"I guess I have to apologies to the both of you" Will stood awkwardly in the doorway to Rachel's room. She and Alex were sat cross legged on her bed glued to her iPad screen.

She clicked pause on the device and the Star Wars theme tune stopped abruptly.

"I'm sorry for losing my temper, you didn't deserve that, Alex"

Alex shrugged his shoulders, "You can make it up to me by playing Uno with me"

Will smiled; that was his little brother through and through.

"And I'm sorry I was so dismissive" He addressed Rachel this time.

"It's fine. Come sit with us" She patted beside her on the bed, "Alex, why don't you go grab those Uno cards?"

Alex looked thrilled as he darted out of the room in search of the card game, he'd been eager to play since they'd arrived on base.

"So, you found out about your parents then?" Rachel began.

"Yeah" Will confirmed; the bed springs creaking as he sunk beside her, "I'm so stupid. I should have known, it was so blatantly obvious from the start..."

"What did your Dad say? I assume that's where you were heading, to find him and talk with him?"

"He said he was sorry they weren't straight with me from the start, but that it was complicated. They had to give me up to protect me"

Rachel nodded, "That's how I heard it, from the rumours at least"

"Doesn't make it any easier though... I still feel lost..."

"Rarely now are family units as simple as they're made out to be. You should be thankful you had a caring adoptive family that raised you with love, and now in losing them you've gained another set of parents that love you with equal devotion. The pain will always be there for the loss, but don't put up walls to try to protect yourself, Will. Mulder and Scully are trying to make a mends with you, maybe you should let them..."

It was a different side to Rachel that Will had never witnessed before now. He hated to admit it but she spoke a lot of sense.

"Maybe you're right..." Will supposed.

"I'm rarely wrong" She grinned.

William smirked, he was glad that amongst the midst of this icebox crazy land, he had a batshit crazy friend to keep him sane.

She leant closer to him and before he had a chance to figure out what was happening Rachel planted a soft kiss on his lips. He became lost in the moment, transfixed on the sensation of her skin meeting his.

As quickly as she'd instigated, Rachel pulled away, returning her focus to the iPad screen.

William was taken aback, frozen with surprise. Of course, Rachel being Rachel acted as though nothing had happened. She'd never mention it again, but rather smile coyly to herself knowing the power she had over him.

It probably didn't mean anything, there was no point in trying to read into it. A gesture from one friend to another in a moment of high emotions, Will tried to convince himself. Besides, Alex had returned beaming with his cards.

...

Scully carefully categorised the notes that were currently decorating the entirety of her bed. She had a system for everything, she lived her life by systems, it was what kept her life organised, and it was another reason why living with Mulder had been an ongoing battle. There were only so many arguments to be had about clothes abandoned by the hamper rather than in it before she'd lost the will to live.

Just as the memory had crossed her mind, the man in question opened her door.

"Ever heard of knocking, Mulder?" She asked with an air of annoyance.

They'd not shared a room because they were no longer together and so it seemed appropriate. Besides, the rooms were barely geared up to allow one inhabitant to move around, two would be a squeeze, she'd decided. And so Mulder resided in the room down the far end of the hall, alone and with his thoughts.

"Everything alright?" She asked when he entered without a word, "What's wrong?"

"He knows" Mulder breathed, before sinking onto the bed, creasing her pile of papers.

She'd have given him a right telling off had the situation not been as it was.

"Oh" Was as much as she could fathom, "You talked to him?"

Mulder nodded.

"What did you say?"

"Not much, it was a very brief discussion... I said we were here if he wanted to talk"

Mulder sprawled backwards until he was laying watching the ceiling blankly. The rest of her neatly hand written notes were done for, so she gave in and joined him.

Her exhale caught in her throat, "Does he hate us?"

Mulder wrapped her in his arms and they lay together in one another's embrace, enjoying the rare moment of closeness. Mulder became lost in her familiar smell, her faint perfume and a subtle hint of coffee beans that reminded him of home. Dana Scully did enjoy her coffee in the mornings.

"I should talk to him..." She breathed into his t-shirt, hoping that her tears wouldn't show against the grey fabric.

...

William watched the shadows of light dance about the room above him. Sleep was proving futile for the second night running, instead he listened to Alex moving about in his sleep.

It didn't take long before his little brother tiptoed out of bed and crawled in beside him, curling up under the covers.

"You can't sleep either, huh?" He asked, tucking his brother in. The beds were tiny for one so two was defiantly pushing it, but it didn't bother Will.

"Are you sad?" Alex whispered.

"No, why...what do you mean?" He was caught off guard.

"You just don't seem happy"

"I'm fine, Alex, I appreciate the concern, but I'm okay"

Alex yawned loudly, "Do you miss Mom and Dad?"

"Yes, I miss them...do you?"

"Yes"

William had been desperately trying to avoid the thought. What with the revolution of his biological parents it made him feel all the more guilty about betraying the people who'd raised him.

"Get some sleep, Alex, it'll be morning soon"

"I love you, Will"

"Love you too, Alex"

William welcomed any distraction from the plaguing angst that riddled his conscience. He chose to replay the eventful card game between the three of them that afternoon. It allowed for a moment of fun in which Will could be a kid again, without all the worries of the world. He couldn't help himself imagining the kiss, the innocent and playful kiss Rachel had planted on his lips. He replayed it over and over, refocusing on the uplifting and carefree connotations it held. These were his lingering memories before he drifted into slumber.