A/N:
Title: Emily's Christmas
Category: X-Files (MSR)
Summary: An alternate ending: Emily fights and lives.
Rating: G – A story for all.
Spoilers: Definitely Christmas Carol/Emily. I don't think anything else, but episodes up until then may be fair game as well.
Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine. All credit goes to those involved in the show.
This holiday season was extremely busy, and though I wanted to find and upload all of the holiday stories I'd written over the years, I only found this one and one other. There are a few more, one particularly sappy one involving Emily, William, Mulder and the Scullys, but I'll have to dig deeper to find it. It's a favourite of mine, so I hope to find it soon!
So, here is my belated Christmas story. I love feedback, and welcome anything you have to say, even flames, cause it is pretty damn cold out there anyway.
Happy New Year to everyone! Have a happy, safe, and positive 2015!
While his brain knew that Emily would put Scully in dangers he feared to fathom, his heart wished for nothing more than for the little blonde girl to regain her health and head back to Scully's little Georgetown apartment.
He got the call on Christmas day, and he didn't hesitate at all in taking the next – very expensive – flight to San Diego. He faltered, however, when she told him of her wish to adopt the troubled little girl. He did his duty, telling the truth that no person on Earth was better skilled to take care of Emily, and no person on Earth had a bigger and more generous heart with which to raise her in the loving environment every child deserved.
Sadly, the adoption procedure took a backseat when Emily got worse.
Mulder carried the little girl with the fear of a father and raced to the hospital. He waited with Scully, he asked the doctors follow up questions, he fought for her, he risked his life for her. He brought her a vial of something he'd found, but in the end it seemed hopeless, as Scully turned away from him and curled up with the daughter she'd had for mere days, and prayed for god to be merciful.
Mulder prayed, too.
He almost changed his mind on religion when Scully came from Emily's room at daybreak crying, not in sorrow, but in joy.
"Mulder, her fever broke. God, Mulder, it's a miracle. Her fever broke. Her white blood cell count… Mulder… it's a miracle."
It was a miracle, because Scully wrapped her arms around him and cried, allowing him to share her emotions. And he did. He held her tight, rocking her back and forth, and cried silently with her. He knew his life would never be the same.
X
A day later, and Emily was a new child. The vial of whatever Mulder found had worked, and a week later, a new adoption hearing revealed the lengths to which Scully was willing to go to help a little girl she'd only just met. DNA proved that the girl was biologically hers, and while the judge didn't believe Mulder's theory the first time, he was a little more receptive the second time around in the light of more evidence and the social worker's very strong recommendation. Scully received temporary custody, and Mulder received another heartfelt hug.
The first thing Emily asked when she was strong enough was if it was Christmas yet. Scully was sitting on the hospital bed, combing her daughter's hair, as Mulder sat in a chair trying to figure out how to keep Mr. Potato Head from falling apart.
"Christmas?" Scully said, uncharacteristically at a loss for words.
"Tomorrow. Tomorrow, Em, Christmas is tomorrow," Mulder interjected quickly.
"Oh. Will Santa find me?"
Scully looked to Mulder, and so he put on his most convincing smile. "Of course he will. Santa knows where every kid is, right Scully?"
"Right," she agreed.
X
While Emily napped, Mulder formulated his plan. A tree was quickly found – at a large discount due to the post-Christmas sales – and decorations filled the little girl's hospital room. Gifts from her aunts and uncles, her grandmother and her cousins, even the newest one, and of course those from Mulder and Scully were wrapped and placed under the tree. When she woke hours earlier, her eyes went wide, and for the first time she beamed in excitement and happiness. Mulder caught Scully's eyes pooling with water.
"Try to eat all your supper, sweetheart, and maybe you can open one gift after you're finished," Scully bribed. It worked, and only the peas were left on her plate.
"I hate peas too," Mulder whispered as he helped Emily down from the bed. Scully ignored his comment as she made sure all the appropriate medical wires and tubing followed her daughter to the tree.
"I want that one," she said, pointing to a large package wrapped in glittery paper.
"To Emily, from Grandma," Scully read. Mulder didn't need to look to know she was fighting her tears once more.
"Alright squirt," he said, grabbing the gift, "get back into bed and let's tear this open."
Three gifts later, and with Scully shaking her head at Mulder's inability to resist Emily's pleading for "just one more," Emily was fast asleep for the night, surrounded by plush toys and new clothes.
"You'll spoil her, Mulder," Scully said, cleaning up the wrapping paper.
Mulder shrugged. "What else does a – " He almost said it. *What else does a father do.* But he wasn't Emily's father. DNA tests couldn't figure out conclusively what genetic makeup the male donor gave to Emily to even offer a test to match with.
He smiled a sad smile, and while fumbling with Mr. Potato Head once again, he corrected himself. "What else does a good partner do?" he asked. He didn't receive an answer.
X
Mulder wanted to rent a Santa outfit to put the gifts under the tree while Emily slept, but Scully managed to convince him that it really would be overkill. In the morning, her brother, his wife, their new son, and her mother would join them in a belated Christmas celebration, though as far as Emily was concerned, it was Christmas day.
"If, um, if this is family only, Scully, you can let me know. I don't mind making myself scarce."
Only he did mind. He'd never needed to be a part of something so badly as he did Emily's first Christmas as Scully's daughter.
"Don't be silly, Mulder. I think she'd be disappointed if you weren't here. Who would help her rip open her gifts with such enthusiasm?"
So while he didn't dress up as Santa, he also didn't have to face any unwanted comments from big brother Bill, who was distracted by his own new son and surprisingly pleased at his sister's growing family as well.
"You're a terrific mom," Mulder overheard him say as Bill gave Scully a squeeze. Mulder distracted himself by assembling a farm with toy cows and sheep so his jealousy of such overwhelming family love didn't threaten to undo him.
"Mulder! The fence goes here, so the sheep don't get out!"
"Oh, right, sorry. I guess I don't have much experience on farms."
"I can help you," Emily said, and shifted so that her little body was leaning against him. He moved his arm around her, and felt her snuggle against him a little more as she moved the plastic farm animals around. His jealousy faded when he realized he'd rather get attention from Emily than anyone else, and at that moment, he had it all.
X
He overheard her speaking to the doctors about Emily's case. "As we told your husband, Dr. Scully, I realize you're a trained professional, but I don't see any reason to keep her here. You're more than qualified to take care of her at home."
"Home is on the other side of the country," Scully argued. "And he's not my husband. We're not even allowed to leave the state during the adoption process."
"Well, your hus- Emily's father seemed to believe he could find a solution. I'm sorry, there is nothing more we can do here for her."
He noticed she didn't bother to correct the fact that he was not Emily's father. Technically, at least.
"Hi," he said, coming up to her in the hall. "She fell asleep eating her jello. I finished it for her; I hope you don't mind. It was orange – too good a colour to pass up."
"Mulder, the doctor said he spoke to you about discharging Emily."
"He did. I don't think we have a choice. They won't approve her stay any longer, and you know insurance won't pay for it if the doctors feel she doesn't need to be here. Besides, you're a doctor. You've been calling the shots around here anyway. You know how to take care of her."
"But where would I take her? I can't impose on Bill and Tara, they just had a baby themselves."
"So don't. We'll rent a house or something, just temporary until you can take her back to D.C."
"Mulder," she breathed out a laugh or a sigh or something in between, "I can't afford to rent a house out here."
"Well, lucky for you I live in an extremely inexpensive, rent controlled apartment, so I can afford it. I saw a building a few blocks from here with a two bedroom for rent. Close to the hospital in case anything were to happen, we can rent some furniture, it'll be great."
"I can't ask you to do that, Mulder."
"So don't ask. We can take a look at it when she sleeps this afternoon."
"What about my time off?"
"Taken care of. You are on emergency leave with full pay for two more weeks, plus we've got plenty of vacation days piled up. I can always drum up a case for us around here and investigate it myself. There are some perks to being department head of the X-Files."
She smiled. "Thank you, Mulder. But this is a loan, okay? I will pay you back."
"Sure. No problem. Just means you're stuck with expense reports and paperwork for a while."
X
Mulder was never so happy as when the judge decreed that Scully did indeed have guardianship rights over her daughter, and could legally care for her as her own. He sat in the back of the courtroom, almost near tears himself, and though he expected Scully to celebrate with her family that surrounded her near the front, she instead made a beeline to him, arms open, and holding him tightly.
"Congratulations," he said, meaning it. He suddenly didn't care if this meant a change in everything he held dear. If Scully needed to transfer away from the X-Files he would let her go gladly, just to see her so happy would be worth his painful loss.
"I don't know if I could have done this without you," she whispered in his ear tearfully. "You've given me my daughter. And she loves you so much… I don't know how I would ever repay you."
"Invite me over for a few play dates. I've got to get the hang of the Mr. Potato Head," he said, still holding her. "Hey, maybe I can take Em to a basketball game, the Wizards are playing the Knicks in a couple of weeks."
She pulled away and instantly he missed her warmth, but then she looked into his eyes with… with something that made his stomach flutter.
"She'd love that," Scully said softly.
"Mulder," came a tug on his coat. He looked down.
"Hey, squirt, did you hear the good news?"
"Yeah. I'm going home with you on an airplane. Can we take my toys that I got for Christmas?"
"Of course you can, kiddo," he said, picking her up and holding her tight. "You can have anything you want."