The X-Files: The Truth Revealed

Chapter 28

Ocean Vista Drive - Cape Cod National Seashore, MA 

Skinner tossed Will into the air. The boy came up out of the water laughing. 

"That's it. I'm beat," Skinner admitted. 

They swam towards shore and emerged shivering. A few steps past the water's edge, they retrieved their over-sized beach towels that lay atop a colorful blanket. Will quickly wrapped the towel around his shoulders trying to get warm and then plopped down on the beach blanket. Skinner dried off, wrapped the towel around his neck and sat beside Will. 

"That was so awesome!" Will exclaimed, completely awed by the experience. 

"Wait till the tides up. The waves will be bigger, and the water will be up to that point where the seaweed is," he indicated over his shoulder. 

"We don't have an ocean in Wyoming." 

"I know," Skinner laughed. 

"Lewis would love this." 

"He a friend back home?" 

"My best friend... a dork like me." 

"You're not a dork." 

"Yeah I am. I don't fit in." 

"What are you, twelve? Hell, you won't feel like you fit it until you get into your teens. You're entering an awkward stage with a lot of changes... physical as well as emotional. Nobody your age feels like they fit in and if they act like they do, trust me, they're putting on a front. Life's going to feel awkward for the next couple of years." 

"Great thing to look forward to." 

"Are you kidding? It's awkward, but it's exciting because everything's new. And William... if you have one really good friend in this life to share this journey with, count your blessings. Sounds like Lewis may very well be that lifelong friend. If so, you'll have an amazing history to look back on when you're old." 

"If we ever see each other again." 

"Friends always have a way of reconnecting." 

"You think?" 

"I know. Take Mulder and Scully. It took me a long time to stop thinking of myself as their boss and start counting them as friends. All I could see was my career... but they taught me that some things are more important than career... like friendship. It's been years since I've seen them, but the friendship remains and... when you share tough times, they serve to strengthen your friendship." Will squirmed, making it obvious there was something he wanted to ask. "Okay, out with it. What's on your mind?" 

"Him." 

"Mulder? What about him?" 

"What do I call him?" 

"What do you want to call him?" 

"I don't know. Everybody calls him Mulder, but it's kinda goofy, ya know? Nothing against him. He's okay, but I don't think I can call him dad,... and father sounds really lame. Fox is pretty cool, but he hates it,... and it'd be completely weird calling him Spooky. What else is there?" 

"Don't stress about it. The more you get to know him, you'll think of something, and it'll feel right. He'll feel it too." 

"I hope he feels it soon and stops calling me William. Lewis would never let me live it down." 

"Have you told Mulder that?" 

"No!" 

"Why not?" 

"I don't want to make him mad." 

"He won't get mad," Skinner laughed. "In fact, I guess I need to call you something else. What's your preference?" 

"Will... just plain Will." 

"Consider it done," Skinner reassured him. "You know, Will... you've been through a lot. If there's anything you'd like to know..." 

"What's my mom like?" 

Skinner smiled. 

"Dana's beautiful, inside and out." 

"What's she look like?" 

"She's about your height... auburn hair... petite but strong. From what Mulder's told me, she's got a mean right," he smirked, recalling Mulder's experience on the deck of the Queen Anne. 

"What'd he do to make her hit him?" 

"He kissed her." 

"Guess she didn't like that." 

"Oh, I don't know," Skinner grinned. "I think she liked it well enough... but on her terms." 

"Do they um... do they love each other?" 

The grin left Skinner's face. 

"More than anything." 

"Why aren't they married?" 

"That's something you'll have to ask them. I do know that just because you have a piece of paper saying you're married, doesn't mean you love someone more or less because of it." 

"Guess it's like an adoption paper. It's just a piece of paper saying my adoptive parents wanted me. But the paper had nothing to do with how they felt." 

"Exactly. It's what's in a heart that counts." 

"Mulder must really love her a lot... and me too, seeing as he came to find me when he knew they had her." 

"Still think you're a dork?" 

Will thought about it. Mulder and Scully had been willing to do whatever they could to protect him no matter what the cost was to them. 

Maybe he wasn't such a dork after all.