Author's notes: Wow, this has been a hard story to write—very heart-wrenching.

The Weatherman

Chapter Four

Part 1.

At home after the doctor's visit, Lisa found Rick passed out on the couch after a bout of drinking. She breathed a sigh of relief—at least she would not have to deal with the foul mood that inevitably came on when he was drunk. But her relief was short-lived—he woke up as she began making dinner, even though she had tried to work as quietly as possible.

"Where you been?" he said, rubbing his eyes after stumbling through the kitchen door.

"At the doctor's. I…I had to take Billy in…"

"Always the kid." Then he stood up straight, and his demeanor changed just enough to make the hairs on Lisa's arms stand up. "Wait—you took him to the doctor? Don't you realize how risky that is?"

Lisa was chopping green onions, and she began to chop a little faster now. "He had to get shots for school, Rick."

He leaned in closer. "There's ways 'a getting around that, Lisa. What did the doctor find out?"

"Nothing, Rick. She didn't say nothin'."

"Nothing that you know of… She may of already reported us, for all you know!" She didn't respond, and this made him angrier. "Sometimes you just don't think, woman!"

He threw his hands up in the air and turned his back on her, and she breathed out all the air she had been holding in her lungs. But as soon as she did, he turned back to her and grabbed her arm. "What if she figured out about him, huh? That was really stupid."

He raised a hand, but before he released it towards her face, a small voice said, "Leave her alone!"

"Oh, you want some instead, huh?"

"No!" screamed Lisa, but it was too late—Rick had already started after Billy, and she knew that nothing she said would stop him now. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the scene in front of her. But memories of the deals that had been made in the past haunted her.

As Rick removed his belt and folded it in half, she recalled the unique condition that Billy had, and how it had saved her and cursed her at the same time. When Rick had first moved in, he tried to take his anger out on Billy as well as Lisa, but he quickly discovered that Billy was able to physically overpower him, despite the fact that he was only five years old at the time. Lisa could not explain it, but that first encounter between them had led to Rick getting knocked unconscious, while Billy was left unscathed.

But Lisa was afraid that Rick would leave her, and that was unacceptable to her. She had no idea how she would be able to get by as a single mother without Rick to take care of them. So she had talked to Billy, and for the sake of his mother's happiness, he had agreed to take beatings from Rick without complaint. She dreaded each assault, but she knew that Billy would not be seriously injured by the blows—she did not think it was even possible to hurt him severely. And that seemed to satisfy Rick—he rarely laid a hand on Lisa, choosing to take his anger out on Billy instead. But it still did not make it any easier to witness each incident—she knew Billy still felt pain even if the injuries were mild.

So when Billy turned his back to Rick and pulled up his shirt to accept his punishment, Lisa turned her head and cried, even though she knew she would do nothing to stop it.

Part 2.

Now that Scully had real reasons to worry, she knew she had to get closer—she could not let the matter drop. She talked to Billy's school, and they agreed to let her come in on a volunteer basis to treat kids whose parents could not afford medical care. She would probably never be allowed to examine Billy, of course, but maybe she could get close enough to him to talk to him. If not, she would have to keep an eye on him from a distance.

Her first visit to the school was not until a week after she had first examined him. He saw her in the hallway on his way out to recess, and his eyes got wide. He called out to her from across the hall, "Hi, Dr. Scully!"

Scully waved and smiled. She spent the next couple of hours examining children, barely able to contain her excitement at the possibility of interacting with her child. She was beginning to think the opportunity would never arise, when she saw him walking around the classroom after escorting another child in. It was free-play time, and all the children were playing in various stations throughout the room. Billy approached her hesitantly but expectantly, and tugged on her hand when he got close to her.

She kneeled down to talk to him. "Hi Billy. How are you?"

He examined her face for a moment before speaking back to her. "I know you." Her heart fluttered, but dropped when he said, "You were my doctor." She sighed, but he was not done yet. "But I know you another way too."

Her eyes searched his face, and her voice softened. "How is that, Billy?"

But he did not answer, he just looked into her eyes longingly. Perhaps he did not have the right words. Just then the teacher approached them. "Dr. Scully? I didn't know you were examining Billy—is he on the list?"

Scully quickly stood up. "No…no he's not. He was a former patient. Just saying hi." She turned her attention back to Billy. "Billy, it was very nice to see you." But Billy did not answer her, instead he implored her with his eyes. Then he threw his arms around her, and after hesitating, she put her arms on his tiny back. "I'll see you again soon," she said, choking back tears.