Starting Over

Part 12

by

Trycee

Time-Line: 2023, five years after Season 11

Disclaimer: This is written for fun, not for profit

Caroline's arms were crossed in front of her as she sat in bed, her back against the headboard. "Am I crazy or do you have like special powers or something?"

William chuckled. "Special powers?"

He slipped off his pants and sat on the edge of the bed in his boxer shorts and bare chest. He pushed the blanket back and slipped in with her. "Like my little sister's cartoons?"

"I want you to be serious," she said, turning to look at him. "Is that why someone is after you?"

William chewed on his bottom lip. "The guy is my grandfather..."

Caroline stared at him. "Are you kidding?"

"No," he said.

"But why?"

"Because he's the most evilest man on this planet."

"Ha," Caroline smiled. "I've said that about my grandmother."

"No," he said, pushing a strand of black hair out of his face. "He really is. He's soulless. He told me he shot his second born and then he shot me when he thought I was my father, his first born."

Caroline gasped. "HE SHOT YOU."

William ran his fingers through his hair. "He's been after me my entire life. It's why my mother gave me away to be adopted. She didn't want too but they kept trying to kill me and to kill her."

Caroline collapsed back against the headboard. She threw up her hands. "But, why?"

William stared into her eyes. "Because I was born special. And you're right, I have special abilities. But, the last time I showed someone else other than my parents, it ruined my life."

"How?", she asked.

"Remember, when I told you that I had two girlfriends."

"Yes, I remember."

"Well," William said, sighing heavily. "I wanted them to see what I could do. I was seventeen. I was stupid. I didn't realize that they'd hurt each other. I didn't realize that I would attract the attention of the FBI, who ended up being my biological parents. But, I would also gain the attention of these outside groups that killed my adopted parents. I didn't realize that it would lead me to him...the Smoking Man...my biological grandfather."

Caroline stared at William. "This is F'd up. So your grandfather killed your adoptive parents?"

He nodded his head. "He caught up to me and then shot me and left me for dead. And that's when I ran."

"Where'd you go?"

"All over the country. Anywhere I could. And he'd send his goons after me and I'd escape and have to run again."

"Well, how did this all happen with being with your real parents?"

"Saw them at a UFO Convention."

Caroline's lips curled up. "NO," she smirked. "Come on, you can't be serious, right? This sounds like the plot from some crazy movie."

William smiled. "You've got me."

Caroline laughed. "You really had me."

"I did," he chuckled.

She reached out and pinched his cheek. He kissed her on the nose and lips. "I'm just...joking," he stuttered.

"Well, you got me good. I'll have to get you back."

William shook his head. "Not a chance."

"Well, let's get some sleep," Caroline yawned. "I have to get up early to cook Mr. Skinners breakfast."

"But you don't work weekends."

Caroline looked at him. "Yeah well, he fired Mrs. Rivers. And I'd rather get up early and cook his breakfast then to have the house burn down. And when you and your family get up, I'll cook for them too. I don't mind."

William reached out and kissed Caroline again on the lips. "Goodnight."

She sighed as they cuddled up together. "Goodnight."

It was early morning when William felt Caroline's kiss on his cheek. "Later, I want you to help me in the kitchen," she whispered in his ear.

He closed his eyes again and fell back to sleep. William awoke and stared up at the swirling wooden stakes that formed the ceiling of the Yurt. He could almost make out a tiny hole that opened to the sky. He yawned and stood up, padding his way into the bathroom. After relieving himself, he showered and then sniffed his clothes before noticing a stack of freshly laundered clothes his mother had left by the bed. The clothes had come from Caroline. He knew he was possibly wearing James' leftover clothes from his nights in that very same bed, but it didn't matter to him. It was clean and until he could get some clothes of his own, he wouldn't complain.

William dressed quickly and walked out of the Yurt. He stopped at his parents place and knocked. "Time for Breakfast."

He could hear an excited squeal from Zoe inside. "I want Pancakes, Mommy. With strawberries."

"Zoe, Caroline is cooking for us," Scully answered. "We'll eat whatever she makes for us and love it."

"I'll meet you inside," William said.

"We'll be there in a minute," Mulder answered.

William walked the path towards the house and rounded the corner and fell to his knees. He covered his eyes and then reopened them. In front of him was a gruesome scene. Caroline lay dead on the ground, a hole in her forehead with her brains seeping out into the sidewalk. William stared at the corpse of Caroline, her blue eyes clouding over. It dawned on him that Caroline had been dead for several hours as he'd slept.

Mulder grabbed his arm, lifting William up onto his feet. Mulder held his gun in his hand as he looked around. Scully was carrying Zoe on her hip, her gun ready in the other hand as they scanned the area. Mulder nodded for them all to follow him. Zoe stared at Caroline's dead body and then pressed her eyes to Scully's arm as she carried her. They walked carefully along hugging the wall of Skinner's home with Mulder leading a distraught William as they neared the backdoor. Mulder lead with his gun as he carefully walked up the stairs into the kitchen. With his gun drawn, Mulder walked cautiously into the living room and stopped, seeing that the front door had been left open by the assailant. James lay on the couch in the fetal position with a gun shot to the head.

Scully motioned for the hallway as Mulder walked on down with Scully in the rear. Mulder carefully opened Skinner's door to two men in ski masks each holding a gun to Skinner's bald head. "Where is he?", one of them asked.

Mulder stared at Skinner who was seated in his wheelchair in his pajamas, beaten in the face. His face bruised with cuts as if he had been pistol whipped. "I don't know."

"Don't play games, Mulder," the other one added. "Of course we knew you were here. Don't be stupid."

William tightened his fist. He could feel a rage growing within him.

"Stay right there," one of them said, pointing his high powered gun towards William peeking out behind Mulder's shoulder.

"NO," William said, shaking his head.

One of the men in masks approached them, his gun pointed towards Mulder. "I'll kill your father if you try anything."

He grabbed Mulder's gun out of his hand and tossed it to the side. "Come here Jackson", the man ordered. "Or your father dies."

William could feel the rage boil within him. William stared at the man and he dropped to the ground with blood coming out of his eye sockets and ears.

The other man attempted to cock the gun at Skinner's head but he and his gun flew back hard against the wall, before falling to the ground.

"He's dead," William assured him.

Skinner sighed. "We need to get out of here," he said, wheeling himself forward.

Zoe stood in the doorway, staring down at the man that was dead in front of her. Scully walked in with a towel from Skinner's bathroom and stripped it into two pieces, tying it over Zoe's eyes. "You don't need to see that," Scully said.

William walked up to Skinner. ""Toss that wheelchair away, you don't need it."

Skinner gawked as Mulder reached out his hand. Skinner stared at it as his mind attempted to recognize what was happening. Finally, Skinner grabbed Mulder's hand as he helped pulled him up on his feet. Skinner stood for the first time in five years. He stared down at his toes in amazement. "Are you saying, I can walk again?"

Mulder motioned for him to take a step. Skinner placed one foot out and then the other. "This is impossible. Shouldn't I have trouble walking again? Shouldn't my legs be atrophied?"

"Not if your spine is completely healed," William said. "It's like it never happened. You won't stumble. You won't need assistance. You can just walk, which is what we need."

William turned towards the window, listening. "We need to go," William said, nervously. "They'll be here soon. We need to get out of here."

Skinner walked towards the doorway, shaking his head. "Let me get dressed, grab my gun and let's go."

They followed Skinner down the hall. He stopped as he stared at James, dead on his sofa. "Let's go out the back."

Skinner lead the way through the backdoor, down the steps. He stopped when he saw Caroline's body. He bent down and touched her cold skin. "She was like a daughter to me," he sighed. "She didn't deserve this."

William stood above her, wiping at his eyes. "We need to go," William swallowed. "They're coming."

Skinner stood up. "I have an escape route," he said, as he stared at Caroline.

"What about her?", William said, wiping at his eyes.

"I'll make a call," Skinner said.

Scully held a blinded Zoe on her hip as she scanned the area, ready to shoot and kill with skill. Mulder began to walk towards the Yurts. "I need to get our stuff and his papers."

"Be careful," Scully yelled."We still don't know if we're alone."

Both Skinner and Caroline stared at Caroline's corpse, moving away from her. "There's nothing you can do for her now," Scully added. "But, we need to go."

Skinner and the rest walked behind Mulder, ready to shoot anyone that appeared through the trees. Mulder sped off towards the Yurt and after some time, came out and dumped their bags in the dirt in the doorway. He raced into the second Yurt, Caroline's space, grabbing William's clothes. He stuffed it into one of the bags.

Skinner lead them down a path past the Yurts, and past the creek to an area covered with a large hill of leaves in the shape of an R.V.. "Grab that end," Skinner said to Mulder.

Mulder noticed a tiny knot of rope sticking out from the mound. He pulled the rope along with Skinner, revealing a brown tarp that was covering a stylish RV. underneath it. Skinner walked towards another hidden structure near the R.V. covered with leaves. He grabbed a gas can and keys and walked back to the R.V. Scully and Mulder were still guarding the area. William removed the blindfold from Zoe's eyes. He was holding her as they watched Skinner pour gas into the R.V's tank. What took only a few minutes, felt like an eternity.

Skinner used his cellphone and dialed 9-11. "Some people broke into my house and tried to kill me. They killed my two employees. No, I'm not waiting. They're after me, I'm not waiting for them to kill me," Skinner said, hanging up.

He took the chip out of his phone and broke it into two, dropping it on the ground and stumping on it. Skinner opened the drivers side door and carefully, eased himself into the driver's seat. "Let's pull out of here!"

Skinner quickly started the engine and opened the side door for them. William placed his sister in a leather swivel seat, seat-buckling her in. She touched his hand. "It's okay," he smiled. "You and Mommy and Daddy will be safe."

William watched as Zoe sat back and sighed. William sat down next to her. He reached out and touched her hand. He could feel her fear. "What is it, Zoe?"

"The Mean Man," she whispered. "He scares me."

"He doesn't scare me," he said. "I promise to protect you."

Mulder tossed their bags in haphazardly and settled in the front seat next to Skinner. Scully sat down on the sofa, as Skinner began down the winding back road path surrounded by dense trees.

"Where are we going?", Scully asked.

"This leads to the highway," Skinner answered.

"No, I mean, where are we going?", Scully said.

Skinner turned towards Mulder. "Seattle. We'll get him as close to Alaska as we can."

"We have a few homes," Mulder said, looking back at Scully. "We can hide out at one of them on our way. That's how we ran the first time when we needed it."

"Alright," Skinner said, pushing through the woods.

William turned to his mother. "They are already here."

In a family car, an elderly man and his wife were driving down Route 40. He glanced at his rearview mirror and then when he looked in front of him, he came to a screeching halt, nearly driving off the into the ditch. A large brown R.V. pulled out into the highway from the woods nearly crashing into him and the other cars. Despite the mess behind him, Skinner continued on driving down the highway.

Two cars parked outside of Skinner's home. CSM took a puff on his cigarette before tossing it out the window. "We missed them, didn't we?"

CGB opened the car door and walked up to the home. "I see they left their car", he said, noticing the black SUV parked in front of Skinners home along with a truck and a car. His armed henchmen fanned out in front of him, walking over Caroline's dead body as they walked around the path in the back and checked the Yurts. Others entered through the front door. "Clear. Just two dead bodies that was our doing."

CGB walked around the mobile home and lit a cigarette. He puffed and dragged out the smoke as he looked down at the body of Caroline, a bullet hole in the center of her eyes. CGB motioned for them to search further. They quickly returned to his side.

"They couldn't have gotten far," CGB ordered. "Get the helicopter. Look for them."

Skinner glanced up through his rearview mirror, trying to see if they had been spotted. He heard the chopper blades before he saw two black unmarked helicopters flying in the sky in both directions of the highway, buzzing the tops of cars. Skinner grabbed his sunglasses from behind him. "Get back," he told Mulder. "I don't want them to see you."

Mulder unhooked his seatbelt and retreated to Scully on the sofa. Scully clasped Mulder's hand. He squeezed it tightly, letting her know they were together and they would be okay. He watched as her shoulders relaxed.

The RV was tinted, blocking anyone from seeing inside except in the front. The helicopter was buzzing around each vehicle, trying to see evidence of any of them. One of the helicopters whirled near the RV and Skinner stared at the driver, showing no fear. CGB's henchmen stared at him trying to determine if he recognized him despite the sunglasses. The driver then motioned to move on, as they buzzed the top of the next vehicle.

Suddenly, two blue Georgia State Police helicopters lay chase after the black helicopters. They quickly retreated with the State Police hot on their tails.

Mulder could see in Scully's eyes that she was uneasy. He smoothed his hand over her soft red hair and kissed the top of her locks. "I love you. We'll be okay. All of us," he said, placing a hand on William's shoulder. Zoe was jumpy, She unbuckled her seat and curled up to her mother's side. Mulder locked eyes with Scully and she nodded her understanding and began to talk to Zoe, trying to calm her down. "You're safe. You're with us. It's all going to be okay."

Mulder returned to the front, sitting next to Skinner and relaxed his shoulders.

"We should be fine now." he said, yanking off the sunglasses. "The R.V. is stocked full of food. There's two bunkbeds near the master bedroom. I'll need that space to rest after driving," he stated in a no nonsense tone. "There's a latrine and a tv," he said. "This R.V. will serve us well."

Mulder reached out and patted Skinner's arm.

"We've got a long trip ahead of us," Skinner added. "So, try to relax. Get comfortable."

The drive through Alabama and then into Tennessee was long and tiresome. Skinner found a R.V. Park outside of Memphis just as the sun was rising. He paid in cash and parked his vehicle there. They were on a single lot surrounded by trees and no other campers nearby. Skinner hooked up his R.V. to the electrical outlets and walked back inside. He moved past them into the kitchen. "There's food in the cabinets, rations if you wanna dehydrate something."

Zoe sat up from the couch. "Mommy, is it breakfast?."

Skinner snapped his fingers and then reached up into the cabinet and pulled down a jar of powdered peanut butter. He looked at Scully. "Just mix with water and you have peanut butter," he said, placing it on a granite countertop.

Scully stood up and moved to the stylish kitchenette of the R.V. and picked up the jar, reading the instructions. "Anyone else want a sandwich?"

"Yeah," Mulder said. "We're starving."

Skinner pointed to the end of the R.V. to a large door. "That's the master bedroom," he said, moving to the door next to it. He slid the pocket doors open revealing two bunk beds with built-in tv's on the walls of each bunk. "So there's beds and the couch," and he said, pointing to the leather RV sectional. "I'm tired. I'm going to knock out for a few hours."

"Thank You, sir," Scully sighed. "Would you like me to make you a sandwich?"

Skinner reached up into the cabinet and pulled down a bag of dried beef jerky, "Nah, but, if you want some beef jerky there's plenty up there."

"You've got sunflower seeds?", Mulder questioned.

Skinner chuckled. "No, I don't think so," Skinner said. "But, help yourself to whatever is up there," , he said, before retreating into his bedroom.

Scully started opening drawers and getting utensils she needed. "Mulder?", she said. "I need you."

Mulder walked up to the cabinets. "You find sunflower seeds?"

She smirked. She pointed to the cabinets that were out of her reach. "Look for some jelly and see what else we could put together for breakfast."

Mulder searched through the cabinets. "Everything is freeze dried," he said, pulling things out and tossing them back in. He found a few bags of chips and a jar of grape jelly. "That's all I can find that isn't military MRE's. I'd rather die than eat freeze dried eggs, " he gagged.

Scully rolled her eyes. "Fine. We'll have PBJ sandwiches and chips but we'll have to go grocery shopping at some point for more kid friendly foods."

Zoe shook her head in agreement.

Mulder bit down on his bottom lip. "They will all have cameras, which means CGB can find us."

"They can't find me if I disguise myself," William said, changing himself to look like an elderly black man.

Mulder and Scully smiled. "You're right. You'll have to shop for us all alone."

"Not a problem."

Zoe stared at her brother. William switched back and patted the seat next to him. Zoe sat down next to him with Mrs. Tolbert by her side.

"What is it, Zoe?"

She shook her head.

"Did you see me switch faces?"

She shook her head no. "I didn't see it."

William looked curiously at his sister. "I wonder why that is."

Zoe shrugged her shoulders. "All I see is my brother."

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