Title - Her Son (6/12)
Author - Donna
Email address - donnah@donnas-stories.com
URL -  http://www.donnas-stories.com/
Rating - PG-13
Category - MSR, Angst, AU 
Spoilers - None  
Keywords - MSR, Angst, AU
Summary - What if that first time had been just a little 
different
Feedback - Please 
Archive - Anywhere, just let me know so that I can visit
Disclaimer - Mulder, Scully, the Lone Gunmen and Skinner 
all belong to Chris Carter, 10-13 and Fox.  No infringement 
intended


Her Son - Part 6

The next morning, Mulder saw what she meant.  The curls 
were out of control. With a growl, she gave up and pulled it 
back into a clip and gave up.  She was definitely not in a 
good mood. 

He carried the few things they had used overnight out to the 
car, and then took Will.  She followed and watched him 
buckle in the boy.  He knew how to do it now, and she 
watched as he tested the straps in any case. 

He drove them into the neighborhood and slowed down.  
He glanced over at her and saw her jaw hanging slack, 
same as his.  It was the neighborhood from the dream.  "It, 
it's that one," she said with a shaky voice.  She was right.  
He looked over at it.  All of the houses were a shade of 
beige, but some had a hint of pink or green.  Theirs was 
green with a double car garage sticking out front. 

"Mulder - " 

"I don't know," he answered her unspoken question.  
Silently he pulled into the short driveway and turned off the 
engine.  He looked over at her and saw her fear.  "It'll be 
okay." 

She didn't respond, but unbuckled her seat belt.  He did the 
same, then opened the back and hefted Will from his seat.  
He leaned in and whispered to the boy.  "Do you have 
anything to do with this?" 
Will smiled and wiggled to get down.  Holding his hand, 
Mulder joined Dana, and they headed for the front door.  
The key fit and they stepped inside. 

It was empty.  All of the walls were cream with a beige-
brown carpet.  There was a tiny bit of hard wood at the 
entrance, enough room for a mat before stepping on the 
carpet.  There was a wall dissecting the downstairs into a 
formal area on the side with the front door and a family room 
on the other side with the sliding door and fireplace.  The 
wall stopped about four feet from the stairs, but couldn't be 
called a hall, just an opening.  It was a good size family 
room, twice the size of the formal area, with the kitchen 
around the corner behind the stairs.  There was a space for 
a table, but no dining room, just off of the kitchen.  The 
fireplace was on the outside wall opposite the kitchen and 
around the corner from the sliding doors.  A small patio and 
yard was visible through those doors.  Mulder opened a 
door to reveal a half bath.  Dana moved on into the kitchen 
and he followed with Will. 

It was 'U' shaped with the sink facing the great room and the 
counter had space to eat if they bought some stools.  The 
counters were a mottled dark gray linoleum, which worked 
okay with all the white of the appliances and cabinets. The 
appliances were white and basic.  There was a microwave 
over the stove, which was beside the refrigerator.   

"What do you think?" 

She looked up and tried to smile.  "It's very nice." 

"But?" 

"But how did we know about it?" 

He shook his head.  "Let's shelf that for now.  Want to go 
upstairs?" 

She nodded and moved out of the kitchen.  She followed 
him up the stairs, watching Will in his arms. 
"We've got to get a stair guard," she said to him. 

"First thing, I was just thinking that."  There was a small 
sitting area at the top of the stairs.  He turned left into the 
master suite.  This would make up for anything plain 
downstairs.  There was a tray ceiling and three windows that 
gave great southern light into the room.  She moved into the 
large bath and walk in closet.  She did smile now as she 
looked back at him.  He gave her an answering smile, then 
followed her back through the sitting area to the nice size 
front bedroom with two windows.  There was full bath 
between it and another bedroom on the back of the house. 

"This should be Will's room," Dana said of the back 
bedroom.  "It's not that close to the stairs, and it not over the 
garage, so that shouldn't wake him up." 

Mulder looked a little surprised at that.  Another thing he 
hadn't thought to consider.  "Yeah, good idea.  Do, uh, do 
you want to go look for furniture?" 

"What do you want to get?" 

"Me?" 

"Well, it's your money." 

"It's our house, at least for now.  I think you'd be better at 
picking out what we need and could probably make it look 
like it belongs." 

Her lips twitched then.  "I'll take that as a compliment." 

"It was." 

"Thanks.  We need to make a list." 

He picked up Will, tucked him under his arm and raced 
down to stairs to Will's squeals.  Dana followed more 
slowly.  "I'll get the boxes we do have out of the car.  You 
start on the list." 

"Chicken!"  she called out to him as he headed outside. 

When he brought in the last box, she was leaning against 
the counter in the kitchen, watching Will who was looking 
out the sliding door. 

"Okay, bare minimum - we need a couch, table and chairs 
for down here.  Two bedroom sets, and a crib for upstairs." 

"No TV?" 

She chuckled.  "Okay, a TV and something to put it on." 

"And a chair.  We only need one bedroom set." 

"Excuse me?" Her eyebrow started to rise. 

"Uh, I can sleep down here, on the couch.  We need to get 
one long enough for me." 

"You want to sleep on the couch?" 

"I'll be kind of on guard . . . "  He stopped that her 
expression.  Shit, he'd brought it all back when she'd been 
in a good mood.  "Let's go on." 

She nodded.  "Let me change Will first." 

When she was through they turned to the door, and she 
started when they heard the knock.  Mulder immediately 
stepped in front of her and looked through the side window.  
He looked back to tell her it was okay, and saw her clutching 
Will to her.  "It's okay." 

"Is it?" 

He nodded.  "Trust me, please?" 

She closed her eyes, but nodded.  He opened the door as 
she stepped up beside him. 

"Hi!  I know you're moving in and don't need any company," 
the brunette with the ponytail said.  "I'm Marge Carpenter 
and I live next door.  I saw the truck with your stuff isn't here 
yet, and I thought you could use this."  She held out a baby 
gate, and Dana smiled. 

"We were just talking about that." 

"Won't you come in?" Mulder asked, stepping aside.  "I'm 
William Hale, this is Katy and Will." 

Marge stepped inside, and propped the baby gate against 
the wall.  "You'll be able to get a lot more done with the 
steps blocked off, I know.  And don't worry about getting it 
back.  Mine are way beyond me being able to stop them with 
this." 

"How many do you have?"  Dana asked. 

"Two, Kevin is six, and Candice is three.  How old is Will?" 

"A year, just barely." 

"Ah, the twos are still to come.  You're welcome to escape to 
my house any time.  Well, I know you're busy, when is the 
truck expected?" 

"That's the fun part," Mulder said.  "We are now officially 
educated, but along with losing student housing, the stuff 
that was 'ours' wasn't worth keeping, so we get to go 
shopping." 

Marge's eyes gleamed.  "Now that is fun.  Check out 
Furnitureland South on Nicholasville.  They always have a 
sale and good discounts.  Head into town, cross the bridge 
and it's on the right.  Were you in UK's graduate housing?  I 
have a friend that's over there." 

"No, we were in North Carolina." 

She nodded and missed the evasion.  "Okay, gotta run see 
if I still have a house.  I'm right there," she pointed next 
door.  "Hollar if you need anything." 

"Thank you," Dana said, watching the woman hurry away.  
She turned to Mulder.  "Can I trust her?" 

"Yes." 

"How do you know?" 

"Just a feeling.  Come on, let's head over to Nicholasville." 

He had no trouble finding the place, and followed her inside 
looking bemused.  "This is definitely your field." 

"Have you never bought furniture?" 

"I have a couch and a TV.  Oh yeah, and a couple of tables, 
but none of them match like this." 
She looked at him for a moment, then led him on inside.  
Her choices were well thought out and coordinated in a way 
he didn't even try to follow.  She was holding on, making the 
best of the situation, but not what he could call comfortable 
yet. Leaving the decisions to her after a few minutes, he 
took Will over to the children's furniture and let him climb on 
the bunk beds, advising the boy that this was far in the 
future for him.  He spotted her watching them, trying to keep 
Will in sight even as she worked with the salesman, so 
Mulder returned to her side.  He didn't want to make this any 
worse for her.  He found Dana studying the bedroom 
furniture.  She was standing at a fairly plain set, with a 
maple stained wood. 
He was behind her, and noted her glance a couple of times 
over at a four-poster dark cherry wood set with rice pattern 
posts.  Then he watched her turn her back on it.  She asked 
the very attentive clerk some questions about the maple set. 

Mulder stepped closer.  "Excuse me.  How much is that 
one?"  He pointed to the one she had been trying to ignore. 

"Oh, that's a lovely suite, made by Broyhill.  It comes with six 
pieces, bed, dresser, bureau, two side tables and the mirror.  
I can let you have that, along with everything else you're 
purchasing for, um, $1900." 

"Great, we'll take it." 

"M-William?" 

"It's pretty, I like it.  You got to pick the couch and chair.  
We're going to need something to hold the TV, and a table 
and chairs." 

"We're headed that way," the salesman, his smile growing 
every minute, responded. 

Mulder grinned and looked down at Will.  "She needs our 
help." 

"Oh I do?" 

"Definitely.  You probably don't even know the size cabinet 
we need for the big screen." 

"Big screen?"  She shook her head, but didn't dispute it.  
Mulder trailed her, Will in his arms.  They looked over the TV 
cabinets and chose one.  Mulder found a matching coffee 
table, but Dana vetoed it.  "It's got sharp corners." 

"Oh, yeah."  Shit, another thing he'd never thought of. 

"There's more over there," the salesman pointed.  "Pick out 
any one you like.  With this order, it's on the house." 

Dana blinked at that, but followed Mulder over to the other 
side of the store.  "Free?  He's giving us a coffee table for 
free?" 

Mulder grinned.  "We've made the man's commission for the 
month.  What do you like?" 

She picked a rounded one that matched the TV cabinet, and 
the salesman added it to the order. 
They left with the promise that the small truck would be by 
with at least part of their furniture that afternoon.  The 
bedroom set, which had to be dissembled and set up would 
be delivered the next day. 
They headed for the car, and after they were in and buckled, 
Mulder looked over at her.  "TV shopping now?" 

She tried to stifle the chuckle.  "I suppose you're the expert 
there." 

"Definitely," he affirmed. 

***** 

They had only been home a few minutes when the van 
pulled up with most of their new furniture.  Mulder helped 
the two guys unload the truck, while Dana kept Will out of 
the way.  Mulder looked down at her as he hauled the 
mattress up the stairs, holding their son and smiling at the 
new kitchen table.  He didn't understand the emotion that 
threatened to overwhelm him.  He'd been doing this to 
protect her, protect their son, but this felt . . . different. Even 
if it was 'acting' it felt like a family.

As though she felt his eyes on her, she looked up and 
something caused color to flood her face.  The older delivery 
man cleared his throat and Mulder jerked, and continued up 
the stairs.  That was . . . awkward. 

Once the men had left, she had him rearrange the furniture 
a little, then he sat down on the floor and began working on 
setting up the TV.  Will 'helped' by crawling over him and 
trying to put things in his mouth.  When he finally got it 
hooked up, Mulder was exhausted and knew she was 
laughing at him somewhere upstairs. 

"Okay, Big Guy, let's see what's on."  He took the baby over 
to the couch and stretched out.  Within moments, both of 
them were sound asleep in front of ESPN. 

Dana slipped downstairs to check, and stopped dead on the 
next to the bottom step, watching them.  Again, in nearly 
identical positions, Will perfectly comfortable on Mulder's 
chest.  What was going on? 
The boys woke from their naps to the smell of dinner 
cooking, and after a quick change for Will, came to offer 
their assistance. 

"Oh sure, now that everything's ready . . . " She tried to glare 
at them but Will was so obviously happy in Mulder's arms, 
she couldn't sustain it.  

That night he lay on the new couch, wide awake, thinking 
about what the hell he had done.  Could he keep them safe 
this way?  'They' knew he and Dana were missing; they had 
to assume that he knew about Will, and the boy's 
parentage.  What was it about Will?  Was he different from 
other kids?  Dana had been in their custody, they had 
impregnated her.  He had been . . . changed by them the 
night they had taken Samantha.  Okay, he hadn't admitted 
that to himself before, but it was true.  They had 'enhanced' 
him, his memory, his intellect - okay he'd only been twelve, 
but he knew.  Hadn't his grades improved dramatically?  It 
wasn't just that he'd had few friends left after that, or that the 
mothers of his friends had kept them away, and therefore 
more time to study.  He had understood things better.  So he 
was different, and for some reason they had wanted a child 
from him, from them. 

He couldn't talk to her about this.  She already thought he 
was a fool, believing in extraterrestrials.  At least she had 
believed him when he had told her Will was his.  She 
wouldn't admit it any more than he would, but they had both 
known it on some level. 

They should be safe here, at least for a while.  He'd keep 
emergency supplies in the car, and hope. 
Upstairs was no better.  The mattress was on the floor and 
she was comfortable enough, but her mind wouldn't quit.  
What the hell was she doing?  She was in a state where 
she knew no one but the man that had kidnapped her and 
her son.  He was Will's father; somehow she knew that, but 
it made no sense. 
It felt like the first time she'd drawn a breath since she had 
stepped out of her car at the airport.  He had said he was an 
FBI agent and shown her his badge, but so what?  He could 
have been stalking her, followed her into that grocery and 
just lucked into a robbery.  That's idiotic, she chastised 
herself.  He had been good to her and to Will, but he had 
drawn a gun on her.  Okay, he'd been back in less than an 
hour with all kinds of supplies that proved he had her best 
interests at heart.  Had he really signed to build this house 
on the day that Will was born?  Will, the baby liked Mulder 
and trusted him.  That was not feinted.  They got along 
famously.  He had shown her where he was hiding the 
cash that came in the box, and given her the ID in her new 
name.  She wasn't being held prisoner in any way she 
would have thought, having only one car wasn't the same, 
was it? 

The pictures of her apartment returned to her mind.  That 
could have been staged by these 'friends' of his, the ones 
that did DNA tests and hacked into government computers.  
So why was she lying here trusting him?  What was it that 
made all this bearable?  Okay, he was more than attractive, 
though he'd made no move since everything had fallen 
apart. He hadn't even attempted to kiss her, and no, she was 
not sorry about that!  The man had kidnapped her, but those 
eyes - could he look at her with those beautiful eyes and be 
lying?  God!  She was more than a fool, putting her son in 
danger, but something about him was keeping her from 
being scared out of her mind. 

She finally fell asleep from sheer exhaustion, but was 
awakened by Will crying out not long after.  She blearily 
made her way to his room, but he was sound asleep.  She 
heard it again, and realized the sound was coming from 
downstairs.   

What was going on?  Was that Mulder?  Was he hurt?  He 
was all they had right now.  If someone had found them, 
broken in . . . She moved quietly to the stairs and stepped 
over the baby gate now placed at the top to prevent Will 
tumbling down.  The steps were new and didn't squeak as 
she made her careful way down. 

The TV was on, but the sound was muted or turned very 
low.  From the light she could see him on the couch and 
realized he was caught in a nightmare.  Later she would 
question herself, but it didn't occur to her not to go to him. 

He was restless, his voice rising now.  "Don't take . . . No . . . 
No . . . please don't . . . "  He sounded agonized. 

She touched his shoulder.  "Mulder?  Mulder, wake up."  A 
tear trailed down his face into his hair.  
"Mulder."  She shook his shoulder now and he woke 
abruptly, jerking away from her hand.  "Sorry, I - " 

"What are you doing down here?" 

"I heard you.  You were having a bad dream." 

He looked more embarrassed than anything else.  "Did I, did 
I say anything?" 

"You were asking someone not to take something.  Your 
sister?" 

He sat up then, letting the afghan fall into his lap.  He didn't 
have on a t-shirt; she wasn't sure what was under the 
afghan.  For some reason it didn't seem to matter.  She took 
a seat at the far end of the couch and tucked one leg under 
her. 

Now he looked a little frightened, but kept quiet. 

"Were you dreaming about when your sister was taken?" 

He shook his head.  "Actually I was, it was you, you and 
Will." 

She blinked at that.  She bit her lip, then looked up at him.  
"You're really not a stalker or - " 

"I'm not a stalker.  The Bureau frowns on it." 

"You really work for the FBI." 

He nodded.  "You saw my badge." 

"I also saw my new driver's license." 

His lips quirked then.  "Touche." 

"You really do care about Will." 

"And you," he said before he could stop himself. 

"Me?" 

"You're the mother of my child." 

That statement rendered her speechless for a moment. 

"Who was with you?" 

"With me?" she asked. 

"When Will was born.  Who was your coach?" 

"Oh, I didn't have one.  I went in alone." 

"Alone?"  He looked disturbed at that. 

"Well, Allen had already made it quite clear that he wasn't 
interested in being involved in any way.  And my parents 
weren't especially thrilled that their medical student 
daughter had . . . Anyway, maybe if I had it to do over, I 
would have liked to have Mom there, but at the time I was 
being very . . . independent." 

"Were you okay?" 

She shrugged.  "It was . . . difficult, and I wasn't as prepared 
as I should have been." 

"I'm sorry I wasn't . . . " 

"Me too."  He looked up startled to see that she looked just 
as surprised as him.  "I'm sorry - " 

"No, please." 

"The woman, the one that supplied your . . . are you close?"  
His expression made her regret the question instantly.  She 
wasn't sure he had meant to mention the possible mode of 
transportation of his DNA.  "I'm sorry, that was - " 

"I thought so, I guess.  Remember, I mentioned her to you.  I 
said she'd run screaming if I got her . . . We had been 
together for awhile, but I probably shouldn't have been 
surprised." 

"Why?" 

"What, that she betrayed me? I guess I'm used to that." 

"Excuse me?" 

"Sorry, just a little self-pity," he tried to grin but it didn't 
quite come off. 

"Why should you be used to that?" she pressed. 

He sighed, realizing she really wanted to know.  "I've had 
two 'significant' relationships in my life, not counting you, of 
course."  She did smile faintly then, but didn't interrupt.  
"The first was while I was at Oxford.  Phoebe.  She enjoyed 
pursuit, but when she realized she'd caught me, I guess I 
wasn't as interesting.  She liked seeing how many times she 
could get me back after 'experiencing' other men."  He 
continued though she opened her mouth to speak.  "Then 
Diana.  Shouldn't have dated a co-worker, right?  She 
seemed to be interested in my project, the X-Files, and 
believe in the conspiracy like I do, but apparently she was 
more mixed up it in than I was." 

There was silence for a moment, then, "If she's the reason I 
have Will, I'm grateful." 

He looked over at her surprised and smiled for real.  "Me 
too." 

"Neither of those women sound especially bright to me.  In 
my opinion, they have very skewed views of what life is 
about." 

"I hadn't thought about it that way.  I'm sorry you had to go 
through everything that happened to you, especially alone, 
but Will seems like a super kid." 

Her smile was full wattage then.  "He is.  I was concerned 
about having the responsibility all alone.  Of course I had to 
drop out of school, but it's not been what I feared.  I mean, 
yes, I had little sleep in the beginning, but he's really fun to 
be around.  I've been very lucky that he hasn't been sick, 
even when the others in the daycare get something, he 
usually just keeps on truckin'.  I feel . . . I feel good around 
him.  Maybe all mothers feel that way - " 

"They don't." 

She didn't ask where he'd gotten that insight, just settling 
back on the couch. 

"I don't understand." 

"Don't understand what?" he asked. 

"Why I'm sitting here, comfortably, visiting with you after . . . 
" 

He nodded.  "I'm sorry for - " 

"Don't apologize.  I, I trust you.  Will trusts you."  The 
expression on his face caused her cheeks to warm.  "I 
guess I should let you get back to sleep." 

"I'm through sleeping for the night, but you should try to get 
some more rest.  Will's gonna be up in a few hours." 

"Do you think you could sleep in the bed?  I could take the 
couch for the rest of the night." 

"There's no need for that.  I don't need that much sleep." 

"Would you mind the company?" 

"Not at all, if you're not tired." 

They visited, speaking of less critical things, just getting to 
know one another, as they would have on dates had things 
been different. 

He glanced over at the TV, which was still on mute and 
when he looked back, he realized she had fallen asleep, 
her head on his shoulder.  He couldn't help but watch her 
sleep against him.  She had given him the chance to regain 
her trust under damn trying circumstances.  Now she had 
gotten comfortable here against him.  He let his arm go 
around her and allowed himself to get comfortable as well. 

He woke first, to find that they had stretched out and slept 
quite comfortably together there on the couch for the rest of 
the night.  She certainly wouldn't be happy to find them 
cuddled together.  He carefully removed himself from her 
arms and headed upstairs.   

He took a shower, on the cool side to bring his libido down, 
and got dressed. 

She woke up confused.  Where was . . . oh God!  She'd 
fallen asleep down here with . . . Where was he?  Had he 
gone upstairs when she took over his space?  No, it came to 
her, the feel of his arms holding her, her arms holding him 
as well.  She felt her face flame at the memory.  Was she 
still attracted to him?  Well, yes, physically.  What woman 
wouldn't be?  But under the circumstances . . .   

She rose from the couch and hurried upstairs.  She had just 
reached the top when the door to the hall bathroom opened 
and he emerged, dressed, but with his hair slicked back and 
still wet. 

They looked at each other for a long moment, then she 
turned away.  Silently he watched her enter the master 
bedroom and shut the door.  He felt his mood plummet, the 
memory of the feel of her evaporating. 

After another moment he turned toward the nursery.  He 
hadn't heard anything, but something made him step 
inside.  Will was awake, standing quietly in the crib.  He 
reached for Mulder when he saw him. 
"Hi, Son.  Did you sleep okay?" 

The boy merely held up his arms to be picked up. 

"I think I better change you first."  Mulder dressed Will for the 
day, with considerably less skill than she exhibited, but he'd 
learn. 

Mulder played with Will while she fixed breakfast with what 
was available.  They were slightly embarrassed around 
each other, but Will's delight eased that.  In her head, she 
began making a list of essentials.  They were barely 
finished when the bell rang.  The men brought the bedroom 
furniture and Mulder helped them carry it in.  Once 
assembled, they arranged the room to her satisfaction and 
the two men from the store headed downstairs. 

Mulder went with them to let them out, and in a couple of 
minutes Dana came down with Will in her arms. 
"You like it?" 

"I love it.  I've looked at that bedroom suite for ages, but I 
never thought I'd . . . thank you." 

He grinned. 

"You still need bedroom furniture." 

He shook his head.  "The couch is fine.  It's where I slept in 
my apartment.  I'm used to it." 

"You slept on a couch?" 

He shrugged.  "It wasn't that big a place.  I used the 
bedroom for storage." 

"You must have had a lot of stuff to store." 

He only smiled. 

"Well, Will and I need to get some supplies.  I thought I'd get 
groceries.  Is there anything - "  She saw his expression 
then.  "Mulder?" 

"You, uh, you will come back." 

Her eyes widened.  "I, yes.  Mulder, I didn't . . . Look," she 
took a deep breath, "it would be easier if you kept Will while I 
ran the errands.  I could get back quicker." 

"You, you'd do that?" 

"You were good with him last time.  You need some time to 
get to know how to look after him, get to know him."  She 
gave a tiny shrug. 

"You . . . you'd - " 

"Mulder, I'll be back as quick as I can.  Do I have a budget?" 

"Uh, no, whatever you . . . " 

She handed him the baby.  Mulder took him, looking 
bemused.  Dana leaned in and gave Will a kiss on the 
cheek and then without thinking did the same for Mulder.  
She drew back, blushing and he just stared at her.  Will 
laughed out loud drawing their attention. 

"He seems pleased with our arrangement," she managed to 
say, which drew a laugh from Mulder. 

"He's not alone." 

Color flooded her face again, remembering last night and 
she turned away, picking up the keys from the counter. 

"Dana, be careful.  Don't be . . . too long." 

She nodded, looking at the baby one more time.  He met her 
eyes and nodded. 

*****