The X-Files: The Truth Revealed

Chapter 27

Pay Phone - Baltimore, MD 

Fifteen hours after leaving Will at the airport, BJ entered Baltimore. He was tired but knew he had to keep going. So much depended on it. Pulling the truck into a convenience store, he filled the tank and then drove away from the pumps, coming to stop near a series of pay-phones located at the far edge of the parking lot. 

"I'm in Baltimore," he spoke into the receiver. "I left the boy with his father in Atlanta. Cape Cod? That be fine," he said, looking around. "Won't be easy after the stretch of road I just put behind us, but will do... no, I'll be there," he said, replacing the receiver on the hook. 

BJ stretched and stepped away from the phone looking down at Clarence who sat waiting patiently. 

"Come on hound. We still got a ways to go." Clarence barked. "I know. Ain't my idea of fun, but we got to be there by midnight. Don't know how we gonna do that seein' as it's another five hundred miles, but we ain't gonna get there by jawin' 'bout it." 

The two walked back to the truck. BJ lifted Clarence into the front seat, and pushed the dog over. He climbed in after him, settling into the passenger seat. 

"Slide over," he instructed. "I've got to get me some sleep. Besides, it's your turn to drive." 

Clarence moved into the driver's seat and looked over at BJ. The man was already asleep. 

Ocean Vista Drive - Cape Cod National Seashore, MA 

Outside of the RAT, the men sat around the campfire. The pizza and beer Frohike picked up had been a huge hit with the weary travelers. Mulder stood and opened the cooler he was sitting on. 

"Anyone?" he questioned, reaching down into the ice. 

Hands went up, and he tossed the bottles about. Opening his, he sat back down, savoring the cold wash against the back of his throat. Next to him and curled up on a lounge chair, William slept soundly, exhausted from the journey. He'd lasted only long enough to get one slice of pizza in him before his eyes grew heavy and his head started bobbing. Within seconds, the boy was out. 

As the men talked, Mulder's mind drifted away from the conversation. He knew William was... how had Lewis put it - different? He hadn't realized to what extent until he saw what he did to the men at the airport. Where did this power come from? How did he will it to life? Was William simply the product of the union between he and Scully, or was he something more? Something divine in nature? After all, Dana had been told she could never bear children and yet, she had William. 

Deep inside, Mulder questioned his right to call William his son. While he knew Dana's attempts to get pregnant with the assistance of science had failed, he wanted to believe that it was because of their love that she conceived. So again, was it by divine intervention that she did? She'd told him a number of times that love and faith were the strongest forces in existence. If that was true, then he had to acknowledge it was through her faith that she was blessed. It certainly wasn't his lack of faith that brought forth life. But as he looked over at William, was he not as equally rewarded as she was by his birth? What kind of God would show such favor to someone who never really acknowledged him? 

"What do you think, Mulder?" Skinner asked, but Mulder was a million miles away. "Hey," he repeated, slapping Mulder's arm. "You with us?" 

Mulder looked at the faces around the campfire. 

"Sorry... what?" 

"Two beers, and his eyes are glazed over," Frohike teased. 

"Three and he'll sing karaoke," Langly added.