Title: A Man Who…: The Infamous Will Baker
Author: DC Luder
Disclaimer: FM, DS, MS, WS belong to them crazy CC and Co. out in LA.
Summary: Will's POV (just cause he's the cutest lil thing in the world!)
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Mom tapped on the steering wheel for the entire ten minutes that it took to get Camille's. Every time I asked if we could listen to music she would shake her head and tap to the music in her head. Or she was just nervous. I wanted to ask her about last night, about Mulder and my sweatshirt but I didn't want to scare her.
Jeesh, was driving fast.
We parked in the small municipal lot between the Columbia Movie Theatre and the pharmacy. I had missed going to see the new movie in town this last weekend because I was sick. But I wasn't really sick, I only was sneezing by Friday night.
But Mom was a doctor and she knew best.
After the car was parked I hopped out, my taste buds very much impatient for chocolate chip waffles and whipped cream. But just as I reached the front of the car, I noticed Mom sitting in her seat, holding onto her necklace. Her face was sad, like it had been last night.
I waved a bit and she looked up and smiled. I watched as she grabbed her purse and then joined me. I smiled as her hand settled on my shoulder. When I looked up, she was her old self again, smiling and looking at me the way she always does. This Mulder guy sure made her act weird.
When we walked in, Mulder was at a table near the back drinking coffee by himself. Mom froze at the door but I kept going. I was a growing boy and I needed chocolate chip waffles. He looked up suddenly and smiled at Mom. She had followed me over, vigorously chewing on her lip.
Her best sign that she was nervous besides tapping on the closest object was if she bit her lip.
"You must be the infamous Will Baker," Mulder said as he put his coffee cup down. I nodded and sat across from him, forcing Mom to sit next to him. They stared at each other quietly as I looked over one of the menus. Like I needed to.
After a minute or so, April, my favorite waitress walked over and roughed up my hair, "Hey, Will. Double dosing on the waffles this weekend?"
I nodded eagerly and looked up at her. She played basketball at high school, so she was pretty tall for her age. She had dark hair like mine but bright green eyes. She had been my babysitter before she started working at Camille's. I still remember the popcorn fights we used to have and how we would vacuum the kernels up before Mom and Dad got back.
She wrote my order down before I even said it, "Two chocolate chip waffles with whipped cream and chocolate milk." Enough sugar to keep me buzzing about for the rest of the day.
April then looked up to Mom and Mulder and blinked a few times, "Was Mr. B coming? I can get his eggs going…"
"No, he has to work," I spoke up before Mom, "This is my mom's friend."
I watched as Mom's cheeks grew a little red and as Mulder hid his smile with his coffee cup. Mom cleared her throat and explained, "We used to work together when I lived in DC."
April nodded, "Oh. So, the usual, Dana?"
She shook her head, "No, I'll just have coffee and a blueberry muffin."
"All right, and for you?" she gazed at Mulder.
"Um, chocolate chip pancakes. And a side of hash browns."
I jerked at his response and stared at him. He smiled at me and played with the napkin at his seat. I had never eaten with a grown-up who ate kid food. Sure Mom and Dad would eat ice cream and cookies, but my waffles? Never.
This Mulder guy was turning out to be interesting.
While we waited for our food, Mulder and Mom stared at each other and fidgeted. Boring. I decided to open my big mouth, "So where do you live?"
Mulder looked over at me, "Virginia. A few miles out of Washington, DC."
"Are you still an agent?"
He shook his head, "Retired."
That was confusing. He had some gray hair, but he didn't look that old, "Grandpa is 77 and he still works at the fire house."
"Oh, Will," Mom began, "Mulder didn't retire because of his age, he was injured."
Cool, I thought before asking, "Were you shot?"
"I have been, but that wasn't the reason I left. I was kidnapped and the uh, people who took me hurt me."
I nodded and was about to ask for the gory details when Mom shot me a look. It was her way of saying that it was none of my business and I should change the subject. So I did, "Any pets?"
"Some fish."
"I had a fish named Herbie. He died though. I want a dog but Dad is allergic."
Mulder nodded and paused before saying, "Your mom had a dog once."
I looked over to her, "You did? Was it a Doberman?"
She laughed openly, "No, he was a Pomeranian. A little orange puffy haired dog."
Well, I never knew that, "What was his name?"
"Quequeg."
What kind of name was that for a dog? I wanted to get a big dog and name it Butch or Rocky. I remember asking for a dog when I was five and Dad had come home with a gold fish named Herbie.
Close enough, I guess.
Our food arrived and I inhaled my waffles and rinsed my mouth with the milk. It was the only chance a kid ever got to have chocolate for breakfast and I enjoyed every bite and gulp. Mom picked at her muffin and Mulder finished his plate shortly after I did.
Right after Mom took a bite of her muffin, I cleared my throat and asked, "So, what's your first name. It's not just Mr. Mulder, is it?"
The man smiled at me as my mother rolled her eyes. "It's Fox. And your first name is my middle name."
"Cool," I said softly, as I remembered the sweatshirt. F. Mulder. Oh boy. My curiosity in full swing, I asked, "Where did you go to school."
He leaned back and motioned for the bill, "Lots of places. I went to grade school and high school in Massachusetts, have you ever been there?"
I shook my head, must be some weird place. I like New York. Easy to spell, too.
He continued as April handed him a slip of paper, "And then I went to England for college and then I came back and went to FBI School in Virginia."
"Mom went to FBI School, too. Were you friends then?"
Mom shook her head, "No, Will, I didn't meet Mulder until a few years after he graduated."
"I want to go to FBI School. Do they let you shoot things?"
Mom's eyes hardened as she glared at me. We were in public so she wouldn't reprimand me. Mulder stepped in and saved me, "Only targets. And being an agent is more than having a gun. Lots of studying and paperwork, too."
"Oh, papers. I had to write a paragraph for school and read in front of everyone."
"What was it about?" he asked, pulling out his wallet. I chewed on my lip as I noticed the money. Maybe I still wanted to be an FBI agent. Or at least a retired one. Bet I could get those new sneakers we saw at Jason's Sport Shop…
"Um, we had to write about what we liked about school. I wrote about lunchtime and tater tots and how if I smiled nice Mrs. Clark in the lunch line I would get extra curly French fries on curly French fry day."
He smiled and stood, "I prefer waffle fries, myself."
I stood also as Mom watched us in awe. She never could understand a conversation like that. If she were a guy, maybe she could understand the importance of a good French fry.
I walked with him and he handed me the money and tapped the counter. Dad never let me pay. I smiled and stood tall, glad to be so important. April took the money and winked at me. After winking back, I said, "See you tomorrow, April!"
Mulder and I walked out to the small parking lot with Mom behind us. He turned once he reached his car, a cool black two-door with tinted windows, and looked over at Mom. She was smiling awkwardly as she approached us. I watched them and it was almost as if they were reading each other's minds or something. Weird. They were a few inches apart when I remembered how they had kissed last night. Maybe Mulder and Mom were more than friends.
I knew he was a friend of mine now, even if he made Mom cry. He was just like me, except older and he had a cool car.
He touched Mom's shoulder and leaned in close to her face and whispered into her ear. She smiled a bit and whispered back. Must be secret agent talk. Someday I would be able to speak it. But I would still be like a kid, not like a grown-up. I'd be like Mulder, eat chocolate chip waffles, like to talk about French fries…
I'd be an awesome FBI agent.
Special Agent Will Baker, FBI.
With a cool car.
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"I made this!"
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