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“Mom, Dad, there are some people I want you to meet.” William pokes his head into his parents’ bedroom and gives a weak smile. He is feeling ambivalent and afraid; Scully can tell.
“We’ll be out in a few secs, Will.” Mulder says.
Sensing her anxiety, Mulder holds Scully’s hand as they walk into the living room. “Will, who are your friends?” Mulder’s voice booms as he tries to sound welcoming to the youngsters sitting nervously around the room. He quickly scans their faces. Everyone, even Scully, is looking at him intensely, as if waiting for him to say some words of importance.
“William?” Mulder echoes.
“Alright, here goes.” He points at the woman sitting next to him. “Mom. Dad, this is Emily. And that’s Liam by the fireplace. And we have Gabe, who’s in front of the TV, and Clarissa, with the mohawk...”
“It’s not a mohawk,” Clarissa corrects him. “I just wear it short and up.”
“Sure. And here are Becca and Tucker; they’re the little ones.”
“I’m four and eight months.” One of them interjects. Scully isn’t sure which one.
“Finally, we have Kyle, he’s the tall one, and Eli, who kinda looks like me.”
“And they are?” Scully moves to sit on the stool, still holding her husband’s hand. She has a funny feeling about this.
“We are your children.” The blond woman on the sofa announces. “Do you remember me, Dana? and... Mr. Potato Head?”
“Oh my God...” It is Mulder who looks faint. “Emily?”
“Yes, we’re all your children. Becca and Tucker are the last ones, well, within the experiment, that is.”
They all glance at Scully’s stomach.
Becca, the redheaded girl in braids, beams at Scully. William gives her a little push, but she stays and holds William at the waist.
“Emily grew up on the farm.” Liam explains, “So did Kyle and Eli. Clarissa and I grew up in Singapore. We were adopted as siblings by an American couple there. Gabe grew up in Arecibo. Becca and Tucker had been living with some of the Kurt Crawfords all their lives until about a year ago.”
“How long have you known each other?” Scully hears herself asking.
“About two years,” Liam answers, “three for Em and me. I know this must come as a shock to you. But we really are your children. Every one of us here.”
“With William and the baby, that makes ten.” Mulder, lost in thought, murmurs as he strokes Scully’s belly. “And mine, too?”
“Yes, sir.” Liam nods. “We have lab results, but we’ll understand if you want to do the tests yourselves.”
“Why are you here?” Mulder asks, looking at the two teenage boys who oddly remind him of Samantha.
“They are coming. We all saw it.” Emily says softly.
“Mom, you saw it too.” William adds.
“We know this is a lot to take in,” Gabe, who looks the most like Mulder, chimes in. “But William thought this is the best way for all of us to meet. All at once.”
“My babies,” Scully whispers, reaching to gather the two youngest ones into her arms.
“Mulder,” she calls, “can we keep ‘em?”