Lives Reclaimed - Christmas Together (1/2)
by Donna Honeycutt and Vickie Moseley

Rating - R
Category - MSR, AU, kidfic
Spoilers - None
Keywords - MSR, AU, kidfic
Summary - From the Lives Reclaimed 
Universe 
Feedback - Please.  

Comments to donnah1013@gmail.com and 
vickiemoseley1978@yahoo.com


Donna here - We couldn't help ourselves!  
Honest, this wasn't planned but oh so much 
fun!  Very Happy Holidays to everyone!!

Vickie here -- Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noel, 
Merry Christmas!  We had a great time and 
wrote this rather quickly so please forgive any 
glaring errors.  We wanted to give you all a 
little present.  See you all in 2010!


Our Lady of Sorrows Hospital
December 22, 2008
1:55 pm

Scully checked her watch again, for probably 
the fourth time in five minutes.  Mulder would 
be picking William up at school now and then 
heading over here to get her.  She'd probably 
forgotten something important for the trip, but 
she knew with full certainty that she had all of 
William's things safely packed.  If they had to 
go buy Mulder some underwear, so be it.

She shouldn't be this nervous.  They were 
going to Mom's house for goodness sake, but it 
was William's first time with the whole family 
and that was nerve racking to her as well as 
him.  Mulder wasn't exactly blase about it either 
considering he'd be stuck in a house with Bill 
for a couple of days.  Bill had never met 
William, well, no one had except Mom and only 
once for her.  William was becoming more 
social, interacting at school as he became 
more comfortable, but this was going to be a 
challenge.  Mom, in her most diplomatic way, 
had inferred that Matthew was a spoiled brat 
and Charlie's boys were teens now.  She 
sighed; there was nothing she could do about 
any of that.

Charlie.  She was worried about him.  She 
hadn't actually seen him since the funeral and 
he wasn't exactly forthcoming in email.  If only 
she could reach him more often by phone.  
Scully couldn't be positive that the boys had 
passed on messages when she got them, but 
for whatever reason, their communication was 
almost down to nothing.

She understood that, losing Rachel had 
devastated the man.  Her death had shaken 
Scully in ways she had never anticipated.  
Rachel was younger than her; she had a 
family, children, and a man who adored her.  It 
had never occurred to Scully that her sister-in-
law would die so young.  A brain aneurysm, it 
still didn't seem possible.  Rachel had been a 
healthy young woman, active, vibrant, involved 
in her sons' lives.  

Charlie hadn't been there.  The Navy that had 
ruled all of their lives for so many years had 
been in control for this too.  He'd been on 
maneuvers and unreachable for over a day 
after she had taken ill.  Kenny, Charlie's oldest 
son, had called Mom, who had dropped 
everything and rushed to their sides.  She 
hadn't gotten there in time either and it was she 
who had called Scully.  Mulder had still been 'in 
hiding' but she was already working at Our 
Lady of Sorrows and had rushed to her 
brother's home to be of what help she could.  
There had been nothing she could do, except 
be there, accept the condolences of friends 
until Charlie could arrive.  Mom was much 
better at those kinds of things than she was, 
but she was there as backup and Scully 
thought the boys appreciated it.

They had moved around like the walking dead 
at first.  Rachel had been their anchor; the 
parent that was home, that made it a home.  
The teens were a horrible age to live through 
under the best circumstances; this was a blow 
Scully could only hope they could weather.  
She was in touch with them, email, phone 
calls, she hadn't given in to Facebook yet and 
knowing Mulder, she never would, but she tried 
to be available, however they were teenagers . 
. .

She checked her watch again and shut down 
her computer.  It had gone into sleep mode 
again anyway.  She was rising from her desk 
when Dr. Watson tapped her on door.  "I know 
you're on your way out, but could you give this 
a quick glance?"  He held up a printout and she 
hid her sigh.


St. Mary's Grade School
December 23, 2008
2:00 pm

Mulder popped another sunflower seed into his 
mouth and tapped his fingers in time to the 
tune of Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire -- 
Cha Cha playing on his XM radio.  When the 
doors to the school opened and the first wave 
of children ran out, he got out of the silver 
Taurus and stood by the driver's door.  After 
just a few minutes, William appeared being led 
by one of the teachers.

Mulder stiffened, but the teacher, Ms. Reiman, 
smiled and shook her head.  "All good news, 
Mr. Mulder," she assured him as she 
approached.  "William had a great day.  He 
even participated in music," she said with 
obvious pride.

"Hey, big guy, that's fantastic!" Mulder crowed, 
ruffling William's hair.  "What did you do?"

William shrugged and reached for the door 
latch.  Ms. Reiman smiled and spoke for him.  
"He played the triangle and he did a fantastic 
job.  But I understand you won't be here for the 
pageant on Christmas Eve?"

"No, we're visiting family in Baltimore.  As a 
matter of fact, we're packed and just heading 
over to pick up William's mom so we can hit the 
road."

"Well, you have a great time over Christmas 
break and we'll see you in January, William.  
Thank you again for the picture you drew me."  
Ms. Reiman waved goodbye and walked back 
toward the school building.

"You know I played the triangle in grade 
school," Mulder told William as he watched him 
in the rearview mirror buckling his seatbelt over 
the booster seat.  

William stared out the window, chewing on his 
lip.  "Can you put on Disney radio?" he asked.

"Sure.  But I warn you, your mom's going to 
want classical," Mulder replied as he punched 
the select button on the radio.  Miley Cyrus's 
latest pop song filled the air.

"So, you ready for Santa?" Mulder asked 
casually.  He didn't expect the worried look to 
appear on William's face in the rearview mirror.  
"Want to talk about it?" he asked instinctively.

"I was making sound effects.  In music class," 
William admitted glumly.  'Sound effects' was 
how Mulder referred to the noises William 
made when he was bored or uncomfortable, 
rocket noises and noises of battle.  The articles 
Mulder had read on Asperger's indicated that 
was normal for the child, but it was still 
annoying to everyone else.

"Oh.  Well, we talked about that.  You have to 
be quiet in music class, just like the rest of the 
classes.  Still, you did play the triangle when 
you were supposed to.  That's a good thing."  
William's ability to cut off the rest of the world 
around him and enter into his own little 'zone' 
had caused more than a few problems at the 
beginning of the school year.  Gradually both 
he and the school staff and children were 
making the adjustments.

"But Santa knows I was making them," William 
reminded him.  

Mulder nodded.  "You know, Santa watches for 
the good stuff, too.  You've been working so 
hard at school and that's the important part."

There was silence for a while and then William 
started making 'battle noises' and Mulder just 
smiled.


Our Lady of Sorrows Hospital
2:45 pm

Mulder pulled the car into a visitor's parking 
space and got out to open the back door.  
William unbuckled himself and jumped down to 
the pavement with a little flourish.  

"Nice," Mulder complimented him.  William 
beamed and took Mulder's hand as they 
walked toward the hospital entrance.

Running ahead, William was the first at the 
elevator.  He punched the 'up' call button and 
stared up at the floor indicator light.  Mulder 
waited with him and when the doors finally 
opened, held William back so that the other 
occupants could move off.  They entered the 
car together and William punched the button 
for the third floor.

"You're a pro at this," Mulder told him.

"Number 3.  Left and then right," William 
recited.

"You got it.  We get off the elevator; go left 
down the hall and right at the end.  Which 
door?"

"Pead--peda--PEEdiATrics," William 
pronounced with only a modicum of difficulty.  

"Right, pediatrics.  Mom is a -- what?"

"Doctor," William answered in no uncertain 
terms.

Mulder chuckled.  "Right again.  Mom is a 
doctor.  And I'm a . . . "

"Boy toy?" William answered, a twinkle in his 
eye.

Mulder frowned.  "Your mom told you to tell me 
that, didn't she?"

"What's a 'boy toy', Daddy?"

"It's like a Star Wars figure or a Transformer," 
Mulder bluffed.  "And what do I really do, no 
teasing now."

William thought hard.  "You're a . . . Sultan."

"Consultant," Mulder corrected.

"For the FBI," William added with an emphatic 
nod of his head.

"That's right.  For the FBI."

By the time the elevator doors opened on the 
third floor, William was deep in a long-running 
description of the battle on the ice planet Hoth 
and wasn't letting Mulder get a word in 
edgewise.

Mulder herded the child into the suite of offices 
and smiled at the nurse at the first desk.  "Hi, 
Marcy."

"Hi, Mr. Mulder, William," the young woman 
smiled up at them.  "Dr. Scully got called into a 
quick consult.  She said she'd be no more than 
five minutes."

"How long ago was that?" Mulder asked, trying 
not to show his annoyance and failing.

"About ten minutes ago, so you shouldn't have 
to wait much longer.  Oh, William, did you hear 
about the 'elf' problem we've been having 
here?"

William stopped mumbling to himself and 
frowned. 

"Somehow, elves have been sneaking around 
here all day leaving things behind.  Why, I was 
just in your mother's office for a minute, and I 
found this on my desk when I came back out."  
She reached into a drawer and pulled out a 
bulging Christmas stocking.  "Strangest thing -- 
it says 'William' on it.  But I don't know that 
many people named William."

Mulder could see his son biting his lip.  "Hey, 
that's your name, isn't it?" he poked him in the 
arm.  

"Is it for me?" William asked timidly.

"Well, since you're the only William I know, I 
guess.  I'm not very wise in the ways of elves," 
Marcy said, handing over the stocking.

William quickly dug his hand in the stocking 
and pulled out the first item.  "Reeses!" he 
cried eagerly.  Looking again, he pulled out 
more candy.  "Here Daddy.  You can have this 
one," he said, handing Mulder a candy cane.

"We're learning all about sharing at school," 
Mulder explained accepting the candy.

"I take it he's not a big fan of peppermint," 
Marcy whispered with a wink.  

"Bingo," Mulder replied.  "But the peanut butter 
cups are a hit."

"What's this one?" William asked, holding up a 
foil covered tiny bell shaped candy.

"What does the writing say?" Mulder asked him 
back.

"C - R - U - N - C . . . I can't see the other 
letter."

"Bet it's an H," Mulder said.  "C-R-U-N-C-H.  
What does that spell?"

William thought hard.  "Crunch?" he guessed.

"Very good," Scully exclaimed as she walked 
into the office.

"Here, Mom.  You can have these," William 
said, giving her the chocolate bells.

"Oh my, what sharing," Scully said dryly.  "So 
what did you get, Dad?"

"I got the candy cane," Mulder answered with 
glee.  "If you're nice, I might let you lick my 
candy cane later," he whispered devilishly in 
her ear.

"Not in front of the c-h-i-l-d," Scully warned.

"C-h-i-l-d -- child," William recited, beaming up 
at her.

"Guess that extra spelling work after dinner is 
paying off," Mulder smiled at her.

Scully sighed and rolled her eyes.  "Marcy, I 
guess we're taking off.  The service -- "

"Has your cell phone number, but they know to 
try one of the doctors on call first.  You just 
have a good time, relax and enjoy your family.  
Hey, this is your first Christmas, isn't it?"

Scully looked over at Mulder and smiled 
wistfully.  "Yeah, I guess it is.  First one 
together, all of us."

Mulder encircled her waist and hugged her to 
his side.  "C'mon.  The car is packed and I 
gassed up before I got the c-h-i-l-d."

"That spells 'child'," William supplied helpfully.

"Then let's get this show on the road," Scully 
said, hoping she sounded more excited than 
fearful.


Maggie Scully's residence
Baltimore, MD
6:15 pm

Mulder pulled the car up to the curb and killed 
the engine.  He looked over at Scully who was 
looking out the passenger side window, a 
pensive expression on her face.

"Scully?"

She sighed and turned to look behind her at 
William sound asleep in the back seat.

"No one has seen us.  We could just turn 
around and head right back home," Mulder told 
her, giving voice to a desire so secret she 
would never admit it to anyone, even herself.

"No.  It wouldn't be fair," she said, shaking her 
head.

"To your mom?  She'll understand."

"No.  It wouldn't be fair to William.  This is his 
first Christmas with his family - his real family.  
Families get together at Christmas.  I want him 
to have this.  I've . . . Mulder, I've dreamed of 
this day for so very long."

"Hey, reality always pales in comparison to 
fantasy.  Well, present company excepted, of 
course," he replied to with a trademark leer.

She chuffed a laugh, but grew serious again.  
"It's his family.  We brought him into it.  He has 
a right to be here.  He has a right to meet these 
people, get to know them -- warts and all."

"Now you're making me want to run for the 
hills," Mulder winced.

"Buck up, former G-man," she dared, poking 
him in the arm.  "You get the wild child, I'll get 
the luggage."

"A woman with a plan - I'm very turned on," 
Mulder teased, still trying to lighten the 
moment.

"Sorry, sport, but that just means you're going 
to be taking cold showers for the duration.  
William is sleeping in the same room with us," 
she shot back.

"Is it too late to get a couple of rooms at the 
Super 8 we just passed?"  At her frown he 
shrugged in defeat.  "I'll get the wet blanket, 
you get the clothes."

"That's no way to talk about your son," she 
chided.

"Yeah, well you told him I was a 'boy toy'," 
Mulder shot back.  He got out of the car, 
opened the back door and reached in to 
unbuckle William.  Halfway out of his booster 
seat, William woke up.  

"Are we there?" he asked, yawning.

"We're here," Mulder told him brightly.  "C'mon, 
we can help Mom with the bags."  

Scully handed William his own brightly colored 
duffle bag and the pillow off his bed at home, 
since she knew pillows would be a scarce 
commodity with so many people in one house.  
Mulder grabbed their other suitcases and 
Scully took the shopping bags filled with 
presents.  The three trooped up the walk to the 
porch and William rang the doorbell.

In just a moment, Maggie opened the front 
door and the glass storm door.  "Dana, Fox, 
Merry Christmas.  And look at you, William!  
Come in, let's get you out of the cold."

"Hi, Mom," Scully said, accepting the hug and 
kiss from her mother.

"Mrs. Scully," Mulder said, accepting a hug and 
attempting to keep hold of the luggage.

"And you, young man," Maggie crooned to 
William as she hugged him tightly.  Letting him 
go, she stood and took everyone's coats to the 
hall closet.  "Your Aunt Tara and Uncle Bill are 
so excited to meet you.  And your Uncle 
Charlie and your cousins got in late last night."

"When do we open the presents?" William 
asked flatly.

"Hey, where are our manners?" Mulder 
scolded.  

"When do we open the presents, please?" 
William tried again.

"Not till day after tomorrow, I'm afraid," Maggie 
told him.  "But don't you worry.  We'll have fun 
in the meantime.  I rented some movies for you 
and Matthew to watch in the family room and 
later we can all play a game or two.  Right now, 
I bet you're hungry after that long drive.  Come 
into the kitchen and I'll get you all something to 
eat."

"My old room, Mom?" Scully asked, nodding 
toward the luggage.

"Yes.  I had Bill put a cot in there for William," 
Maggie told her as she herded William down 
the hall.

"We'll put these away and be right there," 
Scully called as she indicated to Mulder to 
follow her up the stairs.

"I'm telling you, Scully, I'm having a hard time 
not getting my hopes up here.  Your old room 
from your teen years.  Finding all those Scott 
Baio posters on the back of your closet door . . 
."

"I can still hurt you like that beast woman, 
Mulder," Scully deadpanned at him.

She came to the first door at the top of the 
stairs and opened it, then stepped aside to let 
Mulder enter first.  He stopped pretty quickly.  
"Um, Houston, we have a problem."

"What's the . . . matter," Scully trailed off as 
she, too, stepped into the room to discover the 
cot, her old twin bed -- and a sleeping bag laid 
out on the floor.  "William Scully, Junior," she 
growled.

"Scully, it's OK.  I'll take the floor.  No big deal.  
We're only here for a couple of nights."

"No, it is not all right."  She spun on her heel 
when she stopped and stormed over to the 
closet, opening up both sliding doors.  "Just as 
I thought," she said angrily.  She stepped aside 
and showed Mulder the contents of the closet -
- a rollaway bed.  "We used it for sleepovers 
when I was a kid.  It's the same height as the 
twin -- we just have to move the nightstand out 
of the way and we'll have a defacto king sized 
bed."

"Bill probably just forgot it was there," Mulder 
tried.

"Yeah.  I'm sure," Scully huffed.  "C'mon, let's 
get it set up.  I know where Mom keeps the 
sheets and extra blankets."

She had the room in a much better order 
quickly, though she was muttering to herself.  
Reassuring her wasn't helping, and he wanted 
to check on William.  This was high stress for 
both of them and he wanted to keep an eye on 
things.  They headed back downstairs and 
Scully moved on to the kitchen.  William 
passed her in the dining room and headed for 
Mulder.

Mulder spotted the younger man as he came 
into the room.  He walked stiffly, not at 
attention, but as though remembering how 
walking was done.  The man's eyes landed on 
William and he came toward them.  The smile 
he attempted looked tired.  

Mulder felt William back up away from the man 
until he bumped into Mulder's legs and then he 
took a fistful of slacks for further comfort.

"Charlie?" Mulder asked.  It couldn't be anyone 
else.  The resemblance with Bill was there, 
though the man was thinner, much thinner.  
With the insight of a profiler or maybe his own 
Spookiness, he realized that on some level that 
he probably wasn't even aware of, Charlie 
blamed Bill for a great deal of his pain.  He 
actually blamed the Navy for the time he had 
lost with Rachel, but Bill personified that.

Will's hand tightened on Mulder's slacks as 
Charlie stopped in front of them.  "You must be 
Mulder and William."

Mulder took the proffered hand and they 
shook.  Charlie looked down at William, but 
didn't offer his hand.  It was obvious that 
William wouldn't have taken it and his grip on 
Mulder's slacks tightened.

"It's good to meet you."  The words were 
correct, but the sentiment seemed dead.

"Scully, uh, Dana's in the kitchen with your 
mother."

Charlie nodded, seeming to smile slightly at the 
name and headed in that direction.  Mulder 
looked down at William, who's fist was relaxing 
slightly.  "You okay?"

"Why is he so sad?"

Mulder led him over to the corner near the 
Christmas tree.  "He lost his wife and - "

"He didn't get to tell her goodbye, did he?"

Mulder shook his head.

"Is that why he's so mad?"

Mulder blinked at that, but nodded.  William 
sighed and his hand found its way into 
Mulder's.  The boy was clearly uncomfortable 
in this setting and with all these strangers.  
Mulder felt little better, but it was for Scully and 
they were able to attend now, so that excuse 
was gone - not that he would have used it.  
She was so obviously happy to be able to see 
her family again.

In a few minutes he looked up to see Scully 
walking back from the kitchen with her arm 
around Charlie's waist.  She was talking to him, 
but Charlie's mind seemed to be elsewhere.  
They stopped in front of Mulder and William.

"Have you met Kenny and Bryan yet?" she 
asked William. 

He shook his head, looking down at his shoes.

"I believe they're in the den, either watching TV 
or asleep," Charlie said.  "They were up late 
last night.  I'll go get them."  He pulled away 
from Scully and turned toward the back of the 
house.

Scully looked up at Mulder, her eyes showing 
her concern.  "I thought he'd be better by now."  
Mulder kept quiet, would he be this functional if 
Scully . . . Don't go there.

"Where're Bill and family?"

"Mom said Tara took them to do some last 
minute things.  They should be back any 
minute."

Charlie joined them.  "The boys will be here in 
a minute, they didn't want to miss some part of 
the movie they're watching."  He seemed 
slightly ill at ease at their rudeness, but didn't 
seem to know a solution.  "We got in pretty late 
last night, so they haven't been up long."

The doorbell rang then and Scully looked up.  
"That must be Bill."  She noted that both 
Mulder and Charlie tensed up at her words, but 
hurried on to the door.

"Ho Ho Ho!" Bill hadn't been able to open the 
door with his arms full, but he blustered in 
followed by Matthew and Tara.   Mulder looked 
them over from his relative hiding place near 
the tree.  Bill looked the same as always, big, 
red-faced, in charge.  Tara looked mainly tired.  
Matthew had grown, even from the pictures 
Scully had shared a few months back.  And he 
obviously hadn't missed many meals.  He'd get 
that growth spurt eventually, to bring him up to 
Bill's height, but in the meantime, the kind word 
would be chunky.  Mulder immediately filled in 
the word bully as well, but that was a first 
impression and based on Mulder's opinion of 
his father so he'd keep quiet.

Mulder felt William's hand slip into his again.

Bill glanced at Mulder, then down at the boy 
and his steps faltered, but he regained control 
and turned toward his brother.  "Merry 
Christmas, Charlie.  Where are the boys?  You 
did bring them, didn't you?"

Mulder watched.  Was Bill really that oblivious 
to the look on Charlie's face?  William has 
certainly caught it if his grip meant anything.

"They're in the back.  Hope we didn't wake you 
when we got in last night."

"Nope, slept like a baby."  

When no one else spoke, Scully moved 
forward trying to ease the awkwardness.  "Bill, 
it's good to see you."

"You too, sis."

Damn, this could have been a bad drawing 
room comedy with mediocre actors, Mulder 
thought.  Scully gave Bill a hug, which he 
turned into a bear hug, lifting her off her feet.  
Mulder kept quiet.  Tara moved forward and 
gave Scully a quick hug, then looked back at 
Matthew, silently urging him to do the same.  

With ill grace Matthew stepped forward and 
allowed Scully to give him a hug.  "Matthew, I'd 
like you to meet Mulder and William."  She 
turned toward Mulder, who manfully stepped 
forward with William in tow.

"Matthew, nice to see you again.  It's been a 
long time."  Matthew looked him up and down 
and his eyes flickered to William.  William's grip 
became painful for an instant.  "William, this is 
your cousin, Matthew.  He lives in California."

William managed to nod, but said nothing.

"And these are your Aunt Tara and Uncle Bill."

"Hullo," William barely whispered.

Maggie came bustling out of the kitchen at that 
point, saving them all from further 
conversation.  "Did you get the cream?  Let's 
get whatever needs refrigeration put away, 
then we can visit."

Mentally Mulder rolled his eyes.  Visit?  With 
these people?  Fun times.  How many more 
hours until Santa came and they could get out 
of here?  He caught Charlie looking at him.  To 
his surprise, Charlie gave him a short nod.

Kenny and Bryan joined them, looking their 
part as teenagers, with low slung jeans and t-
shirts, their hair longer than Charlie's by 
several haircuts and looking like bad bed hair.  
They did seem genuinely happy to see Scully 
and were inclusive of William, unlike Matthew.

Mulder was sure Maggie had picked up on the 
tension as much as anyone else, but she 
continued to be the consummate hostess, as 
everyone gathered in the living room, and the 
kids piled the packages they had all brought 
under the tree for Christmas morning opening.

Mulder silently wished for a smaller, quieter 
Christmas, just the three of them in their house 
in Virginia, but kept his mouth shut.  He sat on 
the floor while William placed their packages 
under the tree, then the boy sat beside him, 
close and Mulder's arm around him.

"I can't believe how much all my grandsons 
have grown," Maggie mused.  "We do need a 
girl though."  She spoke without looking at 
either Tara or Dana, but it still fell flat in the 
room and all conversation, what little there was 
of it, stopped.

"Maybe if Dana gets married some day, she'll 
take care of that for you," Bill tossed out and 
Mulder felt Scully tighten.  Was she going to 
retort?

"Where's the bathroom?" William whispered to 
Mulder and, grateful to get out of the line of 
fire, they rose and Mulder followed William 
upstairs.

Scully found them sometime later in their 
bedroom.  Mulder had William tucked in and 
was sitting on the floor next to the cot, reading 
to him.

"Hey, there.  Ready for bed?" Scully smiled as 
she knelt down next to her two men.

"It was a busy day," Mulder explained.  "And it 
is nine o'clock."

"That's true," Scully nodded.  "Did you say your 
prayers?" she asked William, brushing 
strawberry blond locks from his forehead.

"Daddy helped me," William responded 
sleepily.

Scully looked over at Mulder with a raised 
eyebrow.

"I've been listening," he shrugged.  "And I 
found this on the bookcase over there," he 
said, showing the book he was reading.

"'Moby Dick'," Scully grinned.  

"Here, settle back.  We were just getting to the 
good part," Mulder said, patting his chest.  
Scully shook her head at his antics, but turned 
and leaned back against him.  Mulder moved 
the book to the side so he could continue to 
read.  After a few minutes, Scully looked over 
and saw that William was fast asleep.

"He's out," she whispered.  "I wondered where 
you two had gone."

"I figured with all the excitement it would be 
best to keep him on his usual schedule," 
Mulder whispered in return.

She nodded, getting to her feet and rummaging 
through the suitcase for her pajamas.  "I'm sure 
getting away from Bill was just an added 
benefit," she said and gave him a pointed look.

Mulder took her in his arms.  "In all the time 
I've known him, your brother has had it out for 
me.  But that's his problem.  This is our 
Christmas, our first real Christmas and I'm not 
going to let a few snide comments ruin it - for 
you, for William, or for me."

"Well, fortunately, Bill is getting together with 
some of his buddies from Annapolis tomorrow 
morning."

"I should send them a thank you note," Mulder 
quipped as he watched her change.

"He'll be back for lunch, though." 

"Oh, well, then maybe just a postcard."

She laughed softly.  "C'mon, I'm kind of tired 
too.  And those shoulders look awfully inviting," 
she said, pulling him over to the bed.

"So, can we keep to our usual schedule, too?" 
he asked, shedding slacks and shirt and 
climbing in under the covers.

"As soon as we're back home," she assured 
him, but gave him a kiss full of promise.

*********

Maggie sighed as she chopped the almond 
bark into small pieces and scooped them up 
into the glass bowl.  She popped it into the 
microwave, chose the time and power level 
and then stood back, watching through the 
window as the bits of white chocolate slowly 
melted into smooth, creamy icing.

She wished it were so easy.  She wished she 
could take individuals, pop them somewhere 
and just watch as all the hurt and anger melted 
and they formed a cohesive family unit, free of 
stress.

She shook her head.  Where did that come 
from?  Maggie prided herself on her level head.  
It was one of the things her William had always 
remarked on, one of the things she admired 
most in her youngest daughter.  So where had 
she come up with these wistful thoughts?

She had to be honest, she'd been too 
overcome with joy to see the hardships of this 
family gathering.

It had all seemed so incredible.  When Dana 
had called saying she had news, wonderful 
news, Maggie knew instinctively that it meant 
they had found William.  But not only did they 
find him, from Dana's much truncated account, 
they had saved him - and he, them.  They were 
a family.  It was the dead of summer, but 
Maggie's immediate thought was of Christmas.

"You'll come, won't you?  The three of you?  I 
was already expecting Fox, but to have all 
three of you - "

"Sure, Mom," Dana had told her.  "Of course 
we'll be there."

And so it was just a matter of a few phone calls 
and it was all arranged.  She knew to expect 
Kenny and Bryan, it was 'her turn' to have the 
boys for their Christmas vacation--a task she 
shared with Rachel's parents while Charlie was 
out to sea.  But as luck would have it, Charlie 
had requested a desk job stateside and given 
his recent tragic loss, the higher ups felt they 
owed it to the man.  Then, as if by miracle, 
Tara had called telling her that Bill would be 
home for six weeks starting Dec. 1 and they 
would be joining her for Christmas, too.  She'd 
gone to bed that night and cried herself to 
sleep, but they were tears of joy.

It wasn't that she thought everything would be 
perfect.  She was a mother of four and had 
raised her children with a husband out to sea 
more years than she cared to remember.  
There had been lop-sided bicycles, broken 
crystal and china from small 'helpful' hands in 
the clean up department.  There had been 
tears and rants and time-outs during some 
particularly willful years.  And even when 
William had been home, there had been 
problems.  Sometimes it seemed there were 
more problems when he was around.  

Maggie bit her tongue at that uncharitable 
thought.  But in truth, sometimes William's 
arrival, breezing in from the four corners of the 
world, only served to disrupt the fragile balance 
she achieved by constant hard work and 
vigilance.  Still, it was so good to have him 
home, she didn't really mind.

No, she knew better than to expect perfect.  
What she wanted was 'familiar'.  She wanted 
'comfortable'.  She wanted her children to like 
each other and respect each other.  She'd 
seen the look on Dana's face at Bill's 
inappropriate remark about her marital status.  
As far as Maggie was concerned, Fox and 
Dana were married in each other's eyes and 
that was all that really mattered.  But Bill had 
always had a sore spot when it came to Fox 
and after all the years, Maggie didn't think 
anything could change that.  Still, was it too 
much to expect her son to be on his best 
behavior in her house, to her guests?

Charlie was another matter completely.  Her 
poor baby Charles.  He walked around like a 
wraith, a shell of the man who used to come 
into the kitchen and proceed to engage in 
sword play with stalks of celery.  Without 
Rachel, beautiful, kind, loving Rachel, he was 
only half a man.  She understood the pain, the 
loss.  But what she couldn't comprehend, what 
was too difficult for her to even contemplate 
was the anger and guilt he carried.  He hadn't 
caused the aneurysm in Rachel's brain.  But he 
blamed himself for being at sea, for being away 
when she needed him most.  Where Maggie 
had held her William's hand when he passed, 
as awful and sad as that was, Charlie had 
been robbed of even that simple gesture.  He 
returned to find his wife gone from him.  It had 
been close to a year, and he had two fantastic 
boys that needed him desperately, but he just 
didn't have the strength to give them the love 
they deserved.

The microwave chimed and she shook off her 
thoughts.  Carefully, she took the bowl out of 
the oven and stirred the chocolate with a fork.  
She opened a cabinet and picked the green 
food coloring, tilting the container to allow only 
a few sparse drops in the icing.  

"Smells like Santa's workshop in here.  Need a 
hand?"  

Maggie fought the startle response and turned 
to smile at her one remaining daughter-in-law.  
"Sure, honey.  Could you get out the wax paper 
and cover that chopping board on the island.  
We can put the dipped cookies there while they 
cool."

Working as a team, Maggie and Tara 
proceeded to dip the already cooled sugar 
cookies into the melted chocolate and place 
them in a row on the wax paper.  Tara found 
the candy pieces, pull-n-peel licorice and 
colored sprinkles and each woman created 
masterpieces with the cookies.

"Where is everyone else?" Maggie asked when 
curiosity got the better of her.

"Well, Dana got tired of being Bill's punching 
bag so she went to bed - I'm pretty sure that's 
where Fox and William had gone.  Charlie took 
his car keys and left for a drive about an hour 
ago.  The big boys went into the den and were 
watching something on On Demand and Bill 
and Matty are - " she sighed.  "Playing some 
computer game, I think."

Maggie caught the comment about Dana and 
looked over at Tara.  "What's the matter, 
sweetheart?  You're . . . not your usual chipper 
self."

Tara tried to smile, but it was closer to a 
grimace.  "I'm just tired, Maggie.  It was a long 
trip."

"I know that, but you've had other long trips.  
What's going on?  If you don't want to tell me, I 
understand - " she added hastily.

Tara bit her lip.  "Maggie, was Bill always a 
bully?" she asked so bluntly that it caught 
Maggie completely by surprise.

"What do you mean, honey?  He hasn't . . . he 
wouldn't . . . "

"No, he has never touched me in anger, 
Maggie.  It's not that.  It's not even how he is 
with me or Matt.  It's something I notice when 
he's around his brother and sister.  He's . . . I 
don't know, he's a different person.  At first, I 
thought it was because of his dad's death, he 
felt he was now the man of the family.  But that 
was a long time ago and it's only gotten worse 
as he gets older."

"Bill . . . was always opinionated," Maggie 
admitted.  "Strong willed.  But then, you could 
say that of all of them.  Melissa . . .  "  Maggie 
stopped, smiling off in the distance.  "Missy 
was Joan of Arc on her own terms," she said, 
swallowing back the tears that always came 
with thoughts of her oldest daughter.  "And 
Dana, well, you know how Dana is."

"But it goes deeper than that," Tara objected.  
"And . . . I see it in Matt.  And I don't like it.  Not 
one bit."

"He's eleven, honey.  That's a rough age for 
boys.  I used to joke that they start military 
school way too late for most mothers.  By the 
time they're in high school at least they can 
mow the lawn and help around the house.  We 
need a hand when they're in middle school."

Tara snorted.  "I try to place limits and then the 
minute Bill gets home -- "

"All the rules go out the window," Maggie said 
knowingly.  "I remember those days.  
Sometimes I wanted to wring Bill's neck -- Bill 
Senior as well as Bill Junior."

"He wants to be the good guy all the time.  But 
if he's always the good guy that makes me . . . 
"

"The bad guy," Maggie commiserated.  "I 
understand where they're coming from.  They 
only have a short time to be with their family 
and they want so much from that time.  
Discipline, when meted out, was often too 
harsh for the circumstances or not applied at 
all.  It caused a lot of confusion and hurt 
feelings."

"So, how did you handle it?" Tara asked.

"I don't know that I ever did - or maybe we 
wouldn't be having this conversation," Maggie 
said with a sad smile.

"Oh, Maggie, I don't blame you, I just . . .  I was 
hoping for some sage advice," Tara said with 
an equal smile.

"As soon as I find some, I'll share it," Maggie 
assured her.  She glanced over at the 
microwave.  "Oh, dear, it's almost midnight."

"But the cookies look great," Tara said with a 
wink.  "Well, goodnight, Maggie.  Thanks for 
the talk."

"Anytime, honey.  And if you find an answer to 
that problem we've discussed. . . "

"I'll share it with you, I promise."

"Goodnight, Tara.  Sleep tight."  

Maggie looked at the cookies and with a quick 
glance at the door to ensure she wasn't seen, 
picked up one and took a bite.  It was familiar.  
It was comforting.  It tasted just like Christmas.  
She finished off that cookie, resisted the urge 
to take one upstairs with her and turned off the 
light.  Tomorrow was Christmas Eve and sure 
to be a busy day.

*****

December 24, 2008

The next morning came with three inches of 
fresh snow.  William was thrilled as he woke 
his parents with the news.  

"Just what Santa needs, huh, sport?" Mulder 
asked as he watched over William's general 
grooming and teeth brushing while Scully 
dressed for the day.

"Uh huh," William replied around a mouthful of 
foam.  "An ba slay," he added before spitting.

"Yup, and the sleigh," Mulder correctly 
interpreted.  "C'mon, let's go down and see 
what Grandma has around here for breakfast."

"Peanut butter puffs?" William suggested.

"Maybe better than that.  I smell bacon.  Maybe 
a little maple syrup - "

"Pancakes!" William exclaimed joyfully.

"I'd put good money on it.  And from past 
experience, your mom learned all her pancake 
making skills from your Grandmother.  We are 
in for a treat."

Breakfast was a little more enjoyable since Bill 
had left early.  Matthew tended to sleep late, 
according to Tara, and Charlie and his boys 
hadn't surfaced yet.  It was just Maggie, Tara, 
Mulder, Dana and William for pancakes.  
William dug in with relish and finished off three 
pancakes before asking to be excuse. 

"Just a minute, William.  I have something you 
might be interested in," Maggie said.  She 
disappeared onto the back porch but soon 
reappeared carrying a cardboard box.  "I found 
these when I was cleaning out the garage.  I 
thought we'd given them away years ago."  
She handed the box to the child and he peeked 
in at the contents.

"Legos!" he declared happily.

"They belonged to your Uncle Charlie.  I asked 
him and he said he wouldn't mind if you had 
them.  We can keep them here so you have 
something to play with when you come visit 
me."

"Can I go play with them now?" he asked 
eagerly.

"I don't see why not," Maggie said, ruffling his 
hair.  "Why don't you go in the den?"

"Keep the pieces you aren't building with in the 
box, William, so you don't lose any of them," 
Dana directed.  "Thanks, Mom," she said after 
the boy was out of the room.  

"Well, you said he loves to play make believe.  
Charlie was like that, you know.  Always in his 
own little world."

"Maggie, if you don't mind, I still have two more 
gifts I have to find - "

"Not at all, Tara.  I'll keep an ear out for Matt.  
Did you still want to meet up for lunch?"

"Oh absolutely.  You're coming too, aren't you, 
Dana?  A 'girls day out' before the madness 
tonight?"

Scully looked over at Mulder, concern coloring 
her expression.  "Oh, Tara, that's awfully 
sweet, but I don't know . . . "

Mulder took her hand and squeezed it lightly.  
"I don't know.  Sounds like a pretty good plan 
to me.  We'll be fine here.  William will keep me 
out of trouble," he added with a wink.

"We'll just be gone the afternoon.  We need to 
get back early to put the ham in the oven for 
tonight," Maggie offered.  "What do you say, 
sweetheart?  It's been so long since I got to go 
out with my girls.  We can make sandwiches 
for the boys and then we'll go have something 
fun."

"I'm up for the Cheesecake Factory myself," 
Tara said grinning.

"I'm trying very hard not to be jealous," Mulder 
said, folding his arms.  "C'mon, Scully.  You 
love the Cheesecake Factory."

"OK, OK, you win!" she laughed.  "I suppose 
you expect me to bring something back for 
dessert."

Mulder leaned over and kissed her, whispering 
in her ear, "just you."

*****

"Hey, kid.  Wanna watch South Park with me?"

William frowned, glancing up quickly at the 
figure towering over him and his most recent 
Lego creation.  He lifted one shoulder in meek 
agreement.  He'd really hoped Matthew would 
continue to play with his Game Boy in the living 
room, but apparently that wasn't going to be 
the case.

"Lemme see," Matthew said, picking up the 
remote for the television and randomly 
pressing buttons.  "Ah, fuck!  All the channels 
are messed up!  This sucks!"

"Here," William said, holding his hand out for 
the remote.  Matthew glared at him, but 
handed the device over.  William pointed it at 
the television and quickly found the 
programming guide, then proceeded to click to 
the proper channel for Comedy Central.  He 
handed the remote back to his cousin.

"Awright," Matthew sighed.  He flopped down in 
the reclining chair and pushed it back, raising 
the footrest.  "Hey, your head's in the way.  
Move, why don't ya," he ordered.

William scooted over a few feet and continued 
to work on his structure.  He was trying to 
recreate the outpost on Endor, but he had 
already run out of white pieces and had to 
resort to gray and yellow ones.  

"So, what grade you in?" Matthew asked, 
staring at the screen where Cartman was once 
again declaring Kenny dead.

William ignored the question, so Matthew 
repeated it -- louder.  "I said, what the hell 
grade are you in?"

"First," William answered, not looking up.

"First?" Matthew sneered.  "How old are you?"

"Seven . . . and a half," William answered.

"What are you, some kinda retard?  You should 
be in second grade," Matthew huffed.  "My old 
man said there was something wrong with you.  
They gave you away and somehow you found 
your way back."

William frowned and tried to block out the 
sound of Matthew's voice.  He worked hard to 
concentrate and searched through the pile of 
blocks for the right pieces to make the 
overhang where Princess Leia hid from the 
Imperial Stormtroopers before she was found 
by Han Solo.

"Yeah, you're crazy or something.  Like your 
dad.  If he is your dad.  My old man thinks my 
Aunt Dana was screwing her boss.  You're 
probably her boss's kid."

Tears were forming in William's eyes and his 
nose was starting to run.  He swiped at his 
nose and cheeks angrily with his shirtsleeve 
and found two blocks stuck together.  Putting 
them in his mouth, he tried to pry them apart 
with his teeth.

"Oh gross!  What the fuck are you doing?  
Don't put those in your mouth, you retard!" 
Matthew howled.  "I might want to play with 
those some day!"

*****

Mulder had finally found a quiet room, the 
sunroom on the far side of the house.  It wasn't 
heated, which meant it was about 40 degrees, 
but there was no one else there but him and 
the Washington Post.  So far he'd worked his 
way through the front sections and was 
currently pricing real estate in his and Scully's 
old neighborhoods.  When the hum hit, he 
thought it might just be the early stages of 
hypothermia.  But after a moment, it increased 
in strength and magnitude to the point that he 
dropped the paper and grabbed his head from 
the pain.  The next second he was on his feet, 
struggling to get in the house and find William.  
Something was dreadfully wrong.

He made it through the kitchen just in time to 
hear William let out a blood-curdling scream 
followed immediately by the sound of 
something hitting the wall.  The ruckus was 
coming from the family room.  He made a 
beeline in that direction only to run head long 
into Bill, coming from the dining room.  Both 
men stormed into the family room at once.

The Lego set was scattered on the floor near 
the recliner.  A picture of all six of the Scullys, 
taken sometime during the late seventies by 
the looks of the dress and hairstyles, was lying 
on the floor with the glass broken.  Matthew 
was sitting forward on the recliner, holding his 
hand to his nose.  Blood dripped through his 
fingers.

"That little fucker just hit me!" he shrieked to his 
father.

Bill was beside his son in an instant.  "Let me 
see," he ordered, grabbing Matthew's hand 
and pulling it away from his face.  "It's not your 
nose - it's a cut.  What did he hit you with - his 
fist?"

"No, with the Legos!" Matthew yelled angrily.  "I 
was jest sittin' here, watching TV and the little 
fucker hit me with the Legos.  And he broke 
that picture, too!"

When Mulder had the presence of mind to look 
at his son, he found it was just the three of 
them in the room.  "Where did he go?" he 
asked of no one in particular.

"You better find the little bastard before he 
hurts someone else," Bill growled.  "C'mon, 
Matt.  Let's get you cleaned up.  Where the hell 
does Mom keep the first aid kit" he muttered 
loudly.  

Mulder left the room, hoping the hum would 
return and guide him to his son.  When that 
proved futile, he started searching the 
downstairs rooms.  William was not to be 
found.  Finally he took the steps two at a time 
to the second floor.  He searched the room 
they'd slept in and the bathroom.  He was just 
about to look in Maggie's room when Charlie's 
door opened and he stuck his head out into the 
hall.  "I've got him in here, Mulder.  He's pretty 
upset."

"Thanks," Mulder answered gratefully.  Charlie 
stepped aside and let Mulder into the room.  At 
first he couldn't see his son, but then he 
spotted the child crouched between a dresser 
and the closet door.  "Hey, buddy," he said, 
lowering himself to the floor and pulling William 
on his lap.  The boy grabbed onto Mulder 
tightly and rocked back and forth.  Mulder 
followed suit, rocking them there on the floor.  
"It's OK, buddy.  Just calm down.  Just calm 
down."  He rubbed the child's back, tucking him 
into his shoulder.  "OK, it's OK.  Just breathe 
with me, OK?  In.  Out.  In.  Out."

It took several minutes of repeating the 
process before William's tearful hiccups finally 
settled into deep breathing.  "That's it.  That's 
my guy," Mulder murmured to the boy.  After a 
few more minutes he took the boy's chin in his 
hand and turned his face up.  "Want to tell me 
what happened?"

William's eyes filled with tears again and he 
emphatically shook his head 'no'.  

"Something happened, buddy.  Something 
upset you.  What happened?" Mulder tried 
again.

"I wanna-na-na go ho-ome," William cried 
brokenly.

"William, did you hit your cousin?" Mulder 
asked quietly, keeping his voice steady and 
calm even though it took a lot of effort.

Tearfully, William nodded his head in the 
affirmative.

"Why?" Mulder asked, confused.  In the last six 
months they'd had William back with them, he 
had never hurt anyone.  This behavior was 
totally unlike anything Mulder could remember, 
even in William's worst meltdowns.

"I don't like him," William said bluntly.  "He's 
mean."

"Did he hurt you first?" Mulder asked, still trying 
to find some semblance of reason in the recent 
events.  "Did he say something that upset 
you?"

William started to cry harder and buried his 
face in Mulder's shoulder.  "I wann-na-na go 
home NOW!"

Not knowing what else to do, Mulder went back 
to rocking them gently back and forth.  After 
nearly half an hour, William's hiccups turned to 
sighs and the child dropped into an exhausted 
sleep.  Mulder kept rocking him for a moment, 
then moved to stand.  He was surprised when 
a strong arm helped him to his feet and smiled 
when he realized it was Charlie.

"Thanks.  I'm just going to lay him down in our 
room," he said.  Charlie nodded and went 
before them, opening doors.  When William 
was tucked in on the cot, Mulder smoothed the 
hair from his forehead and leaned over, giving 
him a kiss.

"I think I can shed a little light on the problem," 
Charlie whispered when he caught Mulder's 
attention for a moment.  Mulder followed him 
into the hallway and partially closed the door to 
the room before turning to hear what Charlie 
had to say.  

"Will was provoked," Charlie said quietly.

"He's never thrown a toy at anyone.  He's 
never hurt anyone, not that we've seen," 
Mulder objected.

Charlie scratched at his forehead and 
shrugged.  "Matt was calling him a 'retard'.  I 
also overheard something about Dana 
screwing her boss, that you aren't Will's real 
dad."

"What?" Mulder asked, incredulous.  

Charlie snorted bitterly.  "Matt's probably 
overheard Bill on one of his rants.  But from 
what I could gather, Will wasn't saying 
anything.  Matt just kept needling him 'til he got 
a reaction."  

Mulder stood there, speechless.

"I was headed for the kitchen when I overheard 
it.  I was going to go in and stop them, but I 
didn't have time.  I heard Will scream, heard 
the crash and then Will tore around the corner 
like the hounds of hell were on him.  I found 
him in my room.  I think it was the only open 
door in the hallway.  I didn't know if he was 
comfortable enough around me for me to try 
and comfort him.  He was so scared.  That's 
when I heard you upstairs and well, you know 
the rest."

Mulder leaned back against the wall and 
closed his eyes.  "Shit."  After giving himself a 
moment, he stood up again and glanced at his 
watch.  "Dana should be home already.  I 
should call her."

Charlie put his hand on Mulder's arm, arresting 
his move to get out his cell phone.

"You know if you call her now she's just going 
to be upset all the way home.  They're on their 
way, Mom wanted to get dinner started so we 
could eat by 6 and it's 4:30 already."

Mulder nodded, rubbing a hand over his face 
and resting it on his chin.  "What should I do?  
Apologize?" he asked, half-joking.

"I wouldn't.  And I certainly wouldn't force Will 
to, either," Charlie said tersely.  

"He threw a toy at his cousin.  I can't let that 
slide, Charlie.  You wouldn't let that slide if it 
had been one of your boys, and you know it."

"Mulder, all I know is that Bill's spawn is just 
exactly like him - a trouble-maker.  He's only 11 
and already he has all the personality traits that 
make his father such a top notch asshole.  He 
goes through life making people miserable and 
then plays the victim when he gets the 
response he was hoping for all along.  Don't do 
that to Will.  Don't let Matt - or Bill for that 
matter - turn him into a victim."

Mulder started to ask Charlie to explain himself 
when they heard the front door open and 
Maggie call out that she, Tara and Dana were 
home.

Mulder moved to the top of the stairs and 
Scully looked up and smiled at him.  It quickly 
faded and she hurried up the stairs.  "What's 
wrong?"

Mulder looked over at Charlie.  "You can talk in 
my room, let William sleep," he offered and 
headed back downstairs.

"What happened?" she insisted Mulder led her 
into the room Charlie and his boys were using.

Mulder sighed and took a seat at the foot of 
Charlie's bed.  He gave her a quick rundown of 
the events of the last half hour.  He hated the 
stricken look on her face, but he didn't keep 
things from her.  The last fifteen years had 
taught him some things.

"Oh Mulder," she closed her eyes and joined 
him on the bed.  "I need to see William."  She 
made no move to rise.

"He's asleep, worn out I guess.  There was 
definite fear that Santa had watched the whole 
thing, but he didn't mention that."

"How could Matthew say something like that?"

"Bill," Mulder said before he could stop himself, 
but he fell silent then.

"Do you think we should leave?"

Yes, yes, yes!  But he took a deep breath.  
"No.  They're your family; we're going to be 
spending time with them for the rest of our 
lives.  We need to reach detente at least."

"I'm so sorry."

"None of this is your fault, Scully.  None of it.  
And as much as I'd like to wring Matthew's 
neck, I'm not sure how much to blame he is 
either."

"Bill," she said dully and he nodded.  She rose 
then.  "I want to look in on William."  He let her 
go and after a moment took a deep breath and 
followed.

She laid an afghan over the boy and there was 
a slight smudge of red where her lips had 
brushed his brow.  She was just standing 
there, watching him.  "You okay?"

"I'm fi-" she caught herself and smiled at him.  

It looked so wistful he wanted to break Bill in 
two; instead he took her into his arms.  "I know 
he's mine and that you are too.  That's all that 
matters." She leaned against him for a 
moment, then straightened and they walked 
downstairs together.  No one else seemed to 
be in evidence, which was a relief and he 
followed Scully into the kitchen.  

"Is William okay?" Maggie asked as they 
entered.

Mulder nodded.  "He's asleep."

"I didn't realize how upsetting all these 
strangers would be to him."

Mulder opened his mouth to give a better 
explanation, but stopped.  If Scully wanted to 
do that, she could.  He was the outsider here 
and he didn't want to sound defensive.
 
"That's part of it, Mom, but I don't want 
Matthew referring to William as a 'retard', I 
won't tolerate that."

Maggie's mouth dropped open.  "He said that 
to William? Oh Dana, Fox, I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," Mulder reassured her.  "I 
think I'll go finish the paper."  He escaped back 
out to the sun room to find Charlie there, sitting 
staring out into the bleak back yard.  "Sorry - "

"No, I took your spot.  It's just not that big a 
house," Charlie said rising.  "Kenny and Bryan 
will be watching out for William.  They won't let 
Matthew get away with something like that 
again."

"You don't have to - "

"Yeah, I do.  William is their cousin and he's 
just a kid.  Matthew can't take on the bigger 
boys; they won't let him pick on anyone else."

"Thank you," Mulder said quietly and Charlie 
nodded, leaving him the cold room to himself 
again.