11

7.45pm

Scully had spent the evening enthralled by Mulder's attempts at building a relationship with their child, in his own way, making up for having missed so much of Samantha's life. His little girl, the child they had planned but never expected to receive. Having William was a blessing, one that couldn't last, but Samantha was something else. She was proof. The physical proof that Scully's abduction hadn't rid her from all her ova, leaving her barren. The child that she had bore without him, again, was a symbol that their love could conquer anything. Any mountain that was to be climbed would be accomplishable. He was settling Samantha down to sleep, taking this opportunity, Scully called the one who had to know Mulder had returned.

"Skinner." He had grunted into his mobile, obviously unimpressed with the hour of the phone call.

"Its Dana Scully. I – um – I…" Scully was flustered at his abrupt tone.

"I'm sorry Dana, What can I do for you?" He sounded almost too apologetic.

"Its not what you can do for me, its what I can do for you!"

"What is it? Has Mulder got in contact?"

"You could say that."

"What do you mean?"

"Mulder is here, at my house. He knows everything now. Can you please come and get him. Take him someplace safe. You know the FBI do those routine area searches for him, he cannot be found here!"

"Calm down, you aren't due for another search, not for a month yet."

"I can't have him here!"

"Dana, you have to. I can't organise anything at this kind of notice. When did he arrive?"

"This afternoon. Can't you have him at your house? John's or Monica's? Please?"

"What are you worried about, Dana? It will be perfectly alright for you to have Mulder there!"

"No, it won't, please, Walter!" Scully pleaded. She had to get Mulder out of there. It felt to claustrophobic having him in her house. She wasn't sure what she felt and it was scaring her the thought he may assume things would begin where they were left. She wasn't ready for that, not yet; she may have been working towards forgiving him but not that much! She had too much to cope with. Samantha's eagerness to make a bond with her Father, Mulder's equal attempts in that area, Mulder wanting her back, the exam preparation and she still hadn't marked those essays!

Upstairs Samantha looked through tired eyes at her Father. She still couldn't believe he was there. Closing her heavy eyes she began feeling what she dreaded. A tremor began to flow through her stomach rippling up to her face. Her head snapped back, eyes rolling in their sockets revealing nothing but white. Images of her Mother begging and pleading on the phone and her crying flooded her mind like a shockwave.

Mulder didn't know what to do. He sat frozen to the spot and after a second had passed he saw Samantha's face begin to change back to what it had been. Instead of the tight grimace she had worn, her body solidified her back arched against her bed. Her breathing seemed to stop in that moment.

"Scully!" he yelled as he regained his voice. "Scully, Get here, Quick, its Samantha!"

Scully didn't seem to hear him, he ran out of the door screaming her name and to call 911. He returned to Samantha's room where she was huddled beneath her bed covers shivering.

"Hey, Samantha, are you okay?" He asked brushing her fringe from her damp brow in concern, it had been like a scene from the Exorcist and that scared him.

"Yeah. It happens sometimes Daddy. I had a special dream."

"What?" He looked confused, what could the girl be talking about she'd had a fit of some kind.

"I see things. I saw Mommy asking uncle Walter to take you away. She's scared, Daddy. Why is she scared of you?"

"Special dreams? What kind of things do you see?" He didn't understand what had happened but he did know that his, or any other, child couldn't fake something like this.

"I see what is going to happen, like I saw you being here when I got home today, and I just saw Mommy talking with Uncle Walter. She doesn't want you here. Why is that Daddy? Mommy loves you but she is scared."

"Do you have these dreams a lot?"

"Sometimes. Mommy puts them on my calendar." Samantha pointed at her Barbie calendar on the wall. Mulder walked over to it. He turned to see Samantha drinking some milk; her face seemed to brighten as she did. Looking through the previous months he saw the letter 'D' appear infrequently and without pattern. Some had 'x2' beside them others had nothing. He saw that this week Samantha had already experienced three dreams, not including the one she had just moments before.

"Have you seen a doctor about these dreams?"

"Yes. He said its not epepsi. He doesn't know what it is. I had to have tests. Lots of tests that hurt."

"Do you mean epilepsy?"

"Yep." Samantha snuggled down in her bed. "I want to sleep now Daddy. Can you put my Barbie light on please?"

"Sure." He said seeing the lamp and turning it on.

"Not that one! The one in the wall, over there!" she pointed at a plug socket and Mulder turned on his heel and switched the socket to 'on' walking over to the bed he sat down and leant over to kiss his child good night, something he had never expected to do. He still could not believe how much she was like her Mother and although he hated to admit it she looked like Emily, too.

"Mommy thinks that too!" Samantha said as Mulder rose from her bed.

"What?"

"That I look like Emily."

"You know about her?"

"No. Mommy just thinks about her sometimes."

"Do you read people's thought all the time?" Mulder's curiosity was piqued, he'd question her more tomorrow.

"No, Daddy, I just sometimes 'see' what they think." Her bottom lip pouted as if she was about to cry. Samantha didn't like what she experienced especially the bad people like the man who was watching the house, he scared her so much she couldn't tell anyone. The man wanted her Mommy to help him but he didn't want her to be alive either.

"Hey, don't get upset. It's all right; I don't mind you seeing what you do. It's a gift that you should treasure."

"Okay Daddy, I will, I promise." Samantha yawned through tiredness and settled down. Mulder left the room switching off the lamp and the main light as he went. Only the soft hum of the Barbie night-light could be heard.

Mulder closed the door, he realised Scully hadn't answered his cries. Where was she??

Downstairs Scully was arguing with Skinner on the phone. He was putting her whole settled life on the line and for what? Mulder! It didn't matter what she said, Skinner still refused to budge on having Mulder with him or one of the others. It was 'safer' for all concerned that Mulder be with her. Her anger was evident just from the way she held the phone. Mulder had seen it too many times. It was his turn to be angry though. Another secret?

"Scully!" he snapped.

"WHAT?" she growled at him baring her teeth in a cat-like snarl.

"Why the F@ck didn't you answer my calls!" he barked at her, his fear for their child surfacing.

"Because I was on the phone with Skinner!" she hung up the phone, ready for a different showdown. Skinner wouldn't budge so she had to vent this anger somewhere and at someone, why not Mulder? He deserved it after all!

"I know! For Christ sakes why didn't you tell me about her gift?"

"Why should I tell you anything?" she sneered. He didn't have the right to know he would be out of there in the morning, Skinner had promised.

"Because she's my daughter too! Or maybe she isn't and I'm a convenient cover for you!"

"You BASTARD!!!" She slapped him hard across the face "You have NO idea what I've been through with her! Five years of trying to keep her safe from harm and trying to help her through her 'visions'! Do you think it's been easy for me to see my daughter like that? Her body arched like she's on the rack! You haven't a clue. Whilst you've been saving your own A$$ I've been here forging some kind of life."

"I didn't know" He looked apologetic but he could see from the flash of anger, just like lightening, that crossed her eyes he wasn't going to get anywhere. This storm had been brewing for years!

"Well what the hell DID you know? Did you know my life was in the toilet? How my life fell apart after you left? Of course you didn't! You don't even realise what you did, do you?" Scully spat the words as if spitting venom just sucked from a bite wound. "You just walked out of my life without so much as discussing it with me! I loved you God damn it. I loved you to the core of my being but you didn't trust that enough to keep me with you. I had to cope without you. AGAIN! Pregnant and alone, AGAIN! You promised me you'd be there for the next time and all I got was some Emergency Doctor help me deliver her! Did you know I never even made it to the hospital with her!" Tears began to stream as her emotions finally letting loose. Taking a sharp breath she continued to let her emotions rule her verbal explosion.

"Of course you didn't! Why should you have? NO_ONE told you!" she called with a heavy hint of sarcasm "Want to know why? Because I HATED you SO much! I still hate you. Everything you've done to me just proved how little I've meant to you." Scully clenched her fists; she so wanted to pummel him into the ground, to bury him like she had once. Tears and a trail of nasal slime dribble down her face as she shook her fist at him, ready to strike should ha say one word.

"If you had died it would have been easier to cope with. You wrenched my heart from me, Mulder, took away everything that meant anything to me and left me alone. I gave up my whole life to be with you. Everything that was dear to me I gave up for YOU! All I got in return was you leaving me here, alone, yet AGAIN! I could have gone to prison and you weren't here to save me. I needed you so much, so much and you weren't here." Scully angrily wiped away the tears that fell down her face. She wanted to blame Mulder for her having given William away but he had no involvement apart from the one e-mail telling her to do what she thought was best. Adoption wasn't ideal if she ever wanted William home. It still hurt.

"Everyone expected SO much from me, even you. I had to be strong, I HAD to cope, and I HAD to give a damn when my whole world had fallen into the cesspit of life. No one loved me! Nobody gave a damn about what I felt. It was all Mulder, Mulder, and more Mulder! No one gave a thought to how I was coping without you and I was supposed to be all right with that! You could have called or written but you didn't! You were too busy running away!"

"I e-mailed you." Mulder spoke softly making her heart reach out for him but her contempt reign her back in.

"Three months after you DUMPED me!" Mulder saw the spittle flee from her mouth as she virtually screamed the words at him. 'Poor Samantha, having to hear this.' He thought. He didn't realise that she was sound asleep and wouldn't know a thing about the argument. "I waited every day for some kind of hope, some ray of sunshine that you might throw my way but you NEVER did. You let me down time and again. All your big dreams, nothing more than fantasies, like US ever living a NORMAL life! Something I wanted so badly and you PROMISED ME!" she lowered her head trying to regain her argument, her strength was wavering…

He reached forward, the cracks in her argument beginning to show. She was craving what he had promised and had never fulfilled and it had cut her to the core to see him again to remember what he had promised. Her tears flowed freely, she breathed sharply not wanting to control the tears as a deep desire to hurt him taunted her then she looked at him and knew she couldn't.

He touched her arm which she rejected hitting him in the chest. A sudden involuntary movement had her kick him in the shin with her pointed toe boots. She didn't care if it hurt him. He had to know how she felt. A brief moment of pain crossed his face but he wasn't going to walk away from this. She needed him to see and hear how she felt however she chose to release the emotions.

"Leave me ALONE!" she screamed at him. He shook his head, something she didn't see through her unrelenting tears.

 Again he reached for her, this time taking her by both shoulders, Scully violently shook her head from side to side hitting him over and again in the chest with her fist. Taking her hands he stopped her beating his chest. She didn't attempt to fight him for the calm was due. Slowly he moved his arms around her, stepping closer whilst she tried to shake her head in an attempted 'no.' Tenderly he ran his right hand up her back to the base of skull, gently pulling her head against his chest where the tears flowed stronger and harder than before. She wrapped her arms around his neck for support as she allowed her hurt and anger to pour from within. Scully cried deeply into his chest releasing cries that resembled that of a wounded animal, her strength depleted, she began to sink toward the floor, Mulder eased her down to the floor until he was rocking her to and fro kissing her forehead to let her know it was okay to cry, that she had to let these feelings loose. That he could withstand every blow she gave him.

They didn't move for hours after. Mulder just rocked Scully in his arms and she let her tears flow until they were spent.