The Return (12/12)
by charvill

Email: charityharvill@yahoo.com 
Genre: MSR
Spoilers: Post-IWTB
Summary: There are some things you just can't escape. 


Mulder gasps audibly causing William to turn his attention to
his father and rescuing me from his incredulous glare. My body
trembles as the chill sweeps across the part of my body recently
vacated by the child who is undoubtedly too smart for his own
good.

"I have a sister?" The question is my undoing and I hunch over,
protectively clutching my mid-section. All I can think is how I
never wanted him exposed to these things; and hollow it feels
beneath my arms. Empty. Barren. 

"Scully?"

"Mom?" 

Both of them have come to flank my sides on the couch.
Mulder's broad hand rubs smooth circles on my back; William
twines his fingers through mine. How utterly pathetic I am.
What happened to the strong, vibrant Agent Scully? Where did
she go?

"You're still her to me, you know. Even though I was only a
baby then. And it's okay to be sad."

I smile ruefully at the boy who reminds me more of his father
with each passing second. "I don't deserve such kind words," I
state and shake my head. 

"Will, what did you hear?" Mulder voices the question slowly,
surely afraid to shatter the fragile woman next to him.

"Mom?" he asks carefully, seeking permission. I squeeze his
hand and nod. "She was thinking about a little girl and I heard
the word 'daughter'. The girl looks like her, too. Beautiful, you
know? Do I have is she my sister?"

Another dismal wave of emotion floods me at the twinge of
excitement   hopefulness   in his voice. He did have a sister. 

Mulder's tone is solemn as he says the words I cannot. "Emily
was very sick. She passed away a long time ago." 

"Oh." 

I see the pucker between his eyebrows as his lower lip quivers
slightly, and something deep inside me sparks. Moving from
Mulder's touch, I turn and pull my son into my arms. 

"I'm sorry."

"William, no. You have nothing to be sorry for. Ever." I stroke
his hair back from where his head is tucked beneath my chin.
"There's a lot you don't know about your father and me.
Neither of us has ever led a very normal life. But you are part
of our family, and you have a right to know the truth."

His arms fly around me, clutching fiercely. "Thank you," he
sobs, digging his fingers into my sweatshirt like he's trying to
fuse himself to me. "I missed you so much, Mom!"

I am taken back to a night so many years before. One that
started out a nightmare and became   until tonight   the best
night of my existence. Mulder cocooned around me in a
hospital bed while we held our son between us. My heart felt
like it had been broken into a thousand pieces only to be
reformed into one twice the size. It was both excruciating and
euphoric. And now it was happening again.

I made the choice to send him away. And the three of us had
suffered immensely because of that decision. Yet, here we
were: Mulder, me, and our son. Holding onto one another for
dear life. Mourning our losses together. 

How could I be deserving of such pure love? How could this
child be so forgiving after the horror I had surely put him
through?

"There's nothing to forgive," he says in a voice choked with
tears. 

Mulder chuckles painfully, astonished as I am. "Think I'm
gonna need to work on my campfire stories a little bit."

"Why?" I ask, my brainwaves too overwhelmed to pick up the
underlying sarcasm there.

I hear William giggle in response to something going on in
Mulder's mind. He leans away from me slightly and sniffles.
"Dad, you're kinda strange. You know that, right?"

We surrender to laughter before retiring inside. I didn't know
 or want to process, just yet the status with William's
adopted parents, but Skinner assures me that we will have little
trouble regaining custody. The unfurnished guest bedroom
adjacent to the master suite has been empty for far too long.
Like those four walls were merely waiting for William to
finally come home. Now there will be a child to decorate the
room as his own. Until then we have an oversized, inflatable
mattress on the floor next to Mulder's side of the bed. 

Mulder helps our son find his new pajamas and get cleaned up
while I finish making the temporary bed. The two of them join
me about fifteen minutes later. I tuck him in and crawl over the
aqua colored comforter to lie beside him. Propping myself up
by the elbow I begin, whispering one last story for the night.

"There once was a man who met a genie that gave him three
wishes "


THE END
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Author's Note: Yes, I know I left a lot of loose ends and this
probably seems like a cop out. I may eventually continue this
fic further .but for now, I want them to have a little
happiness. So it's done.

For now ;-)