Scully came quickly down the hall, searching frantically for Mulder. She found him in the den, still clutching a screaming baby, pacing the floor. He noticed her and came to her side.
"Is he okay?" he asked, adjusting his hold on Roman. Scully reached out to stroke Roman's hair and sighed.
"No, he's not okay. He's unconcious. He needs a doctor"
Mulder stared at her, blankly. "Um...Dana"
"Yeah, I know," she said. "I am a doctor, but he needs a hospital"
"No." He walked away and began pacing again. "No, see, I promised him"
"Mulder," Scully interrupted. "I don't know what's wrong with him. If he doesn't get to a hospital, we're putting him in serious danger"
Mulder sighed. "Well we can't just take him to any hospital. And we certainly can't"
"Can't what"
Roman screamed louder and he flinched. Scully sighed, and took her from him.
"We need help"
Roman quieted, resigning herself to quiet sobs. Scully felt increasingly worse hearing the scared cries of her daughter, and it occured to her that the need she felt to soothe Roman and protect her from whatever she was afraid of, was the same thing she felt when she saw Billy convulsing. Though she did fear for him and what might happen if they took him to the hospital, she feared even more what could happen if they didn't find out what was wrong. And that it would be their fault. Mulder was right. They DID need help. And she knew just who to call.
"Monica"
Mulder looked up. "What"
"Monica and John." Scully said, rocking Roman.
Mulder shook his head. Scully simply nodded.
"I don't want to go back to that," Mulder said, raising his voice. "I mean, years ago I would've been all for it, but now...I don't... Roman doesn't need to be exposed to all that shit"
Scully rolled her eyes. "Do you have any better ideas?" she asked, patting Roman's back.
Mulder sighed. "No. Okay? No, I don't. But I thought we decided that we were done with all that. That the only way we could possibly have a normal life and a normal family was to leave all of that behind. We agreed"
"Stop yelling at me!" She turned to leave the room in a huff. Mulder followed. "I know what we agreed, but we have to turn to someone"
Mulder glared at her. "Look, we can "
"No." Scully said, placing Roman in Mulder's arms and going back into the den. "I'm calling"
Mulder sighed. Roman sniffled and placed a chubby hand on her father's face. She looked up at him with her bright blue eyes and he couldn't help but smile. "Come on, Princess." he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead and heading down the hall.
-
Billy woke up startled, and lay there staring quietly at the ceiling, listening to the silence that seemed to fill the house. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and yawned. As he sat up he noticed a man sitting in the floor, his back against the wall.
"What happened?" Billy asked, catching Mulder off guard.
Mulder climbed onto the bed and settled himself next to the boy on the bed. "Hey," he said, patting the boys arm. "Well, Dana could really explain that better than me. All I can say is you're sick"
Billy stared at him. "I don't feel sick"
Mulder started to speak, racking his brain for a way to explain seizures to a seven year old, when a knock came on the door. The door opened and Scully came through.
"They're here." she said simply, placing Roman in his arms. He stared at her expectantly, and she groaned in disgust. "Go let them in"
Still, he didn't move. "I need to talk to Billy," she said, her eyes telling him all he needed to know. Sighing, Mulder lifted Roman to his chest and left the room.

"Hi," Mulder said, faking a smile.
"Hey!" Monica was smiling, genuinely, and when she reached out to hug him, he didn't have the heart to stop her.
"John," Mulder said, after stepping away from Monica, and shaking Dogget's hand. Dogget nodded, smiling, he and Monica both casting curious glances at the child in his arms.
"Oh!" Mulder lifted Roman up on his side so she could see their guests. "This is Roman." He signed to Roman "Say hello." and Roman waved. He saw Monica's face fall as she realized the child's handicap. Mulder just shook his head, reassuringly.
"Don't. With the feeling bad. It's okay. She's caught on to the sign language better than they say she should've for her age. We've got an appointment to pick up her new hearing aid soon. Besides, there's some new miracle surgery the can do, but her doctor wants to wait until she's five"
Monica nodded, and forced a smile. Mulder's forced optimism was enough for her, because she knew that she was just sick of seeing things go wrong for two people who deserved happiness as much as Mulder and Scully did.
Mulder placed a kiss on his daughter's forehead. "We're okay." he said, smiling. Roman saw his smile and giggled in response, which caused smiles to cross both John and Monica's faces.
"Oh, come on inside," Mulder said, motioning them into the living room. "Scully's in the bedroom, down the hall, last door on the right if you want to go find her, Monica"
"Oh. Okay." And she went down the hall and disappeared, leaving Mulder and Dogget alone on the couch in an awkward silence.
Mulder wanted to grumble and swear, but he bit his tongue. It wasn't that he didn't like John and Monica, because he knew that he and Scully never would have made it without their help, but he didn't really know what he was supposed to say to them. So instead of making awkward, half-hearted small talk, he turned his attention to his daughter, who was bouncing excitedly in his lap.
Roman held up her hands and wiggled her fingers. Mulder did the same. She put her hands on her head and opened her mouth. So did her father. Roman giggled again and leaned forward to kiss his cheeck, then she covered her eyes with her hands.
"She's adorable," John said, still smiling.
"Oh." Mulder sounded surprised, as if he'd forgotten John was there. "Thanks. Yeah, she's beautiful"
Roman peeked out at John through her fingers. John waved and she giggled, turning her face away.
"I don't want to sound rude, but can I ask you something"
Mulder looked up at him and nodded.
"What happened? I mean, was she born -- "
"Yeah," Mulder interrupted. "Birth defect"
John nodded. He'd been afraid to ask and didn't want to offend anyone, but he'd been genuinely curious.
He heard Mulder sigh. "It sucks"
When John looked up he noticed the adoring way Mulder smoothed the young girl's hair down, and the glow in his eyes he seemed to get simply from looking at her.
"See, she was our miracle. You know, Dana wasn't supposed to be able to have kids. Not after..." he paused, and looked at the ground, wincing at the thought. "Not after William," he finished, clearing his throat. "Not even William. She wasn't supposed to be able to have children, ever. But, um, she heard about this procedure. It was risky, but she was willing to, well, risk it"
John sat quietly, listening. But after a moment of silence, he piped up. "What was the procedure"
"Ovary transplant. It had only been successfully performed on three times. But she didn't care. They told us that if it worked there were some things that could be wrong with the baby. But she wouldn't hear it. She just wanted a baby." Mulder smiled to himself. "We're always just trying to be optimistic," he continued. "One day, Roman WILL hear"
John smiled at him. A sincere smile. "I'm happy for you," he said, and Mulder looked up at him. "I'm happy for you two, that you finally have some happiness. You deserve it"
For a moment, something passed between them; a silent respect.
Just then, Roman began to scream as she had before. Mulder clutched her to his chest and dashed down the hallway, followed by a confused Dogget. When they reached the bedroom the found Billy, convulsing as he had before, Scully and Monica by his side. Mulder saw suspicious tears in Scully's eyes as she cast a worried glance at him, holding tightly Billy's hand.