TITLE: Prodigality
AUTHOR: Ana Vicente
RATING: PG
CLASSIFICATION: S; A
KEYWORDS: MSF
SUMMARY: Emily is returned but the consequences of this aren't exactly what Scully would've expected.
DISCLAIMER: The X-Files name, characters and concept belong to CC, 1013 Productions and 20th Century 
Fox. No transgression intended.
SPOILERS: Emily
ARCHIVE: Just let me know where. (Beforehand would be nice)
FEEDBACK: Thorn17@mailcity.com or alienmoon76@hotmail.com
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I had written this story a few months back, but I was still working on it, doing some 
reviewing and such. When I read the challenge #1 for April, I decided it fitted it just fine. It doesn't speak of 
Emily surviving her disease and staying with Scully in the two years between the episode EMILY and now, 
but of Scully finding out now that Emily had indeed survived.

------------------- + ------------------

"We have to do something about him."

The three men were sitting around a dark wooden table. He looked away from the window that opened into 
the larger room and faced the one who had spoken. "I think I have an idea on how to do that."

"Will it work as well as your other ideas to control Mulder?"

Calmly, he pulled a pack of Morley cigarettes out of his pocket and lit one. "We always knew Mulder would 
be a problem. We knew even before we let him into Quantico. It was a conscious risk we took."

Another of the men stood up. "Why can't we just kill him and be over with it?"

He eyed him derisively. "You know why. We all do."

The man sitting at the head of the table carefully removed a strand of gray hair from the shoulder of his dark 
suit. "You said you had an idea."

The Cigarette-Smoking Man nodded. "There is something that may give us some control over Mulder, 
something that may even drive Scully out of the Bureau."

"Mulder will never allow that to happen," The one who had first spoken said. "He'll find a way of making her 
stay."

The Cigarette-Smoking Man smiled and again looked out the window at the men, women and children 
moving about below, on the equipment filled room.

"I know Mulder, he won't try to stop her, not if it's over something her can't deny her."

                                                                                            *

She'd been walking across the sunflower field for what seemed like forever. Above her the sky was blue and 
cloudless, and the sky was all she could see, lost in the middle of the massive flowers.

She kept walking, trying to find a way out, but there seemed to be no end to the sunflower field. She wore a 
long green dress and the gauzy fabric got tangled in the stalks of the lower dry leaves, hindering her progress.

Everything around her was silent, even the wind blowing through the flowers made no noise. She was 
reminded of something, something that had nothing to do with sunflowers and bright blue skies; something 
darkly painful.

The sound of laughter came across the sea of flowers like a lifeline. Voices of a man and a child. The first 
more familiar than her own, the second so much a part of her own.

She followed the voices. Slowly, a tree began to rise over the flowers. Soon, she had left the sunflower field 
behind her. Before her the flatness of a wide pasture was broken by a single tree.

Two figures were sitting under the massive tree. She ran to meet them. Emily looked up at her and said with 
childish severity, "You're late, mummy."

"She's right, Scully," Mulder said, smiling, "Where were you?"

She stood there, unable to speak. She should be happy. But something inside her kept reminding her that 
Emily wasn't supposed to be there, and a sense of dread filled her.

Mulder was still smiling when the hole began forming right beneath him. He fell through, but only for a 
second. Then, he seemed to remain suspended in mid-air, a hand stretched out to her, as the hole continued to 
widen.

Scully reached out, but before she could get hold of hi m, a frightened voice called, "Mummy!"

She looked back; Emily was standing on the edge of the gapping hole, soon she too would fall in. Scully 
wanted to yell, she wanted to order the child back, but she found herself voiceless.

She looked at Mulder. He still wasn't falling, but soon the hole would be too wide for her to reach him. 
Softly, his lips formed the word, "GO."

She hesitated just a second before running to Emily, but the child didn't seem to be frightened anymore, and 
the hole didn't seem to be widening anymore. Scully looked for Mulder, but he had disappeared in the dark 
depths of the unfathomable gap.

When she looked back at Emily, the child was smiling serenely. "You're too late, 
mummy."

                                                                                            *

The door to Mulder's apartment opened silently on well-oiled hinges. The sharp sound it made while closing 
gave rise to no movement inside the apartment.

Beyond the hall and in the darkness, the living room couch was clearly empty. Next to it, the door to the 
bedroom was slightly ajar, and it made no more noise than the front door upon being pushed open. 

Mulder lay in bed, the bedclothes jumbled around him. Scully stood in the middle of the room for a moment, 
watching her sleeping partner.

Then, she started to undress, lying her clothes mindfully on top of a nearby chair, until she was wearing 
nothing but a soft colored camisole. Carefully, she slid into bed. Keeping her back to him, she moved gently 
until her body touched his.

She felt him waking up. He rose slightly and she could tell he was staring at her. A hand stroke her face, 
followed by his breath. "Dana?"
 
She kept her eyes closed and didn't move. His arms circled her waist and he pulled her closer. "I won't ask," 
he said.

She turned around, resting her head on his chest. Soon, the steady rhythm of his breathing told her he'd gone 
back to sleep. Only then did she allow herself to relax.

                                                                                            *

Scully woke up alone in the wide bed. Through the open door, she could hear the strange noises and 
imprecations coming from the kitchen. She laughed quietly to herself. God, he was making breakfast!

She lay back and stared at the mirror over her head. No wonder Mulder slept on the couch so often.

She imagined him lying there alone, night after night, staring at his own face in the mirror and it pained her. 
Then the image of Mulder staring past someone's face into the reflection of that someone's back in the mirror 
came to her, and she quickly got up.

She was walking out of the room when she caught a glimpse of herself in another mirror and decided she 
should probably get dressed first. She got into her jeans and T-shirt, leaving behind both the shoes and the 
cardigan she had wore the previous night.

The cold kitchen floor tingled her feet. She stood there for a moment, enjoying the feeling. Mulder had his 
back to her, so she couldn't see what he was doing. He too was barefoot, and he was wearing an old T-shirt 
and shorts.

"Can I help?"

He turned around, a pot full of water in his hands. "You can slice some cheese, if you want."

She took the cheese out of the fridge, and somehow managed to find a knife atop the kitchen table. Mulder 
poured the water into the coffee machine, then sat down in front of her, watching her.

"Are you gonna tell me what happened last night?" he asked.

"I thought you weren't going to ask." She laid down the knife. "Do you think these are enough?"

He stood up and walked around the table. "Yes, and don't change the subject." He smiled wryly as he 
whispered in her ear. "I'm assuming you didn't come here to play doctor."

Scully smiled back, picking up the knife again. "Why? Is there something you'd like me to excise?"

He grimaced, and pretended to put a safe distance between the two of them. So, you trust me enough to come 
into my bed in the middle of the night, but not to tell me what prompt you to it."

"I didn't feel like being alone last night, that's all."

"Nightmares again?"

She nodded, munching on a slice of cheese.

"More memories of your abduction," he asked.

"I wish you wouldn't call it that. And no. I was dreaming of Emily."  She opened the cupboard and took down 
two mugs that remarkably were just where they were supposed to be. "And you: Can I have some coffee 
now? Please?"

He took the mugs and set them down by the coffee machine. "Not done yet."

He held her hands. "You can't lose Emily anymore. And I'm not going anywhere."

She looked at him. "I know that. What do you think the nightmare was about?"

Out in the living room, the phone started ringing. "Remind me to get back at you for that one," Mulder said, 
walking out of the kitchen.

Scully poured coffee into the mugs and followed him into the living room. "Yes, I'll tell her," he was saying 
into the phone, and something about his tone made her feel uneasy.

He hung up and looked at her. "That was Skinner."

"We have a new case?"

"Not exactly." He took a deep breath. "A child was left in one of the Child Services centers here in 
Washington. It seems like she hasn't been speaking, so they couldn't get any information out of her."

She sat down. "What does that have to do with us?"

"Apparently, she looks just like Emily."

"No!" She stood up, walking into the bedroom. Sitting on the bed, she started putting on her shoes. "Emily is 
dead."

"Dana – "

"Don't you Dana me. My daughter is dead, Mulder, we both saw it."

He sat down next to her. "Did we? The truth is, her body disappeared. And they took all of your ova, this 
child could always be a twin, ... or a clone."

"And she could be ill, dying, just like Emily."

She stood up and leaned against one of the bed poles. He held her hand, rubbing it slightly. "We won't know 
until we see her."

Scully shook her head. "I can't bear going through it all again, Mulder, I can't."

He stood up and made her look at him. "And can you bear not knowing?"

                                                                                            *

Less than an hour later, they were being led into an observation room. On the other side of the two-way 
mirror was a large, bright room where a fair-haired child was busy drawing.

"Is that her?" the woman who had been waiting for them, a Ms.Anwar, asked.

"It looks like her," Mulder said.

"Agent Mulder, I got the papers from San Diego: police reports, court transcripts, everything; but this whole 
story ... "

Mulder nodded. "Not easy to believe."

"I must warn you," she said to Scully, "even if the judge in San Diego gave you custody, you'll probably have 
to go through the whole process again. That is, if the blood tests confirm that that is Emily."

Scully remained staring out the window, toying with the gold chain and cross around her neck. "She won't 
like that. She doesn't like tests."

Mulder touched her shoulder. "Why don't you let me get in there first? Maybe it's not her."

She didn't reply. He left the room, grabbing a wrapped package from a chair. Through the window, she and 
the social worker watched him going into the next room.

"Emily?" he called softly.

The child looked up briefly, and then resumed drawing. Mulder sat on the floor and placed the packaged in 
front of her, but the bright wrapping didn't seem to attract the child's attention.

"She hardly reacts to anything at all," Ms.Anwar said.

Mulder was looking at the obvious purple flower the child was drawing. "What are you drawing?" he asked 
purposefully.

Scully's fingers stopped fidgeting with the cross. Two years, he couldn't expect her to remember! She drew 
nearer to the window, waiting for the child to reply.

The girl put down her crayon and stared seriously at Mulder. "A potato."

Scully gasped. Ms.Anwar looked at her, puzzled. "I suppose this means something?" Scully just nodded.
 
A smile had started to pull at the corner of Mulder's mouth. "Do you know Mr.Potato Head?"

The child's eyes were locked with his as she nodded gravely. "He looks like this, doesn't he?" Mulder said, 
puffing his cheeks and rolling his eyes.

Emily sprung up, wrapping her arms around his neck. Mulder hugged her and Scully noticed his hand looking 
for the lump on the back of the child's neck. He looked at Scully through the mirror and shook his head. She 
felt unable to move.

Emily looked at the door, then at Mulder. He smiled reassuringly. "She'll be right along."

"Is she mad?"

"Why would she be mad?"

"I lost my thing she gave."

"It's okay, " Scully said from the door. She sat on the floor next to Mulder. "See, we found it." She took the 
gold chain from her neck and placed it around the child's.

Emily looked shyly at the package. Mulder placed it in her lap and she unwrapped it eagerly. Scully too was 
curious to see what it was. Mulder had insisted on stopping at a toystore on their way there, but she hadn't 
seen what he'd bought.

"It's a kitty," Emily said, showing her the stuffed animal, her little fingers digging into the gray plush.

"Actually," Mulder said, "it's a raccoon."

Emily didn't seem to be listening. "Can we go home now?"

Scully straightened a lock of the child's hair. "No, honey, not yet."

"How come?"

"First, we have to prove you're Emily." She smiled at the child's frown. "Then we have to convince the judge 
I'll be a good mummy so they'll let me take you home."

"When?"

"I don't know yet," she said, hoping they'd hurry up setting a date for the hearing. For the child's sake and 
her own.

                                                                                            *

The hearing had been over for at least two hours, and he couldn't find Scully anywhere. She wasn't at home 
and she wasn't answering her cell phone.

Mulder felt guilty for not having been able to be there for her. He fumbled for his keys and opened the door to 
his apartment. Maybe she had left him a message.

Instead of a message from Scully, he found Scully herself, sitting in his living room in the dark. He switched 
on the lights, making her look up at him.

"How was the Stevenson trial?" she asked.

"We got a conviction." He sat down next to her. "I'm sorry I couldn't be at the hearing. "

"You talked to the judge, that's what matters."

"So, how did it go? They gave you custody, right?" Her behavior was beginning to worry him.

"Joint custody."

"Joint custody? With whom?"

She looked at her hands. "My mother."

"I don't understand."

"The judge said it would make no difference my leaving the Bureau, that I was the sort of person that couldn't 
go through life without ... interfering. He said he didn't want to punish me for a conduct he found most 
commendable, but he had to think of Emily's safety. That's when my mother interfered."

He rubbed the back of her head. "He took the halfway solution: you have custody but not entirely."

"Emily has to live with my mother, I get her on weekends. And she has to go to therapy once a week."

"Therapy'll be good for her. And you know your mother will let you take Emily whenever you want." He 
pushed a few magazines aside and sat on the coffee table. "I know it's not what you expected, but they 
could've just taken her away."

"I know."

"Can I say something awful?"

She looked up with a soft smile. "I'm glad I'm not leaving the Bureau too."

He stood up, scratching his head. "Actually, I was gonna ask if you could please stop moping around. "I'm 
starving and – "

At this point he was interrupted by a pillow hurled at his face. He laughed. "C'mon, partner. What do you say 
we get your mother and Emily and go celebrate?"

"Okay, but we'll have to take Constance too."

"Who's Constance?"

It was her turn to laugh. "You'll see."

                                                                                            *

Three weeks had passed since the hearing and Emily seemed to be recovering well. Scully watched the child 
sitting on the elevator floor, conducting some mysterious conversation with her plush raccoon. She looked 
and behaved just like any other five-year-old, but her therapist insisted it was still too soon to be sure.

The elevator reached the fourth floor and the doors opened. Emily stood up and ran to the door of apartment 
42. She knocked on the door, and kept knocking until a startled Mulder opened it.

The child held her arms up, saying, "Airplane kiss!"


Mulder lift her up over his head, then lowered upside down until his lips touched her cheek. "You're getting 
too heavy for this," he said, putting her down and  following her into the living room.

"Can Constance play with the fishes'"

"Sure."

Scully gave him a look. "Emily, Constance stays out of the fish tank."

"She likes the fishes!"

"But the fishes don't like her very much."

Mulder smiled. "Imagine if she were a real raccoon. You want some coffee?"

"No, I can't stay long. Could you watch Emily for me for a couple of hours? My mother's out of town and 
Dr.Bushnell wants to see me. Alone."

"Emily's therapist? Is there something wrong?"

"I don't know. She didn't tell me much over the phone."

"Mummy," Emily said, "why are the fishes following my finger?"

Mulder sat on the end of the couch nearer to the fish tank. "I think want to go home with you."

From across the room, Scully smiled at him. "They probably heard what happened to their predecessors. And 
their predecessors. And their predecessors. And -- " 

"You know, Scully, I just remembered I'm owing you this!" And he threw a pillow at her.

"No!" Emily screamed, striking him. "You're being bad!"

Scully rushed to the angry child. "Emily, stop that."

"He hit you!"

"No, he didn't." She hugged her, trying to calm her down. "It was just a pillow, it didn't hurt. Mulder was just 
playing with mummy."

She looked at Mulder, who was rubbing his arm. "Maybe this isn't a good idea."

Mulder softly pulled the child away from her. "It'll be okay. She's not mad at me anymore, are you?"

Scully watched Emily shake her head solemnly. "You're the one who hurt Mulder," she told her.

"I'm sorry. Are you mad?"

"No. It's okay," he said, sitting her on the couch next to him. "You were only taking care of mummy."

He looked at Scully. "Why are you still here? Dr.Bushnell is waiting."

"Mulder ... "

"She'll be fine. Trust me. Now, get lost."

She reluctantly kissed Emily. "Mummy has to go somewhere. You're staying here with Mulder."

The child was calm now – too calm. She had redirected her attention to Constance, not 
seeming to notice at all what Scully was saying. Maybe Dr.Bushnell was right after all.

Mulder walked her to the door. "Go on, mummy, or you'll be too late."

His word brought back the memory of her dream. "I should take her with me. Her behavior 
– "

"Is considerably better than that of an adult who had gone through half she did." He gently 
pushed her out the door. "I do much worse when I'm being overprotective of you."

She walked to the elevator, telling herself Mulder was right. She decided the best thing to 
do was to discuss what had just happened with Dr.Bushnell, but the prospect didn't make 
her feel any better.

All the way to Dr.Bushnell's office, she was haunted by the certainty that she shouldn't 
have left Emily behind. Still, she resisted the urge to turn back. Mulder would think she 
didn't trust him with the child, and that wasn't it at all. But the truth was, she had 
absolutely no idea of what it was.

She smiled at herself in the mirror that hung on Dr.Bushnell's waiting room. "You're 
turning into quite the overbearing mother."

Dr.Bushnell was standing by the window when she walked into the office. "I'm glad you 
could make it, Ms.Scully. Please sit down."

Scully watched as the other woman took her place behind the desk. She seemed 
uncomfortable, as if she didn't want to say what she needed to tell her.

"Where did you leave Emily?" the therapist finally asked.

"With Mulder, my partner."

"Were there any problems?"

Scully hesitated. "Emily didn't seem to mind staying there ... "

"What happened?"

"Mulder threw a pillow at me. Emily reacted with extreme violence, but as soon as I 
explained he wasn't trying to hurt me she calmed down. I just felt she calmed down a bit 
too quickly."

Dr.Bushnell nodded. "It's consistent with the pattern I detected in her behavior.

"During our sessions, Emily has been very forthcoming about everything that happened to 
her, even about things most people would've repressed. But each time Mr.Mulder's name 
comes up, there seems to be something holding her back."

"Emily loves Mulder. She carries that raccoon he gave her everywhere." She tried to smile. 
"I even get a bit jealous sometimes."

"From what you and Emily have told me about her adoptive parents, having an affectionate 
father figure is something new for her. I have no doubt she loves your partner, she needs to. 
But for some reason, she's restraining herself, as if there was a part of her that resents him."

There was a pain in the back of Scully's stomach as she asked, "Do you know what cause 
it?"

"No, I don't. She isn't being abused in any way." She smiled at the indignant sound Scully 
emitted. "I couldn't overlook the possibility. She's not jealous of you either. There doesn't 
seem to be NA apparent reason for her behavior."

"What can we do?"

I was hoping you could observe her more closely when she's with your partner. She does 
see him often, doesn't she?"

"We have lunch together almost every day," Scully said, "I never noticed anything strange, 
not until that outburst today."

Dr.Bushnell leaned back on her seat and remained silent for a moment. "I think I'll go with 
you to Mr.Mulder's apartment. I'd like to see them together."

The haunting feeling that something terrible was about to happen returned to Scully as she 
drove back to Mulder's apartment. She kept remembering her dream, and her anxiety grew 
with every red light delaying their progress.

She could barely keep herself from running to the elevator when she and Dr.Bushnell 
entered the building. She knew the feeling that had taken over her well; it had come to her 
every time she had almost lost Mulder.

The image of him being swallowed by the darkness kept coming to her mind. She 
energetically pushed the elevator-calling button, but the doors refused to open. "It must be 
broken, maybe we should take the stairs."

As if she had been heard, the elevator doors opened. Quickly, she pushed the fourth floor 
button. It seemed to her that the elevator took three times the usual time getting there. 

When they reached Mulder's door, she had grown so agitated she didn't bother to knock. 
She found her key and opened the door.

Scully started calling Mulder, but the sound died in her throat. He was lying in the couch, 
asleep. Emily was standing at his side, holding a knife directly over his chest.

She heard Dr.Bushnell softly calling the child. Emily didn't move, she seemed almost in a 
trance.

Mulder woke up, his smile fading as soon as he saw the knife. Carefully, he sat up. "Emily, 
give me that."

"You let the bad men take me."

Scully moved forward. "No, we didn't honey. They took you away, they told us you'd gone 
to Heaven."

But Emily was fully focused on Mulder. "You let them take my other mummy."

"Did the bad men tell you this?" Mulder asked softly. "You know I love you, Emmy."

"No, you don't! You let them take me!"

"Why would I let them take you?"

Scully saw the child's grip on the knife loosen slightly. Mulder was getting through to her. 
She was going to take the knife away from Emily, but Dr.Bushnell signaled her not to 
interfere.

Mulder drew nearer to the child. "I would never have let them take you. It made your 
mummy so sad. The bad men lied to you; they're always telling lies, hurting people." His 
hand closed over the tiny one holding the knife. "Now, let me have the knife."

He took the knife away from her. Emily didn't resilt, she seemed to have slipped into a 
state of apathy. Dr.Bushnell held the child. "You'll have to come with me now, Emily. We 
have to go to the hospital."

"No more tests.

Dr.Bushnell smiled. "No, no more tests. We're just going to talk, like we always do."

Emily looked at Mulder. "I'm sorry. Are you mad?"

                                                                                            *

It was getting dark outside. Mulder and Scully had been sitting in Dr.Bushnell's office, 
waiting for her to return, since Emily had been brought to the hospital. The door opened 
and the therapist entered.

Scully looked anxiously at her. "How is she?"

"Sleeping."

Mulder shook his head. "I can't believe she hates me this much."

Dr.Bushnell sat in one of the armchairs facing the couch. "She doesn't hate you, 
Mr.Mulder, she loves you. That's why you're still alive.

"The reason I've just spent so much time examining Emily is that the way she was acting 
couldn't simply have been caused by someone telling her you had given her away. I even 
put her under hypnosis to confirm my suspicion, and I found evidence of post-hypnotic 
suggestion."

"You mean they programmed her to kill me?" He stood up. "How low will these people 
get?"

"I don't think they did," Dr.Bushnell said, "I don't know what their original intention was – 
Emily is very confused – but they didn't mean for her to kill you.

"It would seem that whoever hypnotized her forgot they were dealing with a five-year-old. 
The wrong words can significantly alter the outcome of an hypnotic state. Children don't 
perceive language the same way adults do, especially when they're as young as Emily; 
there are words they don't understand, metaphors that are commonplace for adults but that 
they will take at face value.

"I can't tell you exactly what happened, but somehow she got the notion that by removing 
you she could get her foster mother back. Fortunately, she got very attached to you – to 
both of you. I don't think she would've been able to go through with it. Even if we hadn't 
arrived when we did."

"What happens now?" Scully asked.

"I want to keep her here for some time."

"Will she be allowed any visitors?"

"Maybe I should stay away from Emily for a while," Mulder said.

"That's exactly what you mustn't don't do," Dr.Bushnell said, "She'll think you're angry at 
her for what happened."

"It's not her fault. They did this."

"Then let her know it."

"Will she be well after treatment?" Scully asked.

"She'll be well enough to leave here. The rest is up to her, but it'll take time and patience. 
And your help."

"We'll be here."

                                                                                            *

"Dana." 

"Scully turned and greeted her mother with a smile. "You just missed Dr.Bushnell."

Through the window on the door, Margaret looked at Mulder and Emily, who were playing 
inside the room. "What did she say?"

"We'll be able to take Emily home in a few days."

"Has she stopped asking Fox if he's mad at her?"

"Yes. But Dr.Bushnell said Mulder should continue to reassure her." She smiled patiently. 
"I suspect Mulder understood that as a clearance to spoil Emily rotten."

Margaret shared her smile. "I think Emmy has earned some spoiling. "

Scully watched the man and the child beyond her own reflection on the window. "Mother. 
I'm sorry."

"Sorry?"

"When we were given joint custody of Emily, I felt cheated of something, as if my 
adulthood was being questioned. But I also felt relieved, thankful for not having to ... "

"Make a choice?" Margaret said, following her gaze across the window.

Scully nodded. "After the hearing, I talked to Bill on the phone. He said things – "

"I can imagine what he said."

"Things that made sense to me. I thought I was being so selfish, burdening you with my 
child."

"Dana!"

Scully looked at her. "But I've come to realize that I would be selfish only if I took her 
away from you. And I'm sorry for not understanding that before."

Margaret hugged her. "We should go in."

"Yes. Before Mulder turns Emmy into a smaller version of himself. I think I can't handle 
more than one of those at a time."

                                                                                            *
                                                                
The man at the end of the corridor watched the two women going into the room. Leaning 
on the wall, under the no-smoking sign, he lit a cigarette.

"It would seem you have failed once more," a voice said from behind him.

Smiling, he faced the newcomer. "Have I?"

"We no longer have any control over the child, Scully is still with the Bureau, and Mulder 
has not been in the least deterred from his quest."

"True." He was still smiling.

"Then explain to me how this can be anything but a failure."

He turned around and walked away, saying, "He now has one more thing to lose."


THE END