'William' Story Code '#9X17' by Chris Carter

SCENE 1 - VAN DE KAMP HOUSE

(The Wyoming flag is waving in the sun. We see inside a house where a man is painting a carved buffalo. His wife is sweeping)

MISTER VAN DE KAMP:
Easy there, hon. You're cleaning so hard I'm afraid you're going to stick the dog in the dishwasher.

(He gets up and goes over to his wife)

MISTER VAN DE KAMP:
Hey. Come on, now. Quit it. This is what we dreamed about. What we prayed for

MISSUS VAN DE KAMP:
I know. I'm sorry. I just can't stop wondering why. Why give up a child? Give it up to strangers?

MISTER VAN DE KAMP:
God has his reasons and his ways.

(They kiss. Two social workers drive up and get out of the car, one holding a folder; the other a baby)

SOCIAL WORKER 1:
Mister and Missus Van de Kamp. Hi. This was so hard to find. I'm so sorry but there's a page here that didn't get signed. If I can just get you to do that now. Here we go. Okay. Right there.

SOCIAL WORKER:
Thanks.

MISSUS VAN DE KAMP:
I keep asking myself a question. I know there's been a medical exam... but are you sure he's okay?

MISTER VAN DE KAMP:
Now, honey.

MISSUS VAN DE KAMP:
Why would the mother give him up?

SOCIAL WORKER 1:
You should understand... this was a life choice by a single mother and a terribly difficult decision for her. But I can say it was only for the good of the child.

(The baby is passed over to it's new parents)

SOCIAL WORKER:
I want you to meet William.


OPENING TITLES


SCENE 2 - GEORGETOWN, 10:55 PM

[ONE WEEK EARLIER]

(SCULLY drives up to her apartment building, singing to WILLIAM who is in the back of the car)

SCULLY:
(Singing) William was a bullfrog... was a good friend of mine... never understood a single word he said...

(SCULLY climbs out of the car, a figure watches her from across the street, breathing erratically)

SCULLY:
...and it must have been some mighty fine wine... joy to the world. All the boys and girls. Joy to the fishes...

(SCULLY gets WILLIAM out of the car. She turns when she hears a clattering but it seems to have just been something passing by) SCULLY

(singing) ...in the deep blue sea. Joy to you and me. If I were the king of the world, I tell you what I'd do...

(The figure watches as SCULLY enters her apartment)


SCENE 3 - FBI HEADQUARTERS, 11:21 PM

(DOGGETT is working late. Reading, and doing push-ups)

DOGGETT:
1,492... 1,493... 20.

(DOGGETT collapses on the floor, very tired. He looks at his watch)

DOGGETT:
They don't pay me enough.

(DOGGETT turns off the lights and exits, unrolling his shirt sleeves and relaxing as he moves towards the elevator. A figure moves into the office and closes the door, pulling out a flashlight and going through files. DOGGETT meanwhile realises he's forgotten something and climbs back into the elevator. He opens the office door, without turning on the lights and he reaches down to pick up the file he was reading. Behind him, the figure moves closer and hits DOGGETT, who falls to the floor. DOGGETT gives chase as the figure runs down the hallway and up the stairs)

DOGGETT:
Right there! Hands in the air!

(The figure stops)

DOGGETT:
Turn around and step forward.

(He does so. We can't see his face, as it is in shadows)

DOGGETT:
Step forward.

(The man slowly moves down. DOGGETT has his gun on him)

DOGGETT:
Let's go, tough guy! All the way down!

(DOGGETT, but not us, sees the man's face and looks surprised)


SCENE 4 - FBI BUILDING, 2:02 AM

(SCULLY rushes in. She has obviously just got called in. She fixes her pants, where the cuff is stuck in the boot and enters an observation room. REYES is watching DOGGETT interrogate the man)

SCULLY:
Agent Reyes.

REYES:
Agent Scully.

SCULLY:
Do we know who he is?

REYES:
He says his name is Miller but he has no identification on him. Beyond that, we don't know a lot.

SCULLY:
Why are the lights off?

REYES:
He wouldn't speak with them on.

SCULLY:
What do you mean?

REYES:
If you saw him in the light, you'd understand. Something's wrong with his face. He's been severely burned by fire or maybe acid.

SCULLY:
And he says he knows me?

REYES:
And that he's afraid. A victim of what he calls the alien conspiracy.

(Inside DOGGETT is waiting with the man known as THE BREATHER)

DOGGETT:
You won't talk to me. You going to talk to her, Mister Miller?

THE BREATHER:
If she'll help me and protect me.

(His face is covered with scars, as REYES has mentioned)

DOGGETT:
You better hope she's feeling more charitable than I am, partner.

(SCULLY walks in)

DOGGETT:
Agent Scully. He's under arrest for assaulting a federal officer. I've explained to him the penalties but he still refuses a lawyer.

SCULLY:
How did he get in the building?

DOGGETT:
We found a card key on him. Says it was given to him by Fox Mulder.

(SCULLY is clearly shocked. She is now clearly more interested. SCULLY begins to look at the man, trying to place him)

SCULLY:
His name is Miller?

DOGGETT:
Daniel Miller of Fredericksburg. He gave us an address but we're still working on the confirmation.

SCULLY:
What are you doing here?

THE BREATHER:
I came here to find answers.

(He seems to find it easy to speak to SCULLY, like he knows her)

SCULLY:
Answers to what?

THE BREATHER:
To this. What they did to me.

(THE BREATHER gestures at his own face)

SCULLY:
From your scarring, it appears that you've been burned. Are you claiming that someone burned you and that there is evidence here to incriminate them?

THE BREATHER:
According to Fox Mulder, the men who did this are part of a government conspiracy.

(SCULLY moves to the seat opposite him)

SCULLY:
Go on.

THE BREATHER:
You know who these men are.

SCULLY:
Did Mulder tell you that, too?

(THE BREATHER doesn't speak)

SCULLY:
When?

THE BREATHER:
If I were to tell you that, you might use the information to find him. Mulder doesn't want to be found.

DOGGETT:
When I searched him I found those X-Files stuffed inside his clothes.

(SCULLY pulls out a photograph of MULDER and SAMANTHA MULDER)

DOGGETT:
You know who that is?

SCULLY:
That's his sister.

DOGGETT:
Whose?

THE BREATHER:
Mulder's. She was abducted from her home when she was a little girl - part of this same government conspiracy.

SCULLY:
You seem to know a lot, Mister Miller. It gives an impression either that you are telling the truth or you just want us to believe that you are.

THE BREATHER:
If I thought you'd believe me, I wouldn't have snuck in here.

SCULLY:
Agent Doggett. Would you please arrange the transfer of this man to Quantico? I'd like to personally examine his injuries.


SCENE 5 - QUANTICO, EXAMINING TABLE

(THE BREATHER is lying naked on an examining table covered in scars. SCULLY begins removing latex from THE BREATHER's body. REYES is watching)

SCULLY:
from the tissue quality, the scarring is fairly recent ...the extent of it severe but it's not from burning or chemicals.

THE BREATHER:
No.

SCULLY:
What is it, then?

REYES:
Mister Miller?

THE BREATHER:
I was injected.

(THE BREATHER turns to look at SCULLY. We see a flashback of a man strapped down in a chair and people in lab coats surrounding him. Someone inserts a hypodermic needle into his neck and he begins writhing in pain)

SCULLY:
Injected with what?

THE BREATHER:
I don't know. It burned. Throughout my whole body inside and out.

(We see another flashback of the same incident. THE BREATHER stops talking, he doesn't want to remember anymore. DOGGETT enters)

DOGGETT:
Agent Scully, Agent Reyes. I need to speak to you.

(REYES moves out. SCULLY places a hand on THE BREATHER's shoulder and then follows outside)

SCULLY:
What is it, Agent Doggett?

DOGGETT:
I've been out running this man's supposed I.D. There's seven Daniel Millers in Fredericksburg but I can tell you, he isn't one of them.

REYES:
Then who is he?

DOGGETT:
I got an idea but you're not going to believe it.

SCULLY:
Well, who is he?

DOGGETT:
You asked him how he got in the FBI - how he knows what he knows.

SCULLY:
He said that he contacted Agent Mulder - that Mulder told him...

DOGGETT:
I don't think so. I don't think Mulder told him anything. I think that how he got in here and the reason he knows what he knows is because that man in there is Mulder.

(SCULLY laughs - perhaps she thinks it's ridiculous, perhaps she doesn't want to believe)

SCULLY:
That's ridiculous. It's absurd.

DOGGETT:
Is it? What is true and what we want to be true aren't always the same.

SCULLY:
I'm telling you, that's not Mulder.

DOGGETT:
I hope you prove me wrong.


SCENE 6 - QUANTICO EXAMINING TABLE

(THE BREATHER is being injected. He has another flashback as the scarred man thrashes from side to side. A man in a white coat with a black mask seems to be the leader. He removes his mask but we don't get to see who it is as we return to the present. SCULLY is holding a needle, and she has just removed some of THE BREATHER's blood)

SCULLY:
Can you open your mouth, sir? I need to look at your dental work.

THE BREATHER:
You're not going to tell me I need braces, are you?

(THE BREATHER laughs a little bit. SCULLY doesn't - she seems a bit worried now that it could be MULDER. SCULLY flashes a light inside the mouth of the BREATHER and then the eyes)

SCULLY:
Now your eyes.

THE BREATHER:
Are you going to help me?

SCULLY:
I don't know how I can.

THE BREATHER:
Help me make them pay for this.

SCULLY:
You, uh... refer to them as if I know them or know where they are.

THE BREATHER:
They did terrible things to you, too, when you were abducted.

(SCULLY is a bit distressed - she is worried that she knows this man, and that he could really be Mulder. She composes herself and acts professionally once more)

SCULLY:
Sir, you've given us a false name. We know that your name is not Daniel Miller.

THE BREATHER:
No, it's not.

SCULLY:
What is it?

THE BREATHER:
I can't say.

SCULLY:
Why lie to us, if you want us to help you?

THE BREATHER:
Because there are people working here at the FBI who would kill me if they knew I was being held here. The same people who would kill Mulder.

SCULLY:
You can put your clothes back on.

THE BREATHER:
I'm asking for your help. But I might be able to help you.

SCULLY:
How can you help me?

THE BREATHER:
You're looking for answers, too.

(SCULLY has a flashback of MULDER saying "We're both looking for answers". She heads quickly out to where DOGGETT and REYES are waiting)

SCULLY:
It's not him. It's not Mulder.

DOGGETT:
You're absolutely sure of that?

SCULLY:
Yes. And so will we all be once you bring me back his DNA tests.

(SCULLY hands the syringe to DOGGETT)

REYES:
What do we do with him now?

SCULLY:
Well, admittedly he's lying about who he is but the danger to him may be real. I think we need to figure out what it is that he wants and then see if he lies about that, too.

DOGGETT:
How are we going to do that?

SCULLY:
Well, first, I think we need to quietly get him back to D.C. To FBI headquarters.


SCENE 7 - X-FILES OFFICE

(SCULLY, REYES and THE BREATHER are inside - the BREATHER is looking around, reminiscing about the office that he once knew)

SCULLY:
You came here looking for something. What is it that you hope to find?

THE BREATHER:
I didn't find it.

REYES:
You stole several files pertaining to the 1973 abduction of Mulder's sister. But yet you say there's danger to your life right now.

THE BREATHER:
The conspiracy to keep the truth about aliens from the American public all but destroyed a few years ago has given rise to a new conspiracy in the government now by men who are alien themselves.

SCULLY:
And what does this have to do with you?

(THE BREATHER is going through files now)

THE BREATHER:
What you can see they did to me was a failed attempt to turn me into one of these alien men. I was a guinea pig - a test subject. And now I want to expose their evil plans.

REYES:
What plans are those?

THE BREATHER:
To do this to you... to everyone. Mulder said there were files here - cases like mine. He gave me names and case numbers but I don't see them. They're not here. Someone's already removed them.

SCULLY:
Yes.

REYES:
Who?


SCENE 8 - SCULLY'S APARTMENT

(SCULLY digs through a closet and pulls out a box. THE BREATHER is in her bedroom and they look inside)

SCULLY:
This is what you're looking for.

THE BREATHER:
You trust me? Thank you.

(SCULLY leaves, and walks out to where REYES is. REYES is worried about what SCULLY is doing)

REYES:
What are you doing?

SCULLY:
Proving Agent Doggett wrong. That that's not Mulder in there.

REYES:
How? I don't understand.

SCULLY:
Mulder and I agreed to take those files out of the X-Files office and leave them here for safekeeping. Mulder would have known where they were. And that man in there didn't.

(WILLIAM is crying. The women move to check on him and SCULLY notices THE BREATHER is no longer where he was before. They run to WILLIAM's room ,THE BREATHER is standing over the crib)

SCULLY:
What are you doing?!

(SCULLY pushes THE BREATHER away from WILLIAM)

SCULLY:
Get away from the crib!

THE BREATHER:
The baby was crying...

SCULLY:
It's none of your business!

THE BREATHER:
I'm sorry. I'd heard so much about William. Mulder told me how he missed him.

SCULLY:
Well, if that's true, then where the hell is he?

(THE BREATHER looks at her, wanting to tell her but knowing it can't be done)

SCULLY:
Just tell me where he is!

THE BREATHER:
You don't want to know.

SCULLY:
I have to know.

THE BREATHER:
He's in pain. Terrible pain.

SCULLY:
Then let me go to him.

THE BREATHER:
There's nothing you can do.

SCULLY:
That's not for you to decide.

THE BREATHER:
You know as well as I that's Mulder's decision. I... he begged me to honor it. For your safety... and William's.

REYES:
Here, Dana, let me take him for you.

THE BREATHER:
No.

(He holds out his arms for the baby, who is no longer crying)

THE BREATHER:
Please. May I? I want to hold him.

REYES:
Mister Miller ...

THE BREATHER:
No, it's important I do this. I want to hold him for Mulder.

(SCULLY gives WILLIAM to him. Is she worried it is MULDER? Or is she just being too trustworthy? THE BREATHER starts crying)

THE BREATHER:
He's so beautiful.


SCENE 9 - AD SKINNER'S OFFICE

(DOGGETT enters SKINNER's office, SKINNER is inside at his desk)

DOGGETT:
Assistant Director. You said you've spoken to the lab.

SKINNER:
I got some advance info on the exam that Scully performed on the man.

DOGGETT:
What?

SKINNER:
The blood type matches Mulder's but there are aspects of the physiology that aren't a match.

DOGGETT:
Such as?

SKINNER:
Well, the body mass, of course. He's shorter and weighs considerably less than Mulder did.

DOGGETT:
You haven't seen this guy - what they've done to him. They way he's twisted, he's like an old man. He could be a hundred years old.

SKINNER:
I'm just relaying the facts. And the fact is he's not a hundred years old, is he? Not the way he attacked you.

SKINNER:
Well, whoever he is, he wants something.

DOGGETT:
He says he wants revenge against the people that burned him. And Mulder directed him to the place where he could find the files and the people who did it.

SKINNER:
That doesn't make any sense. Mulder knows those files inside out. Why would he direct him? Why not just tell him?

(DOGGETT agrees with him. The phone rings and SKINNER answers it)

SKINNER:
Skinner. Yeah. You're sure about that? All right.

(SKINNER hangs up)

DOGGETT:
What?

SKINNER:
That was the lab. They were able to rush the PCR test and they came up with a definitive DNA result.

DOGGETT:
What is it?

SKINNER:
Where is this man right now?


SCENE 10 - SCULLY'S APARTMENT

(THE BREATHER is sitting on the bed, reading the files. SCULLY is watching him from the doorway)

SCULLY:
It's all been a good act.

THE BREATHER:
I don't know what you mean.

(SCULLY enters and closes the door behind her)

SCULLY:
I think you do. You knew those files were here. You just pretended not to know.

THE BREATHER:
No.

SCULLY:
I want the truth from you.

THE BREATHER:
What truth?

SCULLY:
The truth that you won't speak.

THE BREATHER:
I want the same truth you do.

(SCULLY, anxious, resorts to begging)

SCULLY:
Don't do this to me. Not you.

THE BREATHER:
I didn't come here to upset you. I didn't plan on being caught. I know you must have a hard life living alone raising a son not knowing whether you'll see Mulder again.

SCULLY:
How do you know my life?

THE BREATHER:
I know what Mulder knows. I know they used you to create the child. I know they continue to use you to take care of it and raise it.

SCULLY:
What are you saying?

THE BREATHER:
You know what I'm saying. Your son - your child is part alien.

SCULLY:
Just tell me who you are. Come on, just say your name. Say it! Just say it!

(REYES enters)

REYES:
Agent Scully...

(SCULLY is clearly annoyed at REYES' presence)

SCULLY:
Could you please leave? And close the door?

(However REYES turns to THE BREATHER, with her own ideas)

REYES:
Can you step out, please?

SCULLY:
This was a private conversation.

REYES:
I understand. I'm sorry.

(THE BREATHER gets up and leaves)

SCULLY:
Do you know who that man is?

REYES:
Yes, I do.

DOGGETT:
Agent Scully...

(DOGGETT comes in also, and closes the door)

SCULLY:
What is this? What?

DOGGETT:
We got DNA results. A positive ID.

SCULLY:
It's not him. He wouldn't say these things.

DOGGETT:
The DNA's a match to Fox Mulder's.

(SCULLY, however, refuses to believe. She knows MULDER inside out)

SCULLY:
It's not him.

(Outside the door, THE BREATHER listens quietly to the conversation)


SCENE 11 - SCULLY'S APARTMENT

(Later, SCULLY sits on her bed, contemplating what happens next. DOGGETT and REYES are near the door)

DOGGETT:
Can we get you anything?

SCULLY:
No, thank you. I just need a minute.

(SCULLY leaves the room and enters her own bedroom. DOGGETT and REYES walk into the living room, but THE BREATHER is nowhere to be found)

DOGGETT:
Where'd he go?

REYES:
I don't know. I'll go check the nursery.

(The front door is slightly ajar. DOGGETT looks out into the hallway and runs out)

DOGGETT:
Monica, stay with Scully!


SCENE 12 - OUTSIDE SCULLY'S APARTMENT, GEORGETOWN

(DOGGETT runs out to the street where he calls out to THE BREATHER. He keeps running, through the alleyways, DOGGETT pursuing him. THE BREATHER keeps going, desperately trying to lose him but DOGGETT is getting closer. THE BREATHER turns into an alleyway and DOGGETT loses him. But there is no exit. DOGGETT moves slowly in there, THE BREATHER makes a run for it thinking he is safe, but DOGGETT catches him and tackles him)

DOGGETT:
No more running, Mulder. We're going to protect you now.


SCENE 13 - SCULLY'S APARTMENT

(REYES is holding a bottle of pills, she walks past SCULLY to where THE BREATHER is)

REYES:
Give him some time.

(REYES gives THE BREATHER some pills and DOGGETT gives him water)

DOGGETT:
You're going to live, buddy.

THE BREATHER:
Think that's going to scar?

REYES:
We're going to talk, but first you're going to get some sleep.

(THE BREATHER takes the pills and the water. SCULLY walks away as THE BREATHER lies down. DOGGETT and REYES wait a moment before following. SCULLY has seated herself on the sofa and REYES sits next to her. DOGGETT stands watching them)

SCULLY:
So, what now?

REYES:
What do you mean?

SCULLY:
What do you want to do?

DOGGETT:
Keep it a secret, for starters.

SCULLY:
Well, that's not going to be hard. Nobody's ever going to believe that that's Mulder.

REYES:
Somebody did this to him. Whoever that is is going to know it's him. I mean, that's what he's afraid of.

SCULLY:
If he's so afraid, then why did he run?

DOGGETT:
You still don't believe it's him.

SCULLY:
You know a person in so many ways. Ways that a test can't even begin to know.

DOGGETT:
Look, I'll be happy to run his DNA again for you but I don't have to tell you what a long shot it is. I mean, it came up a perfect match.

REYES:
You asked why he'd run. Stop and think how hard this is for him. I mean, the way he looks.

SCULLY:
If that was Mulder, I wouldn't care.

REYES:
But he cares. He has to.

DOGGETT:
Maybe he's ashamed.

(DOGGETT moves to sit next to REYES. SCULLY is determined to believe it is someone else but DOGGETT is sure it is MULDER. REYES seems to be neutral)

DOGGETT:
Not just the way he looks but you let him go to protect him only he couldn't protect himself.

SCULLY:
You believe that?

DOGGETT:
I don't know. We'll have a better sense when he wakes up.

(The three sit there. Meanwhile, THE BREATHER, coughs out the sleeping pills which he didn't really swallow and moves out of the bedroom, behind SCULLY and into WILLIAM's nursery where the little boy lies awake. THE BREATHER takes out a pouch containing a needle and fills the syringe with a liquid. He then removes WILLIAM's pacifier and puts another substance on the boy's mouth. THE BREATHER then takes the syringe and prepares to inject WILLIAM. From the living room, the agents hear WILLIAM's crying. SCULLY gets up and goes quickly to the nursery where WILLIAM is now sitting up, crying. She picks him up, as REYES appears behind her)

SCULLY:
It's okay.

REYES:
Is he okay?

(DOGGETT enters THE BREATHER's room, it looks like he is asleep and DOGGETT moves back out but THE BREATHER is only pretending)

SCULLY:
Oh, my god, there's blood! Oh, my god!

REYES:
There's blood on the sheets.

(DOGGETT rushes in the doorway)

SCULLY:
What'd he do? What'd he do to him?!

(SCULLY, holding WILLIAM tight, looks up at DOGGETT, fear in her eyes)


SCENE 14 - THE E.R.

(SCULLY and REYES rush into the emergency room. SCULLY is holding WILLIAM. DOCTOR NEWMAN approaches)

SCULLY:
Where's Doctor Edwards?

DOCTOR NEWMAN:
I'm Doctor Newman. I'm going to take your baby.

SCULLY:
He's been injected with something.

DOCTOR NEWMAN:
Take him to trauma.

(A NURSE checks the baby)

NURSE:
Airways are open. Lungs are clear. Heart rate slightly elevated. Skin is warm. Nondiaphoretic.

REYES:
I spoke to another doctor, a woman - Doctor Edwards.

DOCTOR WHITNEY EDWARDS:
I'm Whitney Edwards. Agent Reyes?

REYES:
Yes. This is Dana Scully.

DOCTOR WHITNEY EDWARDS:
Do we have any idea what he's been injected with?

SCULLY:
I've no idea. I don't know. I don't know.

DOCTOR WHITNEY EDWARDS:
We're going to run some tests ...

SCULLY:
I'm a medical doctor, okay? Can I ...

DOCTOR WHITNEY EDWARDS:
Good. Then you know what this is all about. You just need to sit tight for me and let us do our job.

(The doctors work on WILLIAM and SCULLY and REYES watch, worried for his safety)


SCENE 15 - SCULLY'S APARTMENT

(DOGGETT slams THE BREATHER up against a wall)

DOGGETT:
What'd you do to him?! What'd you do?!

(DOGGETT does a quick search of THE BREATHER)

DOGGETT:
Where'd you put it?

(DOGGETT pulls off the pillows, sheets and mattresses and discovers the instruments THE BREATHER used)

DOGGETT:
Is this it?

(DOGGETT holds the syringe in front of THE BREATHER's face)

DOGGETT:
Is this what you used? Answer me!

THE BREATHER:
Yes.

(DOGGETT removes the cap from the needle and uses it to threaten THE BREATHER)

DOGGETT:
Anything happens to that kid I'm going to take you out personally. I don't care who the hell you are.


SCENE 16 - THE HOSPITAL

(SCULLY and REYES are anxiously waiting in the hospital, SCULLY holding WILLIAM's little hat)

REYES:
Here she comes.

(They stand as DOCTOR EDWARDS approach)

SCULLY:
How is he? Is he all right?

DOCTOR WHITNEY EDWARDS:
He's good. He's doing fine.

SCULLY :
Oh, god.

REYES:
Well, can she see him?

DOCTOR WHITNEY EDWARDS:
We have him in step down right now as a precaution but I think he'll be going home in no time.

SCULLY:
What did you find?

DOCTOR WHITNEY EDWARDS:
Nothing.

(SCULLY goes quiet, trying to figure out not only who THE BREATHER is but what was injected into her son. REYES takes over, suspicious)

REYES:
How could you find nothing? There would have to be something.

DOCTOR WHITNEY EDWARDS:
There's some slight bruising on the head where something clearly broke the skin, but... he's fine.

REYES:
What about a tox screen?

DOCTOR WHITNEY EDWARDS:
There's an elevated amount of iron in his blood but other than that, your son is completely normal.

(SCULLY understands what happened now. A look of realisation crosses her face)

REYES:
That doesn't make sense.

SCULLY:
No... I think it does. It makes perfect sense now.


SCENE 17 - INTERROGATION ROOM

(THE BREATHER sits in an interrogation room, calmer now that he has achieved what he came here for. SCULLY enters, she now knows who this man is…)

SCULLY:
I have seen my share of the hideous of the disgusting and the repellent, but you, sir, are the most perfect expression I will ever see of all that is vile and hateful in life.

THE BREATHER:
That may well be, but for a moment, you believed it - that I was him

SCULLY:
I never believed it.

THE BREATHER:
You wanted to believe.

SCULLY:
You are as false as your face.

(THE BREATHER looks into the two-way mirror. On the other side, SKINNER and DOGGETT watch the proceedings)

SCULLY:
I bet you wish night and day that that bullet that was meant to kill you had succeeded.

SKINNER:
I don't believe this.

DOGGETT:
What?

SKINNER:
Who this is.

JEFFREY SPENDER:
You're wrong about that. When I look in the mirror I see something much different than the world sees. He could destroy my face and my dignity when he shot me in that office but he couldn't destroy the one thing I love most - my hatred of him.

SCULLY:
Your cigarette-smoking, son of a bitch of a father.

JEFFREY SPENDER:
And Mulder's.

(SCULLY isn't surprised and neither are a lot of the viewers, it is true that MULDER is the half-brother of JEFFREY SPENDER)

SCULLY:
You counted on the DNA... that we'd buy it without question and not look any further. DNA's what Mulder shared with Jeffrey Spender.

JEFFREY SPENDER:
Half brothers raised apart - that's about all that Mulder and I ever shared.

SCULLY:
You haven't seen Mulder, have you? You haven't even talked to him. So, getting caught at the FBI... winning our trust was all towards one thing. It was only to get to William.

JEFFREY SPENDER:
Sitting here, you'd wish me dead. Shortly, I'll do you the favor.

(SCULLY pulls out the bottle of fluid which was injected into WILLIAM)

SCULLY:
I had this checked. It's an unknown metal that you injected into my son.

JEFFREY SPENDER:
It's a form of magnetite. A gift.

SCULLY:
"A gift"?

JEFFREY SPENDER:
Having failed as a conspirator to control alien colonisation, my father wanted nothing more than to see the world fail, too.

SCULLY:
So, what, you've prevented it now? You've... prevented alien colonisation by injecting this metal into my son?

JEFFREY SPENDER:
Your son is the one thing the aliens need. I took revenge on my father by taking William away from them.

SCULLY:
So, he's all right now? I mean, just like that?

(SPENDER nods)

SCULLY:
So, it's over. They'll let him be.

(SCULLY's relief lasts five seconds before SPENDER shatters it again)

JEFFREY SPENDER:
It'll never be over. They'll always know what he was. They'll never accept what he is.

SCULLY:
Well, I can protect him.

JEFFREY SPENDER:
And if you can't? Look at me... what they did. Is this what you want for your son?

(SCULLY is almost crying as she realises the next step in protecting WILLIAM)


SCENE 18 - SCULLY’S APARTMENT

(SCULLY is watching WILLIAM in his bassinet, with the mobile hanging above him. REYES appears in the doorway)

REYES:
Dana... the room's all fresh for you. I threw out all the old bedding and bought some brand-new stuff, okay?

SCULLY:
Thank you.

REYES:
I know it's impossible to stop thinking about what he said about William... but it's all lies, Dana and you were the one who proved it.

SCULLY:
And how should I prove it now? By insisting that I can protect him... only to learn too late that I can't?

REYES:
You say it as if you have a choice.

SCULLY:
He didn't have a choice to come into this life. I don't have a choice about what he is or was... but I do have a choice about the life my son will have ...

(SCULLY looks down at her son, knowing the heart-breaking decision she is about to make)

SCULLY:
And shouldn't I choose that he never have to be afraid of anyone or anything? And can I ever really even promise him that?

REYES:
But who can?

(SCULLY taps WILLIAM's mobile and breaks down crying)


SCENE 19 - VAN DE KAMP HOUSE

(We are back at the house we saw in the beginning. "Michael, Row The Boat Ashore" plays as MR VAN DE KAMP sits at his desk working. MRS VAN DE KAMP is carrying WILLIAM, their new son into the nursery. The walls are covered with clouds and WILLIAM is wearing UFO pyjamas. )

MISTER VAN DE KAMP:
Look what I got. Big buffalo.

(MR VAN DE KAMP brings in a mobile he made with four white buffalo on it. He shows his family what they've done. He jiggles it in front of WILLIAM and they share a moment, laughing with their new baby son - who SCULLY may never see again. MR VAN DE KAMP hangs the mobile up above the crib as the proud parents put their son to sleep)

MISTER VAN DE KAMP:
Sweet dreams, baby boy.

(As they go to leave, they turn back - looking at WILLIAM before they turn the lights off. They leave and WILLIAM smiles at his mobile. He lifts his hand up closer to it, like we've seen him do before, but it doesn't move)

[THE END]



Gillian Anderson (Special Agent Dana Scully), Robert Patrick (Special Agent John Doggett), Mitch Pileggi (A.D Skinner), Annabeth Gish (Special Agent Monica Reyes), Chris Owens (Jeffrey Spender/The Breather), Annie Abbott (Older Social Worker), David Fabrizio (Physician), Dallas Munroe (ER Nurse), Shannon Hileer (Mrs Van De Kamp), Adam Nelson (Mr Van De Kamp), James Riker (William), Travis Riker (William), Dan Shor (E.R. Nurse), Cyd Strittmatter (Dr Whitney Edwards), Kiersten Van Horne (Young Social Worker)

Directed by David Duchovny

TX:
US TX - 28th April 2002

Notes:
*Featuring Special Special Agent Dana Scully, Special Agent John Doggett, Special Agent Monica Reyes and A.D. Walter Skinner

*The title refers to Scully’s baby