Coming Together

Disclaimer: The same disclaimer still applies. Unless Chris Carter has recently given me his creation and forgotten to tell me. Which I doubt. No profit will be realized from this work of fan fiction.

His rental car pulled up to the farm house at two minutes to six that evening. He had pulled onto their road the first time over two hours ago and, deciding that two hours might be a little too early to be acceptable, went driving around town instead. Unable to resist the urge to purchase something for his son, he had gotten him a toy truck and a ball glove. Even if he couldn't take William home with him, he would leave the gifts as a remembrance of his visit.

Mulder walked to the front door and rang the bell. He could hear William and Mr. Van de Kamp bantering back and forth on the other side of the door. "Daddy!"

"Now just hold on a minute, son." Mr. Van de Kamp said.

William grunted and said again, "DADDY!" Mulder imagined he was pointing to the door and stomping his foot. Mr. Van de Kamp opened the door so William could see Mulder through the screen. "Daddy!" He squealed with delight and jumped into Mulder's arms the minute the screen was opened.

Mr. Van de Kamp smiled sadly at the scene in front of him. "Please, come in, Mr. Mulder."

"Thank you." Mulder stepped inside and put William down. Before he could take another step inside the Van de Kamp home, William wrapped himself around Mulder's leg. Deciding to just go with it, Mulder began dragging William through the house with him. Step slide step slide giggle step slide.

"My wife will be down in a minute or so."

Mr. Van de Kamp sat the tray of coffee and mugs down on the table in the living room. William had reluctantly gone into his room to play before bed while they discussed the matter of where his future would be spent. With a sigh, Mr. Van de Kamp sat down next to his wife and reached for her hand. "Mr. Mulder, this really isn't easy for us. Making a decision such as this one isn't something we ever expected we would be faced with."

"I can respect that, sir, ma'am."

"We're gonna cut right to it, Mr. Mulder. Until yesterday, my wife and I weren't going to agree to return your son. We would have rather let this drag through the court system than agree to give Will up."

Mulder leaned forward, sat back and leaned forward again before speaking. "Are you saying that you're going to agree to give William back?"

The Van de Kamps nodded in unison. "Yeah. Like I said, our decision wasn't an easy one to make."

"What changed your minds?" Mulder queried, trying his best to contain his excitement.

Mrs. Van de Kamp spoke up for the first time since dinner. "I put myself in your wife's place. I've heard Will . . .William, talk about nothing else since he saw you at Betty's. I see the love you have for that boy and know that we love him enough to want what will be best for him and make him happy."

"We could always adopt another child later on," Mr. Van de Kamp added. "Not that anyone could replace Will."

Mrs. Van de Kamp looked to her husband and back to Mulder. "Mr. Mulder, after years of trying to start a family of our own, after being told that would never happen, we've learned just the other day that we're expecting our own little miracle."

"That's great news! Congratulations!"

"Thank you," they chorused.

"I think its what really helped us come to our decision." Mrs. Van de Kamp continued. "If I were ever faced with the choices that your wife was faced with and made the same decisions she had to make for the good of her child, I don't know what I would do. And to have the opportunity to later raise him in a safer environment only to find him and be told I couldn't have my flesh and blood back . . . I don't know how I would go on."

"Which is why I didn't tell her I was coming here." Mulder confessed. "She wants William back so badly and if we had come here and been turned down, I don't know what would have helped her keep it together. I'm only her husband, I can't work the miracles she would need to keep on living after that."

Mr. Van de Kamp looked to William's bedroom, "will we get to meet your wife?"

"Yes, I think so. I'm going to call her and have her meet me here in town."

William toddled out of his room with a teddy bear tucked under his arm. He went straight to Mulder and started climbing up into his lap as Mulder flipped open his wallet and produced a picture of Dana. "Mommy!" William squealed.

"Yep, that's her."

"Pretty." William confirmed as he reached for the picture.

The Van de Kamps took the picture from Mulder long enough to take a peek at the woman that brought their beloved William into the world. "So that's where he gets his red hair from."

Mulder chuckled. "Yeah, and his stubbornness, his blue eyes, and I'm guessing his temper."

"We wondered. Mr. Mulder, would you like to tuck William in?"

He beamed at the mere thought. "Yes, thanks." Mulder scooped his son up into his arms and carried the boy back to his bedroom. Mulder carefully tucked William into bed, wished him sweet dreams and sat next to his crib until he went to sleep. Mulder knew exactly how he would tell his wife that they were going to get the opportunity to raise their son and couldn't wait until she arrived.

That evening when he arrived back at his hotel, Mulder called home. When Dana answered the phone, it was all he could do to keep from blurting out his good news. Hello?

"Pack your bags and meet me in Wyoming."

Have you been drinking, Mulder?

"Nope, I'll meet you at the airport. In fact, I've all ready called and had a ticked reserved in your name. Just go to our local airport, pick up your ticket and board that plane."

What's going on?

"I'll tell you when you get here." He insisted, being as cryptic as he knew how to be.

Muld . .

"Room service, gotta go."

When she heard the phone click, Dana said to herself, "I hate when he does that," and started packing her bags.

Mulder picked her up from the airport the next morning. He had arranged to take her straight to the Van de Kamp's so she could see William and then they would all go out for breakfast to get acquainted. "Mulder, where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

"A hint?"

"Okay," he agreed and thought for a moment. "We're going to see a man about something."

She arched a brow and looked at him in disbelief. "What kind of hint is that?"

Mulder grinned, "the kind that will keep my secret until we get where we're going."

Dana released an almost inaudible snort and turned to look out the passenger side window. She watched trees pass by in a blur and a two lane paved road turn to gravel and then dirt. As they pulled up to a farm house that appeared to be in the middle of nowhere, she turned back to her husband. "You haven't bought a house have you?"

"No. There are some people here I want you to meet." He got out of the car and walked around to the passenger side to open Dana's door. "Trust me, what I have in store for you is well worth the wait."

They approached the door and Mrs. Van de Kamp answered. "Mr. Mulder, come in. We've been expecting you."

"Mrs. Van de Kamp, I'd like you to meet my wife, Dana. Dana, this is Mrs. Van de Kamp."

She extended her hand, "please call me Martha."

"Martha, its nice to meet you." Dana said, mostly just to be polite. Until she knew why they were there, she wasn't really sure how nice it would be to meet the Van de Kamps.

"Likewise. Come in and sit down. Steve will be here in just a few minutes. They went out to feed the livestock."

Mulder placed his hand on the small of Dana's back and led her inside. "Steve is Martha's husband."

It had been planned that Steve Van de Kamp would bring William in through the front door while Dana was helping Martha Van de Kamp in the kitchen. Mulder wanted to keep Dana in suspense as long as safely possible. His concern for safety was more for his own that for his wife's. He began coughing not long after they sat down, Martha's cue to take Dana into the kitchen to gather the coffee so he could motion Steve and William inside.

"Dana, would you mind giving me a hand in the kitchen, with the coffee?"

"No, not at all."

The second the kitchen door had shut behind them, Mulder rushed back out to the front porch. He waved Seven and William inside and hurried back to his seat so he could attempt to act as naturally as possible. William scrambled to get up on the couch next to Mulder and mimicked his father's position – crossing one leg over the other and clasping his hands over his knees.

Dana returned a few moments later, empty handed by design. Her eyes naturally traveled to where Mulder sat and locked on the boy sitting next to him. Though she hadn't seen her son in months, she recognized him immediately. "Oh my God," she breathed, "William?"

William looked at Mulder and grinned as he jumped off the couch and ran into his mothers arms. "MOMMY!"

Tears began streaming down her face as she hugged her son to her. "I'm so sorry, William. I have missed you so much. I love you, my sweet boy, I love you."

Giving them another few seconds to complete their touching reunion, Mulder crossed the room and joined his family. "Was this worth the wait?"

She looked up at her husband through pools of unshed tears and nodded. Standing, William still in her arms, Dana hugged her husband with a free arm and William wrapped his small arms as snugly around her neck as possible. "I love oo, Mommy," he said before kissing her cheek.

In the kitchen, Martha Van de Kamp wiped a rogue tear from her cheek and gathered the tray of coffee to take into the living room.

Two Days Later

"William, are you ready to go?" Dana asked as she zipped their final suitcase and put it in the all ready large pile by the door.

"Uh huh."

"Okay. Is there anything you need before we leave? It's a long way to your new home."

"Daddy?" William asked.

Dana smiled, "he's getting the moving van in order."

"Oh," he said as if he had a clear picture of what his mother had just said.

"We have too much stuff to take with us on the plane. The moving van will be bringing the rest of your toys and some furniture a couple of days after we get home."

Mulder came through the door moments after Dana finished explaining their plans for the next few days. "Everything is ready to go as soon as I load these . . .wow, where did all this luggage come from?"

"Uh, well, those two bags are ours and the rest are William's toys and clothes and things."

"Sport, you've got a lot of stuff. Be glad you are a lot smaller than all of these suitcases or you would be helping me load the car." William giggled in delight as he watched his father pick up three of the largest bags. "Aughhh," Mulder said as he lifted what seemed to be the bags loaded with bricks. "Dana," he managed.

"Yeah?"

He motioned her over with a jerk of his head. She stepped next to him and he leaned to her as best he could, "I hope you weren't planning on more kids."

"Why?"

"I think I just broke a very important tool for that kind of work."

Her eyes grew wide, "Mulder!"

"Don't worry, I'll live. What exactly did you pack in here? Cinder blocks?"

"Not hardly. Clothes are heavy." A thought occurred to her and she gasped. "Mulder, what if we've endangered the lives of all three of us by coming here?"

"Dana, we'll be fine. The Van de Kamps understand the importance of keeping our secret and I've given everyone else, from the airline to the car rental company a fake name." She nodded. "Good. I'll be right back."

Two Months Later

Somewhere in Canada

Dana slipped out of bed and pulled on her robe. She left her husband sleeping peacefully in bed as she went down the hall to check on their son. Dana cracked the door and leaned against the frame. She watched the rise and fall of William's chest and strained to hear his soft breathing even in the still of the night. In all of her wildest dreams she would have never thought her life would have turned out this way. The beginnings of her career had been worlds away from what she had planned for herself as a girl. Her relationship with Mulder had evolved from partners to friendship to lovers and then to life partners. And now, so long after she had given her son up for the greater good, she had him back. No, not one part of her life went as planned, but she wouldn't change a single thing for anything in the world.

The End