Part VI: Essence

I could not take my eyes off of our son.

It was true; as Scully had said, he did look just like me. Though I'd never really had any doubts despite my teasing—in fact by the timing I was pretty damn sure that she'd caught the very first time we'd slept together after her spiritual experience in the Buddhist temple—they were laid to rest looking at his little red face. He kicked and waved his arms and gazed about as Mrs. Jackson gave him a gentle sponge bath, his eyes still a nondescript slatey bluish-grey color but I was hoping they'd switch to Scully's clear blue eventually.

Speaking of—I glanced back at her to find her watching us with a smile, resting back against the pillows. I'd always known that Scully had the heart of a lion but I'd never realized how bodily strong she was until I saw her pop that baby out with steely determination—as usual, when she got her teeth into something she didn't do it halfway. I've always admired and respected her but even that ratcheted up another few notches after watching her give birth.

"Okay, here you go daddy, one nice clean William. Jus' don't let anyone call him Slick Willy like our prez," the midwife said in her slurry accent, grinning at me as she handed him over. Then the grin faded and she pinned me with a serious gaze. "I should be just about done here—you gonna take me home, I'm assumin'?"

I carried William over and put him into Scully's eager arms then turned back to her. "Mrs. Jackson--"

"Oh, jeez, just call me Alma," she said, going around me to Scully's side. "You ready to feed him, little momma? He do seem to be acting hungry."

I noticed that William was rooting around making smacking sounds. "Yes, I think he is," Scully agreed, then turned a light shade of pink. "But I don't think I can nurse him in this shirt. Mulder, can you get me one of the nightgowns out of the dresser? I've got the two top drawers."

It was then that I realized she was still wearing my faded grey Knicks t-shirt and I just nodded, my throat swelling with emotion. I found a lacy blue one and a pair of panties and took them to her, holding our son with my back turned for her modesty while Mrs. J—Alma helped her change. The baby was starting to fuss, waving his tiny fists and turning his head abruptly whenever one brushed his cheek. Clearly he was going to be a bottomless pit like his dad; I hoped that Scully had a lot of milk to feed this boy.

I sat on the bed next to them as Alma helped her get William nursing, though it didn't take much; he latched on once the nipple was presented as if he'd been doing it forever. Scully jumped when he did, then laughed with delight, brushing at his drying hair with her other hand as he began to suck strongly. But he didn't nurse for long before falling asleep, his soft little red-haired head cradled against her milky breast.

"Okay, daddy, I think it's time for these old bones to get some rest, and all three of you, too," Alma said, picking up her bag from the foot of the bed. "Little momma, you jes' call me if you think you need me; don't hesitate, now. For you or the little one, anytime."

"Thank you so much," Scully said, gazing over at the old woman. "I couldn't have done it without you, Alma--I owe you more than I can ever express."

She waved off the praise, but she was smiling. "It's what I do, child. It's what I do. I s'pect you be moving on soon?"

I hadn't told her much, just that we were passing through and wouldn't be staying long. "Yeah, hopefully tomorrow," I said, glancing over to see Scully nodding. "I really can't thank you enough as well, Alma, and I am very sorry about the gun."

She shrugged, then rotated her neck as if it was sore. "Don't worry none about that, you didn't hurt me none even if you did throw me one heck of a scare, there, at first. I left a list of things you goan need for the first few days over there on the dresser, you kin stop and get 'em on the way back here after you drop me off. And you be sure to either toss out or wash all the towels and beddin' within a few hours. Be stinkin' up the place if you doan an' that ain't good for all of ya. Mattress sounds like it gots a plastic cover so that be okay."

With no further ado she swept out of the room, jerking her head at me so I followed and drove her home, which was only a few minutes down the main road that went through town. When I had looked through the tiny Gingham phone book yesterday and found the nurse-midwife listing and then saw not only where she lived but how, I couldn't help but wonder if maybe Scully was right about there being a God watching over us. Mrs. Alma Jackson, LPN was in her sixties and lived alone with three cats and two dogs in a small house that stood alone in an acre or two of land, though it wasn't far outside town. It had been absolutely perfect for the abduction, though I had regretted having to scare the poor woman. Though she argued with me about it, I pressed a roll of bills on her and refused to take it back; I wished I could give her a lot more for what she'd done for us. Once I explained how important it was I trusted her not to tell anyone about us; after seeing how she cared for both Scully and William I had no worries in that area.

After dropping her off I stopped at the gas station-mini mart, finding most of what she had listed for me to pick up other than the Playtex natural nurser bottles which she recommended to use to give William water with. Those I could probably find at a store in Beckley or, if I had to, drive farther to Charleston which was an hour north. I'd pored over the road maps while watching for Alma to come home last night; I'd had a good half hour of sheer terror thinking I might not be able to find her but she'd only been out walking her dogs. And luckily they were a pair of small fuzzy ankle-biters used to visitors so when I did have to pull my gun on the old woman to stop her from calling her service they did nothing more than continue snoozing unconcernedly on the couch.

As I drove back I suddenly noticed that there was a lot of traffic on the main road for this early in the morning and when I turned onto the motel's dedicated access road, I clearly saw a line of cars coming towards me from the direction of our cabin. My heart began to pound and I stepped on it, suddenly afraid that I had been gone far too long.