Author's comments: Hey, thanks guys for the comments! I love love love them, good or bad. And Snakey, to answer your question, I am working as fast as I can—have patience. My schedule's pretty tight now with student teaching and working an almost full-time job. I'm gonna try and finish this one up this weekend so nobody has to be kept in suspense for too long…
The Weatherman
Chapter 8
Part 1.
When Scully got out to her car, she sat in shock with her hands frozen on the wheel. She was unaware of how long she sat there—it could have been a few minutes or a few hours. The worst part was that she had nowhere to go, nobody to help her process what had just happened. Or, more precisely, what she had done.
The thought of Mulder did come up several times. But how could she even begin to tell him everything that had occurred over the last couple of months leading up to the last couple of hours? He would be furious at her, and she could not handle that emotionally right now.
She felt raw. The only thing she could think to do was start the car and drive to an as-yet-unknown destination. She passed an apartment building and saw a dumpster, which jarred her attention enough to remind her that she had some unfinished business. She removed her blood-stained clothes and, under cover of darkness, changed into other clothes she had brought, and then dumped the former into the dumpster. She decided to follow up on her actions by taking further steps to cover her tracks. She sat, dazed, in the car for a while longer, and then moved on to a gas station to wash the blood from her hands in the public restroom.
Her mind was empty as she got back in her car. And then a memory came back to her—of the gun falling from her hands just as she hurried out of Rick's apartment. Her eyes widened when she realized her mistake, just before she saw flashing lights pulling up behind her car.
Part 2.
The police who showed up at the crime scene had found Scully's gun, of course, and although they could not trace it back to her through her purchase, they had found her prints everywhere. If she had been trying to evade discovery, she would have taken all the necessary precautions, and she knew what they all were. But she had been more concerned about getting the job done, and had not been cautious in the slightest.
And that was how she found herself surrounded by police cars, easing her way out of her car and lying flat on the ground, waiting to be handcuffed roughly by the police. But she knew better than to say anything, and she did not feel like talking at any rate. A detective entered the interrogation room where she sat staring blankly at the barren wall, and as soon as he uttered his first words, she said, "I want to speak to an attorney."
He replied with, "Ms. Scully, you know you're in a lot of trouble…"
She interrupted forcefully. "Just let me call my attorney."
They both knew that if he continued to interrogate her, the testimony could be thrown out. Reluctantly, he sighed and left the room.
Part 3.
Two days after Mulder left Scully alone in her cell, he had not yet returned. She assumed that he was keeping his distance because he was angry at her for not telling him about William, and she fell into an even greater depression. She was facing life in prison, which meant that she could not be there for William in his time of need, and even if he recovered, she might never see him again. And now she had lost her only other source of support in this world—the man she loved.
Scully had no motivation to do anything—she had to force herself to move her body, which felt like it was weighted down with bricks, off the cot and to whatever location the guards directed her. The only thoughts she had were of William—otherwise her mind was a blank most of the time. Lying on her cot, her comatose fugue was interrupted by a guard summoning her. She dragged herself off the bed and allowed him to lead her, handcuffed, to an unforeseen location.
As soon as she entered the cafeteria where visitation was allowed, she noticed the most obvious person in the room, and the man accompanying him. She saw the four foot tall frame of William, and her tears started flowing before she could even take a step towards him. When she knelt down in front of him and moved her hands towards his face, the guard started towards her to keep her from touching him, but Mulder made an aggressive gesture towards the guard, which stopped him in his tracks. Scully put her hands up to William's smiling face, as if to test whether he was real or just an apparition. "Oh my God," she gasped, "How…?"
She looked up at Mulder now, who was beaming brightly. "I found him in the hospital, and I thought you might need a visitor."
She was perplexed, but she did not let that stop her from wrapping her arms around William's miniature frame and holding him tightly until the tears stopped coming. When she pulled away, he was still clinging on tightly to her, and she rested her hand on his head as she stood to eye level with Mulder once again. "Mulder," she whispered, and fought back tears again.
He put his hands to her face, and wiped away an errant tear with the stroke of his fingers. But she wrinkled her forehead in confusion, and said, "How is he even standing right now? Mulder, he was comatose, beaten so badly that he was barely recognizable, and now I don't even see a bruise on him."
Mulder shook his head. "The doctors don't know, Scully. They said they had never seen someone heal so quickly. Even they are claiming it was a miracle." His eyes reflected the concern he felt about her. "Are you okay, Scully? I was worried about you when I found out everything that had happened. And the fact that Lisa is here in the same prison with you…" He ran a hand through her hair.
Scully's eyebrows lowered. "What? I didn't realize she was here—the last time I talked to her she was still in the Fairfax County Jail."
"She got transferred here yesterday, right after her arraignment."
Scully felt the tug of a hand on her orange shirt, and looked down to see William staring up at her with pleading eyes. She knelt down beside him. "What is it, Billy?" she said softly.
"Am I going home with you?" he asked. His voice was full of desperation, and she imagined he must be scared and in need of some stability after losing the only mother he had ever known and his home, all at the same time.
Her voice was tender, and it felt so natural to talk to him this way, as if he had not been gone all these years. "No, Billy, I'm sorry. But Mr. Mulder here will make sure that you have a safe place to stay, with good people."
His voice turned into a whine. "Nooo…I want to stay with you!"
"Billy…"
"Billy!" Another woman's voice rang out from across the room, and all heads turned to see Lisa, who had obviously been on her way to work duty when she saw her son.
"Mommy!" But before William could run to Lisa with outstretched hands, her eyes flitted from William to Scully, and she gritted her teeth in rage. She lunged across the room and passed by her own son to tackle Scully with hands around her neck, knocking her to the floor. Scully had barely had time to register Lisa's presence before she found herself on the ground, with Lisa on top of her trying to strangle her.
She could hear William screaming, "Mommy, no!" But Lisa's hands grasped her throat so tightly that she could not breathe, and she felt herself beginning to weaken from lack of oxygen.
And then someone was pulling Lisa off her, and when she sat up she expected to see Mulder restraining the woman, but he was standing over Scully, mouth open in shock. Scully looked towards Lisa and saw a truly amazing sight—Billy with his arms wrapped around Lisa, holding her arms against her sides so tight that she could not move.
