Hello folks! I hope you are all doing great! :) I am sorry this chapter took so long ; work and real life can be very tricky sometimes.

I hope you'll enjoy this new chapter.

S xxx

« He looks so much like you, Mulder. His smile, it's yours. Every time I talk about you, he smiles. It's like he knows. » Scully started saying, the tears falling once again.

« I miss him so much, » Mulder murmured before hugging her tenderly. « I miss you both so damn much, Dana. »

Their embrace lasted what looked like an eternity and a second at the same time. Even though they had met secretly several time already since Mulder left, Scully always had the impression it was never going to happen again, that something terrible was going to happen. And she could not allow this. Never.

« Come home. » It was not a leap of faith but Dana Scully begging for mercy. She was so tired, so sad. She needed Mulder by her side. She needed him to be a father and not just a ghost to their little boy.

« You know I can't do that, Dana. »

Since William's birth, he would never stop calling her Dana. As if the birth of their first child had changed everything. Maybe it had. Maybe Scully was the one not seeing it just yet. Maybe their relationship was at a brand new level now.

« I am lost without you, » she murmured. « I am not sure I can do this without you. »

« Of course you can. There's no discussion over this. But it does not mean I want you to face it all alone. I promised you I'd come back and I will. Do you hear me? I will. »

« He's almost one, already. Where have those last months been, Fox? »

They both looked at each other straight in the eyes when she used his first name. The last time she had done such thing was years ago, literally. Mulder stroked her cheek tenderly and kissed her forehead.

« I feel paralyzed without you. » Scully said, closing her eyes while her hands clenched onto Mulder's jacket.

« You are so much stronger than I will ever be. » He automatically responded, both his hands back on her cheeks so she'd look at him. « Look at you, the mother of my child. I could not be prouder of you, Dana. »

« Take us with you. »

« Wh- What? »

« Let's get out of here, you, me, and Will. »

« Dana we- »

She had not stopped crying, she could not hold the tears back any longer. Being with Mulder even for a few minutes was her only escape, the only way for her to let it all go. In front of her mother or her colleagues back to the FBI, there was no way she could show her real sadness. So she put on an act, a perfect one. One everyone believed. But how long would that work? How long would Scully be capable of pretending?

To be continued...