Through His Eyes

Part 6

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*

Mulder paced the carpeted motel floor, glancing nervously at his son who sat on the hotel bed as he opened each dresser drawer and peeked inside like a game. Mulder reached down and unzipped Williams coat, freeing him to explore the small room. He couldn't help but smile as he watched William touch and prod at everything in the room excitedly.

But Mulder was worried about William having just survived such a tragic event involving the only parents he truly knew. He was also worried about the scene that he'd fled from. Mulder thoughts were scattered everywhere and he had no clue what his next step should be. What would the police know? Were they now searching for William? Should he drive straight home to Scully? Should he email her or call her. What should he do. Scully would be the visible parent with William , since he would have to stay hidden. How would this affect her life? How would she be able to put him in daycare or register him for school? How would she explain that her son who was adopted suddenly reappeared when his adoptive parents were found burned in a tragic crash? Mulder nearly paced a hole in the floor. Mulder's jaw was tight from worry and his palms were sweaty and clammy. He was trying to ponder the next step but without The Lone Gunmen's help he was lost.

William jumped down from the bed and grabbed up the remote from the dresser, clicking on the television set. "Daddy, look!", he said, pointing to the tv screen.

Mulder gripped his jaw and then turned to face the screen. Mulder pushed the volume button up as the local news reporter beginning explaining the charred scene behind her live on camera.

"Sources are saying that a crash between a local Jackson area family has ended in tragedy. According to authorities, the Vandekamp family perished when the driver of the truck collided with them at a four way stop. The massive fire burned the victims beyond recognition. The Vandekamp's tragically also lost their three year old adoptive son, William Vandekamp..."

Mulder gasped as he stared at a photo of William displayed on the screen.

"Unfortunately, the Police believe the boy's body will never be found due to the intensity of the fire. Back to you, Jill..."

Mulder flopped down on the bed in utter shock. William pressed the button on the remote and shut it off. He turned to his father and raised his hands. "Daddy!", he smiled. "Daddy, we go home!"

Mulder nodded his head in agreement. "We will, we will, after daddy figures out what to do," he said. William climbed up Mulder's tall knees and then crawled off his lap and began bouncing on the bed.

Mulder was nervous and apprehensive. He knew that he was going to need help but he wasn't sure just how to go about it getting it. He knew one thing though, he needed to place some distance between himself and Jackson, Wyoming. Mulder figured he could head to the next city or town and check in at the nearest hotel and then come up with a plan from there. He grabbed his duffel bag and slung it over his arm and slipped Williams coat back on. Mulder reached out his hand and William slipped his hand in his fathers. He was amazed at William's strong grip as he held his hand in his. William began to swing their arms and Mulder looked down at him with a smile. They had missed so much of his life and he was enjoying the presence of his son. They walked hand in hand out to the car. Mulder placed the adult seat-belt on William and then drove off heading as far away as he could get before it grew dark.

William slept in the seat next to him reminding him of the way Scully always fell asleep in cars. Mulder couldn't get over how much William looked like Scully with her bright red hair, soulful blue eyes and her same skin tone. He was pleased with himself despite his overall fear and uncertainty. Mulder drove three and a half hours away until he came to the city of Rock Springs and the first hotel he saw and pulled into the parking lot.

Mulder had a dilemma, enter the motel with his son and possibly risk having William seen on a motel camera or leave him asleep in the car alone. Mulder decided on the latter. He stood at the motel counter but he kept a watchful eye on the rental car, afraid that someone might take William or see him in the car alone and report it to the police. Mulder rushed back to his son and then parked in front of their new motel room. He opened the door and William raced in climbing up onto the bed and jumping up and down like he had in Jackson. Mulder locked the door and then slid a chair beneath it, locking it in place for safety. Mulder sat down on the bed as it bounced up and down. William ran at full speed and jumped on the bed, bumping into him as he flipped and tossed like a trampoline.

Mulder was trying to gather his thoughts. There were too many things that could go wrong and he had to be careful. William could sense Mulder's nervousness and so he sat down next to his father, his feet dangling far from the floor."Daddy, eat-eat!"

"Eat-eat?", Mulder asked. He cocked his head to the side and watched as Williams blue eyes grew wide. "Oh, right. Your probably hungry!", he said. "Sorry, daddy's new at this."

The red headed boy patted his own tummy trying to demonstrate to Mulder his hunger. "Daddy, eat-eat!"

"What would a three year old like to eat?", he said, more to himself than William.

He scanned the top of the dresser and found a listing of the local restaurants and pizza places. "How does pizza sound?"

"Yummy!", William said, excitedly. "Daddy, tv?", he said in a high pitched voice.

"Hold on," he said, picking his son up in his arms. "I want you to know that your mother and I love you so much."

William reached out and placed two small hands on the side of Mulder's face and then leaned in for a kiss. Mulder was overwhelmed with emotions as he kissed William for the first time since they'd brought him home as a newborn. William, a busy little boy, began to wiggle in his arms but Mulder held onto him tightly. "Your my boy, did you know that?", he said. "My boy!"

He placed William back on to his feet and handed him the remote. William began to flipped the channels until he had reached the cartoons. Mulder used the hotel phone to dial the pizza number and then sat back watching William. But soon Mulder's thoughts became grim once again as William giggled and squirmed about in front of the tv, glued to the animated feature.

Mulder knew he hadn't thought things through completely before coming there. He knew impulsiveness was just apart of his personality, one that drove Scully insane. He knew he was completely unprepared; his exposure to children had been limited throughout his life. He knew he had no clue of how to take care of his son. Mulder had only seen William in person the day they brought him home, wrapped in his mother's arms. Scully had been flown by helicopter to a hospital in Atlanta and checked out thoroughly after he had rescued Agent Reyes and Scully clutching William from the deserted Democrat Hot Springs. And then Mulder was force to leave his small family behind in an effort to save them from the threat of harm against William if he were to stay. Mulder had dreamed of this moment but in reality, a three year old child was as foreign to Mulder as an alien.

Scully had awoken alone, her arm outstretched to feel for William but he had vanished. Despite her sadness being left alone once again without her child, she went on about her daily routine and then headed out for her class. Despite her best efforts, she was still having trouble concentrating. She checked her phone constantly for voice mails and emails and was growing more disturbed throughout the day. By the afternoon she was in near hysterics and left for home early.

Scully knew that she needed help. She muted the national news and then dialed the number.

"What are you doing? This isn't a secure line!"

She hung up the phone and then waited for it to ring on her end. She answered on the second ring. "Scully!"

"Scully, you called me?"

"Yes, sir."

"Is something wrong? Did something happen to Mulder?"

"Yes sir," she sighed. "I think Mulder is in trouble," she said as the national news displayed a charred vehicle accident on her living room television screen.

"I'm on my way!"

Scully clicked off the television set and then dialed a second number. "Hello?", the voice said. "Dana?"

"Mom!", she sobbed. "Mom, I'm so worried right now! I need you!"

"Dana, I'll be there in a little over an hour," Maggie stated.

Scully could hear her racing around her home. "Thank you."

"I'm on my way," Maggie said hanging up.

Margaret Scully arrived at the tiny home and pushed opened the door, "Dana?", she called as she moved through the living room back to the bedroom. She pushed open the door and saw her daughter dressed in scrubs crying into a pillow. "Dana, what is it?"

Scully sat up and threw her arms around her mother, tearing up on her shoulder.

"Dana..." Maggie said, lovingly. "Dana, what is it? This isn't like you."

Scully grabbed a tissue and wiped her tears. "I know," she sighed.

Maggie sat down on the bed facing her. "Where's Fox?"

"He went in search of our son," she said, looking into her mother's eyes.

Maggie's mouth gaped open. "He knows where William is?"

"No, not really. But that hasn't stopped him for going." she said, dabbing her eyes. "What if they catch him? What if he's sitting in prison right now at this very moment? What if he got into some horrible accident? I haven't heard from him at all today or the last two days as a matter of fact and I don't know if Mulder is dead or alive. I'm scared for William as well."

Maggie pulled her daughter against her and stroked the back of her head. "It's hard, loving men like Fox. I know because your father was similar. Men like them only focus on what they are doing and they neglect to realize it's affect on us as well. It's not intentional, it just is. But Dana, I know you are strong. I know you can handle anything. I've seen you do it!", she smiled.

Sully rested against her mother's chest, listening to the heartbeat of this strong woman and it gave her the strength she needed.

"I feel like I'm going out of my mind" she sighed. "I buried him once and I know I can't do that again."

"I know you couldn't."

"I've witnessed Mulder lying on the floor in a prison cell! The thought of him being locked away, far away from me is nearly more than I can take," she said, licking her lips. "When we were just partners, he'd dump me and run off to god knows where and it would be days that I would walk around in a haze," she said, looking into her mother's warm eyes.

"I can't lose either one of them," Scully continued. "Right now, I am SO lost," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Dana, I'm sure he's fine," Maggie said, rubbing her hands along her daughter's back.

"Skinner is on his way here," Scully added.

"Well good. I'm sure he'll find him!", Maggie said.

"I hope so!"

"NOW Up!," Maggie ordered. "Did you eat? Your looking pale and way too thin. Now, Up! I didn't drive all this way to sit on a bed. Get up, Dana!", Maggie said, heading out of the room. "Come on, Dana, help me in the kitchen!"

Scully stood up reluctantly. "I need to take a shower first."

"Okay, I'm going to start dinner."

Scully walked up to her mother and engulfed her in her arms. "Thank you, mom."

Maggie kissed her forehead. "That's what I'm here for."

Mulder grabbed the empty pizza box and zipped up Williams coat taking a walk into the wintery night air. Mulder dumped the box into the garbage dumpster and turned around observing the motel activities around him. Two men were drinking beer leaned up against a company truck, laughing and talking loudly as a working girl hopped out of a taxi and knocked on a hotel room that opened revealing a bald headed man with a beer gut. The motel mostly had families traveling to and from Yellowstone but Mulder noticed that other motel patrons were either living there or heading off from a job.

Mulder spotted the area just beyond the motel and noticed there was a gas station. He picked up the squirming William in his arms and carried him down a block to the station. Mulder viewed the cell phone displays beneath the counter, his eyes catching the thing he needed most, a disposable phone. "Give me the red one," he said. "But hold on, I'm not finished."

Mulder placed William down. "Want something, son?"

William nodded his head yes and then grabbed a sandwich bag filled with penny candy in a cooler by the front door. Mulder ruffled his sons head and then grabbed two juices. He paid for his items and then returned with William back to his hotel room, sitting him down in front of the tv with his sack of candy. Mulder then pulled out the disposable cell phone. He knew the number by heart and so he dialed it and waited.

"Hello?"

"Skinner, it's Mulder."

"Mulder! Where the hell are you! Scully is worried sick! I'm on my way to her now! You better have a good explanation for all this!"

"I do. I need your help!"

Skinner clutched the phone to his ear in one hand as he weaved in and out of traffic on the highway. "I'm listening."

"Sir, I have William."

Skinner was silent.

"Sir?"

"Mulder, what did you do? Did you steal him?"

"His adoptive parents died in a car crash today. I rescued him from the car before it exploded. And they are reporting that William died in that accident."

"Go on," Skinner said.

"I need a way to bring him home!"

Skinner sighed heavily. "Your talking about wiping his adoption records clean in two states! I could go to prison for that."

"Sir, Scully needs to be reunited with our son!"

Skinner pulled up to the small home and shut off the car engine. He spotted a gold car parked alongside Scully's car with Maryland license plates and knew that Scully's mother had arrived "Give me a few days. But don't worry, I'll handle it."

"Thank You sir. And Walter?"

"Yeah."

"Don't tell Scully about William. Just tell her I'm safe and I'm heading home. I'll discuss the details with her when I get there."

Skinner stepped out of the car and looked about the area, making sure he hadn't been followed. "Just get here safe, Mulder! You've put her through enough!"

"I know it," Mulder sighed. "But this time I'm bringing our son home!"

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