The Lambs: Part 2 (9/21) 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 19 November, 2011 New Mexico Try as he might, it was impossible to dodge the raindrops. Spots splashed and soaked Liam's arms; he hurried as fast as he could. "What's in these things?" he asked Alan Hirsh as he darted under the eaves of the building. The box in his arms wasn't that heavy but he strained to reach around its corners; he stumbled stepping through the doorway. This box was one of the biggest, but it didn't rattle and clunk the way some of the others did. Liam tried hefting it to get a more comfortable grip, then gave up and lowered it to the ground to catch his breath and regain some feeling in his muscles. The rain was starting to pelt down and he was glad this was the last trip he would have to make. Alan grinned. "Santa's come early to the lab. Must have gotten our wish list." "There's another group," Liam said, catching sight of figures growing more distinct as they neared the building. This lot looked bedraggled and damp; in spite of the downpour, they trudged along at a weary pace. Alan took in the group. "Coming in with Hosteen. Nothing gets past that man. That makes how many? Five? Six?" "Seven," said Liam. Seven groups of refugees had arrived since the artifact was stolen. The news they brought was unsettling. Many spoke of a creeping uneasiness, unable to put their finger on what exactly was wrong - rumors, strangers scouting small towns, a lingering frisson in the atmosphere, supermarkets and shops half-emptied of merchandise and no one interested in restocking them, people disappearing suddenly only to reappear and behave as if nothing unusual was happening. They all arrived bearing the same tale; a man who told them where they might find safety: Jeremiah Smith. They weren't turned away - but some of the adults argued Jeremiah could be sending spies. Only Gibson's ability to confirm their stories, prevented the campers casting away the newcomers. There were never any children in the groups and Liam had had little to do with them; putting them out of his mind, he resumed his task for the day. When he had his box up and ready, he grinned. "Last one! Race you to the finish line!" The scientists were up to something in the bowels of the compound; whatever it was, it wasn't science though; more like moving stuff around. Liam had been toting boxes down two flights of stairs all afternoon and each time he got to the bottom he would see scientists with their heads together, pouring over plans and pointing. As he moved down the long corridor, he had to avoid people shifting trays and trolleys from one room to another. Looking ahead he could see Major Drummond at Dr. Scully's side. She was pointing at the thick sheets of clear plastic that had been hung across the hall, forming a curtain. Liam had been told under no uncertain circumstances was he to go beyond the curtain. Halfway along, another shape pushed past him and he recognized one of the scientists he knew to be an engineering expert. Liam goggled when he saw the object in the man's hand. It emitted crackles and pops. "Is that?" The words almost got strangled in his throat. Alan's brows went up. "A Geiger counter? Yeah, I think it is." "Why?" "Just a precaution," Alan replied. "One of many, as you can see. Some of the new equipment isn't so new - you could say we picked up in an online junk sale - and some of it had to be disassembled to get it here safely. They're just checking to make sure the microscope is calibrated correctly and up and running properly." "Since when did you need a Geiger counter to check a microscope?" "It's not just any microscope, Liam. It's one to help us find and see viruses. It was Scully's idea. We had to fight Drummond tooth and nail to get it, but in the end, even he had to see the necessity of it; we need to be able to study the sick supersoldier," Alan said. It was no longer a secret the camp was holding two alien supersoldiers prisoner. And it was no secret the male supersoldier was a friend of Dr. Scully's ... and his condition was deteriorating. Liam had stopped resenting his punishment when he realized how much came gossip he was picking up - like Dr. Scully's belief that the supersoldier had a common viral infection and maybe that knowledge could be turned to their advantage. "Why did you have to fight to get what you need? I thought Major Drummond *wanted* us to study the supersoldiers?" "Well, sure he did. But that was before he realized studying unknown viruses isn't without risk. We don't know anything about the supersoldier's infection. We're just guessing it's a virus. We don't know if it's contagious; we don't know if it's contagious to humans. If we want to study the virus, there's precautions we should take. Normally, this kind of work would be done in a special lab with equipment especially designed to make this sort of study as safe as possible; we can't afford to do that. But there are things we can do to minimize those risks and still do our job - the one we've been wanting to do all along." The conversation between the doctor and the Major was drawing to a finish, and the Major was moving back towards Liam and Alan. Dr. Scully fell in beside him, and people pressed themselves against the walls to let them through. "I can see you've done everything you can down here, Dana, but that doesn't answer my other question," the Major said. "Every day we keep him intact he poses an unknown threat to all of us. What if whatever he's got suddenly jumps ship and infects all of us directly?" "Perhaps we should all just give up, pack our bags, and go home now then," Dr. Scully snapped. "You wanted answers. How did you think we were going to get them?" Major Drummond sighed. "I just want us to be certain this is what we should be doing." Dr. Scully watched him go, shaking her head. Her face brightened when she saw Liam. "Just the person I needed to see." He stacked the last box with the others. "Can I see what's in them, Dr. Scully?" He was disappointed when she opened one of the smaller ones and removed even smaller green boxes. The box had a picture on it. "Gloves?" Hardly worth any excitement. But they couldn't all contain gloves - that much he knew. She smiled. "Are you finished now? I need to take a DNA swab from you ... and some blood." The pit of his stomach seized: he knew what she was going to do, and why. If the supersoldier had a virus, they'd want to know where it came from. But what if she found something? What if she worked out there was something wrong with *him* - something not normal. He hadn't mentioned it to anyone other than Ellie, but at the back of his mind, he harbored the fear brought on by his nightmare. To cover his panic he nodded in a knowing manner, pretending he wasn't scared as heck. "To make sure I didn't give him the infection?" Dr. Scully had nodded, then she blinked and her eyes crinkled in momentary surprise before she smiled (not quite as broadly) again. "Something like that." "How is he today, Dr. Scully?" "Why don't we ask Mulder?" She looked around him; Liam turned. Mulder was weaving his way to them, surveying the bustle with interest. "So it's nearly ready?" he asked. "We'll start tomorrow," Dr. Scully replied. "Drummond's still apprehensive." Liam wondered if Mulder and the Major had run into each other on the stairs. Dr. Scully snorted. "It was his idea in the first place." "I can understand why he's concerned - there are plenty of others here who can do it, Scully." Dr. Scully's face was impassive as she regarded Mulder. "I'll be fine. I'm far more worried about John." Mulder panned the hallway with an inscrutable expression. His gaze stopped at the plastic curtains and a dark look flashed across his face. Liam only glimpsed it and it was gone. "Talking about our patient - no miracles today. His scratches and abrasions are still healing but far more slowly than they were. He spends more time on his ass staring at the soil falling in on him these days, but that's another thing to think about. That shaft isn't going to hold much longer. Part of the wall's already caved in. He might end up burying himself. His thoughts are still chaotic; the only sense Gibson keeps getting is the thought he wants to go home." "But what - and where - is home for him?" Dr. Scully said. "And where is Monica?" The doctor was looking up the stairwell as she spoke. She didn't see Mulder wince, but Liam did. -o0o- The weeks dragged on. Time and waiting eroded the sense of hope and purpose that had filled the camp at the scientists' initial flurry of activity. A late season of thunderstorms meant the afternoons were often too unpleasant to venture out for anything more than a quick run. The fine days were often broken up by afternoon curfews; it seemed to Liam the threat of satellites and drones had increased although his parents said he was letting his imagination get the better of him. Still more small groups of newcomers trickled in, filling the dormitories to capacity and forcing rationing of water and food. There was tepid water only for showering and even electricity use was restricted. Despite the increasing number of people now living at the camp, an almost unanimous vote decided they should not relax their rules about housing people above ground (Gibson being the exception). There had been no word of any breakthrough in the lab. Liam seldom saw Dr. Scully and Ellie complained about her parents being "downstairs" a lot. The only good news seemed to be that no one had caught the supersoldier's sickness. Regardless, Liam hadn't been allowed back down since the day he delivered the boxes. After his punishment for helping Jeremiah came to an end, Liam's sources for camp gossip had dried up. He hated not knowing what was going on. He knew he shouldn't do it, but when he overheard his mother and Mrs. Scully discussing the newcomers during an afternoon art class, he sidled closer. "There's talk if anymore turn up we may need to set them up on stretchers in here," Mrs. Scully was saying. "Madeleine and Walter set off this morning to top up our emergency rations. As it is Thanksgiving's going to be a stretch." "Oh well," his mother replied, "I suppose we'll deal with it the same way we've coped with everything else." Mrs. Scully put a lid on an orange marker and selected a brown one from a barrel. Everyone - teachers included - was making decorations for the tables in the mess hall. As she started coloring in a pumpkin, she said, "It amazes me how well you've taken all of this, Marie." Liam's mother made a face. "All of what?" Mrs. Scully put the marker down. "This." She spread her hands. "Life hiding in the desert. Preparing for an invasion no sane person would believe in." Mrs. van de Kamp tipped back her head and laughed. "We're in the same boat, wouldn't you say?" "I've had a few years to acclimate to the notion," Mrs. Scully said. "Dana and Fox never said much about the work they were involved in - but then, they didn't have to. I'd have been a fool not to put two and two together. Strange things always seemed to be happening to them and around them. I began readying myself years ago for a sudden upheaval. Walter turned up at my house in August with Madeleine and he didn't even have to say anything. I knew. Even if other members of my family refused to believe, I knew." She went silent. Liam recalled Dr. Scully had brothers; he wondered where they were. Marie shrugged. "What gets me is just how much 'normal' has changed. This place really *is* a haven. I see those people arriving ... the world's changed, Margaret. People didn't used to look like that - haunted, bewildered - as though they woke up to a world gone crazy but can't work out what's wrong. Something's going on out there - it's *that* I can't imagine. But normal? My last trip into town - I was really looking forward to it - and then it hit me." Mrs. Scully leaned forward. "In what way?" "It's difficult to explain ... I mean, there I was in a supermarket, wandering the aisles, loading this cart, filled with a sense of my own mission." Her short laugh was mirthless. "I stopped in the frozen section just to cool down and there were people buying cat food and toilet paper and bread and whatever you mind. And there I was looking at them buying so-called normal things and thinking how not-normal it was; that people could be going about their lives not knowing something incredible was happening, when really it was in front of their eyes the whole time." She sighed. "I don't expect I've explained that very well. Normal for me now is teaching a bunch of children underground at an abandoned military camp." She chuckled. "Normal is waking up and hoping the cure to alienization might be announced today. Do you think they'll cure it - him?" Mrs. Scully settled back in her chair. "They're not interested in a cure." "Oh." "Dana - whenever I see her these days - says his condition is still deteriorating. If he were human, he'd be dead by now. He doesn't appear to sleep, he hasn't eaten or had a drink in days." "I heard they were discussing euthanasia." Mrs. Scully held her picture up and studied it. "I feel for Dana. Where others see an opportunity, she sees a friend suffering. There's been talk of putting him down - yes. Some are calling it a mercy killing, but others have suggested that John be "dismantled" instead: destroy all but a small part of him - just in case they need something from him again in the future. Dana is resistant; she can't bring herself to give up on her friend - but she can't stand to see him in pain. Their priorities are clear; the interests of the camp don't lie in saving the enemy's life." "But don't they need to keep him alive? For further study?" "That's just it." Mrs. Scully leaned in and her voice dropped. "You won't have heard yet - Dana thinks they've discovered the virus causing his condition. She says now they have it they won't need him to grow more of the virus." -o0o- Dr. Scully made a rare appearance in the mess hall the following night for a late Thanksgiving dinner. Liam had eaten earlier, but his father had just come in from a patrol and Marie insisted they spend the evening together. Dr. Scully entered the hall with her mother and Mulder. Mrs. Scully greeted Marie and the three of them were invited to sit at the van de Kamps' table. Supplies were being meted out frugally these days, so Liam had been excited to see a tiny portion of turkey on his plate. Dr. Scully didn't seem to notice. Watching her out of the corner of his eye, Liam decided the doctor was not happy; she toyed with her food, stabbing it with her fork and moving it around on the plate in a haphazard fashion. She hardly looked like a person who had just made a huge breakthrough. Liam wasn't the only one keeping an eye on the doctor; Mulder, his plate scraped clean and pushed to one side, looked grim every time his gaze fell on her restless hands. "I think it's time." Dr. Scully tipped her fork and let peas fall from it one by one. "Time?" Mulder asked. "I don't like seeing him this way." She looked him in the eye. "We've extracted what we can from him. Short of doing a live autopsy, there's little more use he can be to us." "Scully ..." Mulder didn't try to hide his shock. Mrs. Scully, in conversation with Liam's mother, stopped mid-sentence. "What are you saying, Dana?" Scully's gaze didn't move from Mulder's face. "You've supported me in this so far, Mulder; please - don't stop now." He looked torn. They went on as if no one else was in the room. "Scully, I know it's painful to see him, but surely there's still more you can learn from him." "If that were you, what would you want me to do?" She fired the challenge at him. "That *was* me once," he said so quietly Liam doubted anyone else heard it. Scully resumed swirling the vegetables around the plate. "He wouldn't want to live this way." Around him, Liam could feel the discomfort rolling off his parents and Mrs. Scully. Their heads were bent low. "You think we should kill him." His tone of voice turned cold, matter-of-fact. "End his suffering." Mulder's face twisted. "Scully, you don't wanna do this." "Mulder -" "You can save him, Scully. I know you can. You brought *me* back from the grave." "How many miracles can one person ask for? Expect?" she said. "Why are you making this even harder than it should be?" "I don't want you doing something you'll flog yourself over later. There's been too much of that, Scully." Mrs. Scully shot a glance at Liam then seemed to recoil when she realized he was looking at her. Dr. Scully drew a deep breath. "I've made my mind up. It's selfish of me to hang on to him." She pushed her plate away and rose. "It can be done tonight." She started to walk away from the table. Liam waited for Mulder to do something. His face was dark, rippling with indecision and pain. He opened his mouth. "Monica." Dr. Scully stopped, the table deathly still. "Monica says you know how to save him." The doctor's head turned slightly. "Monica? Mulder, I don't under -" "She wants you to try to save him. She says only you'd believe ..." Mulder got up and edged to Dr. Scully. She was shaking her head. "Monica's ... She's probably ... Please don't do this -" He put his hands on her shoulders. "Scully, I'm sorry. I - I haven't been able to talk about it. .. In ten years time, you're going to look back on what I say next and you're going to find it hilariously funny ... Scully?" She said nothing. "I see dead people." He tried to smile. A change instantaneous and terrible swept across her face. Dr. Scully's eyes expressed a torrent of emotion and at a guess none of it very good. They blazed with what looked like pure rage. "What?" She made it sound like a snarl. Mulder withdrew his hands. "I've been seeing - talking - to her ever since we caught Doggett. She's talking to me right now. She's saying she knows you're angry and confused and -" "How long?" Her voice was low and dangerous. He didn't have to ask what she meant. "On and off since - since ... you can guess." "Who?" He knew exactly what she wanted to know. "Monica, the Gunmen" - Scully winced - "X, Deep Throat, Garrett de Rosier - he's the only one I never met - " He threw a guilty look back at the table. It was like someone had punched Liam in the stomach. Mr. de Rosier? Liam had waited for weeks for the tall old man to turn up. "Krycek." Dr. Scully's face hardened; her shoulders rose and fell in anger; she was keeping the storm in check - but only just. "Scully?" Mulder seemed unaware of the danger or had braced himself against it because he wasn't ready to give up. "Monica says she wants you to do everything you can to save John. She says you saved my life, you can save his." Wordlessly, the doctor spun about and stormed out the mess hall door. -o0o- Winter, which had been threatening for so long, arrived unexpectedly and suddenly overnight. Snow covered the mountains surrounding them and the chill above and below ground was inescapable.