Plan in Motion

"Dana, I think its best that you stay here. Hopefully I won't be gone that long and this trip won't be any more eventful than I need it to be. If I get caught . . ."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Skinner said that the charges against you had been dropped since . . ."

Mulder zipped his bag. "Yeah, I know, but I could still be caught by someone who didn't get that memo. Or maybe Skinner was told one thing, hoping that he would pass it along to us. They could be waiting for us, Dana, and I don't want you to suffer through what anyone might have in store for us."

Dana opened her mouth to protest and closed it again. "Fine, whatever. I've got work to do here anyway."

He walked over and put his hands on her shoulders. Bending down just enough to look into her eyes, he met her gaze with his best 'I'm sorry but please trust me on this' look. "You aren't going to get mad at me are you? I promise to be back as soon as I can be. And I'll call every night."

What she didn't know was that he had been in contact with a local attorney who happened to have a friend in the states that specialized in adoption. He had been discussing the possibility of getting William back, provided Skinner had really found him. Both attorneys felt that Mulder had a solid case at best and at the least, an honest and heart wrenching plea to his son's adoptive parents.

Skinner had written a letter and mailed it to the school where Mulder was teaching stating he felt certain he had found the couple the had adopted William. In the letter, Skinner disclosed the location of a Wyoming farm house that belonged to a couple by the name Van de Kamp. This was the most solid lead Mulder had had since he began his search nearly three months ago and instinct told him to follow this one through. If his wife got upset with him, she would get over it when she found out why he had been so secretive.

"I guess you can't tell me where you're going?" She asked, trying to keep any emotion from her voice.

Mulder shook his head. "I wish I could. It's uh . . .personal." As soon as he finished speaking, he was sorry he had selected the word 'personal' from the long list of choices he had.

"Personal? It's personal! What the hell is that supposed to mean, Mulder?"

"Not the way it sounded." It wasn't a good defense, it wasn't even a bad defense. It was a horrible defense, but the only one he could come up with. Dana had been a little on edge lately and he seemed to have a bad habit of speaking before he thought things through completely. "I didn't mean personal like personal. I meant personal like something I'm not ready to tell you about just yet."

"Just promise you'll tell me before your divorce attorney does," she half teased.

Mulder shot her a wounded look, "it isn't anything like that. This is a good surprise, one I think you'll really love."

Mentally, he kicked himself for saying too much. He hadn't wanted to hint toward anything until he knew for sure he could contest the adoption or speak with the Van de Kamps. He grabbed his bag and moved back toward her. "Dana, I promise, I won't be gone one second longer than I have to be. I'll call you tomorrow evening." He kissed her and walked to the front door.

She stopped him and kissed him goodbye properly. "Not one second longer?"

"Nope. Shouldn't be any longer than a week or two. I need to be back before my next class starts up. I love you."

"Love you too. Be careful." Dana watched as he walked out the door and a few steps down the hall. "Are you sure you don't want me to drive you to the airport or bus station?"

"Yep, I'm sure. I'll take a cab. See you in a couple of weeks."

Somewhere in Wyoming

Two days later

Mulder thumbed through a magazine in the outer office of Attorney Larry J. Wolfe's office. The secretary got up from her seat, walked into Mr. Wolfe's office and returned a moment later. "Mr. Wolfe will see you now, sir."

He put the magazine back on the table in the exact same position he had found it. "Thanks," he commented as he stood and walked across the room, brushing past the woman as he stepped into Mr. Wolfe's office.

"Ah, Mr. Mulder, how nice to finally meet you. Please take a seat and we'll get right to work discussing your case." The man opened a file and skimmed over the top piece of paper. "I see here it says that your girlfriend gave your child up for adoption without ever telling you about the boy."

"Uh, no. More like I was . . . uhm . . . well, I had to go out of town for a long period of time. At the time I left, I didn't know my girlfriend was pregnant. Months later I came back to find her very pregnant, I stayed until a few days after our son was born and had to leave again as a matter of life and death. During the time I was gone, Dana was given reason to believe that William's life was in danger and that she had no other choice but to give him up for adoption."

The lawman rubbed his chin and made a sound akin to "mmm hmmm," then nodded. "Are you certain she didn't give the boy up as an act of revenge for leaving her?"

"Well, since she was the one who insisted I leave, yeah, I'm pretty sure. We work . . . worked for the FBI, a division called The X-Files, solving unexplainable, unsolved, and/or unsolvable cases. During our stint on the X-Files, we made several enemies. It should go without saying that when the afore mentioned enemies learned that Dana and I had a son, they went after William as an act of revenge." Mulder paused to go over his altered version of events, making sure they had drawn a very real, very believable picture.

"And you feel that your lives don't pose a threat to the safety of your son now?"

Mulder shook his head, "no, my wife and I live out of the country now, and have for some time. We both miss William terribly and having him back would make our life together complete."

Mr. Wolfe nodded. "Sounds like a good enough reason to me. Did Ms. Scully have any sort of power of attorney during your extended absence?"

"Yeah, sure, of course she did. But I don't think she used that with the adoption. To the best of my knowledge, she simply said she wasn't sure where I was or that I wasn't in the picture. Which was the truth either way. And since I wasn't dead, I'm not sure power of attorney would have held up in court."

"You ended up marrying Ms. Scully, correct?"

Mulder ran a hand across his chin. "Yeah. Listen, that isn't really the issue here. The point is, I want my son back. She wants our son back and I was told you might be able to help me. Now, if you can, that's great. If not, tell me now so I don't waste any more of your time."

Mr. Wolfe leaned back in his chair, "yeah, I can help you. First thing tomorrow morning I'm gonna call the Van de Kamps and set up a meeting. You and I will drive out there and talk to them at their convenience and if that doesn't work, we'll drag them to court."

"Not to seem ungrateful or anything, but . . . do you think you could set it up so they could meet me here in town . . . alone? I think pleading my case without any legal representation would be more effective."

"I'm not so sure about . . ."

Mulder stood from his seat, "if it looks like things aren't going to go my way, I'll give them overnight to think it over and ask them to meet with me again the following afternoon. That's where you'll come in." Mr. Wolfe sat in his seat, speechless and Mulder extended a hand. "I thought you'd see it my way. I'll be at my hotel all day tomorrow waiting for your call. If I haven't heard anything by . . . lets say eleven, I'll call you. Thank you for your time, Mr. Wolfe." Pleased with the lack of brute force he had had to use, Mulder turned and left the office, inwardly smirking. Dana would be so proud of me, he thought as he closed the outer office door behind him.

The Following Afternoon

Aunt Betty's Home Cookin' Café

Mulder entered the small café alone and searched the room until he found the people he had been looking for. Mr. And Mrs. Van de Kamp sat in a booth, and William sat in a high chair at the end of the table. He cautiously approached the couple and his son, not wanting to startle anyone. "Mr. And Mrs. Van de Kamp?"

"Yes," the man said, standing to greet Mulder.

"Hi, I'm Fox Mulder. The man Mr. Wolfe spoke to you about."

"Yes, please have a seat."

William dropped his toy on the table and reached his arms up to Mulder. "Daddy." He said as he looked into his father's eyes for the first time since shortly after the young child's birth. Mr. Van de Kamp reached out to retrieve the boy only to have William push him away with a growl. "Daddy!" The boy insisted as he began to wriggle free from the high chair and lean toward mulder.

"Daddy's over here, son."

"No." William said firmly. Pointing to Mulder he said, "daddy."

Mulder shrugged. "Here, why don't you sit there and play with your toy. What have you got here? A set of keys and a worm?"

William picked up the toy that resembled a worm and began to show Mulder how it worked. Bending each body segment in a different direction, grinning and giggling with each new click of the toy.

Mrs. Van de Kamp watched William play and studied closely the way Mulder interacted with the boy. William seemed happier than she had seen him since they had adopted him almost a year earlier. "Mr. Wolfe said you wanted to speak to us about William."

"Yes, I do. I . . . uh . . . I hadn't really planned on his being here for this discussion. Mr. And Mrs. Van de Kamp, I'd like my son back." Mulder blurted out.

"Hon, why don't you take William up there and get him a big bowl of ice cream while I talk to Mr. Mulder." She nodded and slid out of the bench seat. Mr. Van de Kamp waited until they were a safe distance away before beginning to speak. "Mr. Mulder, what do you think gives you the right to come here after all this time and request that we give you back the son we've raised all this time? Where were you when his mother needed you? When he needed you?"

Mulder had expected this and held up his hands. "Mr. Van de Kamp, my leaving shortly after William's birth was a mutual decision between his mother and myself. We had very dangerous jobs at that time and had made enemies that have since . . . perished. We felt it would be in William's best interest if I, being their main target, left town for a while. During my absence, someone decided that the best way to flush me out would be to go after William and his mother. She felt she had no other choice but to give him up for his own safety. When I returned and she told me what happened my heart broke. Not only for the loss of my son, but for the pain I saw reflected in her eyes when she told me what happened. My heart breaks a little more for her every day when I see that pain in her eyes. Mr. Van de Kamp, we miss our child, more than I can even begin to tell you."

"This might sound a little cold, Mr. Mulder, but why William? We have loved him for so long now. My wife and I tried for years to have a baby of our own with no luck. Will was an answer to our prayers and we couldn't begin to imagine life without him."

Mulder looked over his shoulder and sought out his son. He watched him for a few moments before returning his gaze back to the man sitting across from him. "My wife and I weren't even supposed to be able to have William. He was the miracle I encouraged her to hope and pray so hard for. I wish you could have known her before and after this incident, sir. She was such a happy woman before she had to give William up. And so full of life. I can count on one hand the times I've seen her smile since his adoption." Okay, so she's smiled a little more than that, but if it helps me get William back . . .

Mr. Van de Kamp studied Mulder's face and then watched his wife and young William across the room. After a lengthy silence he looked back to Mulder. "I'm sorry, I had no idea. I guess our situations really aren't much different."

"No, not if you only look at the situations at face value. The major difference, the most important thing to realize, is that William is our son. And Mr. Van de Kamp, I never signed away my parental rights."

"My wife will be heart broken if I make a decision like this without talking it over with her first. Can we have a little time to think this over?"

"Sure. Twenty-four hours or so?"

William came running up to the table and attempted to climb into the seat next to Mulder. Mrs. Van de Kamp sat back down next to her husband and watched as Mulder lifted his son up to sit beside him. "Could you give us a week, Mr. Mulder?"

He realized it would be in his best interest to give them a full week to think things over. "Yeah, sure. Here is the number to the hotel I'm staying at and to Mr. Wolfe's office. Feel free to call any time." Mulder thanked them for their time and said bye to William.

I miss you too, Dana. I'll be at least a week. Maybe two. Things are going about like I expected they would.

She missed him more than mere words could express. She longed to hold him, to be held by him. "I have the weekend off. Why don't you tell me where you are and I'll come and see you."

No! I mean, there isn't any point in that, Scully. To pack and come all the way here only to have to turn right around and drive for hours to get home.

"Can you at least tell me if this personal whatever has anything to do with me?"

Yep, it does. But I don't want to say anything yet. It's a surprise. One that may not even work out. I'll know in a few days, and if things work the way I hope they will, I'll call you and you can come down. Okay?

She stifled a yawn and reluctantly agreed. "Okay. Love you, Mulder."

Love you, too.

Five Days Later

"Mr. Mulder! There's a phone message for you. The man said it was important you receive it the minute you came in."

Mulder took the piece of paper and thanked the desk clerk. He rushed upstairs to his room so he could have a little privacy. He dialed as quickly as he could and waited impatiently as the phone completed three rings and began a fourth. Hello? Came the male voice on the other end of the line.

"Hello, Mr. Van de Kamp?"

Yes. Mr. Mulder, my wife and I have reached a decision. Could you meet us at our house for dinner tonight around six?

"Sure." Mulder grabbed a pen and piece of paper to jot down the driving directions, "how do I get there?"

To Be Continued . . .

Author's Note: I'm sorry it has taken so long for me to update this story. Real life and lack of inspiration have caused the delay. Hope to have Chapter 6 up very soon.