Doggett took out his gun and covered Mulder as he opened the back door to the Van De Camp house. He could hear Reyes talking at the front door and prayed that whatever happened she would come away from this unharmed. He wasn't being selfish, he wanted William's safety too, but he felt responsible for her safety, he didn't try hard enough to talk her out of this, so he had to make sure he got her out of it.
Mulder made his way through the kitchen and was concerned because he knew that Doggett didn't have his mind on the task in hand. He couldn't blame him. He knew that if Scully were here he'd find it hard to not put her safety first too. Which was why he'd made sure she stayed away. He may finally be able to bring his family together for good.
Mulder looked at Doggett and motioned for him to watch his back as he took a look around the kitchen door. The room he looked in on was where William was still sitting, playing with his toys. His adoptive mother was sitting on a chair with her back to them, Doggett could see the front door and nodded at Mulder – the sign that meant William's adoptive father was occupied.
A split second was all it could take for this to go wrong. Nobody could afford to make any mistakes. They also couldn't waste time; they had to be in and out as soon as humanly possible. Mulder stepped forward and quicker than Doggett blinked, Mulder had placed a cloth over Mrs Van De Camp's mouth and had a gun pressed into her back.
"Don't make me shoot you, but don't for a second think that I won't," he whispered, "don't make a sound, if you do, I will shoot you," Doggett stepped forward and when he reached William, William looked up at him and smiled as he was lifted from the ground by this familiar man.
"Mulder, as soon as you let her go, she's gonna let him know we're here, how are we gonna get out of here?" Mulder looked at Doggett and didn't say anything. It took a moment for Doggett to realise what he was saying. "No, I'm not just leaving without you."
"We don't have a choice. I promised Scully I'd get our son safely home, you have to make sure that happens."
"I'm not leaving without Mulder, I can't do that to her, or your son. He needs you."
"He needs to be with Scully. She needs to leave as soon as you get William back to her, you have to tell her to go, and I'll find her."
"She won't. You know she won't."
"If you care at all about her, or William, you'll make sure they get as far away from here as possible. Otherwise, if I don't make it back, it'll be for nothing," Doggett looked down at the small boy in his arms, then back at Mulder.
"I don't like your plan anymore."
"Yeah, well until you and Agent Reyes arrived I wasn't sure I'd be able to pull this off."
"And there's me thinking we were being rash and interfering."
"Maybe a little," Mulder smiled and looked at William. "Take my son home Agent Doggett," Doggett nodded his head and without turning back he left.
Mulder didn't move a muscle as he waited for his friends to clear the area. When he heard the front door close he braced himself for what would come next. As plans go, this one did have its flaws. He was stepping into one of those flaws right now, and he had no idea how to get out of it.
Mr Van De Camp walked into the living room and was surprised to see his wife and son missing. He went through to the kitchen to see if they were in there, but still he found an empty room.
"Hello? Honey? Will? Where are you guys?" he carried on searching the house, moving from room to room. Mulder had made his way into a closet and was cursing himself for handling this so badly. He had tied up Mrs Van De Camp, and when he thought the coast was clear he stepped out of the closet leaving her bound and gagged. Dealing with double-crossing members of the government was his forte; it was the super soldier that would provide problems.
He opened the door and immediately felt a hand drop onto his shoulder. Suddenly, an end was in sight and he prepared to face his fate.