Chapter 3.

August 4, 2010.

Wayfield, Virginia.

It was deep into the night, and way past Iden's bedtime, when a car finally rolled into their driveway. Mulder stirred from a nap on the couch and Scully popped up beside him, groaning. Frankie sounded the alarm and bounded through the doggie door. Iden appeared in her doorway, staring grimly at the adults, awaiting their reaction.

Mulder was the first up. He stretched out his back and motioned to Iden. "Stay in there for a sec. Let us find out what she wants first."

Mulder and Scully stepped onto the front porch, squinting into the bright headlights of an unfamiliar car. Mulder gave Scully a cautious look, and she returned it. He saw the same fear in her – it was a delicate situation, and that kid was special in more ways than normal parents could understand. Her happiness was of great consequence to both of them.

Deloris got out slowly, unusually tame as the lights of her car went off. Mulder reached back and popped on the porch light, watching her every measured move as she approached. She seemed to have lost her theatricality. She had a solemn expression, almost like she was drugged.

"I… I need to see Iden."

Mulder judged the doubtful look on Scully's face and decided to respond first. "Explain yourself first. Tell me why you left."

"Iden," Deloris said simply, swallowing hard. She walked past them, sitting in his rocking chair. She had her hand on her chin, a world apart from everything around her. "I need to see her."

Mulder leaned against the pillar, forcing himself to be patient. He had to forget for the moment that this woman had slapped Iden, and then abandoned her on his doorstep months ago. He had to forget that the kid was afraid of her, that Iden was terrified that she was going to have to leave her new home so soon. He had to look past it to think clinically, to recall the investigative side of himself and figure out why this had happened, and how it could be resolved.

"Why did you abandon her?" Mulder prompted.

Deloris looked up like she was noticing him for the first time. Her voice had all of the seriousness of a few months before, but none of the vigor. She sounded tired, like she had aged years since her disappearance in May. "She saw me die, finally."

"Elaborate," Scully said dryly.

Deloris looked up, sensing the hostility, and then looked at the ground. "That is as elaborate as I can be. I need to see her."

"This is as close as you're getting," Scully stated.

"Is she afraid of me?"

Mulder crossed his arms, wondering if the sadness in the woman's eyes was real. "No. She's happy here. She wants to stay with us."

"I can take her back now. It's time."

"Why don't we go back to why you left her in the first place," Scully snapped. She was beginning to sound vicious. Mulder winced a little at her tone.

Deloris sighed. "She must have told you."

"You had 'visions' of my death every day," Mulder said, experiencing his own vicious streak. "I never slapped you, even though I should have – even though I wanted to. Why punish Iden for imitating you?"

"Iden should have kept it to herself. She knew what she was doing."

"That's ridiculous," Scully growled.

"I am telling you what you want to know," Deloris defended.

"She is, Scully," Mulder intervened, glancing at his partner. She was seething, her scowl never leaving Deloris. "Hey," he waved his hand, gathering her attention. "She's answered our questions."

"She's full of it, Mulder," Scully objected.

"Just let me see her, please. I just want to talk to her. I just want to protect her."

"No. I know how to protect her." Scully went to the door, looking between them, and then setting her cold eyes on Deloris. "By keeping her away from you."

She went inside, slamming the door behind her. Mulder flinched, but remained where he was. Deloris was still hanging her head. He was fascinated by her behavior, from a psychologist's viewpoint. It was like her personality had been altered. Everything that she was – the insistent, hilarious, and quirky psychic – had morphed and darkened in her time away. He wondered what kind of cataclysmic event could bring about such a change.

Keeping his eyes on her, and his mind on protecting the little girl inside, Mulder crouched down against the pillar, letting his voice trail from aggressive to curious.

"Iden told me about that night. You threw her out of your home."

Deloris glanced up, appearing ashamed. "She saw my death – apparently it is quite close now."

"I'm not convinced that you had to do what you did."

"Maybe I didn't. I was afraid for her, and for myself."

"You hit her."

"I regret everything I did that night."

His empathy was much stronger than his need for vengeance. His anger melted away in the face of her devastation. What in the world could have happened, to have hurt her so much? Was she living in her own little tragedy, playing out alongside that of her sister?

"What happened to you?" he asked, surprised by his own tone. He sounded just like he did when he spoke to Iden. He was unsure of it, but he couldn't help it.

She looked into his eyes suddenly, frowning, tilting her head. She seemed confused, and surprised, and enthralled by that question. It was a stunning look into her mind. It was so much deeper than he had imagined all those days that she dragged Iden to his house and told him that he was doomed to die in some horrific accident. Her soul was radiating out of her expression.

She stumbled for words. "You're so… kind, Fox."

He saw her regret, her repentance, very clearly now. His encounter with the ghosts in Kentucky had left him particularly sensitive to the pain of others. He could read her, like he read the brother who had slain his own sister. It was a similar kind of grief.

He stood up, glancing at the front door, where he knew Scully would be listening. "I'm not giving you the opportunity to take back what you did," he said. "But I think you should be allowed to atone. Iden is staying with us, but I'll ask her if she wants to talk to you."

Deloris popped out of her seat, suddenly anxious. "I can see her?"

"Let me talk to her," Mulder said, holding up one hand.

When he came into the hallway, he found Scully standing there waiting for him. She was guarding the hall, not allowing him access to Iden's room.

"I don't want her to talk to Iden."

"I thought you wanted Deloris to be agreeable, so she would sign over custody," Mulder said.

Scully shook her head. "No. She is a little girl. She should have no part in this woman's insanity. Deloris needs professional help, Mulder."

"You don't believe in psychic powers all of the sudden?"

Scully advanced on him, lowering her voice. "I believe in psychics, but not her. She is showing the characteristics of a severe mental illness. She believes that she can divine answers from tea leaves. She left with one personality, and returned with another. She doesn't even sound the same."

"She deserves a chance to apologize," he argued.

She locked her jaw. He could feel her irritation with him growing. "Fine. But you stay with her. Deloris isn't taking her anywhere."

"You're not coming?"

"I might shoot her." Scully turned, disappearing into the bedroom. She slammed the door like a dramatic teenager and he rolled his eyes.

Iden emerged from her room. She took his hand and leaned into his side, practically hidden under his arm. Having her close to him was a strange source of contentment. He wanted to protect her, to guard her, to bring a smile to her sad face. He had grown so attached over the last three months – she had been out of school and he only occasionally wrote up profiles for the FBI, so when Scully was at work they had hours and hours of free time. She was his river buddy, the one who followed him through the woods on ten hour walks, the one who asked him a thousand questions about life, about the world, about her abilities. She was his friend, even though he never imagined himself getting close to a child again after losing William. Iden was the exception, the one shot in the darkness, the little thread that tied Mulder and Scully to the ground.

She seemed so small now, in the half-light, peeking up at him like she was afraid, and yet there was a warm strength about her. She was truly something else.

"Are you sure you want to see her?" he asked the kid.

She nodded, her frown so deep that her bottom lip poked out. "Just don't let me go, okay?"

He walked her outside, pulling the front door shut behind him. Frankie whimpered and went to the window to watch them. Deloris was standing against the pillar now, and when she saw them come out, she gave her sister the same sad look she had arrived with.

Deloris said nothing, only stepped closer and held her hand out. Mulder looked curiously at the little girl stuck to his hip as she raised her own hand. She was shaking. She put her fingers lightly on top of Deloris', a determined light in her eyes. It stayed that way for several minutes, until Mulder started to question the legitimacy of what they were doing.

And then Iden drew away, gasping fearfully. He reacted, pushing her behind him to cut off the other woman's view of her. Deloris still had her hand out, frowning at nothing.

"Did she hurt you?" Mulder asked, glancing back at Iden. He looked at Deloris, baffled by the weird look she was giving him. "Did you hurt her?"

Her eyes glistened with fresh tears and she lunged at him suddenly, trying to grab the kid. Mulder pushed her away with considerable effort, surprised by how sturdy she was. She came back almost immediately, like his push had not fazed her at all.

"Hey! Stay away from her!"

Deloris pulled in a startled breath, tears dropping down her cheeks, and screamed, "No! Release her! Iden! Give her to me! Iden!"

Mulder reached behind him, throwing the door open. "Go inside," he urged Iden, who stood, frozen with fear, while her sister had some sort of episode. Scully was already coming down the hallway. She grabbed the girl, stared at Mulder, surprised, and then stepped out with him.

Deloris kept going on, screaming the same things, repeating her accusations as she tried to get to the door. Mulder held her away from it, unsure of what else he could do. He had seen this kind of persistence and strength from drug addicts, but Deloris seemed too small to make him struggle like this. He was barely able to hold her at bay. She was flinging herself around like a wild animal.

"Calm down!" he shouted, recoiling when she slapped him. It stung more like he'd been hit with a frying pan. She tried to slip past to the door and he shoved her back another few feet. "Hey! Stay back! You need to back off!"

Deloris screamed again. "Give her to me! Iden!"

"I'm calling Hector," Scully warned. She was standing behind Mulder, guarding the door, with her phone to her ear. "I'm calling the police, Deloris. You need to calm down!"

Deloris wiggled around his arms and grabbed his shirt, tearing at it like she was preparing to tunnel through him. "Give her back to me! Give her to me!"

Scully looked at Mulder, worry flashing in her eyes. She tried to get Deloris to move away from him, away from the house, but the psychic was not budging. She was using her full weight to try and siege them.

Finally Deloris got her hands near his face again. He felt her claw his cheek, but he was more focused on her other arm, which was flailing all over the place. She had completely lost her mind. She was behaving like she had only one motive – a motive that seemed completely rooted in fiction. His patience for this woman, his belief in the potential of her abilities, was paling in comparison to Scully's theory. She was losing her grasp on reality. She was suffering from a serious mental deficit, and it making her behave dangerously.

Scully vanished for a second, going into the house. Deloris rooted one hand firmly in his hair, yanking on it and forcing his head down. He did his best to keep from hurting her – she was a thin lady, probably weighing no more than a hundred pounds – but she was doing her best to hurt him.

When his partner returned, he heard the door slam shut, and the familiar sound of a gun cocking behind him. His heart beat a little faster in response.

"Let him go," Scully ordered. She stepped back a little on the porch, pointing the gun squarely at the two of them, who were now entangled.

Deloris loosened her grip on his hair, glancing at the gun. Mulder had enough time to yank himself free of her and shove her away. She almost fell down the steps, but she grabbed the pillar at the last second and held herself up. She tried to go for the front door again, but Scully took a step closer, bringing the gun to the front of the conversation.

"Stay right where you are."

Mulder remained in front of the door, still cautious that she would try to get to Iden. "What the hell was that?" he demanded of the sobbing woman.

Deloris backed away again, coming to her car. She ran her hand over the hood. She was looking at Mulder like she had witnessed him choke the life out of a kitten, and she looked at Scully like she was going to start shooting any moment. The dominate force in her was fear. It was off the charts. It might have been drugs – something very powerful.

It seemed that she thought once more about approaching, but her eyes shot to the gun, and she fiddled with her car keys. She spoke quietly, so he had to strain to hear her. "I'll come back for my baby. You can't keep her. She is my child."

"You will stay away from her," Scully snapped. She walked to the edge of the steps, holding the gun level, pointing it at Deloris' forehead. If she fired, she would not miss.

Mulder placed his hand delicately on his face, retreating a little to the door as his attacker got into her car. She was staring at them as she backed out of the driveway, only turning away when she made it to the tree line. Her headlights bobbed off down the road and the sound of her little engine purring faded into the night. He could only hear his own heartbeat now.

Slowly, his lover lowered the gun. She seemed just as freaked out at he was, eyes wide, with a wild posture. She was ready to defend him again, ready to defend the little girl inside. When she looked back at him she grimaced. Her expression was concerning.

"How bad is it?" he asked.

"It's deep," Scully told him, throwing an angry glance over her shoulder. "She got you good. We're going to have to go to the hospital to get this looked at. You need a tetanus shot."

He stood patiently while she tilted his head this way and that, until the stinging was almost unbearable. He flinched away from her hands. His mind was far away from the pain, though. He focused on the echoed screams, the ones that would probably never leave his head. "Why was she so desperate to get to Iden? She was calm, conversational, and then…"

"She's lost it, Mulder," Scully said. She pulled him to the door. "Grab your coat. I'm taking you to the emergency room."

"I don't get it," he murmured.

Scully went inside. He heard her calling for Iden. He stayed where he was, gently prodding his face and gazing at the blood coating his fingers. It glistened in the moonlight. He had a hard time understanding this violent encounter. Deloris had been his friend for over a year, and even though her favorite pastime had been predicting his demise, she was a gentle spirit. Now she seemed so dark, so drained, like her time away had been more than a mental holiday. She was a completely different person. She was actually dangerous.

When the girls came out, less than a minute had passed. Scully threw his coat over his shoulders and urged him into the back seat of the jeep. Iden took the front with her, looking horrified when she saw his injuries, and Scully peeled out of their driveway.

Iden turned to look at him, all kinds of trauma in her face. "Why did she scratch you? Why did she want me so bad? Why did she want me, Fox?"

"Leave him alone," Scully said.

"But I want to know!" Iden complained.

He was starting to feel a little woozy. He slid down the seat, lying across the back, and held his hand against his chest. He could see the scene replaying in his mind, like it was happening right in front of him, and he could hear Iden's questions going on in a cycle, even though he was aware that she had fallen silent.

"Scully… Scully, I think she did something."

Squealing tires. Scully seemed panicked suddenly. She looked back at him. "Mulder? You look pale. How much blood have you lost?"

"Not much," he responded dreamily, letting his eyes slide shut. "I think she… I think she drugged me. I feel… I feel like I'm hallucinating. Auditory… auditory… auditory hallucinations."

He felt the jeep surge forward.

"Hold on. We're almost there. Keep your eyes open."

He opened his eyes, finding Iden still staring at him. She seemed so innocent, so confused by the crazy things happening around her. He wanted to comfort her, to make sure she knew that whatever was happening would not be the end of their friendship, but he couldn't find the words. He couldn't find any words.

"Fox?" she murmured, reaching out to him. She was starting to get further away.

He finally let his eyes shut, and a dream rushed up to meet him.