The Lesson
Main characters: Fox William Mulder, Rachel and Walter Skinner, Sr.,
Walter Skinner, Jr., & Maggie and Dana Scully
Spoiler: Quagmire
This is a Danville Universe story.
I apologize for the fact that the beginning of this story resembles one
of DiAnn's. The resemblance is purely accidental.
Settings: Blue Ridge Mountains, Georgia, Washington, D. C.,
Alexandria, VA. & Skinner Homestead in Danville, PA
Dana was staring aimlessly at her dog's mangled collar as she watched her
partner talk for the last time with the local authorities as well as
officers from Game and Fish. She turned back to her suitcase to place
the collar within. It was all see had left of her dog, Queequeg. She
knew that she had only had him for a little while but it had been more
than enough time to fall in love with her little fuzzy ball of energy.
She felt the tears swelling up within her, as there came a knock to her
door.
KNOCK...KNOCK and then the door opened only wide enough for her partner,
Fox Mulder to stick his head in. "Scully? Are you ready to leave?" he
asked as he noticed her standing with her back to him.
She hastily
closed the suitcase and said. "Give me a minute, Mulder," and stepped
into the bathroom.
He hurried to the suitcase and took it out the door, pausing only long
enough to shout, "I'll meet you in the car," before closing the door
behind him as he carried her suitcase to the car to store it in the
trunk of the car with his own.
Dana heard him but didn't reply. She was busily washing the tears of
losing her pet from her eyes. When she was satisfied that he wouldn't
notice she sat about reapplying her make-up. It was a scant ten minutes
later that she left the motel and walked towards the car and her
partner.
On the way to the airport for the return trip home Fox opened the dialog
with, "I'm sorry we didn't get to see Big Blue, I know he is out there
somewhere, Scully. Maybe we can return sometime to look," and launched
into a one sided conversation on his loss at not seeing the Loch Ness
type monster.
Scully tuned him out after he admitted he was sorry about
missing the opportunity of seeing the monster and not on her loss of
Queequeg. She occasional made the noncommittal statements of "I'm
sorry, too, Mulder, or maybe next time, Mulder," whenever he paused long
enough to expect some comment from her. She was so glad to be seated
once again on the plane where she could at least trick him into
believing that she was resting. He took the hint and did the same.
She must have fallen asleep eventually since what seemed only minutes
later some one was shaking her shoulder and saying, "Scully wake
up...we're home." She opened one eye and saw that it was Fox and
nodded. She obediently followed him off the plane and to his car.
He drove her home. Before leaving the car Fox turned to her and said,
"I'm sorry again...you know for missing Big Blue...maybe next time,"
before coming to a complete stop allowing her to leave his car and go
into her house.
As soon as the door closed behind her she erupted into anger and tears.
"Not once did he tell me he was sorry about his monster eating my dog
besides that one time before we went out on the lake, but he never meant
it," she screamed to the heavens before collapsing on the sofa to cry
out her loss. It was during this time the phone rang. RING, RING.
She hurried to pick it up, "H-Hello-o," she answered tearfully.
"Dana? What's wrong dear," asked her mother, Maggie. She had just
gotten back in town and had gotten the message Dana left on her
answering machine about having to leave on a case and being forced to
bring her dog along.
"N-nothin-g, M-Mom," said Dana as she tried to get her voice back under
control. "I-I'm just tired. How was your trip?" She asked in an
attempt to keep her Mom from asking for an explanation to her crying.
She was only partially able to achieve it.
"Dana, I called to invite you over for a visit. I bought you
something and I desperately want you to come over and see it. I won't
take no for an answer, dear. I'll expect you in 30 minutes. I'll have
a pot of tea on...bye, dear," and left Dana no option to refused.
Dana, once again hurried to a bathroom, this time her own to once again
wash her tears away; and once again she stayed only long enough to make
sure no signs of her crying could be seen before reapplying her make-up
for the third time that day. She hurriedly grabbed her purse and car
keys and left for her Mom's place.
Maggie used the time wisely fixing a big pot of herbal tea. She pulled
out a plate of butter cookies and awaited her daughter's arrival.
It was only a few minutes past the time allotted that she heard a car
pull up in her drive. She hurried to the door and welcomed her daughter
with a kiss to her cheek and a hug. She could tell at once that
something was bothering her daughter. There was no spark in her eyes.
"Dana, come into the kitchen...our tea is ready," Maggie, urged her
daughter and Dana dully followed behind. Maggie poured a nice warm cup
of tea and waited for Dana to gather her thoughts.
As she sipped the tea a dozen thoughts ran through Dana's head. "It
feels great to be at home. I could just tell Mom about Mr. Sensitivity
and let her take care of it like she did Bill when he teased me that one
time when we were children. Boy, did Mom light into him. She paddled him
for his teasing and insensitive remarks towards me and so soundly that
he couldn't sit comfortably for days. I know that she loves Fox as a
son; now she can punish him like a son, like she did Bill." Then her
conscience kicked in. "If I hadn't taken him along this wouldn't have
happened, but then again if Mulder had been honest with me about the
possibility of a predator running loose I would have left him at any
kennel, no matter what my feeling towards them were." She continued to
argue with herself over the matter until she finally blurted out,
"M-Mom, Queequeg is dead. He died during the case."
"Oh, Baby, I'm so very sorry. What happened?"
"Well, I-I was walking h-him and he g-got away. All I could find was
his mangled collar," admitted Dana.
"Did Fox help you look, honey? Maybe, he just got loose," Maggie asked
hoping to created hope in his return.
"N-no, there was no chance-e o-of finding-g him alive. F-Fox..." she
started to say, "was the cause" but closed her mouth and said, "It
doesn't matter...I don't want to talk about it. It brings up too many
memories, now," and turned the conversation towards the present her
mother had told her about. "You were talking about a gift you bought
me? Mom?"
"Oh, yes...let me get it," and left the table thinking, "If Fox has done
something to hurt you he will regret it, this I promise you," and
hurried to where she had placed the package. She had also bought
something for Queequeg but quickly put it up. Coming back into the
kitchen, Maggie handed Dana the package. "Here baby, see what you think
about this."
Dana eagerly opened the package to find the softest cardigan ever
within. It was the color of light blue and she tried it on at once. It
felt heavenly to her skin and she hugged her mother tight. "Oh Mom,
it's beautiful. Where did you find it?"
"There was a new dress shop opening and that was on display. I bought
two...a blue one for you and a pale yellow one for me. They are so
soft, and the clerk said they were very warm. I figured that it would
be perfect for the weather we get here."
Dana spent the rest of the afternoon with her mom, soaking up all of the
comfort Maggie had to offer. As she watched her daughter drive away
later that night she hurried to the phone to call Rachel Skinner, Fox's
adoptive mother. She remembered that Walter Skinner's family had
adopted Fox introducing him to family love and discipline. She figured
that if anyone could help her it would be Rachel Skinner.
Rachel and Walter were watching "Who Wants to be a Millionaire," when
the phone rang. RING...RING...RING... Rachel reached for the phone
next to her and answered with a cheery, "Hello? Oh, good evening
Maggie."
"Rachel, I wanted to discuss something with you. My daughter's pet died
while they were on their last case. Between my intuition and what Dana
has admitted, I feel that Fox is some how responsible. Dana is very
upset but wouldn't tell me all of the details. Do you think you can
find out?"
Rachel listened intensely and immediately said, "I'll try...I can call
Walter and ask if there was anything unusual in his report. I promise
you one thing...if I ever find out that something he did even remotely led to her
pet's death or hurt her in any way I will paddle him personally...and he
will rue the day."
"Thanks, Rachel...tell Walter 'HI' for me...goodbye," and she hung up
thinking, "If you hurt my baby, young man, your mom is going to give you
a sound paddling."
After Rachel hung up her husband asked, ", Raisa, what's going on? Is
our Fox in trouble again?"
"If Maggie Scully is right, he is in big trouble. She has a suspicion
that our Fox may be responsible for the death of her daughter's dog. It
seems that she was forced to bring the dog along on a case. I'm going to give
Walter a call tomorrow night and see what if Fox made any mention of the
dog's death in his report."
"Are you going to ask Fox about it, dear?," asked Walter.
"No, I feel that our Fox hasn't quite learned to tell us the whole
truth...at least not yet," replied Rachel.
"Well, I'm doing my part in 'persuading' the boy to tell the truth when
he's in the wrong. I hope to succeed eventually."
"You will some day succeed in your task, dear and our Fox will be a
credit to our family once he learns that lying only gets him trips to
the woodshed. Now let's get back to the Millionaire show," Rachel said
with a smile.
As Walter entered his apartment the next night he could hear the phone
ring. He raced to pick it up and was delighted to hear his Mother's
voice on the other end. "H-hi M-Mom," he wheezed as he greeted his Mom.
"Walter, dear, is everything all right. You sound out of breath," asked
his Mother.
"I am, a bit that is. I was just entering when I heard the phone ring.
I've got my breath back now...is this a social call," he asked
delicately.
"Well, no not really. Walter, I want you to hear me out before you
answer my questions. Can you do that for me, son?"
"Sure Mom...fire away," sitting down as he spoke.
"Son, Fox and his partner just returned from a case?"
"Yes, ma-am. It was a missing person case in Georgia. They got back
yesterday. The report was on my desk by noon. I read it and gave my
approval," replied Walter cautiously.
"Now Walter, what I want to know is...did Fox mention anything out of
the ordinary happening with that case?"
Walter thought back and answered, "No, it proved to be a roving predator
causing all of the trouble. It was killed and the case was solved. He
didn't mention anything other than what I just said...why?"
"Well, just between you and me, Maggie Scully called concerned about
something that was supposed to have happened on the case. If nothing
was mentioned out of the ordinary then her suspicions must have been
wrong. I'll call and let her know. Now don't mention this to Fox,
dear...okay?"
"Sure Mom, whatever you say. Is everything okay at home? How's Dad,"
and the conversation turned to catching Walter up on all of the news
from home. It was over way to soon for Walter's liking and he
reluctantly said his goodbye.
As soon as she got off the phone with Walter Rachel immediately called
Maggie to inform her of Walter's news concluding with, "if you still
feel something is not right we will have to come up with a plan to bring
it all out," Rachel thought for a moment before asking, "I know...why
don't you and Dana come up for a visit. I'll get Walter to bring Fox
and then we can all sit down and discuss your suspicions. What about
coming in two weeks? That will be the middle of October. The leaves
are changing and it is beautiful around here, we always get together to
celebrate autumn and we would love for you two to join us. We have
plenty of room," invited Rachel.
Maggie accepted the invitation for both herself and Dana, and
volunteered to make a cake for the occasion. She would ask Walter if
they could follow them up, since she didn't know the way.
"Go ahead, dear, I know he won't mind in the least. He knows to bring
Fox to our family get together's and Fox has learned, the hard way, to
always accept. We will see you then...goodbye."
To steal a line from Winnie the Pooh...it was a blustery day as Walter,
Fox and the Scully ladies pulled up into the drive of the Walter
Skinners, Sr.
Walter climbed out of his vehicle as Fox was getting out the other side.
They turned to help the ladies carry their luggage into the house. "It
looks like we are in for a early winter," Walter shouted as the cold
wind blew. He led the way and opened the door for the ladies to scurry
in.
"Mom? Dad? We're here," shouted Walter into the still house.
"Walter? We are in the kitchen...come on in," Rachel replied loudly.
Walter left the luggage near the stairs and showed the ladies the way to
the kitchen. "Maggie...Dana...please have a seat. I've got a nice cup
of hot chocolate for you. I think we are due for some cold weather
tonight, but not to worry we have plenty of covers and wood for the
fireplace."
As Dana and Maggie were taking off their outer wraps Rachel scurried
over to give her oldest and adopted youngest son to give them a kiss on
their cheeks. "Boys, have a seat...there is hot chocolate for you two,
too."
Soon all of them were warming up to a cup of hot chocolate and making
small talk. "Dana, we have a surprise for you," Rachel said as she
motioned for her husband to bring the surprise in the kitchen. It was a
small puppy. "It seems that a neighbor dog gave birth a few weeks ago
and got rid of them all but this one. It is the runt, you see. Maggie
told me of your loss and I thought you might be just the one to take in
this darling little dog."
As soon as Dana laid eyes on the puppy it was love at first sight and
she scooped the puppy in her arms squealing, "Oooohhhh...thank you so
much. Since he is so small I think I will call him Pip. What breed is
he?"
"He's a Jack Russell Terrier, my dear. If you ever get a chance to
watch 'Frazier', he's the same breed as the dog in the series. They
don't get very big, but they are an active breed. The puppy started to
lick her on her face. He was mainly white with brown and black spots on
his head and rump. He had fuzzy hair all over.
Dana took the puppy over to Fox to show off. "Look at my new puppy
Mulder, isn't he adorable?"
Fox took one look at the puppy and callously remarked, "You should have
named him pipsqueak, since he is so small." Then in a voice only Dana
could hear he said, "You could always call him gator bait, since he is
taking the other one's place."
Dana looked up sharply at the remark and said angrily, "Whose fault is
that Mulder. If you had told me the truth about what we were
investigating I would have left Queequeg at a kennel and he would have
been safe. But no, you decided to keep silent about the matter and your
'monster' ate my dog and almost ate you."
"Sculllleeeee," hissed Fox, in an unsuccessful attempt to stop her from
spilling the beans about the trip to Georgia.
Fox looked up to see every eye on him and recognized that they were a
mixture of angry and surprised. He started to leave when Walter, Sr.
said in a loud voice, "FOX WILLIAM MULDER, is what she said true?
Was her dog killed by a creature that almost killed you, too?"
The silence was terrible as Fox tried to think of a story to cover his
butt.
Rachel turned to Dana and asked, "Dana, will you tell us the whole
story...it seems that my youngest is having trouble coming up with the
truth."
Dana took a deep breath and began to explain how she and her dog
happened to be in Georgia investigating a missing person case and how
she found out that it was only a ruse to investigate a loch ness type
monster reported to be living in Heuvelmans Lake. By the time she had
finished Rachel was reaching for her wooden spatula and approaching Fox.
"Fox, is what she says, true? Look me in the eye, boy and try to tell
me otherwise. I can spot lying easily."
Fox couldn't look her in the eye; he only looked at his feet and nodded.
"Well, then everything is clear about what happens next. Fox, I want
you to go to your room and lower both your jeans and boxers and bend
over your desk. I will be up in a few minutes to paddle you. I am very
disappointed in your behavior towards Dana on the loss of her dog,"
Rachel ordered and watched as Fox slowly went up to his room. Walter
followed behind to be sure he minded his mother.
Rachel turned to Dana and said, "I apologize for my son...I assure you
he will be punished severely for his actions."
"And he will be taking a trip to the woodshed later for a close
encounter with the Persuader," said Walter, Sr. "This punishment will
be for risking his life needlessly and not bringing backup while
pursuing the crocodile."
Fox felt so foolish bent over his desk with his bare bottom on display
waiting for his adopted Mom to come in and paddle him. He would have
bolted out of the house if Walter hadn't followed him up to his room.
He had leaned in the doorway waiting for him to get into position for
his paddling. He felt rather than heard Rachel as she entered the room
and approached him. "Walter, you can leave now. I have everything
under control." She waited until her son had left the room before
speaking to Fox. "Son, I'm sorry I have to do this, but I will not have
a son who is so insensitive towards a friend, who is grieving. I hope
that after this paddling you will think twice before showing that
behavior ever again."
Rachel moved to one side of her son's body and struck before he could
utter a word of protest. He cried out as the spatula hit him again and
again on his bottom. "Owwww...Owwww...Smack...Owwwlll
...Smack...Smack...Smack." Rachel was blistering his hide but good and
he was soon begging for her to stop.
Rachel paused for a moment and asked, "Fox, are you going to ever treat
a friend so shamelessly again?"
"Noooooooooo...please...I'm sorry," cried Fox as he struggled to get up.
"No, I think you need to learn this lesson a bit longer as she pushed
him back in position and continued to paddle him.
Fox was sobbing by the time the last lick was given and promising never
to behave like this again. Maggie pulled up his boxers before pulling
him into the all-forgiving hug, "Baby, don't ever do anything that will
force me to paddle you like this again...your slate is clear, now. Now
wash your face and come back downstairs." The first thing Fox did was
to fall on his bed, stomach down and sob out his pain and embarrassment
at having his bare bottom paddled by his adopted mom. When he had all
cried out he cautiously got up and moved over to his suitcase and pulled
out a pair of loose sweat pants. Then he moved on to the bathroom to
wash his face.
It was about fifty-five minutes later that Fox re-entered the living
room to find Rachel, Maggie and Dana waiting for him. As Fox, entered
Dana approached him first. "Mulder, I'm sorry I had to do that...you
made me mad at making that remark about Queequeg and I couldn't stop
myself. Do you forgive me?"
Fox turned to Dana and impulsively hugged her and said, "Dana I can
never stay mad at you. You are my best friend. I'm sorry for my
insensitive behavior after the croc killed your dog, I promise I will be
more caring after this," as he started to rub his sore bottom. Dana
quickly hugged him back and was soon joined by both Maggie and Rachel
for a group hug. Fox knew that all was forgiven and returned their hugs
with gusto. When they next broke away Fox said, "I'm glad that is all
behind me now. I was worrying myself sick for it. The weekend isn't
shot after all."
He was surprised by the clearing of throats and turned to see both Walt
and Walter, Sr. "Not so fast, young man. You have a trip to the
woodshed coming for risking your life and going in without back up."
"But sirs, I've already been punished; Mom just finished blistering my
hide. I assure you it won't happen again," Fox pleaded as he tried to
get out of a visit with the Persuader.
"Oh, no...your Mom punished you for your insensitive behavior towards
Dana in the loss of her dog, this is something more dangerous...you
risked your life without bringing back up in chasing down an unknown
perpetrator that almost killed you. Son, you are due for a session with
the Persuader. That will come this afternoon before supper," commanded
Walter, Sr. "Now why don't you go to your room and rethink what you did
to put yourself in this situation with a sore bottom and a session with
the Persuader."
"The P-persua-ader-r?" stammered Fox, who was turning pale at the
thought of that strap being applied to his already sore bottom.
"Please, not that. I'm too sore to have a session with the Persuader,"
Fox pleaded as he tried to rub the sting out of his sore hindquarters.
"Fox, I'm a believer in handing out punishment as soon as possible but
I'll give you a break and put it off until tonight after supper," said
Walt.
"Can't you put if off indefinitely? I've learned my lesson with the
paddling Mom just gave me, which will prevent me from sitting
comfortably for the rest of the weekend...won't it do for everything?"
whined Fox.
"NOOOOOOOOO," cried everyone in the room, except for Fox, "we love you
too much to let you get away without a visit with the Persuader, dear,"
replied Rachel with everyone in the room nodding in agreement. "Maybe
after you've had your hide blistered you will think twice about putting
your life in danger again," added Maggie.
Fox opened his mouth to protest when he heard a voice say, "Mulder,
unless you want a visit to the woodshed now, I would stop protesting."
Fox looked up into the face of his adoptive brother, Walter, Jr. and
nodded his agreement. "Dear, why don't you go to your room and reflect
on your actions that resulted in a sore bottom and what you can
do in the future to keep it safe," requested Rachel lovingly.
Fox did as he was told and fled to his room. He threw himself on his
bed. He stayed on his stomach since his bottom was too sore to lie on.
He did reflect on the situation that led him to be sore but it made him
so mad to be treated in this manner. He wasn't use to having a family
that cared enough for him that they would punish him whenever he
strayed.
He only thought of keeping the Persuader far, far away from his already
sore bottom.
He fell asleep with those thoughts so that when he awoke an hour later
the first thing on his mind was to escape.
He had decided that he was not going to have a session with the
Persuader; he would runaway first. He thought that he had better leave
some note so they wouldn't worry where he had gone so he leaned over the
desk and wrote a short and to the point note. "I am going
home...Mulder," was all it said. He left it on the bed and looked for
an avenue of escape.
His eyes naturally fell to the window and he crossed the room to look
out. He saw a large oak tree growing next to the roof that leaned out
from the window. He put his jacket on and checking to see if he had his
billfold in his back pocket and had money in it before climbing out and inching
his way toward the tree. Once he was as close as he could get he paused
and jumped. He barely made it and slid dangerously down the tree. He
was in a hurry, he knew that his trip down the tree had to been heard
and 'his' family was coming after him.
He was partly right. Maggie had come into his room to find him gone and
had looked out of the window and had seen his dangerous flight from roof
to tree and down the tree. It was all she could do not to scream and
cause him to endanger himself even worse. Once she saw he had safely
made it down the tree she hurried to the staircase and yelled,
"Walter...Walter," before coming down the stairs. Her cries brought
both Walters to await her at the bottom of the stairs.
"Rachel, what's wrong," cried the senior of the Walter's.
"It's
Fox...he's runaway. I found a note on his bed and then looking out the
window I saw him jump from the roof to the tree outside and climb down
quickly. He's safely made it down the tree but he scared me nearly to
death by doing it."
"Walter go after him and bring him back. He obviously doesn't
understand that the main reason we punish him is because we love him. I
forgot that he comes from a dysfunctional family," said his father.
Walt put his coat on and hurried outside and to his jeep. He didn't see
him but assumed that he would try hitchhiking to town and then rent a
car to get home. As he left the driveway he looked both ways and
finally saw his 'younger' brother running on the bridge where Jeremy
lost his life. It was at that moment that Walt's mind confused Fox with
Jeremy and he sped towards him. "He had to save Jeremy...he wouldn't
let him die this time."
Fox heard a car approaching and turned to look and in his haste to get
away slipped on some ice and slid into the frigid waters below. At
first the water felt heavenly on his sore bottom but soon that changed
and his lower extremities turned numb from the cold and Fox struggled to
get back to land. When he felt he couldn't make it he was suddenly
yanked from the water and into the arms of Walter, his 'adoptive' older
brother.
Walter had wadded into the stream in time to grab a hold of Fox and yank
him from the stream. He hurried to the jeep and pulled out a blanket
that he wrapped around Fox. He carried him to the jeep and placed him
inside. Soon he was racing back to the house. He carried Fox inside
yelling, "Mom! Dad! Help! I've got Jeremy and he's drenched."
His folks met him and took over. "Bring him upstairs, son."
Walter carried him to the first room and placed him on the bed. As soon
as he did his mom and Maggie took over stripping him of the wet and cold
clothes. "Walt, get out of those clothes and into a hot shower at once,
or you will be joining Fox in bed. We will take care of Fox until you
return," cried Rachel as she stripped the soggy pants from her youngest.
Dana came in to check Fox out as Rachel went into the bathroom and draw
his bath. She filled the tub with the hot water to forestall any health
problems that Fox may have from his dip in the icy waters. By the time
the water was just the right temperature she came back in and her
husband helped Fox to the tub and into it. Once he was submerged he
pulled the soggy boxers from him.
"I'll stay with him until he warms up," volunteered Walter as the ladies
left him. Walter made Fox stay in until the water started to cool down
and by that time his son had joined him in warm and dry clothes and
between the two of them got Fox out and dried off. Walter, Jr. had
brought a pair of boxers and a t-shirt with him and soon Fox found
himself in bed once again looking up into caring and concerned faces.
"Dear, why did you runaway? Don't you know that we love you?" Asked a
sympathetic Rachel.
Fox looked up into the face of his "Mom" and couldn't stop the tears
from falling down his face. He had seen and heard the love from this
lady and he had been unable to stop the tears from falling. "I-I didn't
want a session with the P-Per-sua-der-r. I thought only to get away.
You know my other family wouldn't have cared as much as you do. I'm
sorry," he said as the tears continued to fall.
Fox was exhausted and what little energy he had was now gone and he
didn't know what to think after that little speech. He was afraid that
the Skinners wouldn't want him anymore...just like his family had time
and time again after Samantha was taken.
He was quite unprepared when first Rachel then everybody in the room
enveloped him in one big hug. They held him until he finally broke down
and wept. He literally cried himself to sleep, and didn't stir a bit
when he was gently put back to bed.
"Walter?" whispered Rachel to her oldest. "I want you to bring me my
rocker and place it here," pointing to an area between bed and window.
As soon as it arrived Rachel parked herself in it and began to hum. The
effect was instant...Fox's face began to relax and he seem to sleep
easier. Rachel could almost see a small boy in this man she claimed as
her youngest son. Maggie and Dana interchanged with Rachel throughout
the afternoon while Fox slept. Finally they all left to oversee supper,
leaving Walter, Sr. in their place.
It was about an hour later that Fox began to stir. The first person he
saw was the man insisted that he was his son and requested he be called
"Dad."
"Good Evening, young man...how are you feeling now?" asked Walter.
"Fine, I feel fine...now," replied Fox. "Where is everybody?" he
finally asked.
"The ladies are downstairs fixing supper for us all. Fox, I want you to
know how much we care for you. What you did earlier scared us all very
badly, especially Walter. He considers you his younger brother. In fact,
do you know that when he brought you back he had a slip of the tongue
and called you Jeremy?"
Fox shook his head and Walter continued, "He loves you as much as he
does his other brothers and sister. I don't know how he would have
handled it if he had lost his younger brother again, and because of that
I'm going to show you the special love that you deserve."
Fox didn't fully understand, he thought he was going to get another hug.
He was totally unprepared when he was pulled over on his stomach and
felt his boxers being lowered before the true meaning took hold.
"Noooooooo...not that...I don't want a spankinggggggggg," Fox yelled as
Walter's hand came down hard on his bare bottom. He yelled out loud,
"OOOOOOWWWWHHHLLL," and didn't stop until his bottom was once again fire
engine red and this time at the hand of his "Dad."
From the beginning of the first yell, everyone in the kitchen stopped
and Rachel and her son began to smile. Rachel said to Dana and her
mother, "Walter is explaining how much he loves Fox in the manner he
deserves." Dana and Maggie began to smile as well. Dana had felt the
same sort of 'love' from her Mom on more than one occasion. It was nice
that now Fox was learning the same sort of love; maybe it would help and
keep him from taking chances with his life.
It was a few minutes later that Walter entered the room. "That boy now
understands that we all love him and promises not to scare us like that
again. What's for supper?" He asked as he sat down.
"Well, we are having roast beef and mashed potatoes, but first I want to
take a tray up to Fox," replied Rachel.
"Mom, let me," cried Walt. "He may not be up to having you visit him
after Dad's display of love with such a heavy hand. He might be a bit
ashamed. It's different with me. It's a guy thing."
Rachel thought a minute and concurred and fixed the tray and gave it to
her oldest and went to serve the others. Walt carefully took the tray
and ice tea upstairs to Fox's room. He found him in bed face down
crying still in his pillow. Fox looked up as he entered and said, "I
didn't know how much I was loved until your father explained it to me,"
with a wry grin on his face.
Walt just smiled at him and said, "Hungry? All of that love has got to
have made you hungry."
Fox nodded, "only 'Dad' did too good a job expressing his love on my
backside that I can't put pressure on it now."
"Does it hurt to lie on your side?" Walt asked curiously. Fox shook his
head. "Good, then this is what you do. Scoot over to the other side of
the bed and then lie on your side facing me. I'll put the tray next to
you and you can eat it while propped up on several pillows. The roast
beef has been cut into bite sized bits and I have a straw in your ice
tea glass and you can eat without too much pain." Walt watched for a
minute or so to see if he needed any help and seeing that he was okay
sat in the rocker to wait.
He was lost in a daydream when Fox suddenly asked, "Did you really call
me 'Jeremy' when bringing me in from the water?"
Walt looked up seeing that Fox had finished and was turned to watch him.
He nodded and said, "Yes, when I saw you in the water I guess it
reminded me so much of Jeremy that my mind confused you with him. You
know you remind me a lot of Jeremy. You both like to take chances with
your life; both are daredevils and disobedient a lot of times. Jeremy
was always getting spankings for that behavior and you may have notice
that so do you. Fox, you have not only been adopted by mom and dad as a
son but as a young brother to me. In that instant you became Jeremy to
me, then and forever."
Fox could feel the tears fall as Walter talked about the comparison of
Jeremy and himself. He started to sob as Walter informed him of his
love for him as a beloved little brother and couldn't stop. Walter was
at his side in an instant pulling him into an all-forgiving hug. He
held Fox until he had not only cried himself out but to sleep. He
carefully lowered him back to bed and left the room taking his supper
dishes with him.
When Walter re-entered the kitchen all he said was that Fox had eaten
everything and was resting now. He then joined the rest of the family
for supper. There was little conversation that night as all present was
thinking about the man resting upstairs. Walter and his father were
thinking about Fox's upcoming encounter with the Persuader. It would
have to come soon as they would be going back to Washington in the next
few days. The weekend had been extended for a few extra days so Fox
could recover from his illness.
They waited until Saturday night to reacquaint Fox with the Persuader.
It came soon after supper. They had finished a light supper of homemade
vegetable beef soup with cornbread. "That was delicious, Mom," declared
Fox, as he made to get up a head for the living room and whatever
sporting event he could find.
"Hold up, Fox, we have some unfinished business to attend to," ordered
Water.
Fox looked up with surprise and said, "We do? What?"
"It's time for your session with the Persuader, son. The sooner we can
start the sooner it will be over with," said his "Dad" gently.
"NOOOOOOOO...The sooner my butt will be on fire, you mean...I can wait,
I don't mind," said Fox as he started to back away.
He didn't get very far as his "Mom" was there to grab him by the hand
and lead him to her son. "Be gentle with him, son...he's scared," and
watched as the men folk headed for the woodshed.
As the door of the woodshed closed behind them Walter turned to Fox and
said, "Just remove your pants and boxers and lay on the bench. I'll
rearrange you for Dad's administrations," and did just that. Fox closed
his eyes, he didn't want to see his Dad get the strap or take up
position behind him. He was surprised when his hands were grabbed and
held.
He looked up into the caring eyes of Walter, who smiled and said, "I
thought you might need a hand. Just hold on...this is going to sting."
He looked up to his Dad and said, "He's ready, Dad."
"Fox William, why are you being punished?" asked Walter, Sr.
"For risking my life and not having backup," answered Fox.
With tradition out of the way, the first lick came. It caught Fox on
his sit spot and burned. "YEOOOOWWWW," cried Fox as the licks came hard
and fast. Walter knew how to use the strap and soon had painted his
youngest backside a fiery red and had him sobbing. Walter gave him 6
licks for endangering his life and 6 licks for not having backup. After
the last lick Walter put down the strap and moved to help his "son" up
engulfing him into the all-forgiving hug. Fox hung on crying
As his bottom throbbed he sobbed, "I-I'm s-sorry-y-y."
"I know you are, boy. Just remember that we love you and we want you to
always be sympathetic to others as well as being careful with your own
life. If you can remember to think before you act...you will be better
for it," advised Walter, Sr.
"Oh, y-you don't h-have to w-worry about t-that, s-sir. I'll re-mem-ber
every time I sit-t," Fox said as he rubbed his bottom.
Walter just rolled his eyes; he knew they had made an impression on
Mulder but thinking that Fox still had much to learn even though he was
at least on the right road...now. As soon as Mulder had redressed the
three of them were seen heading back to the house. The two Walters were
holding up Mulder and they were all hoping he had finally learned his
lesson.
The End
Author's Note:I always thought that Fox deserved a spanking/paddling for his
unsympathetic behavior towards Dana at the loss of her dog, Queequeg.
In this story Fox gets his just rewards for that behavior as well as
risking his life and without backup...I hope you enjoyed the story.