She's got everything she needs
She's an artist, she don't look back
She's got everything she needs
She's an artist, she don't look back
She can take the dark out of nighttime
And paint the daytime black.
-Bob Dylan

He knew this day would come eventually, knew that this was something he would have to face. He stood there, looking at her, raking his eyes over every inch of her, and having a hard time focusing on anything other than her bright blue eyes.

Dylan's Eyes.

"So, where fo you want to start Scully?" He asked fighting the urge to run to the day care grab his daughter and shove her in her mother's face.

"Mulder, I have been through four years of hell, do you know that? Do you have any idea of what your little midnight raid did to me?" Tears had begun to form in the small corners of her eyes, and her voice had millions of tiny little cracks in it. "I thought you were my truth Mulder, I thought you were my knight in shining armor. Maybe I should not have put you on a pedestal, seeing as how your feet are made of clay." Her chest hitched, absently, Mulder moved closer to try and soothe her. She jumped backwards nearly twenty feet. "Don't you EVER come near me Fox Mulder. Don't even think about touching me. I have spent the last four years trying to wash your stink off of me, trying to forget I ever met you. I cant even hold down a job. The doctor has me on enough mood stabilizers to take down a small elephant. I scream at night for no reason, I can't stand being alone, and dating is out of the question. Who do I trust now Mulder? You taught me to trust no one, no one but you. Where does that leave me now?"

She began to dig through her purse for a tissue. She was a mess, he felt his heart cracking at the cellular level, every cell in his body wanted to grab her and hold her apologize for anything and everything and beg her to come home with him. He could take care of her, put her back together again.

Instead, he opened his mouth. "When you put it that way Scully, I'm sorry seems so trite."

"Yeah, that's it Mulder boy, tell another joke. The only reason I never brought you up on charges was cause of the circumstances. Who would believe me anyway? The entire Hoover Building had a pool on our relationship. I don't know why this is so hard for you to understand."

"It's not hard Scully, I hurt you, I blamed myself from the minute I found you in your room. I had no memory of what happened until it was too late. You can think that a cop out, but it is the truth. I never wanted this for you, for us. I used to fantasize about the two of us, married and raising our children together. I have been raising our daughter alone for four years. I am not looking for sympathy, but I think you are missing out on her. She is a beautiful girl, with a perfect heart." He dug out his wallet and produced a recent picture of Dylan. It was taken at the zoo, and she smiled at the camera as she stroked the lambs at the petting zoo.

He tried to extend it out to her, she turned away as if offered acid to drink. "She is not my daughter Mulder." She sniffed

:When she was born Scully, we had her DNA tested.."

"That is not what I meant and you know it!" She was getting angry now, he was trying to force the fruit of his rape into her life. Not gonna freaking happen boy-o.

"Scully, Dana, Please she asks about you almost every day. Look if you don't want to see me that is fine, I have had a lot of time to get used to the idea of our friendship crash and burning. But don't push her out of your life. I can arrange for you to pick her up somewhere neutral where I won't be anywhere near. Please Scully I am begging for Dylan." He had momentarily flashed the infamous puppy dog look at her, shot down by a scowl he had never seen from her, one he sure was reserved for the scummy stuff she had to scrub off the bottom of the toilet.

"I will not be a party to this travesty," she raged, waving the picture away. "I can't deal Mulder, and its your fault. You want me to breeze in and be a mother to that child when I don't know her. You crawled into my room that night Mulder, you got on top of me and had your way." Her voice had taken on a strange sing song cadence, Mulder was a little afraid that she was much more unhinged than what he had originally thought. Maybe she doesn't need to see Dylan. He thought to himself. Dylan sure could do without coming face to face with Psycho Mom.

She went for her purse again, only this time she wasn't reaching for a tissue. It happened so fast, she drew out a small 22 weapon and aimed it at him. "Consider this a warning Fox Mulder, I will not ever entertain a meeting with either you or your hell spawn. Its bad enough you moved out here to California, when I found out you were here all along I wanted to run back eadt, but I have to make my stand Mulder. " The gun shook in her tiny hands, the old Scully wielded a much bigger weapon and her aim was true. But even a crazy woman could get off a lucky shot. And where she was aiming he didn't want to take a chance.

You gonna shoot me Scully?" He asked, a little more quivery than he would have liked.

"Its not like I haven't done it before, so you know I have no qualms doing so. Stay the hell away from me, I wanted to come here to see you, to confront you, and now I have done that. I wonder if the staff here knows the quality of teacher that they have here. Rape any pretty teenagers Mulder?"

The accusation made him physically ill. "Scully, whatever happened between us, I am sorry, I am so sorry for what it has made you. I loved you Dana, I love you still. " He didn't know he was crying, until the tears ran down his face and salted his mouth.

"Oh give me a break Mulder. You knew what you were doing that night. You used your key, got undressed and dropped a few loads in me. Then to add insult into injury, you used me for a human incubator for nine months." She waved the gun to punctuate her words. "I so hope that when you do in fact die, whatever god you believe in torments you the way you have and will continue to torment me." She finally put the gun away, adjusted herself a little and turned on one heel.

"Scully," he called after her slowly disappearing form. "If you ever change your mind. I am here I'm not going anywhere. Please, when you are ready for us we will be here." She didn't acknowledge him, just kept walking with that same steady gait until she reached the double doors of the gym that lead back outside.

"That went well." He said to no one.

"Daddy, when are we going to talk to Mommy?" She asked this question just about every day, usually after watching her favorite movie Bambi. Something about the reoccurring death of Bambi's mother dragged out all of these emotions in her. "I think she should come over for dinner. " She added.

"Dyl, sweety, remember how I told you that some people only have one parent that lives with them? Your mom has a lot of things to deal with in her life. She just isn't ready to be a mommie yet." He didn't know what else to say to her. He had been sugar coating this issue for her for the last two years, and he was starting to run out of careful dodges.

"Well, why don't you call her and see if she is ready?" She folded her arms in her little seat and gave him a look of intense concentration. She is too much like me, he alsost laughed. She isn't going to let this one go.

"Dyyyyyyyl," he whined at her. "When she is ready she will come, ok? I know this is hard for you honey, and I had hoped that she would be ready. But we have to be strong. And hey, ya got me kid, aren't we doing all right?" He smiled at her, and she reached up and honked his nose.

"Yeah Daddy, we are ok, but I think we would be improved with a mom around. You take a lot of work." Her intelligence never ceased to amaze him. He had never spoken to her like a child, and in return, she had flourished in her development. Dylan taught herself to read at the age of 18 months. He didn't believe it at first, thought she was just looking through books and ogling at the pictures.

Until she got hold of the refrigerator magnets.

Yeah, he had a fridge full of them. He had bought them when she was only four months old. He had read somewhere that having them around was a good way to get a baby used to the shapes of letters. Much like her mother, Dylan never did anything half assed.

He was doing dishes, Dylan had sat on the floor of the kitchen playing with the magnets and babbling.

"D" she said. He assumed that she was babbling about him "D, Daddy." she squealed at her realization and went on. By the time he turned around, she had spelled out DAD on the fridge.

"Uh oh, Houston we have a problem.' He had scooped her up, chores forgotten and sat in the recliner with her reading book after book. She had the reading thing down. They went from Dr. Seuss, to Little house on the Prairie. At three she got a hold of his old Psychology books He only found out when she began to test out the theory of reverse Psychology on him.

That was his Dylan. He decided not to make a big deal out of it. Not wanting to turn her into a freak. It was important to him to not make a huge deal out of her brains. Mulder had long ago decided that she would have a normal life. Nope, he decided flatly.. No X-File here.

They had settled into a routine, she was the doting daughter, and she let him believe he was in charge. In the mornings, she would get up first, and as long as he had set up the coffee maker the night before, she would climb onto the counter and switch it on for him. She usually made her own breakfast, cereal and a banana. They would sit at the table together in the morning, she would listen to him run down the itinerary for the day, and she would remind him of things he sometimes left off on purpose. She was good.

The one thing she did allow him to do for her was to braid her long red hair. She stood on the chair in the kitchen and he softly brushed her hair out, it was his favorite time of the day. She would prattle on and on about who did what to whom in pre school and how much she hated this kid or liked the other, as he gently but tightly braided her hair into two long tails.

It was a good life, one he almost felt he did not deserve.

"What do you want to be for Halloween this year Dyl?" He asked her the nest day over the exact smae act.

"She thought for a second, then turned her small head to him "I want to be a doctor just like my mom." It was so unexpected he almost dropped the braid. He had not told her of Scully's visit the day before, did not want to upset her. He had always been honest with her about Scully, even when the truth hurt. Of course there were things that he left out, but for the most part it was the truth. Yes Dyl, mommy and daddy used to work together. Yes Dyl, though not an accident you were more of a surprise. Yes Dyl, Daddy used to work for the FBI, though that was a very long time ago and his life is much more exciting now.

"Ok, so lets go today and get you a costume, hmm what else do we have to do?"This was his favorite game,

"Umm, we have to get a present for Grandma Mulder, and we have to go visit Grandma Scully's grave." She piped in.

"Yeah, but I think there is something else too."

"Groceries?" She offered.

"Yeah, that too."He returned.

"Fish food, and a new floatie for the tank..."

"Dyl, you know what we have to do."

"Nope, I think that is it Daddy, you said we could get ice cream today too."

"Uh Huh, but that is only because of the other place we have to go to."

"Awwwwww" she whined giving him his own puppy dog look."Do we HAVE to?"

"I know you hate the needles Dyl, but you gotta get your shot kiddo."

Oh yeah, this was heaven.

Yoiu readers keep me sane!

Parker, I can tell you the idea kinda came from an episode of Law and Order believe it or not, but the rest kinda jumped out at me. Read back to chapter six end notes i give a better explaination of the ideas and why i wrote this Thank you for the compliments, I am flattered and motivated to go on.

Ok, I am going back to school in the morning so i dont know when the next chapter is coming, I know i know gillia, the little grey men came, they are not happy. LOL

I will try to get more out by thurs i have a big anatomy test then I bet you guys would be shocked to know that I am a MICROBIOLOGY major.

OK, before i get hate mail, Dylan is not an x file, her gift is actually a true story, and to let you in on a little secret my own son was the inspiration for it. He taught himself to read, read my Psych books, and tried reverse psych on me. TAlk about a show off.