Title: Mulder Gets a Tattoo  Author: Soleil Compeau
Summary: His reaction to the adoption
Rating: PG
Category/Keywords: Vignette, MulderAngst
Spoilers: William
Author's Notes: Those of you who know the story behind DD's West tattoo
will not that Mulder's tattoo is in the same place, and for much the same
reason...
Dedication: To my three rambunctious sons, who I would not trade for all
the peaceful, quiet times in the world.




The needle lowered, then pricked his skin deep, filling that part of
his body with ink. Mulder winced and grimaced slightly. The physical
discomfort was a small price to pay for the pain in his heart.

The tall, heavily muscled tattoo artist paid no attention to his
customer's small jerk. He went with the motion fluidly, never breaking
stride from his motions. As he marked the skin in blue cursive with a
flourish, he casually spoke.

"You mind if I ask who 'William' is? He your boyfriend?"

Mulder smiled gently. He wasn't offended, it was an easy assumption to
make.

"No. William's my son."

The tattoo artist glanced at the client briefly, then went back to his
needling.

"I've only seen him once. I held him when he was a day old." Mulder
closed his eyes and relived the joy of that moment: the tiny weight in
his arms, the sweet newborn smell. *His son.*

"So...you're one of those Deadbeat Dads?" There was no censure in his
voice, he was just curious.

Mulder felt another pang at the easy accusation. He spoke now more to
defend his own heart's insults than this man's innocent remark.

"I guess so." He was quiet for a moment as the tattooing went on,
organizing his thoughts.

"I left after only a few days. I didn't want to go, but there were men
after me, powerful men who wanted me dead."

On behalf of alien entities, he nearly added. But he had seen the
man's incredulous look, and he wasn't drunk enough to blurt *that*
out. Not yet.

"I didn't want to go," he repeated dully.  His soul cried in anguish.

Mulder relished the torment of the needle. It was what he deserved,
not to mention a fitting memorial for his only child. He had only
agreed to leave in order to thwart those who would see him dead. He'd
wanted to trick his enemies. Instead, his "quest" to "save" Scully and
William - like his other two great quests - had reached an
anticlimactic ending.

The burly needle man kept glancing at Mulder as he prepared the black
ink, indicating his willingness to listen. "Must have been hard for
her, raising a child alone," he prodded gently when the moody man
showed no sign of continuing.

"It was so hard for her that she gave him up for adoption nine months
after he was born." Mulder could *not* keep the bitterness from his
voice.

When he finally returned home and found William gone, he'd wanted to
rail and scream at Scully.