Mulder was also abducted by the aliens himself in 2000, and returned to Earth, almost dead, a few months later. He had been infected by an alien virus (for the second time), but Scully found a way to rescue him. After Mulder returned home to his apartment, an application was submitted to the FBI for his reinstatement to the X-Files but this was declined by Deputy Director Alvin Kersh, who had been promoted in charge of the X-Files shortly after Mulder had been abducted. He returned to work for a brief period of time, but was eventually fired for failure to follow orders not to investigate any X-Files. After Scully gave birth to William, Mulder went into hiding in New Mexico after Kersh said his life was in danger.