I should have known I couldn't leave this story alone for long. The following popped into my head last night, so here it is. What will follow (eventually) is a series of chapters hopefully filling in the gap between post Existence and the epilogue of Another Man's Child and who knows, maybe after that point too.
Thanks to all the readers for their support, and for indulging me.
Two weeks later.
Mulder jolted awake as he heard the familiar sound of William's wails. He blinked, slowly coming awake, and rolled over, only to be greeted with an empty space where Scully was supposed to be. Now fully alert, Mulder sat up, and realized that the cries weren't in fact coming from the bedroom but the living room. He glanced at the clock, and noted that he'd overslept. It had been a long night, and William had woken them up pretty much every other hour. Scully had insisted on seeing to the baby each time, but that hadn't stopped Mulder waking up too. And now it appeared their two-week old son still wasn't happy.
Getting out of bed, Mulder padded out of the bedroom and towards the kitchen, letting out an impressive yawn as he ran a hand through his dishevelled hair. As he neared, the cries got louder and as he entered the living room he saw Scully pacing the floor with William in her arms. The baby's face was bright red as he wailed against his mom's shoulder. Mulder still had to pinch himself whenever he saw William, just to make sure he wasn't dreaming. His and Scully's son was beautiful – eight pounds of perfection and a copy of his mom and sister. He was growing well and besides his sleeping habits, he had fitted into the Sculder family in no time. Despite her initial reservations, Ashley was besotted with her little brother, and also excited about her new housemate, Mulder. He still wasn't used to her calling him "dad", but loved it, and he couldn't wait to officially adopt her. First though, they just had to get William to stop crying.
Scully's eyes met Mulder's over the top of her son's head. "Sorry", she apologized. "We didn't mean to wake you".
"It's ok, you didn't", he lied. "Want me to take over?"
Scully shook her head. "I got him".
"It's ok, I'm awake now".
"He needs feeding soon".
"You can rest until then, it's –"
"Doesn't he ever stop crying?" Ashley wandered into the living room, rubbing her eyes. It was clear that William had woken her too, and she wasn't too happy about it.
"Good morning sunshine".
"William woke me up crying".
"He's a baby Ash, that's what babies do", Mulder said sympathetically.
"Well can't he stop?"
"Don't you think I'm trying to get him to stop?" Scully snapped at her daughter, who startled. Ashley wasn't used to Scully talking to her like that, but then again, thought Mulder, Scully wasn't used to sleep deprivation.
"I'll take him", Mulder volunteered once again, stepping in towards Scully with his arms outstretched. She stepped back and shook her head.
"I've got him".
"You need rest –"
"I can't rest with him like this".
"I'll see to him –"
"Are you saying I can't get him to quiet?" Scully's voice had an edge to it, and Mulder realized he was about to get shouted at. He wasn't wrong. "I'm trying Mulder, I've been up with him all night and – "
"I told you to let me get him".
"You needed to sleep".
"And so do you Scully, you're exhausted".
"I'm fine!"
Mulder sighed. He was sick and tired of hearing that line from her. "You're exhausted and you're tense. William can probably sense that".
"I can cope".
"That doesn't mean you have to cope on your own. I'm here Scully and I'm here to help. I can do diapers and bottles and vomiting. You just need to let me. You're not doing this alone, so stop acting like you are".
"You say that now –" she let slip, before realizing her error. There was a moment of silence as Mulder took in her words, and he felt himself quickly approaching boiling point.
"Thanks for your trust", he uttered, before walking straight past her and the baby and heading out of the front door. He didn't care that he'd just woken up or that he was simply dressed in a tee shirt and boxers. He just knew he needed some air before he made things a whole lot worse.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"I knew it", Scully murmured almost to herself, shifting William onto her other shoulder. She patted his back lightly, wondering whether it was trapped wind that was making him so uncomfortable. She looked up as she noticed Ashley staring at her. "Don't start young lady", she warned, already having to contend with one grumpy child.
"You didn't have to be so mean to dad".
"I said, don't start Ashley".
"Where's he gone?"
"I don't know".
"Do you think he's gone back to his apartment?" The apartment that was now pretty much empty. Mulder's fish had finally joined the Sculder family and he'd handed in his notice to his landlord. "He's not even dressed".
"I said I don't know". Scully made her way over to the sofa and took a seat, loosening her gown to see if William was hungry. She'd already tried it once, but he wasn't settling. Before Ashley could quiz her further, the front door opened again and in walked Mulder, carrying the mail.
"You're back!" Ashley exclaimed, clearly relieved. Scully didn't turn around, instead concentrating on trying to get William to latch on. He didn't. Upset that even the baby appeared to be against her, Scully re-buttoned her shirt.
"Ash, can you give your mom and I a minute alone please?"
The youngster bit her lip as though debating whether or not to argue. Thankfully she chose not to and nodded, before turning on her heel and heading back towards her bedroom, clearly intending to try and get some more sleep. As he heard her door click shut, Mulder made his way over to the sofa, perching on the edge of the coffee table facing Scully. William was still fussing and so he reached out, gently rubbing William's bare leg. "Give him here Scully".
"It's fine, I've –" Scully met his eye and must have realized how serious he was, because she reluctantly handed over the grumpy baby. Mulder immediately got to his feet and started pacing, rubbing his son's back as he gently bounced him.
"You know Scully", he began, not once pausing in his movements. "I know you can do this. I'm not doubting that you can't, but what you need to understand is that you're not alone in this. You don't have to do this by yourself. You're not going to do this by yourself. William is my son too and I'm going to be here for him. And for all of you. You just need to let me".
Scully shifted on the sofa to face Mulder. "I just don't want to pressure you", she said in a small voice.
Mulder paused. "Pressure me?" She nodded. "You're not pressuring me. William is my son. I'm not here because I feel pressured Scully. I'm here because I want to be". He knew exactly what she was thinking. "I've said it before, but I'll say it again because I think you need to understand this. I am not Jack". William quietened for a moment, as though realizing his dad had something important to say. Mulder took that moment to head back over towards the sofa, this time sitting next to Scully. She looked up at him, full of hope. "I'm not going to suddenly decide I don't want this, because I do, I've already told you and Ash how much you guys mean to me. I meant what I said, I want to marry you…" he grinned as Scully's face flushed. "Relax, I'm not asking you again right now, but I will. But you're not going to get rid of me, so for god sake Scully, let me help out. You're working yourself into the ground and there's no need".
"I know", she whispered, leaning to rest her head against Mulder's free shoulder. "I'm sorry. I just don't know how to do this".
"Do what?"
"Co-parent a baby".
"Well…think about it", Mulder replied. "We've co-parented Ash for a while now and that's been ok. A baby just involves a lot more dirty diapers and vomit, but on the plus side, William's not old enough to answer back yet. Yes the crying is annoying, but at least he's not berating us for being embarrassing".
"Good point". Scully peered across at her son. "I think you've got the magic touch".
Sure enough William's eyelids were drooping. "I think I've bored him to sleep", Mulder quipped.
"Typical though, he's woken us all up and now he's ready to take a nap".
"Why don't you take one too?"
"It's ok, I –"
"You said yourself you were up all night Scully. Go take a nap". He knew she wouldn't argue when he saw her stifle a yawn. "Leave the men to bond. I got this".
"You do. You know, I thought you'd left".
"I couldn't get very far without my shoes".
"I could have thrown them to you out of the window".
"You want me to leave?"
"Of course not", she smiled. "Thank you", she added, pecking him on the lips.
"Don't thank me Scully. I'm his dad, it's what I signed up for".
"Well I'm glad you did". She rested her head back on his shoulder.
"Aren't you going to take a nap?" Mulder asked moments later, when Scully made no effort to move. He craned his neck to look down at her, and noticed she was already fast asleep. He thought about waking her and steering her back to bed, but he wanted her to rest while she could and besides, he didn't have anywhere to be. With that, Mulder leaned his head back against the sofa, relaxing as his family slept on.
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