Pumpkin Picking

Saturday, October 17th, 2009; The Maine Coast

Eight year old William John Mulder ran joyfully through the orange-filled field, his yellow galoshes throwing up waves of muck when he hit a puddle. It was cold for October, and the ground was frozen in places, but the rain the week before had left puddles throughout the pumpkin field. Watching her son, Dana Scully was glad that she had made him wear the rain boots and the dark green parka.

Fox Mulder zipped up his five year old daughter Katherine's purple parka and set her down on the ground. Katey immediately ran after her brother, her pale red-tinged pigtails bobbing as she made her way through the pumpkin patch. Over the summer they'd had a health scare with her over her genetic disorders, but the only remaining symptom now was a slightly odd limping sort of gait that was rapidly clearing up.

"Willy Willy, wait for me, Willy!" she called to her brother, and William obligingly came to an immediate halt. Only Katey could call him Willy; to everyone else it was either Will or William. He was an utterly doting big brother, and loved the little girl to death.

Mulder smiled as he watched them. He walked over to Scully and they casually linked hands as they walked along behind their children. It was something that was automatic now, they didn't even think about it. Mulder looked at his fiance out of the corner of his eye. Her hair was as red as it had always been, but it was much longer now and her bangs were gone. There were laugh lines around her mouth, and crow's feet beginning around her eyes, but they did nothing to detract from her beauty. If anything, she was more beautiful now than ever. Happiness could do amazing things to a person.

Ahead of them, William and Katey ran hand-in-hand, Will having slowed down to let his sister keep up. They paused, and William pointed to their right. Katey dropped his hand and jumped up and down, gloved hands covering her mouth. Though they were maybe fifty yards behind them, Mulder and Scully heard her happy and excited squeal clearly. The harsh wind carried it towards them. Mulder shivered slightly, regretting that he had forgone a coat and just worn an olive green sweater. He wasn't used to how cold New England became so early in Autumn.

Mulder had grown up in New England, on Martha's Vineyard. He had no urge to relive his childhood with his own children in any way, but he still loved the New England coast. He had mediated this problem by taking vacations two or three times a year to the quaint seaside towns in Maine. This year they were spending the last two weeks of October in Maine, including Halloween. Since Halloween was on a Saturday this year, John and Monica were bringing Julie and Jay up on the 30th for a little Halloween party, the kids were all going out Trick-or-Treating together on Saturday, and Sunday everyone would head home. In the mean time, there was pumpkin picking and carving, hayrides, haunted houses, apple cider, hot chocolate, and all other manner of spooky fun to be had.

It wasn't quite dusk yet, but it would be dark in little more than an hour. It was just enough time for them to pick out their pumpkins before heading back on the hay-covered tractor in time to catch the night time entertainment. Karaoke, bonfires, a haunted hayride and house, food… Both the children and the two adults were looking forward to it.

"Mommy! Daddy! Look-it this one!" Katey called. She was attempting to lift a pumpkin that probably weighed more than she did. Scully laughed at her. "That one's almost as big as you, Kate! I don't think Daddy'd even be able to carry that."

Mulder glanced side-long at his fiance. "Is that a challenge Little Woman?" he asked her. "Cause them sounded like fightin' words to me!"

Mulder reached down and lifted the pumpkin exaggeratedly like the Incredible Hulk. Unfortunately for him the bottom was rotted, and pumpkin guts splattered over his shirt, down his pants and covered his boots. William, Katey, and Scully all wore identical expressions of shock as they stared at him. An orange web of pumpkin innards, complete with a seed, clung to his hair. Katey was the first to break the silence, covering her mouth with her hands and letting out just the tiniest high-pitched little girl giggle. That was all it took to break the dam, and soon William, Scully, and Katey were laughing like loons. Mulder stood silently, a smile slowly spreading across his face.

"I guess I might've deserved that, a little." he said. Tears of mirth were rolling down Scully's face. She reached out and pulled the pumpkin out of his hair. "That's what you get for being a show-off, Mulder." she told him, than kissed him quickly on the lips.

"Daddy… You broke my pumpkin Willy found for me." Katey scolded him mildly. Her brother grabbed her arm, pulling her along with him. "Don't worry about it Katey; I'll find you a better one." In the end Mulder and Scully talked both the kids into more reasonably sized pumpkins on the principle that they'd be easier to carve, and easier to balance on the railing of the house they were renting.

The hay wagon bounced and jostled along back to the center of activity. The last threads of light were quickly leaving the sky. Katey sat on her Mother's lap, her pumpkin clutched tightly in her little hands. William sat between his parents on the hay-covered wooden bench. His pumpkin was clutched tightly between his feet.

"So, whose going in the Haunted House with me?" Mulder asked. Scully gave him an Are-You-Serious look, and Katey gave him a look of pure horror, shaking her head so fast it looked like it was going to fall off, pigtails smacking her in the face from the motion. William almost jumped out of his seat. "I want to Daddy, I want to!" Instinctively he turned to his Mother, knowing she would have the final say. "Please Mom? I want to see the Haunted House!"

"No Mommy, no! I don't want to, it's gonna be too scary!" Katey cried, burying her head into her Mother's neck, an overt whine to her voice because she was getting tired.

"No whining, Kate." Scully told her daughter, gently but firmly. "It just so happens that I'm not a fan of them either." Scully had seen plenty in her years working the X-Files. A Haunted House would be anti-climatic, if nothing else. "Will, if your Dad wants to take you and you want to go that's up to you boys. Katey and I will find something else to do while you're in there."

"Yes!" William said, punctuating the word with an excited fist pump followed immediately by giving his Father a high-five.

Dana held Katey's hand and they watched Mulder and William head off towards a foreboding barn painted garishly in red and green splatters. The entrance was lit with black lights. Mulder had William up on his shoulders. Dana smiled as she watched them together, than looked down at her daughter. Katey was staring after them wistfully, clearing having second thoughts about her decision to stay behind. "Come on, Chickie. They won't be long, the line isn't that long yet. What do you want to do with Mommy while Daddy and Will are in the Haunted House?"

Katey looked up at her Mother, her pale hazel eyes wide. Her strawberry blonde hair had been blown loose from her pigtails from the wind and whispered across her face in strands. A somewhat evil smile spread across her face and Dana had a sudden idea what her daughter's request was going to be. "Let's go pet the horsies, Mommy."

Twenty minutes later Scully still found herself trapped under a tent that reeked of manure. Her daughter was dashing back and forth between cows, ponies, goats, lambs, baby piglets, baby chicks, and only-God-knew what other kinds of barnyard animals. Katey's laugh was infectious, and Dana couldn't help smiling, though she had a sneaking suspicious that she would never get the smell completely out of their clothes.

Glancing up, she spotted Mulder walking towards the tent. His face was serious, and he was holding William on his hip the way you might hold a toddler. The little boy had his face pressed against his Father's shoulder, and his arms were wrapped tight around his neck. As they came closer, Dana could hear him crying, not a normal cry but a hysterical panicked one and her heart flew up into her throat. Katey had also noticed her Father returning, and was approaching with a quizzical look on her face.

"He's okay, he's fine." Mulder assured before Scully could get a word out. He hoisted his son up a bit higher and rubbed the boy's back gently.

"Mulder, what happened?" Scully asked, trying to take William from him, but William just clung more tightly to his Father, crying harder.

"He's alright, I promise." Mulder pitched his voice low. "One of the rooms in the Haunted House had an alien theme, and they had the really bright strobe lights going off… Just triggered some, unpleasant, memories." Scully could see he was kicking himself for suggesting the Haunted House and for taking William in. William had displayed mild PTSD-like symptoms since the incident in the French Alps, and very bright flashing lights tended to cause him to have panic attacks. "He's fine, he just needs a few minutes to calm down, I think it's mostly just that he's embarrassed now."

Dana rubbed her son's back and spoke gently to him. After a few minutes his tears slowed and he let his Father put him down. His face was bright red and he refused to look anyone in the eye, keeping his head down. Scully put her arm around his shoulders and he leaned against her.

"Daddy, is Willy okay?" Katey asked, and Mulder picked his daughter up. "He's okay, don't worry about it, Sweetheart." Mulder kissed her cheek. "Will just got a little upset, but he'll be alright."

Scully ran her fingers through her son's hair, than leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Do you want to go home, Honey?" she asked him quietly. "No one is going to be upset if you do." William shook his head fiercely. Dana knew her son; to leave now would be like admitting defeat to him. No matter how many times she tried to tell him that leaving a situation was okay, he just refused to do it. He'd have probably gone back in the Haunted House before he agreed to go home.

"Do you want to go get some Hot Chocolate?" she asked him, and this time she got a nod. "Alright, than let's go get some cocoa!" Katey became exuberant at the sound of Hot Chocolate. "I want marshmallows and whip cream! Can I have marshmallows and whip cream, Mommy?"

Arm still wrapped around her son, Dana smiled at her daughter. "We'll see, you little sugar monster you! I don't what they have to put on it!" A little smile started to spread across William's face at his sister's spirited enthusiasm.

They drank their Hot Chocolate next to the bonfire that was burning in a large metal cylinder, than wandered over to the Karaoke Stage on their way out. Katey, who had been falling asleep with her head on Mulder's shoulder, was awake again immediately.

"Daddy! Daddy, can I go sing on stage? PLEASE?" Katey begged, her eyes huge. Kate loved being the center of attention and loved showing off.

Mulder laughed as she clumsily made her way onto the stage. Her limp-hop-walk became more pronounced when she was tired, and right now she was exhausted. Dana laid her head on Mulder's shoulder, her arms holding William against her as he stood in front of her. They watched Katey take the microphone and sing a very off-key version of the Barney theme song. They all clapped, along with the other members of the small audience. Her singing might make ears bleed, but she was adorable.

"Do you want to sing something, Will?" Scully asked her son, and William shook his head shyly. "No? Why not?"

William shrugged. "I don't know what to sing." he said, but glanced at the stage with just a little bit of longing. Dana smiled at him, than took his hand. "Come on, come up and sing something with me, I know exactly what to sing." William drug his feet as he followed his Mother, but only a little bit. "Come on, Mulder, you too!" Scully called to him.

"I can't sing." Mulder protested, but he was following her anyway, and smiling.

"Jeremiah was a Bullfrog, was a good friend of mine." Scully was just as flat as her daughter, but when Mulder, and William, and Katey all joined in they didn't sound half bad. Mulder picked Katey up and held her so they could all reach the microphone at once. 'Joy, to the world, to all the boys and girls, joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea, joy to you and me."