Redemption (8/26)        
by GeorgeHale

Rating: R
Feedback:

Classification: Colonization/Mythology/MSR/William, post
I.W.T.B. Canon.
Spoilers: Left, right, & center. This is best served if you
REALLY know your X-Files.

Disclaimer: I wish I made this. This has been my catharsis, five
years in the making. Maybe it can be one for you, too.

Warning: Violence, Gratuitous employment of the 'Our little
sailor' clause (swearing,) Fluff with two 'f's, Cheesy dialogue,
Friendly Ghosts, Melodramatics, Plot devices, Fiji Mermen
(no, not really,) Angst, Blasphemy, Dehydration via crying,
Scientific Whammies, Plams, Lots & Lots & Lots of...Bees,
Magical Growing Scully Cross Chain, Red Herrings. It's going
to get strange and ugly before the end.

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VIII		

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"You are prepared to accept the truth aren't you, to sacrifice
yourself to it?"

- Albert Hosteen, Anasazi

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Mulder led them back through the winding corridors toward
their quarters but detoured and led them up several levels until
they stood beside a secured bulkhead layered with numerous
sensors and cameras. The young lieutenant trailed a polite
distance behind. Before Mulder could even enter a key code, a
video screen activated on the opposing door and Melvin
Frohike looked at them from behind horn-rimmed spectacles.
Time had never been kind to the older man and he looked no
less bedraggled than before. William was reminded of
Benjamin Franklin.

"Mulder! It sure in Hell took you long enough! Dana, it's so
lovely to see you again! We've been deprived of the pleasure of
your inspiring company far too long."

From the edge of the screen, Langly tilted his head sideways to
view the monitor behind Frohike and Byers crowded in behind
them both. "Is that the bullfrog behind you? Who's the suit in
the back?"

Mulder finally looked at Kevin, frowning. "He's staying out
here. Can we come in already?"

Byers reached for a lever. "Of course, just a minute - wait for
the blue light special!" A series of hisses and pops ensued as
numerous traps disarmed themselves and the bulkhead door
swung open beneath a flashing blue light.

Inside the tightly crammed compartment, surveillance
equipment of every make and model lined shelves and labeled
boxes. Monitors connected to cameras outside and in filled the
entire western wall. Mulder and Scully both found themselves
distracted by the cameras to the outside that showed utter
destruction of the areas surrounding the former resort. What
had been a lush pine forest had been turned into a veritable
wasteland. It was hard to accept as reality.

Byers flipped a switch and the external camera monitors turned
off. "Sorry, I guess we've grown callous to it."

"Who was the soldier following you?" Langly had never trusted
anyone in authority.

"Actually, I'm hoping you fellas can help answer that question,
or at least confirm the information I've already been given."

Melvin cracked his fingers eagerly as he moved to a console
with security access. "Shake the eight ball, Mulder."

"I need you to find anything you may have on a Kevin Kryder
here in the base. Scully and I investigated an X-file surrounding
his status as a stigmatic when he was a boy and now he's
purportedly serving as a soldier here. Specifically, that man in
the hallway claims it's him and has convinced the Overseer to
allow him to serve as a bodyguard for Will. I need to know it's
not a setup."

Scully stood flabbergasted as she remembered the kind boy
who had such a tortured soul. "Mulder?"

"It won't surprise me if he's actually just a spy sent to keep tabs
on Will...and us."

Frohike accessed the mainframe computer and had Kryder's
personnel file on screen in a matter of moments. Scanning it
quickly, nothing seemed out of place. "According to this, he's a
combat medic, he's been in three years, had just finished a tour
in Afghanistan when he joined - former Special Forces. That's
surprising, given what you said about his...condition."

"So far he checks out. Is there a way you can tell this isn't
planted information, too recent?" At times like this, Mulder
craved sunflower seeds. Better than the cigarettes he used to
crave in their stead.

"Sure, just give us some time, Mulder. Meanwhile, we'll watch
him like a hawk." A fingerless-gloved hand indicated the wall
of monitors. "He won't be able to take a shit without it being on
film." Frohike paused, remembering he was now in more
refined company. "Sorry. We'll dig back a ways too and check
up on him."

Byers cleared his throat with a bit too much force. "How about
an introduction?"

William had been looking at all the electronic equipment in
awe, but Mulder placed his hands on his shoulders and turned
him to face the Gunmen. "Will, allow me to introduce the Lone
Gunmen. They're old friends of ours and we all owe them our
lives. They used to run an underground newspaper before they
came here, hence the name. John Byers, Ringo Langly, and
Melvin Frohike. Bastions of truth, justice, and the American
way."

Byers smiled and shook William's hand before the other two.
"We haven't seen you since you were very little. Look at how
big you've got!"

William groaned and rolled his eyes before he thought better of
it.

Frohike couldn't help but laugh. "Looks like he's a chip off the
old block. You'll fit right in. Say, if your old man ever gives
you grief, I've got dirt." Frohike winked. "Stay for dinner?
We're making huevos rancheros with the last of the eggs!"
Melvin disappeared into a closet that was apparently doubling
as a kitchen.

Mulder and Scully shared a look of indecision before Scully
bumped William's shoulder. "Hungry?"

William nodded enthusiastically and that settled it.

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If anything, it was better than the mess food, if only for the
sake of Tobasco sauce and for the benefit of good company. In
honor of the reunion, several computers had been cleared from
a table in the largest of the Gunmen's limited quarters and a
makeshift dinner table had been assembled. As Frohike had
prepared dinner, the others sorted through weeks of tape and
Langly combed over server data looking for evidence of
forgery.

It was a fruitless search, but the meal was good and the
Gunmen reveled in sharing stories from their early days as
associates of Mulder's to his embarrassment and William's
amusement.

"He was curled up in a ball on the cement," Langly added. The
door sounded and Frohike was the first up to see who it was.

"Now it's a party." He released the door controls and manual
deadbolts to allow Walter Skinner and Gibson Praise to enter
the room. They joined the others around the table.

Gibson had changed little through the years surprisingly, and
stood no taller than he had the last Scully had seen him.
Though much of his hair had grown back and he appeared
gaunt, his coke bottle glasses remained the same. She
wondered at the medical nature of his stature and if it was
related to the horrible surgery that had been performed on him.

While Gibson had heard her questions upon entering the room,
it was the boy he was interested in. This is the one the Overseer
had intended as his replacement. The boy who had no idea
what he was capable of. Mulder and Scully's son.

Skinner smiled as he laid eyes on William for the first time,
and a secret part of him panged with regret for love unrequited
just as another was full of pride for being one of the reasons
this child was able to come to be. The boy was the compact
image of his parents, through and through, and he was happy
that Dana could finally be reunited with the child that had
meant so much to her. They deserved happiness, in whatever
form or shape it could take in this post-Apocalyptic wasteland.
He felt sorry for William as well, for the stress and expectation
he knew would come to be placed on the boy as he matured
into a man. The Mulder name was not an easy one to bear.

"Will," Mulder pointed with his finger between bites, "meet
Walter Skinner and Gibson Praise. Gibson is an old friend and
Director Skinner used to be our boss when we were feds on the
X-Files. He directs special forces here in the bunker, so
technically I guess he's still my boss - him and your Mother,
anyway." Mulder winked at Scully and she gave him that look
of absurd amusement he enjoyed eliciting.

William shook hands with Skinner, though he appeared lost in
thought.

"It's a pleasure to meet you after all this time, William. Last I
saw you, you were about this big." Skinner held his hands for
effect. "Your parents were my best agents, even if I felt like
throttling them on occasion."

"The X-Files?"

Skinner smiled and looked to his former colleagues to see if he
was sharing something they preferred he didn't. "I'll let you ask
them about that later. Anyway, it's why we're here now."

"Gibson, do you know Kevin Kryder? He's a young soldier
here." Mulder was impatient.

"I know you're worried about him, but you're more of a
replacement than he is. He's telling the truth."

Scully sighed with relief though she didn't care for Gibson's
phrasing. The paranoia was taxing.

Mulder noticed William yawning and nudged to Scully to look.
William had been easily fatigued as his body dealt with his
hyperactive brain.

"I'm afraid you'll have to excuse us, gentlemen, but it's been a
long day."

Scully made her rounds hugging her old friends and they all
smiled at one another as they parted for the evening with the
promise to gather again soon.

Lights dimmed in the hallway as artificial night fell and Kryder
joined their party silently as they returned to their cabin.
Mulder and Scully remained in the hall with Kryder while
William went to get ready for bed.

"Kevin, I had no idea it was you...I just can't believe you're
here. You should have said something, you're so hard to
recognize beneath a beard like that." She hugged him as she
had when he was a boy, squeezing him tight. "I've wondered
about you many times through the years and how you wound
up. I'm glad you're here."

Kevin smiled at her as he broke their embrace. He had
remembered looking up to the woman. Now he towered over
her. "I told you I'd see you again. I didn't want to impose; it's
not why I'm here. I knew you'd find out eventually. Leave it up
to Mr. Mulder here to uncover the truth."

Mulder shook hands with the man he had treated so rudely.
"Just Mulder's fine. I'm sorry I was such an ass. It's just that 
they mean everything to me, and I value their safety above
anything else. When I acted paranoid, it's because I am. Far too
many people have tried to murder us through the years for me
to be anything else. I hope you can understand."

"I do, sir. It's why I'm here."

"Thank you, Kevin. We're grateful. We'll have to catch up
better when it's not so late. Please excuse us." Scully smiled as
she gripped Mulder's arm and led them inside their quarters.

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There was no set routine to their evening as they returned home
and William was glad to retire early. The impact of everything
had taken its toll. William was curled up on his cot when
Scully entered his room carrying a now all-too familiar syringe
of Phenytoin. He wouldn't be able to fall asleep without it.
Wordlessly, she pulled up his sleeve as he stared at her and
cleaned his arm with an alcohol swab before she injected him
with the solution. She laid the back of her free hand against his
forehead and didn't like how high his temperature was running.
Worry etched her feature.

"Do you really think it will kill me?" William searched Dana's
eyes as she cursed herself for not disguising her thoughts better.

"No," she lied, removing her hand from his arm. She would not
be able to have this conversation with her son, even if he could
sense that she was lying. "We're going to do whatever we have
to do so you get well."

William laid his head back as he felt the drug's immediate
effects, but did not turn his eyes from Scully. "What were the
X-Files?"

"What do you want to know about them?"

"I don't know. Will you tell me about them?"

Scully sighed and kicked off her shoes, not even sure where to
begin. "Well, they kept all the files that couldn't be explained or
solved under 'U' until they ran out room. That's when they
started filing them under 'X,' hence the name. Mulder first
found them when he was working in the Violent Crimes
department as a criminal profiler. He had made a name for
himself quickly and was on the quick track to a successful
career until he started investigating cases his superiors weren't
fond of him checking out."

"He was looking for his sister."

"Yes...Mulder became obsessed with solving X-Files he
thought might lead him to her. The only thing that saved him
was a resourceful benefactor who allowed Mulder wide latitude
with authority on the cases he chose to pursue. Within the year
that Mulder had begun his investigations into the paranormal, I
was reassigned from my teaching position at Quantico to
debunk his findings using my expertise in science. With my
background in hard science and medicine, I was assigned to be
critical and to keep Mulder grounded." Scully smiled with the
memory before she continued.

"As fortune would have it, their plan backfired and I became as
consumed with finding the truth as my partner. I joined him
reluctantly at first and he viewed me as a spy for a long time,
but eventually, it became my life like it was his. I'd be lying if I
said I regretted getting involved and there's little I'd change. For
all the terrible things I've endured, that we've experienced...it's
the sum of those experiences that has led me here to this
moment with you, and for that I am grateful. I love your father
with all my heart, Will, just as I love you. I wouldn't trade
either one of you for the world."

William reflected momentarily on the unusual aspects of his
upbringing and current situation. All this time, he had been
feeling sorry for himself and bitter over his loss, angry even,
but he realized perhaps things had come out as they were meant
to be and that he was luckier than most of the race. These
people had saved his life and whether their story was true or
not, he understood that they cared for him a great deal. "Do you
believe in fate?"

"At one time, I wouldn't have hesitated in saying no, but yes I
do."

"So you think everything that's taken place, there's a reason for
it?"

"I think everything happens for a reason, yes. I'm not sure what
those reasons are, however. Or who dictates them."

"But you believe in God." William gestured at the cross that
hung loosely around Dana's neck.

"Yes. I think God is the reason there are right reasons. Do
you?"

William had been raised by a devout Catholic family and had
attended church regularly with his former family. He almost
answered automatically when the words caught in his throat.
His brain was struggling with the implications of everything
that had happened to him in the last few weeks. "I used to. I
don't know if I do anymore...Why would he let everyone die?
Why wouldn't he save mankind?"

"I don't know. He didn't let us die. He made sure we got back
together."

"I'm beginning to think it's easier to believe in God when things
work out in your favor."

Scully frowned, speechless, unsure what to tell William
regarding his crisis in faith. It was then that Mulder popped his
head in the door. "Hey, mind if I join you?"

Scully sighed with relief and smiled at Mulder. She was too
tired to be sharing such a deep conversation and grateful he
chose that moment to check on them. She just wanted William
to be able to rest. He sat down on the bunk across from
William's and begun unlacing his boots. "Can't sleep?"

"The apple doesn't fall from the tree," Scully implied.

"Insomnia runs in the family, I'm afraid. But all the ginger
jokes, you blame *her* for that." Mulder lifted his feet up onto
the bunk as his last boot popped off.

William grinned. "Dana was telling me about the X-Files."

"Ah, the good old' days," Mulder smiled at the clich‚. "If it
weren't for the X-Files, we wouldn't be sitting here right now.
In all likelihood you wouldn't exist and Colonization would
have been a much better success. Scully and I uncovered the
conspiracy that kept Colonization hidden from the public. We
tried to blow the whistle multiple times."

"They tried to kill us multiple times," Scully replied.

"To shut us up, to shut us down."

"But it didn't work. We're still here." Scully grinned.

"Colonization had been slowly implemented over sixty-five
years. Who were we to stop it in ten? It doesn't mean that we're
giving up though...Did you tell him about the fluke worm or
the man-eating mushroom? How about that time I found Big
Blue?"

"Ugh..." Scully rolled her eyes, "You really had to bring up the
Flukeworm, didn't you, and you did not find Big Blue."

William's eyebrows lifted. "A man-eating mushroom?"

Mulder grinned. "Lay back. I'll tell you a bedtime story that will
spin your head."