Adopted Consequences
Chapter 14
May 25, 2005 2:12 pm
Mulder's Apartment
And just like that I have everything I could have ever asked for back in my life. I watch the woman that I love hold onto our son. This is surreal, a dream. I've been wishing for this day for the past three years, waiting for the moment that this could become a reality. And now that it is here, the only thing that I want is to make this official, to make us a real family, permanently.
I fiddle with the ring that has been hiding in my pocket since I left last night. That has been hiding in my pocket since I left for Telluride. That has been hiding in my pocket for three years. This is something I want to do, no scratch that, have to do. I will not let this family escape from me again.
I stood there holding my son for the first time in three years. This is one sensation I never thought that I would feel again. I can't help but let tears escape as I hold onto the life that I created. Mulder just stands in the doorway watching the scene with the biggest grin on his face. I know that he too is glad to have us all back together, hopefully this time for good.
After a few minutes Will starts to squirm from being in one place, so I put him down. "Come on Mommy," he says pulling on my hand. "I want to show you my room." I follow him down the hall into the room he calls his own. It is painted a deep blue, and there is an alien border running around the top of the room. There are sports posters, on the walls from the Washington Nationals, and the New York Knicks. And on the wall right above his bed, a poster that brings both a smile to my face and a tear to my eye, the original "I Want to Believe" poster that hung in our office so many years ago.
And on the nightstand next to his bed is a framed picture from right after he was born, still in the hospital. It was the picture I gave Mulder right before he had to disappear, so that he would always have me and Will with him. I guess the tables were turned on that one. "See mommy," said Will pointing to the picture proudly. "I had you watching over me every night." This comment brings tears to my eyes yet again, which doesn't go unnoticed by him. "Mommy, what's wrong? Don't you like my room?" he asked disappointed.
I sit down on his bed and pull him into my lap. "I love it," I reply giving him a hug. "I'm just sorry I missed everything." Will seems happy with this answer and returns my hug. "So, what happened here?" I asked pointing to his cast.
"I tried to fly off the swings like the big kids," he replied proud of his wound. "But I fell."
"Well, you might want to wait till you're a little older to try that again," I respond with a giggle.
"That's what Daddy said."
"Speaking of daddy, why don't we go find him," I say as we stand up and head out of the room.
A few hours later, Will had fallen asleep on the couch watching cartoons. "So much for going out for dinner," said Mulder carefully picking him up. "I guess we're stuck with take-out."
"Why don't you go put him in bed while I order," says Scully. "Chinese or pizza?"
"Pizza," he replies. "He'll be hungry when he wakes up, and pizza's easier to reheat."
Scully was already seated on the couch watching a movie by the time Mulder came back out of Will's room. "You order already," he asked sitting down on the couch next to her. Instinctively his arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him.
The comfort between the two is astounding for the time that they spent apart. It was as if old patterns who picked up as if they had never changed. It was a nice change of pace to the way things had been. It was Scully who had finally broke the comfortable silence. "So what do we do now?" she asked looking to him for some sign of reassurance. "Where does this leave everything?"
"I want this," he said turning to look into her eyes. "I want us, the three of us. This is everything we've been dreaming of. I'm not willing to let this go again."
"Don't you think this is rushing into things?" she asked honestly. "I mean not for us, but for him. Will he be able to understand what's been going on?"
"The only thing that he's been waiting for is for his mother to come back and be with him. It's his one wish every birthday, Christmas, and shooting star. That little boy adores you, and wants you in his life. If that's not enough, I don't know what is."
"But what do you want Mulder?" she asked, almost pleading.
Mulder smiled slightly before kneeling down in front of her. "I'm so glad you asked that," he said taking her hands and looking into her eyes. "I've been trying to think of how to ask you this all night, and the easiest way is to just come out and say it." He paused running one hand through his hair before sliding it into his pocket. "The only thing I want in this world is for the three of us to be a family, a real family. I want you and our son and me together in one house with the dog and the white picket fence. There is nothing that would make me happier than if that was the way our live will be. Dana, you're the mother of my son, you're my partner, my best friend, my confidant, and my soul mate. The only thing missing from that list is my wife. Will you be that for me?" he asked pulling the ring box out of his pocket and opening it to reveal the ring he had been holding onto for the past three years. "I've been waiting three years for this. Will you make it a reality?"
To Be Continued.
Note: I always complain about cliffhangers, so I'm being a hypocrite yes I know. So click on that little review button and the next chapter will be up all the more faster.
