Donna's Stories

Donna here - We couldn't help ourselves! Honest, this wasn't planned but oh so much fun! Very Happy Holidays to everyone!!

Vickie here -- Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noel, Merry Christmas!  We had a great time and wrote this rather quickly so please forgive any glaring errors.

 We wanted to give you all a little present.  See you all in 2010!

Scully checked her watch again, for probably the fourth time in five minutes. Mulder would be picking William up at school now and then heading over here to get her. She'd probably forgotten something important for the trip, but she knew with full certainty that she had all of William's things safely packed. If they had to go buy Mulder some underwear, so be it.

She shouldn't be this nervous. They were going to Mom's house for goodness sake, but it was William's first time with the whole family and that was nerve racking to her as well as him. Mulder wasn't exactly blasé about it either considering he'd be stuck in a house with Bill for a couple of days. Bill had never met William, well, no one had except Mom and only once for her. William was becoming more social, interacting at school as he became more comfortable, but this was going to be a challenge. Mom, in her most diplomatic way, had inferred that Matthew was a spoiled brat and Charlie's boys were teens now. She sighed; there was nothing she could do about any of that.

Charlie. She was worried about him. She hadn't actually seen him since the funeral and he wasn't exactly forthcoming in email. If only she could reach him more often by phone. Scully couldn't be positive that the boys had passed on messages when she got them, but for whatever reason, their communication was almost down to nothing.

She understood that, losing Rachel had devastated the man. Her death had shaken Scully in ways she had never anticipated. Rachel was younger than her; she had a family, children, and a man who adored her. It had never occurred to Scully that her sister-in-law would die so young. A brain aneurysm, it still didn't seem possible. Rachel had been a healthy young woman, active, vibrant, involved in her sons' lives.

Charlie hadn’t been there. The Navy that had ruled all of their lives for so many years had been in control for this too. He'd been on maneuvers and unreachable for over a day after she had taken ill. Kenny, Charlie's oldest son, had called Mom, who had dropped everything and rushed to their sides. She hadn't gotten there in time either and it was she who had called Scully. Mulder had still been 'in hiding' but she was already working at Our Lady of Sorrows and had rushed to her brother's home to be of what help she could. There had been nothing she could do, except be there, accept the condolences of friends until Charlie could arrive. Mom was much better at those kinds of things than she was, but she was there as backup and Scully thought the boys appreciated it.

They had moved around like the walking dead at first. Rachel had been their anchor; the parent that was home, that made it a home. The teens were a horrible age to live through under the best circumstances; this was a blow Scully could only hope they could weather. She was in touch with them, email, phone calls, she hadn't given in to Facebook yet and knowing Mulder, she never would, but she tried to be available, however they were teenagers . . .

She checked her watch again and shut down her computer. It had gone into sleep mode again anyway. She was rising from her desk when Dr. Watson tapped her on door. "I know you're on your way out, but could you give this a quick glance?" He held up a printout and she hid her sigh.

Mulder popped another sunflower seed into his mouth and tapped his fingers in time to the tune of Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire -- Cha Cha playing on his XM radio. When the doors to the school opened and the first wave of children ran out, he got out of the silver Taurus and stood by the driver's door. After just a few minutes, William appeared being led by one of the teachers.

Mulder stiffened, but the teacher, Ms. Reiman, smiled and shook her head. "All good news, Mr. Mulder," she assured him as she approached. "William had a great day. He even participated in music," she said with obvious pride.

"Hey, big guy, that's fantastic!" Mulder crowed, ruffling William's hair. "What did you do?"

William shrugged and reached for the door latch. Ms. Reiman smiled and spoke for him. "He played the triangle and he did a fantastic job. But I understand you won't be here for the pageant on Christmas Eve?"

"No, we're visiting family in Baltimore. As a matter of fact, we're packed and just heading over to pick up William's mom so we can hit the road."

"Well, you have a great time over Christmas break and we'll see you in January, William. Thank you again for the picture you drew me." Ms. Reiman waved goodbye and walked back toward the school building.

"You know I played the triangle in grade school," Mulder told William as he watched him in the rearview mirror buckling his seatbelt over the booster seat.

William stared out the window, chewing on his lip. "Can you put on Disney radio?" he asked.

"Sure. But I warn you, your mom's going to want classical," Mulder replied as he punched the select button on the radio. Miley Cyrus's latest pop song filled the air.

"So, you ready for Santa?" Mulder asked casually. He didn't expect the worried look to appear on William's face in the rearview mirror. "Want to talk about it?" he asked instinctively.

"I was making sound effects. In music class," William admitted glumly. 'Sound effects' was how Mulder referred to the noises William made when he was bored or uncomfortable, rocket noises and noises of battle. The articles Mulder had read on Asperger's indicated that was normal for the child, but it was still annoying to everyone else.

"Oh. Well, we talked about that. You have to be quiet in music class, just like the rest of the classes. Still, you did play the triangle when you were supposed to. That's a good thing." William's ability to cut off the rest of the world around him and enter into his own little 'zone' had caused more than a few problems at the beginning of the school year. Gradually both he and the school staff and children were making the adjustments.

Mulder nodded. "You know, Santa watches for the good stuff, too. You've been working so hard at school and that's the important part."

There was silence for a while and then William started making 'battle noises' and Mulder just smiled.

Mulder pulled the car into a visitor's parking space and got out to open the back door. William unbuckled himself and jumped down to the pavement with a little flourish.

"Nice," Mulder complimented him. William beamed and took Mulder's hand as they walked toward the hospital entrance.

Running ahead, William was the first at the elevator. He punched the 'up' call button and stared up at the floor indicator light. Mulder waited with him and when the doors finally opened, held William back so that the other occupants could move off. They entered the car together and William punched the button for the third floor.

"You got it. We get off the elevator; go left down the hall and right at the end. Which door?"

"Pead--peda--PEEdiATrics," William pronounced with only a modicum of difficulty.

"It's like a Star Wars figure or a Transformer," Mulder bluffed. "And what do I really do, no teasing now."

By the time the elevator doors opened on the third floor, William was deep in a long-running description of the battle on the ice planet Hoth and wasn't letting Mulder get a word in edgewise.

Mulder herded the child into the suite of offices and smiled at the nurse at the first desk. "Hi, Marcy."

"Hi, Mr. Mulder, William," the young woman smiled up at them. "Dr. Scully got called into a quick consult. She said she'd be no more than five minutes."

"How long ago was that?" Mulder asked, trying not to show his annoyance and failing.

"About ten minutes ago, so you shouldn't have to wait much longer. Oh, William, did you hear about the 'elf' problem we've been having here?"

"Somehow, elves have been sneaking around here all day leaving things behind. Why, I was just in your mother's office for a minute, and I found this on my desk when I came back out." She reached into a drawer and pulled out a bulging Christmas stocking. "Strangest thing -- it says 'William' on it. But I don't know that many people named William."

Mulder could see his son biting his lip. "Hey, that's your name, isn't it?" he poked him in the arm.

"Well, since you're the only William I know, I guess. I'm not very wise in the ways of elves," Marcy said, handing over the stocking.

William quickly dug his hand in the stocking and pulled out the first item. "Reeses!" he cried eagerly. Looking again, he pulled out more candy. "Here Daddy. You can have this one," he said, handing Mulder a candy cane.

"We're learning all about sharing at school," Mulder explained accepting the candy.

"What's this one?" William asked, holding up a foil covered tiny bell shaped candy.

"I got the candy cane," Mulder answered with glee. "If you're nice, I might let you lick my candy cane later," he whispered devilishly in her ear.

"Guess that extra spelling work after dinner is paying off," Mulder smiled at her.

Scully sighed and rolled her eyes. "Marcy, I guess we're taking off. The service -- "

"Has your cell phone number, but they know to try one of the doctors on call first. You just have a good time, relax and enjoy your family. Hey, this is your first Christmas, isn't it?"

Scully looked over at Mulder and smiled wistfully. "Yeah, I guess it is. First one together, all of us."

Mulder encircled her waist and hugged her to his side. "C'mon. The car is packed and I gassed up before I got the c-h-i-l-d."

"Then let's get this show on the road," Scully said, hoping she sounded more excited than fearful.

Mulder pulled the car up to the curb and killed the engine. He looked over at Scully who was looking out the passenger side window, a pensive expression on her face.

She sighed and turned to look behind her at William sound asleep in the back seat.

"No one has seen us. We could just turn around and head right back home," Mulder told her, giving voice to a desire so secret she would never admit it to anyone, even herself.

"No. It wouldn't be fair to William. This is his first Christmas with his family - his real family. Families get together at Christmas. I want him to have this. I've . . . Mulder, I've dreamed of this day for so very long."

"Hey, reality always pales in comparison to fantasy. Well, present company excepted, of course," he replied to with a trademark leer.

She chuffed a laugh, but grew serious again. "It's his family. We brought him into it. He has a right to be here. He has a right to meet these people, get to know them -- warts and all."

"Buck up, former G-man," she dared, poking him in the arm. "You get the wild child, I'll get the luggage."

"A woman with a plan - I'm very turned on," Mulder teased, still trying to lighten the moment.

"Sorry, sport, but that just means you're going to be taking cold showers for the duration. William is sleeping in the same room with us," she shot back.

"Is it too late to get a couple of rooms at the Super 8 we just passed?" At her frown he shrugged in defeat. "I'll get the wet blanket, you get the clothes."

"Yeah, well you told him I was a 'boy toy'," Mulder shot back. He got out of the car, opened the back door and reached in to unbuckle William. Halfway out of his booster seat, William woke up.

Scully handed William his own brightly colored duffle bag and the pillow off his bed at home, since she knew pillows would be a scarce commodity with so many people in one house. Mulder grabbed their other suitcases and Scully took the shopping bags filled with presents. The three trooped up the walk to the porch and William rang the doorbell.

In just a moment, Maggie opened the front door and the glass storm door. "Dana, Fox, Merry Christmas. And look at you, William! Come in, let's get you out of the cold."

"Mrs. Scully," Mulder said, accepting a hug and attempting to keep hold of the luggage.

"And you, young man," Maggie crooned to William as she hugged him tightly. Letting him go, she stood and took everyone's coats to the hall closet. "Your Aunt Tara and Uncle Bill are so excited to meet you. And your Uncle Charlie and your cousins got in late last night."

"Not till day after tomorrow, I'm afraid," Maggie told him. "But don't you worry. We'll have fun in the meantime. I rented some movies for you and Matthew to watch in the family room and later we can all play a game or two. Right now, I bet you're hungry after that long drive. Come into the kitchen and I'll get you all something to eat."

"Yes. I had Bill put a cot in there for William," Maggie told her as she herded William down the hall.

"We'll put these away and be right there," Scully called as she indicated to Mulder to follow her up the stairs.

"I'm telling you, Scully, I'm having a hard time not getting my hopes up here. Your old room from your teen years. Finding all those Scott Baio posters on the back of your closet door . . ."

She came to the first door at the top of the stairs and opened it, then stepped aside to let Mulder enter first. He stopped pretty quickly. "Um, Houston, we have a problem."

"What's the . . . matter," Scully trailed off as she, too, stepped into the room to discover the cot, her old twin bed -- and a sleeping bag laid out on the floor. "William Scully, Junior," she growled.

"Scully, it's OK. I'll take the floor. No big deal. We're only here for a couple of nights."

"No, it is not all right." She spun on her heel when she stopped and stormed over to the closet, opening up both sliding doors. "Just as I thought," she said angrily. She stepped aside and showed Mulder the contents of the closet -- a rollaway bed. "We used it for sleepovers when I was a kid. It's the same height as the twin -- we just have to move the nightstand out of the way and we'll have a defacto king sized bed."

"Yeah. I'm sure," Scully huffed. "C'mon, let's get it set up. I know where Mom keeps the sheets and extra blankets."

She had the room in a much better order quickly, though she was muttering to herself. Reassuring her wasn't helping, and he wanted to check on William. This was high stress for both of them and he wanted to keep an eye on things. They headed back downstairs and Scully moved on to the kitchen. William passed her in the dining room and headed for Mulder.

Mulder spotted the younger man as he came into the room. He walked stiffly, not at attention, but as though remembering how walking was done. The man's eyes landed on William and he came toward them. The smile he attempted looked tired.

Mulder felt William back up away from the man until he bumped into Mulder's legs and then he took a fistful of slacks for further comfort.

"Charlie?" Mulder asked. It couldn't be anyone else. The resemblance with Bill was there, though the man was thinner, much thinner. With the insight of a profiler or maybe his own Spookiness, he realized that on some level that he probably wasn't even aware of, Charlie blamed Bill for a great deal of his pain. He actually blamed the Navy for the time he had lost with Rachel, but Bill personified that.

Will's hand tightened on Mulder's slacks as Charlie stopped in front of them. "You must be Mulder and William."

Mulder took the proffered hand and they shook. Charlie looked down at William, but didn't offer his hand. It was obvious that William wouldn't have taken it and his grip on Mulder's slacks tightened.

Charlie nodded, seeming to smile slightly at the name and headed in that direction. Mulder looked down at William, who's fist was relaxing slightly. "You okay?"

Mulder led him over to the corner near the Christmas tree. "He lost his wife and - "

Mulder blinked at that, but nodded. William sighed and his hand found its way into Mulder's. The boy was clearly uncomfortable in this setting and with all these strangers. Mulder felt little better, but it was for Scully and they were able to attend now, so that excuse was gone - not that he would have used it. She was so obviously happy to be able to see her family again.

In a few minutes he looked up to see Scully walking back from the kitchen with her arm around Charlie's waist. She was talking to him, but Charlie's mind seemed to be elsewhere. They stopped in front of Mulder and William.

"I believe they're in the den, either watching TV or asleep," Charlie said. "They were up late last night. I'll go get them." He pulled away from Scully and turned toward the back of the house.

Scully looked up at Mulder, her eyes showing her concern. "I thought he'd be better by now." Mulder kept quiet, would he be this functional if Scully . . . Don't go there.

"Mom said Tara took them to do some last minute things. They should be back any minute."

Charlie joined them. "The boys will be here in a minute, they didn't want to miss some part of the movie they're watching." He seemed slightly ill at ease at their rudeness, but didn't seem to know a solution. "We got in pretty late last night, so they haven't been up long."

The doorbell rang then and Scully looked up. "That must be Bill." She noted that both Mulder and Charlie tensed up at her words, but hurried on to the door.

"Ho Ho Ho!" Bill hadn't been able to open the door with his arms full, but he blustered in followed by Matthew and Tara. Mulder looked them over from his relative hiding place near the tree. Bill looked the same as always, big, red-faced, in charge. Tara looked mainly tired. Matthew had grown, even from the pictures Scully had shared a few months back. And he obviously hadn't missed many meals. He'd get that growth spurt eventually, to bring him up to Bill's height, but in the meantime, the kind word would be chunky. Mulder immediately filled in the word bully as well, but that was a first impression and based on Mulder's opinion of his father so he'd keep quiet.

Bill glanced at Mulder, then down at the boy and his steps faltered, but he regained control and turned toward his brother. "Merry Christmas, Charlie. Where are the boys? You did bring them, didn't you?"

Mulder watched. Was Bill really that oblivious to the look on Charlie's face? William has certainly caught it if his grip meant anything.

When no one else spoke, Scully moved forward trying to ease the awkwardness. "Bill, it's good to see you."

Damn, this could have been a bad drawing room comedy with mediocre actors, Mulder thought. Scully gave Bill a hug, which he turned into a bear hug, lifting her off her feet. Mulder kept quiet. Tara moved forward and gave Scully a quick hug, then looked back at Matthew, silently urging him to do the same.

With ill grace Matthew stepped forward and allowed Scully to give him a hug. "Matthew, I'd like you to meet Mulder and William." She turned toward Mulder, who manfully stepped forward with William in tow.

"Matthew, nice to see you again. It's been a long time." Matthew looked him up and down and his eyes flickered to William. William's grip became painful for an instant. "William, this is your cousin, Matthew. He lives in California."

Maggie came bustling out of the kitchen at that point, saving them all from further conversation. "Did you get the cream? Let's get whatever needs refrigeration put away, then we can visit."

Mentally Mulder rolled his eyes. Visit? With these people? Fun times. How many more hours until Santa came and they could get out of here? He caught Charlie looking at him. To his surprise, Charlie gave him a short nod.

Kenny and Bryan joined them, looking their part as teenagers, with low slung jeans and t-shirts, their hair longer than Charlie's by several haircuts and looking like bad bed hair. They did seem genuinely happy to see Scully and were inclusive of William, unlike Matthew.

Mulder was sure Maggie had picked up on the tension as much as anyone else, but she continued to be the consummate hostess, as everyone gathered in the living room, and the kids piled the packages they had all brought under the tree for Christmas morning opening.

Mulder silently wished for a smaller, quieter Christmas, just the three of them in their house in Virginia, but kept his mouth shut. He sat on the floor while William placed their packages under the tree, then the boy sat beside him, close and Mulder's arm around him.

"I can't believe how much all my grandsons have grown," Maggie mused. "We do need a girl though." She spoke without looking at either Tara or Dana, but it still fell flat in the room and all conversation, what little there was of it, stopped.

"Maybe if Dana gets married some day, she'll take care of that for you," Bill tossed out and Mulder felt Scully tighten. Was she going to retort?

"Where's the bathroom?" William whispered to Mulder and, grateful to get out of the line of fire, they rose and Mulder followed William upstairs.

Scully found them sometime later in their bedroom. Mulder had William tucked in and was sitting on the floor next to the cot, reading to him.

"Hey, there. Ready for bed?" Scully smiled as she knelt down next to her two men.

"That's true," Scully nodded. "Did you say your prayers?" she asked William, brushing strawberry blond locks from his forehead.

"I've been listening," he shrugged. "And I found this on the bookcase over there," he said, showing the book he was reading.

"Here, settle back. We were just getting to the good part," Mulder said, patting his chest. Scully shook her head at his antics, but turned and leaned back against him. Mulder moved the book to the side so he could continue to read. After a few minutes, Scully looked over and saw that William was fast asleep.

"I figured with all the excitement it would be best to keep him on his usual schedule," Mulder whispered in return.

She nodded, getting to her feet and rummaging through the suitcase for her pajamas. "I'm sure getting away from Bill was just an added benefit," she said and gave him a pointed look.

Mulder took her in his arms. "In all the time I've known him, your brother has had it out for me. But that's his problem. This is our Christmas, our first real Christmas and I'm not going to let a few snide comments ruin it - for you, for William, or for me."

"Well, fortunately, Bill is getting together with some of his buddies from Annapolis tomorrow morning."

She laughed softly. "C'mon, I'm kind of tired too. And those shoulders look awfully inviting," she said, pulling him over to the bed.

"So, can we keep to our usual schedule, too?" he asked, shedding slacks and shirt and climbing in under the covers.

"As soon as we're back home," she assured him, but gave him a kiss full of promise.

Maggie sighed as she chopped the almond bark into small pieces and scooped them up into the glass bowl. She popped it into the microwave, chose the time and power level and then stood back, watching through the window as the bits of white chocolate slowly melted into smooth, creamy icing.

She wished it were so easy. She wished she could take individuals, pop them somewhere and just watch as all the hurt and anger melted and they formed a cohesive family unit, free of stress.

She shook her head. Where did that come from? Maggie prided herself on her level head. It was one of the things her William had always remarked on, one of the things she admired most in her youngest daughter. So where had she come up with these wistful thoughts?

She had to be honest, she'd been too overcome with joy to see the hardships of this family gathering.

It had all seemed so incredible. When Dana had called saying she had news, wonderful news, Maggie knew instinctively that it meant they had found William. But not only did they find him, from Dana's much truncated account, they had saved him - and he, them. They were a family. It was the dead of summer, but Maggie's immediate thought was of Christmas.

"You'll come, won't you? The three of you? I was already expecting Fox, but to have all three of you - "

And so it was just a matter of a few phone calls and it was all arranged. She knew to expect Kenny and Bryan, it was 'her turn' to have the boys for their Christmas vacation--a task she shared with Rachel's parents while Charlie was out to sea. But as luck would have it, Charlie had requested a desk job stateside and given his recent tragic loss, the higher ups felt they owed it to the man. Then, as if by miracle, Tara had called telling her that Bill would be home for six weeks starting Dec. 1 and they would be joining her for Christmas, too. She'd gone to bed that night and cried herself to sleep, but they were tears of joy.

It wasn't that she thought everything would be perfect. She was a mother of four and had raised her children with a husband out to sea more years than she cared to remember. There had been lop-sided bicycles, broken crystal and china from small 'helpful' hands in the clean up department. There had been tears and rants and time-outs during some particularly willful years. And even when William had been home, there had been problems. Sometimes it seemed there were more problems when he was around.

Maggie bit her tongue at that uncharitable thought. But in truth, sometimes William's arrival, breezing in from the four corners of the world, only served to disrupt the fragile balance she achieved by constant hard work and vigilance. Still, it was so good to have him home, she didn't really mind.

No, she knew better than to expect perfect. What she wanted was 'familiar'. She wanted 'comfortable'. She wanted her children to like each other and respect each other. She'd seen the look on Dana's face at Bill's inappropriate remark about her marital status. As far as Maggie was concerned, Fox and Dana were married in each other's eyes and that was all that really mattered. But Bill had always had a sore spot when it came to Fox and after all the years, Maggie didn't think anything could change that. Still, was it too much to expect her son to be on his best behavior in her house, to her guests?

Charlie was another matter completely. Her poor baby Charles. He walked around like a wrath, a shell of the man who used to come into the kitchen and proceed to engage in sword play with stalks of celery. Without Rachel, beautiful, kind, loving Rachel, he was only half a man. She understood the pain, the loss. But what she couldn't comprehend, what was too difficult for her to even contemplate was the anger and guilt he carried. He hadn't caused the aneurysm in Rachel's brain. But he blamed himself for being at sea, for being away when she needed him most. Where Maggie had held her William's hand when he passed, as awful and sad as that was, Charlie had been robbed of even that simple gesture. He returned to find his wife gone from him. It had been close to a year, and he had two fantastic boys that needed him desperately, but he just didn't have the strength to give them the love they deserved.

The microwave chimed and she shook off her thoughts. Carefully, she took the bowl out of the oven and stirred the chocolate with a fork. She opened a cabinet and picked the green food coloring, tilting the container to allow only a few sparse drops in the icing.

Maggie fought the startle response and turned to smile at her one remaining daughter-in-law. "Sure, honey. Could you get out the wax paper and cover that chopping board on the island. We can put the dipped cookies there while they cool."

Working as a team, Maggie and Tara proceeded to dip the already cooled sugar cookies into the melted chocolate and place them in a row on the wax paper. Tara found the candy pieces, pull-n-peel licorice and colored sprinkles and each woman created masterpieces with the cookies.

"Well, Dana got tired of being Bill's punching bag so she went to bed - I'm pretty sure that's where Fox and William had gone. Charlie took his car keys and left for a drive about an hour ago. The big boys went into the den and were watching something on On Demand and Bill and Matty are - " she sighed. "Playing some computer game, I think."

Maggie caught the comment about Dana and looked over at Tara. "What's the matter, sweetheart? You're . . . not your usual chipper self."

Tara tried to smile, but it was closer to a grimace. "I'm just tired, Maggie. It was a long trip."

"I know that, but you've had other long trips. What's going on? If you don't want to tell me, I understand - " she added hastily.

Tara bit her lip. "Maggie, was Bill always a bully?" she asked so bluntly that it caught Maggie completely by surprise.

"No, he has never touched me in anger, Maggie. It's not that. It's not even how he is with me or Matt. It's something I notice when he's around his brother and sister. He's . . . I don't know, he's a different person. At first, I thought it was because of his dad's death, he felt he was now the man of the family. But that was a long time ago and it's only gotten worse as he gets older."

"Bill . . . was always opinionated," Maggie admitted. "Strong willed. But then, you could say that of all of them. Melissa . . . " Maggie stopped, smiling off in the distance. "Missy was Joan of Arc on her own terms," she said, swallowing back the tears that always came with thoughts of her oldest daughter. "And Dana, well, you know how Dana is."

"But it goes deeper than that," Tara objected. "And . . . I see it in Matt. And I don't like it. Not one bit."

"He's eleven, honey. That's a rough age for boys. I used to joke that they start military school way too late for most mothers. By the time they're in high school at least they can mow the lawn and help around the house. We need a hand when they're in middle school."

"All the rules go out the window," Maggie said knowingly. "I remember those days. Sometimes I wanted to wring Bill's neck -- Bill Senior as well as Bill Junior."

"He wants to be the good guy all the time. But if he's always the good guy that makes me . . . "

"The bad guy," Maggie commiserated. "I understand where they're coming from. They only have a short time to be with their family and they want so much from that time. Discipline, when meted out, was often too harsh for the circumstances or not applied at all. It caused a lot of confusion and hurt feelings."

"I don't know that I ever did - or maybe we wouldn't be having this conversation," Maggie said with a sad smile.

"Oh, Maggie, I don't blame you, I just . . . I was hoping for some sage advice," Tara said with an equal smile.

"As soon as I find some, I'll share it," Maggie assured her. She glanced over at the microwave. "Oh, dear, it's almost midnight."

"But the cookies look great," Tara said with a wink. "Well, goodnight, Maggie. Thanks for the talk."

"Anytime, honey. And if you find an answer to that problem we've discussed. . . "

Maggie looked at the cookies and with a quick glance at the door to ensure she wasn't seen, picked up one and took a bite. It was familiar. It was comforting. It tasted just like Christmas. She finished off that cookie, resisted the urge to take one upstairs with her and turned off the light. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve and sure to be a busy day.

The next morning came with three inches of fresh snow. William was thrilled as he woke his parents with the news.

"Just what Santa needs, huh, sport?" Mulder asked as he watched over William's general grooming and teeth brushing while Scully dressed for the day.

"Uh huh," William replied around a mouthful of foam. "An ba slay," he added before spitting.

"Yup, and the sleigh," Mulder correctly interpreted. "C'mon, let's go down and see what Grandma has around here for breakfast."

"I'd put good money on it. And from past experience, your mom learned all her pancake making skills from your Grandmother. We are in for a treat."

Breakfast was a little more enjoyable since Bill had left early. Matthew tended to sleep late, according to Tara, and Charlie and his boys hadn't surfaced yet. It was just Maggie, Tara, Mulder, Dana and William for pancakes. William dug in with relish and finished off three pancakes before asking to be excuse.

"Just a minute, William. I have something you might be interested in," Maggie said. She disappeared onto the back porch but soon reappeared carrying a cardboard box. "I found these when I was cleaning out the garage. I thought we'd given them away years ago." She handed the box to the child and he peeked in at the contents.

"They belonged to your Uncle Charlie. I asked him and he said he wouldn't mind if you had them. We can keep them here so you have something to play with when you come visit me."

"I don't see why not," Maggie said, ruffling his hair. "Why don't you go in the den?"

"Keep the pieces you aren't building with in the box, William, so you don't lose any of them," Dana directed. "Thanks, Mom," she said after the boy was out of the room.

"Well, you said he loves to play make believe. Charlie was like that, you know. Always in his own little world."

"Not at all, Tara. I'll keep an ear out for Matt. Did you still want to meet up for lunch?"

"Oh absolutely. You're coming too, aren't you, Dana? A 'girls day out' before the madness tonight?"

Scully looked over at Mulder, concern coloring her expression. "Oh, Tara, that's awfully sweet, but I don't know . . . "

Mulder took her hand and squeezed it lightly. "I don't know. Sounds like a pretty good plan to me. We'll be fine here. William will keep me out of trouble," he added with a wink.

"We'll just be gone the afternoon. We need to get back early to put the ham in the oven for tonight," Maggie offered. "What do you say, sweetheart? It's been so long since I got to go out with my girls. We can make sandwiches for the boys and then we'll go have something fun."

"I'm trying very hard not to be jealous," Mulder said, folding his arms. "C'mon, Scully. You love the Cheesecake Factory."

"OK, OK, you win!" she laughed. "I suppose you expect me to bring something back for dessert."

William frowned, glancing up quickly at the figure towering over him and his most recent Lego creation. He lifted one shoulder in meek agreement. He'd really hoped Matthew would continue to play with his Game Boy in the living room, but apparently that wasn't going to be the case.

"Lemme see," Matthew said, picking up the remote for the television and randomly pressing buttons. "Ah, fuck! All the channels are messed up! This sucks!"

"Here," William said, holding his hand out for the remote. Matthew glared at him, but handed the device over. William pointed it at the television and quickly found the programming guide, then proceeded to click to the proper channel for Comedy Central. He handed the remote back to his cousin.

"Awright," Matthew sighed. He flopped down in the reclining chair and pushed it back, raising the footrest. "Hey, your head's in the way. Move, why don't ya," he ordered.

William scooted over a few feet and continued to work on his structure. He was trying to recreate the outpost on Endor, but he had already run out of white pieces and had to resort to gray and yellow ones.

"So, what grade you in?" Matthew asked, staring at the screen where Cartman was once again declaring Kenny dead.

William ignored the question, so Matthew repeated it -- louder. "I said, what the hell grade are you in?"

"What are you, some kinda retard? You should be in second grade," Matthew huffed. "My old man said there was something wrong with you. They gave you away and somehow you found your way back."

William frowned and tried to block out the sound of Matthew's voice. He worked hard to concentrate and searched through the pile of blocks for the right pieces to make the overhang where Princess Leia hid from the Imperial Stormtroopers before she was found by Han Solo.

"Yeah, you're crazy or something. Like your dad. If he is your dad. My old man thinks my Aunt Dana was screwing her boss. You're probably her boss's kid."

Tears were forming in William's eyes and his nose was starting to run. He swiped at his nose and cheeks angrily with his shirtsleeve and found two blocks stuck together. Putting them in his mouth, he tried to pry them apart with his teeth.

"Oh gross! What the fuck are you doing? Don't put those in your mouth, you retard!" Matthew howled. "I might want to play with those some day!"

Mulder had finally found a quiet room, the sunroom on the far side of the house. It wasn't heated, which meant it was about 40 degrees, but there was no one else there but him and the Washington Post. So far he'd worked his way through the front sections and was currently pricing real estate in his and Scully's old neighborhoods. When the hum hit, he thought it might just be the early stages of hypothermia. But after a moment, it increased in strength and magnitude to the point that he dropped the paper and grabbed his head from the pain. The next second he was on his feet, struggling to get in the house and find William. Something was dreadfully wrong.

He made it through the kitchen just in time to hear William let out a blood-curdling scream followed immediately by the sound of something hitting the wall. The ruckus was coming from the family room. He made a beeline in that direction only to run head long into Bill, coming from the dining room. Both men stormed into the family room at once.

The Lego set was scattered on the floor near the recliner. A picture of all six of the Scullys, taken sometime during the late seventies by the looks of the dress and hairstyles, was lying on the floor with the glass broken. Matthew was sitting forward on the recliner, holding his hand to his nose. Blood dripped through his fingers.

Bill was beside his son in an instant. "Let me see," he ordered, grabbing Matthew's hand and pulling it away from his face. "It's not your nose - it's a cut. What did he hit you with - his fist?"

"No, with the Legos!" Matthew yelled angrily. "I was jest sittin' here, watching TV and the little fucker hit me with the Legos. And he broke that picture, too!"

When Mulder had the presence of mind to look at his son, he found it was just the three of them in the room. "Where did he go?" he asked of no one in particular.

"You better find the little bastard before he hurts someone else," Bill growled. "C'mon, Matt. Let's get you cleaned up. Where the hell does Mom keep the first aid kit" he muttered loudly.

Mulder left the room, hoping the hum would return and guide him to his son. When that proved futile, he started searching the downstairs rooms. William was not to be found. Finally he took the steps two at a time to the second floor. He searched the room they'd slept in and the bathroom. He was just about to look in Maggie's room when Charlie's door opened and he stuck his head out into the hall. "I've got him in here, Mulder. He's pretty upset."

"Thanks," Mulder answered gratefully. Charlie stepped aside and let Mulder into the room. At first he couldn't see his son, but then he spotted the child crouched between a dresser and the closet door. "Hey, buddy," he said, lowering himself to the floor and pulling William on his lap. The boy grabbed onto Mulder tightly and rocked back and forth. Mulder followed suit, rocking them there on the floor. "It's OK, buddy. Just calm down. Just calm down." He rubbed the child's back, tucking him into his shoulder. "OK, it's OK. Just breathe with me, OK? In. Out. In. Out."

It took several minutes of repeating the process before William's tearful hiccups finally settled into deep breathing. "That's it. That's my guy," Mulder murmured to the boy. After a few more minutes he took the boy's chin in his hand and turned his face up. "Want to tell me what happened?"

"Something happened, buddy. Something upset you. What happened?" Mulder tried again.

"William, did you hit your cousin?" Mulder asked quietly, keeping his voice steady and calm even though it took a lot of effort.

"Why?" Mulder asked, confused. In the last six months they'd had William back with them, he had never hurt anyone. This behavior was totally unlike anything Mulder could remember, even in William's worst meltdowns.

"Did he hurt you first?" Mulder asked, still trying to find some semblance of reason in the recent events. "Did he say something that upset you?"

William started to cry harder and buried his face in Mulder's shoulder. "I wann-na-na go home NOW!"

Not knowing what else to do, Mulder went back to rocking them gently back and forth. After nearly half an hour, William's hiccups turned to sighs and the child dropped into an exhausted sleep. Mulder kept rocking him for a moment, then moved to stand. He was surprised when a strong arm helped him to his feet and smiled when he realized it was Charlie.

"Thanks. I'm just going to lay him down in our room," he said. Charlie nodded and went before them, opening doors. When William was tucked in on the cot, Mulder smoothed the hair from his forehead and leaned over, giving him a kiss.

"I think I can shed a little light on the problem," Charlie whispered when he caught Mulder's attention for a moment. Mulder followed him into the hallway and partially closed the door to the room before turning to hear what Charlie had to say.

"He's never thrown a toy at anyone. He's never hurt anyone, not that we've seen," Mulder objected.

Charlie scratched at his forehead and shrugged. "Matt was calling him a 'retard'. I also overheard something about Dana screwing her boss, that you aren't Will's real dad."

Charlie snorted bitterly. "Matt's probably overheard Bill on one of his rants. But from what I could gather, Will wasn't saying anything. Matt just kept needling him 'til he got a reaction."

"I was headed for the kitchen when I overheard it. I was going to go in and stop them, but I didn't have time. I heard Will scream, heard the crash and then Will tore around the corner like the hounds of hell were on him. I found him in my room. I think it was the only open door in the hallway. I didn't know if he was comfortable enough around me for me to try and comfort him. He was so scared. That's when I heard you upstairs and well, you know the rest."

Mulder leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. "Shit." After giving himself a moment, he stood up again and glanced at his watch. "Dana should be home already. I should call her."

Charlie put his hand on Mulder's arm, arresting his move to get out his cell phone.

"You know if you call her now she's just going to be upset all the way home. They're on their way, Mom wanted to get dinner started so we could eat by 6 and it's 4:30 already."

Mulder nodded, rubbing a hand over his face and resting it on his chin. "What should I do? Apologize?" he asked, half-joking.

"I wouldn't. And I certainly wouldn't force Will to, either," Charlie said tersely.

"He threw a toy at his cousin. I can't let that slide, Charlie. You wouldn't let that slide if it had been one of your boys, and you know it."

"Mulder, all I know is that Bill's spawn is just exactly like him - a trouble-maker. He's only 11 and already he has all the personality traits that make his father such a top notch asshole. He goes through life making people miserable and then plays the victim when he gets the response he was hoping for all along. Don't do that to Will. Don't let Matt - or Bill for that matter - turn him into a victim."

Mulder started to ask Charlie to explain himself when they heard the front door open and Maggie call out that she, Tara and Dana were home.

Mulder moved to the top of the stairs and Scully looked up and smiled at him. It quickly faded and she hurried up the stairs. "What's wrong?"

Mulder looked over at Charlie. "You can talk in my room, let William sleep," he offered and headed back downstairs.

"What happened?" she insisted Mulder led her into the room Charlie and his boys were using.

Mulder sighed and took a seat at the foot of Charlie's bed. He gave her a quick rundown of the events of the last half hour. He hated the stricken look on her face, but he didn't keep things from her. The last fifteen years had taught him some things.

"Oh Mulder," she closed her eyes and joined him on the bed. "I need to see William." She made no move to rise.

"He's asleep, worn out I guess. There was definite fear that Santa had watched the whole thing, but he didn't mention that."

Yes, yes, yes! But he took a deep breath. "No. They're your family; we're going to be spending time with them for the rest of our lives. We need to reach detente at least."

"None of this is your fault, Scully. None of it. And as much as I'd like to wring Matthew's neck, I'm not sure how much to blame he is either."

"Bill," she said dully and he nodded. She rose then. "I want to look in on William." He let her go and after a moment took a deep breath and followed.

She laid an afghan over the boy and there was a slight smudge of red where her lips had brushed his brow. She was just standing there, watching him. "You okay?"

It looked so wistful he wanted to break Bill in two; instead he took her into his arms. "I know he's mine and that you are too. That's all that matters." She leaned against him for a moment, then straightened and they walked downstairs together. No one else seemed to be in evidence, which was a relief and he followed Scully into the kitchen.

Mulder opened his mouth to give a better explanation, but stopped. If Scully wanted to do that, she could. He was the outsider here and he didn't want to sound defensive.

"That's part of it, Mom, but I don't want Matthew referring to William as a 'retard', I won't tolerate that."

Maggie's mouth dropped open. "He said that to William? Oh Dana, Fox, I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," Mulder reassured her. "I think I'll go finish the paper." He escaped back out to the sun room to find Charlie there, sitting staring out into the bleak back yard. "Sorry - "

"No, I took your spot. It's just not that big a house," Charlie said rising. "Kenny and Bryan will be watching out for William. They won't let Matthew get away with something like that again."

"Yeah, I do. William is their cousin and he's just a kid. Matthew can't take on the bigger boys; they won't let him pick on anyone else."

"Thank you," Mulder said quietly and Charlie nodded, leaving him the cold room to himself again.

Lives Reclaimed - Christmas Together (R)