William sat on his bed, staring at the boxes. Even with the door closed, he
could hear people come in down stairs, and a new woman's voice. He figured
it must be the mother's helper who came in the afternoon to take care of
the babies while Cat worked. Cat had told him the young woman's name, but
he'd already forgotten it.
A couple of minutes later, he heard his door open. Surprised by the lack of a knock, he whipped his head around to see who the interloper was. His gaze was met by a pair of brown eyes, and they weren't friendly.
"Why are you still here?" A petulant voice demanded to know. "Go away."
Looking at the child's cartoon charactered shirt, William nearly laughed at the absurdity of being ordered about by the wearer. "I'm not going away. I live here now."
"No! There are-"The boy held up one small hand and studied the fingers. " One two three four five kids. Not-"He held up the other hand, and closed all the fingers leaving just the thumb sticking up. "Six."
"Well, there are six now." William said patiently.
"Why?"
"Because I'm your big brother."
"Uh uh. Benji and Owen are my big brothers."
"I am too, ask your dad even." Kyle was beginning to exasperate him. He seemed ok before, why was he being bratty now?
"I'm gonna." Kyle declared, then added, "I don't like you."
William blinked. The kid barely knew him, how could he dislike him already? "Why?"
"Because it's not fair you're bigger. Benji and Owen are bigger, and they're mean to me. You're gonna be mean to me too." Kyle pouted.
"I won't."
"Will too. And you'll like them more 'cause they're older than me. You should go home."
William looked around the room. "I am home."
"Leave me alone."
He felt like pointing out that Kyle had come to his room to talk to him, but he shook his head instead. The boy might be well spoken, but he was still a typical unreasonable four-year-old.
When Kyle stormed off a minute later, he shrugged. Apparently not everyone was glad he was there after all. He could live with that, because he wasn't sure if he was glad or not either.
**
Pulling open another box, Mulder glanced at William, who was carefully unpacking a second box. Cat had confided in him that the boy had seemed really down when the movers came, and they were both able to understand why. He wondered what he'd been like, really, as an eleven year old boy, but it was some times hard to think about the time before his sister was gone, and memories got dusty from lack of revisiting them.
"I was thinking... There are some shelves in the basement that aren't being used. Nothing wrong with them, we just ended up with a few more than we needed. Do you think your collection here would look better on shelves than on the bookcase?"
"They might." William agreed, looking up with an action figure still in his hand.
"How about you help me get the shelves, and I'll put them up? No time like the present."
William trailed after him, and to his relief seemed to have no fears about the basement. Kyle and Benji both avoided it whenever possible and he practically had to use a cattle prod to get them to enter. Kyle thought there were monsters under the stairs, and Benji refused to tell them what his objection to the basement was, although both his parents suspected it had to do with the boy thinking that there were noxious, but real, creatures down there like rats or spiders.
It wasn't until they were putting up the last of the shelves that Mulder asked the question that had been on his mind since the afternoon before. " What did Mr. Van DeKamp mean when he said that three people had tried to grab you?"
William frown slightly. "First a man tried to take me out of a store, then a woman tried to make me go with her when I walked home from school, and one of the people who broke into our house wanted to take me away too."
"One of? More than one person broke into your house?"
"Two did."
"How long ago did this all start?" Mulder asked, expecting that this was the recount of a lifetime's worth of trouble.
"Last month." William told him.
"Last month?" Mulder choked.
William tilted his head to one side. "Did something bad happen to me when I was a baby? I mean, did someone really take me once?"
William expected that Mulder would tell him no, or say he didn't know, so when Mulder said "Yes, when you were a few months old," he felt like throwing up.
"Your mom got you back as quickly as possible, though." Mulder said to reassure him, then looked puzzled. "How did you know, though?" He was sure it wasn't something that Scully had told the adoption agency.
"I have dreams some times." William replied faintly. "I thought they might be real."
Excitement griped Mulder. "Maybe if we call your birth mother you could tell her about the dreams, and she could tell you if they're mem-"
"I don't want to call her."
"Ok." Mulder agreed quickly, noting the panicky quality to his son's voice. "You don't have to call her."
"I have other dreams some times..." William confessed. "About people thinking that I'm going to lead them. And then all these people keep saying I'm 'the one' so I think... maybe they're not just dreams either."
"I don't think they are."
**
Fuming about how long it was taking, Scully rushed from store to store in the mall, weighed down by bags. Visiting the mall on a Friday might was a mistake. The entire place was thronged with gaggles of teenagers celebrating the end of the school week. They were getting on her last nerve.
The trip had seemed like such a good idea earlier in the day – getting a jump on holiday shopping before November, for once. But all the cheery shoppers served only to make her gloomy, and she didn't know why.
"Oh!" She gave a startled little hop when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She'd been brooding over a display of scarves that Tara would love.
"Dana! I knew it was you. Still in DC, huh?"
She looked up at the smiling man, thinking about when she knew him. " Ethan. I'm surprised you recognized me after all these years." In truth he looked much had he twenty years earlier, just a bit gray and lined. She suspected that from a distance he'd still look like the blonde-haired, gray- eyed man she thought she cared about once.
"You're hardly changed, Dana." He smiled at her again. "But you looked so sad just then. That's different. Is there something wrong?"
"I don't want to burden you with my problems." She demurred.
"Please tell me." He insisted. It made her remember his old persistence. She'd always attracted persistent men.
"It's just... my ex called me to talk about our son. He has custody..." She floundered, not knowing how to explain without really explaining.
Ethan looked away for a second, obviously uncomfortable, but he recovered quickly. "How old is your son?"
It made her feel shame that it took her two seconds to figure it out. " He's eleven."
He nodded. "I've always pictured you as a mom. Not having kids is something I've always regretted."
"Your wife didn't want any?" Scully asked innocently.
"I never had one of those, either."
For a second she was afraid that he was going to say she ruined him forever, and it was her fault that he'd never found someone to love him.
Instead, raising his voice over the announcement that the mall was closing in 15 minutes, he merely said it was a nice surprise running into her that way.
For a moment she imagined him walking away and out of her life again. So she impulsively touched his arm. "If you're going to be in DC for a while, maybe we could go out to dinner some night and catch up properly."
"Oh, I've just moved to DC, actually. We'll definitely have to do that."
It surprised her that his answer didn't scare her off. Instead she exchanged phone numbers and bid him good-bye for now.
**
All that night, his father's assertion that the dreams might not be dreams kept him awake as effectively as if they were corporal beings with pointed sticks. When it had been the Van DeKamps he'd been thinking of telling, he'd been in despair because he knew they wouldn't believe him for a moment. Now he was terrified because his father believed him.
They hadn't said anything else on the subject, but Mulder had promised that they'd talk about it soon, he just had to talk to his wife about it first. And whatever "it" was, William suspected that it was a lot more than his dreams.
He didn't know if he wanted to get the discussion over with, or to go on not knowing. Neither of the prospects seemed like a good option.
**
Mulder took a deep breath when he prepared to talk to Cat about William's dreams. "Cat, I think I need to tell him about the X-Files. Not knowing might be easier on him, but it could put him in danger. He's not a helpless baby anymore, so he's got a right to know." He told her after he explained what William's dreams might mean. She'd know than the boy's mother had seen him do things with his mind as a baby, so it didn't surprise her too much to learn that he might still be different. Her lack of surprise made Mulder very thankful that he'd married a woman with an open mind.
"Maybe you should tell him, if you think there's a chance that there's any validity to this thing people keep going on about."
"I think that he shouldn't be the only one I tell, though, Cat. I think that it's time to tell Benji and Owen too."
"Fox, I don't know-"
"It could affect them too, if they're with William and someone tries anything. Unlike the little ones, they're old enough to begin to understand, and can get help if they're not in the dark about what's going on. It's safer if they all know."
"But they're so young..." Cat sighed. "If you really think it's important, I guess it is."
Mulder hugged her impulsively. "It's very very important."
"Ok."
A couple of minutes later, he heard his door open. Surprised by the lack of a knock, he whipped his head around to see who the interloper was. His gaze was met by a pair of brown eyes, and they weren't friendly.
"Why are you still here?" A petulant voice demanded to know. "Go away."
Looking at the child's cartoon charactered shirt, William nearly laughed at the absurdity of being ordered about by the wearer. "I'm not going away. I live here now."
"No! There are-"The boy held up one small hand and studied the fingers. " One two three four five kids. Not-"He held up the other hand, and closed all the fingers leaving just the thumb sticking up. "Six."
"Well, there are six now." William said patiently.
"Why?"
"Because I'm your big brother."
"Uh uh. Benji and Owen are my big brothers."
"I am too, ask your dad even." Kyle was beginning to exasperate him. He seemed ok before, why was he being bratty now?
"I'm gonna." Kyle declared, then added, "I don't like you."
William blinked. The kid barely knew him, how could he dislike him already? "Why?"
"Because it's not fair you're bigger. Benji and Owen are bigger, and they're mean to me. You're gonna be mean to me too." Kyle pouted.
"I won't."
"Will too. And you'll like them more 'cause they're older than me. You should go home."
William looked around the room. "I am home."
"Leave me alone."
He felt like pointing out that Kyle had come to his room to talk to him, but he shook his head instead. The boy might be well spoken, but he was still a typical unreasonable four-year-old.
When Kyle stormed off a minute later, he shrugged. Apparently not everyone was glad he was there after all. He could live with that, because he wasn't sure if he was glad or not either.
**
Pulling open another box, Mulder glanced at William, who was carefully unpacking a second box. Cat had confided in him that the boy had seemed really down when the movers came, and they were both able to understand why. He wondered what he'd been like, really, as an eleven year old boy, but it was some times hard to think about the time before his sister was gone, and memories got dusty from lack of revisiting them.
"I was thinking... There are some shelves in the basement that aren't being used. Nothing wrong with them, we just ended up with a few more than we needed. Do you think your collection here would look better on shelves than on the bookcase?"
"They might." William agreed, looking up with an action figure still in his hand.
"How about you help me get the shelves, and I'll put them up? No time like the present."
William trailed after him, and to his relief seemed to have no fears about the basement. Kyle and Benji both avoided it whenever possible and he practically had to use a cattle prod to get them to enter. Kyle thought there were monsters under the stairs, and Benji refused to tell them what his objection to the basement was, although both his parents suspected it had to do with the boy thinking that there were noxious, but real, creatures down there like rats or spiders.
It wasn't until they were putting up the last of the shelves that Mulder asked the question that had been on his mind since the afternoon before. " What did Mr. Van DeKamp mean when he said that three people had tried to grab you?"
William frown slightly. "First a man tried to take me out of a store, then a woman tried to make me go with her when I walked home from school, and one of the people who broke into our house wanted to take me away too."
"One of? More than one person broke into your house?"
"Two did."
"How long ago did this all start?" Mulder asked, expecting that this was the recount of a lifetime's worth of trouble.
"Last month." William told him.
"Last month?" Mulder choked.
William tilted his head to one side. "Did something bad happen to me when I was a baby? I mean, did someone really take me once?"
William expected that Mulder would tell him no, or say he didn't know, so when Mulder said "Yes, when you were a few months old," he felt like throwing up.
"Your mom got you back as quickly as possible, though." Mulder said to reassure him, then looked puzzled. "How did you know, though?" He was sure it wasn't something that Scully had told the adoption agency.
"I have dreams some times." William replied faintly. "I thought they might be real."
Excitement griped Mulder. "Maybe if we call your birth mother you could tell her about the dreams, and she could tell you if they're mem-"
"I don't want to call her."
"Ok." Mulder agreed quickly, noting the panicky quality to his son's voice. "You don't have to call her."
"I have other dreams some times..." William confessed. "About people thinking that I'm going to lead them. And then all these people keep saying I'm 'the one' so I think... maybe they're not just dreams either."
"I don't think they are."
**
Fuming about how long it was taking, Scully rushed from store to store in the mall, weighed down by bags. Visiting the mall on a Friday might was a mistake. The entire place was thronged with gaggles of teenagers celebrating the end of the school week. They were getting on her last nerve.
The trip had seemed like such a good idea earlier in the day – getting a jump on holiday shopping before November, for once. But all the cheery shoppers served only to make her gloomy, and she didn't know why.
"Oh!" She gave a startled little hop when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She'd been brooding over a display of scarves that Tara would love.
"Dana! I knew it was you. Still in DC, huh?"
She looked up at the smiling man, thinking about when she knew him. " Ethan. I'm surprised you recognized me after all these years." In truth he looked much had he twenty years earlier, just a bit gray and lined. She suspected that from a distance he'd still look like the blonde-haired, gray- eyed man she thought she cared about once.
"You're hardly changed, Dana." He smiled at her again. "But you looked so sad just then. That's different. Is there something wrong?"
"I don't want to burden you with my problems." She demurred.
"Please tell me." He insisted. It made her remember his old persistence. She'd always attracted persistent men.
"It's just... my ex called me to talk about our son. He has custody..." She floundered, not knowing how to explain without really explaining.
Ethan looked away for a second, obviously uncomfortable, but he recovered quickly. "How old is your son?"
It made her feel shame that it took her two seconds to figure it out. " He's eleven."
He nodded. "I've always pictured you as a mom. Not having kids is something I've always regretted."
"Your wife didn't want any?" Scully asked innocently.
"I never had one of those, either."
For a second she was afraid that he was going to say she ruined him forever, and it was her fault that he'd never found someone to love him.
Instead, raising his voice over the announcement that the mall was closing in 15 minutes, he merely said it was a nice surprise running into her that way.
For a moment she imagined him walking away and out of her life again. So she impulsively touched his arm. "If you're going to be in DC for a while, maybe we could go out to dinner some night and catch up properly."
"Oh, I've just moved to DC, actually. We'll definitely have to do that."
It surprised her that his answer didn't scare her off. Instead she exchanged phone numbers and bid him good-bye for now.
**
All that night, his father's assertion that the dreams might not be dreams kept him awake as effectively as if they were corporal beings with pointed sticks. When it had been the Van DeKamps he'd been thinking of telling, he'd been in despair because he knew they wouldn't believe him for a moment. Now he was terrified because his father believed him.
They hadn't said anything else on the subject, but Mulder had promised that they'd talk about it soon, he just had to talk to his wife about it first. And whatever "it" was, William suspected that it was a lot more than his dreams.
He didn't know if he wanted to get the discussion over with, or to go on not knowing. Neither of the prospects seemed like a good option.
**
Mulder took a deep breath when he prepared to talk to Cat about William's dreams. "Cat, I think I need to tell him about the X-Files. Not knowing might be easier on him, but it could put him in danger. He's not a helpless baby anymore, so he's got a right to know." He told her after he explained what William's dreams might mean. She'd know than the boy's mother had seen him do things with his mind as a baby, so it didn't surprise her too much to learn that he might still be different. Her lack of surprise made Mulder very thankful that he'd married a woman with an open mind.
"Maybe you should tell him, if you think there's a chance that there's any validity to this thing people keep going on about."
"I think that he shouldn't be the only one I tell, though, Cat. I think that it's time to tell Benji and Owen too."
"Fox, I don't know-"
"It could affect them too, if they're with William and someone tries anything. Unlike the little ones, they're old enough to begin to understand, and can get help if they're not in the dark about what's going on. It's safer if they all know."
"But they're so young..." Cat sighed. "If you really think it's important, I guess it is."
Mulder hugged her impulsively. "It's very very important."
"Ok."