Redemption (25/26) 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------ XXV ------------------------------------------------------------------ "Eyes I dare not meet in dreams In death's dream kingdom These do not appear: There, the eyes are Sunlight on a broken column There, is a tree swinging And voices are In the wind's singing More distant and more solemn Than a fading star." - T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men ------------------------------------------------------------------ Unknown Beach Unknown Coordinates Unknown Date Mulder coughed as if he'd swallowed too much water and blinked his eyes as shadows dimmed the light shining in his face. As his eyes adjusted to a bright sun shining on the beach near an open sea, the Gunmen stared down at him with curious expressions. Mulder groaned, casting his head back into warm sand. "If this is heaven, I'm thirty-seven virgins short." "I don't think so, punk ass," Frohike said, grabbing Mulder's arm to pull him up. "Uh," Byers said looking to his comrades before chuckling. "It's good to see you too, Mulder." Langly jerked his chin toward the sea. "Our boat skipped its mooring while we slept, and we woke up out there when the sun was coming up. What happened to you guys?" Mulder sat up suddenly, remembering. "Scully!" "Behind you," she called. Turning, he saw Scully on her hands and knees, stretching. She looked like she had been through the wringer and without consciously being aware of it, he was moving toward her. Once he thought about it, he realized they all probably looked that way. He couldn't remember the last time he had thought about his appearance but then his lips found hers and he didn't care anymore. Wrapping his arms around Scully provided the catharsis he had needed and he cried freely as he continued to kiss her, whispering how much he loved her. Standing near Skinner on the edge of the trawler's deck, Joy emitted a wail as she spotted Will floating face down in the water. She was off the edge of the boat and into the water by the time any of the others reached her, struggling to pull at William's larger body. Mulder reached her quickly, pulling them both back to the edge of the shore. Scully met him as he laid Will down in the shallow surf and immediately started CPR, launching into fast and hard chest compressions. When she paused briefly to listen for the boy to breathe, William spasmed and coughed hard, a stream of water erupting from his lungs. He blinked his eyes as they adjusted to the bright light and sucked in deep breaths as he sat up and coughed hard to clear the water remaining in his chest. He briefly remembered choking on fumes and drowning in the dark as everything went black. Once the worst was passed, he felt Mulder's arms pull him into a strong embrace. The man's gratitude, relief, and love washed over him and he felt hopeful for the first time in months. He felt his hair being wiped back from his eyes. Looking as far as he could without turning his head, Will spotted a colorful bird he couldn't identify frolicking on the wind with a twin. He wondered if he might ever be so carefree again. "Have we died?" he asked. Scully had turned her head to see what had caught Will's gaze but snapped her attention back to the boy at his question. The thought hadn't crossed her mind and her hand absently sought after and found the cross hanging at the base of her neck. Kryder was beside them kneeling in the surf. "I don't think we've finished what He's set us out to do. I think we may just be beginning." Meeting his father's eyes, Will saw the man smiling at him, bursting toward a grin as he shook his head. "No. We made it, Will. I think we've been given the chance to start over."