Home For Christmas 2 : Reunion
By wildafox
[email protected]
Feedback: Yes, please!!
Rating: PG-13
Beta-Reader : xdksfan, tali
Category: MSR A
Spoilers: William, The Truth
Disclaimer: Not mine; XF characters belong to 1013 Productions.
Summary: Sequel to "Home For Christmas".
xxxx
January 3rd, 2005- 3 AM
Somewhere in the US
Fox Mulder couldn't get back to sleep. Something had woken him,
though he couldn't say what. He typed away on his laptop, contacting
his various sources around the world to find a way to fight the
invasion planned for December 12, 2012. He went by the name of Bob
Campbell nowadays and was a construction worker for a national
company.
Unlike Mulder/her partner/husband/lover, Scully slept peacefully in
the bedroom. People knew her as Kate Campbell, a nice, private woman
who worked as an administrative assistant in the local high school..
The high school was well equipped and she could use the computer for
their research whenever she wanted. She kept a low profile, but did
her share for their mutual project.
Mulder suddenly felt the temperature drop, signalling that he wasn't
alone. This still happened from time to time and his senses were on
full alert. He took a long and calming breath and turned around,
only to come face to face with the ghostlike figure of Captain
William Scully Senior in his immaculate white Navy uniform.
"Captain.."
"You have to go to Wyoming. He's waiting for you."
"Who's waiting for me?"
Mulder usually saw his three friends, the Lone Gunmen, or even his
old nemesis, Alex Krycek, but it was the first time he'd faced a
deceased member of the Scully family. It rocked him to the core, but
not to the point of not listening to what the apparition told him.
"He needs you and Dana."
"Who?"
His own father's ghost joined William Scully's and they said in
unison:
"Our namesake."
And then they disappeared.
December 22nd, 2005
Laramie, Wyoming
Kate Campbell pushed her shopping cart down the paper products
aisle. She was almost on automatic pilot, and was selecting rolls of
kitchen paper when two big arms hugged her from behind. Her eyes
filled with tears as she turned around.
"You're home," she whispered.
"We finished last night and I've been driving since."
"How did you know I was here?"
"You weren't at work or at home. I asked Mrs Wilder if she knew
where you were. She said you left with a list in your hand."
"Nosy neighbours can come in handy sometimes."
"Yeah, and I thought I would surprise you and give you a ride home."
He released her, knowing full well what she thought about public
displays of affection, but was surprised when she stood up on tiptoe
to drop a light kiss on his lips.
She turned back to her cart as if nothing had happened and he
trailed after her to the nearest cash register, wearing a goofy grin.
Mulder helped Scully to put the groceries in the trunk of his car
They'd lived in Laramie in January. They rented a two bedroom
apartment close to the town's animated center and to the church
Scully attended. Going to Mass and participating in various
charities helped her cope with giving up William; she felt that she
could find redemption in helping other people. Her heart still
constricted when she thought about her son, but her strong will had
taken over and she had almost convinced herself that giving him up
didn't hurt her anymore. Of course, other parishioners and the
priest, Father Donegan, wondered why the Campbells didn't have any
children, so one day she told them that they couldn't have children.
It wasn't exactly a lie. It wasn't the truth either, but it kept
questions at bay and they were careful not to bring the subject up
again. It wasn't mentioned at home either. They were both ignoring
the proverbial elephant in the corner
Mulder hadn't told Scully the real reason behind their move to
Wyoming.. According to their fathers' ghosts, they needed to find
their son, but he had no leads as to his whereabouts.
The no talking about William policy was hard on him. He'd never
doubted that she'd had to give up their son to protect him, but he
would have liked to share the grief; maybe cry with her and tell her
the truth he'd been hiding. But Mulder being Mulder, he kept things
to himself, hoping that finding their son would heal the wounds they
both had.
Scully took the passenger seat while he sat down in the driver's
side. She grabbed his hand and brought it to her lips, kissing his
fingers gently.
"I missed you so much."
"I missed you, too, Scully. But the upside is that I got paid and
don't have to go away until next year."
"Are you kidding?"
"No. I'll be home for Christmas."
"You have no idea how happy that makes me she whispered, resting her
cheek on his hand.
xxxx
St Paul's Church - Laramie
Later the same evening
Scully stepped into her church, a happy smile on her face. Mulder
held her hand loosely, letting her lead them into a place she was
more familiar with than he was. He had agreed to accompany her to her
church charity gathering, just for the enjoyment of being with her
and maybe also to watch her interact with other people. Of course,
he'd met Father Donegan a couple of times, but seldom the other
parishioners.
"Kate, Bob, good evening!," welcomed Father Donegan, coming to meet
them.
"Good evening, Father."
"I'm glad you could make it. Mrs Hackett is sick and couldn't join
us tonight. I hope you don't mind taking care of the orphans?"
Mulder felt Scully stiffen. She usually avoided working with kids
when in church, but she couldn't very well refuse Father Donegan.
Mulder squeezed her hand, assuring her of his support.
"We don't mind at all, we're here to help, aren't we, Kate?"
""Yes, of course."
"Follow me."
He led them to a big room, which usually served for meetings.
Several eight to ten year old kids were gathered in the centre,
playing a board game.
Scully's smile froze when she spotted a little boy, alone, drawing
at a table near the far side window. He was no more than four or
five years old, with neatly cut dark blond hair. She stopped dead in
her tracks, alerting Mulder, whose eyes fell on the boy.
Father Donegan saw the Campbell' stiffen. He remembered their sad
story of parenthood and had thought that maybe interacting with
children would help. He noticed their interest in the little boy
sitting by himself. He tried to defuse the situation:
"The young boy who's drawing here is our youngest. He's a really
good boy; calm and quiet. His father died two years ago from an
undisclosed illness and then his mother had a car accident in
October. They lived on a ranch ten miles from here, and social
services thought it would be better for him to stay in the area."
"What's his name?" Mulder asked.
"William Van De Kamp."
As if in slow motion, the boy turned toward the newcomers. After one
look at his angelic face, Scully fled.
Mulder had no doubts about the boy's identity after seeing his blue
eyes and his prominent nose. William Mulder was indeed in Laramie.
xxxx
Torn between staying with his son and going after Scully, Mulder
left, reassuring Father Donegan that everything would be fine. He
took one last look at William and turned to go. He had to convince
Scully to come back.
They hadn't used the car to come to church, so he guessed that she'd
run back to their apartment.
Entering their home, he sighed with relief, hearing her moving
around in the bedroom. That relief left him when he saw her hurriedly
packing their suitcases. Not understanding her reaction to having
found their son, something snapped inside him and all the anger he'd
kept in check erupted.
"What the hell are you doing, Scully?"
"We have to go."
In two long steps he was next to her and, gripping her by the arm,
effectively stopped her movements.
"It's him. It's William," he seethed.
"No, it's not. It's a cruel joke", she stated, freeing herself from
his grip.
"It's no joke. He's here. He's real."
"And what?"
"We are being given a second chance!"
"A second chance for what? It's no safer now than it was when I had
to give him up! We're fugitives. We may have to run and hide at a
moment's notice. Do you think we can bring a child into all of this?"
"We already did by bringing him into this world. What good did it do
to give him up for adoption? He's just been orphaned once more. But
maybe you don't care anymore. Maybe you wanted to give him up from
the beginning. Maybe you just needed an excuse to do it!"
"How can you say that?" she cried out, clenching her fists, "You
weren't there! Have you seen what they did to Jeffrey? I had to deal
with the fact that it could happen to our son when you were god knows
where searching for the truth!"
"And who sent me away? Who begged me to go? You were adamant. It was
my job to protect both of you!"
"I begged you because the threats were real, as were the ones
against William. You don't know how hard it was to pack up all his
belongings, to give him a last kiss. You don't know. You'll never
know. There isn't a day when I don't think about him, about what I
had to do to keep him safe."
"Well, you could have fooled me! It hasn't seemed that way to me in
the last few years when you acted as if he never existed," he said,
his anger and pain encompassing him.
The blow hit her hard. He saw all the colour leave her face and
tears begin streaking down her cheeks. Every barrier, every wall
she'd built crumbled all at once and the pain became unbearable. She
fell to her knees, a cry of deep despair leaving her mouth.
His anger vanished when he saw her pain. They'd fooled themselves
into believing that everything was okay, that no lingering resentment
was left, that they had changed. He knelt next to her and pulled her
sagging form in a crushing hug. He let her empty her heart of the
pain and angst while he shed his tears in silence, hoping that they
could repair the damage.
Emotionally spent, she fell asleep and he carefully put her to bed,
kissing her forehead gently.
He stepped out of the bedroom when he felt the usual drop in
temperature that announced his ghostly visitors. He closed his eyes
and said:
"What is it this time?"
"Hi to you, too, Fox," said an ethereal Melissa Scully
"Why can't we have some peace for once? Why do you all feel the need
to haunt me?"
"Because we're your guardian angels? Because maybe we love you so
much that, even dead, we still care about what happens to you?"
"For all the good it does to us."
"Fox,everything happens for a reason. Did you really expect Dana to
run to William and forget everything that she had to face? Dana can't
change who she is. She fooled herself into believing that she could
deal with it without bothering you."
"I know that now, but I just hoped that she wanted him back too."
"She does, but her fears of losing him again, of having to give him
up one more time, are winning over and that's why she tried to run
away. Dana wants William back as badly as you do."
"How can I change that? How can I promise her something I have no
control over.?"
"You can't. But who can protect him better than both of you?
Together. You know what you are fighting and why."
"You're trying that now that we are together, we can raise William?"
Melissa's ghost smiled knowingly and disappeared while whispering
"Believe".
x-x-x-x-x-x
The Campbell's apartment
December 23rd, 2005
Early morning
Scully woke up before the alarm clock rang, still wearing
yesterday's clothes. She opened her eyes fully when she realised
with a start that she was alone in bed, Mulder's side not even turned
down.
She stood up quickly and raced to the living room, calming down when
she saw him asleep in the couch.
He hadn't ditched her. He was a rock in her life, always had been,
but she'd never been confident that he would understand how she felt
about their son.
She hurt him with her silence when she feared of hurting him with
her words and in a way, it was a thousands times worse. His
insecurities and her lack of communication had pushed him over the
edge last night and she wondered how she could explain her fears of
losing their son, of losing him. Forever, this time.
She sat down next to him and it didn't take more than that to wake
him. He opened his sleepy hazel eyes and she immediately saw that
there was no anger left. Only raw pain.
"Scully"
"Hushhh"
"We have to talk."
"I know."
Sitting up, he took her hands in his and waited for her to look at
him.
"A few months ago, before we left for Laramie, I had a..visitation."
"Mulder, please."
"Hear me out, Scully. I need you to trust me on this."
She nodded with unease.
"Your father appeared to me."
"What?"
"Captain Scully appeared to me one night and told me we had to move
to Wyoming. He said, "he needs you". When I asked him who needed us,
my father materialised too and they both told me that their namesake
did."
"That's impossible, Mulder," she said, standing up. "I can't believe
that both our fathers knew about William and his whereabouts and
warned you. They are dead."
He stood up, invading her personal space and grasping her hands once
more.
"Scully, you saw your father once. Why is it so hard to believe that
he could talk to me?"
"It's too much, Mulder. First we came face to face with our son and
now you tell me you knew that we might find him here?"
"You saw him. What better proof do you need, Scully? Our fathers
were right."
"Ghosts, Mulder!"
They both gave a start when something fell on the floor behind them.
They turned to see that a book had fallen to the floor. Scully gasped
and went to check if it was the book she suspected it was. She knelt
down to find "Moby Dick" opened on her favourite page. Hugging the
book to her chest, she turned to Mulder with a bewildered look.
"What?"
"It's the book you gave me, opened on the page I always asked my
father to read to me; my favourite page."
"I think that answers your question as to whether I saw your father."
"You really think he's trying to talk to me?"
"That's exactly what I think. I can't make you believe in haunting
or ghostly visits, but I really believe that the dead are protecting
us from wherever they are now. And they are protecting William, too."
"But what if we have to"
She kept the book close to her heart as he helped her up.
"Please, Scully, I can't promise you that we'll always be safe here.
All I can tell you is that we can be William's parents again. We've
been given this chance. I want to believe that we are the best bet
for our boy's future. I want to believe that we were always meant to
raise him. Together. Give us this chance, Scully."
"I so want to believe," she whispered, "but I don't want to have to
give him up ever again."
He pulled her fiercely against him.
"I know, Scully, I know."
xoxoxoxoxo
December 24th, 2005
St Paul's Church's Christmas Eve dinner
Scully had agreed to join her church for dinner, where they could
both meet with William. Father Donegan had convinced her to at least
get to know the boy better before deciding to commit further,
skilfully slipping into the conversation that she and Mulder were the
fittest couple in the parish to raise a young child like William Van
De Kamp.
They nervously entered the church, hanging their winter jackets on
the coat rack and joining the gathering in the brightly decorated
room. Father Donegan saw them and went to William, who took the
priest's hand and walked with him to meet the Campbells.
Time came to a stop. Their eyes glued to the little boy.
Father Donegan stopped and asked William to continue alone. The
little boy slowly bridged the gap which separated him from his
parents.
Scully knelt down to meet the little boy so he didn't find her too
intimidating. Their eyes met and her longing for her long lost baby
boy overrode her fears. She smiled at the little version of Mulder
and introduced herself:
"Hi, I'm Kate."
"Hi," he said. "Aunt Missy told me you would be here today. I
missed you, Mommy."
She took him in her arms and hugged him fiercely. If she was
astonished, she hid it well. Mulder joined them and embraced them
both. They had their Christmas miracle. And for the second time in
his life, he thanked Scully's God for giving him a family.
In the corner of the room, the ghosts of William and Melissa Scully
and William, Teena and Samantha Mulder watched over the family
reunion with smiles on their faces. Father Donegan turned to them,
winked and left the church, his mission fulfilled.
End