Mulder was just closing down his computer and putting his files away when he heard a knock in his front door. He wasn't expecting anyone, and it was getting kind of late, so he was confused as to who it could possibly be. Standing from his chair, he walked towards the front door and checked through the peephole.
Weslynn was standing there, her eyes focused on the floor while her teeth nibbled at her nails. He opened the door and she looked up at him, her face streaked with tears and her eyes red.
"Lynnie, what's the matter?"
"We got in a fight."
"Who, you and mom?"
"Yeah."
"Come inside."
She followed him to the couch and he brushed away the tears that had started to dribble down her cheeks.
"Tell me what happened, sweetie."
She took a deep breath and looked down at her hands. Her fingernails were painted dark purple, the paint chipping off and the nails bitten down further than normal. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and fiddled with the many bracelets she had on her left wrist.
"Next weekend is Katie's fourteenth birthday party. And mom said I could go, and then she changed her mind. And we got in this huge fight and I called her names. And then I just… I made her really, really mad. I've never seen her that mad before. And she said she didn't want to talk to me anymore and she went in her room and…I didn't know what else to do, so I came here."
"How did you make her mad?"
"I said… I lied. I told her that I wished I had my father because he would take my side. And I shouldn't have said it because its not true, and I know how much she hates talking about him. But I just got so mad," she explained with a sniffle. "I didn't think about it, it just came out. And I want to tell her I'm sorry, but I don't think she'll listen to me."
"Honey take a breath. It's going to be okay."
"I've never seen that look on her face before."
"I know."
"I really messed up."
"I know that too."
"What do I do?"
"Well honey, first, you don't run away."
"Fail."
"Second, you go back home, and you apologize for what you said."
"I hate that she won't tell me. I mean, don't I have a right to know who my father is? Does she think I'm going to go looking for him? I don't even know his name. I don't know if he's dead or alive, I don't know why they broke up, I don't know if he has other kids. Papa, I could date my half brother and I would never know it. She can't just keep lying to me. It's not fair."
"Sweetie, she has her reasons."
"I'm so tired of hearing that!" she shouted, standing up from the couch and throwing her arms in the air. "You guys always say that. You always act like I can't handle knowing, like I'm just a little kid or something. Well I'm not anymore! I'm fourteen years old and I'm not a kid, and I want to know the truth!"
"Weslynn," he started, standing up. She backed away a little at the use of her full name. He'd never really used it before. "Have you ever thought that there was a reason that we haven't told you everything? Maybe we're trying to keep you safe."
"I don't care about that! Maybe you think you're keeping me from being hurt, but you're not. Being lied to hurts. It hurts a lot. You of all people should know that."
He sat back down on the couch, defeated. She was right, at least with this angle of the argument.
"Okay, I hear you. I'm going to take you home, and the three of us are going to sit down and talk about this together."
"She won't talk."
"Maybe she will. Maybe she'll let me talk for her. But we need to do this. Okay?"
"Alright."
He leaned down and hugged her and she sniffled into his shirt.
"It's not that I want another father," she said, rubbing her eyes. "I don't. You're the only dad I want."
"I know, sweetie."
The drive back was silent, as was the house when they returned. Mulder thought it was a bad thing, but they found Scully in the kitchen, finishing the dinner dishes.
"Mom?"
"I know, sweetie."
She dried her hands on the dishtowel and gathered Weslynn in her arms, neither of them saying anything. Mulder had witnessed this kind of reconciliation a few times, and it never surprised him that they didn't need words.
"Sorry I took off," Weslynn said as they pulled apart.
"It's okay. I knew where you were going. But don't do it again, okay?"
"Okay."
"Fight over?"
Weslynn took a deep breath and looked over at Mulder, who simply nodded.
"Mom, I want to know the truth."
Scully sighed and nodded. Mulder could see the emotions in her eyes, the feelings of guilt and dread, and he wanted to fast forward this night. He felt the pain deep in his chest and couldn't imagine the pain in hers. Her eyes drifted up to his and locked there, and he held his hand out to her. She took it and he could feel the shaking.
"Let's go sit down," he said, taking Weslynn's hand in his free one. She looked unsure as she followed them into the other room and they all sat down on the couch.
"I don't really know where to start," Scully admitted, her eyes on the carpet. "I should have been thinking about that, but I didn't want to."
"It's okay."
"I guess I'll start at the beginning," she said, taking a deep breath. "We were out of town on a case. There was a man taking women, hurting and killing them. Sweetie, are you sure you want to hear this?"
"Yes."
Scully swallowed hard and looked at Mulder, silently begging him to finish the story. He didn't want to, but felt it might be a little easier for all of them if he did.
"Lynnie, this guy, Gavin, he took your mom."
Her stomach lurched and she could picture her mother being taken and hurt. It was something that she could see so clearly in her head. Bits and pieces of pain and tears. She took a deep breath and blocked it out.
"He didn't hurt me too much," Scully said, tipping Weslynn's chin up. "Not at first. He was looking for someone to love him. But honey, he was…" she looked up at Mulder and took a deep breath. "He was a… sex offender."
All the pieces suddenly fell into place. She closed her eyes as her breath came in gasps. This man had taken her mom. He'd taken her and hurt her, done unspeakable things to her. Unspeakable things which resulted in her own existence.
Her body felt like it was gripped in a vise, her vision started to blur and she felt faint. She could feel her blood pulsing through her veins but it ran cold. Her lips tingled as she tried to take breaths, but it was just too much.
"Sweetie-"
"No! It's not true, it's not!"
"Wes, don't."
"No, don't touch me! Just stop!"
She jumped up from the couch and ran into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Scully seemed to wilt into the couch, tears trickling down her face. She winced as she heard Weslynn getting sick in the bathroom and in one movement, she stood up from the couch, years of rage bubbling up inside her, taking over her actions as she pushed the vase of flowers off the side table and grabbed a pillow, trying desperately to rip it to shreds. Mulder stood up and gathered her in his arms, despite the fists that she threw against his chest.
"I hate him!" she sobbed, still fighting Mulder's arms. It was the first time in almost fifteen years that she had openly admitting hating Gavin. Even after that day in the parking garage, her anger had never come out so blatantly.
"I hate him for doing this to her. I hate him for what he did to me and I hate that it doesn't matter to him. He doesn't have to live with it. He doesn't have to see her like this. I hate him, Mulder. I hate him."
"I know. But right now, you can't think about that. Your daughter is the in the other room and she needs you more right now than she's ever needed you before. You can be mad and scream later, and I'll be here, but you need to go in there and take care of her."
He could feel the anger drain from her body and she turned away from him.
"Mulder what do I say?"
"I can't tell you that. She's your daughter."
"I know."
He watched her walk slowly across the room and he sat down on the couch, his head in his hands.
Scully knocked lightly on the bathroom door.
"Wes, can I come in?"
"Yes."
She opened the door and found her daughter, pale, shivering, and curled up in the fetal position on the bathmat. Her heart broke once again and she sunk to the floor.
"It can't be true," Weslynn muttered, shaking her head.
"I'm sorry, baby."
"You can't love me."
"What?"
"You can't. Not really. What he did to you… I'm here because of that. Don't tell me you don't think about that when you look at me. Don't tell me you don't see him when you look at me. Don't tell me that you can love me in spite of it."
"Honey, what he did to me, that's in the past. What he gave me, that's what's important. I'm not saying that I just got over it, because I didn't. I'm still not dealing with it all that well. But sweetie, while your conception resulted in your existence, your existence is not defined by your conception. It never has been, not in anyone's mind. You are the most wonderful gift I have ever gotten. I love you more than I ever thought I could love anyone. I love you so much I don't even understand it. I don't think I ever will."
"But how?"
"Someday you'll know. When you have your babies and you look into their eyes, there is nothing in the world as powerful and as encompassing as the love you have for them. No pain or anger or hatred even comes close."
Weslynn sniffled and sat up, crawling into Scully's lap, as if she was still a little girl.
"I shouldn't have made you tell me."
"I shouldn't have made it such a big mystery."
"All this time I thought he just ditched us. I thought he died. I thought so many things, but never this. Never something so horrible."
"I know."
"Did they catch him?"
"No."
"Is that why you're scared?"
"What?"
"When we left DC. Is that why?"
"Yeah baby. It is."
They fell into silence, holding each other and just letting the tears flow. Nothing could really be said, and there was nothing either one of them needed to hear either. All they'd ever had for sure was each other, and right now that raw simplicity was enough.