Title: Everything to Lose

Characters: Mulder, F.

Scully, D.

Rating: TV-14

Genre: Supernatural, Suspense

Summary: Will Mulder is kidnapped. Can Mulder rescue Will before it is too late, and he loses everything?

October 23

"Daddy! Daddy, Daddy!" the little boy shouted, running down the aisle as fast as his little legs could carry him. He grabbed the nearest costume and held it above his head. "How 'bout this one?"

His father laughed as he approached. "No, Will. I don't think you want to be a cowgirl for Halloween."

Will frowned. "Is not a cowgirl! Cowboy!"

Mulder kneeled down next to his four-year-old son, brushing a stray strand of brown hair from his face. "Look," he said, pointing to the costume. "It's got a skirt. Cowboys don't wear skirts, Will."

The child looked at the costume again, then threw it onto the ground. "Yuk!" he said before heading back to the costume rack.

Mulder smiled and shook his head as he hung the cowgirl costume back up. One costume caught his eye and he smiled. He turned to Will with it in his hand.

"Hey Will. How 'bout this one?"

William turned quickly and looked at his father. "Daddy no!" he said quickly, seeing the glittery, pink princess dress Mulder was holding up. "No, no, no!" he repeated, turning away.

Mulder grinned and fought back his laughter as he put the dress back. He then snuck up behind Will, and before the child knew it, scooped him up in his arms.

"I think you'd be a cute little princess," he told him.

"No! You'd be the pretty princess!" Will said.

Mulder dropped his jaw, pretending to be offended by Will's childish retort. "William Mulder!" he said. "You're gonna pay for that!"

He released Will, almost letting him fall to the floor, but he grabbed Will's legs before he hit. This left Will dangling from his father's hands, upside down. It was a favorite game of theirs, and Will loved it.

"At least Mommy's not here," Will shouted happily.

"Why?"

"You know. She likes to tickle!"

Mulder switched Will feet around so he was holding him up in one hand. "Like this?" he asked, tickling Will in the ribs.

Will shrieked happily, then could not stop laughing. Mulder laughed with him, then set the child back on his feet. Will plopped down on the floor for a moment, then looked up at Mulder when his laughter had finally subsided.

"You so silly," he said. Then he looked up at the rack of costumes and smiled. He stood up and pointed to one, his eyes wide. "Dis on, Daddy!"

"Which one?" Mulder asked. He stepped over to Will.

Will held up a Star Wars costume. It was a tan tunic with shoe covers to make the shoes look like boots. It also came with a fake braid to dangle on the child's shoulder. Mulder nodded after checking the size, and price, tag. "Ok, Will. You can get that one."

Will began to jump up and down, repeating, "Yay, yay, yay!"

Mulder grinned at him, then watched as an older woman gave them a funny look as she passed them. He smiled and waved to her, causing her to rush away.

Mulder shook his head, then scooped Will up under one arm, costume and all. He put Will in the seat, but he began to squirm.

"What is it, Will?"

"I wanna get in the bottom!" he said, referring to the little rack on the under the main basket. Mulder shook his head, but picked his son up out of the seat and placed him on the ground. Will climbed onto the bottom and lay on his stomach, with it now only inches from the ground.

"Watch your fingers," Mulder warned as he began to push the buggy. He maneuvered through the crowds of people with slight unease, but eventually made it to a cashier, but had to wait in line. He looked down at Will for a moment and smiled. Scully wouldn't be home until late, so he would have to make Will's supper for him.

He laughed quietly to himself for a moment. Even though they'd been officially married for two years, he still found himself calling her Scully, just as she still called him Mulder. He didn't mind, though. There was some bit of familiar comfort to it. He glanced down at his wedding band briefly, as if to make sure it was still there.

Life, no matter how good, just didn't seem right to him. It was just too good to be his. After years of running and chasing, he had finally found some peace, but it seemed wrong. He still expected for someone to try and jump him to cover a conspiracy at any moment. He shook his head. He had this life now. He had Scully and he had Will. He had it, and he wasn't going to give them up.

He managed to get out of the store in less than thirty minutes, after convincing Will that the Wal-Mart lady wasn't stealing his costume and would give it back. Traffic was light, so he made it home in record time, just in time for Will to watch his beloved Pokémon show.

Mulder peered at the TV while pulling out boxes of Easy-Mac, instant mashed potatoes, and Shake n' Bake. "How can you watch that stuff, Will? All they do is fight."

"Is cool," was the reply.

Mulder shook his head. "What's that one's name again? Peek-a-boo?"

"No! He's Pikachu. He's my favorite."

"Why?"

"Cuz he zaps all the bad guys."

Mulder smiled and went back to his supper preparations. He managed to cook everything with the fire alarm only going off once. This incident amused Will, who sat on the floor laughing as Mulder tried to tear the alarm off of the ceiling.

Moments later, they were sitting at the table, with plates of Mulder's questionable food in front of them. Will made a face and poked his food.

"Mommy cooks a little better."

Mulder shrugged while chewing a bite. "Well, Mommy's a mommy. They're supposed to cook good."

Will smiled. "I thought Mommy was a princess."

"She is. She's my princess."

"She says she's your queen and you have to do what she tells you to."

"She can try."

Will finished eating, and actually ate most of his food. Mulder cleaned up the kitchen as best he knew how, which was piling all of the dishes in the sink. After that they sat on the couch together and Mulder read Will 'Green Eggs and Ham' for the millionth time.

* * * * * * Scully sighed as she got out of her car. Another long day at work in the local hospital, and for the fourth time this week she'd had to stay late. She hated staying late. She usually got home after Will was asleep, leaving her no time to spend with her son. Mulder was usually beat by then too, after caring for the hyper four-year-old all day, and wasn't usually up to anything.

She looked up at Will's window. Dark. That meant that he was probably asleep. She shook her head. How much she wished she could just spend a day with her son, like Mulder. Hell, she wanted to spend a day with the both of them.

She fumbled for her keys a moment, then pushed the door open. The first thing she noticed was that the whole house was dark, and there was a faint smell of something burnt in the air. She smiled. No doubt Mulder had tried cooking again.

She stepped further into the house, tossing her jacket and purse onto a chair in the living room. Then she paused. Laying on the couch, fast asleep, were Mulder and Will. They must have both fallen asleep while reading. Or rather, Will had fallen asleep first, and Mulder had stayed put, not wanting to wake him.

She stepped up to them and gently picked the sleeping Will up from the couch. He mumbled something in his sleep, and Mulder stirred slightly, but neither woke. She carried Will up to his room, then tucked him into bed. He opened his eyes a bit and mumbled, but never fully awoke. She kissed his cheek.

"Night, Will. I love you."

"Luvyoutoo," he slurred, rolling over in his bed.

She smiled and left his room, heading back to the living room. Mulder was still stretched out on the couch. She sat next to him and grasped his hand in hers. He stirred, opened his eyes, and smiled.

"When did you get home?"

"Just a few minutes ago. You and Will have fun?"

"Yeah. He got himself a little Star Wars costume."

"At least it's not a Pokémon, like last year," she said, running a hand through his hair.

"He misses you, you know. You really should take a day off sometime." He tried to sit up, but Scully pushed him back.

"I'll try, Mulder. I really will." She pushed his legs back further, making room for her to lay with him on the couch. She snuggled next to him and he put his arm around her. Moments later, they were both asleep.

* * * * * *

"Dis is a happy face. Dis is a sad face. Dis is the face that Daddy makes when he gets angry," Will was saying the next day. He was sitting with his dad and playing with Mulder's face, making faces.

Mulder smiled, messing up whatever face Will was trying to make. "That's also the face Daddy makes when Will doesn't clean his room."

"I clean my room!" the child protested. He looked intently at Mulder's face for a moment, then poked one of his cheeks. "What that?" he asked.

Mulder made a face. "That's my cheek, Will. You know what that is."

"No, dis." Will spread three fingers down one of his own cheeks.

"Oh," Mulder said, his heart sinking slightly. "Those are scars. I didn't think you could still see them."

"Scars? Like the one I got from falling on my skates?"

"Yeah, Will. Just like that."

"How'd you get them?"

Mulder shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "It's from a long time ago, Will. Something very bad happened to me."

"What?"

"Now Will, don't bother your dad like that," Scully said, stepping out from behind the corner where she had been watching the whole incident. She patted Will's head. "Speaking of cleaning your room, shouldn't you go and do that now?"

"Aww," Will said, but trudged up to his room anyway.

Scully slid onto the couch next to Mulder, who had a far away look on his face at the moment. She smiled sadly and placed a comforting hand on his arm. "Don't worry about it Mulder. That was a long time ago."

He sighed. "Yeah, I know. But sometimes when I close my eyes, I can still see it, still feel it. It feels like it's starting all over again."

"It's not, Mulder. I promise."

He smiled and kissed her. "I'll hold you to that."