Thirty minutes later or so, the SUV in front of John and Monica pulled off of the highway to one of the nearby gas stations of the small city.
Monica called Scully and instructed them to continue after giving them the address they were headed to. It was risky, but not as risky as losing track of the black SUV. They were also so close now, it wasn't going to matter. Someone obviously already knew William's whereabouts.
"Be careful," Monica had told them.
"You too," she was so grateful to have Doggett and Reyes helping them.
It seemed to take nearly an eternity to arrive on the property and there hadn't been a sign of John or Monica the entire time. Another thing that bothered her was the ominous silence and appearance of the property on the vast land outstretching towards the house.
It could have been the oncoming clouds approaching, but she sensed that something was off. As Mulder cut the engine, he looked over at Scully. She knew what he was going to say before he even spoke. "No, I'm not staying here, Mulder. I need to see my son."
Mulder knew fighting her on it would have been futile, but she was sure going to know his position on the subject. "I know, Scully. But I don't want you to do anything that would place you and Jr in danger."
It hurt her that he didn't trust she could protect their baby or know what she was doing. But then again, how could she blame him with all that happened with William?
Meanwhile, John had come out of the small store at the gas station and looked over at the couple filling their tank, completely unaware of him. The man appeared close to middle age as did the brunette woman. They looked far from dangerous, but he knew from experience that looks could be deceiving.
He looked over at Monica who put a few gallons of gas in the tank as to not draw suspicion. It was then that an idea had popped into his head. He headed over to Monica, a look in his eyes giving her a cue to follow along with him. He kissed her and mumbled something about asking directions.
As the man finished filling his tank John approached him. "Excuse me, sir?"
The man looked surprised, but not too startled. "Yes?"
"I couldn't help but notice you've been going in the same direction as my wife and I. Our GPS hasn't been working very well, so I was wondering if you could help us with directions."
The man looked over towards their car and Monica smiled a hello.
"Sure, could you tell me where you're headed to?"
John provided him with the address and the man who identified himself as Mr. Van De Kamp gave him some quick directions before he got into his car to join his wife.
He walked back to the car as he saw them head off in the opposite direction. Monica took note of this about the same time as John. "Want to make a bet that wasn't a coincidence?"
Mulder and Scully nervously made their way down the side of the hill. No need to startle the occupants of the home with an unknown visitor in such a remote place like this. He was startled by a gasp and change in step. He caught Scully's arm just before she could land in any sort of nasty fall. "Are you okay?"
She nodded. "I'm fine."
Despite her assurance, he held onto her arm. He'd be damned if something will happen to her under his watch. He knew she was doing her best to hide the fact that she was just as startled as he was.
A few minutes later, they made their way to the front lawn. Only a single car was parked out front, but other than that, there were no signs of life.
They hesitated before knocking on the front door and were just about to leave before they heard small and quick footsteps approaching the door.
They gasped as the door swung open and a young boy appeared. "Hi." Scully's voice caught in her throat. He looked to be no older than five and he had light brown hair with blue eyes that matched her own. It took Mulder a moment to catch his own breath as he realized he hadn't seen this boy since he was just days old.
While Mulder and Scully were trying to compose themselves, a middle aged man appeared beside them. "Will, you know better than to answer doors for strangers."
Once he got a look at them, he gasped and called for his wife. "Martha, could you take William upstairs, please?"
William frowned. "But why?"
"We'll talk later son."
He grumbled as his mom took him upstairs. The woman looked so familiar to him. He saw her in his dreams. When she looked at him, he knew she had seen him before too. The redheaded woman would sing songs to him and smile at him. But other times, she was sad and cried a lot. He didn't understand why, but he felt a warmth and love he couldn't explain when she held him.
To be continued…