Accountability
Chapter 12
They arrived at the Harrison's a little after 8 the
next morning. They found his sister sitting on a small
patio out back, on floral cushions that spoke of
spring, but which were now damp and cold. She was
wrapped in a large coat, but couldn't keep her hands
from shivering.
She stared up at them, nodding at their perfunctory
greetings. Then her gaze drifted away, and took her
mind along for the ride.
Mulder stood helplessly for a moment, until Scully led
him by the arm back to the house. "Let me talk to her
for a minute, okay?" He nodded and went inside.
Scully paced back across the yard, half-frozen grass
crunching with every step. She was already too cold to
even contemplate sitting on the bright yellow chair
beside her, so she crouched down on her left,
balancing herself on the arm of the chair.
"You did a good job with the makeup," she said gently.
"You almost can't tell."
Amanda sniffed, her hand flying to her cheek, then
falling guiltily away. "He has never hit me before. I
know you don't know me, but I wouldn't be married to
someone like that."
Scully nodded, her fingers clenching the arm of the
chair. "I believe you. Stress can affect personality,
change behavior."
Amanda concentrated on twining her fingers together on
her lap.
"Please don't tell Fox."
Scully shook her head.
"He cried. He promised he would never do it again.
That he didn't want to hurt me anymore." She looked
up, and if she had any tears left she would be crying
them now. "I don't want to lose my family."
Scully rested her hand on top of Amanda's. "You've
been together a long time. You've raised two children.
You can get through this. It won't be easy, but it
would be a lot harder if you didn't have each other."
Amanda nodded.
"Where is he now?"
"He took our son to school. He's worried about his
sister, but he's just a little boy. He needs a
routine, needs to be around his friends. We're trying
to make things normal for him." She stood, pulling her
coat tightly around her, as if noticing the cold for
the first time.
"Come on inside, I'll make some coffee."
The two women walked into the house, passing through
french doors into the family room. Mulder was there,
holding a picture of the Harrison family. He looked up
when they came in. Sheepishly, he put the picture back
on the bookshelf. "Sorry."
But Amanda walked over and picked up the picture
again. It was a studio portrait, perfect lighting,
everyone carefully posed and smiling. The two children
sat on their parents' laps, laughing at a corny joke
the photographer told them.
"This was taken last year." She pulled the back of the
frame off to reveal several copies of the same
picture. Sliding one out, she handed it to Mulder.
"Here, you should have one. We sent them to everyone
in the family."
He reached for the photo, a questioning look in his
eyes. The same eyes that met his with the answer.
"Thank you."
Scully slipped out of the room, wiping away a tear she
would never acknowledge.
Amanda sat on the sofa, shedding her coat in favor of
a blue and gray flannel blanket. The noise from the
other room had become so familiar she almost didn't
hear it anymore. Almost.
"I don't know exactly how to do this, but I'd like you
to be a part of our family."
Taking a big chance, Mulder took her hand. "I'd like
that, too."
"So, this is what you do, find lost children?"
He nodded. "It's a part of my job, sometimes, yes."
She took a deep breath. "Is that because of what
happened to me?"
Mulder squeezed her hand. "Maybe. Probably. I don't
know, it's what I'm good at."
He leaned in to kiss her cheek, and could have shot
himself when she jerked away. "I'm sorry."
"No! I mean, don't be. It's not you, I'm just a little
tense, that's all."
He nodded, backing away, still clasping the picture
carefully in his hand. "Okay. I need to follow up on
some things. I'll stop by later. Scully will be
working from here, if you need to reach me."
Amanda nodded, folding her arms tightly against her
chest. "I like her."
Must run in the family, he thought. Mulder chewed his
bottom lip, unconsciously mimicking Amanda. "Scully?
She's a good agent. Good friend."
"How long have you worked together?"
"Almost seven years, give or take. Why?"
She shook her head. "Just curious."
Mulder looked at her suspiciously, and if he didn't
know any better, he'd have thought his sister was
trying to play matchmaker.
"I gotta go."
He walked out of the room, through the house, and
toward his car. The picture rested carefully in his
briefcase.
And for the first time in over a week, Fox Mulder
really smiled.
He had started the car, and was pulling into the road
when he saw Scully running from the house. He rolled
his window down, but she ran around the car and yanked
the passenger door open. He knew from the look on her
face, before he saw the other suits come pouring from
the house.
They'd found her.
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