Chapter 45

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Underground Facility 

Will lay perfectly still - unconscious on the cold, steel table where his wet clothes clung to him, stiffening as they dried. In his thin arm, an IV was taped into place for the continuous administration of a sedative. 

"The cellular structure is similar," the doctor confirmed, "but it's even more advanced than what we saw in the sample taken from Alien subject 928." 

"How so?" Musgrave questioned, knowing he had to understand the complexity of this child's system in order to develop a weapon against it. 

"The accelerated rate of the auto-defense mechanism in place far exceeds the rate we witnessed earlier in the one belonging to Dana Scully. Even while the boy remains drugged, his cellular defense mechanism continues to evaluate the drug, making adjustments to counter its effects. After the first hour, had nothing more been administered, I calculate it would have been forcibly removed from his system within the hour." 

"Forcibly removed? How?" 

"I have yet to determine that. My initial guess was through the sweat glands but after closer study, I ruled that out." 

"Impossible. Human anatomy is far too primitive to make something disappear from its bio-neural system without a trace or a cause." 

"Agreed, but I have no explanation for it. It has to be something that came about through the mixing of his alien and human DNA." 

"It didn't happen in any of the test subjects before him." 

"He wasn't a test subject. He was bred naturally." 

"There is nothing natural about this child." 

"No, there isn't. His body continues to fight the increased dosage of the sedative and yet, I know he will eventually overcome it. I won't be able to administer enough to keep him sedated." 

"We need to beat this," Musgrave tightened his fists. 

"I do have an unconfirmed theory." 

Musgrave gestured for the doctor to continue. 

"By all accounts, the boy is human. Unless an examining physician has complete understanding of alien DNA and is looking for it, one would never discover the alien DNA as it has a way of disguising itself under intense scrutiny. We know the boy is not the first in his line to carry the alien DNA. We both know it began in the 40's. Normally, with the passage of each generation, the alien DNA evolves until it overpowers the human DNA resulting in any number of medical ailments. We know this from years of tracking other subjects. But it's not so with this child." 

"Why?" 

"Something happened in his line that blended the two DNAs perfectly. He is perfectly alien and yet, he's perfectly human. He is, by all accounts, a completely new species." 

"Mulder's system struggles with the compatibility of two DNAs as each fights for dominance." 

"The difference with Mulder is that his genetic makeup, for the most part, tolerates each aspect of the other unless he comes in contact with certain alien technology. When he does, as you've seen, there's a battle for control. I believe, in the boy's case, it has something to do with the DNA on his mother's side through the introduction of the vaccine that was administered to her years before the child was conceived." 

"Tell me. What are the possibilities of altering our own genetic makeup to include DNA from this boy? 

"Incorporate his DNA into our own?" 

"While we are far superior to humans in every way, we have two weaknesses." 

"Two? What is there other than magnetite?" 

"This boy," Musgrave set his hand on top of Will's head. 

"This boy? Aside from his superior cellular structure, what threat does he pose?" 

"He can kill with his thoughts." 

"You mean because of the so called God module in his brain?" 

"Yes. When he learns how to use it to its full potential, he'll be even more deadly. My question remains. Is alteration of our genetic makeup possible?" 

"Everything is possible, but it will take time to test and evaluate... and before we can do that, we need to find a way to bypass the cellular defense. I can't even estimate how long that will take." 

Musgrave stepped towards the doctor. 

"You have one week." 

Private Road off Quanapoag Road - Acushnet, MA 

"Stop it!" Scully demanded, indicating she was clearly at the end of her rope. 

As the cell phone conversation heated up, she stepped out of the RAT followed by Mulder and Skinner who feigned checking on the weapons inside the military vehicles parked close by. 

"It's not for you to judge his commitment to me! I know where his loyalties lie and whether or not you want to accept it, he is totally committed to William and I!" 

Exasperated, she looked at Mulder who had glanced over in her direction. Reading the expression on his face, she turned her back to him and continued her conversation. 

"Now, for the last time... can we count on your help, or do we need to look elsewhere?" her voice wavered. 

She paced the gravel driveway as Mulder and Skinner looked on from where they now sat on the tailgate of the Blazer. She was tired; she was scared. She didn't feel like waiting to come up with a plan. She wanted to charge in and get William, and she wanted to do it now. Mulder knew how she felt. He found it hard to sit still, waiting for her conversation to end. No doubt, wherever he was, William was scared to death and wondering if anyone was coming for him. 

"He won't help us," he mumbled. 

"Why do you say that?" Skinner asked. 

"The man hates me - always has. I've never been good enough for Scully. He's spouting off the same resentment he's shoved in her face for years. He hasn't changed." 

"It takes longer for some people, Mulder. Give him a break." 

"Like the break he's giving her?" 

"It took me years to believe you, and I worked closely with you. It took my seeing a spaceship and witnessing super-soldiers to believe it, so cut him some slack." 

Scully ended the call and walked over to stand before the two men. 

"Well?" Mulder asked. 

"He'll see what he can do," she squinted in the sunlight. 

"See what he can do?" Mulder shook his head and started away from Scully getting nowhere before she caught him by the arm and swung him around. 

"I trust him, Mulder. He wants to help but..." 

"But what?" he interrupted. 

Scully stepped up, unwilling to take anything from anyone at this point. 

"He's got to check things out first. He'll get back with me." 

"When? Next week? Next month? William's life's in danger!" 

"He knows that, Mulder!" 

"And he knows William's my son. He can't stand the thought of doing anything that would remotely help because of his blind hatred towards me!" 

"For your information, he's my son too, and he doesn't want any harm to come to William any more than we do!" 

Skinner stood and moved kindly between the two. 

"Okay," he said. "Time to cool out. This isn't helping William one bit," he said, giving them the same look he'd given them a thousand times in the past, staring them down, forcing them to step back. "We all want what's best for William, with or without his help." 

"We're at a grave disadvantage if he's not able to help us," Scully said calmly. 

"Or if he refuses to," Mulder added. 

Skinner turned towards Mulder and took a step in his direction forcing Mulder back. 

"I've only met the man twice, but both times his utmost concern was for Dana's well-being. I have to believe he wants the same thing for William." 

"He does," Scully softened and moved towards them. "I know he has no right to judge you, Mulder. He's... very protective of me. You need to understand that every bit as much as he needs to understand the same thing of you. You both need to let go of the past and focus on what's important here," she said, watching his eyes rise to meet hers. "William." 

Mulder looked away briefly. 

"Fine," Mulder said. "We wait for his decision." 

"There's something else we need to look into," she said, "but not here." 

Mulder gave her a quizzical look. 

"Where to?" he asked, removing the car keys from his back pocket. 

"Home." 

Lab - Martha's Vineyard Hospital - Martha's Vineyard, MA 

Away from the hustle of the hospital's patients and staff, Mulder and Scully watched the lab tech examine the blood sample that covered the slide on the microscope stage. The technician came up from the scope looking very perplexed. 

"You agree with me, don't you, Naomi?" Scully questioned, but recognized the answer in the woman's eyes. 

"Absolutely," Naomi confirmed, but it was apparent she wasn't sure why. "It's not like anything I've ever seen before, Dana, but it certainly is.... well... powerful. I mean, think of the possibilities." 

"This changes things," Scully turned to Mulder, but her look indicated she wasn't prepared to say how. "I need you to draw three vials for me." 

"Dana, we should study this with greater scrutiny," Naomi protested. 

"I'd love to, but now's not the time. Trust me on this, Naomi. Please and... this is just between us for now." 

Naomi shrugged her shoulders and then moved to one of the cabinets. Past the glass front, she retrieved a tourniquet, syringe and three empty vials. Scully pulled the sleeve of her t-shirt out of the way so that Naomi could begin the process of drawing blood from her arm. 

Mulder bit his lower lip. Having his blood drawn didn't bother him. Seeing Scully's blood was a completely different story, and he wiped the sweat that had formed on his upper lip. Thankful when the procedure was finished, he walked beside Scully as they left the hospital's lab, thanking Naomi as they exited. 

"Looking a little pale there, Mulder," she teased as they exited the hospital. 

"You know I hate to see anyone do that to you." 

"Wimp." 

"Damn straight. So what's with the blood?" 

"You mind?" she pointed to the Styrofoam vending cup he was holding. 

Thinking she wanted a drink, he handed it to her. Making an adjustment to the lid, Scully poured the carbonated drink onto the ground, reserving the ice. Mulder's protest was cut short when she nestled the vials of blood down into the ice, resealing it with the lid. 

"This will have to do for now, but we'll need to refrigerate it quickly," she said, handing the straw back to Mulder. 

"And I just sacrificed half my daily calorie intake for... what reason?" he asked as they reached the car. 

"When we were on the ship, Grant and I were attacked by two aliens. I killed one alien with Grant's knife, but when the other one came at me, I never made contact with it. However..." she said as they climbed into the car, "in the process of my trying to kill it, it got a good swipe at me, but within thirty seconds, the alien died. I remember it kept looking at its claws and right before it died, it pointed at me as if I had killed it. I didn't understand what happened." 

"I guess I don't either," Mulder admitted, flicking the straw over his shoulder into the back seat of the rental car and resting his hand on the gear shift. 

"Something in my blood's cellular structure killed that alien." 

Mulder paused, taking in Scully's statement. His expression changed as understanding came to him. 

"The vaccine," he recalled the moment he injected the untested vaccine into Scully's shoulder. "That means the vaccine stayed in your system." 

"It didn't just stay in my system, Mulder. It altered the cellular structure of my blood cells!" 

"How?" 

"By adding a protective layer. It's like each of my cells is now wearing armor and is completely protected agains ..." 

"You're immune to the virus but for a different reason," Mulder interrupted, realizing the scope of her statement. 

"Yes. But it doesn't stop there. It doesn't just defend me against attack. It becomes aggressive and viciously attacks back. It killed that alien within seconds of when the creature drew blood... my blood." 

"So your blood is lethal." 

"To the aliens, yes," she confirmed. 

"Can we harness that?" Mulder shifted in his seat to face her, the excitement of her statement exhibited in his eyes. "I mean, can we use your blood to inoculate humans against the virus?" 

"That's what Naomi and I were looking at... what we were shocked by. When we took a sample of her blood and added one drop of my blood to it, it didn't attack her cells as I suspected it would. Instead it embraced them. It more or less welcomed her DNA into its own and extended the protection to encompass her cells as well. It didn't matter that her blood type was completely incompatible with mine. In fact, it incorporated the protective layer so quickly around her cells, it was... it was incredible. I've never seen anything like it and to tell you the truth, Mulder... it's medically impossible." 

"That's why you drew those," he pointed to the Styrofoam cup in Scully's hand. "You plan to inoculate the twelve." 

"Not all, no. I don't know the affect it will have on Jeremiah and the shape-shifters, and you're already immune to the virus because of your own DNA. It's obviously compatible with you because otherwise William wouldn't have been conceived." 

"Do you think he has this same protection?" 

"My guess is, William has something even more powerful, but I won't know for certain until I have the chance to study his blood, his DNA." 

"Do you realize your blood holds the blueprint to recreating the vaccine? Once it's mapped, we can mass produce it and inoculate the entire population, Scully. We'd still be up to our ass in aliens, but humans wouldn't be at risk of mass infection by the virus. It would at least give us a fighting chance." 

"Kudos to the Syndicate for doing something right," Scully raised the cup in an imaginary toast. 

"No matter how unintentional. My guess is, Musgrave knows about it. That's why he wanted William so badly. Any number of times, he could have killed him. But he chose to take William instead. You don't think..." 

"He can somehow incorporate William's blood with that of the super-soldiers?" Scully completed Mulder's thought. "I pray to God he can't." 

Home of Mulder and Scully - Chilmark, MA 

Mulder held Scully's hand as they ascended the porch steps leading up to the front door of their home. They hesitated at the top. It was the first time they'd been back home since Scully's kidnapping. She turned briefly and glanced out across the landscape appreciating the fact that they were alone. When she turned again towards the house, she looked at Mulder, afraid to go any further. 

"I ah... You know how I am about cleaning up, and under the circumstances at the time..." 

She squeezed his hand and smiled. 

"We'll clean it together when this is all over. For now... I just need to see it... face it really, since were on the Vineyard anyway." 

Mulder pulled her close. 

"I love you," he grinned, "with or without your advanced cellular structure." 

She returned the smile and took his hand in hers. 

"I love you, Mulder... even with your alien DNA. After all, it certainly explains a lot of things about you," she smirked. 

"You mean my good looks and great body?" 

Scully squinted and shook her head no. 

"I was thinking more along the lines of your obsession with your I Want to Believe poster that you've never been able to part with." 

Mulder grinned briefly but grew quickly solemn. 

"What is it?" Scully recognized the change in his expression. 

"That poster... I think it's taken on new meaning. It's no longer a question of aliens, but a question of faith."

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