From: ssteiner@sbcglobal.net   
      
   She talked fast, the words tumbling out of her in a rush. "We were about to   
   start the barbeque, when he came into the backyard.  Mom asked if she could   
   help him, and he asked if she was Dana Scully.  She said, yes, I am, and   
   then he pulled the gun out of his pocket and started to wave it around.  Mom   
   was talking to him real quiet, telling him to give her the gun, that it   
   would be okay whatever it was.  Mom tried to take the gun from him, but I   
   think it went off accidentally-he felt like it was an accident.  When she   
   fell down, no one moved for a second, and then everyone went crazy.  Mrs.   
   Staley called 911, and Mr. Alston was going to try and take the gun from   
   Will.   I stopped him, it was dangerous-I stood in front of Will and told   
   Mr. Alston no.  Then Will grabbed my arm and dragged me to the car, I couldn   
   't get loose. He's much stronger than a kid like me.  Then we just drove   
   around and after a while it was like he woke up.  He didn't remember what   
   happened, or why I was with him in the car. I had to tell him what happened,   
   and that we had to come back here, because you would know what to do."   
      
   "Thanks, kiddo. You did great." Mulder grinned at his daughter, but the   
   concern was still wrapped around him like a shroud.  "Will, want to tell me   
   what happened from your perspective?"   
      
   I was still vaguely open-mouthed from Julie's gushing breakdown, wouldn't be   
   surprised if she had inherited that famous photographic memory, but I never   
   knew Mulder to be psychic. It had only seemed that way because he saw   
   everything, and made connections no one else could see.  I had discovered in   
   the weeks at the lake that there was a quiet reserve at Will's core.  Maybe   
   that's what Julie was referring to. Will looked like he was gathering his   
   thoughts.   
      
   After a moment, he blurted out, "I don't know.  One minute I'm in Missouri   
   arguing with Al and then the next I'm driving around Washington State with a   
   girl and a gun in his Taurus."   
      
   Mulder stood and went to kneel in front of the boy who looked so much like a   
   man, and gently laid a hand on his knee.  "Have you had other episodes of   
   missing time?"   
      
   Will nodded miserably.  "Yeah, they started about six months ago."   
      
   "Do you remember aliens?"   
      
   He shook his head, stayed silent for a moment.   
      
   "Have you had other events?"   
      
   "A lot. The big one was when I found myself in Georgia."   
      
   "Have you noticed anything else?"   
      
   "There was a knife. Once it sort of flew by itself-into the door in my   
    room."   
      
   "I bet that was strange."   
      
   Will agreed with a weak nod.   
      
   "Al, would you care to join me?"  Mulder rose and walked out to the deck on   
   the back of the house, closing the door firmly behind me. "I know that there   
   is a lot you don't remember, but you need to try and tell me everything you   
   know about Will's birth."  He radiated seriousness; nearly trembling with   
   some emotion I couldn't put my finger on.   
      
   God, my memories were as fractured as my brain; I was running on   
   four-day-old fumes, hadn't had a meal since yesterday, and I was reluctant   
   to spell out what I thought I knew. Much of what I had was circumstantial   
   information provided to me by a not-so impartial source. "It's a mess,   
   Mulder. What I know, I got from Spender. It's not mine. I nearly died the   
   day he was born!"   
      
   Mulder had his hands in his pockets, and was rocking back and forth, heel to   
   toe, as he stared out into the darkness beyond the pool of light we stood   
   in.  "The thing I know, it was told to me as well. Second hand information-I   
   was still in a coma, recently returned from the dead."  He went motionless   
   as he turned his head to stare at me, specifically the scar on my forehead.   
   It made me nervous, but I'd had worse in grocery stores.  "Skinner told me   
   that you had a vial, a cure for the alien virus that took over Billy Miles.   
   You were trying to make a bargain with it, the vial for me, if he would make   
   sure that Scully lost the baby. 'She can't have that baby,' you told him.   
      
   My mouth went dry like the Sahara.  "I, I.didn't know. I'm sorry, Mulder, I   
   didn't know."   
      
   His eyes dropped a fraction to meet mine.  "You weren't the only one who   
   thought so. Believe it or not, Krycek, I've long since some to terms with   
   it. 'The inextricable relationships in our lives that are neither accidental   
   nor somehow in our control, either.'"   
      
   "What's that?"   
      
   "Just something I told Scully once. I had some strange experiences after you   
   died, or after I thought you were dead anyway, and the things you did for me   
   made me remember that you claimed to be working for the same goal."   
      
   I frowned.  "I did what?"  Maybe he was just crazy, not psychic.   
      
   "You came to me, three times, helping me, talking to me and providing   
   information. I've never stopped thinking about that, and knowing now that   
   you weren't dead puts a few pieces together for me. But, back to the matter   
   of Will; you knew then that the child was dangerous, and that he couldn't be   
   allowed to be born."   
      
   "Do you know why?" I was still reeling from the info dump; it was too soon   
   for me to draw a conclusion. I hadn't heard this before; he had to connect   
   the dots for me.   
      
   "After Scully delivered, she said the super soldiers came, under a shining   
   star, as if they were the wise men, and the child was the Messiah."   
      
   "Sounds like a bad metaphor."  I nearly growled it out.   
      
   "Cheesy, yeah.  Did Jeff tell you that he injected my son with magnetite? It   
   was supposed to neutralize the alien manifestations, things flying across   
   the room-but in the end, Scully felt that he was still in too much danger   
   for her to keep him.  So she sent him away to live happily ever after." He   
   said this last as if it had a bitter taste.   
      
   We still had our eyes locked on each other, Mulder looking expectant, like I   
   was supposed to draw the lines myself-and I did, much to my surprise. "The   
   missing time, they found him."   
      
   "And whatever dampening effect the magnetite had on Will was lifted, or   
   removed."   
      
   "God, Mulder."   
      
   "It's 2012, Alex.  The date of the invasion of the body snatchers is   
   December 22. Incidentally, the end of the Mayan calendar, too.  This was the   
   information I located when you helped me escape from the Mount Weather   
   complex." He turned to look out into the darkness, leaving me to watch his   
   profile shadowed by the porch light.   
      
   The evening took on a Twilight Zone twist.  "Mulder.  I was comatose for   
   years."   
      
   "And yet, there you were.  You showed me the door, locked it behind me, and   
   then you were gone."   
      
   I shrugged.  "I don't know about that. We still have to decide what to do   
   here, right now.  The cops are going to want to know, and I don't think you   
   can afford to harbor a fugitive. He's dangerous, unstable at the very least.   
   We should call the Van."   
      
   Mulder's smile stopped me. "Alex, I think you've gained a conscience!" He   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)