Title: Lightening Shadows VI-Two Viewpoints
Author: Elizabeth L. Iacono
Rating: PG
Category: Story, Angst, Little bit of Romance
Keywords: Pre-XF, Mulder/Scully Romance
Spoilers: None
Summary: How two different families, the Ramsays and the 
Mulders, handle the loss of their children.

Okay, I lied.  I said there was a big part coming up next, 
but there's a little thing called writer's block that's 
been plaguing me for weeks when it comes to this series.  
So this is just a little piece as to how the two main 
families in this series, the Mulders and the Ramsays, 
handle losing a child.  If you don't know who the Ramsays 
are, I suggest reading the other stories in the series.

In this series, The End, the Movie, and all of Season Six 
so far never happened.

If Mulder's dream sounds a little familiar, that's because 
it's based on scenes from Susan Proto's 
Life Cycles: The Unveiling, one of the best series I've 
ever read.  If you haven't, trust me, go read it.

Warning!  There is some child abuse in this story, and if 
it bothers you too much don't read this.  It's not vital 
to the series, so you won't be missing anything.

Archive-Go ahead, just e-mail me and tell me where it is.
I already sent this to Gossamer.

Disclaimer-Not mine.  If they were, I wouldn't be working 
off of this old computer whose CD-ROM drive and sound card 
doesn't work.  They do belong to CC, 1013, and Fox.  I own 
Catriona and Jerome Ramsay, Shannon Ramsay and Colin Ramsay, 
and anyone else mentioned in the part that takes place in 
Ireland.  You're welcome to borrow them if you want, just 
send me an e-mail.

Feedback is a welcome treat for any writer.  My addy is 
RhiaRamsay@aol.com, should anyone wanna write.  (Pleeeze?!?)

Lightening Shadows VI-Two Viewpoints
Elizabeth L. Iacono

August 24, 1965
Ireland
10:15 a.m.
     
     The unearthly wind died down, bringing with it a fresh 
smell of the sea.  Catriona Ramsay straightened up from 
where the wind had forced her to hunch over the bundle 
of flowers she was holding.

     Today, they were setting up for a big party that 
her mother in law, Eveanna Ramsay, was holding for the 
sheer sake of celebration and the desire to see her 
family.  It would be a fun occasion for all.  Catriona 
lifted her face towards the sky.  Something was different, 
now that the wind had passed, but she couldn't put her 
finger on it.  Even with all of her talents, natural 
and supernatural, she couldn't pinpoint what was 
causing the uneasiness in her soul.

     "Mama!" Catriona heard her son Colin yell.  She 
whipped around scanning the big yard scattered with 
various tables and other stuff needed for the party.  
She saw him running towards her from near the cliffside 
that towered into the sky, which made up one of the 
boundaries of the extensive Ramsay land.  The other 
boundaries were the other cliff, where the land dropped 
off abruptly into the sea, a road, and a fenced in grazing 
pasture a good distance from the main houses.  

     "What is it?" she yelled over the distance Colin was 
diminishing rapidly.

     "Fox is gone!" he said as he skittered to a stop in 
front of her.

     "What?" Catriona gasped, not truly comprehending 
what she just heard.  Fox, her other little boy, was...gone?

     "He's gone!  I turned around to get the ball that the 
wind kept blowing away, and when I turned back Fox was 
gone.  It wasn't even thirty seconds!  He was there, 
and then he was gone.  I lost him!" Colin cried, breaking 
down into tears, even though he believed nine years old 
was too old to cry.

     Catriona kneeled down and hugged her son.  "It's 
okay.  It's not your fault."  She wiped the tears off 
his face.  "We'll find him, okay?"

     He nodded, still too upset to speak.  At that moment 
her daughter, Shannon came tearing around the corner of 
the house, still carrying the vegetables from the garden 
in a basket by her side.  "What was that?" she said.  
"I heard someone screaming."

     Catriona stood up, and took Colin's hand in hers.  
"Fox is missing, and we're going to go find him."  
Shannon's eyes went wide and she froze in her steps.  
"Don't worry," Catriona assured Shannon.  "We will find 
him."  Shannon just nodded and ran to her mother, 
throwing her arms around her waist.  Catriona put 
one arm around Shannon's shoulders, and used her 
other to bring Colin into the hug also.  "You two 
going to be okay enough so we can find Fox?" she 
asked gently.  She felt them both nod against her 
stomach.  "Then let's go get Da, okay?"  The three 
of them made their way slowly to the main house.

     As the three walked through the doorway, Catriona 
felt another pair of arms go around her waist from behind, 
but these arms were stronger, and much older.  She turned 
around slowly, still guiding Shannon and Colin, into the 
arms of her husband, Jerome.  He then managed to get his 
arms around all three of them.  Jerome whispered into 
Catriona's ear with his soft Irish lilt.  "I saw it, 
and I heard all of it.  Don't worry, Cat, we'll find him."

     "I hope so, Dragon Boy," she whispered back.

     Eveanna was tiptoeing around the family, until 
Catriona finally pulled away and started walking to 
the phone.  "I called them already," Eveanna said.  
"They should be here any minute."

     "Thanks," Catriona said softly.

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Three days later...

     "Look, Catriona, we did all we could.  We got the 
bloodhounds out searching for him throughout the county, 
there are officers out interviewing anyone who could have 
possibly seen him, we've even got the boats out dredging 
the pools around the foot of the cliff.  I think it's 
time you face the truth, Catriona," an officer of the 
local police force and longtime friend of the family, 
Christian Walton.

     Catriona stood up, towering over Christian while 
brushing off Jerome's hands that were trying to calm 
her down and keep her sitting in her chair.  "What the 
hell are you saying?" she said while giving him a look 
that would have killed him.

     Christian leaned back in his chair, surveying the 
kitchen where they were all gathered.  Jerome and 
Catriona were sitting at the large table with him, 
while Shannon and Colin were sitting in their 
grandparents arms by the fireplace that was lit 
for the unseasonably cold weather.  "I think you 
should stop believing we'll find Fox and accept 
the fact that he probably fell over the side of 
the cliff and got swept out to sea."

     Before Catriona's fist could reach Christian's 
face Jerome wrapped his arms around her thin waist 
and pulled her into his lap.  "Calm down, Cat," he 
spoke into her hair.  "Just keep believing we'll 
find him, and we will."  She nodded, and said what 
she was planning to before.

     "It would be nearly impossible for Fox to fall 
over the cliff, Christian.  No one saw him for a 
period of no more than thirty seconds.  Fox can't 
run that fast, and it takes Colin a good solid 
minute to reach it while running at top speed.  
And Fox would have had to climb over the wall to 
reach the cliff, which is at least a foot taller 
than he is and smooth stone!" she finished and 
slumped back in Jerome's arms.

     Christian sighed and ran a hand through his 
hair.  "Okay, Catriona, we'll keep looking as long 
as we possibly can, but..." he trailed off, knowing 
anything else said would get him a black eye.

     Jerome spoke, his cheek leaning on Catriona's 
oak brown hair.  "Just don't sign any death 
certificates or anything.  We're always going to 
be hopeful."  He looked around the room.  "Where 
are the kids, Ma?" he asked Eveanna.

     "Shannon went up to her room, and Colin went 
outside," she spoke in a voice laced with anger, 
not at her family, but at Christian for bringing 
bad news to the family at such a time.

     Jerome sighed.  "You want to see to Shannon, 
and I'll get Colin?" he asked.  

     "Okay," Catriona said, and they both went to 
their children.

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     Catriona knocked on the door to Shannon's room.  
"Can I come in?" she asked.

     Shannon sniffled and let out a soft "Okay."  
Catriona pushed it open slowly to find Shannon 
huddled on the bed, her fingers playing around 
on an invisible spot on the bed cover.  Catriona 
sat down on the bed on the bed in front of her.  
"Are you okay, Shan?"

     A few tears started making their way down 
Shannon's face.  "I hate Christian!" she sobbed.  
"How can he say Fox is gone?" she turned a sad face 
up at her mother.  Catriona stretched her arms and 
pulled her daughter into them.
     "It's all right, sweetheart, I know and Da knows 
that we will find Fox, that he's not gone."

     Shannon buried her face into shoulder and kept 
sobbing.  "But why does it hurt so much, even if Fox 
is gonna come back?"

     "It's supposed to hurt.  You're not supposed to 
have to go through something like this," Catriona whispered.

     "I'm tired, Mama," Shannon sighed, the tears 
finally tapering off.

     Catriona laid down, pulling Shannon with her.  
"I'm tired too.  We'll stay together, then.  I love 
you, Shan."

     "I love you too, Mama," Shannon said, and they 
both dropped off to sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

     Jerome finally found Colin sitting on the wall 
surrounding the rose garden, staring out at the sea.  
He climbed up on the wall beside him and put a hand 
on his shoulder.  "How are you doing?" he asked quietly.

     "I lost him," Colin said almost inaudibly.

     "What?" Jerome asked, not believing his ears.

     "It's my fault he's gone!  I was supposed to 
be watching him, but I turned away to get the ball 
that had kept rolling away from us and when I turned 
back he was gone!  I took my eyes off of him for a 
few seconds and now he's gone!  I lost him," he 
finished with a sob.

     Despite all of Colin's pleas that he was too 
old to cry he broke down, tears spilling down his 
face.  Jerome gathered Colin up into his arms and 
set him down on his lap, slowly rocking him back 
and forth.  "It's not your fault, Col, remember 
that.  It will never be your fault."

     "But Mama told me to keep an eye on him.  Now 
you two are going to blame me for losing him, and 
you're not going to love me anymore," Colin cried 
into his father's shirt.

     "It doesn't matter.  It is not your fault.  
Mama and I don't blame you for losing him, we never 
will.  We will love you no matter what happens," 
Jerome spoke into Colin's hair.

     "But Fox is still gone," Colin whispered.  
Jerome sighed, knowing what he said was true.  
He looked out over the sea into the night that 
was growing steadily darker, almost like the 
darkening of the past three days.

     'When will these shadows lighten?' he 
wondered to himself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

December 19, 1973
Martha's Vineyard
7: 23 p.m.

     Bill Mulder pushed open the door to the empty 
house and stalked inside, his wife following closely 
behind, leaving the young boy standing out on the porch 
in the cold weather.

     Fox Mulder sighed and walked into the house, 
locking the door behind him.  He was finally out 
of the hospital, after lapsing into a coma for a 
few weeks after Sam's disappearance, and now his 
parents dropped him like a hot coal.  He knew 
they blamed him for everything, even though 
they hadn't said anything yet.  Fox was just 
waiting for the blow-up that was inevitable 
at this point.

     He walked into the kitchen, avoiding the 
family room.  Fox didn't want to see the last 
place he saw Sam.  It was too painful, and would 
probably be for a long while.

     Once in the kitchen, he searched for some 
food.  The fridge was bare, save for some old 
bread.  No one had eaten here for ages.  While 
he was in the hospital, his parents had usually 
ate out if they ate at all.  Mostly his dad lived 
off of his favorite bottles of liquor, and his 
mother had become very familiar with Valium.  
Fox searched the cabinets, and finally came up 
with a can of chicken noodle soup.  

     Fox made it quietly and ate it the same way.  
He had been feeling that, ever since he woke up 
from the coma, that something was missing from 
his memory.  It was hard to pinpoint, but he 
just knew it had something to do with Sam's 
disappearance.  He was sure he knew something, 
saw something, but whatever it was, it was gone 
from his memory now.

     He finished the soup and cleaned it up, not 
wanting to do anything to make his father mad.  
He wasn't up to fending off a beating this soon 
after getting out of the hospital.  Fox went 
upstairs to his bedroom and changed into his 
pajamas.  Right now all he wanted to do was sleep.

     But sleep was not going to come anytime soon.  
Just as Fox was settling into bed his father threw 
open the door to his room.  He noticed Bill's eyes 
were glazed over with drunkenness and had an evil 
glint to them.  "You son of a bitch," he growled 
towards Fox.  "It was your fault.  You lost my 
little girl."

     Fox began to shake.  He knew what was coming, 
and that it would be made even worse by the amount 
of liquor he'd consumed.  Bill stormed over to the 
bed and jerked Fox out of it and threw him into 
the closet door.

     Fox gasped, feeling the pain course through 
his shoulder where it had hit the door.  "Dad, 
please..." he began to say.

     "Don't 'Dad' me you little bastard!" Bill 
screamed at him and kicked him in the stomach.  
Fox turned his head to try and call for his mother, 
but he heard the noise from the TV in their bedroom 
loud and clear.  No chance that she would save him 
from his father's wrath.

     Bill kicked Fox in the stomach once more, and 
then bent down to his level.  He whispered savagely 
to him "You lost her you little bastard, and don't 
think I'm ever going to let you forget it."  Then, 
he started punching Fox in the face, bruising him 
and opening new cuts.  

     Throughout the whole ordeal Fox just kept 
silent, knowing from past experiences that it 
was best to keep his mouth shut.  When Bill 
finally felt that he was finished, he gave Fox 
one last kick in the back of the head, and then 
stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

     After a while, Fox finally managed to get 
himself off the floor, wincing with every move 
he made.  He made his way to the bed slowly.  Fox 
reached into the drawer of his nighttable, where he 
had taken to keeping a supply of Band-Aids and 
disinfectant and a hand mirror to clean himself 
up after such a time.

     Finally, after he was cleaned up, he got back 
under the covers.  But sleep was hard to find, and 
only then, did the tears he's been holding all night 
began to fall silently.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

September 3, 1998
Dana Scully's apartment
11:30 p.m.

     Dana Scully looked at the tears coursing 
down Mulder's face while he was sleeping.  He 
must be dreaming something horrible, she thought.  
Scully decided to wake him up from where he'd fallen 
asleep on her couch before from a late night of back 
paperwork.  

     'This is a great way to spend a Friday night,' 
she thought with a twist to her lips.  'I'm here 
with the man I love and we spend our Friday nights 
doing paperwork.' 

     She kneeled down and brushed her lips to his, 
and then shook him gently.  "Mulder," she whispered 
in his ear.  It didn't work, so she shook him again 
and kissed him a little harder.  Finally Mulder came 
to and kissed her back.  After a few minutes of that 
Scully pulled back and he opened his eyes.

     "Why'd you stop," he pouted sleepily.

     "What were you dreaming about?" Scully asked gently.

     Mulder grimaced.  It wasn't something he wanted 
to talk about, but it was nothing Scully hadn't heard 
before.  "Just my father being a jerk again, that's 
all," he said with a shrug.  Scully winced, knowing 
exactly what he meant.  She reached up and softly 
brushed the tears off his face.

     Scully stood up and pulled Mulder to his feet.  
"C'mon G-man, let's go to bed," she said and turned 
to the bedroom.  

     Mulder wrapped his arms around her waist from 
behind.  "But I already got some sleep, Scully," he 
whined.  "I'm not tired anymore."

     Scully tilted her head back and grinned at him.  
"Who said anything about sleeping right away?"

     Mulder grinned back at her and leaned down to 
kiss her again.  "I like the way you think, Scully."

The end...until part seven comes.

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Just to clarify something, Mulder did not dream the first 
part with the Ramsay family, but he did dream the part 
with his father.  

And remember, all comments, fair or foul, will be welcomed
With open arms.  My address is RhiaRamsay@aol.com.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"I was nothing before
you but I became so 
strong."

Nobody But Me
Save Ferris
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Ah, true love, it's
the greatest thing in
the world."

Miracle Max
The Princess Bride
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"Men will fight bravely
and be heroes, but for a 
last ditch defense 
against any odds...get
a mother."

Lightbringer
High Wizardry
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