"Long way down"
By Liz S. (lizxphile@goplay.com)
Classification: Teensy bit of MSR believe it or not, babyfic, post-Requiem
Rating: PG
Spoilers: "Requiem"
Summary: 2 years after Mulder's disappearance, Scully has a baby and is
still trying to come to terms with Mulder's absence and what has happened in
her life.
Author's notes: I've finally jumped on the bandwagon and written a mushy
baby fic!! The baby is based on a real baby I know by the same name who
looks exactly the same, so he's a real character, but he's incredibly clingy
in real life ;)
"Long way down"
____________________
Introduction
____________________
It had been two years. Two long years since her life had taken a drastic
turn, two years since part of her had been lost. In those two years, there
had been as much pain as there was joy, for while she had lost the one person
she cared most about in her life, an unexpected twist in the road had given
back as much as she had lost. Stunned to discover that she was pregnant,
Dana Scully now had a beautiful baby boy named Benjamin, who reminded her of
his father more and more every day. At 17 months old, Benjamin had big blue
eyes and light red hair that hung over his forehead in soft curls. His eyes,
though blue, were similar to his fathers, and when Scully looked into them
she could clearly see Fox Mulder looking back at her. This made her sad and
wistful; she wished Mulder was there with her to enjoy watching his son grow
up, but Benjamin comforted her and eased the pain of Mulder's absence.
Scully had taken a year and a half off from the bureau, and no one there
knew about Benjamin except Skinner, who occasionally watched and spoiled him
terribly. Skinner felt he owed it to Scully to be as supportive as possible
since he felt personally responsible for losing Mulder. Scully let the other
agents think what they wanted about her absence; most assumed that she had
needed some time off because of Mulder's disappearance. When Scully had
returned to work, her mother watched Benjamin during the day, and Scully
always stayed home with him in the afternoons and evenings, never going out
anywhere. She loved her son with all her heart, though he had been very
unexpected - doctors still weren't sure how he had been conceived. Children
had always been something that Scully had wanted, but her hopes of being a
mother had been dashed after her abduction, when she found out that she
couldn't conceive. Benjamin was a dream come true, and Scully spent every
waking moment she could with him. He was a wonderful baby, good-tempered and
calm, and liked being around people. Scully often took him to visit friends,
and he let himself be passed around and cooed over without getting fussy.
Though "mama" had been Benjamin's first word and he didn't have a father
in his life, "dada" was in his limited vocabulary; Scully often showed him
pictures of Mulder and told him stories about his father. Benjamin had
gotten to the point of recognizing the pictures of Mulder and would happily
point to them, exclaiming "dada!" Scully showed him the pictures in hopes
that if Mulder ever returned, Benjamin would recognize and accept him as a
part of his life. She never gave up on Mulder; if anyone could disappear
without a trace and return unharmed against all odds, it was Fox Mulder.
Convinced that he couldn't be gone forever, his memory and the hope that he
would return had sustained Scully for two years, and would continue to until
his disappearance was resolved. He was with her all the time, and in all her
dreams at night; he would stand in front of her, as real and clear as he had
ever been, and tell her not to worry, that he would be back. Scully truly
believed this, and never let go of him.
"Long way down"
part 1
____________________
August 15th, 2002
Scully's apartment
____________________
It was a lazy Saturday morning, with the bright sun casting a golden veil
over the world. Scully awoke to the familiar sound of Benjamin singing to
himself in the next room. Their custom in the morning involved Scully
listening to him for a moment, then sneaking up on him, at which point he
would break out into bubbly laughter as his mother scooped him up and
smothered him in kisses.
Scully lay in bed for about 5 minutes with a big smile on her face.
Benjamin babbled away to no one in particular and could be heard bouncing in
his crib. Rising from the bed, Scully donned her robe and tiptoed out of her
room.
"Is that Benjamin I hear?" she asked loudly from right outside his room.
The bouncing stopped for a split second and Scully heard a giggle as the
bouncing resumed. She peeked into the room and, seeing Benjamin's back to
the door, crept up and snatched him from the crib.
Benjamin squealed and kicked his little legs as Scully swung him around.
"Mummy!!!"
"Morning sweetie, hiya doing?" Scully cooed with a big grin. She sat
down in a rocking chair and plopped Benjamin into her lap. He grinned and
buried his face in her stomach, grasping her arms with both his hands.
"Mummmyyy..." he sang, the sound muffled in her robe. Scully tickled his
tummy and he shrieked with laughter; he then wiggled out of her lap and ran a
few feet in front of her, picking up a toy train and showing it to his
mother. Scully smiled.
"Does Benjamin want some breakfast?" She asked, standing up and walking
towards him. She picked him up and was about to leave the room, but stopped.
"Let's get you changed and dressed first."
Benjamin played with a stuffed animal on the floor while Scully found an
outfit for him, and sang to his mother while she changed and dressed him.
Scully then picked him up off the floor where he had been playing with his
train while she cleaned the room up.
"Breakfast time," she announced, and took the train from Benjamin,
putting it back on the floor. Benjamin frowned and leaned out of her arms.
"Choo choo!!"
"Oh ok, you can take it with you." Scully picked it up again and
Benjamin happily took it, making choo choo noises to her.
Scully carried him downstairs and, after placing him in his high chair,
got some powdered cereal out of a cabinet.
"Ceeal!!" Benjamin exclaimed upon seeing his breakfast.
"Yes, this is your cereal! Do you want some kiwi too?" Scully went to
the fridge and took out a small container.
"Kiwi kiwi!!!" Benjamin yelled excitedly, banging his hands on the tray.
Scully smiled, put some small pieces of fruit on the tray and watched
Benjamin struggle to use his fork correctly. She let him experiment with the
utensil while she prepared the cereal and filled a sippy cup with milk.
Feeding Benjamin had been quite difficult lately because he always wanted
to do it himself, which resulted in his food being flung to the far reaches
of the kitchen (unintentionally, of course). On this particular morning,
Benjamin let Scully feed him all throughout the cereal, but insisted on
poking his kiwi with the fork until he got it, which luckily made only a
minimal mess.
When breakfast was all done and cleaned up, Scully parked Benjamin in his
room with the babygate up so she could get washed and dressed. As she did
so, she thought about what to do for the day; she had some paperwork that
needed finishing, but that could wait until later. Scully decided to take
Benjamin to the park for a little while; he loved to run around in the grass
and pick dandelions. That weekend, there was also a carnival in the park and
Scully figured that Benjamin would like to look at the balloons and other
whatnot at the carnival.
As Scully got dressed, a picture on her dresser caught her eye. It was a
picture of Mulder she had framed after he dissapeared, and it was the one
nice picture she had ever had of him. This was the picture she frequently
showed to Benjamin; he liked looking at it so much that Scully had had a copy
made of it and hung in his room. Scully now gazed deep into Mulder's
sparkling eyes, and soon felt her own eyes begin to mist up.
Putting the picture out of her mind and wiping her eyes, Scully finished
dressing and went to get Benjamin.
"Mummy," he greeted her from the floor, where he was looking at a book
about animals. He pointed to a picture of a cow and grinned at Scully.
"Mooo!!"
A big smile lit up Scully's face. "Does the cow say moo?" Benjamin
mooed again then pointed to a dog. "Woof!!"
Scully read the whole book to Benjamin, both of them making the
appropriate animal noises along with the pictures. She then took some
sunscreen and a hat out of Benjamin's dresser and carried him downstairs.
"We're going to the park, sweetie," Scully announced to Benjamin. She
set him on the floor and got out a box of Cheerios to pack a snack.
"Pak?" Benjamin inquired, grabbing one of Scully's legs.
"Yes, we're going to the park! You can pick flowers there!" Scully told
him.
Benjamin grinned. "Fowers!!" he exclaimed happily. Then he paused.
"Gamen?"
Scully looked at him. "You want to go see the long gunmen?" Benjamin's
grin returned. "Gamen!! Angy!!"
Scully smiled. "Ok, we'll stop at the gunmen's. But no pulling Langly's
hair this time!" Benjamin loved Langly, but often got a little rough with
his hair. Langly was good about it luckily; all three adored Benjamin and
had candy and toys on hand all the time for when Scully stopped by with him.
After packing some cheerios, juice, hat, sunscreen, and a few diapers in
a bag, Scully took Benjamin's stroller under one arm, the bag on the other
and let Benjamin walk along with her, holding his hand as they went down the
stairs. She strapped him into his carseat and put the bag on the seat next
to him, making sure some toys were on the top where he could grab them if he
so desired. They then took off for the gunmen's.
Benjamin loved car rides, and named everything along the way, including
"tee" (tree), "ahbra!" (umbrella), "choo choo!" (train) and many more. When
they arrived at the gunmen's abode, Scully took Benjamin out of the car and
gave him his juice.
"Now, we won't stay long, this will be a short visit," she told him as he
drank his juice. He stopped sipping and grinned. "Angy!!"
"Yes, we're going to see Langly!" She took his hand and led him into the
building.
As she knocked on the door, Scully picked Benjamin up and held him up at
the peephole. Though Benjamin couldn't see through it, the guys got a kick
out of seeing him through the hole, and whoever answered the door would call
out to them before letting them in, which Benjamin loved.
Scully heard shuffling from behind the door and a muffled "it's Scully!"
Then she heard Frohike.
"Who's out there?" he asked loudly, and Benjamin squealed with laughter.
"Is that Benjamin?" Frohike undid all the locks and slowly opened the
door, peering out at Benjamin.
"Icky!" Benjamin exclaimed, and Frohike opened the door all the way.
"Hey big man, hiya doing?" Frohike grinned and took Benjamin from Scully.
Benjamin laughed again. "Icky!"
Scully smiled. "Well, it's a step up from 'ika' I guess, huh?"
Byers and Langly crowded around Frohike and said hi to Benjamin, tickling
him and making him giggle.
"Icky is pretty good," Frohike replied, giving Benjamin to Langly and
Scully a hug. "How are ya?"
"Holding up," Scully replied with a sigh. "It's tough..."
"Hey Scully, can I give him some chocolate? Is that ok for him?" Langly
asked, fishing a Hershey bar out of his pocket.
"Of course it's ok! He loves chocolate, you know that. Boy do you three
spoil him!"
Byers grinned. "Who could resist that face?" He poked Benjamin's nose,
causing him to shriek with laughter.
They all headed into the main room, where Byers took a small plastic ball
and a teddy bear off a shelf to give to Benjamin, who busied himself on the
floor with his toys while the adults sat down.
"So, what brings you to us this fine Saturday morning"? Langly asked,
giving Benjamin a small piece of chocolate.
"Well, we were going to go to the park, then Benjamin asked to see you
guys," Scully replied with a smile.
"Get out!" exclaimed Frohike. "Did he really?"
"Yup, he really likes you guys."
"Well we really like him! He's so cheery, and bubbly.. and cute!" Langly
handed Benjamin some more chocolate.
"You guys are so good to him..." Scully trailed off.
"Think of us as his three surrogate daddies," Byers said with a smile.
Benjamin looked up. "Dada?"
There was silence. After a few seconds of looking at the adults,
Benjamin forgot whatever he had been thinking about and went back to the
teddy bear. Scully sighed.
"I've shown him pictures..." she began, then was silent again. "I don't
know if it was the right thing to do, but..."
The gunmen looked at each other. "You still think he'll come back?"
Langly asked.
"He WILL come back!!!" Scully burst out, then looked at Langly
apologetically. "I'm sorry, it's just... I can't give up on him, not yet. He
didn't give up on me. And I don't want Benjamin to grow up not knowing who
his father is."
Frohike touched her arm comfortingly. "You did the right thing, he
*should* know about Mulder... boy, he certainly reminds me of him. He's got
Mulder's eyes and nose - well, a smaller version of his nose."
Scully laughed softly. "Yes, he does... and he's got Mulder's curiosity.
He's always getting into things... he usually finds his way out though, isn't
that right Benjamin?"
Benjamin held up the ball. "Ball!" he exclaimed, and promptly launched
it into the air; it then bounced off a computer monitor and hit Frohike
square in the face.
"Owww, nooo, my head!!" Frohike collapsed onto the floor and Benjamin
giggled and toddled over to him. Just as he was about to touch Frohike's
head, he opened his eyes and grabbed him, tickling him. Benjamin squealed
happily and wiggled away, setting out to retrieve the ball.
"Looks like you've got a pro football player on your hands," Byers
commented with a grin as Frohike chased after Benjamin and the ball.
Scully, Byers and Langly chatted for about 10 minutes while Frohike
played with Benjamin, then Scully looked at her watch.
"Wow, it's already 11:30! We should probably be going now." Just as she
spoke, her phone suddenly rang. "Oh... excuse me for a second." Scully turned
away and took the phone out of her pocket. "Scully."
There was no response from the second party. Scully frowned. "Hello?"
Still nothing. Scully thought she heard faint breathing on the other
end, but couldn't be sure. She waited another second or two, and when
nothing happened, hung up.
"What's wrong?" Byers inquired, observing her confused face.
"Oh, nothing... must've been a wrong number, no one was there," Scully
replied, replacing the phone in her pocket. Though she put on the outward
appearance of indifference concerning the call, Scully felt slightly uneasy
about it; she couldn't figure out whether her emotions were those of
trepidation or hoping against hope that it was... no, it couldn't be.
"Well Benjamin, it's been fun," Frohike said as he put the teddy bear and
ball away and gave Benjamin another piece of chocolate. "Byebye!"
Scully put the call out of her mind and picked up Benjamin, who was still
giggling from his frolicking with Frohike.
"Thanks for everything, guys," Scully said, giving each guy a kiss on the
cheek. "I should hire you to babysit sometime, you're great with him!"
A big grin formed on all three men's faces. "We'd love to! Anytime!"
Byers replied, giving Benjamin a kiss on the head. Benjamin looked up at him
and frowned slightly; after a few seconds the frown slowly melted into a
grin. "Ayers!"
Scully raised her eyebrows. "He said Byers! He's never said that
before!"
Byers laughed and grinned. "Benjamin, you finally said my name! I'm so
proud of you!"
The gunmen all crowded around Scully and Benjamin to say their goodbyes,
then each gave Scully a hug. As they left, Langly gave Scully the remainder
of the chocolate for Benjamin, who grabbed it from his mother and began
gnawing on it. He and Scully then waved goodbye to the gunmen and returned
to the car, ready to head off to the park.
Long way down
____________________
Part 2
At the park
____________________
The colorful balloons and banners waved in the breeze as Scully walked
Benjamin's stroller through the park. Benjamin ooed and ahed at all the
wonderful sights of the carnival; the balloons were a favorite, as well as
the big paper flowers that were given as prizes at the game booths. Scully
bought him a yellow balloon and one of the flowers, and secured both to the
stroller where he could see them.
After touring around the carnival for about half an hour, Benjamin began
to fidget, so Scully decided to find a nice grassy area for him to run around
in. On the way down the path away from the carnival, Scully saw a lemonade
stand and, realizing how thirsty she was, stopped and pulled some money out
of her pocket.
"Are you thirsty, Benjamin?" She stooped down to eye level with him and,
after seeing that his cup of juice was still three-quarters full, decided
that he was fine.
"Ooce!" Benjamin exclaimed, banging the cup on Scully's arm.
"Yes, you have enough juice for now. Mommy needs some lemonade, though."
Scully straightened up and turned to the lemonade vendor, leaving Benjamin
next to her in the stroller.
As she ordered her drink, Benjamin sat patiently sipping his juice and
looking around. Suddenly, something caught his eye and a big grin spread
across his face. "Dada!!!"
Scully bent down to him. "Did you want something, sweetie?"
Benjamin just grinned and pointed down the path in the direction they had
come from. "Dada!"
Scully's heart almost stopped, then began fluttering madly. She quickly
stood up to look around, and seeing nothing and no one, frowned. Then she
saw a little girl and who appeared to be her father walking down the path
towards them.
"Yes, that's the little girl's daddy," she told Benjamin with a sigh.
Benjamin's grin disappeared and was replaced with a frown. "Dada," he said
more seriously.
"No, that's not your daddy honey, I'm sorry. Um - " Scully turned back
to the lemonade vendor. "Do you have a cookie or anything I could buy?…"
The man took a package of two chocolate chip cookies from beneath the
counter and Scully gratefully handed him a few dollars. She gave a cookie to
Benjamin and put the other away for later. His grin returned and he
contentedly started in on the cookie, forgetting about whatever he had seen.
Sighing again, Scully pushed the stroller along the path until they
arrived at a bench facing a large grassy area. She unstrapped Benjamin from
the stroller and let him loose in the grass; he ran over to a patch of
dandelions and busied himself with picking them.
Scully seated herself on the bench and watched Benjamin, wondering what
he had seen. She was convinced that if Mulder had been at the park and seen
Benjamin, he would've seen her standing next to the stroller, and there was
no logical reason why he wouldn't have let his presence be known to her
unless he was in some kind of trouble or danger. Of course, Benjamin was
just a baby and could've been mistaken; there was no way of finding out.
Scully was sure he didn't understand the concept of a father, so it didn't
make sense that he would've known that the man with the little girl on the
path was her father.
These thoughts and more tumbled around in Scully's mind for the duration
of their park outing, which lasted only another 10 minutes. Benjamin, while
happily picking flowers, had come across a bee and irritated it by picking
the dandelion it was on; it in return stung him on the hand and he started
crying profusely, so Scully decided it was time to go home after she plucked
the stinger from his hand and calmed him down.
As they walked to the car, Scully kept her eyes peeled for Mulder, or
anything relating to him in any way. She knew it was a desperate and most
likely futile attempt, but she would do anything, grasp at any loose end,
follow any lead, to find him. But she saw nothing to indicate that he was in
the general vicinity, and Benjamin did not say 'dada' again. Slightly
disappointed but not surprised, Scully strapped Benjamin into his carseat and
they headed home.
~*~Later that night~*~
"But mom, I know what he said! He even pointed when he said it!" Scully
sighed exasperatedly and rolled her eyes, listening to her mother on the
phone.
"I - yes, I know, but... it got me kind of worked up, that's all," Scully
said into the phone dejectedly. "Ok.. bye mom." Scully hung up the phone
and sighed once again. After putting Benjamin to bed at 7:00, Scully had
settled down to some paperwork, which she couldn't focus on, so she called
her mother to tell her what had happened at the park. Maggie had told her
daughter that Benjamin had probably just thought of the picture Scully showed
him and been thinking outloud. Scully protested, saying that Benjamin
pointed when he said it, but her mother was firm in believing her own theory,
so Scully didn't push it any further.
Realizing she was still staring at the phone, Scully pulled herself out
of her thoughts and went to check on Benjamin. She found him sleeping
peacefully in his crib with his thumb in his mouth and the blanket pushed
into a corner. Giving him a kiss on the head and covering him with the
blanket, she let her hand linger on his head for a moment before tiptoeing
out of the room and pulling the door closed.
Scully, once back in the living room, decided to turn in early from lack
of concentration and alertness; she turned out the lights and retired to her
room. Changing into her bedclothes, she settled down with a book but found
that she couldn't even focus on that. Scully disgustedly set the book aside
and lay in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Her mind would not stray
from what had happened at the park, though she kept telling herself she was
making too big of a deal about it. She sat up in bed and took the picture of
Mulder from where it was sitting on the headboard, regarding it with a
wistful look.
"Mulder, where are you?" she whispered, her fingers running over his
face. Wiping a tear from her eye, Scully placed the picture under her pillow
and turned out the light, hoping sleep would come quickly. It didn't.
**********
"Long Way Down"
____________________
Part 3
Next Friday
____________________
Almost a week had passed since the incident in the park, and there had
been no more similar occurrences except for an anonymous phone call on
Tuesday. Scully had tried to put the whole incident behind her for the time
being, though she still thought about it from time to time.
On this particular Friday night, Scully found that she was in desperate
need of some grocery shopping, and had called up a girl from her building who
baby-sat for Benjamin sometimes. The girl was free and had agreed to be at
Scully's apartment at 6:00 that evening.
"Hi Liz," Scully greeted her as she opened the door. "Thanks for coming
on such short notice."
The girl smiled. "No problem at all, Benjamin's great to sit for!"
Scully walked into the living room, with Liz closely following, to where
Benjamin was playing in the babygated area sectioned off for him.
"Liz!" Benjamin exclaimed as Scully picked him up and set him down
outside the gates. He ran over to Liz and grabbed her leg with a big grin.
"Hey Benjamin! How are ya?" Liz knelt down and gave Benjamin a hug while
Scully found a piece of paper and a pen, and started writing down phone
numbers.
"Here's my cell number, my mother's number and one of my friend's
numbers, just in case - I'm usually reachable at my cell, but just in case
I'm not... let's see. He probably won't need changing soon, and I'll just put
him to bed when I get back, so..." Scully paused. "Did I miss anything?"
Liz, who had been listening attentively, smiled and took the piece of
paper from Scully. "Nope, don't think so. You're getting better at this!"
They both laughed. The first few times Liz had watched Benjamin, Scully had
left out some things she needed to know and been generally clueless as to
everything a sitter had to know.
"Ok, great. I shouldn't be more than an hour or so, so you two can just
play." Scully gave Benjamin a kiss on the head. "Bye bye sweetie, I'm going
to the store but I'll be back soon, ok? You play with Liz until I get back."
Benjamin gave Scully a hug, then ran over to a toy he had left on the floor.
"Looks like you'll have a good evening," Scully said to Liz as she
grabbed her jacket. "Well, have fun!"
"Bye!" Liz called as Scully left the apartment and locked the door behind
her. Glad that she had a reliable sitter with Benjamin, Scully got in her
car and headed for the grocery store.
____________________
One hour, 15 minutes later
____________________
Scully returned home a little over an hour later after a successful trip
to the store, lugging 2 of her 5 bags up to the apartment with her. She
unlocked the door and, peeking inside, saw Liz on the couch with Benjamin
reading him a book.
"Mummy!" Benjamin exclaimed and wiggled out of Liz's lap, promptly
running to Scully and grabbing her legs.
"Hi sweetie!!! How was he?" Scully asked, picking Benjamin up and giving
him a kiss.
"He was wonderful! We played with his choo choo for a while, read some
books and played in his room for a little while," Liz replied with a big
smile, putting the book away.
"Oh great! I'm so glad he likes you!" Scully set the bags down on the
floor. "I'll be right back, I've got a few more bags to bring up."
"I'll go get them if you like," Liz spoke up.
"Oh would you? Thanks so much!" Scully handed Liz the keys to her car
with a grateful smile. "It's the only one in the lot with the FBI sticker on
the front."
Liz grinned. "Great. Be right back."
Scully put Benjamin in his play area and checked her phone messages, of
which there were none. Liz came back a minute or so later lugging the three
remaining grocery bags and handed Scully her keys as she set the bags down.
"Oh - before I forget - " Liz picked up a blank envelope from the coffee
table and handed it to Scully. "This came for you. It was a little weird;
someone knocked on the door, but when I answered, no one was there, and that
envelope was lying on the ground.
Scully frowned and took the envelope. "Thanks, yeah that is weird.
Nothing else happened?"
Liz shook her head. "Nope, but the phone did ring once and whoever it
was hung up - wrong number, I guess."
Scully's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't let her emotions show.
"Hm. I get a lot of those." She got her wallet out of her purse, took a
ten-dollar bill out and handed it to Liz. "Thanks so much for coming over!"
Liz grinned. "No problem, thank you!" She turned to Benjamin. "Bye
Benjamin, see you later!"
"Say thank you to Liz, Benjamin," Scully instructed him.
"ankoo Liz!" Benjamin said, grinning at Liz. She laughed and waved again
as Scully walked her to the door.
After Liz left, Scully sat down on the couch with the envelope, very
curious as to its contents. She opened it and found a single piece of paper
inside, with one sentence written on it. What Scully read on the paper froze
her blood and rendered her speechless.
"Take caution when befriending a hunted fox; you may be shot down with
it."
Scully stared at the paper, trying to make heads or tails of the ominous
message. She knew from the fox reference that it had to do with Mulder, but
how? She hadn't had any contact with him in over two years; whoever wrote
the note evidently thought she knew where Mulder was.
Setting the note down on the couch, Scully sat forward and dropped her
head into her hands with a big sigh. Benjamin toddled over and looked at his
mother inquisitively.
"Mummy?" he asked, leaning on her knee. Scully picked her head up and
looked into Benjamin's deep blue eyes, feeling her own eyes fill up with
tears.
"I'm ok, sweetie..." Scully picked him up and set him down in her lap,
pulling him close and leaning back with him in her arms. Benjamin rubbed his
eyes and leaned on her chest, shutting his eyes, as if to remind her that it
was his bedtime. Scully sat with him for ten minutes, with tears running
from her eyes, then stood up with Benjamin, who had fallen asleep, and
carried him to his room to be put to bed.
____________________
Next day, 8:30 AM
Skinner's office
____________________
"Scully, I honestly would tell you if I had any information at all
concerning Agent Mulder!" Skinner told Scully from his desk, handing back the
note. "I don't have the first clue as to who sent you this!"
"Sir, with all due respect, I'm not sure I believe you. You've lied to
us before about these people, why wouldn't you be now?" Scully retorted
shrilly, rising from her chair and starting to pace the room.
"Calm down Scully, just take it easy. Sit down." Scully sighed
exasperatedly and did as he told her. "I'm sorry, sir, I just -" she paused.
"I need to know who sent me this... I shouldn't be accusing you, I'm sorry."
Skinner sighed and sat back in his chair. "I know, it's all right... but I
am not withholding any information from you, Scully, I never would! I can
look through all the recent police reports again if you like to see if
anything turns up, but I have no idea who sent you that, nor do I have any
loyalties in the wrong places."
Scully smiled wanly at him. "Thank you sir, and I apologize again for
accusing you of lying to me." She stood up and, pocketing the note, was
about to leave when Skinner rose and walked over to her, touching her arm.
"Scully, I know how hard this is for you, it's hard for me too, but
you've got to keep your head on straight. Don't go searching for things that
aren't there, and I'm telling you this as a concerned friend." Skinner gave
her arm a gentle squeeze and returned to his desk. Scully stood silently for
a moment, then left Skinner's office and headed down to the basement.
Upon arriving, Scully flopped down into the chair behind the desk and
surveyed the mess of papers confronting her. With a resounding sigh, she set
about tidying up the office and dealing with and organizing the papers. This
job had never been a favorite activity of hers, but on this particular
occasion, with the troubles of the past week weighing on her mind, it was
more tedious and tiresome than ever before.
Every other second, her mind wandered back to the note and all the events
preceding it's arrival; no matter how hard she tried, she could not stop
thinking about it.
Scully was jerked out of her daydreams after 45 minutes of work by the
ringing of the phone, which she jumped to pick up. "Scully."
"Agent Scully, it's Skinner. I've found something that I'm sure will be
of interest to you," Skinner's voice came, rather excitedly, over the phone.
Scully's eyebrows shot up.
"What? What did you find?"
"I was checking all the recent police reports from the immediate DC
vicinity and I came across a report from a man in Alexandria who actually
claims he saw Mulder in a café. Now, before you get excited, let me tell you
that this man made his report to the police, but it looks like they've done
absolutely nothing about it. All police forces have been asked to
immediately inform the bureau of any reports concerning Mulder; it says this
force 'called the proper authorities' but no further action has been taken."
Skinner paused. "So there's every chance that this was a false report."
"But this man claimed he *saw* Mulder?" Scully asked, her voice
escalating with every word. "I don't care if no further action has been
taken! I want a copy of this report and the man's name so I can check it out
myself!"
Skinner sighed. "Ok, but remember, this is a long shot. You do know how
many false alarms are called in for missing people. Well, come on up and
I'll give you the report."
"Great." Scully hung up the phone and rushed out of the office. A
minute later, she arrived breathlessly at Skinner's office and burst through
the door, not bothering to deal with his secretary.
"Where is it?" she demanded of Skinner, who was sitting at his desk. He
immediately rose, handing Scully a file.
"Slow down, Scully. Remember, this may be a false report and there has
been no sign of Mulder anywhere."
Scully again sighed. "I understand that, sir, but aren't you prepared to
do anything to find him?" Skinner nodded. "Well, so am I, and I'm sure
Mulder would do the same for either of us. He's already done it for me,"
Scully finished, sitting down and opening the file. She scanned it's
contents and frowned. "The man reported he saw Mulder in a café on 62nd
street on Saturday?"
"Yeah, I guess so..." Skinner looked confused.
"The park is on 62nd. Benjamin and I were there that day and he called
someone 'dada', someone I didn't see."
Skinner's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"
"Yeah. Well, thank you for finding this for me." Scully abruptly stood
up and took the file. "I'm going to talk to this man."
"Scully." She turned around. "Just be careful, ok?"
"I will sir, don't worry about me." She then turned away and continued
quickly out of the office, leaving Skinner standing alone and hoping she
would be true to her word.
____________________
By Liz S. (lizxphile@goplay.com)
Classification: Teensy bit of MSR believe it or not, babyfic, post-Requiem
Rating: PG
Spoilers: "Requiem"
Summary: 2 years after Mulder's disappearance, Scully has a baby and is
still trying to come to terms with Mulder's absence and what has happened in
her life.
Author's notes: I've finally jumped on the bandwagon and written a mushy
baby fic!! The baby is based on a real baby I know by the same name who
looks exactly the same, so he's a real character, but he's incredibly clingy
in real life ;)
"Long way down"
____________________
Introduction
____________________
It had been two years. Two long years since her life had taken a drastic
turn, two years since part of her had been lost. In those two years, there
had been as much pain as there was joy, for while she had lost the one person
she cared most about in her life, an unexpected twist in the road had given
back as much as she had lost. Stunned to discover that she was pregnant,
Dana Scully now had a beautiful baby boy named Benjamin, who reminded her of
his father more and more every day. At 17 months old, Benjamin had big blue
eyes and light red hair that hung over his forehead in soft curls. His eyes,
though blue, were similar to his fathers, and when Scully looked into them
she could clearly see Fox Mulder looking back at her. This made her sad and
wistful; she wished Mulder was there with her to enjoy watching his son grow
up, but Benjamin comforted her and eased the pain of Mulder's absence.
Scully had taken a year and a half off from the bureau, and no one there
knew about Benjamin except Skinner, who occasionally watched and spoiled him
terribly. Skinner felt he owed it to Scully to be as supportive as possible
since he felt personally responsible for losing Mulder. Scully let the other
agents think what they wanted about her absence; most assumed that she had
needed some time off because of Mulder's disappearance. When Scully had
returned to work, her mother watched Benjamin during the day, and Scully
always stayed home with him in the afternoons and evenings, never going out
anywhere. She loved her son with all her heart, though he had been very
unexpected - doctors still weren't sure how he had been conceived. Children
had always been something that Scully had wanted, but her hopes of being a
mother had been dashed after her abduction, when she found out that she
couldn't conceive. Benjamin was a dream come true, and Scully spent every
waking moment she could with him. He was a wonderful baby, good-tempered and
calm, and liked being around people. Scully often took him to visit friends,
and he let himself be passed around and cooed over without getting fussy.
Though "mama" had been Benjamin's first word and he didn't have a father
in his life, "dada" was in his limited vocabulary; Scully often showed him
pictures of Mulder and told him stories about his father. Benjamin had
gotten to the point of recognizing the pictures of Mulder and would happily
point to them, exclaiming "dada!" Scully showed him the pictures in hopes
that if Mulder ever returned, Benjamin would recognize and accept him as a
part of his life. She never gave up on Mulder; if anyone could disappear
without a trace and return unharmed against all odds, it was Fox Mulder.
Convinced that he couldn't be gone forever, his memory and the hope that he
would return had sustained Scully for two years, and would continue to until
his disappearance was resolved. He was with her all the time, and in all her
dreams at night; he would stand in front of her, as real and clear as he had
ever been, and tell her not to worry, that he would be back. Scully truly
believed this, and never let go of him.
"Long way down"
part 1
____________________
August 15th, 2002
Scully's apartment
____________________
It was a lazy Saturday morning, with the bright sun casting a golden veil
over the world. Scully awoke to the familiar sound of Benjamin singing to
himself in the next room. Their custom in the morning involved Scully
listening to him for a moment, then sneaking up on him, at which point he
would break out into bubbly laughter as his mother scooped him up and
smothered him in kisses.
Scully lay in bed for about 5 minutes with a big smile on her face.
Benjamin babbled away to no one in particular and could be heard bouncing in
his crib. Rising from the bed, Scully donned her robe and tiptoed out of her
room.
"Is that Benjamin I hear?" she asked loudly from right outside his room.
The bouncing stopped for a split second and Scully heard a giggle as the
bouncing resumed. She peeked into the room and, seeing Benjamin's back to
the door, crept up and snatched him from the crib.
Benjamin squealed and kicked his little legs as Scully swung him around.
"Mummy!!!"
"Morning sweetie, hiya doing?" Scully cooed with a big grin. She sat
down in a rocking chair and plopped Benjamin into her lap. He grinned and
buried his face in her stomach, grasping her arms with both his hands.
"Mummmyyy..." he sang, the sound muffled in her robe. Scully tickled his
tummy and he shrieked with laughter; he then wiggled out of her lap and ran a
few feet in front of her, picking up a toy train and showing it to his
mother. Scully smiled.
"Does Benjamin want some breakfast?" She asked, standing up and walking
towards him. She picked him up and was about to leave the room, but stopped.
"Let's get you changed and dressed first."
Benjamin played with a stuffed animal on the floor while Scully found an
outfit for him, and sang to his mother while she changed and dressed him.
Scully then picked him up off the floor where he had been playing with his
train while she cleaned the room up.
"Breakfast time," she announced, and took the train from Benjamin,
putting it back on the floor. Benjamin frowned and leaned out of her arms.
"Choo choo!!"
"Oh ok, you can take it with you." Scully picked it up again and
Benjamin happily took it, making choo choo noises to her.
Scully carried him downstairs and, after placing him in his high chair,
got some powdered cereal out of a cabinet.
"Ceeal!!" Benjamin exclaimed upon seeing his breakfast.
"Yes, this is your cereal! Do you want some kiwi too?" Scully went to
the fridge and took out a small container.
"Kiwi kiwi!!!" Benjamin yelled excitedly, banging his hands on the tray.
Scully smiled, put some small pieces of fruit on the tray and watched
Benjamin struggle to use his fork correctly. She let him experiment with the
utensil while she prepared the cereal and filled a sippy cup with milk.
Feeding Benjamin had been quite difficult lately because he always wanted
to do it himself, which resulted in his food being flung to the far reaches
of the kitchen (unintentionally, of course). On this particular morning,
Benjamin let Scully feed him all throughout the cereal, but insisted on
poking his kiwi with the fork until he got it, which luckily made only a
minimal mess.
When breakfast was all done and cleaned up, Scully parked Benjamin in his
room with the babygate up so she could get washed and dressed. As she did
so, she thought about what to do for the day; she had some paperwork that
needed finishing, but that could wait until later. Scully decided to take
Benjamin to the park for a little while; he loved to run around in the grass
and pick dandelions. That weekend, there was also a carnival in the park and
Scully figured that Benjamin would like to look at the balloons and other
whatnot at the carnival.
As Scully got dressed, a picture on her dresser caught her eye. It was a
picture of Mulder she had framed after he dissapeared, and it was the one
nice picture she had ever had of him. This was the picture she frequently
showed to Benjamin; he liked looking at it so much that Scully had had a copy
made of it and hung in his room. Scully now gazed deep into Mulder's
sparkling eyes, and soon felt her own eyes begin to mist up.
Putting the picture out of her mind and wiping her eyes, Scully finished
dressing and went to get Benjamin.
"Mummy," he greeted her from the floor, where he was looking at a book
about animals. He pointed to a picture of a cow and grinned at Scully.
"Mooo!!"
A big smile lit up Scully's face. "Does the cow say moo?" Benjamin
mooed again then pointed to a dog. "Woof!!"
Scully read the whole book to Benjamin, both of them making the
appropriate animal noises along with the pictures. She then took some
sunscreen and a hat out of Benjamin's dresser and carried him downstairs.
"We're going to the park, sweetie," Scully announced to Benjamin. She
set him on the floor and got out a box of Cheerios to pack a snack.
"Pak?" Benjamin inquired, grabbing one of Scully's legs.
"Yes, we're going to the park! You can pick flowers there!" Scully told
him.
Benjamin grinned. "Fowers!!" he exclaimed happily. Then he paused.
"Gamen?"
Scully looked at him. "You want to go see the long gunmen?" Benjamin's
grin returned. "Gamen!! Angy!!"
Scully smiled. "Ok, we'll stop at the gunmen's. But no pulling Langly's
hair this time!" Benjamin loved Langly, but often got a little rough with
his hair. Langly was good about it luckily; all three adored Benjamin and
had candy and toys on hand all the time for when Scully stopped by with him.
After packing some cheerios, juice, hat, sunscreen, and a few diapers in
a bag, Scully took Benjamin's stroller under one arm, the bag on the other
and let Benjamin walk along with her, holding his hand as they went down the
stairs. She strapped him into his carseat and put the bag on the seat next
to him, making sure some toys were on the top where he could grab them if he
so desired. They then took off for the gunmen's.
Benjamin loved car rides, and named everything along the way, including
"tee" (tree), "ahbra!" (umbrella), "choo choo!" (train) and many more. When
they arrived at the gunmen's abode, Scully took Benjamin out of the car and
gave him his juice.
"Now, we won't stay long, this will be a short visit," she told him as he
drank his juice. He stopped sipping and grinned. "Angy!!"
"Yes, we're going to see Langly!" She took his hand and led him into the
building.
As she knocked on the door, Scully picked Benjamin up and held him up at
the peephole. Though Benjamin couldn't see through it, the guys got a kick
out of seeing him through the hole, and whoever answered the door would call
out to them before letting them in, which Benjamin loved.
Scully heard shuffling from behind the door and a muffled "it's Scully!"
Then she heard Frohike.
"Who's out there?" he asked loudly, and Benjamin squealed with laughter.
"Is that Benjamin?" Frohike undid all the locks and slowly opened the
door, peering out at Benjamin.
"Icky!" Benjamin exclaimed, and Frohike opened the door all the way.
"Hey big man, hiya doing?" Frohike grinned and took Benjamin from Scully.
Benjamin laughed again. "Icky!"
Scully smiled. "Well, it's a step up from 'ika' I guess, huh?"
Byers and Langly crowded around Frohike and said hi to Benjamin, tickling
him and making him giggle.
"Icky is pretty good," Frohike replied, giving Benjamin to Langly and
Scully a hug. "How are ya?"
"Holding up," Scully replied with a sigh. "It's tough..."
"Hey Scully, can I give him some chocolate? Is that ok for him?" Langly
asked, fishing a Hershey bar out of his pocket.
"Of course it's ok! He loves chocolate, you know that. Boy do you three
spoil him!"
Byers grinned. "Who could resist that face?" He poked Benjamin's nose,
causing him to shriek with laughter.
They all headed into the main room, where Byers took a small plastic ball
and a teddy bear off a shelf to give to Benjamin, who busied himself on the
floor with his toys while the adults sat down.
"So, what brings you to us this fine Saturday morning"? Langly asked,
giving Benjamin a small piece of chocolate.
"Well, we were going to go to the park, then Benjamin asked to see you
guys," Scully replied with a smile.
"Get out!" exclaimed Frohike. "Did he really?"
"Yup, he really likes you guys."
"Well we really like him! He's so cheery, and bubbly.. and cute!" Langly
handed Benjamin some more chocolate.
"You guys are so good to him..." Scully trailed off.
"Think of us as his three surrogate daddies," Byers said with a smile.
Benjamin looked up. "Dada?"
There was silence. After a few seconds of looking at the adults,
Benjamin forgot whatever he had been thinking about and went back to the
teddy bear. Scully sighed.
"I've shown him pictures..." she began, then was silent again. "I don't
know if it was the right thing to do, but..."
The gunmen looked at each other. "You still think he'll come back?"
Langly asked.
"He WILL come back!!!" Scully burst out, then looked at Langly
apologetically. "I'm sorry, it's just... I can't give up on him, not yet. He
didn't give up on me. And I don't want Benjamin to grow up not knowing who
his father is."
Frohike touched her arm comfortingly. "You did the right thing, he
*should* know about Mulder... boy, he certainly reminds me of him. He's got
Mulder's eyes and nose - well, a smaller version of his nose."
Scully laughed softly. "Yes, he does... and he's got Mulder's curiosity.
He's always getting into things... he usually finds his way out though, isn't
that right Benjamin?"
Benjamin held up the ball. "Ball!" he exclaimed, and promptly launched
it into the air; it then bounced off a computer monitor and hit Frohike
square in the face.
"Owww, nooo, my head!!" Frohike collapsed onto the floor and Benjamin
giggled and toddled over to him. Just as he was about to touch Frohike's
head, he opened his eyes and grabbed him, tickling him. Benjamin squealed
happily and wiggled away, setting out to retrieve the ball.
"Looks like you've got a pro football player on your hands," Byers
commented with a grin as Frohike chased after Benjamin and the ball.
Scully, Byers and Langly chatted for about 10 minutes while Frohike
played with Benjamin, then Scully looked at her watch.
"Wow, it's already 11:30! We should probably be going now." Just as she
spoke, her phone suddenly rang. "Oh... excuse me for a second." Scully turned
away and took the phone out of her pocket. "Scully."
There was no response from the second party. Scully frowned. "Hello?"
Still nothing. Scully thought she heard faint breathing on the other
end, but couldn't be sure. She waited another second or two, and when
nothing happened, hung up.
"What's wrong?" Byers inquired, observing her confused face.
"Oh, nothing... must've been a wrong number, no one was there," Scully
replied, replacing the phone in her pocket. Though she put on the outward
appearance of indifference concerning the call, Scully felt slightly uneasy
about it; she couldn't figure out whether her emotions were those of
trepidation or hoping against hope that it was... no, it couldn't be.
"Well Benjamin, it's been fun," Frohike said as he put the teddy bear and
ball away and gave Benjamin another piece of chocolate. "Byebye!"
Scully put the call out of her mind and picked up Benjamin, who was still
giggling from his frolicking with Frohike.
"Thanks for everything, guys," Scully said, giving each guy a kiss on the
cheek. "I should hire you to babysit sometime, you're great with him!"
A big grin formed on all three men's faces. "We'd love to! Anytime!"
Byers replied, giving Benjamin a kiss on the head. Benjamin looked up at him
and frowned slightly; after a few seconds the frown slowly melted into a
grin. "Ayers!"
Scully raised her eyebrows. "He said Byers! He's never said that
before!"
Byers laughed and grinned. "Benjamin, you finally said my name! I'm so
proud of you!"
The gunmen all crowded around Scully and Benjamin to say their goodbyes,
then each gave Scully a hug. As they left, Langly gave Scully the remainder
of the chocolate for Benjamin, who grabbed it from his mother and began
gnawing on it. He and Scully then waved goodbye to the gunmen and returned
to the car, ready to head off to the park.
Long way down
____________________
Part 2
At the park
____________________
The colorful balloons and banners waved in the breeze as Scully walked
Benjamin's stroller through the park. Benjamin ooed and ahed at all the
wonderful sights of the carnival; the balloons were a favorite, as well as
the big paper flowers that were given as prizes at the game booths. Scully
bought him a yellow balloon and one of the flowers, and secured both to the
stroller where he could see them.
After touring around the carnival for about half an hour, Benjamin began
to fidget, so Scully decided to find a nice grassy area for him to run around
in. On the way down the path away from the carnival, Scully saw a lemonade
stand and, realizing how thirsty she was, stopped and pulled some money out
of her pocket.
"Are you thirsty, Benjamin?" She stooped down to eye level with him and,
after seeing that his cup of juice was still three-quarters full, decided
that he was fine.
"Ooce!" Benjamin exclaimed, banging the cup on Scully's arm.
"Yes, you have enough juice for now. Mommy needs some lemonade, though."
Scully straightened up and turned to the lemonade vendor, leaving Benjamin
next to her in the stroller.
As she ordered her drink, Benjamin sat patiently sipping his juice and
looking around. Suddenly, something caught his eye and a big grin spread
across his face. "Dada!!!"
Scully bent down to him. "Did you want something, sweetie?"
Benjamin just grinned and pointed down the path in the direction they had
come from. "Dada!"
Scully's heart almost stopped, then began fluttering madly. She quickly
stood up to look around, and seeing nothing and no one, frowned. Then she
saw a little girl and who appeared to be her father walking down the path
towards them.
"Yes, that's the little girl's daddy," she told Benjamin with a sigh.
Benjamin's grin disappeared and was replaced with a frown. "Dada," he said
more seriously.
"No, that's not your daddy honey, I'm sorry. Um - " Scully turned back
to the lemonade vendor. "Do you have a cookie or anything I could buy?…"
The man took a package of two chocolate chip cookies from beneath the
counter and Scully gratefully handed him a few dollars. She gave a cookie to
Benjamin and put the other away for later. His grin returned and he
contentedly started in on the cookie, forgetting about whatever he had seen.
Sighing again, Scully pushed the stroller along the path until they
arrived at a bench facing a large grassy area. She unstrapped Benjamin from
the stroller and let him loose in the grass; he ran over to a patch of
dandelions and busied himself with picking them.
Scully seated herself on the bench and watched Benjamin, wondering what
he had seen. She was convinced that if Mulder had been at the park and seen
Benjamin, he would've seen her standing next to the stroller, and there was
no logical reason why he wouldn't have let his presence be known to her
unless he was in some kind of trouble or danger. Of course, Benjamin was
just a baby and could've been mistaken; there was no way of finding out.
Scully was sure he didn't understand the concept of a father, so it didn't
make sense that he would've known that the man with the little girl on the
path was her father.
These thoughts and more tumbled around in Scully's mind for the duration
of their park outing, which lasted only another 10 minutes. Benjamin, while
happily picking flowers, had come across a bee and irritated it by picking
the dandelion it was on; it in return stung him on the hand and he started
crying profusely, so Scully decided it was time to go home after she plucked
the stinger from his hand and calmed him down.
As they walked to the car, Scully kept her eyes peeled for Mulder, or
anything relating to him in any way. She knew it was a desperate and most
likely futile attempt, but she would do anything, grasp at any loose end,
follow any lead, to find him. But she saw nothing to indicate that he was in
the general vicinity, and Benjamin did not say 'dada' again. Slightly
disappointed but not surprised, Scully strapped Benjamin into his carseat and
they headed home.
~*~Later that night~*~
"But mom, I know what he said! He even pointed when he said it!" Scully
sighed exasperatedly and rolled her eyes, listening to her mother on the
phone.
"I - yes, I know, but... it got me kind of worked up, that's all," Scully
said into the phone dejectedly. "Ok.. bye mom." Scully hung up the phone
and sighed once again. After putting Benjamin to bed at 7:00, Scully had
settled down to some paperwork, which she couldn't focus on, so she called
her mother to tell her what had happened at the park. Maggie had told her
daughter that Benjamin had probably just thought of the picture Scully showed
him and been thinking outloud. Scully protested, saying that Benjamin
pointed when he said it, but her mother was firm in believing her own theory,
so Scully didn't push it any further.
Realizing she was still staring at the phone, Scully pulled herself out
of her thoughts and went to check on Benjamin. She found him sleeping
peacefully in his crib with his thumb in his mouth and the blanket pushed
into a corner. Giving him a kiss on the head and covering him with the
blanket, she let her hand linger on his head for a moment before tiptoeing
out of the room and pulling the door closed.
Scully, once back in the living room, decided to turn in early from lack
of concentration and alertness; she turned out the lights and retired to her
room. Changing into her bedclothes, she settled down with a book but found
that she couldn't even focus on that. Scully disgustedly set the book aside
and lay in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Her mind would not stray
from what had happened at the park, though she kept telling herself she was
making too big of a deal about it. She sat up in bed and took the picture of
Mulder from where it was sitting on the headboard, regarding it with a
wistful look.
"Mulder, where are you?" she whispered, her fingers running over his
face. Wiping a tear from her eye, Scully placed the picture under her pillow
and turned out the light, hoping sleep would come quickly. It didn't.
**********
"Long Way Down"
____________________
Part 3
Next Friday
____________________
Almost a week had passed since the incident in the park, and there had
been no more similar occurrences except for an anonymous phone call on
Tuesday. Scully had tried to put the whole incident behind her for the time
being, though she still thought about it from time to time.
On this particular Friday night, Scully found that she was in desperate
need of some grocery shopping, and had called up a girl from her building who
baby-sat for Benjamin sometimes. The girl was free and had agreed to be at
Scully's apartment at 6:00 that evening.
"Hi Liz," Scully greeted her as she opened the door. "Thanks for coming
on such short notice."
The girl smiled. "No problem at all, Benjamin's great to sit for!"
Scully walked into the living room, with Liz closely following, to where
Benjamin was playing in the babygated area sectioned off for him.
"Liz!" Benjamin exclaimed as Scully picked him up and set him down
outside the gates. He ran over to Liz and grabbed her leg with a big grin.
"Hey Benjamin! How are ya?" Liz knelt down and gave Benjamin a hug while
Scully found a piece of paper and a pen, and started writing down phone
numbers.
"Here's my cell number, my mother's number and one of my friend's
numbers, just in case - I'm usually reachable at my cell, but just in case
I'm not... let's see. He probably won't need changing soon, and I'll just put
him to bed when I get back, so..." Scully paused. "Did I miss anything?"
Liz, who had been listening attentively, smiled and took the piece of
paper from Scully. "Nope, don't think so. You're getting better at this!"
They both laughed. The first few times Liz had watched Benjamin, Scully had
left out some things she needed to know and been generally clueless as to
everything a sitter had to know.
"Ok, great. I shouldn't be more than an hour or so, so you two can just
play." Scully gave Benjamin a kiss on the head. "Bye bye sweetie, I'm going
to the store but I'll be back soon, ok? You play with Liz until I get back."
Benjamin gave Scully a hug, then ran over to a toy he had left on the floor.
"Looks like you'll have a good evening," Scully said to Liz as she
grabbed her jacket. "Well, have fun!"
"Bye!" Liz called as Scully left the apartment and locked the door behind
her. Glad that she had a reliable sitter with Benjamin, Scully got in her
car and headed for the grocery store.
____________________
One hour, 15 minutes later
____________________
Scully returned home a little over an hour later after a successful trip
to the store, lugging 2 of her 5 bags up to the apartment with her. She
unlocked the door and, peeking inside, saw Liz on the couch with Benjamin
reading him a book.
"Mummy!" Benjamin exclaimed and wiggled out of Liz's lap, promptly
running to Scully and grabbing her legs.
"Hi sweetie!!! How was he?" Scully asked, picking Benjamin up and giving
him a kiss.
"He was wonderful! We played with his choo choo for a while, read some
books and played in his room for a little while," Liz replied with a big
smile, putting the book away.
"Oh great! I'm so glad he likes you!" Scully set the bags down on the
floor. "I'll be right back, I've got a few more bags to bring up."
"I'll go get them if you like," Liz spoke up.
"Oh would you? Thanks so much!" Scully handed Liz the keys to her car
with a grateful smile. "It's the only one in the lot with the FBI sticker on
the front."
Liz grinned. "Great. Be right back."
Scully put Benjamin in his play area and checked her phone messages, of
which there were none. Liz came back a minute or so later lugging the three
remaining grocery bags and handed Scully her keys as she set the bags down.
"Oh - before I forget - " Liz picked up a blank envelope from the coffee
table and handed it to Scully. "This came for you. It was a little weird;
someone knocked on the door, but when I answered, no one was there, and that
envelope was lying on the ground.
Scully frowned and took the envelope. "Thanks, yeah that is weird.
Nothing else happened?"
Liz shook her head. "Nope, but the phone did ring once and whoever it
was hung up - wrong number, I guess."
Scully's heart skipped a beat, but she didn't let her emotions show.
"Hm. I get a lot of those." She got her wallet out of her purse, took a
ten-dollar bill out and handed it to Liz. "Thanks so much for coming over!"
Liz grinned. "No problem, thank you!" She turned to Benjamin. "Bye
Benjamin, see you later!"
"Say thank you to Liz, Benjamin," Scully instructed him.
"ankoo Liz!" Benjamin said, grinning at Liz. She laughed and waved again
as Scully walked her to the door.
After Liz left, Scully sat down on the couch with the envelope, very
curious as to its contents. She opened it and found a single piece of paper
inside, with one sentence written on it. What Scully read on the paper froze
her blood and rendered her speechless.
"Take caution when befriending a hunted fox; you may be shot down with
it."
Scully stared at the paper, trying to make heads or tails of the ominous
message. She knew from the fox reference that it had to do with Mulder, but
how? She hadn't had any contact with him in over two years; whoever wrote
the note evidently thought she knew where Mulder was.
Setting the note down on the couch, Scully sat forward and dropped her
head into her hands with a big sigh. Benjamin toddled over and looked at his
mother inquisitively.
"Mummy?" he asked, leaning on her knee. Scully picked her head up and
looked into Benjamin's deep blue eyes, feeling her own eyes fill up with
tears.
"I'm ok, sweetie..." Scully picked him up and set him down in her lap,
pulling him close and leaning back with him in her arms. Benjamin rubbed his
eyes and leaned on her chest, shutting his eyes, as if to remind her that it
was his bedtime. Scully sat with him for ten minutes, with tears running
from her eyes, then stood up with Benjamin, who had fallen asleep, and
carried him to his room to be put to bed.
____________________
Next day, 8:30 AM
Skinner's office
____________________
"Scully, I honestly would tell you if I had any information at all
concerning Agent Mulder!" Skinner told Scully from his desk, handing back the
note. "I don't have the first clue as to who sent you this!"
"Sir, with all due respect, I'm not sure I believe you. You've lied to
us before about these people, why wouldn't you be now?" Scully retorted
shrilly, rising from her chair and starting to pace the room.
"Calm down Scully, just take it easy. Sit down." Scully sighed
exasperatedly and did as he told her. "I'm sorry, sir, I just -" she paused.
"I need to know who sent me this... I shouldn't be accusing you, I'm sorry."
Skinner sighed and sat back in his chair. "I know, it's all right... but I
am not withholding any information from you, Scully, I never would! I can
look through all the recent police reports again if you like to see if
anything turns up, but I have no idea who sent you that, nor do I have any
loyalties in the wrong places."
Scully smiled wanly at him. "Thank you sir, and I apologize again for
accusing you of lying to me." She stood up and, pocketing the note, was
about to leave when Skinner rose and walked over to her, touching her arm.
"Scully, I know how hard this is for you, it's hard for me too, but
you've got to keep your head on straight. Don't go searching for things that
aren't there, and I'm telling you this as a concerned friend." Skinner gave
her arm a gentle squeeze and returned to his desk. Scully stood silently for
a moment, then left Skinner's office and headed down to the basement.
Upon arriving, Scully flopped down into the chair behind the desk and
surveyed the mess of papers confronting her. With a resounding sigh, she set
about tidying up the office and dealing with and organizing the papers. This
job had never been a favorite activity of hers, but on this particular
occasion, with the troubles of the past week weighing on her mind, it was
more tedious and tiresome than ever before.
Every other second, her mind wandered back to the note and all the events
preceding it's arrival; no matter how hard she tried, she could not stop
thinking about it.
Scully was jerked out of her daydreams after 45 minutes of work by the
ringing of the phone, which she jumped to pick up. "Scully."
"Agent Scully, it's Skinner. I've found something that I'm sure will be
of interest to you," Skinner's voice came, rather excitedly, over the phone.
Scully's eyebrows shot up.
"What? What did you find?"
"I was checking all the recent police reports from the immediate DC
vicinity and I came across a report from a man in Alexandria who actually
claims he saw Mulder in a café. Now, before you get excited, let me tell you
that this man made his report to the police, but it looks like they've done
absolutely nothing about it. All police forces have been asked to
immediately inform the bureau of any reports concerning Mulder; it says this
force 'called the proper authorities' but no further action has been taken."
Skinner paused. "So there's every chance that this was a false report."
"But this man claimed he *saw* Mulder?" Scully asked, her voice
escalating with every word. "I don't care if no further action has been
taken! I want a copy of this report and the man's name so I can check it out
myself!"
Skinner sighed. "Ok, but remember, this is a long shot. You do know how
many false alarms are called in for missing people. Well, come on up and
I'll give you the report."
"Great." Scully hung up the phone and rushed out of the office. A
minute later, she arrived breathlessly at Skinner's office and burst through
the door, not bothering to deal with his secretary.
"Where is it?" she demanded of Skinner, who was sitting at his desk. He
immediately rose, handing Scully a file.
"Slow down, Scully. Remember, this may be a false report and there has
been no sign of Mulder anywhere."
Scully again sighed. "I understand that, sir, but aren't you prepared to
do anything to find him?" Skinner nodded. "Well, so am I, and I'm sure
Mulder would do the same for either of us. He's already done it for me,"
Scully finished, sitting down and opening the file. She scanned it's
contents and frowned. "The man reported he saw Mulder in a café on 62nd
street on Saturday?"
"Yeah, I guess so..." Skinner looked confused.
"The park is on 62nd. Benjamin and I were there that day and he called
someone 'dada', someone I didn't see."
Skinner's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"
"Yeah. Well, thank you for finding this for me." Scully abruptly stood
up and took the file. "I'm going to talk to this man."
"Scully." She turned around. "Just be careful, ok?"
"I will sir, don't worry about me." She then turned away and continued
quickly out of the office, leaving Skinner standing alone and hoping she
would be true to her word.
____________________