So far, Scully dumped Mulder and went to Doggett, taking William
with her. Mulder came to ask why she left him and Scully gave
him many reasons. She also renamed William as "Walter Jonathan,"
to Mulder's dismay. Scully once again rejected Mulder, and
later informed him that she had married Doggett. Is this story
a shippers' nightmare or what? ;)

***

It was true. Scully had married Doggett. Mulder let the harsh
reality sink in and then he went on the hunt for the best custody
lawyer money could hire. If he couldn't convince Scully that she
had made a horribly wrong decision, he had to at least try to save
his son. In the process, perhaps Scully would come around.

His preliminary meeting with Ms. Jones, a highly recommended
attorney, went smoothly. However, in the second meeting, Mulder
quickly discovered that no matter what aspect of the case Ms. Jones
brought up, he stood at a distinct disadvantage as compared to
the newly married couple of Doggett and Scully.

Ms. Jones looked as discouraged as he felt, yet she managed to
inject false brightness into her voice as she suggested, "Why don't
we try to compile a list of character witnesses? Which of your
acquaintances do you think would be most suitable?"

"Uh. . ." Mulder thought hard. He had accumulated a large circle of
acquaintances, but he'd hardly call most of them friendly.
"Maybe. . . I don't know, I guess Frohike, Byers, and Langly. There's
just one little problem. These guys are computer hackers who have a
profound distrust of our government."

Ms. Jones, who had gamely if inaccurately jotted "Frohickey" on her
notepad, promptly scratched out the name. "I hope these men aren't
your first choice."

"Oh, no," Mulder assured her. "The fact is, they're my only choice."

"I see." Ms. Jones was beginning to sound desperate, as if she really
*did* see. "Can *anyone* put in a good word for you? What about your
former boss?"

"If you mean Kersh, he's the one who fired me. If you mean Skinner,
he's the one I assaulted in front of witnesses several years ago
while I was under the influence of LSD. The good thing is, by
rights, neither of them should be much more positive about Scully.
And come to think of it, Scully has even fewer friends than I do.
Make that none. She says several women attended her baby shower,
but she didn't know their names. Her mother must have paid them to
show up and be friendly for that one occasion."

"Hmmm." Ms. Jones rustled through a pile of papers. "Actually,
according to my research, the person you should be concerned about
is Mr. Doggett. He's such a stand-up individual that even his
ex-wife Caroline and his former in-laws are willing to appear on his
behalf. Not that they'll be needed -- the man has no shortage of
character witnesses. You're looking at a steep uphill battle. Are
you positive you want to proceed with this action?"

Images drifted through Mulder's mind: Scully pulling away from his
kiss, Doggett's triumphant expression, his first glimpse of
William's face. "Yes, I'm positive," he declared. "Because if I
*don't* do something, my son's going to grow up dropping his g's
and saying 'libarry' and 'Mulduh'."

***

In the last chapter, Mulder comes to a stunning conclusion about
Scully. Read on.