Title: Compromice

Author: Neoxphile

Timeline/spoilers: post-series, minor spoilers for Teso dos Bichos

Summary: A look into William's life as he turns five.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the X-Files characters, but I promise to put them back in the toybox when I'm done with them.

Author's note: This is for the William's Fifth Birthday Challenge. Challenge details at the end.

May 20th, 2006
3am

The boxes in my room make lots of shadows on the walls but I'm not scared. I'm more scared about moving tomorrow. A big truck's gonna come and take all our stuff away. How will it know where the new house is? On TV planes lose people's stuff all the time.

When I hear someone in the hall, I freeze. Then the feet sounds go away and I relax. No one's checking on me.

I'm suppost to be sleeping, but I can't. So I've got my flashlight, and I'm looking for a word in the dictionary Uncle Oliver gave me. It's kind of dumb, 'cause there are more pictures than words, but no one will give me a grown up one yet. Maybe I'll get one tomorrow... I can't find compromice on any of the pages, and I don't think it's the kind of word that's got a picture. I think I'm gonna have to ask Mommy what it means.

Daddy said that our old house here is a compromice with uncle Oliver and Aunt Claire, but it's time to move on. They're not really-really my aunt and uncle like Mommy's brothers, but they took care of me when I was a baby. Now they gots a kid too. Sophie's three, and I'm gonna be five tomorrow.

Or maybe today. All around with boxes the clock says three, but it's still real dark out, so how can it be morning like Mommy says? If Daddy knew that I was awake he'd say "Go to sleep, You. It's the middle of the night!" I think when Mommy says one thing and Daddy says a different thing, that's called "disagreeing." They do that lots, but they smile too.

I wonder if Sophie is awake. Can't go upstairs, though, or all the 'dults get mad. It's another word - boundaries. That sounds like puppies jumping but it means I gotta ask before I go upstairs. I don't like that. It was better before. After today we won't even live in the same house. Mommy says it'll be nice, but it makes me mad.

The grown ups whisper, and they think that Sophie and I don't hear. I do. They don't like our house anymore. I do, it's cool. It's like a house with another house on top. We live on the bottom. Or we did...

See, all the way when I was two, Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Oliver and Aunt Claire went to court like on Judge Judy that's on sometimes instead of cartoons. But instead of a judge Daddy said they had a king. King Solomon. Sometimes Daddy laughs and said the king wanted to cut me in two. I think that's more scary than funny, but Mommy says it has to do with a bible story and Daddy is being silly. I keep waiting for that story to be in Sunday school but it doesn't.

Anyway, the king said we should all live in the same house until I got to be five. Aunt Claire says it not a othodox decision, and I have no idea what a dox is, but otho means teeth, right? Like those other dentists. Whatever it means, the King made a weird choice, according to Daddy, but 'dults do that a lot.

Is anyone else real sleepy all of the sudden?

May 20th, 2006
11am

The truck didn't lose nothing! I checked as soon as the mover men put all the boxes in. That was forever ago, an hour maybe. I'm putting my stuff away, Daddy said it's my job. That's good, 'cause I wouldn't want anyone else deciding where my toys go.

Sophie and Aunt Claire and Uncle Oliver are gonna be here for lunch. Mommy said it's okay if I don't get everything put away now, but I want it to look nice when they get here.

Don't tell anyone, but I don't hate the new house. It's pretty big, and Daddy said we can build a tree house in the backyard. I'm not supost to go outside now, but I don't know why. It's not rainy or anything. Maybe one of my presents will be an outside thing and that's why.

I already miss Sophie. I don't remember before Sophie. Mommy said that sometimes people who can't have a baby can once they adopt one. And Sophie is why she took me back. It'd of been mean if they didn't have a baby of their own. But I don't remember any of it.

Sophie's my best friend, even if she is a girl. They all said we'll see each other lots and lots, but I don't know if they mean it, or if it's one of those white lies grandma told me about.

"William!"

I run downstairs real quick, 'cause it's Aunt Claire. They got here and I didn't even know!

When I get down, Sophie and grandma are there too. "Where's Uncle Oliver?" I ask after giving grandma her hug.

Aunt Claire says "He'll be here in a little while. Why don't you show Sophie your new room?" So I do.

Uncle Oliver comes in and Daddy gives him a big smile. "Just in time." He says, then goes back to cooking hotdogs. It's my birthday and they're my favorite so... He makes the best hotdogs ever. I like mine with relish and ketchup.

After everyone eats, and Sophie gets her face washed, we have cake. It's got vanilla frosting but it's not white, and the cake part is chocolate.

"Happy birthday dear William-" Everyone sings.

Except Daddy. Instead he sings the birthday song that goes "Happy birthday to you, you live in a zoo. You look like a monkey and smell like one too." He's silly like that.

It only takes one big breath to blow out the candles! Last year it took two. Everyone claps and Daddy starts to cut the cake.

"We you turned one, Will, you smeared your birthday cake all over yourself. Even in your hair." Aunt Claire says, laughing a little. Mommy looks a little sad, and I know she's probably thinking about how I didn't always live with her and Daddy.

"Want me to do that now too?" I ask and pretend to grab a handful of cake. All the grown ups flinch, and Sophie laughs. At least she knew I was kidding.

"Give Will presents now?" Sophie asks.

"Is it time?" I ask too.

"Yes." Grandma says, and she hands me a present wrapped in shiny blue paper. "Go on, Will."

I tear off the paper. "A dictionary!" I shout. I start flipping through the pages, and it is a real dictionary. The only pictures are real little and not too many.

Daddy looks at Mommy and says "This is your fault." I don't know why, either.

I liked my other presents too. I got a bike and some games from my parents and a baseball glove from Sophie. Grandma gave me two other books two, but story ones.

I don't expect to get anything else, but Uncle Oliver looks at me. "You didn't think we forgot to get you something, did you?"

"Well..."

May 20th, 2006
12:45pm

"Come outside." Aunt Claire says, taking my hand. "I want to show you your present."

"Okay." I say, nodding.

Everyone else comes outside too. We walk all the way across the yard, and I stop but Aunt Claire doesn't. "Come on, Will."

"But..." I'm not suppost to go in anyone else's yard. Is it okay if Aunt Claire goes too? Won't the neighbors get mad? She pulls my hand, so I decide to go too.

We walk right up to the front door of the next house. There are no lights on or anything so I guess no one's home. "Gonna knock?" I ask.

"Nope." And she reaches for the doorknob.

"Wait." I say. "You'll get in trouble."

"Why?" She asks. Her voice sounds like she's telling a joke.

"'cause we're not suppost to go into other people's houses." I remind her.

She smiles. "That's right, we're not supposed to go into other people's houses." Then she walks in.

After a second I go in too, so she won't get in trouble all by herself. I feel a little better when we get inside because it's mostly empty like our new house was this morning. "Is this house for sale?" I ask, feeling kinda smart.

"No, it's not."

"Oh." So much for feeling smart, huh? "But-"

"Let's go upstairs." Aunt Claire says, so we do. Once we get up to the top of the stairs, she points to a door. "Open that."

"Really?" I ask. I'm not sure I want to. Why would my present be in these stranger people's house?

She gives me a little push, so I go to the door and pull it open. "Hey!" When I look back at her, she smiles real big.

This room isn't empty like the other ones. "This is Sophie's stuff!" There's her bed, and her dollhouse, and-

"Have you figured out what your present is, yet?" Aunt Claire asks me.

I think about it. "This house isn't for sale 'cause you and Uncle Oliver bought it?"

"Exactly! We all knew that you and Sophie were sad about not living in the same house any more. So we decided to compromise and buy houses next door to each other so we can still be close but each have our own space."

"Wow!" Sophie is going to live real close after all. I can't believe it.

"Surprised, huh?" She asks, rubbing the top of my head. "Happy birthday, Buddy."

"This is so cool." I tell her.

"Let's go tell Sophie you know before she explodes."

"Not really, right?" I ask. I don't want my best friend to explode!

"Right. Just a figure of speech, Will."

"Just checking." I mumble.

1:30 pm

"Daddy, tell us a story." I beg, crawling onto his lap.

"Please, Uncle Mulder?" Sophie climbs up on the couch too.

"Okay." Daddy says. "What sort of story? Three little pigs?"

"No!" We both yell. "A work story." I tell him.

"I have a lot of work stories." He points out. "Which work story?"

I look at Sophie. "The one about the cats."

He groans. "You would want to hear about the case that made your mother hate cats. And rats." He looks around, probably to make sure the other 'dults aren't around since they don't really like this kind of storytime. "Okay... Once upon a time, there was a man who dreamed that he turned into a giant cat..."

Sometimes he reminds me that I'm gonna get too big to sit on his lap soon, but today he doesn't. So I lean back and listen to a story I already know by art. Today was the best birthday ever.

And tonight I'm gonna use my new my new dictionary to find out what the heck a compromice is.

Challenge Elements:

- set your fic on May 20th, 2006

- William receives a very special gift. (which doesn't have to be an object. It could be alive or intangible) What is it?

- Someone William is very excited to see visits on his birthday. Who it?

- an adult tells William as little or as much as you like about the x-file of your choice.

Read other fics for this challenge here: http://www.geocities.com/mulderscreek/tnf/challenge20.html