"Please, stop, don't hurt my baby! Please!" The fear of someone hurting William was almost too much to bear. She felt utterly powerless as she fought as hard as she could to keep the man from suffocating her son and the mixed bittersweet relief she felt once she shot the man, but at the same time knew her baby was still in danger.

The terrifying feeling of coming to find her abandoned child lying amongst the dirt in the middle of nowhere, as if someone had just taken out the trash…this child that meant everything to her, that was so precious to her.

It was utter agony when she surrendered the baby to Monica to take to the adoption agency. The utter despair she felt at saying the final goodbye to her child forever was suffocating. She just wanted him to know how much she loved him, how special he was to her and how difficult this decision was to keep him safe. She never stopped hearing the lyrics "William was a bullfrog, was a good friend of mine". It was as if they echoed through the walls of her home. And in those moments, she remembered how William would smile at her as she sang to him, as if he were laughing at her inability to carry a tone. Something Mulder would have done.

"Dana," a voice echoed. She jumped at the touch and suddenly she was in a white room, sitting at a desk, hers,…and apparently had fallen asleep. And there it was, the face that matched the voice she knew from over 6 years ago…the once she trusted to help her move forward with the adoption.

"Monica," she whispered. "What are you doing here…how did you…"

Monica smiled as she took a seat across from her. She didn't change much. Her hairline had only receded slightly and was longer than before, like her own. She was thinner, but not by much.

"Your door was unlocked. Skinner said I might find you here. He called me and John and told me about everything that happened. I'm just here as a friend, Dana. I know you don't have many, due to recent circumstances around Mulder's exoneration."

Scully sighed and sat up, rubbing her eyes. The nightmare that plagued her on a regular basis would not cease. Part of her feared she made a terrible decision to keep her baby. If she couldn't protect William, how could they protect this child and still give her a normal life.

"Oh god," Scully said with a mixture of shock and relief. "You're sure a sight for sore eyes."

Monica smiled as she crossed her legs. "Well, I'll take that as a compliment."

"You're still thinking about it, aren't you."

Scully pretended to not know what her friend was speaking of, even though she knew.

"Thinking about what?"

"About William, about the adoption. You're wondering if he's okay, if you made the right decision."

Scully managed a laugh at that. Not much has changed. Her friend was still analytical as usual. Sometimes she wondered if there was even something alien about her.

"I have a patient. This boy with Sandhoff's disease…everyone I work with thinks we should do nothing but let him die. But I can't. I know...I feel a connection to him. I can't help but think about…"

"William?" Monica finished.

"This boy, he is the same as William would be now…he has dark hair and blue eyes."

Monica nodded, immediately putting together the connection. "There's something else, isn't there, Dana?"

Scully looked away for a moment, unsure if she wanted to tell anyone else this news, but she thought it would help.

"Monica, somehow…I recently found out I'm pregnant."

She took a moment to let that sink in to her friend's mind, with everything she knew about William.

She smiled. "I would offer my congratulations…but you don't seem happy about it."

Scully looked down and fumbled with a pen on her desk. "With everything that happened with William, what guarantee is there that I can keep this child safe, that it will be any different from before. I know Mulder…it's his life to chase monsters in the dark. I told him just the other day that I wasn't coming home…because despite how well I know him, I couldn't handle this. I knew his exoneration would one day come and I was kidding myself to believe we could have any sort of normal life."

Monica watched as her friend teared up…something she did a lot when they worked together.

"And there is a chance I might lose him again. I don't know what to do. I can't do this; I can't go through this again."

Monica swallowed, reached out and touched Scully's arm reassuringly.

"Dana, it may have been a long time since we've seen each other or talked. But there is one thing that I do know that hasn't changed. Mulder is going to come back from this. You were an amazing mother to your son and made the best decision for him at that time. But that's not to say you won't see him again or that things can't be different now."

Scully smiled and she really wanted to believe those things too. Before she could respond, she could hear herself being paged. She needed to check on Christian and then Mulder; he was due out of surgery soon.

She stood as Monica followed suit. "I have to go...I have to check on my patient."

"Of course. Well, you know where to find me. I'll be with Skinner in the waiting room. Agent Doggett is on his way here too."

Scully smiled and let her friend exit before she followed suit, quickly wiping her eyes.

To be contined…