CHAPTER 16

Will's stomach felt sick the instant he heard Cara's voice; it was evident she had suffered much for his sake, and it made him ill to imagine what had been done to her.

"Cara, are you alright?" Will asked, his voice rushed. "What have they done to you?"

"I'm alright," she said softly. "Did you get to them?"

Will knew she was referring to his parents. "Yes. Cara … Cara, listen to me … I'm coming for you."

"Don't. Protect your father."

"I'm coming. I'm getting you out of there."

"... I know."

Will's hand shook as he held the phone. "Tell me anything about where you are? What do you see?"

Knowing she was risking receiving another beating, Cara squeezed her eyes shut and revealed everything she had been able to gather about her location. "It's moist and there is only artificial ventilation-"

Will's eyes grew large as he heard the distinct sound of someone being slapped, Cara's whimpering echoing in his ear. "CARA!" His palm was sweaty as he pressed the phone closely to his ear. "You son of a bitch!" he screamed. "I'll kill you, you bastard!" A moment of silence passed. "CARA!" he yelled into the phone.

"You mustn't care much for her well-being to ask her such a thing," the bounty hunter said into the phone. Will swallowed as he heard another distinct slap, accompanied by a cry from Cara.

"Don't touch her!"

"You're causing this, William. Every second you delay is another second of pain she must endure."

"You're mine, you bastard. You hear me? You're mine!"

The bounty hunter laughed. "The message Cara was suppose to deliver before she got herself in trouble was …" The bounty hunter paused. Will's breathing quickened as he heard Cara react to an obvious abuse from the bounty hunter. "Tell him, Cara."

"Will …" Her voice was breathy, her words quick. "Will ... Doctor Timothy English, Syndicate, Shield Project-"

"CARA!" Will screamed as he heard Cara scream over the phone. "CARA!"

There was deafening silence. Then Will heard the bounty hunter say, "Bring me your father. Alive. Her time is short." Will opened his mouth to speak, his fist clenched in a ball when he realized the line was disconnected.

Mulder couldn't get to Will fast enough before his rage exploded out of him, manifesting itself into the table lamp next to him being smashed up against the wall as his mind lifted and threw it in anger. The ceramic base and the light bulb shattered upon contact, tiny pieces flying in all directions as the shade was crushed against the impact. Will felt Mulder grab the phone out of his hands before he could destroy it and take him by the shoulders. He heard Scully's panicked voice as she shouted his name, concerned for him. It felt as if he was moving through a thick fog in slow motion, unable to regain his composure. Mulder's incessant shaking of his shoulders took Will out of his blinded rage, the light he struggled to find coming back to him.

"WILLIAM!" Mulder yelled, holding onto Will's shoulder tightly as he forced Will to refocus. "Take control!"

With his shoulders still grasped by Mulder, Will shut his eyes and tried to stabilize his breathing, slowly succeeding as his heart rate slowed. His eyes opened as he saw Scully jump, and he realized that as he released his anger, various objects around them came tumbling to the ground, all being suspended in the air with his mind because of the anger.

"William," Scully said, approaching her son and taking his hand, "what did Cara say?"

Will swallowed hard. "She was somewhere moist with artificial ventilation."

"What else?" Mulder asked, still holding Will by the shoulders.

Will's eyes narrowed as he remembered her last words to him. "Doctor Timothy English … the Syndicate … The Shield Project." Will inhaled deeply. "I need a drink," he mumbled.

"No," Mulder interjected. "You need to rest."

"How can I rest?" Will shouted. "She suffered for that information!"

"Mulder's right," Scully said with a nod. "You're exhausted."

"How can you just stop now?" Will demanded.

"Not us," Scully said, tightening her grasp on his hand. "You."

"You won't do Cara any good if your mind is weakened from exhaustion," Mulder chimed in.

"No," Will said firmly. "I won't rest until I find her."

"As valiant as it may sound," Mulder argued, "you can't help Cara in your current state."

"So brew more coffee," Will argued back. "I'm not sleeping."

Knowing it was a losing battle, Mulder nodded reluctantly. "Have it your way," he said softly. Will recognized the tone of voice Mulder used; it was a tone laced with paternal concern and, sadly enough, experience that Will wasn't learning from. With a pat on his shoulder, Mulder stepped back, taking Scully by the hand. "I'll make it," he said, letting his hand linger on hers for a moment.

As Mulder disappeared into the adjoining kitchen, Will observed his parents carefully and came back to the realization that they had fought many similar fights together, suffering much, including the absence of him from their lives. "Mom," he whispered, gaining Scully's attention, "why do you call him Mulder?" He was desperate to forget the horrors he witnessed on the phone before, even if just for a moment.

Scully chuckled softly, not realizing how it might sound awkward to Will. "Your father never liked being called Fox," she explained. "Our last names just stuck. We were partners. It wasn't unusual then." She sighed, glancing toward the kitchen. "I guess it is now," she said with a small laugh.

"Makes sense," Will replied. "So," he continued, "I'm sorry about the lamp."

"I never liked that lamp anyway," Scully said to her son with a reassuring smile.

"The doctor-" Mulder was deep in thought as he re-entered the living room. "Timothy English."

"Cara's father?" Scully asked, unsure if she had the right connection.

Will's eyes narrowed as he nodded, recalling what she told him her father's name was. "She just used to call him The Asshole," he mumbled. Mulder and Scully looked to him, perplexed. "He was abusive. She left her home as a teen."

"I'm sorry," Scully said softly.

"Why would she care about him now?" Will asked, mostly to himself.

"Let's find out," Mulder said, gesturing for Scully and Will to follow him into the office.

2:18 AM

Will had sent Mulder and Scully to bed an hour ago, resigning himself to the computer in the office in refusal to sleep. Scully had protested, insisting Will sleep as well. With a gentle squeeze of her hand, Will promised by 3 AM he would be asleep on the couch in the living room. Knowing he had to keep that promise or else be killed by a petite former FBI agent who happened to be his newly protective mother, Will sat in the darkness of the home office, absentmindedly crunching on his father's stash of sunflower seeds.

He read countless articles archived from the mid 1980s and some even into the 1990s of Timothy English's ground-breaking research in the human genome, his eyes burning as he strained to absorb as much information as he could. From what he could tell, it was quite a shock to Will that Timothy English was as dark of a man as Cara had described to him. Will couldn't understand how such a brilliant mind had turned so evil, the accolades following Doctor Timothy English to what seemed no end.

Taking a swig of the Yuengling Lager he found in the fridge, Will leaned back in the office chair, the dots beginning to connect themselves in his weary mind with surprising speed. Timothy English … research used for the Syndicate … a Plan B … the Shield Project … protection … DNA …

He slammed his beer down on the desk, a smile spreading across his face. Cara is the Shield, he thought with a nod. That's why they couldn't find me.

Realizing he was alone in the dark, Will rubbed his eyes as he tried to remain quiet, ideas spinning wildly in his mind, wanting to be bounced off of someone for further clarity. "How can you be a shield, Cara?" he murmured, staring at a photo of Doctor Timothy English on the bright computer screen in front of him.

6:41 AM

Mulder padded into the living room in a sleepy haze, rubbing his eyes as he traveled to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. His eyes fell on the littered mess on the coffee table in front of him, several empty green beer bottles and sunflower seed shells scattered haphazardly on the oak. He grinned as he watched William sleep, shirtless on the couch, his long legs bent awkwardly over the sofa arms and his long, right arm stretched above his head while his left hand rested on his toned stomach. Damn, Mulder thought idly, seeing his son's young body and absorbing that the man he looked at was, in fact, his son, I'm old.

Will was a light sleeper, stirring when he heard Mulder's attempt at a quiet exit. "Dad," he mumbled, sitting up. "I know what it all means."

Mulder's brow furrowed. "Alright," he said, coming to sit across from Will. "Let's hear it."

"Cara is the Shield," Will said leaning forward.

"How do you figure?"

"Somehow … somehow her DNA was changed. She was changed to be a biological shield."

"Okay," Mulder said with pursed lips. "So the Syndicate uses Cara's father to creates Shields. To protect themselves?"

"No," Will corrected. "To overtake the colonists."

"A whole undetectable race …" Mulder's voice trailed off, thinking of the possibilities.

"... That would bring an uprising," Will continued. "They would grow in numbers, become unstoppable."

"So then Cara isn't human." Mulder noted.

"She is," Will stated firmly. "She bleeds."

"So do you."

"I heal."

"Are you sure she doesn't?"

Will shook his head, picking up a bottle of beer that had a bit of remaining amber liquid inside of it, tossing it back easily. "Why would she look the way she does in the photo if she heals?"

Mulder watched as Will set the bottle down on the table. "So she's human."

"Human with …" Will paused, chewing on his bottom lip. "Wait."

"What?"

"There was a struggle in the motel room," Will recalled. He dug into the pocket of the jeans he wore, pulling out Cara's knife. "She must have tried to stab the bounty hunter. I found this in an acid-burned spot on the carpet."

Mulder leaned forward. "If she was human, she wouldn't have survived the acid's release."

Will examined the knife. "So … she's not human?"

"Not fully, at least."

"What did I miss?"

Both men turned, their gazes falling on Scully, who was dressed in jeans and a sweater. Mulder stood, taking her in his arms, feeling the incredible need to kiss her. Will's head dropped, silently waiting for them to part with a small uncomfortable grimace on his face. His father certainly was taking his time; he guessed it was to make up for many lost years. "Cara is the Shield," Mulder said to Scully once they parted.

"How?" she asked.

"Somehow … her biology was changed." Will glanced up at his parents awkwardly as he realized he was now shirtless in front of his mother. "Sorry about the beer," he mumbled.

Scully's eyebrow raised as she realized Will had annihilated an entire six pack on his own. "I guess you have a Scully Irish stomach," she said.

Will's small smile was rewarded with a matching one from his mother. "Guess so."

"Hey," Mulder said with a frown, "I'll have you both know that we Mulders can handle our own share of liquor."

"Great," Will muttered. "I come from a family of alcoholics."

The three laughed softly, taking the moment to enjoy the unity of being a family, despite the darkness that surrounded them. Will scratched his head, standing with a stretch. "Mind if I use your shower?" he asked.

"It's your home now, too," Scully replied warmly, receiving a gentle kiss on the forehead from Will before he disappeared into the bathroom.

Mulder sighed, drawing Scully closely to him, lovingly tucking her hair behind her ear to better see her face. "Why couldn't this have happened sooner, Mulder?" Scully whispered, regret of missed time as a family filling her voice.

"At least it has happened," Mulder replied, pressing his lips on her hair.

Some time later, as Will walked out into the living room clad in almost the same state he had left it, with no shirt, jeans and a towel rubbing his hair, he saw Mulder on the phone, Scully sitting beside him. "Yeah," Mulder replied to something unheard on the other end. "… Alright. Be safe."

Mulder hung up the phone, looking at Will. "We thought it best to let Doggett and Reyes know," Mulder explained as Will pulled over a tee shirt his father gave him.

Will nodded. "They have a right to."

"They're coming out here," Mulder continued, which surprised both Will and Scully.

"Mulder," Scully said softly, "they're putting themselves in danger." Mulder nodded at Scully gently.

"I know." He paused. "But two more on our side certainly wouldn't hurt."

Will rubbed his temples. "Are they bringing magnetite?"

"No," Mulder said softly. "We can't risk it being near you."

"Then how the hell do you figure we will kill him?" Will said loudly.

"You don't need magnetite to kill a bounty hunter," Mulder explained.

"Just a well-placed wound at the base of the neck," Scully added softly.

"Alright," Will said, confident in their confidence. "So I'll shoot the SOB in the neck. You have a gun?"

"You'll need to stab him for the surest results," Mulder corrected.

"Fine." Will turned back toward the bathroom. "At least I have a knife." He paused, turning back to them. "Wait." Mulder and Scully hung on their son's silence, waiting for his thought. "He's keeping her underground," he said with a sudden sense of clarity. Will's hands came to rest on his hips. "And I'll bet you ten to one she's under a shit ton of magnetite."

"If that's the case, that complicates things," Scully said with a frown.

"Where is there magnetite around here?"

"The Hammond Deposit, about an hour from here." Both Will and Scully turned their attention to Mulder, who volunteered the information quickly. Scully frowned at Mulder, realizing he had kept information from her about his relocation choice. "What? It was a selling point of the house ... just thinking ahead for the invasion."

"Where is the deposit?" Will asked.

"Columbia River," Mulder replied.

"Moist, like she said," Will whispered with a nod.

"Then we'll be down to four," Scully realized, counting the number of people able to go rescue Cara.

"Five," Will corrected.

"Four," Scully repeated. "You can't go near magnetite, William."

"She's right," Mulder agreed.

"Screw that," Will said angrily. "There's no way I'm staying behind."

"How are you going to survive going inside a giant heap of the shit that almost killed you a few days ago?" Mulder yelled.

"I don't know," Will replied, his tone matching his father's. "But I'm going."

"No!" Scully shouted, startling Will and Mulder. "I lost you once, William. I'm NOT losing you again."

"Mom-"

"NO!" she repeated.

"You'd go if it was Dad, wouldn't you?" Will growled, challenging her. "Wouldn't you?"

"Of course I would," Scully replied. "But magnetite doesn't kill me!"

"Look," Will said firmly, his focus shifting between his parents, "Doggett told me stories about you both ... All the shit you went through ... Everything you lost." He paused, shutting his eyes. "I need to do this. For all the same insane reasons you both ever needed to do anything."

"William," Mulder stepped toward Will. "We don't doubt the need for you to go to her. What we doubt is your literal ability to."

"So we find a way," Will replied. He saw the doubt in his parents' eyes, and began to feel some of his own. "I have to find a way."

It wasn't the usual way she woke the last day or so, from the sensation of a gentle touch on her face from someone who had intentions to help rather than harm. Yet, it frightened her just as much, maybe even moreso than the harsh treatment she had been experiencing non-stop. She bolted up, realizing she had been laying on a flat surface once more. Only this time, she was in a stark white room, a man in a lab coat standing by her side. She also realized she wasn't bound, that the flat surface was a hospital bed, and she was wearing a set of scrubs.

"Easy," she heard the man in the lab coat say softly. "I'm here to help you, not hurt you." Cara knew she must have looked like a trapped animal, trying to escape the bed as the man gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "Cara, I'm a friend of your father's."

She took a long look at the man in the lab coat, her breathing stabilizing as she searched his eyes. "I recognize you," she said after a while.

"My name is Doctor Yarborough," the man said softly.

"You worked on the Project with my father?"

Dr. Yarborough nodded. "I'm here to tend to your wounds. You're beginning to get infected."

Cara looked down at her arms, seeing the bandages that were wrapped around her skin with care. "Thank you," she whispered. "But won't they hurt you-"

"They are in control, Cara," Dr. Yarborough interrupted.

"Why, all of a sudden, do they care?"

Dr. Yarborough handed Cara a closed cup with a straw. "Drink," he directed. Seeing her hesitation, he shook his head. "It's electrolytes and protein. You can't fight infection if you're dehydrated."

Cara reluctantly took a sip of the thickened liquid. Once it hit her sore, dry throat, she gulped it furiously, desperate to consume as much as she could. When she stopped, she turned her attention back to the doctor. "Why are they treating my infection?" she asked. "Why not just let it kill me?"

Dr. Yarborough set the emptied cup on a table behind him. "They want the Shield for study," he answered, handing her two small pills and a cup of water. "For the infection," he explained. He watched solemnly as Cara took the pills, swallowing them and the entire cup of water.

"Why don't they just take it out if they want it so bad?" Cara asked.

"You don't understand," Dr. Yarborough realized. "Cara ... you ARE the Shield."

"Wait ... I thought it was just a part of me."

Dr. Yarborough shook his head. "It's you, Cara. The Shield is your entire genetic makeup." He saw Cara's eyes widen at the realization. "If they kill you, they can't replicate the Shield. They've taken samples of your blood when you were first drugged. They're being analyzed as we speak."

"If you worked with my father, why wouldn't they just force you to decode it?"

"Your father was very careful to keep the Project's inner workings to himself. He never published anything, nor told anyone. He did the entire procedure himself." Dr. Yarborough frowned as he remembered. "We were there to volunteer our children and monitor their progress."

"So ..." Cara said softly. "Once they know how to write the genome code ..."

"They will kill you."

"And everyone else who is a Shield."

Dr. Yarborough nodded sadly.

Cara sighed. "Where does Will fit into all of this?"

"William's powers are greater than theirs. His only weakness is magnetite. Other than that, he's completely indestructible, physically."

"I know, but how could he be the savior he's proclaimed to be?"

Cara saw the doctor smile. "Because he will give the people hope."

"Seems a little meek, considering what these ... things ... are capable of."

"Hope," Dr. Yarborough, "is greater than fear."

"It sounds nice on paper, but-"

"Cara," Dr. Yarborough interrupted, "imagine a society without a glimpse of hope. It is weak, pliable ... it is vulnerable. Now ... imagine what William could represent in the bleakest of times. His strength, his abilities, his courage. What are you holding onto right now, Cara? A hope of him arriving?" Dr. Yarborough asked softly. "Everyone loves a hero, Cara. People rally behind a hero. They put fear aside in the shadows of a hero."

"You said he was completely indestructible physically. Why the distinction?"

Dr. Yarborough was silent, pausing as he searched for words. "He is part human, Cara. He still feels."

"So they are taunting him, I get it, but-"

"You don't understand," Dr. Yarborough cut her off. "He, being controlled by both darkness and light, will be forced to make a choice."

"His father needs to be alive for him to choose the light. I know he won't kill him or let him be killed."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes."

"What if your life was in the balance?"

Cara swallowed hard, searching the doctor's eyes. No, she thought remorsefully.