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Title: The Way Things Should Be Summary: Long time later. POV of someone too young to speak at the moment. Good way to keep every one happy, let DD leave the show, and let the X-Files go on its way. And the best thing is it's all in cannon! Author's Note: The grammar is bad. But that's why I do better in math. I am also writing in the POV of a seventeen year old so actually it's pretty good if you look at it that way. This is also the First XF fan-fic I've written. I've written stuff about another show, but this is better because the writers give the fans more of what they want. Happy reading! My life had pretty much been a joke and the joke was on me, of course. I mean I guess it wasn't so bad just me and Dad. Dad was kinda strange - always into that alien stuff and the worse thing is I think he really believed it! But Dad's always been good to me and has done everything he possibly can for me. He calls me his miracle child. There was so much about him I don't know; so much he just refused to tell me. He said it was for my own good. He did sometimes mention how him and a friend used to go on crazy adventures. That they would go chasing after things nobody else believed in. When I was little I used to ask him if they were monsters and his tone of voice used to frighten me when he always said they were. Then I thought they were just stories he made up to keep me in line or get me to go to bed. Then I questioned his stories more. I looked for loopholes, but there weren't any. I'd ask questions about this Fox Mulder friend of his. I asked him what kind of name was that and he would just shrug his shoulders. I saw an old picture of them once -maybe "Fox" was just a nickname. But there was something about her I couldn't quite put my finger on. And from his stories she sounded like someone I'd want to meet. I asked him once if she was still alive; if I could ever meet her. "When you invent the time machine," he mumbled, I'm sure he didn't mean for me to hear him but I had learned to listen to him. And I wasn't happy with that answer so I did what I did best, gone where I shouldn't. I hacked in to S.S. and what did I find? Nothing. Not even a birth record. So Dad had made her up. I would ask about Mom sometimes too, but I can never get anything out of him about it, just that she isn't around anymore. It made me so mad sometimes too. He won't even tell me what she looks like or what her name is. Maybe he thinks that if he tells me I'll hack around and find out what happened to her. Maybe whatever happened to her was just so horrible. I dunno. Sometimes I just wish he would tell me anyway. I don't remember anything about her. My parents' lives had been such a mystery to me. So much that my life has become one too. I don't really fit in anywhere. I know a lot of teenagers say that but I mean it. Yeah, that's me, the seventeen-year-old Super Dork, able to hack into any computer system and run from even the biggest jock! William Walter Hale, the tall, pale, skinny kid with the red hair and the spooky eyes. The weirdo with his dad, George Hale, who tracks aliens and has a nonexistent past, and a mother that doesn't exist at all. Yup, they say I'm normal but I know I'm not. There's something different about me that nobody can figure out. Why is my IQ off the chart; why am I so athletic, but I don't exercise? If I ask Dad he just says I'm "special." That always sounds like such a bad thing. So then I asked him what made me so special and he just said, "You are your mother's son." He can be so cryptic sometimes. Then Saturday came, like any other Saturday. Saturday is our day, me and Dad just do whatever we want. That day we decided to just sit around and watch the Box. Going into hour three of doing absolutely nothing Dad woke up from his movie-induced daze. He got this strange far away look. His eyes turned dark and he sat straight up in his chair. Dad's got this sixth sense about these things; something big was up. I asked him what was going on but he didn't answer. He must not have heard me. He stood up from his chair and walked over to the door. He was in shock. I followed close behind him making sure he was ok. "It can't be," he breathed. I don't know what he was talking about he hadn't even looked out the window. He opened the door and I looked over his shoulder to see a silver car driving down the dirt road toward our house. I didn't recognize the car. What in the world would anyone want with us in the middle of Nevada. "Stay here, Bill," was all he said as he walked out to meet the strange car. I'm sure not one to question Dad, especially as crazy as he was acting at the time, but that doesn't mean I couldn't wonder. I though maybe it was someone from the government, or from the FBI. Dad said they used to be after him all the time. Maybe they found him maybe they were going to take him. I thought maybe that was what Dad had gotten a feeling about. I was almost ready to go run down after him but the car door opened and a woman stepped out. Dad turned ghostly pale. This is the first time I had ever seen Dad scared. He just had this eerie look about him like he could just disappear if he chose to. I could lie and say I wasn't frightened, but I was so afraid. Who was this woman and what did she want with Dad? She came around the end of the car and walked over to where Dad was standing. She was so short compared to him only about 5'3," and only looked a little bit younger than him. Why should he have any reason at all to be afraid? As I peaked through the cracked door it finally came to me -- that was Fox Mulder! I mean sure she was older than the picture I had seen of her, but it had to be her. I couldn't believe it! She was actually here! I figured maybe I could get some information out of her; maybe she knew who my mother was. I leaned further out the door so I could hear what they were saying. She tried to smile but she obliviously knew Dad wasn't in a smiling mood. Dad leaned over and lifted up her short reddish-gray hair like he was looking for something other than the back of her neck. Strange greeting for an old friend, but that's Dad for you. When Dad stepped away, I guess, she had a look of mock shock on her face. "Mulder!" She exclaimed, "No, I am not an alien, and I even got that chip removed so they couldn't even track me here." Why did she call him Mulder? That was her name, apparently he just hadn't noticed. The color returned to his face and he smiled. He enveloped her in a bear hug and kissed her. Ok, that's when I got confused. I wanted to know what was going on so I stepped out on the porch so I could hear better. "I'm so glad you're here," Dad told her. "I missed you so much." "What, Mulder, No sarcastic comment? No old lady jokes?" "No, not right now, besides you're still as beautiful as the day I left you." "There's that sense of humor." "You know what I mean," Dad fumbled. "What are you doing here anyway? How did you find me?" "That's a long story. Do you mind if I stay for a while?" "You can stay forever, or as long as you can stand the mess." She laughed, "I think I can stand it." She looked over at the porch and when she saw me looked like she was about to pass out. Then dad leaned down and whispered something in her ear. She just nodded. They turned to the house and he led her inside. She looked really unsure of herself and she kept staring at me. I couldn't believe I was standing face to face with the infamous Fox Mulder! "Ummm. Fox, this is my son William. Bill this is my old friend, Fox Mulder. She's going to stay a couple of days. If that's all right with you." "Are you kidding?" I reach for her hand. "Ms. Mulder, it is such a pleasure to meet you, Dad has told me so much about you." Well, okay, a little about her. "Really? All good I hope?" "No, not all, He said that were a were an evil witch who was part of a government conspiracy to kill him with low fat tofutti rice dreamsickles." Part of me regretted saying it, but I also wanted to see how well she knew dad. She looked at Dad then back at me, "You are so much like your father. His height, his eyes, and his twisted sense of humor." I smiled, "Then I guess the rest is my mother's. Did you know her?" "Bill-" Dad scolded. "Yes, I do." "You 'do'? That means she's still alive, where is she? Who is she?" Dad took Fox by the arm and sat her down, "Bill, why don't you get Fox something to drink she's had a long drive." "But. but. Dad?" He gave me that 'go or else' look and I turned and went towards the kitchen. "Dana Katherine Scully." She told me her name! I turned and thanked her and continued my journey to the kitchen. But it wasn't hard to hear what they were talking about. It was a small house, that and the fact that Dad was speaking above his usual mumble. "You shouldn't have told him that," Dad warned her. "Why not? It's just a name." Dad laughed bitterly, "Do you remember about five years ago when they had to completely reformat the FBI security database?" "Yeah, we had to completely change everything from our entrance procedure to the way we saved a computer file. How did you find out about it?" "Because it was me." Her head switched around and stared at me when I said it, and then looked back at Dad. Dad nodded. It was like no verbal communication was needed between the two of them. It was just weird. So I broke the weirdness. "Yeah really," I said almost proudly, "WDESTERTWALIENH, right?" She nodded. "They said he was a master hacker; virtually unstoppable. But we didn't hear from him anymore." "Yeah, because Dad could stop me. I was a grounded for a little while and besides it was just a lot of documents and codes nothing really interesting to a twelve-year-old. So it wasn't hard to stay away. My only wish was that I had been more creative with the name." "How so?" "They could have tracked me down if they'd really wanted to. DESERT - well, look outside. ALIEN - we're less than 15 miles from Area 51. And my initials - William Walter Hale. I put me and Dad both at too high a risk." "So that means your going to go find your mother?" Dad looked at me with worry in his eyes. "No," I told Fox, "not right now, not until Dad thinks I'm ready to know, or until I move out." Dad seemed happy with my response as did Fox. "I'm glad to see you respect your father so much. He's been through a lot over the years." "And you haven't?" Dad said under his breath. But she heard him, "Did I say that?" She looked at me again or more accurately looked though me; like she couldn't believe what she was seeing. "I need to talk to your father for a little while. You can stay and listen if you want, but you might get confused." I nodded; I wasn't going to miss that for the world. "Well, George, it's finally over." Dad just stared at her. "Would I be here and put you and Bill at risk if it wasn't." "I guess not." "Well, as soon as you left I deleted you. It's like you don't even exist and you had no family so I kept all your things. Then I got a ring of doctors together and gave them the blood sample I had. We worked on the vaccine until about three years ago. George, you don't know how hard it was to keep those doctors funded. The FBI still didn't want to admit that aliens existed, so a lot of the work was voluntary. Near the beginning some of the best doctors were killed under "unusual circumstances." It was bad, but it just made the rest of us want to work harder so all their research didn't go to waste. The worst thing was the syndicate had disappeared completely and all their research with it. So we pretty much had to start from scratch with the vaccine. The only information they had was from the X- files and if I hadn't gone back to the bureau and begged for my job we wouldn't have had that. You should have seen us sometimes, we all had regular jobs then this project on top of that, most of us chucked a lot of our paychecks into the research. Not, that we had any place to spend it. We were running on coffee and a prayer. Some doctors we were; couldn't even take care of ourselves. I don't know how we ever found the vaccine." I didn't have a problem understanding her she was the complete opposite of Dad. She spoke clear, and stated exactly what happened. I wasn't too confused either, I didn't know all of what was going on but she hadn't totally lost me yet. She continued, "That's probably the one thing that hasn't changed the FBI is still trying to shut down the X-files." "Is the office still down in the basement, my pencils still stuck in the ceiling, and my poster still on the wall?" Dad asked. She just looked at him. "Then there are two things that haven't changed," he corrected her. She smiled, "Well, here's the good news." "Good news; now there's something I haven't heard in a long time." "Well, about 3 years ago they found the vaccine that was effective enough to stop all forms of the virus and also, when injected, killed the aliens." Dad's eyes went wide with amazement. "We couldn't have ever done it without that blood sample." She looked at me with gratitude, like I had anything to do with it. "A year and a half later we had made enough vaccine to pose as a threat and rather than die; the aliens started to evacuate. It took about a year for them all to finally leave. I started looking for you as soon as it was clear. I hadn't even tried to find you before that because I was afraid someone would discover where you were, but you don't know how many times I almost came out here after you." "But I knew you couldn't there just wasn't any way. It wasn't safe for any of us." She nodded, "I know... The Lone Gunmen did most of your work. We found you about three weeks ago." I wondered why it took her so long to find Dad. Did he really cover his tracks that well? "So now you're here," I injected. "And now I'm here," she replied. "George, there's something I want you to think about. The A.D. I work for now, well when he heard that you were alive.believe it or not he wants you back. He will fully reinstate you. Strangely enough he believes in the X-Files! It would be you and me back in the basement again, just like old times. Just without rebels, bounty hunters, the greys, the black oil, or anything else that has to do with those aliens." Dad was surprised. He had that blank stare in his eyes like he couldn't quite believe what she was saying, "That was a long time ago." "I know but the threat is over. I just want you to think about it." We all kind of just sat there for a few minutes in silence Dad was pondering over the information he had just been given. Fox was sipping her drink and looking around at the house appearing quite content in her Hiroshima-like surroundings. That in itself surprised me. By the way she handled herself and the black suit she wore I had doubted that she would have lasted this long, but she seemed at peace in our home. I on the other hand, was just burning with questions. She knew Dad since before I was born, apparently she believed in aliens too, and were me and Dad really going to move? The more I thought about it the more it made my head spin. It was like the answer was staring me in the face but it was blurry. Then I realized Fox was staring at me again. It was scary, almost like she was telepathic or something. "Let's see if you think like your father too." "No, afraid not. He's done a fairly good job of trying to debunk my work." As strange as it was Dad seemed proud of me for always accusing him of being wrong. "Well, Bill, I told you that the aliens were gone. What do you think of that?" "I think you're as crazy as Dad," I replied honestly. "I must have hundreds of legal, scientific, government documents that disprove the existence of aliens on earth. The rebels are an anti-alien terrorist group with masks who are destroying anyone who has a strong public display in the belief of aliens. The bounty hunters are government agents working to keep the public from going into hysteria. And the black oil or virus or whatever you call it is just a story to explain what happens to people. Maybe its some kind of biological weapon the government is testing. I don't know, there really isn't much information on it." She didn't seem surprised by my answer but agreed with it, "All right, that sounds good to me. I only wish it were that easy, huh, George?" Dad nodded, "Like hell, it wasn't." "So then, Bill, if aliens don't exist why the big fuss?" "Because the people want to believe it explains things to them that they cant quite comprehend. Like old folklore." "And you understand it?" I was beginning to get a little annoyed with the questions. Why did it matter what I thought? It was like this was some kind of test to make sure I wasn't an alien or something. "It's all right there in black and white. But that's the difference, I go looking for the truth while others let the truth come to them and end up believing the first thing that comes their way." "See, just like his mother," Dad said. And, I thought, it might matter more if I knew who she was. "Yes, but you changed her mind. Besides he would be just like you if he'd realize the truth." "No!" I shouted. By this point I had had enough, "I am not just like Dad and I'm sure if I knew who my mother was I would not be just like her. Last time I checked I was not a clone. I am William Walter Hale!" "Bill!" Dad exclaimed. "No,. no, it's okay, he's right." Dad seemed to settle and the rest of the day passed easily without conflict. Fox was interesting to be around. The more I listened to her tell old stories about her and Dad the more I felt that I had already known her, but it was hard to tell what she was thinking. She hid her emotions well. It was great having her with us over those next couple of days. It was just good having another person in the house. The more we talked the more I found her and Dad's stories matched. Except when her and Dad would argue whether something was really a vampire or invisible men or whatever. It made me think though, were the stories really true or were they just telling the same lies. But there were so many. It had to be true! What cool jobs. I realized. Chasing down unexplained things, running from the government, and traveling the country and world. Sometimes going as far as Antarctica! But something still wasn't adding up. My curiosity finally got the best of me so one morning I asked Fox what she did for a living. "Your dad never told you?" I shook my head, "Just that you two had some crazy adventures," She laughed, then leaned forward in her chair whispering to me, "I'm a FBI agent." "What?! You work for them now?" I said quite loudly. "No, we always did," she replied calmly. "But Dad said they were after you because of what you did." "They didn't believe us either, but I think that was just because we worked in the X-files." "I don't believe you. Where's your badge then?" Dad a rebellious FBI agent - yeah right! He was just a crazy old man who believes in aliens I told myself. "Now, what doesn't he believe, that the space ship rose out of the ice?" Dad said as he came in the living room. I guess he heard all the commotion I was making. "Dad, Fox wants me to believe that you were FBI agents." He looked at her. "Did you have to tell him?" "He's going to have to know eventually." "But not yet," Dad pleaded. "He's seventeen I think he can handle it," she insisted. "I was forty and I couldn't handle it," Dad mumbled. Somehow I got the feeling they weren't talking about the FBI anymore. "Well, now's a good a time as any." "Fine, just go blow up my boy's reality." I think Dad was being sarcastic, but he sunk down next to me on the couch like all the weight of the world just fell on him. Fox shook her head and rose out of her chair and went into her room and quickly returned with two black wallets. "Hey, Mulder, found this just before I came, thought you might like to have it back." She chucked one of them to Dad before she sat down. There. She had done it again. "You did that when you first came here too." "Huh?" "Calling Dad by your name. Is that some kind of joke?" Dad laughed, changing the subject, "Boy did I look young then." But I wouldn't let him. I looked over at the FBI badge 'Fox Mulder,' I read. "Why does it have your name there?" I then asked her aloud. I think I was getting one of Dad's feelings. "Because that's not my name," and she handed me her badge. I opened it and read the name 'Dana Scully' in neat scrip. I gulped and I got this real sick feeling in my stomach. I looked up at her and she stared back at me. "Now do you believe that we were FBI agents?" she whispered. I nodded, I thought to myself, I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry, I'm not going -damn. I all ready felt hot tears running down my face. It all made sense. I was so happy, I had seen that picture but never known who she was and now she had spent all week with us. I rubbed the tears away from my face. She held out her hand to me. She was unsure of how I would react. I took her hand pulling us up I hugged her tightly and didn't want to let go. I wanted to make up for all the lost times. All the times I had wished she was there, but she was here now. "I love you, Mom." I knew she had started to cry. Then I heard Dad's sarcastic tone, "awwwww.what a cute picture." F -Mom snorted, "Can't you see I'm trying to make up for lost time with my son?" "What about lost time with your partner?" was his smart remark. Mom let go of me and pulled the cushion out of her chair and threw it at Dad. She saw that surprised expression on his face and began to laugh. I just thought the whole scene was funny and began laughing too. Dad pulled out a couch cushion in retaliation, I soon followed suit. I hadn't had that much fun in a long time and I don't think Mom or Dad had either. But after the pillow fight we sat back down, all of us pretty worn out, with frazzled hair and ruffled clothing. We sat there just laughing for a few minutes before we clamed down again. I think they knew I still had questions. The three of us sat together on the couch like we never wanted to be separated again and we didn't. !@#$%^&**&^%$#*&^%#$%*#%#%^%&* "Yeah, I think I know how the rest of the story goes." "And they all lived happily ever after, The End." "Be quiet, you guys. Let Bill finish his story." "All that was pretty much left was what happened on this side of the story. I asked them why me and Dad had to leave in the first place I thought it was because the aliens were after Dad. Turns out they were after me! Dad had been right all along I was special because I was my mother's son. It was impossible for her to have kids and then she had me. The aliens were after my blood because it was the one thing that could stop them. Supposedly, I quickly developed a complication after I was born and died a few days later. Then Mom said that Dad had 'finally' snapped. I guess he had been headed that direction anyway. So she said he committed suicide. And Mom had funerals for us and everything, well, closed casket of course. She really did do a good job of making us disappear and no one would question if it was true or not because it was all so terrible. And she was upset too. She didn't think she'd ever see either of us again. It was like we were really dead. So then while Mom was taking our lives Dad was making new ones, he chose a new home and his favorite alias George Hale so that she would recognize it if she was ever looking for him and the rest is history." "See isn't it better to let him finish?" "Yeah, Great story kid." "I still think our story was better." "Shut up, Langly, you know Mulder couldn't have be on a secret mission all those years." "Dad, on a secret mission? Yeah, right." "He has done it before." "Hey, Boys what do you say we put this kid in the next issue." "All right." "Groovy." "Come by some time next week and we'll write up your article." *BZZZT* "Ok, great!" I can't believe they're going to put me in their paper. "Wonder who that could be?" "Well, what do you know. It's the walking dead man and Scully." "Just let them in." "Hey, boys, did you miss me?" "Are you kidding?" replies all three at the same time. "Yeah, the paper hasn't been the same without your inside information." "I bet. Bill, my old friends didn't scare you too much, did they?" "Nah, they were cool." "The kid's been great. He's been catchin' us up on the last 17 years," interjects the short one. "Mulder are you going to be in town for a little while?" "Until my next case, but no more long trips. I promise." "Hey, Byers, did I hear that right? Did he say 'case'?" "No, it couldn't be." "Yup, boys, back in the basement, just like old times." "Woohoo! The paper lives again!" shouts the graying hippie, and I began to laugh. "Don't you guys think about anything besides yourself?" "Sorry, Scully, but we are glad Mulder and Bill are back," apologies the polite one. "Yeah." "Sure, 'cause now we can get some good stories." "Langly-" "Sorry." "Come on, Bill, still want to go to lunch with Dad and I-" "Or would you rather spend the afternoon with these clowns." "Why not do both. You could have lunch here." "Do you still make huevos rancheros, Frohike?" asks Dad cautiously. "Of course-" "Come on, Bill, let's go," Dad cut in. "Bye, guys, see you next week." "Bye, Bill." "Good-bye, Scully." "See you around, Mildew!" The End!!!!! So did you like it?
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