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Title: Stratego Summary: Mulder and Scully and their two children spend the summer at the house where Mulder grew up. Note: I started writing this before, sending it in 6 parts, but only got the first couple out. Then my computer crashed, and I lost the story. I've tried to make version 2 as close to the original as possible, if maybe a little longer.
"Bill! Sam! We're leaving!" Fox Mulder called as he watched the children toss a football. It was strange, seeing them like he was now- twelve-year-old William, who, other than apparently having his mother's height, looked just like his father, and Samantha, an eight-year-old replica of her mother. "We're coming!" Bill yelled, as Sam leaped again for the ball, missed, and scrambled after it. Bill watched her for a second, then ran over to his father. "Hey, wait!" Sam yelled, grabbing the ball and racing after him. He ignored her. "Mom already in the car?" Fox nodded, putting an arm around Sam as she caught up with them and walked with the two of them to the front of the house. "How long are we gonna be there again?" she asked, even though she'd been told what seemed to the rest of her family hundreds of times. "2 Months, Sam... 2 Months," Bill said, in the slow, kindergarten-teacher voice that he used when trying to bother her. "Shut up, Bill... is it 2 months, Dad?" "Don't start, we haven't even left yet," Fox replied, knowing it wasn't necessary to answer. She knew Bill was right, he always remembered things-something else he'd gotten from his father. "Hi, Mom!" she yelled as she pulled away from Fox, any anger forgotten, and ran to meet her mother, who was looking for a place to put the last few things in the car and still have room for them. Dana, even almost 20 years after meeting Fox, looked almost no older than she had in '92. Her hair was A little longer now- long enough to pull back without the usual strands falling back into her face- but still pretty much the same. Actually, Fox hadn't changed much, either. He was still working for the FBI (she was now working at a nearby hospital), but spent more time at home, since there was something there now besides fish. He was back in the BSU. Dana couldn't figure out why he'd quit The X-Files- he claimed he wasn't interested in that sort of thinng as long as his family was around-since he still read all the books by Budd whats-his-name the alien-expert. "Hi, Sam," Dana said to the eight-year-old, who was now pulling a suitcase to one side of the trunk so that there was more room. She was good at doing stuff like that, figuring out how things could fit together. "Thanks for the help, since your dad ran off when I opened the trunk..." "I was going to get these two!" Fox protested, as though he couldn't believe Dana would accuse him of such horrible things. Not that that hadn't been exactly what he was doing. "Yeah, sure. Get in, we're leaving." She closed the trunk, opened the door to the backseat for Bill and Sam, then got in the front passenger seat. He didn't argue with the seating arrangement- he sure wasn't looking forward to driving all the way to his old home, but she was so much better at stopping the kids from fighting than he was... And, of course, Bill and Sam were at it before he reached the end of the street. "Bill, gimme the football!" "You just had it, I want to see it for awhile." "I brought it!" "Open the door and jump out, Sam. I have it now." "Bill! Give me The Ball!" She was hitting his arm as hard as she could, but he wouldn't let it go. Finally, she leaned over and grabbed at it. Bill just held it against the window, where she couldn't reach. "Mom! Dad! Make him give me the ball!" Dana sighed, and it was all Fox could do to keep from laughing. Now, he was glad he was the one driving, no matter how far it was. Better than trying to get those two to get along- they were both as stubborn as their parents combined, as easily as loud when arguing. "Why did you Bring the ball, Sam? You can't play in the car." Dana half-turned to look at the kids- Bill, still holding his hands against the window, Sam stretching as far as she could across the seat. "I wanna play in Massachusetts!" "Okay... so why can't Bill just hold it for a few minutes?" "Because I Brought it!" Now Fox was swerving, trying not to laugh, and Dana turned long enough to give him a look. "Bill, give your sister the ball. She DID bring it." "But its my ball!" Bill protested, not yet giving it up. Sam gave him a look that perfectly mimicked the one her mother gave her father, and Fox was to the point of biting the inside of his mouth as hard as he could to keep the laughter in. "Bill, give Sam the ball before I make your dad pull over... Fox, will you help me instead of just sitting there!? What's wrong? Fox!" By now, Fox was laughing and Bill and Sam were, too. Dana just looked from at them all for a few seconds, then she, too, gave in and laughed. Fox, as he finally got control again- both over himself and the car-didn't think he'd ever been so happy in his life. He had his wife, his children, and he was going back to the place where he'd grown up.
Bill woke up when the car stopped. Even though they'd left mid-afternoon, it was dark when they finally arrived at the house his grandmother had lived in until her death when he was only 3. She had left the house to his father, but he in turn had rented it out for the past few years. "Hey, Sam, wake up, we're here," he whispered, shaking his sister. She was A pain sometimes, but better than a lot of kids. At least she liked sports, which was something a lot of other girls Claimed to like, but, in his opinion, softball wasn't a real sport. It was just what people who couldn't take baseball played. "Shut up," Sam muttered, shoving his hand away. She was slung over a box of what Bill guessed was food. Dana said she hated shopping for Anything in A strange place, and Fox said he wasn't doing the shopping! So they had taken food from home. "Fine, stay asleep," he grabbed the football, which she had dropped soon after leaving, and got out of the car. His parents were arguing about something... what to take inside first, before going to bed. "Fox, we can't just leave the food out here all night!" "What'll happen to it? I'm Tired, Dana, and the food's not going anywhere..." "Well... some animal might get into it!" "It's locked inside. Nothing but you and me can get in." Dana sighed, but she gave up. "Okay, we'll just get the clothes we Have to have tonight, and get the rest in the morning. But you better not leave me to do it alone, Fox William Mulder!" Fox laughed. "You sound like my mother when she was mad... Hi, Bill. Your sister awake?" he asked, noticing his son watching them. "No, she won't get up," Bill replied, but didn't offer to go do it. For all he cared, Sam could stay in the car and guard the food from the animals. "Bill, go wake up your sister, please!" Dana called, also finally noticing him but not hearing him talking to his father. He sighed as loudly as possible to make sure she heard him and jerked the door open again as though it was the hardest thing he'd ever attempted. "Mom says get up, Sam," he said, pushing her off the box. "I AM up, stupid..." She moved over enough that she was back on her "pillow" and closed her eyes again. "No you're not," he tugged her long red hair- something she hated more than being old she was a girl. "Bill, Stop!" she yelled, still only half-awake. "Then get up," he said, grinning at her as she sat up and glared at = him, rubbing her head even though he hadn't pulled hard. "Leave me alone," she muttered, but was shoving him out of the way so she could get out. She left him by the open door and marched over to her mother. "Mom, he's bothering me." Bill could barely hear it from where he stood. "Not now, Sam. Go help your brother get your big suitcase out of the back." She stomped back, ignoring him, and tried to jerk the case as instructed from the trunk. It was almost as big as she was, and difinitely weighed more, and Bill laughed as she struggled. "Shut up, Bill," she said angrily, finally pulling it out and winding up on the grass on the front lawn. "Fine, I won't help." He shrugged, and walked to the house. 'Sam says she can get the suitcase herself," he explained before his mother could ask why he wasn't helping. "I'm going inside with Dad."
Sam was already in bed when her brother finally decided to quit arguing about having to share a room with her and dragged himself upstairs. "I don't really wanna share a room with You, either," she informed him as he muttered what he thought about parents and sisters and threw a few things around. "Oh, shut up, Sam," he said, climbing onto his own bed. "I'm tired." "You didn't sound tired 5 minutes ago," she couldn't help pointing out. "Shut up, Samantha." She glared at him. "Don't call me that." "It's your name." "My Name is Sam," she said, turning so she didn't have to face him and closing her eyes. "Tell that to Mom and Dad. They'RE the ones who named you after a couple of dead people, Samantha Melissa." "Not my name." "Samantha Melissa, Samantha Melissa, Samantha Melissa!" He was laughing now, watching her put her pillow over her head to keep from hearing him. "Not my name!" she yelled, her voice muffled just enough that their parents didn't hear it. "Sam-antha Mel-issa." She jerked the pillow away and again glared at him. He could tell that she was now Very close to fighting anger, but didn't care. "Samantha Melissa, Samantha Melissa..." "Bill!" she shouted, and grabbed the closest thing- his football- and threw it at him. It hit him on the nose, which immediately began dripping blood. He covered his face with one hand and used the other to launch the ball back at her. She didn't move when it hit her arm, too surprised at what she had managed to do. "Are you okay?" she whispered, just as their parents, having heard the noise of her yelling in his name and the football hitting the wall behind her, appeared. "Bill, Sam... what happened?" Dana asked, looking from her son, who was clutching his face and had blood dripping between his fingers, to her daughter, who looked as scared as if she had just found out she'd killed someobody. "Sam hit me with the stupid football," Bill said. "You were calling me Samantha Melissa!" Sam quickly said in defense. She didn't look quite so afraid anymore, apparently having decided that if Bill could talk he wasn't dying. "I wouldn't have if you would've let me go to sleep!" "I wouldn't have been saying anything to you if you hadn't complained about having to share a room with me!" "If you didn't act like such a jerk all the time, I wouldn't have been complaining!" "I do not!" "Be Quiet!" Fox yelled, and there was immediate silence. He almost never raised his voice at his family. Sam again looked terrified and Bill's hand dropped from his nose, only to be put back a few seconds later when blood continued to fall. "Go to bed. We'll finish talking about this in the morning." "Can I wash my hand?" Bill asked softly. Fox nodded, and he crept past his parents to the bathroom. "Goodnight, Mom and Dad," he heard Sam say, and bristled without thinking about it. She was such a suck-up! Oh well, tomorrow he could go out and find people his own age and not have to look at her for the rest of the summer. He smiled at the though. 2 whole months without his family!
Sam wriggled impatiently as her mother jerked through the knots and tangles in her hair. She didn't know why Dana even bothered- it would be back to an impossible mass by lunch. She wanted to be able to run after Bill, who had disappeared out the front door a few minutes earlier. 'Sam, sit still," Dana commanded, and Sam tried her best to do that. She was doing her best to keep her parents from remembering that she and her brother were supposed to be in trouble after last night. 'Okay, all done." She practically flew away from her mother, after Bill. She'd just assumed he was in the front yard, waiting for her to meet him for a ball game of some sort. But there was only Fox, watching the blue summer sky. "Dad?" she called. "Where's Bill?" "He went that way," he replied, pointing to the left. "I think he was looking for someone to play with." "But he can't just leave me!" she cried, again an almost eery imitation of her mother. She walked over and sat beside her father. "Didn't your mom comb your hair this morning?" he wanted to know, squinting down at her. She sighed, telling herself to remember to mention this conversation to Dana later. "Yeah. I Told her it wouldn't look good for even 10 minutes..." Fox laughed. "Tell her I said for you to tell her it's summer vacation, she shouldn't be worried about how you look." "Then why'd you ask if she'd combed it?" "Parent rule." There was silence for a few seconds, then he suddenly got serious. "What were you so upset about last night?" Oh, well, he'd remembered. "Nothin', just that Bill kept calling me Samantha Melissa." "Why don't you like Samantha Melissa? It's your name." She stuck out her tongue in disgust. "It's a Girl name." "So? You're a girl." "But I don't Want to be." "Sorry..." "Why'd you name me Samantha Melissa, anyway? Bill says it's two dead people's names, but I thought I was only named for Mom's sister." Fox hesitated, obviously unsure of how to say what he wanted to. "Samantha was the name of my sister." "You never told me you had a sister!" How could he not have told her that? "Why'd you tell Bill and not me?" "Bill found a picture of her one day and asked who it was, so I told him." "Oh... What happened to her?" Again, Fox paused before telling her. "She just disappeared one night, when I was 12 and she was 8, while we were home alone." "You were the same age as Bill and me!" Sam cried, seeming to think this was something special. Then she glanced at her father and saw the sadness in his eyes and quickly said, "Did she ever come back?" "No... I always believed she was- and don't let your mom know I'm telling you this, she'd kill me- abducted by aliens." "Mom said there were no such thing as aliens, after me and Bill watched that movie and got scared." He laughed. "She's Always been like that." "I'm sorry that happened, Dad," she said, leaning against him. "It's been a long time, Sam, don't worry about it. C'mon, let's go back inside and see if your mother needs help."
Dana, unoticed by the rest of her family, as Bill and Sam almost killed each other trying to catch the baseball thrown at them by Fox. She smiled, glad that for once there were no major injuries to take care of or arguments to break up. She wouldn't admit it, not after working in the X-Files for 5 years, that sometimes her kids were almost more than she could deal with. "Bill! It was my turn!" She could faintly hear Sam yell. Bill ignored her, tossing the ball back to Fox. "Let your sister get this one, Bill," he said, and she smirked at Bill for A second before leaping for the ball. Bill just glared. Still smiling, Dana opened the window and called, "Fox ! Get inside, we only have an hour!" "Alright, I'm coming!" he called back. "Wher're you guys going, Dad?" Sam asked, running after him as he jogged to the house. Bill followed more slowly, taking his time. "Some dumb party an old friend of mine is having. Don't ask me HOW he knew I was here..." "Do I hafta stay here with him?" she asked, looking back at Bill and making a face. He made one right back. "Yep, sorry. We'll only be gone a couple of hours, 3 at most," Fox said. "Promise no more?" Sam asked, closing the door behind her as they got inside, ignoring Bill's indignant "Hey!" "Promise... now, go get cleaned up, you look worse than I do." "That's 'cause Bill kept grabbing my catches and I had to jump for them," she informed him. "Have fun?" Dana asked, hoping to keep an argument from starting, as Bill had just walked in and didn't look too happy. "I caught 5 balls!" Sam bragged, grinning happily. Dana had a hard time not laughing at her, huge smile stretching across Sam's face and hair sticking out close to a mile and tangled beyond help. "So what, I caught more than I can count," Bill said, getting him looks from both parents and Sam. "I would've caught more if you hadn't gotten all of mine!" Sam replied. "Why would I want to catch all your stupid throws? You just can't get 'em yourself, so I have to get them for you." "Uh-uh, you Take them." "You two can continue this after we leave... for now, both of you go take A shower," Dana commanded, and for once, was obeyed without protest. Bill and Sam disappeared, still arguing. "You too, Fox." "Da-na," Fox complained, taking the job his children normally did. "Fox..." She warned, using the same tone she did with the kids. He reluctantly trudged away, and she found herself smiling again. She was part of possibly the strangest family on Earth- or even beyond it-, but nobody could ever be happier.
His parents hadn't been gone 5 minutes, and already Bill wished they would hurry up and get home. There was no way he would survive hours alone with Sam. "Hey, Bill, wanna go exploring in the attic? Dad said we could," Sam suggested hopefully, and he almost felt guilty for going off to play with other kids his age and leaving her alone. But not really. "Will you leave me alone afterwards if I do?" "I guess..." She rubbed a hand over her wet hair, mimicking their dad instead of their mom for once. "Okay, let's go," he got up from the chair in the living room where he'd been trying to get through one of his summer-reading books and following her up the stairs that led to the attic. She got to the door at the top and struggled for a minute, trying to shove it open. "I think it's locked," she finally admitted, and he sighed heavily. "I'll go look for the key," he said, as though it was a horrible burden on him. He managed to turn around on the narrow stairs without falling and went back down. He'd barely gotten into the next room before he heard Sam's feet running down after him. "Scared?" he asked her as she almost ran into him. "No. I just wanted to help," she said. "Your scared." "I am not!" She insisted. He ignored her then and continued through the house, then outside to the small shed in the backyard where his dad had told them all the keys were kept- the spares for the front door and cars, the one for the basement, and the one for the attic. "Here they are," Sam said after they'd searched for a few seconds, holding up what looked like a hundred keys. "We're gonna be looking for the right one all night..." Bill muttered, but he took the keys and marched back to the house, his sister close behind like a puppy following its master. Back upstairs, he tried key after key, until finally one slipped into the lock and the door opened. "Maybe we should wait until Dad's here to make sure there's no snakes or anything..." Sam suggested. "How would snakes get in an Attic?" "I don't know. Rats could." "Okay, you go back downstairs. I'm going to find something to do." "Bill! Wait!" She almost killed him trying to get the door open after he closed it to make her think he would really make her stay downstairs alone. "Calm down and shut up. You're gonna wake up the neighbors," he hissed, jerking her inside and slamming the door. "It's only 8 o'clock. Nobody's asleep yet." "Somebody might be, so shut up anyway," he said. Together, a little afraid though neither would admit it, they ventured into the dark, hot room.
Sam sneezed once from the dust that filled the air as she pulled a box from the corner. Almost an hour had passed since she and Bill had come into the attic, and they had looked at almost everything. Most of it was boring, like clothes, but some stuff was neat. "Hey, look!" Bill called, and he held up an ancient comic book. About aliens trying to take over the world. "This one's for you, Sam!" "Is not," she said without thinking, not really caring What he said. She was too busy ripping yellowed tape off the box she'd found. It looked like the best so far, labeled Samantha's Toys and heavier than any of the others. "It must have been Dad's," Bill was saying as she sneezed again. "I wonder what he'd do if I showed it to him later. He'd probably-" "Bill! Look!" she cried suddenly, and he dropped the comic book and almost flew over to where she sat, probably thinking she'd seen a mouse or something. "Look at what I found in here!" He made a face when he saw it. "Dolls, Sam? You usually don't like that kind of thing much." "Not That, stupid. This!" She pulled out the old carboard game box. "Stra... strat... what's that word?" "I think it's Strat... it's Stratego," he replied, and pulled the game away from her to get a closer look. it looked pretty good- you used little men of different ranks and bombs to protect a flag while you tried to get another players flag. "Wanna play?" Sam asked after giving him a minute to look at it. She didn't even complain when he took it from her. "I guess. There's nothing good on TV." "C'mon, then!" She took the game back, stood up, and headed for the door. He quickly got up from the floor and followed her, making sure to lock the door as he left and to grab the key. He put it in his pocket, meaning to put it up later. "Let's play in here," Sam said as she stopped in the living room. She sat on the carpet and opened the box. There were game pieces scattered over the board, some blue, some red. They were labeled with numbers, 1-10, except for the bombs, flag, and one mysterious one labeled with an 'S'. Bill sat beside her and pulled the instructions out while she looked at the carboard 'wall' that told what each number stood for. "'2'-scout. '3'-miner-" She began to read aloud, but he told her to shut up while he figured out how to play and she for once did. She really wanted him to play with her. She fiddled with the pieces while he read, bored. She hated waiting for things like that. When her dad was playing a new game with her, he read the instructions out loud, so she could hear, too. That wasn't as boring as just sitting there and not being able to talk. Finally, he put down the small paper and pulled out the game board. "You put your little men and bombs and flag on the first four rows of squares, facing you so nobody can see 'em. Then you move them around frontwards, backwards, or sideways. You can't move diagonally and you can't go in the water." "Okay. Can I be blue?" Sam asked. "I'm not done," he informed her. She made a face at him as he continued. "You can't move the flag or bombs. Any number, or rank, can only get the numbers below him. The 'S' is a spy who can only get a '10', but if anything else, including a '10', gets him, he's gone." "Is that it?" she asked, and he nodded. "So can I be blue?" He grinned at her. "Nope." "But I found it!" She protested as he began to set up the blue pieces on the board. He ignored her, and she made another face, this one only her tongue sticking out and her eyes crossed, before slamming the red 'men' down on the game board. "Better be careful, Sam," he cautioned as he finished and watched her. She paused long enough to glare, then went back to throwing pieces anywhere. "But I guess it really doesn't 'cause I'm gonna win anyway." For some reason, that made her mad, so mad that she grabbed the game board and threw it at the wall. Blue and red pieces went everywhere, but neither of them noticed. "God, Sam..," he started to say. "Shut up, Bill! Leave me alone!" she yelled, unable to understand what was so wrong, but something he'd said had really, really bothered her. "Calm down," he said. Definitely not in a caring way, more like he thought she was crazy and beyond calming. She didn't answer this time, just stomped out... right to the front door, which she unlocked, opened and walked out, and then slammed behind her. He just stayed on the floor, watching her. She would get scared of being outside and come back in. Let her be mad.
The stupid party lasted almost 3 hours, and Dana felt like she was going to have to murder the next person that said a word about her 'luck' in catching Fox Mulder. Apparently some of the people here were former enemies, not friends. Fox wasn't helping. Whenever they said that, or something like that, he would grin and pull her close to him as though she was going to decide that maybe she wasn't so lucky to have caught him and leave. Or maybe he just knew how angry she was and was trying to keep her from showing it. She wished she still carried a gun. "We better go soon. Our kids are probably getting a little worried," He finally said to his old 'friend'. Rick Blair nodded, and went back to somebody else. "Let's go, Fox," Dana urged when he stopped to talk to just one more person. She whispered it, of course, but still got a look from him. She eventually managed to get him to their car, where he gave in and got in on the driver's side. She actually sighed with relief as he drove out into the street, unable to help it. "I didn't know they would act like that, Dana," he assured her. She looked at him and found herself looking at that sad face that always made her heart break. At least now it wasn't being used because some government-man had killed his father or she had just come back from... wherever she had been. And now she didn't have to try to ignore it. "I know you didn't. I just don't like to go places where everybody assumes because they know you they know me. Which is a lot of parties we go to." "We don't go to many." "The ones we do. But it's over now, let's just get home. Sam's probably scared to death something's happened to us and Bill, I'm almost sure, isn't helping." "I'm completely sure... I love you, Dana," he said softly. "What was That for?" she asked without thinking. "I don't know... but I do." "I know you do. I love you too." "Good." "Fox!"
Fox managed to park the car without running into the neighbor's fence, which he'd already done once since they'd gotten there. He expected Sam to come running out as soon as she saw the lights from the car, but nothing happened. "Maybe they're asleep," he suggested at Dana's slightly worried look. "What are the chances of them Ever going to sleep before they're forced to? They're probably jsut watching a movie or something and didn't notice us drive up." "Probably," he agreed, but he didn't believe that anymore than he believed they were asleep. Bill and Sam weren't, and never had been, the type to watch movies when they could be doing something that involved competition of any sort. Fox held Dana's hand as they walked to the house, still feeling strange. He had no idea where the stuff he'd said in the car came from, but really didn't care. It didn't seem to bother her, so it wouldn't bother him. And this was the same way. He reached across her from where he stood on the left to unlock the door... and found it already unclocked. He couldn't help exchanging a worried look with her as he opened the door and they went in. "Bill? Sam?" she called, and gripped his hand harder. There was no reply. "Maybe they are asleep," he muttered, but she looked up at him and the fear in her eyes shut him up. She was truly scared now. "But why is the door unlocked?" she asked, and her voice shook slightly. He let go of her hand and put her arm around his shoulder. She leaned against him, wanting more than anything to have Sam come out and wrinkle her nose at the way they looked then. Fox didn't answer her question, just gently lead her into the next room-the living room. And they saw Bill. He was watching them come in. "Bill!" Dana cried, and she ran to him. "Sam's gone," he whispered as she hugged him. He allowed her to pull him to his feet. She didn't seem to have understood what he'd said. But Fox had. He saw the game- That game- board against the wall and the pieces scattered on the floor. "Oh, God," he muttered.. "Where's your sister?" Dana asked as he repeated what he'd said. "She's gone," Bill said again. "She left the house, and she didn't come back..." "Bill, tell me you're kidding," Dana said. He shook his head, and she backed away from him as though it was his fault- which, though he hated to acknowledge it, Fox knew it probably was. "She'll come back, Dana. She's probably just in the backyard, hiding..." He began, but Dana was already crying into his shoulder. Bill looked as though he wished he could cry, too, but that it would just make things worse. "I'm sorry, Mom," he said softly, but she didn't answer. "Bill, do you think you could go on to bed?" Fox asked, and Bill nodded before disappearing, walking slowly with his head down. Fox let Dana cry, but she didn't stay against him very long. "We should go look for her," she said, looking up at him. "I'll go. You stay here with Bill. Go see him and make sure he knows You're not mad at him, and try to find out what happened." Normally, she would have argued, but tonight didn't have enough strength even for that. She didn't say a word as he again left the house.
Bill was not crying, just lying on his bed when Dana cautiously opened the door and stepped in. He didn't look at her, just continued to stare at the wall. "I'm not mad at you, Bill," she told him, sitting on Sam's bed and waiting for him to say something. "I didn't want her to leave. I didn't mean to make her so mad, I just... I just told her she wasn't gonna win the game..," he whispered. "I didn't mean to." "I know that, but we need to know what happened. So we can find her." He sat up and looked at her, saw how young she suddenly looked. Not like the tough woman he normally saw her as, someone who'd seen more as an FBI agent before he was born than he would probably ever see, but as someone younger than him. He'd heard his dad leave, and suddenly wished that it was Fox who'd stayed. "Can you tell me? Or do you just want to sleep?" "I... I really don't want to talk about it... I'm sorry, Mom..," he said. He wouldn't have been able to tell her, he knew. "Will you listen to me while I tell you something, then?" she asked. He nodded. "Okay... way back when your dad and I had only been working together a year, maybe a year and a half, something happened to me. I disappeared for almost 3 months." His eyes had widened even with just that. "I didn't know that. You guys never tell me anything!" She smiled a little. "Ask me to tell you more about then, and I will." "Okay," he said, and laid back down to listen. "When I... came back, I was in a coma for a pretty long time. They took me off life support, which my mom, your grandmother, later said made her almost hate Fox for agreeing with me on my earlier decision. But I survived anyway, lucky for you. When I first woke up, and went home, my mother wouldn't leave me alone. She was always calling to make sure I was okay, until I finally one day just hung up on her. I couldn't understand why she wouldn't leave me alone. But now that I have kids, I can sympathize... Now, I'm worried about Sam, but I'm just as worried about you. Not mad at you, okay?" "Yeah... will you stay in here until I go to sleep?" he asked, feeling a little better now that he was sure she wasn't mad. "Sure."
"Samantha! Samantha Mulder!" Fox yelled, trying not to let his voice crack and let her- if she could hear him- know how worried he was. This had happened before, only he had been just a kid, a couple of months younger than Bill was now. After his sister had disappeared, he'd spent hours looking for any clues to where she might have gone. He, pausing for a moment, reached into his pocket and pulled out the small ribbon. He'd found it near the window that, from what he thought he remembered, had been the one he'd last seen her through. And he'd kept it with him all the time since then. Dana had seen it on the bedside table early one morning when she'd gotten up before him and had almost thrown it away before deciding it was safer to ask him about it when he woke up. He'd explained what it meant to him, and threatened, almost seriously, to kill her if she ever even Thought about getting rid of something he owned, and the only reason he didn't kill her then was because their child was getting close to just 4 months before she was going to be the one wearing ribbons. He smiled briefly- Bill sure wasn't one to wear ribbons! For that matter, neither was Sam. Wherever she was. And he went back to searching.
It was close to midnight when Fox finally came back in. Dana was waiting, standing by the front door. Her expectant look vanished when she saw he was alone. "You didn't find her?" she asked softly, not that it needed to be asked. He shook his head, looking at the floor. "Maybe we should call the police," she said, and her voice shook. She practically carried him to the phone. "You better call," he managed to say. She nodded and picked it up, dialing the number on the ancient sheet of paper taped to the wall with emergeny numbers written on it. The numbers were written slanted too far to the right, and it was hard to read. She squinted at them. "Samantha made that in kindergarten. Mom kept it up while she was here to make her happy, then afterwards because it reminded her of happier times, I guess," Fox managed to choke out, and she realized he was crying. She put her arm around him as she waited for somebody to answer. "Police Department. How can I help you?" the voice sounded fairly young and excited to have something to do. "Um, my name is Dana Mulder. My daughter, Samantha, ran away about... 5 hours ago." "Her last name's the same as yours." "Yes." "Age?" "Eight." "Don't usually hear about kids that young." Dana felt Fox tense up, and knew he didn't want Anybody to think that there were any problems that would make a child want to leave going on in their home. His own childhood had been bad and he'd told her a hundred times he would never make his own children go through what he had. "Any idea why she'd leave?" "Well, her brother says they were arguing just before she left." "How old is her brother?" "He's 12." "Does he ever hit your daughter? Or do you or your husband?" Again, Fox bristled, but she rubbed his shoulder and he took a deep breath and calmed down. "Never." "Where can we get in touch with you if we find her?" Dana gave him the number, forced a thanks, waited until she'd heard the dial tone, then slammed the phone down. "That son of a-" She started to say, unable to help herself. "Mom? Dad? Did you find Sam?" Bill was in the doorway, looking tired but worried. Dana had left him asleep upstairs soon after they'd finished talking. She'd hoped he would stay that way. "Not yet," she said, wishing she could lie but not knowing how. If Sam wasn't here, what could she say? "We've called the police, though, and they're looking for her." "We'll find her, Bill, don't worry," Fox assured him, and they exchanged small smiles. "But right now, I think you need to go back to bed. Want me to go up with you?" Bill nodded, and they disappeared. Dana watched them go, then sighed softly. Sam was gone, but she would have to come back, wouldn't she? What could have happened to her? Unable to help it, Dana found herself remembering things, things that she didn't want to think about until her daughter was back.
three-year-old Bill ran out to greet his mother, who he hadn't seen in two weeks. He'd been taken to his Uncle Charles' house to stay until his new brother or sister was born. "Mommy!" he yelled as he saw her, finally saw her. She smiled. "Hi, Billy!" He ran to her, and she bent down to hug him. "You're all skinny again," he observed, making her laugh. "Where's the baby?" he asked, glad he'd made her happy again. "Your sister's with your dad. He's said he was gonna get her inside, but I think he got lost." "Darn, its a sister. I wanted a brother... what's her name?" "Samantha Melissa Mulder." "Pretty name."
"Mommy! Daddy! Lookit that, lookit what Billy can do!" Sam, not quite four years old now, was jumping up and down with excitement as she watched her older brother hit the ball and begin running the bases. She was too excited to even care when he got out. "You were real good, Billy," Was the first thing she said to him after the game ended. "No, I wasn't. I got out every time, and I played right field! I stink!" "I thought you were good. Better than that big person who was throwing." "Pitcher... Thanks, Sam." "Will you play baseball with me tomorrow?" "Sure."
"But I don't wanna go to any school. I wanna stay at home with you!" Sam yelled as Dana struggled to pull her out of the car. For once, her clothes, even if she still insisted on jeans and a t-shirt, were clean and her hair was neatly pulled back out of her face, but she wasn't helping it stay that way. "Sam, you have to go to school. It's a law. Please cooperate," Dana begged, wondering how her mother had done it with 4. maybe 3, since Charles had never really been a problem with things like this, but still. "Are the police people like Daddy gonna get me if I don't?" "Yep." "Okay, okay, I'm going!" And she grabbed her new backpack and was gone.
Tears came to Dana's eyes as she remembered all the wonderful smiles Sam had given her, all the beautiful moments that were worth anything only in memory. And the tears began to fall as Fox again entered the room. He didn't say a word, just walked over, sat down beside her, and pulled her close to him. She cried into his shoulder. "She's never coming back, never..." She heard herself sobbing. "Of course she will," Fox replied, and wrapped his arms around her more tightly. She guessed she fell asleep, because she didn't remember what happened until the phone rang. Fox got up to answer it. "Yes, it's right... Samantha Mulder... Oh my God... Okay," he hung up. "Who was that?" Dana asked, and forced herself not to expect anything. "It was the policeman that I guess you talked to earlier. Dumb teenager with nothing better to do during the summer..." "What'd he say?" she was to the point now of wanting to go over and shake him. "She was hit by a car."
Bill hunched as small as he could in the backseat while his parents spoke softly to each other in the front. He'd been awakened again, his mom saying that he had to get up and that they were going to the hospital. "Like a damned cat..," Fox muttered. He'd said it before, but Bill guessed he didn't think anybody was listening. "She's okay, Fox, she's okay," Dana said, but she didn't sound sure. Bill pulled his knees under his chin, not caring that because he wasn't wearing A seat belt, if they had to stop suddenly he would probably be hurt. He knew something more than his parents were admitting to him was wrong, because his mom hadn't even checked to see if he had it on. They jerked to a stop in the hospital parking lot, and Bill bit his lip when he saw they were near the red sign that said, "Emergency Room." "Mom? Is she okay?" he asked as he hurried to keep up with Dana and Fox, who were practically running. "Not now, Bill," Dana said, and he tried not to cry- she wasn't okay, couldn't be if they just ignored his questions like that. Inside, they never slowed down. Sam was one of the first people he saw. She was sitting on a chair by a polic officer, huddled as far into the plastic as she could be. Her face was cut, and he could see black stitches above a bruised eye. That eye was almost completely shut and her jeans were cut, her lower left leg in a cast. "I know we shouldn't have set it without permission, but she couldn't move at all. We had to," the police officer explained to Fox as Dana hugged Sam, who struggled. "That hurts, Mom," she complained. "She cracked a couple of ribs," The officer said. "Can she come home with us?" Fox asked. "Sure, just sign a few things."
Sam felt like a celebrity for the next few days. Everybody treated her nice, even Bill, and her mom kept asking if she was sure she was okay. Sam knew it was because she was worried that now Sam would be scared of cars of something. They went home, to real home, a week early. It was nice to be back, with no more big adventures or anything, even if that was a little boring. Her dad went back a week later to clean things up, brought what he wanted to keep home, and sold the house.
"Christmas!" Bill yelled to all the world as he really woke up and remembered what day it was. He was out of his room in seconds and collided with Sam. She looked cute, for his sister, with her eyes wide and excited and her hair sticking out in all directions. "Hey, guys, slow down!" Fox called as they prepared to enter the living room, where all the presents were put. A minute later, he and Dana joined them, and they went in together. Bill felt his breath catch at what he saw. The tree covered in tiny gold lights, a fire already started, and gifts Everywhere. He and Sam attacked them, and soon the paper was flying. Close to an hour later, they had torn open every box marked with their names. Sports equipment, toy guns, even some clothes, littered the floor. "Darn," Sam said. "It's gone," he hit her with a Nerf football. "Not quite," Fox said, before she could attack her brother. He smiled and handed her another box. Although it was to her and Bill, Bill didn't argue when she was the one to open it. "Da-ad," Sam groaned when she saw what it was. "We'll play in teams," he said. "What is it?" Dana asked, coming in with the camera she'd been looking for. "Stratego," Sam said, and Bill turned his head to the ceiling and rolled his eyes. "Anybody wanna play?" asked Fox. After a round of playful 'no's, the box was opened. And the game was played, Fox and Bill against Dana and Sam. They played most of the day, game after game.
"Fun day," Dana remarked late that night after Bill and Sam finally went to bed. "Yep," Fox replied. Then he stopped putting wrapping paper into a big garbage bag and stopped to look at his wife. She stared back, and a second later, they both grinned. They'd been partners, lovers, a married couple, and parents. They'd seen it all. And were better off for it. The End
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