Scully? Are you okay?" 

Liam dropped beside the doctor. Her hair fell over her 
face, and when she didn't answer, he put out his hand 
to clear sweep it aside. His fingers came away 
slippery. 

"Dr. Scully?" He patted her on the shoulder, trying to 
rouse her. 

Her head lifted. "Jeremiah -" 

"He's gone, ma'am," Liam said. 

Her eyes blinked open. "Liam?" 

"Try not to move too much, ma'am - I'm going to get 
something for your head." 

She was already trying to sit up. She put a hand to her 
forehead and winced, feeling the blood. 

"Damn. There should be medical supplies in a drawer by 
the sink." 

Liam jumped up and dashed into the other room. He 
returned cradling an assortment of items. "You're 
bleeding real bad, Dr. Scully." 

He ripped open a packet of sterilized cloth. She had a 
small smile on her face when he held it up to her 
wound. 

"I'll live," she said, but she didn't swat his hand 
away and remained still as he wiped the blood. She even 
thanked him when he declared she probably would not 
need stitches. He helped her up and reached out when 
she swayed a little on her feet and leaned against the 
desk for support. He stayed by her side as she walked 
to a bathroom along from the laboratory to examine the 
wound herself. 

When she had applied a Band Aid, Liam readied himself 
to face the music and took a deep breath. 

"Dr. Scully?" 

"Yes?" 

"I'm sorry." He whispered the apology and stared at his 
feet. 

There was no anger in her voice, only concern. "What 
happened, Liam?" 

He wished he knew. 

"I thought we were doing something good. Stan -" It was 
the name of a friend he knew he'd never be able to use 
again. "Jeremiah thought he knew what Rudi's object 
was. He thought it could be used to heal 
supersoldiers." 

"Is that why Jeremiah stole the artifact? He was going 
to heal a supersoldier?" 

Liam shook his head, realizing sickly he hadn't 
explained enough. 

"It didn't work, Dr. Scully. We tried, but it didn't 
work the way he thought it would." 

"You mean -" 

"We already made a supersoldier whole again." The words 
spilled out. 

He could tell she was thinking furiously. Her face was 
still but she was sizing him up. "Did you touch the 
artifact?" 

He nodded and she winced. "It didn't do anything to me 
- except give me headaches and make me feel sick. I 
think it's been doing that ever since Rudi got here." 

She was unhappy. "Everything, Liam. Tell me everything 
you did." 

Shamefaced, he told her about breaking into her office 
and his trek to the pit with Jeremiah. 

She was silent as he described how they put the 
supersoldier back together. Her knuckles went white 
when he got to the part about the artifact falling, and 
she was rigid when he described climbing down the 
shaft. He finished in a hurry, waiting for the 
inevitable telling-off he deserved. 

"And nothing happened when you touched the artifact? 
You didn't feel anything?" 

He found her intensity uncomfortable, and he hurried to 
reassure her. "No, nothing. Nothing happened - to me 
*or* the supersoldier." 

Her next question was calmer. "What happened to the 
supersoldier, Liam?" 

"Jeremiah was going to -" *The artifact. Is that all he 
wanted all along?* 

Was that the reason he let Liam tag along in the first 
place - so Liam could show him where it was? Liam's 
knees went rubbery. 

Dr. Scully put both hands on his shoulders and looked 
him in the eye, and he forced himself to look at her. 

"Go find Mulder - tell him it's raining sleeping bags 
and bring him back with you. Do not stop and talk to 
anyone else. Do not tell anyone what you've just told 
me. Quickly, Liam." 

He sprinted down the hallway, taking the steps two or 
three at a time as he raced upwards before slowing to a 
fast walk when he hit the living quarters area. 

Despite the early hour, Mulder must have been up. The 
door opened moments after Liam knocked. 

Mulder grinned. "Look who it -" 

"Please, Mulder, Dr. Scully says you've got to come." He 
grabbed Mulder's arm. "She said to tell you it was 
raining sleeping bags." 

Mulder was instantly alert. "Where is she?" he said, 
stepping outside and pulling the door shut behind him. 

"Downstairs." 

Dr. Scully was pacing her laboratory. "I'm fine, 
Mulder," she said when she saw them. 

Mulder spotted the plaster on her forehead. "What's 
going on, Scully?" 

"Jeremiah has the artifact." 

Mulder's eyebrows shot up. "Jeremiah did that to you?" 

"It's my fault," Liam said, wanting to get his 
confession over and done with again. 

Mulder stared at him. 

For the second time he explained Jeremiah's plan and 
his part in it. He tried to ignore the burning sting in 
his cheeks. 

"Jeremiah said he'd make sure we got the artifact back, 
and then he'd take care of the supersoldier. He never 
said anything about taking it - the artifact, I mean." 

Dr. Scully and Mulder exchanged looks. 

"There's still the possibility Jeremiah is at the pit 
now," Dr. Scully said. She fingered the cross at her 
neck. 

Mulder checked his watch. "Half-past five - a couple of 
hours off sunrise. I'll get Skinner and Gibson." 

"You'd better hurry. I'll keep Liam here with me until 
we know." 

With that, Mulder was gone. 

Liam fidgeted a little before he hoisted himself onto a 
stool opposite Dr. Scully. Confessing to her and Mulder 
had been bad enough. He dreaded having to tell his 
parents, but there was no point prolonging the ordeal - 
he'd learned that lesson before. 

"Dr. Scully? Mom and Dad usually get up at half-past 
six. They're gonna wonder where I am ..." 

He expected her to agree, to accompany him back to his 
quarters and to deliver a full report on his behaviour 
to his parents. 

She didn't. 

"Liam, can you remember exactly what Jeremiah said 
before he made you climb down to the supersoldier?" 

"Sort of." He closed his eyes to think. "He said it 
wouldn't hurt me." 

"It?" 

"The supersoldier - 'he', I guess, not 'it.'" 

"How did he seem?" Her questioning was gentle. 

"Weird." 

It was too late to take the word back, but she didn't 
seem to mind. In fact, she smiled a little. 

"Well, he was," Liam said. "He spoke funny, like he was 
chanting." 

Her smile grew, but there was something sad about it, 
too. 

"Poor John," she murmured. 

"Jeremiah said you worked with one of the 
supersoldiers," Liam said. 

"He wasn't a supersoldier when I worked with him," she 
said. "Did you know the other supersoldier they 
captured was a woman?" 

She gave him a searching look. "Did he say anything to 
you? Anything you remember?" 

"Not really." He wished he could tell her more. 
Something to comfort her. He'd seen her laugh and 
smile, had seen her get angry and commanding, but there 
was only one time he thought he'd seen her lose 
control: that first night, in the house in Wamsutter 
when she'd rescued Jerry. She'd scratched her neck and 
hadn't made much sense. Deep down, Liam reckoned she 
was hurting over her friend - she just didn't let it 
show. If only the plan *had* worked - it would have 
meant so much more to Dr. Scully. "He just said 
something about an iron and Israel, and a throne, and a 
sapphire?" 

She sighed. "Did Jeremiah say why he thought the 
supersoldier wouldn't hurt you?" 

"Maybe. I think he said the supersoldier wouldn't 
bother with me because I wasn't a threat. He did say 
something strange right at the start." 

She waited. 

"He - Jeremiah - said he was giving the supersoldier 
three things." 

That got her attention. "What things?" 

"He said he was giving back the supersoldier life - I 
got that bit. He said the second thing should be 
obvious, but I couldn't see anything - unless he was 
talking about the magnetite meter. I think the third 
gift was supposed to be healing him." Liam ducked his 
head. "That didn't work. I'm sorry." 

"You have no reason to apologize to me, Liam." 

"But if I hadn't -" 

"You were tricked, Liam. We all were. Jeremiah played 
on your friendship. Yes," she said, when he opened his 
mouth, "you made mistakes, and did some incredibly 
dangerous things and if I ever catch you doing anything 
like that again ..." 

She drew in a breath. She seemed to be steadying 
herself. "Jeremiah made it difficult for you to say no, 
didn't he?" 

She left him to reflect on that thought while she 
disappeared into the inner room. He heard a rustle of 
papers, followed by a click, and guessed she had 
examined the remaining contents of the safe and closed 
it. He went to the doorway to watch her. She was 
lifting the frame back on the wall. 

When she lingered over it, Liam opened his mouth 
without thinking. 

"Mr. de Rosier," he said, stumbling over another name no 
one wanted to say anymore, "Mr. de Rosier said you had a 
little girl once. Are they her footprints?" 

For a moment he wondered if he had gone too far. Dr. 
Scully's finger traced the outline of one print. 

"I *did* have a daughter. Emily would have been sixteen 
this year." 

"Oh." He wished he hadn't mentioned it. 

Perhaps she sensed his discomfort; she smiled at him. 
"Would you have liked an older sister?" 

"Maybe," he replied. "Would depend on how nice she was, 
wouldn't it?" 

The clatter of footsteps warned them people were 
coming, and Liam spun around just before Mulder, with 
Mr. Skinner and Gibson, burst through the door. 

Dr. Scully appeared at Liam's side. When Mulder caught 
sight of her, he shook his head. "Jeremiah *did* go 
back to the pit, but he didn't stick around." 

"How do you know?" 

He handed a piece of paper to her. "It has your name on 
it." 

She unfolded the note and read, her face screwing up in 
confusion. "'Look closely to the lamb for healing'. 
Riddles!" She glowered in disgust and the scrap went 
into a pocket as she turned her attention to a more 
urgent matter. "John?" 

Mulder took a step to the doctor. "You're gonna need to 
see him, Scully." 

She caught the edge in his voice. "What do you mean?" 

"He's fucked," Gibson said. "It's like his mind's on a 
loop. There's no sense in it at all. It's unlike 
anything I've ever seen - or heard." 

Dr. Scully turned to him and Mr. Skinner. 

"He's walking into the wall," Mr. Skinner said. "He gets 
up, walks at the wall like it isn't there, rebounds and 
does it all over again." 

The doctor digested this news, her fingers tapping 
against the bench. 

Liam felt another flush of guilt. *What if instead of 
healing him, we made the supersoldier really sick?* "He 
seemed alright when we left." 

"It could be a latent effect of his rejoining," Dr. 
Scully said, but her uncertainty was clear. "Is he 
contained, at least?" 

Mulder nodded. "He's not going anywhere for the moment 
- that gives us time to work out what's wrong with him 
and whether it's temporary." 

"And what we tell the others," Mr. Skinner said. 

There was a beat of silence. 

Dr. Scully's hands went to her hips. "I don't see 
there's any need for Liam to be dragged into this. I 
found Jeremiah with the artifact this morning, 
confronted him, and he told me he thought he could use 
the artifact to heal the supersoldier. He failed and 
ran, taking the artifact. That should cover everything. 
Agreed?" Dr. Scully's word was final. None of the men 
argued with her, although Gibson's eyes went hard and 
Skinner seemed to be on the verge of saying something. 
Suddenly, nostrils flaring, Gibson bristled and thrust 
his face into Liam's. "What did you do?" 

His sneer would have made Liam seethe if he had not 
been so shocked by Gibson's aggression. 

"What are you talking about, Gibson?" Dr. Scully 
demanded. 

"I can't read his thoughts," Gibson said. "His mind - 
it's blank. It's like he's not even there." 

Liam didn't see how that was a bad thing, except now 
everyone was looking at him. 

"I didn't do anything," he said, drawing back. 

*Sheesh. Of all the things to be mad about.* 

Gibson's eyes glinted. "You touched the artifact." 

"So did a lot of people." 

"Stop it," Dr. Scully said. "I've already been over this 
with Liam, Gibson. We can sort the matter out later. We 
have to get Liam back before his parents find him 
missing." 

Still smarting from Gibson's attack, Liam stiffened. 
"I'm not lying to Mom and Dad." 

"Liam -" 

"No. I don't want anymore secrets." Facing off against 
her, he could just about look her in the eye. Even so, 
the look on her face - all blazing steel - nearly made 
him back down. He gulped but stared back. "I knew what 
I was doing was wrong." 

He wasn't expecting her face to soften. 

"Okay," she said. "But will you let me do one thing? 
Will you let me talk to Marie and Harry?" 

-o0o- 

His parents took the news quietly. 

Dr. Scully waited until Liam thought they would be up. 
She knocked on their door, and his mother opened it. 
She was surprised to see them but not unduly upset - 
that is, until Liam started talking. 

He had decided to come clean about (just about) 
everything; he confessed to listening in on Jeremiah's 
interrogation, and he admitted he had been angry when 
his friend appeared to be avoiding him. He told them 
about talking to Jeremiah and accidentally mentioning 
the artifact. Then he launched, for the third time, 
into a description of his adventure with the 
supersoldier. The whole time he watched them, looking 
for some sign of just how much trouble he was in, but 
their faces were blank. 

When he finished speaking, he couldn't hold back a 
yawn. 

"I suppose you've had no sleep," his mother said. "I'm 
tempted to make you go to school as punishment. Letting 
you take the day off again seems a little like a 
holiday." 

If they were angry, they weren't giving much away; just 
the crease lines about his mother's mouth and the fact 
his father was stroking his chin let him know they 
processing this story. It was unsettling not to know 
their real thoughts. 

Dr. Scully cleared her throat. "I could always do with 
some help downstairs." 

"Maybe we'll take you up on that offer, Dana," Harry 
said. "That, or he can help with some of the camp 
chores for a week or two - Lord knows, we could use the 
extra help." 

Liam couldn't stifle a second yawn. It was enough to 
snap his mother into action. 

"Right. Is there anything else you'd like to get off 
your chest? No? Well, then - bed." She pointed to his 
room. 

As he toed off his shoes and changed into his pajamas, 
he tried to be as silent as possible so he could listen 
to Dr. Scully, who waited until he left to start 
speaking. 

"I intend to keep Liam's name out of this," she said. 

"What do -" 

"I don't think it's necessary for the entire camp to 
know what Liam's involvement was, and the circumstances 
which gave rise to it are unlikely to be repeated. I 
don't condone what Liam did - you can have no idea how 
angry I was with him this morning - and I hope he 
learns there are always consequences to the choices we 
make, but he *was* manipulated by Jeremiah. Liam had no 
reason not to trust him or his motives." 

"Are you saying we can't trust Stan after all?" Liam's 
father sounded confused. 

Liam climbed under the blankets, suddenly glad for 
their warmth. Thoughts swirled in his head. It didn't 
feel real that his friend had tricked him just to get 
the artifact. And there had been a moment - when Dr. 
Scully fell - when Jeremiah stared down at her and 
seemed to be on the verge of apology. So, even if he 
had wanted to steal the artifact, he didn't mean the 
doctor any harm. If he wanted the thing for himself, 
why? 

Liam struggled to understand what had happened; 
Jeremiah had been a friend, but he was also an alien. 
Was he also their enemy? 

In the other room Dr. Scully hadn't finished talking. 
"Jeremiah would have eventually learned about the 
artifact and he would have done exactly the same thing 
without Liam's help." 

She went silent briefly before she continued. "Look - 
people talk. We already have enough to cope with here. 
I'd hate Liam to suffer any kind of unfair attention 
whether from his friends - or adults who should know 
better." 

Hadn't Jeremiah said something similar to him already? 
It had seemed to make sense then; now sleep was fogging 
his thoughts, but something felt *off* about the 
argument. Did it really matter if people knew he was 
friends with an alien? Would they really think it was 
that weird? Why did it worry Jeremiah and Dr. Scully so 
much? Liam didn't hear his parents' response as he 
drifted off, finally overcome by his adventure. 

-o0o- 

He shuddered awake. 

In the gloom he ran his hands over his face, feeling 
the familiar contours of his nose and cheeks: so far, 
so human. 

Not like in the dream. 

-o0o-

Liam slept until midday. Then his father got him up and 
told him to dress for school. He also revealed Liam's 
fate for the next month: chores - and lots of them. 
After class he was to head outside where he was to 
spend an hour helping the adults on laundry duty that 
week. 

In the scheme of things, he had come off more lightly 
than he deserved, but after an hour taking down what 
seemed like endless lines of bedding, towels, sleeping 
bags, hand towels and dishcloths, he began to dread the 
thought of another day in the same mindless pursuit. 

When his hour was up, he was sent on his way. From the 
cries and shrieks of laughter his friends were playing 
on the field behind the main building. He wandered in 
that direction but decided not to join in immediately. 

His mother had explained away his absence that morning, 
telling Ellie he had been unable to sleep last night 
and had been feeling off-color - which wasn't a lie. 
There hadn't been time to fill Ellie in on the real 
details during class, so as soon as she saw him 
approaching, she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him 
away from the action. 

She listened patiently while he told her about his 
punishment. She was enthralled by his adventure. 

"You know, Liam," she said, "I don't care what Stan 
says. I don't think it was a coincidence he was living 
next door to you." 

The muscles in his shoulders went rigid. 

"You're important somehow, Liam. I just know it. I 
think he was watching out for you." 

What she was saying was silly, and he should have 
laughed at her, but he couldn't control his shiver - 
and the unsettling and unbidden image from his dream 
this morning popped in his mind. 

"In fact, I don't think he's the only one who's been 
watching out for you." 

Her voice was easy to tune out. He had stopped 
listening. There was something more important to say. 

"What if ... what if my mother - my biological mother 
didn't want me because there was something wrong with 
me?" 

That startled Ellie. "What?" 

"Can I tell you something? It's this dream I had 
today," he said, not waiting for her reply. 

"I was playing baseball - you were there, and Nick and 
Aaron. I had the bat in my hand; I was swinging it, 
waiting for Nick to pitch. Only Nick doesn't pitch; 
instead, he starts screaming and running. And everyone 
else is running too. I think I should be running too, 
only I don't know why, and when I try to move it's like 
something's weighing me down from behind, and when I 
look behind me and Dr. Scully and Mulder - who's the 
umpire - they're talking, and Dr. Scully keeps saying 
she doesn't want to tell me and I shouldn't have to 
know because it's not fair, and Mulder's coming towards 
me, holding up his hands like he's gonna fend off an 
attack, and he says it's cruel I can't see what 
everyone else does, and I try again to move, but when I 
look down to see why my legs don't wanna go, they 
aren't my legs anymore, they're kind of greenish and 
scaly, and then I realize the bat's really painful in 
my hand and my fingers can't wrap round it, and I see 
they're not my hands, they're not hands. They're not 
human. 

"That's when I woke up." Liam looked up. "Stupid, hey?" 

Ellie blinked. "This has something to do with your 
mom?" 

"I think she knew," he said. 

"Knew what?" 

"Knew I was some kind of monster." 

A breeze shivered through the grass at their feet; 
peals of laughter floated over the field; a door 
slammed somewhere: small sounds filled the empty 
desert. 

"Liam?" 

"What?" 

"That's stupid," she said. 

He hoped she was right. 

The supersoldier had treated him with courtesy (there 
was no other way to describe it); Gibson, who could 
read every mind - in the galaxy probably - couldn't 
read his; his old friend was an alien; aliens wanted 
his dad to be a supersoldier; he knew what his pets 
were thinking. 

Liam and Ellie both looked up when howls of outrage 
rose from the field: the protest calls indicating the 
unspoken rules of sportsmanship that governed all their 
games had been broken by someone - probably Aaron 
because he was the one striding back to the group with 
the ball held aloft in triumph. His smug grin didn't 
last long when the others tackled him *en masse*. 
Neither Liam nor Ellie was inclined to join in. 

Ellie squinted as she tried to make out who was 
emerging victorious from the mob. "Do you ever wonder 
about them? Your real parents." 

"Mom and Dad *are* my real parents." 

"I'm sorry." From her contrite look, he thought she 
meant it. "I mean your birth parents." 

*Do I ever think about them? Lately yes.* Enough to 
admit, finally, that what he felt was hurt. He couldn't 
stop himself sometimes wondering, *what if?* He used to 
ignore the thoughts out of loyalty to his mom and dad. 
But lately the thoughts seemed closer somehow to the 
surface. No matter what way his thoughts wandered, 
there was only one destination. Whatever her reasons, 
his biological mother hadn't wanted him. He could make 
up all the excuses for her he wanted, but it was time 
to face facts. She hadn't wanted him - and now it was 
possible he knew why. 

"Liam" - Ellie clutched his arm again - "what if 
someone really is watching out for you! Think who that 
could be!" 

He looked blankly at her. 

"What if Stan was watching over you because he was 
asked to!" 

"Asked? Who by?" 

Her eyes shone with revelation. "Your mother! Think 
about it! Someone had to tell Stan where you were. And" 
- if he wasn't seeing it he wouldn't have believed her 
eyes could go any wider - "what if your mother knows 
Mulder? What if she's the one who told him and Scully 
to go to your house?" 

She snapped her fingers. "That woman! You told me about 
her. The one who keeps sending Mulder text messages!" 

"Esther? It's possible, I guess ..." 

Ellie would not be shaken. "What if Esther is really 
your mother, Liam?" 

"I don't even know if Esther is a real person -" 

Ellie refused to fall out of love with her idea. 

"It fits. It fits so perfectly! That would explain 
Stan, and why you're important. Your real mother knows 
something about you and she's looking out for you!" 

Of all her ideas, this one had to be the silliest - and 
he should have told her. 

*So why can't I? Because secretly I want her to be 
right.* 

Could his mother - his *real* mother - be out there 
protecting him, even at a distance? And if it wasn't 
true, what was the harm in believing it? Better to 
believe that than that she gave him up because of what 
he was. 

The weather was cooling and sunset came earlier every 
evening. Long after Ellie and Aaron and the others had 
headed in, Liam found himself on his favorite slope 
sitting with his head resting on his knees. The old 
t-shirt he had thrown on this afternoon was no match 
for the bitter sting of the changing season. He drew 
his knees in closer to his chest. He knew he should go 
in, that his parents would come looking for him soon, 
and - given the previous night - they were unlikely to 
tolerate any excuses. 

He couldn't stop his mind racing about; if it wasn't 
his dream, it was Mulder's mysterious texts or the 
strange kindness of the supersoldier. Or it was 
Jeremiah. 

By now everyone would know about the supersoldier and 
Jeremiah's theft. He didn't feel any less uncomfortable 
knowing only a few people knew about his involvement. 

He wasn't aware of anyone approaching until an unkind 
voice from behind startled him. 

"Hey, freak, I told them you'd be sulking." 

Liam flinched. He didn't have to look to see who it 
was. Everything about Gibson - from his lopsided gait 
to his thick-lensed glasses - was distinctive. His 
voice was no different. 

"*You're* calling *me* a freak?" His heart wasn't in 
the retort. After all, hadn't he just been thinking 
along those lines anyway? For all Gibson claimed not to 
be able to read Liam's mind, he sure seemed to know 
what was going on in it. 

There was nothing pleasant about Gibson's smile. "The 
funny thing is" - he said it like he was speaking to 
himself - "we have so much in common. You can't read my 
mind - and I can't read yours. That makes you one out 
of seven billion." 

Liam eyed him with suspicion. 

"Your parents sent me out looking for you," he said. 
"If I had as many people looking out for me as you do, 
I think I'd find ways to treat them better." 

Liam bit hard on his cheeks. On this occasion Gibson 
had a point - and he hadn't finished. 

"It's kind of lonely - and cold - out here. The perfect 
place when you've a load on your mind." 

The words were so unexpected Liam could not contain his 
surprise. Was Gibson trying to *talk* to him? Have an 
actual conversation? 

No. 

"Betrayal," Gibson said, making the hairs on Liam's 
arms prickle. "Such a dirty word. Hanging around with 
these people you'd better get used to it." 

He turned, leaving Liam alone and shivering.