Find The Future - Chapter 1

This fic begins on New Year's Day 2012, and picks up the story of Dana Scully and Fox Mulder (and others) after the events of the 2008 movie The X Files: I Want To Believe. Scully is still a medical doctor, and Mulder is now working on cold cases for the F.B.I, using his psychological profiling skills to crack old murder investigations, and the like. They married in 2009, and have recently relocated back to Washington DC. Both of them have 'officially' kept out of anything related to the X Files, but it was never going to be that easy for our duo to leave it all behind.

Bill Scully was never one to let a chance to get a dig in at Mulder pass, and as he lifted his Champagne flute in a toast to the new year, he shot his old enemy a meaningful glance. He then rose to his feet to delivery his customary annual speech.

"The coming of a new year is a time for celebration, and for reflection. We think of all those loved ones who are no longer with us, and we give thanks for all our dear friends and family who are gathered here with us today. A new year is an opportunity to look to the future, and it can be an exciting time, as we anticipate the many blessings we hope are to come. I know we are all especially thankful to have my dear sister, Dana, back here with us. I can't begin to express how happy I am that she is able to be here with us today. Those long years without her presence at our table were hard for us to bear, especially after...

Bill tailed off for a moment, as he noticed his mother staring hard at him with disapproval. His sister, and his wife, were also shooting him pleading glances, as they hoped he wouldn't say anything more to sour the moment. He reluctantly took the hint, as he again caught Mulder's eye, and wished he hadn't, the smug look on his face was almost too much for Bill to take. He sniffed back his hatred, and continued.

"Anyway, no use dwelling on the past, I suppose. We're here to drink to the future. Here's to 2012. Hope, health and happiness to us all!"

Bill drained his glass, and reached for the bottle, as the rest of the party echoed his toast.

Mulder stole a quick glance at his sleeping wife, as he drove them back home. The Scully family New Year's Day dinner had been taxing for them both, but Dana seemed particularly exhausted. She had fallen asleep almost as soon as they had gotten into the car. It wasn't unusual for her to do that during their years on the X Files, when the hours were irregular, to say the least. But now, it was out of the norm, unless she'd had a hard day at work. Dana hadn't been to work though, and they'd had a quiet New Year's Eve, with just the two of them solemnly witnessing the passing of the old year. They had both been dreading the coming of 2012, but they had decided that they couldn't run away from the past, or indeed the future, any longer. They had moved back to DC a couple of months ago, and it hadn't been easy for either of them. Dana stirred, and suddenly jerked awake as if something had startled her.

"What?... I was asleep?

Dana looked bewildered for a moment, and she took a deep breath to steady herself.

Mulder couldn't hide his concern.

"Are you o.k?" He enquired, as he took his eyes momentarily from the road and stole a glance at her.

Dana had recovered herself, and she sought to reassure him.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I... I just didn't sleep well last night, and then I had this dream..."

"What dream?" He inquired.

"Oh, it was... I suppose I just had all that...stuff, on my mind, that's all. It doesn't matter." She sighed.

Mulder nodded his head, and decided not to push her for more information, she would tell him about her dream in her own time, as she obviously wanted to. They drove in silence for a short while, before Dana spoke again.

"The dream? It was about William. He was in danger and he was calling for me, I mean he was screaming Mom, mommy, help me. And I know he was calling for me, not his adopted mother. I had the same dream again when I fell asleep just now, that's what woke me up."

Mulder sighed, it wasn't the first time that either of them had dreamt about their son, it wasn't surprising that they should. But he didn't want to encourage any dwelling on the matter, it was only opening up old wounds, that had never really healed properly in the first place. Dana took the hint, and she didn't say anything more about her dream, or William. Mulder sought to quickly change the subject, and tried a lighter topic of conversation.

"You know, I do believe your brother is finally warming to me. He didn't even try to punch me out, or anything." He said with a mischievous grin.

Dana was still too hung up on her dream to engage in any banter, and her reply came out colder than she meant it too.

"Bill won't ever forgive you, you know that. No more than you will ever forgive yourself."

Seeing the hurt that flashed across Mulder's face, she tried to backtrack.

"I mean, you know what Bill's like. Anyway, he knew he'd overstepped the mark. I know mom said something to him, and maybe Tara did too."

"But not you?" Mulder shot back, still feeling stung.

"No. I didn't need too, but he knew I wasn't happy with him. Now that we're living only an hours drive away, we have to make the effort to get along. It's what you wanted, isn't it? You know I was happy to stay where we were, I moved back to DC for you." Dana was feeling defensive, as her anger regarding their home move resurfaced. She had agreed to relocate back to Washington DC because she knew her husband was going slowly insane with them living in seclusion. She also knew that it would be impossible to avoid being dragged back into their old lives, and the X files. But she figured that they couldn't hide away from the truth forever; because it would find them one day, of that she was sure.

Mulder didn't want to argue, he knew she'd been reluctant to move back to where the past waited for them on every corner. He wasn't completely comfortable with it all either, and they were more exposed to those who had an axe to grind with them back in DC. But he felt that they needed to be there, and whatever was coming, they both had to face it head on. He sighed, and the silence between them descended once again.

Three months later...

Mulder was working through a pile of old case files at his desk, the apartment was quiet, and he was lost in his thoughts. Dana had left a few hours earlier, for her job at a nearby Catholic hospital, it was a good place and she was settling in well. Neither of them had lost sight of what was scheduled to happen in December though, and time was slipping by. They had seen Walter Skinner only once since their relocation back to DC. He had been able to offer them a glimmer of hope for the future, but they hadn't had any contact for over two months now, and Mulder in particular was growing increasingly frustrated. Dana hadn't blinded herself to the truth, but she also so desperately wanted to hold on to the life they had built for each other. But the bad dreams wouldn't go away, and she knew she couldn't just bury her head in the sand this time. She'd been restless again in the night, with the same recurring dream about her son. She hadn't mentioned it to Mulder since New Year's Day, but she felt compelled to repeat her concerns again, before she had left for work that morning. Mulder leaned back on his desk, and although he was surrounded by scattered papers, he was thinking about what Dana had said about William, when suddenly there was a knock at the door. He sighed, annoyed at the interruption, and went to answer it.

"Skinner!" Mulder exclaimed with shock, as he opened the door for his old boss to enter.

"Mulder, I'm sorry to turn up unannounced, but there's something I need to talk to you about, you and Scully, is she here?" Skinner asked in a grave manner, as he looked around for signs that Dana was home.

"No, no she's at work, she won't be back for hours. What's up? We haven't seen you for months, I know you said we should keep contact to a minimum, but is everything o.k?" Mulder questioned.

"I...I hoped you'd both be here, but maybe it's better this way, I mean, what I have to say, I shouldn't even be telling you this, but..." He paused and pulled out a thick file from inside his coat.

"This file came through to my personal mailbox, I got it this morning, I don't know who sent it, but I've been checking it out, and it's definitely him."

Skinner paused, and handed the file to Mulder, who gave him a puzzled look, until he opened the folder and stared at the photograph inside, and what was written under it. Mulder's eyes widened in shock, as he quickly scanned over the information contained on the pages of the file.

"Who sent this? Who knew about all of this? No one was supposed to know. Oh my God... William." Mulder tried to steady himself, but his mind was racing; everything they'd done, and what Dana had decided she had to do, in hopes of protecting him, it had all been in vain. Someone had been keeping track of their son's life, from the moment he was born, to the present, and everything in between. His eyes fixed back on the photograph, and if ever Mulder had doubted that he was the child's biological father, he could doubt it no more. It was like looking at a picture of himself as a boy, but for his son having his mother's blue eyes, and a reddish tint to his hair, the rest was all him. Skinner's voice broke into his reverie.

"Mulder, there's more, and that's the reason I'm here, really. If it had just been the file, I'm not sure I would have come, not yet anyway, but I got a call, an hour ago. It was from an old friend of mine in Illinois, I'd contacted him this morning for information on that file, and I was shocked when he called back and told me that Adam and Shannon Van De Kamp were found murdered this morning at their home; and William is missing."

Mulder gasped, he was struggling to take it all in, and he suddenly remembered Dana's dream, or as it appeared to be now, a premonition. He started looking around for his phone to call her.

"Mulder, try and stay calm, there are already people out looking for him. The Illinois police, and the FBI field office out there have been alerted." Skinner tried to offer what scant reassurance he could.

"I have to call Scully, she needs to know this." Mulder said as he pressed the button on his phone to call her. There was no reply, it went straight through to voicemail.

Mulder was starting to feel frantic, he went to grab his jacket and retrieve his car keys. He had to go and get Scully, but his mind was whirring. He recalled the conversation they'd had with Skinner, when they last saw each other.

"The last time we spoke, you said that you'd had some new intelligence, that there was hope that alien colonisation might be avoided. That with the deaths of all those involved with the old order, and a growing distrust within the new order, there might be a chance to disrupt their plans?" Mulder questioned.

"I heard that the rebel aliens had been strengthening their position, and there was talk of them holding some sort of secret weapon. That was the intelligence I received from Marita Covarrubias, and others. I even spoke to a man, someone we believe to be an alien; Jeremiah Smith." Skinner replied.

"Jeremiah Smith was an alias used by a number of the aliens, not just one man. How do we know that any of them could be trusted? What if they were the ones who took William and murdered his adoptive parents?" Mulder started for the door, when his phone began to ring, it was Dana's number.

"Fox Mulder?"

An unfamiliar male voice enquired.

"Who is this? Where's my wife?" Mulder angrily demanded.

"We have your wife, she is quite safe, for now. We will exchange her for your son, William Van De Kamp."

Mulder was confused, afraid and angry.

"What the hell are you talking about?" He yelled.

"Your son has been taken by the rebels. You must get him back, and bring him to us, or your wife will be killed."

Mulder couldn't speak for a moment, he was in a state of bewildered shock. The man delivered his final demand.

"Find the boy and call this number when you have him. Deliver him to us, as we instruct, and your wife will be returned to you unharmed."

The call was then disconnected, and Mulder slid downwards against the wall, still not quite being able to comprehend everything that had just happened.