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Visitor in the Desert: Chapter Six
Author: Gillian Leigh
Summary: Mulder and Scully have a conversation with Samantha.
Disclaimer: C'mon now, we know who owns Mulder and Scully, and it's certainly not a seventeen year-old who has $22 to her name…
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"I have a nephew," Samantha whispered as she held William in her lap. He gurgled happily and reached up to tug on the collar of her shirt. He then grabbed a handful of her long, curly hair and tugged on it.
"William, no!" Scully exclaimed, reaching over and removing Sam's hair from her nephew's hand. "I'm so sorry," she continued apologetically. "He's in the hair pulling stage." Sam flipped her hair behind both of her shoulders and smiled, the more feminine version of the typically goofy Mulder grin gracing her face.
"It's okay. I've got three boys who went through the same stage." Mulder shook his head.
"I can't believe you've got three boys, Sam. I'm an Uncle," he said. His sister smiled at him, and said,
"You'll love them, Fox. They're all just like you."
"Oh Lord," Scully muttered. Mulder shot her a look.
"Hey!" he exclaimed. "You don't seem to think I'm so terrible when you're calling out my name…" Sam's eyebrows shot up to her hairline, and she fought back a giggle as Scully clapped her hand over Mulder's mouth.
"Shut up!" In a fit of un-Scullylike action, she then punched him in the arm repeatedly as she pounced on him as well as a pregnant woman can pounce. He grabbed both of her wrists, and the two proceeded to wrestle on the couch in their apartment as Samantha watched in amusement, and Will sat enthralled on her lap, clapping his hands.
"And that, my little William, is more than likely something akin to what your mommy and daddy did the night they made you," she said, kissing her nephew on the head.
The battle ended when Mulder continually tickled Scully's ribs until she gasped out,
"Uncle! Uncle!" between giggles. Sam marveled at the brother she'd just become reacquainted with, and Scully, whom she'd just met. After spending just an hour with the two, she could tell that they truly did love one another.
"I'm sorry, Sam," Mulder offered. "We got a little carried away." His sister grinned at him, and said,
"It's alright, Fox. It's just so wonderful to see you."
"How did you end up here?" Mulder queried. "There was never a clue as to where you wound up." Sighing, Samantha handed Will over to Mulder before beginning her story.
"After my initial abduction by the men in the government, I lived with the Smoking Man and his family. He tried to convince me that any memories I had of my family were implanted. I knew it was wrong. I knew that no matter what they did to try to make me forget, or to disbelieve my own memories, that there was still something there. I remembered having a brother, and it was one of the few things I held onto." A lone tear slid down Mulder's cheek, and he reached for his sister's hand. She gave his a gentle squeeze and continued.
"They did the tests on me for four years after they took me from the house. I ran away the summer of the year I turned twelve. A trucker picked me up on the highway, and after seeing my scars took me to a center for battered women and children. From then on I was placed in foster care.
"I graduated from high school in St. Paul, Minnesota, and went to college there too. I studied Biology and Chemistry in hopes of becoming a biochemist. I was contacted about six years back about the Underground, and that was when I came here. The project was just in its earliest stages, and I was one of the 'founding fathers' so to speak. I had some memory of the things that the Syndicate talked about when they thought I was asleep, and my knowledge of those things helped to build the Underground and increase its defenses."
"I'm so sorry that you had to go through that, Sam," Mulder said, his eyes downcast. "I can't tell you how many times I wished it had been me and not you, seeing how it hurt Mom and Dad…"
"No." Samantha clamped a hand down on her brother's shoulder. "No, Fox. I would never wish that it had been you. I made it out alive, and I'm here and healthy. I hated Dad for letting Them take me, but I never hated you for getting to stay. I never hated you," she reiterated. Their eyes locked, and Scully suddenly felt like an intruder. She rose up off the couch with Will in her arms, muttering something about feeding him.
Mulder's eyes dropped again, and he felt on the verge of tears again. There were so many emotions affecting him. His sister was back, and it really *was* her this time. He overjoyed that she was back, alive and well, but he also felt guilty that he had given up hope that she was still alive. He also felt angry for all that she had gone through, and he was determined to make those men hurt just as badly as his sister had, and as badly as Scully had. He wanted to make Them pay for taking his sister away, and for making him believe she was dead. He wanted to make Them pay for taking Scully from him, giving her cancer and nearly killing her. He wanted to make Them pay for making him miss out on six months of his life and Scully's first pregnancy, and for making his family have to run and hide. He wasn't going to give up until those men received what was coming to them.
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Author's Notes: Wooo! I finally updated! :o) I'm finally done with my finals, and I have a three day weekend, so I hope to post another chapter of either this or Coach II. Stick around! :o)
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