Through His Eyes

Part 3

by

Trycee

Time-Line: 2004-Philadelphia, PA

Disclaimer- I do not own the X-Files. This is written for fun not profit.

*Thank You Paulie Rubens for the idea of this story*

Scully tossed and turned as her arms flayed in every direction fighting against the blanket that held her in as her voice rose desperately screaming,'William!' Mulder snapped on the lamp next to him on his nightstand and glanced over to her. "Nightmare, Scully?", he said, softly but she remained entranced. He placed a heavy hand above her heart and her eyes opened slowly. She bolted up and stared out in front of her, trying to take in her surroundings. She was confused, her eyes glassy and wide eyed. Mulder attempted to touch her she retreated from him, a feral look in her eyes.

Mulder held up his hands in surrender. "It's okay...I'm not going to hurt you!"

Scully was breathing heavily as she stared past him, lost in her own thoughts. "How did I get here?", she said, finally.

"I picked you up and put you to bed."

She shook her head no and stared at him with a lost look on her face. Mulder moved in closer and Scully retreated further back from him, her spine taut against the headboard. "No!", she said firmly. "I wasn't here."

Mulder looked puzzled but decided to keep his distance. "Where, Scully?"

She turned to snap on her own lamp and their bedroom came into full view. She immediately bolted into the bathroom, slamming the door and locking it. Mulder ran his fingers through his hair, confused by her behavior. He sat back crossed leg on the bed and scratched at his furry chin. He had decided to grow out his beard but it itched fiercely. Mulder tried to listen for signs of movement from her in the bathroom but heard only the running of water in the bathroom sink. He glanced over at the clock. It was 4 am and he yawned, wiping at his sleepy eyes. After a few minutes of waiting for her to return, he stood up and knocked on the door. "You alright in there?"

"I'm fine," she said, with a shaky voice.

Mulder's antenna raised at her declaration. "Scully, come on back to bed."

He heard her turn off the faucet and swing open the door. She looked so small and frightened and he couldn't understand what had caused her to behave this way. He grabbed her hand in his and she didn't resist and so he pulled her back into the bed without a word. She sat again pressed against the headboard. Her eyes were darting around the room and landing back on him before repeating. Mulder sat on the bed facing her, waiting for her to speak when she was ready. When more than ten minutes had passed, Mulder touched her chin with his hand so her eyes connected with his. "What happened? You look so frightened."

"Maybe I'm losing my mind," she said softly, turning her chin from him and staring at her tiny hands in her lap.

"I don't think so," he said, watching her closely. "Something happened...what was it?"

"I fell asleep on the couch and I woke up."

"Yeah?"

"In Williams bedroom!", she said, shaking her head. "I knelt down beside him and watched him sleep. His adoptive mother loves him, Mulder. I saw it in her face. He looked so happy, so contented."

Mulder cocked his head to the side, watching her as she stared down at her hands.

"What am I doing, Mulder?", she said pleadingly as she looked into his hazel eyes. "How can I be so selfish?" she said, in disbelief.

"Selfish?", he said, concerned. "How in the world are you selfish, Scully?"

"I gave him up. I did what I thought was best for him," she said as a statement.

"It was!"

"So why am I popping in and out of his life?", she said, "Either I'm in or I'm out."

"Scully?", Mulder said. "What are you talking about?"

"I can't keep doing this!", she said, shaking her head. "I can't, Mulder, I can't."

"But, you aren't in control of this, Scully. Besides we don't know what exactly is happening. Is it a dream or is it real!"

"It's real!", she said unfaltering.

"What are we talking about here, Scully?"

She threw up her hands. "I'm talking about that if our son is happy, I need to let him be happy and stop interfering with his life," she said, switching off her lamp. She pushed her body down on the bed and covered herself up with the blanket.

Mulder scratched his head and observed her for a few minutes before tucking himself in the bed and switching off his own lamp.

The sun shone through the bedroom window and Scully shut off the alarm before it dinged. She glanced over to Mulder's side. He was asleep facing her with a small smile just as she had observed from William. She smiled to herself and then retreated into the bathroom to start her day. She showered and dressed in her freshly laundered scrubs and walked back into her bedroom. Mulder hadn't stirred and so she continued on towards the front door. She placed her white doctor's coat on with Drexel University-Dr. Dana Scully displayed on the label and she slid it onto her arms. She placed her heavier furry coat on top, leaving her book bag on the floor where it sat, and grabbed up her keys. She took one look towards the bedroom and then stepped out into the cold wind, locking the front door behind her. The porch landing had accumulated another few inches of snow but she stepped on towards the car, and then drove off heading into traffic towards Mercy Fitzgerald in Darby, PA just a fourteen minute drive from her home.

As a doctor, a Forensic Pathologist and former FBI Agent, Scully was more than qualified to accept any position at any hospital or university if she so felt inclined. She had already completed her required Medical Refresher courses but she had decided that working with children wasn't enough, she needed surgical skills as well. Always the over-achiever, Scully had worked hard to improve her skills and was now one of the best doctors coming out of the Refresher course for that year. The graduation was upcoming in just three weeks requiring her to dawn a graduation cap and gown once again, standing alongside the newest graduating class of baby faced Physicians. But none of that was on Scully's mind at that moment as she made her rounds with her fellow licensed doctor's who were all partnering with a surgeon that day to participate as they had all year long with numerous and varied surgeries, preparing them for any and all situations that might arise.

Scully's mind was on her son, the way William had looked, so much like herself. The way he smelled and her heart ached for him. She still remembered the day she had brought him to the adoption agency. She had dressed him in a little blue pointy hat and she had held him and sniffed him for as long as she could before he was ripped out of her hands with reassurances that he would be fine, he would be safe. It was true, he was, as she had found out. She chided herself for her thoughts. There was no way that she could have known that not long after she had given up her beautiful son that Mulder would come back into her life and she would be on the run with him for over a year of her life.

Scully had always wanted to find William. She had known from the moment she signed the adoption papers relinquishing her rights as a parent that she would search for William when she was able. That painful moment had been over two and a half years before. For the longest time, when she looked at Mulder, she saw their son so clearly despite her genetics being the dominate genes. He was the miracle child she had prayed for and yet she had given him up far from where she was in an attempt to shield him from those who seeked to kill him. Scully had found herself searching the face of every three year old toddlers, trying to determine if they were her son. But now she knew without a bit of doubt exactly what William looked like and he was far more beautiful than any child she had ever seen in the past.

After two surgeries, Scully was exhausted. She changed out of the surgical scrubs, showered and changed into a fresh pair, ready to soak in a hot bath and order a pizza for their dinner. She was bundled up in her coat, walking out the hospital exit when she felt a tug on her hand. Scully looked down and to her astonishment William was gripping her hand and toddling alongside of her. He was bundled up in a thick puffy coat with a scarf wrapped tightly around his mouth and neck. Scully could feel the flesh and blood hand of her son in hers and she squeezed it tightly. She knelt down in front of him staring into the depths of his blue eyes. "How did you get here William?"

The little boy smiled but said nothing as he observed the rush of people that surrounded them as they moved in and out of the hospital entrance. She pulled William out of the way. He looked amazed at the height of the large building, pointing and staring in awe at the enclosed connecting bridge above his head, his little mouth gaped open as he scanned the pedestrians around him. A woman stopped and smiled at them. "Oh he is so cute. He looks just like you."

Scully looked astonished. "You can see him?", she gasped.

The woman looked confused and backed away from Scully as if she were insane. She turned and walked into the hospital. Scully turned back to William who was stomping with his booted feet in the snow enjoying the slushy snow beneath his feet. Scully picked up her son in her arms and carried him towards the parking structure. William dangling from her shoulder as she practically ran to her car. She placed him in the front seat despite the laws against it and drove as fast as she could home, her eyes checking to make sure every second that he was still seated, singing the words he could form of 'Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog'.

Scully through the gear into park and shot off the car engine. She unbuckled William, snatching him up in her arms and raced into the front door. Mulder stood up and stared as she plopped the toddler down on the carpet in front of him. "Look, there! Tell me he's not real!"

Mulder stared at the face of the small child. He recognized it immediately, it was the identical face of his partner.

"Mulder?", she said, pacing the floor, stopping every second to look at the boy who started peeling off the scarf around his neck.

Mulder unzipped his coat and smiled at him. "William?"

William placed two tiny hands on Mulder's face and Scully stopped in her tracks. William was gone. Mulder was still kneeling in front of her staring off into space. She touched Mulder's cheek but he was unmoving yet steadily breathing. "MULDER? MULDER?", she said, alarmed, as she looked into his eyes. "Mulder?", she said, shaking him but to no avail.

Mulder could hear a woman's voice screaming at the top of her lungs, "WILLIAM!"

Mulder turned about him and saw row upon row of colorful vegetables and foods displayed with eye-catching precision. It suddenly dawned on Mulder that he was standing in the middle of a grocery store. He twisted around and saw William toddling down the aisle ahead of him, smiling at people as he passed them by. Mulder followed closely behind him as the frantic cry of the woman grew louder. "WILLIAM!"

Suddenly, a man scooped William up into his arms. "I've got him!", the man said.

Mulder shook his head and slapped at his own face, trying to wake himself. He watched as the man tickled William and kissed the top of his head and then tossed the boy over his shoulder. Mulder followed behind the man until the aisle opened up and he could see a dark haired woman in tears, surrounded by nosy on-lookers and a frightened grocery employee. The man hugged his wife as she sobbed, "I thought I'd lost him."

The man patted her back reassuringly, rubbing his hand up and down her back. "It's not your fault," he said. "He's slippery at this age."

The crowd dispersed leaving the couple alone. Mulder watched them carefully as William waved at him from over the man's shoulders.

"How are we going to deal with two of them?", the woman said, as her husband seat belted William into the front of the grocery cart.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

"Maybe we should adopt an older child," she said as her tears subsided. "One that could help us with this one!", she said, touching his nose with her finger affectionately.

"There are tons of older children that need homes," the man said. "But older kids come with their own set of problems."

"I don't care," she sniffed. "We're not young anymore. I can barely chase after this one. I don't know where he is half the time."

The man stared long and hard at William. "Alright I'll put in a call as soon as we get home."

"Good", she smiled.

Mulder stepped up to them both, waving his hand in their faces. "Hey!", Mulder said. "HEY!", he screamed but they seemed oblivious to his attempts. "Can you hear me? Can you see me?"

William laughed as Mulder attempted to get his adoptive parents attention. "My daddy is funny," he said, looking directly into Mulder's eyes.

The man turned to face William and smiled. "Oh, you think that's funny do ya?", he said, tickling the boy.

Mulder could feel the sting in his heart as he watched his son laugh and squeal playing with some other man as he had always hoped he would have the chance to. After the man had pulled the buggy into the checkout lane, Mulder lifted Williams chin and kissed him on his forehead. "I love you, son, with all my heart."

William placed his hand on top of Mulder's. "Luvvvvv you!", the little boy grinned. "Daddy, daddy, daddy!", he chanted with a smile that Mulder recognized as his own smile.

William then pulled and struggled against his tether, trying to free himself. Mulder unhooked it and helped the toddler stand up in his seat.

"That boy should be named Houdini!", the man complained.

Mulder placed a soft kiss on his sons cheek and then gripped the small boys arms as he memorized every freckle on the red heads tiny face. William was strapped back down by his adoptive father and then the buggy was pushed out of the door into the frigid winter air. Mulder watched as Williams tiny hands waved goodbye in his direction. The automatic doors closed behind the little family separating Mulder from his son.

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