It Didn't Begin Well

By enpauriel
schizo_person@hotmail.com


DISTRIBUTION: Just tell me if you're putting it anywhere.

RATING: PG
CATEGORY: Story
KEYWORDS: MSR
SPOILERS: None really.

SUMMARY: Mulder and Scully are called in the day before
Christmas to sort out some missing files.

DISCLAIMER: The characters aren't mine, they belong to
Chris Carter, FOX and of course the actors who made them,
I'm just playing.


Scully stretched lazily as she woke up, revelling in the
feel of the sheets against her skin. She wasn't used to a
single bed, and found that her limbs soon hit air much
too cold for her liking. The invitation to spend
Christmas at her mothers was one she never turned down,
but it did require some getting used to each time.
Curling back into the duvet she finally opened her eyes,
and tilted her head to the side, trying to get a view of
the clock. 8:15. Scully turned her head away again and
sighed quietly, before bolting upright and grabbing the
clock.

"Damn." She muttered, slamming the clock back down on the
nightstand and swinging her legs out of the bed. She
couldn't believe she'd slept this late, especially with
Mulder coming to pick her up at 8, or at least his
version of it. Skinner's unwelcome phone call the day
before had resulted in the two of them agreeing to go
into work the day before Christmas to help sort out some
rogue reports that, while having been completed down in
the basement office, had never made their way up to him.
Scully had a sneaking suspicion that Mulder was largely
to blame for this but she had no evidence, and if she
left him to find them by himself the likelihood of them
ever reaching their intended destination was about as
high as her ever taking Frohike up on his offer of a
date. As she scrambled out of bed and ran for the
bathroom she heard the doorbell and paused at the top of
the steps to let Mulder know that she wasn't exactly
ready.

Mulder swung the car into the driveway and killed the
engine. Pocketing the keys he hopped out and walked to
the front door, checking his watch as he went. 8:15.
Well, pretty on time for his standards, though Scully was
no doubt standing at the door waiting impatiently. So
sure was he that this would be the case, when the door
opened to reveal Scully's mother he had to quickly
backtrack on the apology already halfway out of his
mouth.

"Yeah, I know, I'm late aga -, oh, Mrs Scully I'm sorry.
Did Scully change her mind?"

"No!" Came a voice from the next floor up, and both
Maggie and Mulder turned to see Scully hanging over the
banister, still in pyjamas and looking decidedly unready
for work.

"I'm sorry." She called down. "I forgot to set the alarm
and overslept, just give me a few minutes ok?"

Mulder nodded and she disappeared again. Maggie smiled
and shook her head in despair.

"Well Fox, it looks like you've got a wait on your hands.
Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"No thank you, I have some in the car. But a piece of
toast would be much appreciated?" He replied, allowing
the use of his first name to slip by unnoticed as he
always did with Scully's mother, the only person other
than his own mother he allowed to use it. She nodded and
headed to the kitchen.

Upstairs Scully was rushing to get ready. Squirting some
toothpaste on the brush she shoved it into her mouth and
went back to her room, changing her clothes as quickly as
possible without getting them covered in the white paste.
Fully dressed aside from her shoes she headed back to the
bathroom and rinsed out her mouth, before splashing some
cold water over her face and then putting on the little
make-up she used to make herself look at least a little
presentable. Checking her reflection she decided she'd
do, and started down the stairs.

After Maggie had left for the kitchen Mulder made his way
into the lounge. Knowing Scully's habit of kicking off
her boots when she sat down he crouched by the sofa and,
sure enough, there they were underneath it. Pulling them
out he turned to go back to the hallway, but found his
way blocked by a small boy.

"Look'ee." Stated the child, holding up a video for
Mulder to see. Hearing Scully thump across the landing
upstairs he decided he had time for this, and bent down
to see what the kid was holding.

"The Lion King." He read, and the boy nodded happily,
before opening his mouth wide and belting out what
sounded like a very mangled version of 'The Circle of
Life' as loud as his little lungs could manage. A few
seconds later a harassed looking woman appeared and
clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Shh, Mattie. We don't want to wake everyone up this
early." Lifting him up she popped something into his
mouth and turned to Mulder. "I'm sorry, he's been doing
that all week. I think I'm going to have to get him
singing lessons just so it stops being such an appalling
racket." Grinning she left again, taking what Mulder
assumed was her child with her, and he headed back out to
the stairs, finding Scully on her way down them. As she
reached the bottom he handed her the boots and she
flopped down on the bottom stair to pull them on.

As she did so Mulder heard his name being called, and saw
Maggie coming from the kitchen with a piece of toast on a
plate. Smiling at her he grabbed the toast and handed it
to Scully who had just finished putting her boots on. She
shoved it into her mouth, grimacing slightly at the
mixture of jam and toothpaste, and pushed her arms into
the sleeves of the coat Mulder was holding out for her.
Quickly giving her mother a peck on the cheek she headed
out the door Mulder had just opened and into the car
waiting outside, closely followed by Mulder.

Maggie watched as the car was backed down the driveway,
still holding the plate, and jumped as someone touched
her shoulder. Looking over her shoulder she saw Tara
holding Mattie and smiled.

"What is it?" Asked her daughter-in-law. "You look a
little shell-shocked."

"Oh it's nothing really." Maggie replied, closing the
door and directing the other woman back into the lounge.
"It's just that I've never known Dana to get ready so
fast, and she never lets anyone help the way Fox just
did. I was just wondering how she doesn't realise."

"Realise what?"
"That he's in love with her, and she with him. I can
barely remember when it wasn't that way, and yet they
still won't admit it, even to themselves."

Shaking her head Maggie sat down, preparing herself to
sit through yet another viewing of Mattie's current
obsession, and another of his renditions of his favourite
song.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mulder had kept quiet in the car, well aware that Scully
was not a morning person even in the best of
circumstances, and especially not when she'd only been
awake for a grand total of 20 minutes. Instead he simply
handed her the coffee once she'd finished her toast, and
let her pick the music for the drive. After all, it was
his fault the two of them had to go in anyway, though he
didn't dare admit it to her. The missing reports were
ones that he had meant to give to Skinner, it was just
that on the way up to his office he'd been waylaid by a
phone call from a source over a possible X-file and,
well, the rest was history, including the reports. He'd
meant to reprint them, he'd just never quite got round to
it, and then he'd forgotten completely.

He snapped back to attention as the loud sound of a car
horn blasted through his ears, followed by the equally
disturbing if not as loud sound of a disapproving sniff
from his partner. Giving her an apologetic half-smile he
quickly manoeuvred himself so that he was fully in one
lane rather than straddling two, and managed to make it
the rest of the way to work without further incident.

He had no trouble parking, what with the fact that the
two of them and Skinner were about the only ones working
today, a fact that he was sure would put Skinner in an
even more surly mood than usual, a theory for once shared
by Scully, who dropped her things on the desk and turned
to him with a 'don't mess with me' look.

"Since I'm here out of the goodness of my heart and more
than likely to have to face a very unhappy Skinner on
your behalf, I'm sure you wouldn't mind going and getting
me a real cup of coffee and some proper breakfast would
you?"

The order was followed by a sweet smile, but it was an
order nonetheless, and Mulder hurried off to obey it
before she changed her mind about helping him, just
hoping he wouldn't run into Skinner on the way. Sod's law
still being active however, he did.

"Agent Mulder what a pleasant surprise." His boss said,
eyes and expression indicating that it was anything but.
"And almost on time too." He continued, with a meaningful
look at his watch.

Mulder contemplated blaming Scully, but knew that if she
got wind of it he'd be in even more trouble, and decided
that, for once, perhaps a lie was better than the truth.

"Yes sir, had a little trouble with the car, cold weather
and all. Anyway just grabbing some breakfast and then
we'll be right on to work."

"We?" Questioned Skinner.

"Uh, yes sir, Scully offered to come in and help."

Skinner seemed surprised at this for a moment, and then
narrowed his eyes at Mulder, apparently under the
impression that he had bullied her into coming with him.
Not awake enough for an argument quite yet, Mulder smiled
and backed away slowly, waiting until he was out of sight
round the corner, and then broke into a run, not stopping
until he reached the cafeteria.

He wasn't used to being in here, he and Scully usually
avoided it because it was the hub of the rumour-mill, and
they always became the centre of attention when they
entered. Today though it was almost empty, and the one
lady serving barely even looked at him as he bought the
coffee and croissants.

Heading back downstairs it appeared that God was going to
take pity on him for a few minutes, as he didn't see hide
nor hair of Skinner all the way down, not that the man
had any hair to hide anyway he sniggered to himself.

"What's so funny?" Demanded Scully as he entered their
office, practically snatching the meal from his hands.

"Nothing." He said shaking his head. "Just a thought."

"Dollar for it?" She replied, holding up the money she
owed him for breakfast.

"Not worth it. And keep the money, you're doing me a
favour by helping me find these reports, least I can do
is buy you breakfast."

Smiling in thanks Scully sat down at the computer and
began searching for the reports. Mulder sat on the floor
in front of the filing cabinet where they put the
miscellaneous bits of paper that didn't seem to fit with
anything and happily spread them out around him, stopping
every now and then as he got distracted by something
interesting.

Before long Scully had created a neat little pile of
papers on the desk next to her, made up of almost every
report that had been lost. There was just one she
couldn't find, and it didn't seem to be on either user.

"Mulder?" She directed her query at her partner, who was
engrossed in a crumpled sheet of paper that looked as
though it had seen better days.

"Mulder!" She repeated a little louder, making him jump
and stuff the sheet back into a draw, before turning to
her, trying to wipe the look of guilty panic off his
face. Scully wasn't buying it. Getting up she approached
him, and noticed his attempts to shift so that he was
blocking the drawer.

"What was that?" She asked, trying to feign casual
interest.

"Nothing." He replied, too quickly.

"Oh? So why are you hiding it from me?"
"I'm not hiding it, it's just not important. Are those
the reports?" He questioned, scrambling to his feet and
trying to draw her attention away from the drawer.

"Yes, all bar one. What was it Mulder?" She answered,
refusing to be distracted.

"Oh? Which one is missing?" He replied, steadfastly
ignoring the question.

Scully sighed in annoyance and glared down at the floor,
her expression changing into one of delight as she caught
sight of the report she'd just spent the last 15 minutes
searching fruitlessly for. She pointed to it, and waited
for Mulder's eyes to follow the direction of her finger.

"That one." She proclaimed. Realising that she had no
intention of picking it up for him, Mulder rolled his
eyes and bent down to retrieve it himself.

"While you're down there do you think you could pick up
the rest of those pages?" Came Scully's voice from above
him. "Just so I don't end up having to do it later."

Muttering quietly to himself Mulder did as she asked, not
noticing that he was moving further away from the filing
cabinet as he did so, and leaving enough space between
him and it for Scully to squeeze in between and open the
drawer. Having finished collecting the papers Mulder
stood and turned, just in time to see Scully's hand leave
the drawer, holding the crumpled piece of paper he'd just
shoved into it.

Dropping what he was holding Mulder lunged for it, but
Scully was too quick for him, darting out of arms reach
and behind the desk for protection.

"Give it back." Mulder said, trying to stay calm and not
sound like a 5 year old.

"No." Scully replied, resisting the temptation to stick
her tongue out at him. "I want to know what it is."

Giving up on reasonable discussion Mulder make a leap for
her over the desk, but only succeeded in knocking the
pile of reports to the floor, as Scully made a run for
the door. He regained his footing and made it there at
the same time as her, grabbing her arm and pulling her
backwards. As he did so he lost his footing, and
tightened his grip on her arm to try and keep himself
upright. Unfortunately it was a futile attempt as she
weighed about half as much as him, and so the action
resulted in the both of them falling to the floor.
Slightly stunned they lay there for a few moments,
regaining their breath, before being shocked out of their
skins by a booming voice.

"Just what is going on in here?"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jumping up even faster than they'd gone down the two
agents found themselves face to face with a somewhat
bemused but very definitely annoyed Skinner.

"First I find you wandering around the corridors
upstairs," he growled, staring at Mulder, "And then I
come down here because you've had quite long enough to
find these reports and find you lying on the floor. Is it
too much to ask for an explanation?"

"No sir." Came two muttered replies, hard to hear as both
Mulder and Scully were staring determinedly down at the
floor, afraid that if they caught the others eye they
wouldn't be able to stop themselves laughing. But to
Skinner's eyes they looked the very picture of a pair of
naughty children caught doing something they shouldn't
have been.

The corners of Skinner's mouth twitched as he took in the
state of the office, and the state of his two agents, who
were both looking a little the worse for wear.
Straightening his face he made sure to keep any hint of
amusement out of his voice.

"Well?" He demanded.

Seeing that Mulder was going to keep his mouth firmly
closed Scully took on the task of answering.

"Well sir, we found all the reports you wanted, though
um, you'll have to wait a moment for us to get them back
together." Pausing she gave Mulder a quick shove in the
direction of the desk and he went to do just that, though
not passing up the opportunity to make a grab for the
paper they had been fighting over. Scully had been
expecting this however, and scrunched the paper into her
fist as he reached for it, making him stumble again and
earning him another glare from Skinner. Abandoning his
attempts to retrieve it for the time being Mulder
crouched down to gather up the reports.

"And then we were just putting them into a pile when we
realised we were still missing one. Mulder reached over
the desk to put it on the pile but slipped and knocked
them to the floor. I went to help him but he grabbed me
as he tried to regain his balance and we both fell."

Looking up at him with innocent eyes Scully felt only a
little shame, as it wasn't entirely a lie. Skinner tried
to stare her down, knowing he hadn't got the entire
truth, but found himself wilting in the face of her gaze
and gave up, mentally cursing himself for being unable to
withstand it.

As he tore his eyes away he found Mulder standing before
him, a pile of papers in his hands.

"This is all of them sir." He said, and dumped them into
Skinner's arms.

"Good. Next year perhaps you could see your way to
getting them all in on time?"

Mulder grinned and nodded, and Skinner turned on his heel
and walked out, calling out a final order to them as he
went.

"Clean this office up before you go, and have a merry
Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, sir!" They shouted after him, and then
turned to survey the wreckage of their office. Papers
were scattered everywhere, and the desk was a good 3 feet
from its usual position, and some of its contents were
spilling out, though at least it was still upright.
Sighing the two set to work, or at least Scully set to
work, and Mulder set to thinking how he could get that
piece of paper back from her.

As if she'd heard his thoughts Scully straightened up and
uncurled her fist.

"What is this Mulder?" She asked, deciding to try proper
questioning again.

"Does it matter?" He replied, squirming uncomfortably.

"It does when you so obviously don't want me to read it."
She stated, not about to let him back out of it.

"It's personal." He muttered, hoping that would be enough
for her, but he'd piqued her curiosity too much already.

"Personal? Don't tell me this is a list of those movies
that aren't yours?" She smirked as she spoke, but the
smile fell away as he lifted his eyes to meet hers. They
were filled with emotion, and she suddenly realised that
he was serious. Stepping toward him she held out her hand
for him to take the paper.

"I'm sorry." She said, hoping he'd understand that she
hadn't known he wasn't kidding around.

"It's ok." He took the paper and smoothed it carefully,
tucking it into a pocket with something akin to
reverence. Scully watched curiously, but didn't question
him further. Instead she threw everything on the floor
into a draw and grabbed their coats, holding his out for
him to put on. He looked up surprised.

"But we didn't put all this stuff away properly." He
protested, well aware of Scully's distaste for mess of
any kind.

"I know." She said smiling at him. "But I think we need
to get out of here don't you? Anyway, mom will kill me if
I don't get back before Charlie arrives."

Mulder's face had brightened considerably at the prospect
of leaving, but when Scully mentioned going home it fell
again. Trying to mask his disappointment he berated
himself for wishing she would spend the day with him
rather than her family, and attempted to feign
enthusiasm.

"Oh right, Charlie. The only Scully I haven't met yet."

"Mmhm, though you'll be meeting him today of course." His
partner replied matter-of-factly, pushing him out the
door and locking it.

"What?"

"I said you'll be meeting Charlie today."
"Yeah, I heard you but, I am?"

"Well of course you are. I mean, you are staying with us
for Christmas, right?" Scully looked at him as they
entered the elevator, eyebrow raised in question.

"Uh, are you sure?" Mulder answered the question with a
question. "I mean, I know Bill is there and Charlie might
not even like me and I don't want to impose on your mom
and I know you get sick of me and -"

"Mulder?" Scully interrupted his ramblings. "We want you
to come, ok? Charlie, mom and me."

"And Bill?"

"Well, no, but he's just going to have to put up with it.
You're as much my family as he is."

Mulder felt a lump in his throat as she spoke and
swallowed quickly.

"In that case," he said clearing his throat a little,
"I'd love to come."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After a quick pit-stop at Mulder's so he could pack and
Scully could raid his kitchen for anything edible, the
two managed to make their way back to Mrs Scully's house
without any further mishaps. There was again silence in
the car, a little more uncomfortable now than it had been
earlier due to Mulder's behaviour over that piece of
paper, and Scully's heartfelt words.

Still, the warm reception that both received upon
entering the house put such emotions and thoughts to the
back of their minds, and they were soon well involved in
the festivities. Scully had been accosted by her mother
and was now busy chopping vegetables, and Mulder had been
plonked down in front of the TV with Matthew to watch the
Lion King and make paper chains, with an admonition to
stay out of trouble. He wasn't sure if he should feel
offended by being treated like a child, but after he'd
got the third paper chain somehow attached to himself,
and had sung along to 'Hakuna Matata' a good few times,
he was beginning to get into the spirit of things.

He'd just picked up the remote to rewind the tape again
at Mattie's insistent demands, when the front door
slammed and a shadow fell across the doorway. Mulder
scrambled to his feet and removed any bits of paper from
his body, accidentally hitting play as he did so.

"It means no worries! For the rest of your days . . ."
Blared the TV, along with Mattie's high-pitched voice
shrieking that he was in the wrong place. Turning back to
the child with an apology Mulder handed the remote to
him, and slowly rotated back to face the figure entering
the room.

"What are you doing here?" It asked, the tone it used
brooking no chance for debate.

"Bill, hi, nice to see you again." Mulder tried anyway,
hoping Scully or her mom or at least someone would get
back in here so he wouldn't have to face the elder
brother from hell all on his own.

"I asked you a question." Bill said, ignoring Mulder's
outstretched hand and folding his arms over his chest to
make it clear he had no intention of shaking it.

Sighing Mulder prepared himself for the explosion that
was liable to come when he revealed that he had been
asked, but found himself saved from that particular
horror when Mattie barrelled into his legs from behind.

"Unca Mudda, pumba on!" He squealed happily, pointing
back at the screen where indeed pumba was on, though he
had changed colour rather dramatically, now being a
somewhat luminous green rather than his usual brown.
Mulder smiled back at him, but froze as he realised just
what the boy had said. Desperately he prayed that Bill
hadn't heard it, but again it seemed that God was sitting
on a cloud with his fingers in his ears for all the good
it did him.

"Uncle Mulder?"

"Look, I never asked him to call me that, ok?" Mulder
tried to explain, backing away at the dangerous look on
Bill's face.

"Uncle Mulder? My son considers you to be a part of this
family?" The storm clouds were gathering fast, his voice
becoming louder as he continued to speak. "You, the man
who got my sister killed, who nearly got my other -"

"Bill!" Came a familiar sounding voice from the other
doorway, sharp and definitely displeased, yet still a
balm to Mulder's ears. Scully had come to his rescue.
Bill looked over towards his sister and opened his mouth
to continue the argument, but a practised glare from her
soon had him shutting it again.

"Mulder would you go into the kitchen please? And take
Mattie with you. I need to talk to Bill." Her voice was
controlled, her tone casual, but Mulder knew that she was
seething inside. Deciding that it would be a safer idea
to do as she said just this once, he picked the boy up,
placating him with the stuffed lion from that morning. He
carefully made his way round Scully, studiously ignoring
the death rays that Bill was boring into his back as he
went.

Everyone turned as he entered the kitchen, obviously
having heard Bill's fighting words a few moments before.
Mulder deposited Mattie into his mother's arms and took
over Scully's position at the chopping board, waiting for
the shouting match in the other room to begin. He sensed
that the women in the room with him were waiting for the
same thing, as Mrs Scully was putting the lids on
anything that could spill if jogged, and Tara was getting
Mattie into a coat so she could take him outside.

The preparations were interrupted, however, by the
slamming of the front door, followed by a male voice
calling out.

"Hi all!"
"Charlie!" Came an excited yell from the front room, and
Mulder looked over his shoulder to see Scully fly out of
the door and into the arms of the man who had just
entered. He watched them as they hugged and laughed, and
found his mouth twitching into a smile as he noted the
similarities between the two. The hair colour was
obvious, but even though Charlie stood a good foot taller
than his sister they had a very similar bone structure,
though where it made Scully look delicate and pretty, it
gave Charlie very striking features that Mulder was sure
had won him many dates in the past.

The smile faded though as Bill stalked back into the
kitchen, taking advantage of Scully's distraction to
resume his attack on Mulder. Only meeting his eyes for a
few seconds to convey his anger and disgust Bill jerked
his head toward the garden and marched out through the
back door, apparently confident enough that Mulder would
follow him to not even look back to check he was.
Receiving no help from anyone else as they'd all rushed
out to see Charlie, Mulder reluctantly followed the
larger man, hoping that he only wanted to yell at him
rather than physically fight, as he wasn't sure who would
win in such a match. He had the FBI training yes, but
Bill had army training, as well as extra height and
weight. Either way, he didn't want Scully to have to come
visit him in hospital on Christmas Day, or the Scully
family to have to visit Bill.

Coming out of his musings at the sound of Bill's voice,
Mulder pulled himself up to his full height, and looked
the other man straight in the eye.

"As I was saying. You've caused my family a lot of grief,
and Dana the most. When our father died it fell to me to
be the man of the house and you're making that job very
difficult. First Melissa died thanks to you and whatever
the hell quest you're on, and then Dana nearly goes the
same way. The things you've put her through the past few
years I don't know how she can even stand the sight of
you. Now I don't know why you drag her off to all these
places, put her in danger and nearly get her killed but -
"

Mulder was staring at Bill incredulously, unable to
believe the words coming out of his mouth. He'd been with
the guy when he started, quite used to sending himself on
guilt trips over what had happened to Scully because of
her association with him and the X-files, but the
insinuation that he forced her to stay with him pushed
him over the edge. He'd had this argument with Scully
before, just after they'd returned from Antartica. He'd
wanted her to leave the X-files, go do what she wanted to
do, but she'd stunned him by blasting him with an
argument that had left him reeling at his own arrogance,
and it was the one he was about to use now. Every time
Bill had attacked him he'd hung back, accepting the
insults and the blame, but this wasn't insulting him, it
was insulting Scully, and that was something he wouldn't
accept from anyone least of all her own brother.

"Excuse me?" He sputtered, making Bill pause in his
tirade.

"What?" The other man said, a little astounded that
Mulder had answered back.

"I'm sorry but I can't believe that you would think I
would, or even could force Scully into doing anything! I
mean, you grew up with the woman so you know how stubborn
she can be, and she certainly would never do anything
against her own will unless she was forced into it by
gunpoint, and she's the one that shot me not the other
way around. Look, by all means blame me for the bad
things that have happened to her but don't blame me for
her choices. Because that's what they are Bill, her
choices, not mine. I hate it when she's hurt or in
trouble, but sometimes there's just nothing I can do to
stop that. The one time she went on a case without me she
got shot and nearly died, now that was her choice to go,
are you going to say I forced her into it? Scully has a
mind of her own and a very impressive one at that, and
uses it to make her own decisions. I would think that as
her brother you would give her a little more credit."

Bill stood there mouth open, obviously trying to form an
answer but unable to find one that would still have him
in the right. Seeing his trouble, Mulder decided to end
this while he was still ahead and not beaten to a pulp.
Backing off slowly so he'd have time to leap out the way
if Bill decided violence was a better form of argument,
Mulder began to turn away, but found his escape route
blocked by the very person he had just been talking
about. A little embarrassed he ducked his head to avoid
her eyes.

Scully had forgotten all about Bill in her excitement to
see Charlie, having practically shoved him into the wall
in her haste to get out of the room, the confrontation at
the back of her mind as she welcomed her little brother
home.

"God, Charlie how long has it been?" She'd asked,
honestly unable to remember.

"I don't know Day, but too long." He'd replied, drawing
her into a bear hug that lifted her right off the floor.
Laughing she'd thumped him and demanded he put her down.
He did so, rubbing his arm where she'd hit him, receiving
a raised eyebrow for his attempts at feigning injury.

"That hurt." He whined, trying for the sympathy card.

"Liar." She'd replied, eyes dancing with mirth, and he'd
been unable to keep a straight face after that, grinning
right along with her and dropping the act.

She'd stepped back so her mother could get hold of
Charlie and looked around for Mulder so she could
introduce him, but realised that he was nowhere in sight.
Ducking back into the lounge she found Bill missing too
and hurried into the kitchen, hoping she wasn't going to
have to follow a trail of blood to find the two of them.

Instead she had caught sight of them outside, amazingly
both intact, and even more incredibly it looked as though
Mulder was doing the talking. She walked out, intending
to interrupt and stop this before it could get any worse,
but found herself overwhelmed by the spirited defence
Mulder was making on her behalf. Working with him every
day she sometimes forgot just how much he thought of her
after finding herself doing all the paperwork for the
fifth time in a month, or having to clear the desk of
sunflower seeds before she could actually do anything.
But here he was, proclaiming it out loud.

She was still basking in the warm fuzzy feeling his words
had created when she found herself face to face with him,
and promptly blushed over having been caught
eavesdropping. A few seconds passed with neither able to
look the other in the eye as they regained their
composure, and then each looked up and caught the others
eye. A shy grin appeared on both faces, and then the
silence was broken as Bill finally recovered his voice
and delivered a parting shot.

"Oh Christ Dana, don't tell me you're in love with him."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Mulder watched as Scully's eyes flashed with a fire he
knew only too well. Though it might not have been obvious
to those now standing in the kitchen observing, or even
to Bill, he could tell that she was now royally pissed
off. Her lips had thinned into a white line, her whole
body was tense, and her fingers had curled into tight
fists. Whether what Bill had said was right or not, if no
one stopped her she was going to attack him with
everything she had and, he noted with a flash of concern,
she was armed. He didn't believe that she would actually
shoot her own brother, but then, he hadn't believed she'd
ever shoot him.

Deciding not to take the chance he stepped in before
things could go any further. Taking Scully by the
shoulders he gently turned her, ignoring the startled and
angry eyes that met his as he did so.

"What are you doing?" She demanded, trying to twist out
of his grip.

Lowering his hands to her wrists Mulder gently wrapped
his fingers round them and lowered his mouth to her ear.

"It's Christmas, Scully, season of goodwill and all that.
Bill is reacting to circumstances he doesn't like and
can't control. You know he's only trying to get a rise
out of you, don't give him the satisfaction."

He held his breath as he waited for Scully's response,
knowing full well that if she decided now was as good a
time as any for a confrontation he wouldn't be able to
stop her. For a few seconds he thought that his efforts
might have been in vain as she practically trembled with
indecision. He even began to take a step back, not
wanting to be caught in the crossfire, when suddenly he
saw her body relax.

Scully had been too enraged even to speak when Bill had
thrown that little accusation her way. She knew he fought
dirty sometimes, but that was a low blow even for him.
She had been gathering her energy for the fight certain
to ensue when she found herself being taken aside by
Mulder. Irritated and confused she'd tried to turn back,
but found herself distracted by the words being whispered
in her ear. Or, more accurately, the person whispering
those words. Mulder was close, too close, and she didn't
like the reactions it was causing in her.

"Stop it." She told her rebellious emotions firmly, but
silently. "You're only doing this because of what Bill
just said, and what does he know?"

"More than you might think." Came an amused answer from
the back of her mind, but she quickly quelled the
thought, and turned her attention back to Mulder. It took
her a few seconds to realise what he'd actually said, the
words taking some time to penetrate the fog that had been
clouding her mind. However, she had eventually realised
the truth of his words, and had allowed herself to relax,
hearing a whoosh of relieved breath both from Mulder
behind her and the rest of her family in front.

Disregarding Bill, who was still standing there,
apparently waiting for an answer, she smiled up at
Charlie who had watched the whole scene from the doorway.

"Charlie, I'd like you to meet Mulder." She proclaimed,
taking Mulder's hand and leading him up to her brother,
only just able to keep herself from directing a snide
comment at Bill as she did.

The two men shook hands a little warily, unsure as to how
the other was going to react. Mulder had only heard good
things about Charlie, and figured that he'd already seen
the worst of the Scully's in Bill so had little to fear
from this brother. Charlie, on the other hand, had heard
mixed views of Mulder. Bill of course made the man out to
be such a monster that Charlie had almost been expecting
him to have horns and a tail, whereas Dana sang his
praises so highly a halo would be more appropriate. His
mother was a little more even-minded, happy to give
Mulder credit where it was due, but not about to forgive
him any and every mistake, and Charlie suspected this was
probably the most believable view, especially since the
man didn't seem to have any adornments past a watch as
far as he could see.

"Nice to meet you." Mulder spoke, interrupting Charlie's
perusal of him.

"And you." Charlie replied with a smile. "I see you've
already experienced the Scully temper." He inclined his
head at Bill who stared back at him angrily, and then at
Dana who gave him a thump on the arm in retaliation as
she walked inside, seemingly confident that Charlie
wasn't about to try and pull Mulder's head off. As she
slipped out of earshot Charlie leant forward, muttering
conspiratorially.

"Nice job with that by the way, calming her down I mean.
Once Dana gets going you know there's going to be tears,
and I've never seen any one get her to go from murderous
to smiling so fast."

Pleased at the unexpected praise Mulder smiled back and
thanked him, pleasantly surprised at the reaction his
presence was causing in this brother, who winked at him
and continued to speak in the same low tone.

"I haven't figured out whether I should like you or hate
you yet, but I'll do that in my own time. Right now we
need to make sure we have a happy family Christmas, and
if Dana wants you counted in that then who am I to
argue?" This was obviously a rhetorical question that
Mulder wasn't supposed to answer, but he couldn't help
nodding in agreement, glad that he was being at least
partially accepted. Pitching his voice low he replied.

"Somehow I don't think that's something we can aim for
with your brother still plotting my early demise."

Charlie looked over at Bill and shook his head in
despair.

"Don't you worry about him. I'll talk to him, try and
make him see reason. You might have to put up with some
stony silences and childishness but I can make sure he
doesn't attack you outright again, at least for the next
day or so."

Grasping Charlie's hand again in thankfulness, Mulder
shook it heartily, gaining an easy grin from the much
more likeable brother. Charlie used the handshake to pull
Mulder inside, and then left the house himself.

"Just remember." He called back. "I'm still making my
mind up on you, so don't take this for granted."

Mulder nodded, making an internal memo to make the best
impression possible, and left Charlie to his business
with Bill. He made his way into the lounge, where he
found Scully and her mom talking, while Tara tried her
best to distract Mattie from the TV. Catching sight of
him Scully beckoned him over.

"How'd it go?" She asked, sure that the answer wouldn't
be too negative. She'd left Charlie alone with Mulder,
knowing that he preferred to make his own decisions over
people, but sure that he wouldn't form one so fast that
Mulder would be in danger any time soon. She'd just been
speaking with her mother as to whether Mulder had made a
good first impression on her little brother, and had
received a reassuring answer to the positive. Now that
Mulder had returned intact, she waited with baited breath
to find out if she'd been right.

"Well," came a slightly unsure answer, "I think I'm on
probation."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Wow, sorry for the delay folks! Had something else I had
to write up but had writers block over it. Thanks for the
reviews in the meantime.

Scully had to laugh at Mulder's proclamation, gaining her
a glare and a pout. Rolling her eyes at him she softened
the action with a smile and turned back to her
conversation with her mother.

Left to his own devices, Mulder went to rescue Tara, who
was struggling with Matthew. The boy was not about to
give his favourite film up without a fight, one which he
was currently winning. Squatting down beside him Mulder
tickled him, getting him to look away, and then pulled
his now infamous Mr Potato Head face. Mattie was
astounded, staring at Mulder as if trying to work out how
the film character had got onto this mans head.
Apparently deciding it was a matter for laughter not
tears, the kid was soon cackling away, the film his
mother was finally able to put away completely forgotten.

"Thank you!" Tara mouthed over her son's head. Mulder
smiled at her and shook his head to indicate it wasn't a
problem, glad that at least one member of the family
seemed grateful to have him here today. She quickly
gathered up all the things strewn out on the floor and
shoved them into a box in the corner before determinedly
picking Matthew up and heading toward the stairs, the
screams that floated back suggesting Mattie wasn't
entirely happy with this turn of events.
Alone again, Mulder went back to his earlier task of
making paper chains, and was soon joined by Scully. The
two worked in an easy silence for a while, happy to be in
each other's company without being yelled at or having
anything of paramount importance to do. Scully especially
enjoyed these times and had been itching to go sit down
with him while standing with her mother, who had noticed
her daughter didn't seem to be listening to what she was
saying.

"So Dana, Fox finally decided to come this year?" She had
asked, curious as to why he had changed his mind.

"Yes." Scully had replied, staring over at Mulder.

"Did you have to bully him into it or did he come
willingly?"

"Yes." Came the cryptic answer.

"I suppose the story about the giant killer Christmas
trees helped."

"Yes . wait, what?" Scully's brain had caught up with her
ears, and she'd blushed as she turned her head back,
opening her mouth to apologise. Maggie waved the apology
away and pushed her daughter over to Mulder, leaving the
room to continue with the dinner, shaking her head and
wondering just when the two of them would open their eyes
to what was right in front of them.

"Mulder?" Scully broke the silence, suddenly needing him
to know something.

"Fhab?" He replied, then noticed his speech was
unintelligible due to the paper in his mouth. Spitting it
out he tried again. "What's up?"

"I wanted to thank you for what you said outside. I don't
actually need anyone to defend me but I know why you did
it and it's nice to know that you think that highly of
me."

Scully paused, unsure how to continue, or even whether
she should. It might well be better to leave it alone, he
didn't seem particularly offended, and it would be hard
to explain. Still, she'd started now so she might as well
finish.

"But, um, what Bill said, outside." She began, stammering
a little. Mulder put everything down and gave her his
full attention, realising this was more than just a
simple inquiry.

"When he asked if I, if I stayed with you because I loved
you, I didn't mean, well, it wasn't that . I didn't get
angry because of what he said but because he said it, if
you see what I mean?"

Mulder wasn't sure that he did, but nodded so that she'd
go on.

"It's just, I wouldn't want you to think that I'd be that
offended if someone said I was in love with you but Bill
should know better and I can't believe that he'd think
I'd be so shallow and such an airhead as to do it. But I
just need to know that you aren't upset over it."

"Why would I be upset over it?" Mulder mused, only
realising that he'd spoken aloud when Scully answered
him.

"Well," she said cautiously, "If someone accused you of
being in love with me and then you knocked them out
because of it I might take that as slightly insulting."

Finally understanding where she was coming from Mulder
shook his head.

"Don't worry Scully I'm not insulted." He smiled. "If
anything it's a compliment."

He elaborated as he caught the puzzled look on his
partners face.

"Well, if you'd stayed with me this long just because of
that then I must be one hell of a good-looking, sexy,
intelligent, understanding, gorgeous hunk of a man!"

Scully regarded him with serious eyes for a moment, and
then reached out and pinched the skin of his hand tight
between her nails. When he yelped in pain and snatched
his hand away from her she nodded in satisfaction.

"Yep, you're still dreaming Mulder." She told him matter-
of-factly, and went back to her chain. Mulder pouted for
a few seconds, but soon realised that it wasn't going to
help him this time. Restraining himself from poking
Scully in revenge he settled back to work. As the silence
descended again he found himself thinking over what she'd
said.

"I wouldn't want you to think that I'd be that offended
if someone said I was in love with you."

Yes, those had been her words. Was there a chance that .?
Mulder shook his head angrily, annoyed at himself for
pondering such a thing. Scully had always made it clear
that theirs was nothing but a platonic relationship. He
counted himself lucky to get away with the hand on the
small of her back, which often rode a little lower than
it should, though it seemed that Scully just accepted
this as misplacement. Shrugging his shoulders he tried to
put the thought out of his mind, but it was hard. More
words floated through.

"That you should know my heart, look into it, finding
there the memory and experience that belong to you, that
are you."

Silently he cursed his eidetic memory for allowing him to
remember the things she'd written to him in that journal
when she underwent the treatment that could have killed
her. He wondered how much more she would have written,
how much more of her private self she would have exposed
to him, knowing she would die, and he wondered whether it
was now time to return the favour.

Slowly he reached into his pocket, debating whether this
was really a wise course of action. Beating down his
demons, he took out the piece of paper they had been
fighting over a few hours earlier, and turned it over in
his hands. Taking a deep breath he opened his mouth to
get Scully's attention.

"Dana!"

A voice rang through from the kitchen.

"Dana I could really use a hand in here!"

Scully jumped up and headed out the door, flashing an
apologetic smile at Mulder as she went, apparently not
noticing the paper in his hands, or at least not noticing
that it was different from the many other bits scattered
on the floor around them. Mulder sighed and put it away
again, wondering if the interruption had just been a
coincidence or if some higher power was telling him that
it had been a bad idea.

Standing up he began to hang the chains, tall enough to
get them behind the heavily decorated Christmas tree,
something he was sure Mattie had had a good hand in, and
soon had them all round the room. Stepping back to get a
good look he bumped into someone, and turned to see
Charlie standing behind him.

"Good job." The man smiled. "Mulder 1, Bill 0. Keep it up
and you'll be a fully fledged member of the clan in no
time."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The remainder of the afternoon had, thankfully, passed
without incident. No mysterious phone calls, ghosts of
any kind, and, best of all, not a single outburst from
Bill. Whatever Charlie had said had caused big brother to
limit his disapproval to stony silences, glares, and the
odd tut. However, this Mulder could put up with, as it
didn't cause him to fear for his life.

At the moment, though, he was being spared any of Bill's
methods as the man, along with all the rest of the Scully
clan save little Mattie, was at Midnight Mass. It seemed
that this was a family tradition, something Mulder
guiltily realised that he had interrupted on more than
one occasion. He had been invited to join them, but he
wasn't in any way religious and didn't want to intrude,
so he offered to stay home and look after Mattie, who had
screamed his lungs out through most of the service the
year before, causing him to be housebound this year in
order to avoid a repeat performance. He would be allowed
to stay up until they got back though, as he was going
through a clingy phase, and wouldn't settle down to sleep
unless Tara was there.

Bill had not been entirely pleased about the idea of the
man he hated looking after his son, but some choice words
from Tara this time soon had him backing off. Having made
his bed on the couch, Mulder had settled onto a chair
with Mattie to watch Hercules, which was a compromise
between The Lion King and The Mummy. Possibly a
compromise weighted more heavily in Mattie's favour, but
Mulder was enjoying the Disney film anyway. It was easy
to watch, which meant he could let his mind wander.

As usual it had wandered to thoughts of Scully. He was a
little frightened at what he had come close to revealing
to her earlier, of acting on an impulse that he was
finding harder and harder to resist. Sighing he allowed
his memory to take him back into their shared past,
hoping to find the answer he needed. He recalled her
telling him that she wouldn't leave him, that she was
there for him and that she wouldn't change a day spent
with him. But then he remembered her almost leaving him,
almost leaving the FBI for that matter, and that debacle
with Ed Jerse. He knew he trusted Scully with his life,
body and soul, but was not yet sure that he could trust
her with his heart.

He was rudely pulled from his musings by the indignant
shriek of the boy sitting on his lap. Concentrating he
realised that the film had finished, and probably a while
back too judging by the state of the credits.

"Sorry kiddo, wasn't quite with it there." He muttered,
hoisting Mattie off his lap and onto the sofa as he went
to remove the video.

"Hung'y." Was his only reply, along with a disgruntled
look.

"Hungry? Ok, let's go raid the kitchen before the adults
get back." He grinned at the boy and swung him up into
his arms before marching to the kitchen, doing an army
walk to make Mattie laugh. Depositing him in his high
chair Mulder turned it so that Mattie could see all the
cabinets.

"What would you like, monsieur?" He asked, bowing low.
Mattie simply giggled and pointed. Mulder followed his
finger.

"Cereal? At this time in the morning?"

Mattie nodded seriously, so Mulder shrugged and went
about finding the milk to pour on the Cheerios. He
realised that he was also hungry, and figuring he'd
follow Mattie's lead he made a bowl for himself too,
flopping down in a chair at the table to eat. But Mattie
had decided that now was the time to be fussy, and wanted
to eat what was in Mulder's bowl rather than his own.
Sighing Mulder pulled the boy back onto his lap and
allowed him to do so, reaching over his head with his
spare hand to eat what was left in Mattie's bowl.

That was how the others found them when they got back.
Two empty bowls sitting near each other on the table, and
Mulder leaning back in the chair with Mattie on his lap,
both of them fast asleep. Tara and Scully especially were
amazed at this, Tara because this was the first time in
almost 6 months that her son had fallen asleep without
her in the very near vicinity, and Scully because she
knew Mulder's insomnia rarely let him sleep. The two did
make a cute picture though, and the women were most
disappointed when Bill tried to yank his son off Mulder's
lap, causing both to awaken.

"No!" Mulder cried, grabbing at Mattie and cradling him
against his chest as he leapt to his feet, a hand
reaching down for his gun, causing Bill to stare at him
in alarm, too bemused to yell. Realising what was going
on Scully carefully moved to stand by her partner.

"Mulder, Mulder?" He glanced at her. "It's ok, we're back
now, you don't have to protect Mattie any more."

As she spoke his eyes began to clear, and with an
apologetic look he handed the boy over to his father.

"Sorry, it's uh, it's a force of habit."

Impressed despite himself Bill nodded, and left the room.
He was followed a few seconds later by Tara, who had
thanked Mulder and then left.

Mulder had slumped back down into the chair, rubbing
tired eyes. Scully sat next to him and patted his
shoulder.

"Not your fault." She said, knowing it wouldn't help
much.

"I know. It's just that he's a kid, and I'd never forgive
myself if anything happened to him while I was looking
after him, it'd be just like -"

He cut himself off, but Scully didn't need the words to
know that he was thinking about Samantha, his little
sister, abducted at the age of 8. It was the reason
Mulder was always on guard, whether awake or asleep,
endlessly but fruitlessly hoping that in his dreams this
time he'd be able to save her.

A soft clearing of the throat interrupted the moment.
Charlie and Maggie were still standing in the doorway,
and had suddenly thought that they ought to make their
presence known. Maggie was sure that the two hadn't
noticed, but Mulder and Scully had been lost in the
other's eyes, and identical expression of sadness on both
faces.

"Fox dear, don't apologise. You might have made us all
jump, but even Bill knows now that you are an excellent
guardian for his son. You're going to make a wonderful
father some day."

She smiled at him and walked to the table, dropping a
kiss onto both his and Scully's heads before bidding them
goodnight and leaving the room. Charlie remained in the
doorway a few seconds more, waiting for Mulder to stop
blushing after Maggie's unexpected praise.

"Mulder 2, Bill 0." He stated calmly. "I've never seen
someone react so fast, going from sound asleep to FBI man
that quickly is certainly impressive."

Mulder nodded his embarrassed thanks and got up, busying
himself with tidying the table. Charlie flashed a grin at
his sister, who returned it, thankful for his easy
attitude toward Mulder. He gave her a bear hug and kissed
her cheek before disappearing upstairs after his mother,
calling out a goodnight as he went.

"We should really hit the sack too, Mulder." Scully noted
through a yawn. "Got to be up early to see if Santa
came."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tired as she was Scully couldn't sleep, her thoughts kept
drifting to the times she'd spent with her sister in this
room. Christmas had become something of a melancholy time
for her recently, living each one without her father and
sister, and then the sheer hell of finding and losing her
daughter over the period.

Sighing she threw off the covers, shivering a little in
the cold air, and decided to go downstairs and make a hot
chocolate to try and lull her to sleep. As she reached
the bottom of the stairs her eye was caught by flashing
images on the TV, and she peeked in to find Mulder wide
awake, spread out on the couch under a duvet.

Mulder hadn't been able to get back to sleep since his
rude awakening earlier so had resorted to watching
whatever rubbish was on. However, he had no idea what any
of the plots were as he was watching without sound, not
wanting to wake any of the Scully's up.

He thought, therefore, that somehow one of the clan must
have extra-sensory perception when he heard someone
coming down the stairs. Turning to look over the back of
the couch he saw Scully leaning on the doorpost,
apparently watching him. He hid a smile as she ducked her
head in embarrassment.

"Couldn't sleep?" He asked, saving her from trying to
explain.

She shook her head and he lifted up the duvet near his
feet. Scully raised an eyebrow at him for a moment, so he
put his best innocent look on and waited for her resolve
to waver. Sure enough, within a few seconds she had taken
a seat under the warm duvet next to the bottom of his
legs, which he had moved to allow her some room.

"So Scully, what would your Christmas wish be?" Mulder
asked, deciding that they might as well talk if neither
of them was going to be able to get any sleep.

Scully shrugged, apparently uncomfortable with the
question. Unsure as to the reason for that but figuring
that maybe it was just shyness Mulder continued to push.

"Come on Scully you must have some idea? Mine's obvious
of course, I'd - "

"Wish that Samantha had never been taken, yes, I know.
But Mulder, how am I supposed to choose?"

Mulder looked at her, confusion etched on his features.
Scully looked at her hands, which were twisted together
in her lap, and continued in such a soft voice that
Mulder might not even have heard it if he wasn't
concentrating so hard on her.

"How am I supposed to choose between my father, my sister
and my daughter?"

Stunned into silence for a moment Mulder mentally cursed
himself, unable to believe the extent of his stupidity.
He saw a tear gently flow down Scully's cheek, and the
tiny droplet broke him from his shocked state. Sitting up
he carefully wiped it away with his thumb and then took
hold of Scully's hands, pulling her forward as he lay
back, until she was lying down with him, curled up
against his side.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered into her ear, feeling her
tremble as the tears continued to come. "Scully I didn't
even think. Sometimes I forget how much you've lost to
this cause, my cause . hell maybe - "

"Mulder if the next words out of your mouth are 'maybe
Bill is right' I promise you that I will nail your ears
to the wall and use you as a stocking."

"But Scully - "

"No, Mulder." Scully pulled herself up a little so that
she could look him in the eye. "I have lost things and
people I love, but you can't blame that all on the X-
files, which by the way I consider my cause as much as
yours."

Nodding sheepishly at that, Mulder silently encouraged
her to continue.

"My father's death had nothing to do with what we do, it
was simply his time to go. Missy's death is directly due
to it I accept that, and I accept that if I hadn't stayed
in the job she would very probably still be alive. But
Emily," her voice choked on the name, and she took a few
seconds to gather herself before continuing, "Emily
wasn't a loss but a blessing. Without the X-files I
wouldn't have got to know my daughter, that beautiful
little girl. Without the X-files she wouldn't even have
been created. Her death was sad, and hard, and I wish
that she was still with us, but I am grateful for the
time that I was allowed with her, however short it was.
And Mulder, without the X-files, I would never have met
you. You are my best friend and the best partner anyone
could ever wish for, aside from the odd ditches which are
occurring less frequently these days. How could I wish
for the return of a loved one, when it might mean losing
you?"

Mulder swallowed, touched beyond belief, and tightened
his arms around her, gently pulling her head back onto
his shoulder. He hoped she could feel his sorrow and
gratitude through the hug, because he didn't trust
himself not to cry if he tried to tell her verbally right
now.

Scully snuggled into his side, drawing strength from him
as she always did, needing to keep going with this.

"Mulder, I don't regret the life I chose to lead. I do
regret some of the things that have happened because of
that choice, such as the deaths of those I love, but it
has also led to so many good things. We've helped so many
people, saved so many lives, and helped thwart some of
the most evil people on this planet, even if only
temporarily in some cases. And you've lost just as much
to this as I have Mulder, you lost your entire childhood,
as well as your sister and parents by default."

"But Scully," Mulder interrupted, unable to bear her
trying to equal their losses, "even if I lost my
childhood, you lost your chance of a child -"

"Stop." Scully's quiet command halted Mulder's words.
"Biologically, yes, you're right I can't, but with this
job I couldn't have a child now anyway, it would be too
unfair. But in the future, when, if, things are more
stable then there are a lot of options open to me.
Mulder, I hate the people who took the possibility of
having a child of my own away from me, but I still have
the choice to do something about it, and that's what's
important. I can choose to have a child another way, and
I can choose to keep going after these bastards until we
bring them down."

Eyes flaming and cheeks pink with determination Scully
looked just like an avenging angel to Mulder, who made up
his mind there and then that he would do anything in his
power to make sure they managed it. Not for him any
longer, he'd come to the end of his quest, having found
his answers to Samantha's disappearance, and having made
as much peace with it as he'd ever be able to, but for
Scully, who was only just beginning her quest.

"Ok." He said simply.

Scully smiled at him.

"I know." She replied, and then yawned so wide Mulder
feared she'd swallow his head. Grinning he eased her head
back onto his shoulder again.

"It can wait for now though. You need sleep, and it's
Christmas tomorrow."

"Mmhm." Was his only answer, as Scully made herself
comfortable and began to slip into sleep.

"In fact," he continued, willing his voice to lull her
further, "it's actually Christmas now."

"Mm? Merry Christmas Mulder." Came a murmur from his
side.

"Merry Christmas Scully." He whispered back, and then
closed his eyes.

Outside in the hallway Charlie crept past the open
doorway on his way back upstairs, having stopped in his
tracks as he heard the quiet voices, and having been
caught up in the conversation.

"Three for three Mulder," he thought to himself. "She
loves you alright."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Morning arrived, and with it came a bemused Maggie
Scully, who had got up early to fill the stockings on the
wall and get some coffee going ahead of the rest of the
family. She knew Mulder was in the lounge so she was
being extra quiet, but she nearly dropped the small bag
she was holding when she saw that her daughter was
practically lying on top of the man.

Clutching the goods to her chest she willed herself not
to get excited about this. After all, they were both
fully dressed and it looked like they had been asleep for
a good while. Bending closer, she saw what looked like
tear tracks on her daughters face, and began to hope that
what she thought might have happened hadn't happened,
because if it had it looked like Dana had been severely
disappointed.
Startled out of her thoughts by a soft sigh from Mulder,
Maggie quickly deposited the presents in the stockings
and snuck off to the kitchen. She debated whether she
should wake Mulder and Dana now, so that Bill wouldn't
catch them, but then realised she was assuming either of
them would be cowed by him and chose not to. She was
aware of Mulder's insomnia and knew that Dana never
appreciated being woken. Even if Bill did find them it
would probably be the lesser of two evils.

In fact, it was the thundering of tiny feet that woke the
two couch potatoes. Mattie was up. He zoomed into the
lounge, closely followed by Tara, and headed straight for
the pile of presents under the tree. Tara went to stop
him from ripping open everything there, but was stopped
in her tracks as she noted Mulder and Scully together on
the couch. She opened her mouth to ask what was going on
but was interrupted by Maggie and Charlie entering the
room from different doorways.

Awake now Scully sat up and moved back on to her knees.
She closed her eyes and stretched, and as she opened them
again she let out an excited cry.

"Mulder, look! Stockings!"

"You weren't wearing any." Came a sleepily mumbled reply
from Mulder, who was trying to pull the duvet back over
himself.

"No, Christmas ones." Scully insisted, clambering to her
feet on the sofa and launching herself off the end of it.
That woke Mulder up. He was upright instantly, turning to
make sure she hadn't been hurt doing it. His concern was
met with a large red sock that was shoved into his face.

Pulling back he took hold of it and turned it round. The
word 'Fox' was stitched in beautiful lettering at the
top. He looked at Maggie in astonishment, but she simply
smiled back at him.

"I wasn't sure I could fit 'Mulder'." She told him,
waving away any thanks he'd been about to give.

Touched, Mulder made a mental note to offer help whenever
she might need it, but was soon distracted as Scully's
full weight landed on his legs. Glaring at her he pulled
his legs up to his chest so she slid off them, and made a
show of being in agony. Scully simply rolled her eyes and
moved down the couch a bit, refusing to give him an ounce
of sympathy for the play-acting.

"Give it up Mulder. You're holding a stocking full of
presents. Use those for comfort instead."

Mulder started to argue, but felt the weight of the
stocking in his hand and thought better of it. Following
both Mattie, who had finally been distracted from the
tree presents by Tara, and Scully's examples he tipped
the contents out onto his lap and set about ripping into
them.

10 minutes later everyone in the room was surrounded by
socks, pens, little figurines, keyrings and other
assorted objects. Bill had arrived just as everyone began
opening things. He'd glared at Mulder, more out of habit
than reason, and then settled down to the easy task of
opening presents, and the somewhat more arduous task of
keeping Mattie confined to opening his own presents only.

Having been banned from getting involved with everyone
else's stockings, Mattie was now staring longingly at the
pile under the tree, but was unceremoniously removed from
the floor and taken into the kitchen by Maggie, who
called out as she left.

"Breakfast time. You know the rules, no proper presents
until you've got some food in you. And that includes you,
Dana and Charlie."

The two mentioned looked up guiltily, having just been
whispering about hanging back. Laughing Mulder stood up
and pulled Scully off the couch.

"I see you're miraculously cured." She said, looking at
his legs and raising an eyebrow pointedly.

"I wouldn't argue with your mother." He said with as
serious a face as he could muster, totally ignoring the
comment. Scully threw him a look and then nodded sadly
before heading off to the kitchen. Mulder was about to
follow when he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.
Turning he saw Charlie giving him a very appraising look.

"Yes?" He asked, wondering what was going on.

"Remember that I said I'd keep an eye on you? Work out
for myself if you were an ok guy or not?"

Mulder swallowed heavily.

"Yes, I remember. Am I to assume you've come to a
decision?"

Charlie nodded, his face not giving away a thing. Mulder
hoped that he'd done enough to impress the man. He liked
him, and loved watching the way Scully lit up around him.
Plus, he didn't want another Bill to deal with.

"I've seen the way you treat my sister, and I have to say
that - "

He paused just long enough to give Mulder the beginning
of a stroke at the tension, and then broke into a smile
as he continued.

" - I like it."

Almost collapsing in relief Mulder grinned.

"Really?" He gasped, not quite believing it.

"Really." Charlie confirmed. " You treat her with respect
and you do it with obvious affection and care. I've
noticed that though you act as though you're guiding her
by putting your hand on her back, you're actually letting
her take the lead. I like that, shows respect and care at
the same time, and to be honest I'm amazed she lets you
do it, when we were kids she always treated that kind of
gesture with scorn. Same with men opening doors for her,
but she lets you do that too. Look, basically, I think
you're good for her so, hey, welcome to the family."

He held out his hand. Hesitantly Mulder took it, and the
two men shook hands, Charlie clasping Mulder's arm with
his free hand and beaming at him.

"Now, come on, time for breakfast. This lot are
voracious, if we don't get in there now there won't be
anything left!"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The feeling of relief that Charlie's words had given him
that morning followed Mulder as he went to join the
others in the kitchen and caused him to be almost
speechless, a fact that Scully soon noticed. As he sat
down next to her at the table she put a hand on his arm
and looked at him with concern.

"Is everything alright?" She asked quietly, keeping her
voice low so the rest of her family wouldn't hear.

Mulder just looked at her for a few moments, opening and
closing his mouth but unable to form any words. Giving up
he allowed a broad grin to sweep over his face, lighting
up his features and making Scully smile back. Finding his
voice at last he croaked out an answer.

"Scully, everything is great. Charlie, he uh, well I
think he's pretty much accepted me so um, yeah."

Scully couldn't help but laugh at Mulder's shell-shocked
expression, and his not particularly articulate
explanation. She glanced over at Charlie and received a
wink and a grin from the face partially hidden behind a
squirming Mattie. Turning back to Mulder she squeezed his
arm.

"Good. I knew he'd like you."

Mulder was about to reply when a steaming plate suddenly
appeared in front of him. Sausages, bacon, eggs, fried
bread, mushrooms, beans, tomatoes. Not a millimetre of
the plate was left uncovered by something. Thoroughly
distracted from everything but getting the next forkful
of food into his mouth he set to with gusto.

Most of the rest of the table was following suit, but
Tara was still having trouble with her son, who was
providing a fine example of the development stage known
as the 'terrible twos'. And, as everyone quietened down
due to the large amount of food in their mouths, they
were able to hear what he was yelling.

"No! Ma, want to, no!" (As Tara bodily pulled him back
onto her lap.) "Want to sit there!"

"Where, sweetheart?" Asked Tara, in a voice reserved for
long suffering parents.

"There! With Unca Fox!"

Deathly silence followed this proclamation. Mulder froze
with his fork halfway to his mouth, Scully fidgeted in
her chair, and all eyes turned to Bill. His reaction to
Mulder being considered an uncle had not been favourable
the first time round, and Mattie hadn't mentioned the
word again since, seemingly picking up on the atmosphere
around it. Now though he was hungry and wanted to go to
his new friend and his little mind didn't even consider
the consequences.

Carefully Bill put down his cutlery, pushed his chair
back and picked Mattie up. Standing he made his way
around the table until he reached Mulder and, to the
shock of all, placed his son gently into Mulder's lap.
Mattie bounced with glee and Mulder's hand shot to the
boy's waist to ensure he didn't fall off. Bill caught the
movement and nodded in satisfaction before turning round
and going back to his own place. Thoroughly stunned
everyone watched as he sat down and began to eat again.
Aware that he was being observed Bill cocked his head and
let his eyes wander over his family, as if daring any of
them to say something.

Scully was the one to break the silence, touched that
Bill was willing to make this gesture of acceptance and
not wanting to ruin it by questioning it.

"Hey Charlie." She called, bringing her brother's
attention back to her. "Who do you think will get the
most presents this year?"

An apparently long-standing debate began between the
siblings, and expanded to include the rest of the table.
Mulder was still dealing with the lively bundle on his
lap so was staying out of the conversation, but every now
and then he would look up to find eyes on him. Often they
were Scully's, her eyes shining with happiness because
she was with her family and with him and everything was
ok. Sometimes they were Maggie's or Tara's, and they
would grace him with a smile. And once it was Bill.
Mulder stiffened as he met the man's eyes, still unsure
as to his position with Scully's big brother, but Bill
had just looked at him for a long moment and then turned
back to the rest of the family. Whatever was going on in
his head he obviously wasn't ready to share it yet.
Mulder wondered whether he should sit down and profile
the guy, try to work out what was going on so he could
stay one step ahead, but he thought that an invasion of
privacy was probably not the best way to get Bill to
accept him, and he was supposed to be on holiday after
all.

Eventually breakfast was over and the clan made their way
back to the living room, the adults with cups of coffee
in hand to combat the early hour. Tara was keeping a
tight hold on her son who was desperate to get at the
presents, but it seemed that there was order even here.

"Alright." Maggie began, standing in front of the tree.
"Everybody find a seat."

There was a mad scramble for a moment as there were seven
people and only four seats. Since Tara had Mattie she got
a chair by default, and the other was reserved for
Maggie. Bill, Charlie and Scully all leapt for the sofa,
Mulder hanging back, quite willing to sit on the floor.
Despite her limited height and stature Scully got the
first spot, diving in between her brothers and using them
as leverage. She moved to the left, unintentionally
blocking Charlie's access to the sofa and allowing Bill
to flop down next to her with a cry of triumph. Sighing
in defeat Charlie sank to the floor, glaring at Scully as
she reached over to ruffle his hair, who then beckoned
Mulder over to join them.

Maggie rolled her eyes at her children's antics and
continued with her instructions. Mulder was beginning to
get an idea of where Scully got her organisational
skills.

"Now, Fox, as you're new to this I'll explain what
happened next."

There was a collective groan from the sofa as the Scully
siblings realised they'd have to wait longer for their
presents, but they were soon quietened by a glare from
their mother.

"We all like to see what each person gets, so we put all
the names in a hat and then I pull one out and whoever
comes out first opens their presents and so on. Mattie
will go first though because he's too young to cope with
waiting."

Nodding his understanding Mulder bit back a smile as he
heard Scully mutter behind him.

"Wish I was young enough for that to count."

"So without further ado," Maggie continued, not hearing
her daughter's complaint, "let's open some presents!"

Finally allowed to get at what was his Mattie lost all
restraint and tore into his presents. With the innocence
of childhood he made his opinions known quite happily,
showing disgust at the pink jumper sent by a cousin, and
delight at the Hunchback of Notre Dame video. Quite worn
out by his activities, the boy then climbed into the box
that his musical farm had come in and quietly chewed on
the stuffed toy his mother had bought him.

Maggie pulled a name out of her hat, and Tara was
delighted to find that she was next. Mulder felt guilty
for a few moments when he realised that he hadn't got her
anything, or anyone else for that matter except Scully.
He wondered whether he should sneak out for a little and
get a few things, but knew that it was too late for that.
He'd just have to think of some way to make it up to
them.

Bill was next, then Charlie, and then Maggie who lost her
cool facade for a moment and squeaked in delight as she
pulled her own name out of the hat. They had to take a
quick break after that as Mattie decided he wanted to be
part of the crowd again, and proceeded to knock over two
cups of coffee before they could grab him. Once he was
settled in Tara's arms, placated by promises that they
would all watch his new film with him later and one of
Bill's presents (a keyring that glimmered in the light as
it turned) the next name popped out.

"Ah here we are, Fox, your turn!" Maggie said with a
smile.

Mulder frowned up at her, and then down at the present
that materialised in his lap. Looking behind him he saw
Scully grinning as she threw her own gift at him, and
then three more.

"From the Gunmen." She whispered in his ear.

"Should I open them in public?" He asked, honestly afraid
of what they might reveal, but she shook her head in
amusement.

"It's alright, they promised me it was safe."

Smiling in relief Mulder went to open his presents, but
stopped as the guilt hit him again. Looking up at Maggie
he protested.

"But, I don't have anything for you."

"It doesn't matter Fox, really, open your present."

Mulder paused for a few minutes more, still feeling that
he didn't deserve this, and that it wasn't right.
Suddenly he felt a hand hit him upside the head and he
turned to see Scully glaring at him.

"Open your presents Mulder, the longer you take the
longer I have to wait for mine! If you're that worried
about making it up to Mom you can tidy the house up and
cook dinner later, ok?"

Grinning up at her Mulder contemplated how much pain he
would be in if he kept her waiting any longer, and
decided it just wasn't worth it. Feeling less guilty now
that he had some way to thank Maggie he happily tore into
his presents. He opened the ones from the Gunmen first,
wanting to save the other two for a moment, and found his
lap filled with books on aliens and other creatures, a
computer program that was supposed to make his machine
run ten times faster, and a caricature done by Byers
which was crudely drawn but got the point across all the
same.

After piling the gifts on one side Mulder moved on to
Maggie's present, carefully opening the paper to find a
photo frame. He turned it over and saw that the photo in
it was of him and Scully. He didn't remember it being
taken, but they were at Maggie's house, or at least in
the driveway in front of it. They were standing close
together, obviously midway through a conversation, and
completely unaware that they were being photographed.
Scully was looking up at him and he was leaning into her
a little. They weren't touching at all, but Mulder was
startled by the intimacy the picture showed. He'd
wondered how he hadn't noticed the photograph being
taken, but realised that it was because he and Scully had
been in their own little world, where only the two of
them existed. He saw that Scully was actually standing in
a way that signified protection, for all that he was a
foot taller than her, she was the one keeping him safe in
that photo. And though it was likely that their
conversation had been serious, both of them had small
smiles on their faces that reached all the way to their
eyes, which were entwined in a gaze so intense he
wondered how he'd stood it. He'd denied that he gazed at
her to Holman, and to others over the years, but he knew
that he did it.

Looking up at Maggie he smiled at her, letting his eyes
show his thanks, not wanting to try talking just yet.
Carefully he put the frame onto his little pile of gifts,
his fingers lingering over it, eyes unwilling to leave
it, but forced himself to get on with opening his last
present. He squeezed it gently, and was surprised to find
that it was soft and gave under his hands. Curious he
ripped the paper off and found himself staring at what
was obviously a homemade teddy bear. It wasn't well made.
The eyes weren't level, the limbs were all different
sizes and its mouth wasn't in a straight line. Mulder
paused, confused as to why Scully had given him this, and
then remembered a conversation they'd had on one of their
long drives.

"Did you ever have a teddy bear when you were little
Mulder?"

"No. Well, yes I did for a while. It was one my
grandmother had made. I loved that thing but when
Samantha was born I had to give it to her because I was a
'big boy' now and didn't need it. I always hoped that
she'd get bored of it and give it back, but she never
did, and then when she disappeared it disappeared with
her. I never did find out what happened to it."

She'd remembered. She'd listened to him and heard the
hurt and longing in his voice and she'd gone home and
made him a teddy bear. Even if she'd just bought him one
he'd have been touched, but she'd actually made it with
her own two hands. Suddenly all the bear's imperfections
became marks of love, and at that moment he knew he could
trust her with his heart. Turning round he got up on his
knees and pulled her into a fierce hug that she happily
returned. She heard his choked murmur of thanks and
pulled him in closer, giving him the time he needed to
recover. She had been a little unsure as to whether he'd
like it. She wasn't the world's most talented sewer and
it might have been a memory he would rather have
forgotten. She was glad she'd done it now though, it
obviously meant a lot to him.

Eventually he pulled back and sat back down, holding the
bear on his lap. Maggie smiled at him and then at Dana.

"Alright sweetheart, you can open yours now."

Scully whooped in delight and held her hands out for
gifts. Realising he'd left his in the car Mulder excused
himself for a moment and disappeared outside.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Once outside Mulder realised that he was still holding
the bear Scully had just given him. He leant against the
bonnet of the car for a moment, just staring at the
slightly cross-eyed toy, a smile spreading slowly over
his face as he imagined Scully sitting at her kitchen
table, as focused on sewing on an arm as she was when
sewing up a corpse. He grimaced slightly at the imagery,
but the warm feeling inside remained all the same.

Opening the boot he reached inside and pulled out the two
small parcels inside. He'd thought they were good enough
when he'd bought them but, looking again at the bear, he
wondered now whether they would seem too impersonal. He
knew Scully wouldn't expect anything major from him, and
that making the teddy had probably been a spur of the
moment thing when she was stuck for a gift to get him,
but he still wanted to find a way to show her his thanks
for it.

Slowly he began to make his way back inside, pondering
over something he could get or do, and then stopped short
in the doorway to the lounge, literally hitting himself
in the forehead as a revelation came to him.

The sight of the large man at the door acting like a
maniac was enough to get everyone's bemused attention.
Even Scully turned away from her presents long enough to
give him a concerned look, even if it was a slightly
disgruntled one as well.

"Uh, sorry." He muttered, embarrassed. "I just remembered
that I forgot to wrap one of Scully's gifts. Be right
back."

Backing out of the room he fled upstairs and into
Scully's bedroom, knowing she had some spare wrapping
paper in there because he'd helped her wrap up a few last
minute presents the day before. Grabbing the sparkly
paper and some tape he sat down on the edge of the bed
and sat still for a minute, making sure he was absolutely
okay with what he was about to do. After all, he couldn't
very well hand Scully a present and then snatch it back,
there was no telling what she might do.

Decision made Mulder picked up the three presents and
headed back downstairs.

"Just in time!" Cried his partner, now sitting in the
midst of a generous pile of presents, arms unashamedly
held out for the ones he was about to give her.

Grinning Mulder handed her the gifts but stopped her
before she could open them.

"Hang on Scully, there's an order here. This one first."

He handed her a gift and watched with a smile as she
shook it before ripping into it, making a mental note not
to give her anything fragile without warning her
beforehand.

An exclamation of awed delight caught Mulder's attention.

"Where did you find this?" Scully asked, holding up the
copy of Moby Dick he'd got her. "This is a first edition
Mulder, it must have cost a fortune."

He'd hoped she wouldn't ask that, not wanting to admit
that it actually hadn't cost him a thing. He'd been to
his parent's old house a few weeks ago, sorting out some
things, and had found himself in the library. He'd spent
hours in there as a child, greedily consuming the
knowledge in the books, and as he went on a little
nostalgic stroll he'd come across Scully's favourite
book. Knowing she'd appreciate it he'd picked it up,
intending just to give it to her, but had thought she
might be more likely to accept it if it were a Christmas
present.

Fortunately it seemed that Scully had given up the money
question, knowing he was a little touchy about it, and
was now asking a new one.
"So, which one next?"

Handing her the smallest of the three gifts he made sure
to pay attention this time. Ripping the paper Scully
laughed out loud as the keyring fell into her
outstretched hand. He grinned along with her, the point
of this present being an inside joke that he doubted the
rest of the family would get. The keyring was in the
design of a road sign, the one that indicated that there
was a ditch in the road. Mulder had taken it upon himself
to scrawl a red X across the ditch, symbolising his
intention to stop leaving her behind and go off on his
own. However, knowing his impulsiveness, he hadn't dared
to make it such an outright statement in case she ever
held it against him, and so he'd written along the bottom
of the picture: 'Well, mostly.'

Still laughing Scully handed him her keys so he could add
the keyring to it.

"Mostly, huh?" She teased with a smile.

"You always say don't make promises you can't keep." He
replied, and then nudged the third gift into her hands.
The action was supposed to be nonchalant, but the worry
he had over this particular present made his movements
tense, something that Scully certainly picked up on.

Carefully she began to open it, somehow aware that this
was not something to be rushed, and gasped as she
recognised the piece of paper nestled inside the
wrappings.

"Mulder?" She questioned, remembering his words in the
office about this being personal.

"It's ok." Was the only answer she got.

Taking a breath she gently took the now scrumpled and
partially torn sheet and unfolded it. Seeing her name at
the top gave her a start as she realised that this was
something Mulder had written to her, and she began to
read quickly, bent so far over the page that even Bill
who was sitting right next to her couldn't see what was
written on it. But Mulder knew, and his mind was reciting
the words as Scully read them.

"Scully,

I know you'll never read this. Hell I'm not even sure why
I'm writing this, I don't do this anymore, but this I had
to write down, just in case. I don't know just in case
what but, just in case. Maybe in case you ever are
returned, but I've gone so mad I don't even recognise
you. Unlikely. Anyway, what I was trying to say. I
realised something this morning. I, uh, well, I have a
confession to make first actually. I slept with someone.
Kristin. I'm so messed up Scully, I thought she was a
vampire, hell I wanted her to be one."

The despair and intensity of the words was too much for
Scully for a moment, and she tore her eyes away from the
paper to confront Mulder.

"You slept with a vampire?" She asked, slightly
incredulously and not without a hint of jealousy, though
she hoped Mulder wouldn't pick up on that.
"Do you believe in vampires?" Was his reply.

"No." Came the certain retort.

"Then I didn't sleep with one."

Rolling her eyes Scully appreciated the evasion for what
it was, but realised that this was unlikely to be subject
he'd want to go into with her family sitting around and
let it go. For now. Flicking her eyes back down to the
paper in her lap she continued.

"But it just didn't work. I still don't know what it was
supposed to do. Ever since you were taken everything's
just felt wrong, empty, I guess I just wanted to feel
again for a while. And I did. Guilt, anger at myself, I
feel like I've betrayed you somehow."

Not taking her eyes from the page Scully reached out a
hand and smiled sadly as Mulder took it. Twining her
fingers with his she kept going.

"It's ridiculous, I know it's ridiculous, but it's not.
Damn but I'm glad you're never going to see this stuff, I
feel idiotic enough just writing it and even this is more
coherent than I'll ever be if I just try to say it. Say
what? Good question. I'm not even sure if I should write
it down. If I do it makes it real, makes it hurt more,
but I have to, just in case. I sat down, well more like
fell down, as I realised what it was that was making me
feel like that, and ever since it's just seemed so
obvious. I. Scully. It. Okay, here goes. I love you
Scully, and more than that, I'm in love with you."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Silence fell over the room. Everyone had been muttering
over just what it was Scully was reading, as well as this
little vampire revelation, but as she looked up and her
eyes locked with Mulder's even Bill noted the tension
between the two and shut right up.

Scully stared at her partner, a thousand things to say
running through her head but unable to choose which to
actually speak out loud. Finally she gave in and just
blurted out a question.

"Why?"

Mulder had been practically sitting on the hand that
wasn't still being held by Scully to make sure he didn't
grab the paper and bolt. He knew she'd finished reading
the second she looked at him. There was shock in her
eyes, and he could almost see the wheels turning in her
head as she worked through what she'd just found out.
Tense, he waited for her reaction, and found it not
entirely unexpected. Ever the scientist, Scully had to
ask her questions before she could come to terms with
this.

"Why did I write it?" He answered with a question of his
own. "Or why did I give it to you?"

"Both."

"I wrote it because that's what I did then, when you were
gone. Just as you wrote to me when you were ill in that
hospital. Guess great minds think alike, huh?"

The little bit of humour seemed to work, as Scully's
tense expression crumbled for a moment and she allowed a
small smile to sneak through before motioning for him to
go on.

"I needed to get things off my chest, it was the only was
I was going to stay sane without you there. Writing to
you, it made me feel like you were close, like you could
hear me. I needed that. And, and it gave me hope. As long
as I was writing to you, as long as you were referred to
in the present tense inside my head I had hope that you'd
be returned. And it's like I wrote Scully, just in case."

He paused as he saw the understanding shining in her
eyes, and drew the strength from her that he was sure he
was going to need to answer the other question. He felt
his hand being squeezed, and looked down to find that she
was still holding on to him. Encouraged he went on.

"I know that I wrote this a long time ago Scully, but
that doesn't mean it's not still true."

"Then why didn't you ever tell me before?" Came a sudden
interruption.

"I did!" He couldn't help it, indignation overriding his
need to make her understand.

"When?"

"Back when you rescued me from the Queen Anne. I told you
then and what was your response? I'll tell you Scully, it
was 'oh brother'."

"Mulder you were drugged! For all I knew you thought I
was Skinner, or, or Frohike!"

"No. I knew it was you Scully, and you know that, you
were just afraid to think that I might actually be
telling the truth. And ok maybe I haven't said the exact
words that often but I've told you before in other words
and other ways. 'You're my one in 5 billion', 'you're my
touchstone, my constant', 'you make me a whole person'.
Is any of this ringing a bell? Scully I went halfway
across the world to save you and that wasn't even two
years ago!"

"Mulder after everything we've been through it isn't
exactly surprising you'd care enough about me to get me
back. I mean that could just be ."

"What, Scully? Partnerly concern? I don't think so."

Aware that she'd hurt him, but not entirely sure how to
make it right, Scully chose to alter the subject
slightly, hoping it would give them both a chance to calm
down.

"Alright Mulder, but why now? Why tell me now?"

"I trust you."

She waited, expecting him to say something more, but he
just sat in silence, watching her.

"And?" She asked, unable to wait any longer.

"And nothing Scully. I told you because I trust you now."

"But Mulder you've trusted me for years."

"Not with everything."

Mulder cursed quietly as he saw the hurt that flashed
across Scully's face with that remark. He hadn't meant to
say it like that, so bluntly, and knew he had some
serious making up to do.

"Scully, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you, just
listen for a minute, please?"

Receiving a curt nod in answer he took a deep breath and
began.

"You're right Scully, I have trusted you for years. From
very early on in our partnership I knew I could trust you
with my life and you've proved that time and time again
over the years, saving my sorry ass more times than I can
count even when you'd like nothing more than to kick it
yourself. I know that I can trust you to have my back
anytime, anywhere. I know that I can trust you with my
soul. I have to considering the number of times you've
saved that as well when I've nearly got too deep
profiling someone, or allowing false hope to cloud my
judgement. I know that I can trust you with the second
most important thing in my life next to you, the truth.
Hell I knew that from the first case when I told you
about Samantha even though I would never have admitted or
even really believed it at the time. But Scully, there
was one thing I wasn't sure I could trust you with,
wasn't sure I could trust anyone with because it's been
broken and battered so many times. But now I can."

"What is it?" Scully whispered, her earlier anger
forgotten in the wake of Mulder's obviously sincere
words.

"My heart, Scully. Up until now, til today really, I
wasn't sure I could trust you with my heart. But then you
gave me this."

He grabbed hold of the teddy and waved it in front of her
face.

"I don't understand." Scully said with a frown. "Why
would a Christmas present change your mind on something
so important?"

"I don't know." Mulder replied honestly. "It just seemed
to trigger something. I looked at it and realised just
what you've done for me over the years, and I don't mean
just with work but with other things. Being there for me
when I needed you, not pushing when it was all too much,
allowing me to cry on your shoulder, and not leaving me.
All those times you could have but didn't. You're the
only one that's never left me Scully, and I guess I just
finally realised, how can I not trust you with my heart
when you already own it so completely?"

Finished now it was his turn to wait. He nervously
twisted the bear in his hands as he sat there, suddenly
very aware that the entire Scully family had heard what
he'd just said, and deathly afraid that Scully was still
not going to believe him. His heart leapt into his throat
as he saw the woman in question open her mouth.

Scully had felt tears spring to her eyes as she listened
to Mulder open himself to her in a way that he had never
done before. She knew she'd been too confrontational
earlier, jumping down his throat for the smallest thing,
but she had been so surprised, so amazed by what he'd
written and said to her. She knew that she had been
trying to force him into proving that he'd meant it,
terrified that he might not, but the sheer tenacity,
sincerity and heartfelt honesty that he was showing her
now dispelled any doubts that she had. And so, she
allowed herself to believe.

"Ok."

"What?" Now it was Mulder who was confused. "Ok what?"

"Ok. This." Scully replied cryptically and then, while
Mulder was still staring at her in consternation, she
took hold of his face with both hands and pulled him
toward her for a kiss.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Well! I am sorry that this has taken so long to get
finished. It isn't even a hugely long chapter! I just got
quite attached to this story, and I think that's the
reason it's taken me so long, I had to try to do it
justice. So, I hope that you enjoy it and that it was
worth the wait. Thanks for reading!

Their lips met almost harshly due to the force of the
momentum, but when Mulder finally got his head around
just what was happening he soon backed off a little and
turned the kiss into something far more gentle, far more
reminiscent of their almost kiss, the one that had
plagued his dreams ever since that moment in his hallway.
This kiss was not born out of desperation though, and was
all the sweeter for it. Lips and tongues caressed each
other in restrained but passionate motions, learning this
new part of the other, committing every detail to heart

Lost in each other the two didn't even hear the gasps
emanating from everyone else in the room. For them there
was no one else, and even Bill's exclamation of disgust
and subsequent movement from sofa to doorway went
unnoticed as they succumbed to a temptation that had
existed for as long as either could remember. Finally,
reluctantly, they broke apart; unable to survive without
air any longer, and quietly stared at each other, trying
to put words to the feelings coursing through them.
Mulder was the first to speak, if less than eloquently.

"Uh, so, um ... wow, right?"

Scully let out a breathless chuckle and nodded her
agreement. Suddenly noticing the vacant seat next to her,
Mulder pulled himself up onto it, grimacing as his knees
protested. Scully laughed again, earning her a dirty
glare from Mulder, but she became serious again as he
came to rest beside her and took her hands in his.

"I need to hear you say it, Scully." He murmured quietly.
"I know you're not always good with words, but I really
need to hear this."

Scully wanted to answer flippantly, turning the serious
moment into a joke as they did so often when it came to
these matter, but she knew that if Mulder was asking he
really meant it, and doing that now would only hurt him.
She stared at him, biting her lip and taking deep
breaths. This was a big deal for her. She knew it was a
big deal for Mulder too but it seemed that he had spent
the last couple of days thinking about it, whereas she
had still been concentrating on suppressing her feelings,
so it was a larger leap for her. And Mulder had never
really been one to hide his true feelings like she was.
All in all, this was a tough situation, but there was
only one way out of it. Screwing up her courage she
looked him straight in the eye.

"I love you too, Mulder."

The words were quiet, almost whispered, but in the silent
room they were heard without effort. Mulder couldn't help
the inane grin that spread across his face as he heard
Scully say the words he'd dreamt of hearing from her, but
never actually expected to. He felt the elation build up
inside him, and just couldn't resist it. Leaping to his
feet he punched the air.

"Yes!" He shouted, earning him an embarrassed smile from
Scully, looks of consternation from the rest of the
family and a silence from the corner. Surprised by the
latter as he was fully expecting yet another
confrontation Mulder turned to see Bill stalking back
across the room towards him. He rocked from foot to foot
for a minute, unsure as to whether he should run for his
life, but he couldn't bear to leave Scully after what
she'd just admitted and so stood his ground.

Rather than being knocked to the ground, however, Mulder
found himself pinned by a hard, fierce stare from Bill
that rivalled any of Scully's. He held the other mans
gaze, not looking away; giving Bill the time he needed to
find whatever it was he was searching for.

Scully stood too, absolutely prepared to defend this new
aspect of her relationship with Mulder. She'd been
waiting for this for years and was not about to let Bill
give Mulder any reason to regret his decision to admit
his feelings for her. But both of them were left
speechless as the object of their mutual apprehension
broke the stare, gave Mulder a long appraising look, and
finally extended a hand toward him.

Astounded Mulder did nothing but blankly stare at the
appendage being dangled in front of him until Scully
nudged him back into consciousness. Moving his gaze up to
Bill's face Mulder regarded him with wary hope, slowly
holding out his own hand and placing it in the other
mans, steeling himself for a bone crushing handshake.
Again though he was surprised as, instead of squeezing
his fingers til they bled, Bill gave a tight smile, swung
his arm a couple of times, dropped Mulder's hand and
spoke.

"You'll take care of her. No idiotic jaunts to the middle
of nowhere. No leaving her behind to worry herself to
death. No being a sorry excuse for a man and a selfish
son of a bitch. Got it?"

Mulder simply nodded, aware that this was a set of orders
and not something to be taken any way but absolutely
seriously. And since they consisted of things he had just
promised to Scully anyway, he was quite happy to agree to
them. The insults slid off him like water off a duck,
unimportant in the grand scheme of things, and barely
noticed as he realised that this was Bill practically
giving his blessing. It might be reluctant, but it was
genuine, and he knew it meant the world to Scully.

"Got it." He replied, his eyes shining with gratitude.
"She's been the most important thing in my world for
longer than I can remember," he continued, turning now to
face Scully, "and though I've hurt her and caused her
harm over the years she's always come back to me. I don't
deserve her, but I thank everything I believe in for her
every day, and I always will."

A sudden burst of sobbing caused both Mulder and Scully
to jump, and they turned to find Maggie clutching a
handkerchief to her face.

"Mom!" Scully cried. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, sweetheart. Really, nothing. Everything is
finally right." Maggie replied with a smile, taking her
daughters hand in hers and pulling her close for a hug.
"I'm just so happy for you. For both of you. I wasn't
sure I'd ever actually see this day or whether the two of
you were going to wait until you were in the nursing home
to admit how you felt!"

Laughter followed the remark, and the congratulations
started in earnest, with both Mulder and Scully receiving
enormous hugs from Tara and Charlie, but it was Bill that
Scully really wanted to speak to. Having finally
extricated herself from the tangle of people she found
him standing off to the side, watching the scene with a
half smile on his face.

"Thank you." She said, knowing he would understand what
she meant. "That you'll try ... it means so much."

Smiling down at her Bill nodded his head and then swept
her up into a hug that had her feet dangling from the
floor.

"I only ever wanted you to be happy Dana. If you say
Mulder will make you happy I won't stand in the way."

"He will, Bill. I know he will."

Mulder, a head taller than most of those next to him,
watched the interaction between the siblings from across
the room. He knew he'd been the cause of a lot of the
arguments between them and was glad that the tension
seemed to be dissipating at last. As he watched he saw
Scully turn her head in his direction and meet his gaze,
and for the first time in many years he found himself
able to see every single thing she was feeling. The
guarded, wary look had gone. Her face was as open as the
day it had been when she first walked into his office and
it was glowing with happiness. Unable to stop himself he
moved toward her, the only thought in his head to hold
her and never let go, and he found his way was clear.
After so many years of stopping himself and being
stopped, he could finally take Scully in his arms and
kiss her senseless without fear of recrimination or
rejection. So, with great enjoyment and filled with hope
for the things to come, he did.

The End.