From:             "Jennifer Fausett" 
Subject:          Fear
Date sent:        Thu, 08 Jan 1998 10:57:37 PST

Title: Fear
Author: XScout
Rating: R
Classification: VA
Spoilers: None
Keywords: Pre-XF
Summary: Fox Mulder as a child, seen through the eyes of a friend.
Disclaimer: His, theirs, not mine - except David, he's mine, all mine!
Author's Note: Mrs. Mulder finally has a name! Poor thing. 'Tina'?! Just 
a bit too eighties for me. I would have gone for Elizabeth. Oh well. I 
decided not to use her name instead. If you have an extra ten seconds in 
your busy schedule, please respond, flames or not, to XScout@hotmail.com
************
FEAR

Martha's Vineyard
September 5, 1974

   David Parker was fifteen years old when he learned the meaning of 
fear.
	It was two days before school started and a heat wave had struck
the vineyard once again on this unusually hot summer. Most of the boys
David normally hung out with were either on vacation or were old enough 
to have a summer job. He wanted to go down to the swimming
pool to cool off and watch the scantily clad lifeguard in her tower, but 
he didn't want to go alone. He would have asked Jesse but the poor guy 
was on restriction for looking at his dad's Playboy's. That left...Fox.
	It's not that David didn't like Fox, in fact he had invited  the 
younger boy over to his house several times, but it wouldn't do to be 
caught in public with him for fun. Fox's family was ostracized from the 
community because of something they were involved in last Thanksgiving 
and subsequently Fox was treated as an outcast at school. Being a twelve 
year old entering tenth grade didn't help either.
	Some of the kid's called him a freak or a nerd while other's preferred 
crazy lunatic. Some of the more vicious teens called him a murderer, 
accused him of killing his eight year old sister. David could never 
believe that, Fox was too quiet and gentle to have done such a thing.
	A tall and gangly youth, Fox kept to himself with friends you could 
count on one hand. David was one of those few. He had met Fox through 
the basket ball team. Being overly tall at age twelve had at least some 
benefits. Though graceful on the court, Fox was a bit accident prone off 
it. He would chronically miss practice or show up late because he 
tripped over something or fell down the stairs again. Once, in the 
locker room, David saw several long shallow cuts on his back. When asked 
about them, Fox claimed he had slid down a gravel covered hill and David 
dropped the issue.
	David had extended his time with his lanky teammate when he heard that 
Fox was supposedly a genius and he got up the courage to ask for some 
help in algebra. Under Fox's tutelage David even managed to pass with a 
B+. Fox usually insisted on going to David's house for each session 
because it was 'a better learning environment'. David had
to agree. The few times he had gone to the Mulder's, Fox was agitated 
and seemed almost afraid that something horrible would happen at any 
minute. Mrs. Mulder was reserved and distant. She never said more than 
one sentence at a time and mostly left the boys alone. Fox walked on 
eggshells around her, only speaking when spoken to.
	David had never met Fox's father and he hoped to keep it that way. One 
day, a few weeks before finals, Fox had been so distracted they couldn't 
get any work done. When David inquired what was on his mind, Fox had 
vaguely replied, 'My dad comes home today'. This seemed strange to 
David, whose father also worked for the state department. He was always 
excited when his dad came home from a long business trip but Fox wasn't 
excited. If David didn't know any better he would have said the Fox was 
scared.
	And now, as David walked toward the Mulder residence, he noticed that 
the customarily absent car was parked in the driveway. For a second he 
thought about turning around and going the other way.  David wondered. He strode resolutely up to the door and knocked.
	The door opened with such force that it slammed against the inside 
wall.
	"What do you want?" Fox's old man demanded. He lurched forward into the 
doorway, squinting at the sunlight. Even though it was barely ten in the 
morning, he had a drink in his hand. "This better be fuckin' good."
	David stumbled backwards down the steps, careful to keep out of arm's 
reach. The man stared over David's head, although it didn't look like 
his eyes were focused. He also looked like he hadn't shaved in a few 
days. His rumpled clothing appeared to have been on his body just as 
long.
	David looked to either side, ready to escape if Mr. Mulder made another 
move. "M-Mr. Mulder," he stuttered, "I was wondering if Fox could-"
	Before he could finish Mr. Mulder turned around and shouted at the top 
of his lungs, "Fox! Get your ass down here, you've got company!" With 
that he staggered out of the entryway into the dining room.
	David stepped hesitantly into the house and quietly shut the door 
behind him. He put his hands behind his back and stood silently at the 
bottom of the stairs, waiting for Fox. He heard the sound of footsteps 
on the second floor and the opening and closing of a door. Then Fox 
appeared at the railing.
	"David?" Fox slowly headed for the stairs, keeping his eyes on the 
other boy. "What are you doing here?"
	"Hey Fox, I was going to the pool and I thought maybe you-" David 
stopped mid-sentence and stared open-mouthed at the youngster on the 
staircase.
	Fox was leaning heavily on the railing as he limped downwards. His left 
eye was almost swollen completely shut and surrounded by the most vivid 
blues and purples that matched the slightly duller splotches on his 
right wrist and arm.
	"Jesus! What happened to you? You okay?" David took a step forward to 
help but Fox raised his hand.
	"I'm fine, I'm fine. I - I just. . . I fell out of the tree in the 
backyard." He came to rest at the bottom of the stairs. He glanced 
around with his good eye, searching for his father, and finding that 
they were alone he continued. "Thank you for offering but I don't think 
I'm up to it. Maybe some other time." Fox's eye skittered toward the 
dining room.
	Suddenly David realized exactly how Fox had acquired the bruises 
decorating his body.  was the only thought 
that registered on his brain. David instantly had an overwhelming urge 
to protect the younger boy. 
	"Hey, how 'bout you come over and spend the night at my house. My mom 
can make some chicken soup and we can just lay around playing video 
games. That'll be relaxing huh?"
	Fox's eyes got misty and his face broke out into the widest smile David 
ever saw. "Could I really? I mean, your parents wouldn't mind?"
	"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't think so." The smile was infectious.
	"Hold on a sec, I'll ask my mom." Fox circumvented the dining room and 
took the long way to the kitchen through the living room.
	Uncomfortable being left alone, David walked quickly after  Fox. He 
found the boy in the kitchen with his mother who was standing at the 
stove, stirring something in a large pot. He caught the end of the 
conversation.
	"-David's? I'll be back by ten tomorrow to do my chores."
	Mrs. Mulder never looked up from her bubbling concoction. "It's all 
right with me but be back by nine, your father wants you to mow the 
lawn."
	"Thanks Mom." Fox kissed her on the cheek and practically ran out of 
the room, heedless of the pain in his leg. "I'll be right back David, 
I'm gonna grab my overnight bag."
	A few minutes later they were on their way out the door. They had 
almost made it all the way onto the porch when a booming voice stopped 
them in their tracks. "Where the hell do you think you're going?!"
	A large hand grabbed Fox by the shoulder and roughly turned him around. 
Bill Mulder twisted his hand into his son's shirt and pulled him back 
into the house. David stood rooted to the ground, unable to move, and 
watched in horror as his friend was lifted off the floor and slammed 
into the wall.
	"I was going to David's hou-" Fox started.
	"Don't want to be in the same house with us, is that it?! Too good for 
your own family?" Mr. Mulder punctuated each question by repeatedly 
shoving Fox against the wall. "Let THEM take your sister because she 
wasn't worth the trouble? Or perhaps YOU made sure she wouldn't be any 
trouble and take up any of your precious time?!"
	Bill dropped his son to his feet and towered over him, his fists 
clenched at his sides. "You don't deserve to be part of this family!" 
His hand swung through the air to connect with Fox's face, sending the 
boy across the room to land in a heap on the floor. The raging man 
crossed the distance between him and his child in a few steps. "It 
should have been you!" Mr. Mulder kicked Fox in the ribs with all his 
might and the sound of Fox's cry of pain jarred David out of his stupor.
	"Mr. Mulder, uh, sir..." he squeaked.
	Bill Mulder whirled around and advanced threateningly. "This is none of 
your God damned business! You better get out of my sight before I teach 
you some manners!"
	David glanced over at Fox's inanimate form one last time before turning 
and running as fast as he could from that house. The sound of Mr. 
Mulder's yelling echoed in his ears.
	He was so scared when he finally reached his house that he was 
trembling. His mother made him sit down and
asked him what happened but he was too shaken up to talk. Later that 
evening he was finally able to blurt out what he had witnessed, sure 
that his parents could do something.
	His mother sat down next to him on his bed. "I'm sure that Mrs. Mulder 
will report it to the authorities. Besides, it's not really any of our 
business. Try to get some sleep and we'll see how you feel tomorrow."
	David was shocked at first and angry that his parents were so callous. 
As an adult he would come to recognize their attitude as the classic 
'Denial of bad things close to home' that pervaded the Vineyard at the 
time.
        The next day David slept late, tired out from being kept up all 
night by vivid nightmares. He spent his last day of summer vacation 
getting ready for school and praying that Fox would be there.         
When school began the day after, David sat in his first period class, 
his teacher called roll and then read the daily bulletin. She finished 
the last announcement and hushed the class once more before speaking 
again. 
        "Even though this is the first day of class I'm sure that you 
all know each other. The Vineyard is like an extended family and when 
one of the family is sick everyone cares. Yesterday Fox Mulder was in a 
serious car accident and he is now in critical condition at the 
hospital. I'm sure everyone will stop by as soon as visitors are allowed 
to wish him a swift recovery. And now our first assignment..."
	The class erupted into conversation and rumors began to fly.         
"Foxy is probably just too afraid to show up."
	"Yeah, boy genius can't handle peer pressure."
	"The little freak is smart enough to graduate now, they should just 
pass him so he has a diploma before he dies."
	"He deserves it. I heard he strangled his sister and buried her in the 
backyard."
	And in the corner a boy sat quietly as a tear rolled down his cheek. He 
knew that a car crash hadn't put Fox in the hospital, it was something 
David feared more than anything -  the devil. He closed his eyes and 
offered up a prayer for his teammate, his tutor, his friend.