Scully assessed the medical chart, noting some various injuries. Fractured arm, ribs and major concussion. He had been in critical condition before, how the hell had he gotten out of bed? Did he have the ability to heal his injuries? She knew that he could manipulate perception and share visions with her, but the rest was a mystery. He either ran away or they got there too late. She suddenly felt a searing pain slice across her temple and she gasped, dropping the clipboard to the floor. She placed her hands tightly against the sides of her head and tried to taking deep breaths. The pain was gone moments after it occurred, but she suddenly feel dizzy and sick. She stumbled towards the wall of the room and leaned against it for support as she tried to gather herself. She opened her eyes, her vision slightly blurred. Once the room came back into focus, she looked out of the doorway and saw no sign of Mulder. A nurse came rushing into the room, stopping first to look at Scully, who clearly was unwell. It was then she realized that one arm was wrapped around her waist while the other was braced against the wall. She quickly stood straight, trying to gather herself. "The patient in this room, where is he?"

The nurse, whose nametag read Nguyen, looked curiously at Scully, clearly trying to decide whether or not she needed some sort of medical attention before answering her question. "This floor has been closely monitored the last several hours. No one could have possibly gotten in or out on our watch."

Scully thought for a moment about the security cameras, but she wasn't sure if they would be of any use. Especially if Jackson was disguising himself. If he escaped somehow, they would have no idea of knowing where he went. It was a slight relief to know that they made it here before the DoD. Jackson probably knew he had to get out before he was detected. Even so, it didn't make her feel any less helpless. He had slipped through their fingers two months ago.

"Are you okay?" The nurse asked, picking up the clipboard. Scully hadn't realized she'd zoned out until the nurse had spoken again. "What's your relation to the patient?"

"I'm...uh, his mother," she said without thinking. She mentally kicked herself when it was too late to take the words back. No one else could know that Jackson was their son.

The nurse smiled sympathetically. "I see. Well, he couldn't have gotten far in his condition. My colleagues are searching the floor right now."

Scully nodded her gratitude before slipping back out the door. Her temple was still throbbing and she tried to fight back the nausea as she searched for a restroom. Thankfully, there was one at the other end of the hall. She slipped into the closest stall and as her mouth watered, she prepared to once again empty the contents of her stomach. She took several deep breaths as she used her left hand to brace herself against the wall of the stall and the other to hold her hair out of her face. To her surprise, the need to vomit seemed to pass a couple minutes later. She stood up and slumped against the wall, closing her eyes as she took several breaths.

Placing her hand on her abdomen, she muttered wryly, "You and your brother giving me so much trouble." She unlocked the stall and walked out to wash her hands. She stared straight ahead into the mirror, noting the visible signs of aging, much as she had done before when she and Mulder were on that case in Henrico County. She couldn't help but notice that her face appeared slightly fuller and her hair had a sheen to it she hadn't noticed before. She put her hands under the automatic faucet and cupped some water before splashing it over mouth. She ignored the sound of footsteps behind her and quickly dried her hands before retreating from the bathroom. She decided to go outside and have a look around, but didn't expect to find much. She pulled her black coat tightly around her shoulders to ward of the cool breeze.

It was almost spring, but they were in the mountains and it was still quite cool. She pulled her phone out of her coat pocket, contemplating on whether or not to call Skinner. He had made it clear they were on their own, though. He had been acting so out of the ordinary the past few months that she was a bit wary of him, even if she knew in her heart that he always held their best interests. Scully folded her arms over her chest and looked around at the random passersby. Visitors, patients, doctors. Any one of those people could be her son in disguise. She knew she should go back inside and find Mulder, see if he found out anything.

Instead, she took a seat on a bench in an isolated area towards the back of the building. Sighing, she pulled out the windmill snow globe she had carried with her and relived the moment she first ran into her son outside of a hospital in Norfolk, Virginia, unbeknownst to her at the time. Mulder had found a place that fixed the casing for her since she had dropped it, so it looked brand new again. She leaned forward while turning the globe in her hands, watching the snow particles swirl around inside. Scully closed her eyes and sighed, feeling the tears come back full force. Would she ever see him again? He kept slipping from their grasp.

"You should be more careful, you don't want to drop it again."

And at the sound of that voice, it took all her strength to keep it from falling out of her grasp as she jumped to her feet. The familiar Asian man that she now knew as the pickup artist stood before her. She quickly pocketed the globe before rubbing at the tears that began to fall from her eyes.

"Oh God," she whispered.

She was entirely unprepared and to make matters worse, she felt frozen in place.

"William," she uttered without thinking. "It's you."

Putting his hands in his jean pockets, the older man smiled back at her. "You figured it out?"

Scully smiled as she wiped away more tears. "Your... Mulder figured it out. The Malcolm X quote."

"Ah, I see."

Scully had spilled her entire speech at the morgue, but here she was at a loss for words.

"He's my dad isn't he?"

Scully nodded. "Yes, I want you to meet him."

He thought for a moment and then looked down. "I can't, not yet."

"Why?" Scully blurted through tears. "I-I want to see you as you. I need to make sure you're okay. You were seriously injured. Please."

Jackson shook his head. "I can't go with you. I'm a danger to everyone around me."

Scully willed her body to cooperate, but it refused to move. "Not to us, please let us help you."

"You called me William," he said changing the subject. "At the morgue, too."

Scully sighed with slight embarrassment as she remembered that he wasn't really dead during her speech.

"Yes, we named you William before you were adopted," she whispered.

The older man managed a smile. "It's a nice name. I'm sorry, but I have to go now."

"No, please," she begged. "William!"

"Scully?" She heard Mulder calling for her. Scully couldn't turn her eyes away from the man her son was impersonating.

"Scully?" He called out again.

William disappeared and she was no longer standing, but rather laying on the bench. Mulder was walking up to her, concern etched across his features. She sat up and realized she was once again using her coat as a blanket. Was it another dream? A vision?

When she didn't respond, Mulder rushed to her side, seeing that she looked dazed and confused. Thankfully, no one else was around. She pulled her coat back over her shoulders.

"Scully, what are you doing out here? I've been looking all over for you. You weren't answering your phone." He moved to touch her shoulder.

Scully sighed. "I had another vision, Mulder. He's okay, William is okay."

She could see a look of relief flash across Mulder's face, but she knew without saying that he wished he had some type of connection with their son.

"Scully, you were sleeping out here. You must have fallen asleep when you had the vision. We haven't slept much in over 24 hours. We should check into a hotel nearby and sleep on this."

"I'm not leaving until we find him, Mulder. He's around here somewhere. I don't want to lose him again."

Mulder nodded. "I know, but we both need to rest."

Scully sighed. He was right. She had another life that depended on her as well. Mulder held his hand out for her, which she gladly took and stood up.

"He was right to get out of here when he did, Scully. The DoD is here now."

Scully didn't want to hear those words, but it didn't shock her. She sighed and nodded. Mulder slipped his arm around her protectively as he steered her towards their car. "We'll find him, Scully and convince him that we can help him. I promise."

To be continued…