
Title: Mulder's Creek: 29 How We All Got Here
Author: Neoxphile 
Author Email: neoxphile@aol.com 
Rating: PG-13 
Category: X-File , Friendship 
Keywords: Pre-XF, Alternate universe, Crossover 
Pairings: Mulder/Scully Romance, Doggett/Reyes romance 
Crossover Info: Dawson's Creek 
Spoilers: X-Files seasons 1-8, Dawson's creek seasons 1-4 
Summary:  A series of flashbacks explain what causes Sam to
 run away from home...and for Mulder and Scully to break up.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  

Opening scene

The TV plays Rudolphs Shiny New Years, but no one is paying it any
attention least of all Mulder, who is the one who turned it on for a
distraction. He can hear his brother fussing in his room, and one of
his parents going in to care for him. Mulder continues to stare at
the wall, lost in thought.

When he hears the police cruiser pull into the driveway, its enough
to roust him from his stupor. He moves to look out his window, and he
hears his at least one of his parents rush down the stairs. The
officer driving isnt either of the Witters, which makes him wonder
if things are going to go worse than they would if one of Doggetts
family members was taking care of the issue. Sighing, he tries to
peer into the cars back seat.

**
Theme Song : Stranded" By Plumb
**

December 30th 4pm, Leery home
 
Mulder assists his parents with the preparation for their New Years
Eve party, which theyve decided to make a yearly tradition again
after the year befores success, with a heavy heart.

Last year Langly, Byers and Frohike had been able to make the party,
but this year theyre still on campus in the apartment they share at
MIT. Theyd only been home for Christmas day, and theyd barely had
time to talk to Mulder. He mostly kept up with what they were doing
through their newsletter and e-mail. It was through e-mail too that
he was able to keep in touch with the people he and Sam had met in
Roswell, and it seemed from one bitter e-mail that he wasnt the only
one who wasnt looking forward to this night.

The thing that is the same is that Scully wont be attending. Last
year shed been dragged by Bessie to go retrieve a friend of her
sisters, but this year it was Mulders fault she wasnt coming. Sort
of. As much as he protested otherwise, Scully wouldnt believe him.

He is moping while he dusts when he hears a shout from another part
of the house. Dropping the duster, he goes to see whats wrong.
Before he can get up there his parents door slams, and his parents
begin talking in upset tones that are muffled just enough to keep
Mulder from understanding what theyre saying. He hesitates,
wondering if he should go ask what is wrong, but Price catches sight
of him, and begins to clamor for his attention.

Mulder shakes his head, and goes into Prices room. The baby is now
strong enough to stand in his crib, as long as he holds on, which he
is doing while he tries to get Mulders attention. "Der! Der!" he
calls. An early speaker, Prices vocabulary at seven and a half
months of age already includes "Mama," "Dada," "Sam," "Der," for
Mulder "train," and "ball." His wish to have his name being mangled
by his brother before Christmas has come true. Mulder picks him up,
which makes Price laugh, then goes to Sams room to see if she has
any idea what is going on.

Shes not there.

**

6pm, Leary home

Doggett tickles Price, enjoying the babys laughter. Price grimaces
when Doggett reaches down and ruffles his wispy dark hair. While
Doggett keeps up the pretense that hes helping out by looking after
the baby while his father talks to Mr. and Mrs. Leary, hes really
doing it so Mulder wont feel like he needs to talk if he doesnt
want to.

He gives Mulder a sidelong glance as he moves a stuffed animal in an
animated way that fascinates the baby. Prices eyes are wide as he
reaches out his chubby little hands for the stuffed bear that has
never walked before. Doggett is glad he can make the little boy
happy, because he hasnt a clue how to make his best friend any
happier.

From what his father told him on the ride over, Mr. Leary went into
Sams room to ask her to help with the party, and she wasnt there.
What was there, however, was a note saying that she was running away.
Although she phrased it more that she was leaving for a little
while which didnt make anyone feel any better. Especially since no
one had any idea why shed left or where shed went.

As far as the Learys can tell it is her handwriting, so their initial
fear that shed been kidnapped again had dissipated somewhat by the
time Doggett and the sheriff arrived. There was, however, nothing to
make them feel good about a thirteen-year-old who is off on her own.

As Mulder watches Doggett play with his brother, the memories from
the other reality he was allowed to glimpse come back to him. A bored
five-year-old Doggett playing with Sam before her first birthday
party. But that didnt really happen. Hes fairly sure. His thoughts
drift back to the present and this reality.

Doggett looks over at Mulder who is looking rather listless, and
curled up on the couch.
"Penny for your thoughts." He says, attempting to draw him out.

Mulder replies in a tired voice. "Ive been thinking about how we all
got here, Doggett. Things were going so well before they got bad, you
know?"

Doggett knew.

**

September 25th 3:30pm, Leary home

Mulder lets Daden in and gives the boy a wry grin. You can tell by
looking at him that he is Kryceks little brother. Besides the eye
color difference, he looks very much like the Krycek in their own 7th
grade pictures. There is, however, one other significant difference:
Kryceks cocky sneer is absent from his brothers face. It makes the
younger boy seem far friendlier and approachable than Krycek ever
was, even as a first grader.

Mulder doesnt really like to think about Krycek, but theyve fallen
into an uneasy sort of truce since their siblings became friends. And
that only came about because Gale and Mrs. Valentine told the two of
them in no uncertain terms that they would be grounded until they
graduated high school if either of them did anything to discourage
the younger kids first attempts at friendship in a new school.
Mulder and Krycek both felt that their mothers were eerily united on
the issue given that they barely knew each other. So Mulder and
Krycek are on their least snippy good behaviorat least around their
families. At school they can relax and openly despise each other like
normal.

Mulder joins them in the living room, and resists the urge to give an
indulgent smile as he notices them sprawled at opposite ends of the
couch as they watch TV. They look nearly as boneless as Price does
while sleeping. He does give them quick glances, though. They remind
him a lot of him and Scully at that age, and he finds himself idly
wondering if theyre old enough to have crushes. At their age he and
Scully would still sometimes have sleepovers, and hormones didnt
rear their heads to detract from the innocence of it. It wasnt until
he met Fowley, and developed as massive crush on her, when he was 15
that he ever felt much of a difference between the girls and guys he
was friends with.

He glances at them again. They still look like pals to him, so maybe
hes not the only late bloomer in the house. Or maybe theyre just
normal, despite what TV and movies would have you believe about young
kids. It makes him feel better about the rightness still left in the
world.

**

December 30th 8pm, Leery home

Price is now sleeping flat on his back, his arms thrown out, and his
lips slightly parted. For a second Doggett imagines what it would be
like to come home from that and see that in a few yearsHe smiles to
himself, wondering what Reyes would think sometimes if she could
actually read minds.

Mulder is still curled up on the couch, looking despondent, so
Doggett is about to offer to bring the baby up to his room when
Sheriff Witter comes in. Hed been talking to the Learys and
directing his officers via phone and radio since theyd gotten there.
The sheriff scoops Price up expertly, having a lot of recent practice
with his own grandkids in past few years, and motions for Doggett to
come with him. Mulder doesnt even look up.

Once theyre upstairs, Sheriff Witter gently puts Price in his crib.
Despite his admonishments to his two youngest children about not
wanting either of them to make him a grandfather again any time soon,
he does love little kids. He closes the door behind them, and pauses
to talk to Doggett in the hallway. "I want you to do something for
me, Doggett. Go into Mulders room and get some clothes for him. I
dont think he should be alone tonight, because he looks really
depressed, but his parents are too wrapped up in this to do more than
necessary to take care of the little one. There are going to be
people trooping through here all night probably, so Im going to
bring you two to our house for the night. See if you and Gretchen can
cheer him up, ok?"

Doggett nods, then grabs some clothes that he thinks he remembers
seeing Mulder wear. He wishes that Reyes was there, because shed
remember what his favorite clothes are, even if Mulder never told
her. Or better yet, Scully, but he knows that Mulder wouldnt want
her over. A few minutes later hes on his way back down, and his
father assures the Learys that hell be back soon.

"Get up, son." Sheriff Witter demands gruffly. "Youre coming to my
house for the night. Your parents have enough to worry about right
now."

"Ok." Mulder agrees faintly, following after them like a dutiful
puppy.

Once theyre in the cruiser, Mulder presses his face up against the
window. "What are you thinking about?" Sheriff Witter asks, glancing
at the rear-view mirror.

"Halloween." 

**

Halloween 7pm
Leary home

Although their friends tried to talk Skinner and Reyes into having
another Halloween party, the twins reacted with horror. Since the
last party resulted in there being a dead body on their front lawn,
their trepidation was not hard to understand. And even if they had
embraced the idea, the likelihood of convincing Mr. McPhee to allow
one would have been slim. Hed had to fill out a huge stack of
paperwork the year before, which might be why he hadnt offered to
let them have another party since.

Instead, the plan for the night is to gather at Mulders house, and
watch horror movies while feasting on sweets. Scully and Reyes arrive
first, while Doggett and Skinner are still out picking up the movies.
Fowley and Reed plan to arrive fashionably late.

Although Scully claimed that she and Reyes are there to help him set
up, its obvious that their real motivation for being there early is
Sam and Daden. Envious of their more extreme youth, which allows them
to go trick o treating without guilt or embarrassment, they gush
over the costumes the pair is wearing. Predictably, theyre going as
super heroes. Sam is Rogue, and Daden is Gambit, which doesnt
surprise Mulder at all, since his sister is still harping on the fact
that her favorite male x-men character has been written out of the
movie.

Theres a commotion as Mr. Leary bring down Price. Sam objects
violently when their father insists that she and Daden go out with
him and the baby, saying that its tradition for him to shepherd
trick o treaters. When Sam looks to Mulder for back up, he can only
shrug. His dad had gone with him when he was their age. Sam pouts.

Mr. Leary compromises with the indignant young teenagers by telling
them that if they carry a walkie-talkie, hell let them get ahead of
him and Price. They agree, because while its not quite as good as
going out on their own, at least they wont be mortified by an adult
sticking to their sides.

The night goes by in a subdued manner, at least compared to the year
before. There are no murders, no romps though the woods, no broken
bones. It was very tame by Capeside standards. The scariest thing all
night is wondering how the neighborhood kids are going to react when
they are told that theres no more candy.

As people are leaving, Mulder says good-bye at the door. Fowley was
the last one to leave. "Pretty mundane compared to last yeah, huh?"
Mulder asks, holding the door for her.

She smiles wryly. "Hey, at least I wont be capping off this
Halloween with an e.r. visit." Fowley says, referring to the ankle
she broke exactly one year before.

"Ah, but at least the handsome e.r. doctors would be bore exciting
company than I have been tonight."

"I dont knowI cant think of too many people who lead more exciting
existences than you do. Besides, the only handsome e.r. docs are on
TV. The one I saw last year was about my dads age, fat, and balding.
Youve got a leg up on them." She told him laughing as she left.

Its only a couple of hours later as hes trying to get to sleep that
he wonders if she might have been flirting. He shakes his head at his
own foolishness and rolls over to try sleeping on his other side.

**

8:30 pm, Witter home

Mulder docilely follows Doggett into his house. Doggett pauses just
long enough to wave good-bye to his father, who will be returning to
the Learys. Mulder doesnt seem to notice that Doggett stopped.

The first and only thing Mulder does is park himself on yet another
couch. "So, are you tired? Dad says youll be sleeping in Kerrys old
room, and its all set if you are. Dont worry, my folks had it
fumigated after she left." Doggett says with a wry look.

"Im not tired." Mulder answers in a disinterested voice.

"Hungry? Mom made meatballs, and itd only take twenty minutes to
make pasta. Well, if I turn the burner up high. Mom hates that, but
whos going to tell her?" Doggetts mother is spending the week at
his oldest sisters house.

"No thank you." Mulder says. That same flat tone, devoid of emotion.

Doggett looks frustrated. "Not tired, not hungryId ask if you
wanted to play a video game, but youd just say no to that too."
Doggett sighs and picks up a remote control. "Lets watch TV, no
thinking required."

Doggett startles as Mulder grabs the remote control from him. "Why?"
The other boy looks aggravated, but not angry. At least not at him.

"I figured it was something we could-" 

Mulder shakes his head. "Why would she run away?" 

"I dont know. A lot of kids do. Almost all of them come back in a
day or two. Thats what my dad says, and he deals with a lot of
runaways. "

"No! Shes not a lot of kids. Shes someone who was taken from her
family. Doesnt she know that she cant run off because of that?
Doesnt she?" Mulder eyes were glassy with unshed tears.

"Youre right. Shes not like most kids. But she is just thirteen
years old. Kids that young dont think like adults do, or even like
we do. Dont you remember when we were thirteen? We were pretty
stupid some times." Doggett tells him.

"Yeah, and you still are." 

"Hey!" Doggett assumes an insulted look, but hes secretly glad
Mulder looks a little better.

"Isnt that the year we decided to paint your parents garage?" 

"Without asking." Doggett adds. "I didnt leave my room except for
school for a week."

"I still think it looked pretty good." Mulder tells him, forgetting
to be upset for a moment.

"Yeah, so good that Dad had it repainted professionally." Doggett
laughs, remembering the two them covered head to toe in gray paint,
some of which got on the garage that they neglected to strip the old
paint from first.

**
November 9th, 9am
Leary home

Mr. Leary went into the office, and doesnt expect to be home until
noon. Mrs. Leary and Sam are also gone, having taken an impromptu
visit to the urgent care clinic. Sam had woken up with a high fever
and a sore throat, so their mother worried that it was strep throat.
She and Sam argued about it for fifteen minutes, but Mrs. Leary
finally won in the end, despite Sam being nearly in tears at the
thought of visiting a doctor. Mrs. Leary was blithely unaware of what
memories Sam associated with all people in white lab-coats, so she
thought that Sam was just being stubborn.

Taking stock of the situation, and being faced with the real
possibility of being dragged along to entertain the baby in the
waiting room, Mulder took preemptive action and immediately offered
to baby-sit Price from the comfort of home.

"Oh, Mulder, that would be great." His mother had told him,
apparently so wrapped up in helping a sullen and frightened Sam get
bundled up to go out that she failed to recognize his ploy for what
it was.

She led Sam, with a comforting yet firm grip on her shoulder, out the
door, but took the time to look back at Price on the way out. "You be
a good boy for your brother." She admonished her youngest. Price just
laughed at her.

Mulder yawns and stretches once theyre out of the house, and plops
down on the couch. He fixes his glaze on his brother. "Did mom feed
you before she left?" Price started at him. "Hungry?" He actually
expects an answer to the second question.

Some of Sams old sign language books covered babysign, and Mr. Leary
is teaching it to Price. So far he knows the signs for "yes," "no,"
"more," and "all done." While not as precise or intricate as the real
ASL signs, theyre adequate for allowing pre-verbal babies an
opportunity to express at least some of their wants.

Price smiles at Mulder and wags one curled fist up and down in
response to Mulders question. Mulder drags himself off the couch.
"Ok, Ill feed you then. I havent eaten either." He says as he frees
his brother from the clutches of his baby swing prison, only to
immediately put him in another one in the kitchen.

While its not exactly a sign, Price quite clearly conveys his
impatience by smacking the tray of his high chair repeatedly. "Geez,
give me a minute would you?" Mulder complains. The pounding increases
in volume.

Sighing Mulder puts a baby cookie in each of Prices fists, so he gum
them while Mulder gets their breakfasts. The baby only has three
teeth yet, so Mulder thinks the cookies will keep him occupied for a
while.

Once hes done putting the baby food in Prices suction-cupped,
sectioned bowl, he advises his brother that hes about to go for a
ride. The baby squeals in delight as Mulder drags the high chair to
the center of the room. "There! Ive been watching you throw things,
and Im pretty sure the cabinets are out of your range." Not quite
sure why their parents are so reluctant to allow Price to feed
himself, since baby food wipes up, he wants to see if Price has any
luck if hes able to practice it. For once Mulder would like to be
able to eat his own breakfast before it gets soggy. He firmly affixes
the bowls suction cup to the tray, and hands the baby his spoon. "Go
nuts."

He watches a moment to see if Price has any luck, and when he does,
he walks to the cabinets and gets himself his bowl of cereal. Hes
just putting the milk back when the phone rings on the other side of
the kitchen.

As he expects, its his father. "Hi Dad" He says, noticing that the
fridge door has bounced back open the way it does when it hasnt been
closed firmly enough. Mulder frowns at it as he tells his father
whats on the grocery list his mother wrote before realizing she
needed to take Sam to see a doctor. He wishes that his brother is big
enough to send to close it while his father drones on. Price, whos
been attentively watching Mulder between clumsy attempts to get the
spoon in his mouth, follows Mulders gaze. Mulder nearly drops the
phone when the door swings itself shut with a definitive snap. Price
claps.

Shaken, Mulder immediately decides to keep what just happened between
himself, Price and the fridge. What his parents dont know, and cant
report on, wont hurt Price.

**

9:30 pm, Witter home

 Reyes gives Mulder a quick hug. "Do you mind if I steal Doggett for
a minute? I need some help getting something from my car."

"No, thats fine." Mulder tells her with a wane smile. Reyes is
sweet, but her smothering concern and attempts to cheer him up are
getting on his nerves, and shes only been here for half an hour. He
knows she means well.

Reyes leads Doggett outside by the hand. Once she gets to the car
that her father bought for her and Skinner, she pops the trunk. "What
is that?" Doggett asks, peering into the dimly lit interior.

She shrugs. "Something heavy. Maybe a sewing machine." 

"If you dont know what it is, why did you bring it??" Doggett asks,
giving her a shocked look.

"Well, I had to have some excuse to get you alone that wouldnt make
Mulder feel self-conscious." She insists.

"But how did you-" 

"I knew such an excuse would come in handy from the way you described
how he was acting. No psychic skills required." She laughs. "Sohas
he told Scully about whats happened?"

"You should know he hasnt. They dont talk much lately." Doggett
shrugs helplessly.

"I know." Reyes says looking chagrined. "Its still hard to believe
that theyre not together."

"At the moment." Doggett insists. He picks up the heavy plastic case.
"Im sure Gretchen will be glad for the loan."

"What?" Reyes looks confused for a second. "Oh, right Poor Mulder,
first that thing with Scully happens, now this." She trails after
Doggett, wishing that she knew how to make things better for their
friend.

**

December 2nd, 6pm 
Capeside House of Pizza

Mulder walks in through the front door, scanning the moderately sized
crowd for Scully. Although she said shed meet him here at six, she
seems to be running late. He does, however, see a familiar face.
Huddled in a booth, Fowley picks listlessly at a piece of pepperoni
pizza.

Figuring that she looks like she could use someone to talk to, Mulder
walks over and slides onto the seat next to her. "Why so glum?"

When she looks at him, he sees that her eyes are red-rimmed, as if
shed been crying a lot. This doesnt make him feel any less
concerned. "OhIts December 2nd, you know."

"Yes..." Mulder knows the date, but it doesnt explain things, like
perhaps it being the 7th might. So far as he knows, the second is not
a day of infamy.

Fowley gently shakes her head. "Sorry. Its been exactly one year
sincesince Spender came back."

"Oh." He says, since theres nothing else he can think of to say. The
anniversary of the return of ones dead-undead boyfriend isnt
something to lend itself to spur of the moment speeches. At least not
for him.

"I cant help but think about Spender. I mean, I wasnt exactly
thrilled when he came back, or whatever that was, and I even ordered
him to leave because he freaked me out! I was really mean to him a
couple of days later, and yelled at him too." She says guiltily.

"But that wasnt really Spender." Mulder says gently. Hes worried
about her mental state, if just a little bit.

"I know but I didnt know then. I should have been nicer. I didnt
know having him, or who I thought was him, back was only a temporary
thing. I guess thats sounds silly." Her cheeks begin to redden.

"No, I think I understand." Mulder says quickly.

She smiles wanly. "Thats something Ive always liked about you.
Youre very understanding."

"Well, thats just because Im willing to believe just about
anything."

"No!" She gives his shoulder a playful push. "One thing I dont like
about you, though, is that you sell yourself short. You have a lot of
good points. Youre smart, youre funny, youre handsome" Before
Mulder knew what was happening, she leaned over and kissed him full
on the lips.

**

Mulder pulls away quickly, blinking in shock. "What are you you know
I have"

"I hate you both!" A voice exclaims suddenly, confusing Mulder even
more. By the time Mulder figures out what is going on, Scully is
running out the door of the pizza place.

"What did you do?" He hisses angrily at Fowley as he struggles to get
out of the booth. Fowley gives him an unrepentant look as he leaves
as well.

"Scully, wait!" Mulder calls as he races after her fleeing form. He
catches up with Scully half a block away from the pizza place.
"Please stop." He pleas.

She whips around, looking at him. "Why should I?" 

Wisely, he doesnt point out that she already has stopped. "Because
that wasnt what you thought it was."

"It wasnt you kissing Fowley?" She challenges.

"No, it was Fowley kissing me!" 

"Like thats so much better." She says angrily.

"I dont know why she did it, she just did." Mulder exclaims.

"Theres got to be a reason." 

"There isnt." Mulder insists. "Or if there is, I dont know what it
is, because it just exists in her head."

Scullys expression tells him that she doesnt believe him. "Leave me
alone, Mulder." She turns on her heel and walks quickly away from
him.

"Scully, please!" Mulder calls after her. She doesnt look back.

**

8am, Witter home
 
A large, slightly rough hand on Mulders shoulder pulls him out of
sleep. Mulder blinks and looks up at sheriff Witter. "Time to go
home?"

"Yeah, time to go home." Doggetts father agrees.

"Did they find Sam yet?" Mulder asks, fear seeping into his voice.

The sheriff shakes his head. "Ive got cops looking for her right
now."

"So shes not dead." Mulder blurts out. Seeing the horrified
expression on the mans face, he adds, "Thats all I dreamt about.
Sam, found dead."

"Mulder, were going to do everything we can to find your sister as
soon as possible. This isnt the big city, there arent a lot of
predators in Capeside, so theres no reason to think that we wont
find her safe and sound."

Mulder looks up at him with hollow eyes. The sheriff hasnt seen half
the things that he has, and doesnt realize that humans arent the
only monsters roaming the world. Especially in Capeside.

**

December 24th 9pm
Leary home

As soon as she gets in the house, Arden Leary makes a bee-line for
her cousins. "Sam, show me your room." She says brightly as she
throws a familial arm around her shoulders, leading her past a
Christmas tree standing over half a ton presents the elder Learys
seem subconsciously convinced are necessary to make up for the dozen
missing holidays. Arden seems to be part of the "making up for it,"
and her family has just gotten to Capeside. They are just stopping
off for a quick visit before going to the hotel for the night,
planning to return in the morning.

Sam, who has never met her before this very minute, doesnt seem to
know what to make of their cousin, but seeing that Mulder likes her
follows his lead. Once theyre in Sams room, Arden firmly shuts the
door.

"Finally! This time last year I doubted that Id ever get to met you.
Oh, I know your brother was looking for you, but call me a doubting
Thomas." She says with a grin.

"I like your hair." Mulder comments when she pauses for breath. Shes
dyed it a platinum blond, which keeps her and Sam from looking just
alike.

"I was blond when I was born, so I figure Im entitled." Arden
explains.

Sams expression suggests that shes trying to catch up to the
conversation. "Youre the cousin who helped Mulder try to figure out
what happened to me."

"None other." Arden grins. "You know, I think he would have found you
before long even if they hadnt decided to bring you back. I wish I
could have helped him more, but college kept me busy - still does -
and I was all the way across the country. Im so glad youre back,
though." She gives Sams arm an affectionate squeeze.

Sam smiles back, surprised to learn that her brother wasnt the only
member of the family willing to try to find her.

Mulder, however, doesnt pay much attention to his sister and
cousins chattering. Instead his eyes are fixed on the window. All he
can think about is that he wont be seeing Santa this year, because
Price is too little to believe. The mysterious alien and his
glowy-green friends might be stopping at Scullys later on, but this
year he wont be there to see them. He wonders for a second if Scully
will stay up late, but concludes that without his insistence
otherwise, shell pretend that what they saw was nothing, nothing
worth looking for a second glimpse of.

** 

Noon, Leary home

Mulder hasnt spoken to his parents since hes gotten home. Instead
hes shut himself up in his room, so he can be alone with his
bitterness. His parents are still carrying on, professing fear and
grief, and its killing him.

Though his memories of early childhood are admittedly faded with
time, hes entirely certain that his parents hadnt made such an
outpouring of emotion when his sister was stolen as a helpless
infant. All he kept thinking about was how his parents told him to
forget about her.

Now, that she was big enough to be able to decide to take off on her
own, now they were all grief-stricken. It seemed so contrived, and he
almost hated his parents for it because he had no way of knowing if
they were generally upset or not. They wouldnt ever let him in, so
he didnt know them well enough to read them. He promises himself
that if Sam comes home, hell make sure things arent like that
between them, since they may be the only true allies either of them
will ever have.

**

December 30th 11am
Leary home

Sam is watching Price in his room while Mulder and their parents move
furniture downstairs in preparation for the party. Daden is over too,
and hes helping her look after the baby. Sort of. At the moment hes
holding the little boys hands, and helping him to stand.

"Look at that! I bet hell be walking soon." Daden cheerfully
exclaims.

"I dont think so. He cant even stand up alone yet. Hes not even
eight months old, you know."

"I know. Most babies this young cant do this at all, though." He
insists as Price bounces happily.

"You spend a lot of time around babies?" Sam asks, arching an
eyebrow.

"My dad is dating a woman with two little kids." Daden explains. "One
is a baby a little older than Price is now, and ones two. Shes
nice, the babies are nice too. Her husband died before the younger
baby was born, so she and dad have been dating for a while now."

Mulder walks in then. "Hey, what are you two doing? And have you seen
the step-stool? Dad thinks you took it."

"Oh yeah." Sam says sheepishly. "Its in my room. Im too short to
reach the closet shelves without it." As she stands up, she glances
over at Daden and Price with a frown, then leaves the room quickly.

**

December 31st, 3pm
Leary Home

Not wanting to get underfoot, Mulder makes his way downstairs slowly.
The two officers, one of whom Mulder vaguely recognizes, perhaps from
the night of Kryceks accident, have already been let in the house.
Silent and shrinking back against the couch, Sam doesnt respond to
any of their parents hysterical questions. The older officer speaks
to Mr. and Mrs. Leary in a low voice, presumably explaining where
they found Sam. Mulder, however, doesnt find out because she
suddenly bolts away from their parents, pushing past him as he
finally reaches the foot of the staircase. Her door slams shut with a
rattle.

Mulder looks up the staircase, then wanders over to his parents, who
are exchanging good-byes with the police. Hes about to open his
mouth to suggest that perhaps he should talk to Sam, when he mother
beats him too it. "Mulder, she talks to you. Can you try to talk to
her? Let her know that were not mad, we were just scared." She
pleads.

Mulder tries for a reassuring smile. "Sure mom. But Im not going to
report everything she says back to you."

"I dont expect you to. Just see if you can get her to promise not to
ever do it again."

"Ok." Mulder wonders if Sam will even talk to him, but he agrees with
his mother, hes the one shes most likely to talk to. Its not as
though either of their parents has given the girl a reason to confide
in them.

**

Mulder knocks softly on Sams door, then opens it slowly when theres
no answer forthcoming. He expects her to shout at him to leave, or at
least give him hateful looks, but she doesnt. Instead shes curled
up on her bed, crying softly. He sits on her bed next to her and
touches her back. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She sits up suddenly, and turns her red eyes on him. "I lied to you."


"About what?" 

"I told you that I wasnt interested in thosefiles we went and got,
and that I wasnt going to read them."

"But you read them anyway?" Mulder guesses at what the lie is, thats
all he hopes it is.

"Price has blue eyes, because of what they did to him before he was
born." She says in a hollow voice.

"I know." 

"Anddid you ever really take a good look at Daden?" 

"Im not sure where youre going with this, Sam." 

"Ok, yesterday, I finally took a good look at them. Price and Daden.
Theyre got the same color eyes, Mulder. No one else has eyes that
color."

"Werent there kids at Candling with eyes that color?" Mulder blurts
out before his brain catches up to what shes implying.

"I told you, we werent allowed to play with those kids." She says
sounding frustrated. "They said in the report that they wanted to
show mom other kids who would be like Price. But back when I was a
baby. There was a parents group, remember? For people in the area
with kids like that. Daden is one of those kids, Mulder, he has to
be."

"Sam, thats an awful lot to assume based on someones eye color"
Mulder says, then realizes that hes just trying to placate her, not
approach the idea logically. "But you might be right. Has hedone
anything strange in front of you?"

Sam shakes her head. "Nobut Ive never seen Price do anything
either, and you know he does."

Mulder thinks about the incident with the refrigerator door, and the
butterflies. He nods. "So you ran off because you were upset?"

"Yeah I know I shouldnt have, but I couldnt think here." Sam
says, looking slightly ashamed.

"The thing is, though, I dont think we should tell Mom and Dad the
truth. God knows they have no regrets about lying to us. Ok the
people that kidnapped you used to scream at you and tell you how
worthless you were on new years because it meant another year had
gone by without your parents getting you back. You thought about all
the bad memories, and it made you scared that they might be right and
that we didnt really care about you. When you heard the police
calling for you it made you realize how silly that was, and how much
it meant to us that you were back with us, so you went to the police
so they could bring you home. After you explain that, start crying
and theyll feel so guilty they probably wont ask you anything else
about it." Mulder tells her.

"God, Mulder, thats brilliant. But dont you feel bad about all the
lying we do to them?" Sam asks curiously.

"Do you think its not justified?" 

"No, but I was wondering, because I dont." She says with a small
smile.

"Whatever it takes to keep you and Price safe." Mulder says. "And
well help Daden too if we can. But you know theyre not going to do
anything until he grows up, just like Price." He points out.

"Yeah but youd really help him too? Hes not our brother or
anything."

"You cant judge someones importance by virtue of sharing DNA with
them." Mulder says with a shrug. But hes thankful that Daden is
almost five years away from his eighteenth birthday.

**

Leary house 8pm

Since everyones nerves have calmed, Gale has spent the last two
hours on the phone, explaining to people that the party is on again.
Most people have been delighted, and still plan to come. Most people.

Mulder doesnt notice the guests arriving, because hes been on the
phone himself, with Scully, for the past ten minutes. He allows
himself to be hopeful because things have been going well, as far as
hes concerned. So far all they have talked is how Sam took off, and
how the police found her hanging around an abandoned house a few
miles away. Mulder doesnt tell her the real reason Sam took off,
because as of yet hes been too afraid that she wont believe him to
ever have explained the adventure he and Sam had over the summer. So
she receives the same bland explanation for the running away as
Mulders parents did. Like them, she seems to buy it. Feeling brave
by her politeness, Mulder suddenly decides to make his move. "That
party my parents were having? Its back on now that Sams home. The
invitation still stands if you want to stop by."

Three heartbeats later, Scully says, "Thanks, but Im not going to. I
just dont think its a good idea. Ill.Ill see you once school
starts. Bye."

Mulder stares sadly at the phone as the dial-tone sounds.

**
 Credits
Produced by CC, KW and Neoxphile
**

< Voice Over>
This episode of Mulders Creek featured music from:

Jeremiah Freed ("How They All Got Here") 
The Cardigans ("Erase and Rewind")
And
Mighty Joe Plum ("Borderline")

Stay tuned for scenes from the next Mulders Creek

