Chapter Eleven: Family Ties That Bind:
Indian Bend Maryland November 2000:
Stephan was a very lucky and happy man. He had everything he could ever want in life, a wonderful wife, good friends and now children. Melissa had given birth to twins, a girl and boy, Sarah Rose Stone and Saul Timothy Stone. What was more is that Dana was pregnant and due early next year. Stephan was grateful that his children looked more like Melissa than him, save for their hair, they both had very dark near black hair like Stephan. The only thing that could spoil anything is that Mulder was missing and when Stephan spoke to the Bounty Hunter he did not have a clue as to what was going on.
There were other things too, people that knew who he had been that refused to talk and speak to others, the unspeakables here in America knew full well who he was but somehow they had given him protections that fooled even the DNA tests. That had been passed on to his children as he had them tested, he truly was no longer Severus Snape. He was a new man with a new lease on life. He was sitting with Melissa watching the twins attempt to crawl, they were so cute at this age and Severus was pleased with the fact they seemed to both have his wife's temperament. Randy came into the room to announce lunch. The twins were still nursing so they could continue to play (magical humans nurse children until one, at that time they start to feed them solids and wean them) while their parents ate. Randy's wife Rena would watch them. Stephan and Melissa sat down to a simple lunch of Shepard's pie with fresh bread hot from the oven with real butter, fresh grapefruit juice and coffee.
"Dana is worried, the tests done show that William is hers and Fox's." Melissa said, "and possibly magical."
"Oh that is good news, she is infertile, ah I see what you did." Stephan said, "that trip she took with cancer man, you made him believe he impregnated her."
"Yes I did, he will not try with another this way we hope. He figures if he uses his own family then perhaps he will be less likely to kill Fox."
"He thinks Fox is his child, Melissa what did you do to him, how can you get so close to him like this?" Stephan asked, "sorry, you did find me, so there is that."
"You know what I am, what I must do, and what I have seen." Melissa replied, "certain things must play out and I can't change that too much, but let certain people think what they must and leave it at that."
"So what happens when she has William?" Stephan said.
"He will be given up for adoption, Dana does not want to do it, but in time she will, she will believe he has been adopted by a certain family, in fact he will be adopted by her brother. She has agreed to this and agreed to be mind wiped, her words not mine of that knowledge. In a few years time she will learn of her son."
"What of Fox?" Stephan asked.
"He already knows."
"Where is he? He was not abducted was he?" Stephan asked, "I am sorry I know you can't tell me everything and I should not pry like this."
"It's okay, Fox is far more than he lets on, cancer man may think he is fully in charge but he is not, not any more."
"So where is Fox or can you tell me?"
"I can tell you, he is with those who you know well and are here to help not hurt."
"Can't understand why the aliens would even want to help, and why the cloak and dagger stuff?" Stephan asked. "Stupid question."
"No, not at all, it's not stupid, this war has to be kept under wraps, if it got out to the public at large, well there would be a lot of scrambling for technology and declaring war on a peoples not equipped for war. We would wipe out the race of the bounty hunters and they don't deserve that at all. They risked their lives to come here to save us and still do, they don't want to hurt us but help us. Even after all we have done to them, they still care about us."
"I can't see why." Stephan said, "if I were them."
"If you were them you would do the same thing."
"Yes, you are correct, so what now?"
"We wait."
Stephan understood secrets and Fox Mulder being undercover would make sense. After all who would think that an agent who was all into conspiracy and trying to expose it would be part of it himself? Maybe he was given the perfect first name after all, he had kept his marriage to Dana secret for so long now, and now he was hiding the fact that his son was his by allowing cancer man to believe that not only was he Fox his son but that William was his too. Stephan really admired the balls on Fox for that one, that was better than any spying thing he had ever done when he was a spy. He did not know who this other brother of Dana and Melissa was and he knew it was best he did not know. Lives were at stake here and he did not want to cause anymore death.
Bethesda Maryland October2001:
Stephan wanted to comfort Dana at this time, he really did, but William was safer this way and Melissa had done the charm as soon as Dana had given William up for adoption. It was done, William would grow up safe and he would have a bounty hunter there to watch him. He would be safe and that was what mattered. Fox had come back, hurt and near death but he had recovered only to disappear once more. He had to, Stephan knew he was doing something big and he would not get in the way of that. Still he was going home and hugging his babies closer to him tonight. That was one thing he could do to help comfort someone in this difficult time.
For it was a difficult time, just a month prior a horrible attack had happened. He had been at home with Melissa and the children when the attack came on the news. He saw the north tower burning smoke billowing out then came the second plane and he watched in horror as it crashed into the south tower. He saw people jump to avoid death by fire and saw them fall over a thousand feet to their deaths. He heard of the attacks on the Pentagon and wept with the nation, his nation now as thousands of innocent lives were lost. Now this, his heart was breaking once more and he was not sure how he could deal with this. Randy took the children out play while Stephan sat and wept in Melissa's arms.
"How much more can we take?" Stephan asked, "how much more of this must we take?"
"Do you want to see Del?" Melissa replied, Del Hakkie did see Stephan who did have a case of PSTD that flared up from time to time, "see if he can help?"
"I need something to take the edge off." Stephan replied, "you know what I need."
"His office has it." Melissa said referring to the drugs that worked well for magical humans, "you want to go now?"
"Yea, I need to." Stephan said.
Later after treatment and back home Stephan was still upset but able to cope. He would not have nightmares this night. In fact ever since he had gotten married he had very few and was doing very well now. Then the twin towers came down and he was suffering, he knew Doggett was too as he had seen him in treatment with Del a few times. It was good both had strong wives to help them or who knew where they would be. Before Stephan went to bed he went to church to pray, he liked the pastor there and could talk to him about anything then again Fred had decided to become a chaplain and went where he was needed, right now he was needed here and so he was able to talk to Stephan far into the evening hours about salvation and hope and a loving God that gave free will to his children and wept when they chose evil with his gift.
O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O
So yea, I turned canon X-Files right on it's head but I do feel I kept the feel of the show here. What was needed was a fresh twist and so that is what I did. Having Melissa fool cancer man is a devious twist I could not resist at all. It was done to protect William, and yes, Scully thinks that William was adopted by the Van Kemps, this is not true, but she will have her memories restored sometime in the future.
Yes Stephan has a mild case of PSTD, even with his masters in the mind arts. I have friends who go see a physiatrist during the week and go to church on Sundays. Both keep them sane and holding onto life. When one has blood on their hands church really can be the puzzle piece that saves them.
Anyway Do Review please!