Title: An Anonymous Family
Author: Gina Rain (ginarain@aol.com)
Category: S, A, MSR (sort of)
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: The Truth, William, Jump the Shark, Beyond 
the Sea
Summary: My attempt at taking a sad song, and making 
it better.
Disclaimer: CC and Company own it. 
Special Thanks: To Carol, who shared an idea for a 
post-Truth fic she'd like to read. I mutilated it 
quite a bit but the spark was initially hers. 
Archive: Sure

XXXXXXXXXX

In an anonymous rural town, a rather anonymous 
looking man walked into the local post office. He had 
his mail transferred to a post office box months ago-
-"just in case." That was his sister's phrasing; his 
crazy sister who, in spite of having her head in the 
clouds most of the time, was remarkably talented at 
contingency planning. 

He smiled as he thought of her. She was the only one 
who could pull him out of the doldrums of his 
everyday existence and into this cloak and dagger 
routine.  

He wasn't expecting anything after he put his own 
bills and junk mail into the duffel bag he carried. 
He had put the key into the lock of the second post 
office box countless times and come up with nothing. 
Not even his sister's use of the silly code sentence 
during their weekly telephone conversation convinced 
him that things were really going to change at this 
point.

The small door swung open. Two envelopes addressed to 
"Gourmet Sunflower Seeds" lay in the steel box. 

No return address on either one.

Holy shit. She was right.

He willed his hands not to shake as he attempted to 
carry out his part of the job. 

He walked over to the counter, transferred the 
contents into plain, white envelopes--then placed 
both in a preaddressed mailer:
"Missy's New Age Magik."

He dropped it in the out of town mail slot.

His first assignment was complete.

XXXXXXXXXX

Maggie Scully took one last look at the headstone.

In a strange way, she was satisfied. 

"Dana Katherine Scully
Fox William Mulder
Partners. . . in life
and beyond." 

Followed by the pertinent dates of the beginning and 
end of their lives.

They had a small memorial service. There were no 
remains to bury. After the priest circled the grave 
one last time, blessing it with the sweet smoke of 
incense, there was little to do except share a few 
words with the mourners. There was Bill and his 
family, a small group of her own friends, some FBI 
employees and the people who were really important in 
Fox and Dana's lives. They were less than a handful 
in number.

Walter Skinner packed a lot of emotion into a few 
words. He gave her a firm handshake and told her she 
would "always be safe." He'd personally see to it. 
She believed him with all her heart.

After John Doggett kissed her cheek, he quickly 
whispered in her ear.

"You are doing the right thing. The only thing you 
can do."

And finally, Monica Reyes walked over and embraced 
the older woman. She said nothing for a while then 
stepped back and grabbed Maggie's hand with both of 
her own. Maggie felt her slip something into her 
palm.

"My brother sends his condolences," she said, and 
hugged her once again. She whispered, "They came 
separately."

Maggie slipped Monica's offerings into the pocket of 
her suit jacket and continued saying her goodbyes. As 
she finally seated herself in the back of Bill's car, 
she quickly looked over the contents of her pocket.

One sunflower seed and a small picture of a baby boy 
she knew quite well.

She allowed herself a small smile.

XXXXXXXXXX

11 PM and an anonymous woman in an anonymous motel 
room in an anonymous town stood by the bathroom 
mirror to look for changes. Her hair was now a light 
brown. The waves she'd been taming into submission 
every morning for the past decade or so were apparent 
even within the confines of the pony tail hairdo 
which would now become her "signature style." Denim 
replaced designer. 

A small gold band weighed heavily, but comfortingly, 
on a formerly ringless finger. Bought as a makeshift 
passport for traveling together with less 
complication, its symbolism was not diminished. It 
represented a promise no less sacred than those 
blessed by both Church and law.

She stopped all action and thought to concentrate on 
any sounds that might be coming from the next room. 
There were none. The storm had passed. She had heard 
the strangled sobs shortly after placing the hair dye 
on her formerly red locks. She didn't go to him. He 
was entitled to a grief that was his, and his alone. 

She carefully opened the door.

"Mulder?" she whispered quietly. Their traveling 
names were only to be used in public. No one was 
looking for them. Not yet. Of this, they were as 
certain as they could be.

She walked into the room. He was sitting against the 
headboard--the closed photo album next to him. All 
traces of his tears were now gone; the only thing 
giving him away was the more pronounced shade of 
green in his eyes.

"So, what do you think?" she asked, turning her head. 
Her hair was long enough for her ponytail to bounce 
against her neck as she moved.

"You look like a teenager again," he said.

"Liar," she responded, sitting on the bed next to 
him.

She put her hand out to take the photo album from him 
but he stopped her motions by placing his hand on top 
of hers.

"Can you talk about him? A little?"

"Yes. Of course."

He looked down at the closed photo album. Ran his 
index finger down the side of the binding.

"Was he. . .a good baby?"

"Yes. He was very good. Sweet. Curious. I was. . 
.overwhelmed. But he took things in stride."

Mulder smiled.

"He looked very happy in those pictures."

"He was."

"He grew so much since I saw him. He almost looks 
like another child."

"Well, he still had certain traits that he had on the 
day he was born. He lost a great deal of his hair and 
his eyes became a different shade of blue, but 
otherwise. . .he was beautiful. <Is> beautiful," she 
reminded herself. "I showed him your picture every 
day, Mulder."

Mulder nodded slowly. 

"He's going to hate us someday," he said finally.

"At least he'll be alive to hate us."

"Well, for the next ten years, anyway."

"Not if we can help it. But, if we can't, those are 
still ten very precious years."

"Yes, they are."

Ten years they would miss. Mulder hadn't even had the 
small amount of time she had with their son. He had 
never seen William's first, genuine, non-gas related 
smile.  Never felt the child lean his head on his 
shoulder. He would miss baseball lessons. Teaching 
him to run, jump, play. He would miss sharing knock-
knock jokes and making him laugh from the strange 
faces he'd make.

She mentally shook herself. Her heart would break all 
over again if she continued to think this way.

She took the photo album and brought it across the 
room . She carefully put it the travelling bag that 
contained a few changes of clothing and her pictures. 
That was all.
 
She re-zipped the bag and turned to him. His arms 
were outstretched and she walked into his embrace. 
Let herself be cocooned by his warmth.

"I can't stop touching you, Scully. I feel--so empty-
-when I'm not."

"No one asked you to, Mulder."

"I should. I'm scuffing you up."

She let out a small laugh.

"What?"

"This fucking facial hair. Not only does it itch like 
crazy but it's also leaving red marks on your face."

"I'll live."

He rubbed his growing beard against her cheek.

"Yes. You will," he agreed. "We all will. We have 
to."

XXXXXXXXXX

An anonymous couple put their baby boy down for the 
night.

Charles Van de Kamp turned to his wife and saw the 
now familiar frown.

"Judy. . ."

"I can't help it, Charlie. I can't stop thinking 
about her. About her loss."

"I'm sure she wouldn't want us to do this. I'm sure 
she'd want us to behave like a normal couple with a 
seven month old. Not like a couple waiting for the 
invisible 'other shoe' to drop. It's not good for the 
baby, and it's not good for you."

"You can find things out," she told him, staring him 
straight in the eye. "You know how."

"Yes, I do."

"Well, then do it."

"That's not part of the plan. Not at all."

"The 'plan' was not part of our lives, either. We've 
made adjustments. We can make adjustments again. This 
is our life, Charlie. I don't want to live it without 
knowing the full story. I don't want to live it 
waiting for it all to fall apart."

"It could be dangerous."

"It won't be. Please, Charlie. We've. . .we know 
every precaution."

Yes, they did. They were well trained. By several 
masters. 

"Fine," he said and went to the living room. He 
needed time to think. He needed to plan this out to 
perfection. Their lives depended on it.

XXXXXXXXXX

Judy was right, of course.

Charles put the coded message on the Ramones message 
board. The following day, he went to the prearranged 
meeting place. A young man met him. Jimmy. Young, 
enthusiastic. . .heartbroken.
The men who had helped him arrange his new life, and 
years later, had rigged his house and land with more 
surveillance equipment than he had ever dreamed of--
were dead. Mulder and Dana were thought to be dead as 
well, but were not. The appropriate signal had been 
sent through the appropriate channels.

Charles had only met Fox Mulder once. By then, he 
already owed him his life. Charles was just an 
ordinary man. He didn't have the mysticism of one 
sister; the hard-nosed morality and structured life 
of his brother; the brilliance of yet another 
sibling. He didn't even particularly look like the 
rest of his family. He was nondescript in appearance, 
wasn't overly ambitious and didn't care to 
distinguish himself in any grand manner. Living life 
in the best way possible, treating others well--was 
all he ever cared about. He took a government job 
because of family connections. And he was in the 
wrong place at the wrong time and found out more 
information than he ever wanted to find out. 

The decision to testify in such a high impact trial 
was not difficult. It was the right thing to do. The 
consequences, however, were devastating. His 
testimony had pissed off a lot of people. The 
government kindly offered him a new identity and he 
took it. Well, he took them up on the offer to wipe 
out all records of the person he had been. He let 
someone else take care of the new identity part. On 
the advice of his sister.

Dana had already learned enough on her new job to 
know that the government wasn't entirely reliable.

She shared her fears with Mulder and he had his 
friends contact her brother directly.

Charles Scully became Charles Van de Kamp.

The last name was Langley's idea. To remind him that 
when the government "offers you a freebie, consider 
their motives to be somewhat fishy." 

He knew some of what went on in the lives of the 
people he loved. There were various convoluted routes 
to information sharing. A pain in the neck for all, 
but a way to stay in touch. And there was always the 
hope that they'd someday see each other again.  It 
had been hard to stay away. Melissa's death. The 
arrival of Bill's children. Dana's cancer. Her 
pregnancy.
 
Charles took his new identity and moved to Wyoming. 
In a couple of years, he had met Judy. She was a 
nice, hometown girl. The Gunmen confirmed her 
background. Bless their souls. She really wanted 
nothing more than to settle down and have a brood of 
children. Unfortunately, she couldn't.

They swallowed their disappointment and did what 
other couples did--moved on and lived their lives.

Until they received a cryptic message from Fox Mulder 
last year.

Charlie boarded a plane the next day and met him in 
Arizona. For the very first time. 

Mulder told him tales that would send most people to 
the nearest psychiatric institution--to find backup 
with butterfly nets to catch this strange man. 

Charlie wasn't most people.

"You haven't laughed at me, yet." Mulder said to him.

"No. Dana shared some of your earlier adventures when 
I was still in the loop. I found them strange but. . 
.well, kind of cool at the time. Now, I find them 
less "cool," equally strange but, surprisingly. . 
.believable."

Mulder let out a quick laugh and stared at his feet.

"I can see a little of Melissa in you."

"Yes. I guess the youngest child always carries tiny 
parts of his older siblings with him."

"You don't seem to have any Bill in you. You haven't 
shown any inclination to kick my ass yet."

"Nah. Bill is all right. He just takes life way too 
seriously."

"Maybe he's right. I think, for a few moments,  we 
forgot about how serious life can be. Scully--Dana--
and I, well, last year things became. . .different. 
One part of what we were searching for was brought to 
a conclusion. I found out what happened to my sister. 
And even the "bad guys" were staying away for a 
while. We thought if there was ever a time to have a 
normal life. . . Our idea of a normal life included 
the child Dana wanted so much. That I came to want 
<as> much. We were going to slowly step away from the 
more dangerous aspects of our job but. . .it didn't 
turn out that way."
 
"I gathered that when I got your little signal to 
come here."

"All hell broke loose. I've had to leave Scully and 
William. . .to keep them safe. I'm working like hell 
to get back to them but. . .I just don't know. I 
don't know how safe they are. How safe they will be. 
Scully and I discussed this a couple of days ago. 
Before I left. We needed to prepare for. . 
.everything. And that's where you come in. If--<IF> 
the situation becomes unbearable. . .if William is no 
longer safe--we'd like you to take him, Charlie. We'd 
like you to raise our son."

And after Charlie picked his jaw up off the floor, he 
said yes. Mostly because this was something to say to 
send Mulder on his way with a good sense of security-
-not because it could actually, really, happen.

XXXXXXXXXX

Yellowstone National Park

"Slow down, Mulder. Please."

"I can't."

"Mulder. . ."

He eased his foot off the gas pedal. They were within 
a few minutes of their destination. They couldn't 
afford to draw attention to themselves now. Still, an 
SOS from Charlie Scully. . .Van de Kamp. . .was not 
something that encouraged calm driving.

"There," Scully spotted the huge recreational vehicle 
before Mulder did. It was near a wooded area, but 
close enough to a section where RVs were allowed to 
park for the night. If asked, they could easily say 
they were on their way to that destination. However, 
there wasn't a soul in sight except for Charlie.

As Mulder put the SUV in park, Scully jumped out and 
rushed to the brother she had not seen since shortly 
after their father's funeral.

"William?" she asked breathlessly.

"He's fine, he's fine," he said, as he scooped her 
into a tight embrace. She hugged him back and watched 
as Mulder approached the door of the RV and stopped.

"Go on in, Mulder. Someone's waiting for you," 
Charlie said.

"Scul. . ."

"No. Go in, Mulder. I'd like to speak to my sister 
for a few minutes. Alone. My wife is inside. Go on in 
and see your son."

A quick look passed between Mulder and Scully and he 
opened the door and went in. Within seconds, Judy 
walked out and nodded to Dana. Then she walked down 
the small trail into the woods.

"Charlie. . .what is going on here? You. . .this is 
very dangerous. You can't do things like this."

"Dana, I've been coming and going now for nearly nine 
years. Granted, I can't pop up at Mom's place for 
dinner, but no one is looking for Charles Van de 
Kamp. And, at the moment, from all I've heard, no one 
is looking for the two of you, either. So, if we're 
going to talk, now is the time."

"Charlie. . .I want. . ."

"What? What do you want?"

"I want to see him. But, I'm so scared."

"Then put it off for a few minutes. Give Mulder some 
time with his son. He's never been completely alone 
with him, has he?"

"Not completely. No."

"Well, then. He needs this."

"Mulder. . .might be uncomfortable with a baby."

"Or he might not. You never know.  Dana, Judy has not 
been comfortable. At all. She wasn't comfortable from 
the beginning and--well, I have to say that I didn't 
help. I promised Mulder we'd do this before I asked 
her. When I explained it all, she agreed. But, Dana, 
she's not used to this stuff. That first day, when 
William was brought to us, we spent the entire time 
play acting. Frohike had told us about these high 
tech gizmos that can be pointed at a house and allow 
people to hear conversation inside. So, the minute 
the signal went on that a car was approaching our 
land, we started acting like we had no clue about the 
child we were adopting or his parents. Just like any 
anonymous couple whose baby was about to arrive.  It 
took us hours afterwards to be comfortable with the 
idea that no one was listening. Even with all the 
high tech stuff in our house telling us we were all 
safe."

"I'm sorry, Charlie. I know it's a sacrifice. I just 
couldn't give him to strangers. Not under the 
circumstances."

"No. You're not getting my point. William is a gift. 
He truly is. But I'm not sure he's still a gift that 
belongs to us. We have to be sure you haven't changed 
your minds. I had to give Mulder the opportunity to 
be part of the decision making."

Scully looked at him with wide-eyed anger.

"You have no idea what I went through--what brought 
me to a decision that damned near ripped my soul 
out."

"Dana. . .I understand that. I know you had no 
choice. I'm not saying you did. But things are 
different now. Mulder is back. And it's time for you 
both to choose again. And for me to give you 
options."

XXXXXXXXXX

"We could just keep driving," Judy suggested as they 
drove Mulder and Scully's SUV down another path. 
William's birth parents needed time to make their 
decision without having his adoptive parents outside 
the camper waiting.

"They know where we live."

"They wouldn't hunt us down, Charlie. By the time 
they spent a few hours with their child, they'd 
forget we even exist."

"Judy? Do you love him?"

"Of course I do. But ever since I found out that Dana 
and Fox were out there. . .together. . .I can't help 
but feel that I'm doing something wrong. Keeping them 
apart."

"Well, I can tell you one thing with almost a hundred 
percent certainty. We'll return to the RV--spend a 
few days at Yellowstone and go on home. The three of 
us. I know my sister. She has a world to save."

"Oh, is that all?"

Charlie burst out laughing.

"I'm not kidding, Judy. And neither is she. She can't 
give me details but she doesn't exaggerate much. 
Whatever they are doing is really <that> important."

Judy nodded slowly. She turned to look at Charlie.

"What will we tell William?"

"We'll tell him he's adopted as soon as he's old 
enough to handle it. And that his birth parents love 
him very much. And later--when we're sure he won't 
run into his classroom and use the story for show and 
tell--we'll tell him that the short little lady and 
the tall man who happens to have the same nose as he 
does--the strange couple that pops in every once in a 
while and leaves looking at him as if their world is 
falling apart--that they are his birth parents. But 
we are his mommy and daddy."

Judy looked straight ahead--a sudden mist of guilty 
tears in her eyes.

"We have to do this, Judy. We have to free ourselves 
to be that for him. He deserves it. And so do Mulder 
and Dana. They have to be able to go out there and do 
what they need to do--knowing that we are doing 
everything in our power to give this child happiness 
and security."

XXXXXXXXXX

Scully took a deep breath before she had walked into 
the RV. There hadn't been a sound from the interior 
for the entire time she was talking to Charlie. She 
was afraid of seeing Mulder with William. Afraid of 
the look that would prove that he resented her for 
her decision. Afraid for what he was feeling and 
would continue to feel. 

And she was afraid of her own feelings. Of taking a 
still very much opened wound and prying it apart.

She stepped into the camper and found them both on 
the floor.

Mulder was holding his child while leaning against 
the wall. His knees were up--probably to brace the 
baby he had no intention of moving one inch away from 
his body. William was playfully slapping this strange 
man on both sides of his head. Mulder barely noticed 
as Scully fell to the ground next to them, until the 
baby's gurgling greeting made Mulder move his tear 
streaked face away from the boy's.

He carefully handed William to Scully and put his 
arms around both of them.

"He's so big," she said after a few moments of 
cuddles and tears.

Mulder nodded.

It was time to give him choices.

She knew the answers but Charlie was right. These 
decisions had to be made by the two of them.

"Charlie. . .and his wife. . .Judy. . .have two 
offers to make us."

Mulder looked up from the finger William had grasped, 
and swallowed hard.

Was he ever going to say anything?

"One--I guess you can figure out. They are offering 
to give him back--to take our car and leave us with 
William."

Mulder looked down quickly.

Answer #1.

"Option two is. . .we all pile in their camper and go 
off and live together--create a kind of compound 
where we could assemble all the connections the 
Gunmen left for us to contact. That we could go off 
whenever we needed and they would watch William but 
we would all. . .parent. . .in a way, together."

That got a small, sad smile from him. The few tears 
that had been standing in his eyes spilled over and 
kissed Williams' hair.

Answer #2.

They were the only answers open to them.

XXXXXXXXXX

"No matter what, Dana. Once or twice a year, I expect 
us to meet. Either at our home or wherever you want. 
You may think you don't have rights but you need 
this. We all do. And, if there ever is a compound. . 
.we'd be willing to live there. At that point, the 
offer might be different as far as who is doing the 
actual parenting, but you would still get to know 
your child."

She threw her arms around her sweet, rather innocent, 
brother. A child growing up with wide, open spaces or 
one holed up with a lot of high-strung adults. Tough 
choice. But the semi-annual meetings appealed to her. 
She'd have to discuss it with Mulder. They would have 
to find out if anyone was actually looking for them.

She went back into the trailer for their final 
goodbye. For this time, anyway.

Mulder was already saying his. He was holding William 
as he held him that very first time. William was a 
bit confused, a little tired and a little curious 
over the fuss that was being made over him.

"Daddy will love you forever," she heard him say. He 
kissed him on the forehead and passed him to Scully.

XXXXXXXXXX

The rest of the goodbyes passed in a blur. 

Scully needed to leave. Badly.

She fiercely hugged the woman who would be her 
child's mother. . .trying to give her all the 
strength she could, in case she ever truly needed it.

She watched as Mulder approached Charlie.

"Thank you. . .you have no idea. . ."

"I have every idea, Mulder. And I just want you to 
know, I will do everything. . .to protect him. 
Everything. And if something happens to me, Judy 
knows where to run and how to reach you. Try to put 
your mind at ease."

Mulder nodded. He believed what Charlie told him. 
They could not have made a better choice.

XXXXXXXXXX

They were on the road for hours before either of them 
spoke. The air had been filled with the sounds of 
miles of road going by and an occasional sniffle or 
swallowed sob.

"Are you sorry we did this, Mulder?" she asked 
quietly.

"No. If I ever had any doubts about exactly what 
we're fighting for. . .I don't anymore. I'm ready."

She reached her hand across the seat and he took his 
right had off the wheel and grasped hers.

He sighed heavily.

"Before we start, though, we need to find a jewelry 
shop."

"It's not necessary, Mulder. . ."

"Yes. It is. It's part of who you are. Of who I 
always want you to be."

She smiled softly and squeezed his fingers. 

Another phase of life was about to begin. 

XXXXXXXXXX

Maggie Scully looked at the latest contribution given 
to her by Monica Reyes. This time, she could smile 
freely.

It was another picture. Little William--at home in 
Wyoming. Sitting in a baby bathtub.

At the moment the picture had been taken, the 
overhead light had created a tiny spotlight--on a 
familiar gold cross that hung on a small chain around 
the baby's neck.
 
The End.


Author's Notes:

Do you know why I generally write happy stories? 
Simple. I get too emotional over angst. 
I didn't intend to write a post-The Truth fic because 
I liked the ending--given the circumstances. However, 
a lovely lady named Carol shared an idea for a post-
episode fic she'd like to read, and I got so excited 
over one part of what she said, that I was off and 
running before the day was up. It helped me "fix" the 
really sad tone to the last scene. Not that this 
isn't equally sad but at least we know William is in 
good hands and Mulder and Scully may have some future 
contact with their son. Still in keeping with the 
finale but making it just a bit better.
By the way, I sang "Hey, Jude" to myself while 
writing most of this. Hence, the summary at the 
beginning. No infringement intended there, either 
<vbg>.