Evelyn could see everything. She was supposed to be resting but how could she rest when the world was so alive? She could hear her little brothers even heart beat and breathing. She could hear the buzzing of this thoughts and every twitch of his muscles.
When she looked at the blanket she could see every individual thread and the components that made up the threads. She could trace it all back to their respective sources. When she looked at the water sitting by her bed she could see the particles that made it up and could picture the body of water it came from.
Even the dull hospital room was filled with so much color and light she wondered how she would manage in the outside world. She already felt overwhelmed. It had started not long after William and her mother left the room.
She looked at her hands and saw the cells that made up her skin. When she looked at the ends of her hair she could count every strand. The texture of her dark hair was unique and beautiful and the contrast between it and her pale skin was beautiful. Evelyn glanced at her sleeping brother and his fiery hair filled her vision. She could count the crowded freckles on his face.
The sounds were overwhelming and she wanted to cover her ears. She could hear snippets of people's thoughts and the beeping of the machines all over the hospital. If she closed her eyes and listened carefully she could hear her mother and father's steady heart beats. She concentrated on those two rhythms. They were perfectly in time, as her parents always were. The rest of the world faded away as she concentrated on the comfort the sound brought her and soon she was asleep.
Austin dreamed. He dreamed of the past, present, and future.
His mother holding him as a baby and singing. He could see the sunlight reflected on her hair and her luminous smile as she looked down on him.
He saw a grown up Evelyn smiling in a wedding dress, his dad playing hungry hungry hippos with them, and William playing video games in Wyoming.
Austin saw both his parents sleeping in their respective beds down the hall from him.
Not all of his dreams were good. Some of them were of his family, all older, trapped in small dark rooms or huddled together underground with hundreds of other people as debris fell down on them.
As the dreams got darker he squirmed in his sleep and muttered. It continued until he woke up to the cool touch of his mother's hand on his forehead.
"Hey little bean. Wake up, everything is ok." Said her soft familiar voice.
He opened his eyes to see her blurry face, "Mommy?"
"Yes baby. I'm right here, you're ok."
Her fingers moving through his hair calmed him.
"Were you having bad dreams?" She asked him as he started to sit up.
He nodded sleepily and rubbed his eyes with his fists.
His mom was no longer in a wheel chair but was still in hospital clothes and was standing over his bed.
Across the room he saw his dad sitting in a chair next to Evelyn reading a magazine. Evelyn was still sleeping soundly, dead to the world.
"When can we go home?" Austin asked.
"Soon. We just want to make sure that you and Evie are alright."
"Where's Will?"
"He's with his dad right now, getting some rest."
"When can I see Will?"
"Soon. Probably tomorrow. How are you feeling?"
Austin shrugged his little shoulders, "Ok. My head hurts."
"Yeah you've had a rough couple days, huh?" She said as she smoothed back his hair.
Austin nodded.
"I'm gonna get you some food honey. Do you need to go to the bathroom?"
He nodded.
"Do you need some help?"
He nodded again.
His dad came over and lifted him into his arms.
"Hey buddy." He kissed the side of his head and carried him to the bathroom as his mom went to get his lunch.
Lyle Van De Kamp waited by his rental car for his son to emerge from the hospital. As soon as William saw him he broke into a smile so familiar he could only smile back.
"Hey dad!" He said as he hugged Lyle.
"Hello son. How are ya?"
"Good. Tired. I'd have you go meet them but they are still recovering and I need a nap."
Lyle noted the dark bags under his son's eyes and squeezed his shoulder.
"Well good thing cause I got us a hotel." He ruffled his son's hair and they got into the car.
"How did it go?" He asked William once they were on the road.
William was looking out the window, thoughtful, "Good. I was able to get my siblings to the next stage."
"Did your parents recognize you?" Lyle tried to keep the inevitable envy out of his voice.
Will nodded, "Yeah. Right away actually."
"Was it nice seeing them?"
He nodded his head again and looked down at his fingers that were tangled in his lap, "Yeah it was. Part of me wishes that life could just stay normal though. I'm not sure I'm ready for all this. They love me and were happy to see me but I can tell they were kind of feeling the same way. I think that she in particular is having a hard time coming to terms with all of this. She gave me up because she didn't want me involved in all of this and now I am a large part of it. She's just grieving a little bit."
"Well it is a hard pill to swallow." Lyle didn't take his eyes off the road as he processed all of this. They made the rest of the trip in comfortable silence.
As soon as they got to their room William collapsed on the bed and was out like a light.
The following days were strange and awkward as both the younger children were confined to their beds at home while their parents rested. Both Mulder and Scully were still exhausted and despite the children's words to the contrary they could tell they were tired as well. Their first night back in their home Austin slept fitfully as he had been in the hospital. Halfway through the night he jumped out of bed and hightailed it into his parent's room where he snuggled in between them in bed. He was able to sleep resting in his mother's arms as she ran her hands through his hair and rubbed his back while whispering words of comfort. Once he fell asleep with her the dreams were gone and he finally slept.
It was concerning for Scully to see Austin climbing into their bed in the middle of the night. His face had been so pale and pinched when he'd entered their room. Austin was normally a quiet boy who didn't cause a fuss or have large emotional reactions; he left that to his sister. No, Austin was much like herself as a child; solitary and watchful. He'd never come to their room in the night with bad dreams before. At his age Evelyn was in their bed at least once a week till she had to be bribed to stay in her own bed. But like a young Dana Scully, when Austin woke to a nightmare he would soothe himself back to sleep.
The slight tremors that ran through his small body scared her. Mulder ran his hand over their son's head a few times and scooted closer to them to place a hand on the child. He met her eyes over Austin's head and she saw reflected in them the same fear.
He moved his hand to hers and held it over Austin's sleeping form.
When she finally fell asleep Scully's dreams were not comforting either. She awoke to Evelyn jumping onto their bed and jostling the three of them awake.
Scully was surprised to see that Austin, normally an early riser, was still asleep.
"Mom! Dad! William wants to know when he can come over!" She said too loudly and she squealed when Mulder shot up and grabbed her by the waist pulling her down onto the bed.
He tickled her while she kicked and squirmed in a fit of giggles. Austin moved closer to his mother to escape the scuffle and Scully watched with a smile.
"Hey little boy how are you feeling?" She asked Austin quietly.
He seemed thoughtful and cuddled closer to her, "Tired."
"Did you sleep better in this bed?" she asked and smoothed back his tangled hair.
He nodded.
"Do you want to talk about your nightmares?"
He shook his head.
She kissed his forehead, "Alright. But you tell me when you're ready to talk about it. Deal?"
He nodded at her again with a very serious face and she showered his face with kisses drawing a smile and a small laugh from him.
Suddenly Mulder's strong arms snatched him away from her.
"Hey mister! You trying to steal my spot on the bed?" He said and he began to tickle Austin in the same way he had been Evelyn.
"Nuh uh!" Austin yelled with a laugh.
Mulder threw the boy down on the bed and pulled up his shirt to blow raspberries on his belly.
Meanwhile Evelyn crawled over to her mother and cuddled next to her.
For a little while Scully could pretend their lives were normal. She kissed her daughter's head and held her close in an attempt to protect her from whatever horrors were coming.
The truth was that when Evelyn mentioned William Scully's stomach had bottomed out and she'd felt sick. Seeing her long lost son had been a miracle but now his name brought all of her fears to the surface.
She found herself not wanting him to get near her younger two for fear of his influence on their young minds.
Evelyn looked up at her, "Momma don't be worried. Everything will be all right. Can William come over?"
Evie's dark hair was a tangled birds nest on her head and half of her face was still red from sleeping on it. She looked every inch the little girl, a child.
Scully nodded, "Alright. We'll get ready and eat and then he can come over."
She closed her eyes and listened to the laughter next to her and took in the feeling of her daughter's breath on her neck and prayed that this would not be their last morning of peace.