When the Bough Breaks (Part 6) story by: Jennifer Frye Questions, comments, whatever---you can mail me at LFrye123@aol.com Disclaimers: Refer to Part 1 ---------------------------------------------------------------- J. Edgar Hoover Bldg 4am Assistant Director Walter Skinner turned the page of his newspaper and took a small sip of his steaming coffee. His face twinged in disgust--he had made it himself -too early for McDonalds and Kimberly wasn't due for another 3 hours. As he opened a packet of artificial sweetner-anything to abate the especially bitter taste-he mused as to why on earth he was at work so early. No early morning meeting. No emergency. No backlog of paperwork. No. Sad to say, he couldn't think of anyplace else to go after battling insomnia, something that was beginning to happen more often than not. His wife still lived--not with him. And he still had to walk that line between upholding the orders of his superiors and fighting to protect his agents. At that thought, two especially came to mind. Somehow, although he'd never dream to admit it, aiding those two gave him a momentary peace of conscience. A rustling sound in the corredor startled him out of his reflectory state. Not loud enough to be a janitor he observed, opening his desk drawer to reveal his gun. "No need for that," a voice cautioned. Skinner squinted as a shadow emerged from the corner of his doorway. The shadow was barely visible even in the shaft of desk light. Skinner released the safety upon recognition of the figure. Their only meeting had not been pleasurable--in the elevator of Agent Mulder's building a year or so before. "Assistant Director Skinner--I assure you there is no cause for alarm. If there had been you would not have been able to react in the first place. Your brains would have been added an avant garde touch to that portrait of Janet Reno." Glare matched against glare. The man known to Agent Mulder as X tossed a folder to the A.D. "This meeting never took place." He turned on his heels and dissapeared as quickly, silently and mysteriously as he had appeared. Skinner drugs the folder from the outer edge of his desk and slowly began to inspect its contents, somewhat apprehensively. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Margaret Scully's residence 9am "Dana, why don't you get some rest honey?" "Rest, Mom? My entire life has been turned upside down and you think what I need is rest?" As soon as the words left her lips, she was instantly repentive. "Dana. I know this must be hard. It was hard each time I learned I was pregnant with each of my children. Don't misunderstand me--I was thankful the Lord put each one of you into my life. I knew, being a Navy Captain's wife, this would be mostly a job that only one of us could fulfill full time. I knew I would be on my own a lot. Dana I never fully enjoyed your, or your brothers and sister's childhoods. I was too worried about being the best mother and father I could, to make up for his absense. With this precious boy--I can take care of him without any worries. Your brother's wives are nearby and wonderful. And you aren't very far away. I understand it's your only choice and I assure you I won't let you down......" "Let me down Mom? I come in here with a child and dump him on you and you are worried about letting *ME* down?" A disheveled figure joined them at the breakfast table, pausing to rumple his son's hair. "Fox--would you help me assure Dana here that she is making the right choice." "Dana--If you are any indication, Mrs. Scully is one Hell of a mother, and I will personally feel very confident in the decision to allow her to raise Sam for the time being." "Fox," the older Scully gently reprimanded, "I appreciate your vote of confidence but don't swear in front of your son." "See Dana--she's the best care provider we could have ever have dreamed of." Scully rolled her eyes a bit and allowed only a tiny smile--her guilt on hold. Mulder's cellular rangs the end of the conversation. ---------------------------------------------------------------- J. Edgar Hoover Bldg. 12pm "Agent's Mulder and Scully--please come in." Mulder allowed Scully to enter first, a hand somewhat protectively placed in the small of her back. They had driven as quickly as traffic allowed upon receiving Kimberly's message that the two meet with the A.D. as soon as possible. "Sir, I'm not sure what this is about. Agent Mulder and I requested a few day's leave. He was aiding me in a...........a personal situation. If this is about any reprimands--let the records show that I insist on any official reprimand being solely directed at me....." Mulder turned to face her, shaking his head slightly as if that would make any difference in her stance. But he knew better--he would go to *any* length necessary to protect her as well. He didn't have to say anything, the A.D. took care of that for him. "Agent Scully," the deep voice cautioned, "What is to be discussed in this meeting is far from anything I'd like to see on any official records. Relax. Please-sit down." Mulder and Scully shared a worried glance as they took the two leather chairs in front of Skinner's desk. "Think there's a chance he found my personal video collection?" Mulder whispered to break the tension. Scully managed a half-smile. Any more stress, Mulder pondered, and she'd certainly crack. He silently thanked her for being the rock that was getting them through this. He'd have gone off the deep end looking for vengeance against whoever had done this to them. And with the intensity he reserved for his work, for his search for his sister, he would never have been able to raise a child. Yet he had been at odds about what to do with Sam. Mrs. Scully was a God-send. He knew he could have an active part in his son's life along with Scully and keep up his work. One day things might be different. No, he corrected, one day things would be different. Scully didn't deserve this for the rest of her life. But a small part of him knew that she would be there alongside him as long as he continued. "This morning, from unofficial channels, I was given this bit of information. When I went to confirm, or rather disprove the validity of these records, I found that the two of you had taken personal leave. Is it true that the two of you share a son and you have recently recovered him from a secret facility in California?" Both Mulder and Scully's jaws dropped open in lightning intense surprise. "Sir," Scully began, "How did you receive this information?" "Judging from your reactions....Well that's all the proof I need to know the truth. How I got these documents is not important. How they can help you is." Mulder, trying quickly to recover from the bombshell that had been hurtled at them, rose from his chair, holding out a hand to retrieve the documents from the A.D. "I would like to see these so-called documents." Skinner handed Mulder the documents that detailed the actions that had forever changed the course of both his and Scully's lives. Mulder accepted the papers and walked back to Scully's chair, sitting on the armrest of her right side so she could read them simultaneously. "With your permission, I'd like to proceed with revealing some of this information to--unofficial channels--to ensure your son's safety." Skinner knew there was no turning back. Actually he knew that the moment he read the shocking information. How someone could purposefully screw around with peoples lives in such a manner angered him. Remembering how probably the same people tried to frame him for murder-even involving his wife-aided in his decision to seek justice for what had happened to these two. "Sir, I don't know how we can thank you?" Scully tried to unsuccessfully maintain an unemotional reaction. But her voice quivered at the last two words. Mulder instantly put a hand on her shoulder, massaging it to steady her. "Consider us even. I'll never forget how you two were the only ones who dared to stand behind me in my time of need. Releasing this information to the right source will insure that custody of your son will never be questioned and that making sure nothing happens to your son will be in their best interests. You see if this information was ever released through official channels--that would be too much of a risk for whoever did this to you. They will ensure this infomation never gets there, even if that means making sure not one lock of hair on your son is ever harmed." Mulder nodded his head in appreciation. Skinner added, "You two are dismissed. And I'm adding another week of personal time for you to spend with your son." As they headed for the doorway, Scully stole a glance at the A.D. her face beaming with full gratefulness. "Sir," she began. "I said you are dismissed Agent Scully." Skinner's face as he met her gaze wasn't as stern as his usual posture. Scully detected a hint of something else. Of relief? Of pleasure? ---------------------------------------------------------------- One week later Margaret Scully's residence "What time does the plane leave for Pittsbergh, Mulder?" Sensing her wistful tone, he assured her that they still had another hour before they needed to leave. Dana couldn't believe that it was time to go back to work already. The past week had been a whirlwind of activity. Mulder had spoiled the child with umpteen trips to the toy stores and outings to the zoo, an amusement park, and, many times, the playground in her mother's neighborhood. Sam's demeanor had begun to lighten. She could swear he was even beginning to smile. Mulder had arranged for them to work with a psychiatrist he knew they could trust. They knew that it would take time, but gradually he would begin to have some semblance of a normal life. He was playing with his new firetruck in the middle of the den, Mulder crawling around on the floor with him. Mulder. She had to admit the feelings playing family had stirred in her. She had always been drawn to Mulder's passion for his work and now her emotions were growing stronger. In fact, they were becoming a family, not necessarily playing one anymore. She knew neither she nor the baby could ever replace the void losing his sister had left. But they could offer him a brighter future. Mulder glanced from his position on the floor catching Dana's eyes. He caught the warmth in them before she turned away blushing. He left the Sam to join her on the couch placing a hand over hers. She turned to smile at him. "This week has been nice, huh?" Mulder stammered? "Too nice," she sighed. "I promise--between cases, this is where I want to be. I may not have had any say in the decision to bring this little guy into this world, but I'm sure glad he's here. I'm rambling....sorry." "No-don't be. I feel the same." They watched their push around the truck and were unable to move when he looked up at them and crawled in their direction. As he got to the base of the sofa, Sam reached an arm up--indicating he wanted to be picked up, to join them. Tears spilled down Scully's cheeks as she picked up her son. Mulder wiped them away with one hand and patted his son's back with the other. All hesitation left and he softly kissed her. She lightly responded, caught up the the pure joy of the moment. She nestled back into Mulder's arms, the two of them holding Sam together, wondering what the future held. Despite their temporary victory due to Skinner, she knew that this moment would not last forever. Whatever lay ahead--they would battle together. THE END