"Daddy, daddy, daddy!" William shook Mulder's arm furiously. So much so, that the whole bed started to shake as well.
Mulder was sleeping on his side - his back to his son - and when he opened his eyes he gazed at Scully; his wife. He always envied how peaceful she looked when she slept (he was certain he looked like a dog sleeping on his back), and today was no different. Her hair was slightly covering her eyes and her hands were placed under her face, her chest rising and falling under her pyjama top, the sheets covering her pregnant belly. He loved starting his days like this.
"Daddy!" William shook his arm again. Mulder groaned and rolled over, looking at his son who needed a hairbrush immediately.
"Will, it's... 7am and its Saturday. Why aren't you sleeping?" Mulder pleaded softly, trying to adjust his eyes to the sunlight that was sneaking in through the shutters.
"I had a bad dream." Mulder should've guessed it. Will had stopped climbing in to bed with them a couple of months ago, except when there was a thunderstorm (in that case either Mulder or Scully would take him back to his bed and stay with him until he fell asleep again) or when he had a bad dream. William's lip started to quiver and he stared at the floor.
Mulder felt guilty for politely chastising his son and kicked himself mentally in the nuts as hard as he could. His son was hurt by his words, so he should share the hurt with him. "Oh, buddy. Do you want to tell me what happened?"
Will brought the stuffed alien he was holding to his face - a gift Scully did not approve of - and shook his head, but quickly stopped. He then looked up at Mulder, then at the bedroom door, and nodded.
"Well, how about we talk about it over breakfast?" Mulder knew that he wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep even if he wanted to, and he was absolutely sure that his son's sleep was long gone.
William nodded fervently and ran to the kitchen. Mulder sat on the edge of the bed, ran his hands through his face, sighed and got up. As he left the room, he took one last look at Scully who was still sleeping, but with one hand resting on her belly.
When he got to the kitchen, William was already sitting on the kitchen table, his feet dangling off the chair and the stuffed alien on the table. His thumb was in his mouth, something that Mulder and Scully were trying to erase from his daily routine. Will knew his parents no longer approved of this habit because when he heard Mulder nearing the kitchen, he took removed his thumb quickly.
"Okay, William. What shall we have for breakfast?" Mulder asked as he opened the fridge.
"Pancakes! I'll go wake Mommy up so she can make them!" As he stood up, Mulder walked quickly towards the kitchen table and knelt in front of him.
"I'm sorry kid, but we should let Mommy sleep. She had a rough night." Mulder smiled sadly.
"Oh. Did the baby keep her up all night again?" William stared at the floor once again, this time pouting and playing with the hem of his race cars printed pyjamas.
"Yeah, buddy. But Mommy isn't the only one who can make pancakes. I'll make them and we'll save some for her, how's that?" Mulder opened the fridge again and took out what he needed.
"No!" Will complained as he crossed his arms, "I like Mommy's best! She puts chocolate chips in them and the baby isn't even born yet and she's already taken up all of Mommy's attention, just like in my dream!" Tears started to run down his face like waterfalls. Mulder ran towards him and hugged him close, kissing the top of his head.
"William, was that what your dream was about?" Mulder said into his son's head. He felt him nod as William sobbed into his shoulder.
"Yeah. I drew a picture in school of my family and when I went to show it to you, you didn't look at it because you were around the baby, and, and, then I was at the kitchen and I called for you, Daddy, but all I could hear was you laughing with Mummy, and, and, she was holding the baby, and, and, I was crying, but you were busy with the baby." William's sobs got more intense as he told the story and Mulder's heart broke into a million tiny pieces. Now he was the one who felt like sobbing uncontrollably.
"Oh, sweetie. Listen, you don't have to worry about that. Mommy and I are never, ever, ever not ever going to leave you out of anything. Mommy's having a baby, but that doesn't mean that we're not going to love you less. What happened to you in that dream was just that: an awful dream that will not happen in reality. I swear."
William's sobs had toned down to just sniffles. "Do you swear by Marshall?"
Mulder chuckled. "Son, I swear by all the Paw Patrol gang. Do you trust me?"
"Always, Daddy." William gave Mulder a toothy smile and a hug; his heart was suddenly put back together to its original shape. "Can I go wake Mommy up? I want to give her a big, big hug."
Mulder pondered the idea of waking up his wife who had fallen asleep just a couple of hours before their son woke him up, but the look on his son's face - and the emotional scar that that dream had left - won. "Fine. But only if I make the pancakes."
"Deal!" William headed to his parents room, his feet moving as fast as he could, but making sure he was quiet.
He walked in slowly and laid next to Scully, resting his tiny hand on her cheek. "Hmm. Who's this little boy lying next to me?" Scully asked sleepily with a smile on her face. She held him as close as her belly allowed her.
"It's me, Mommy." William softly said as he kissed her cheek. "I know baby kept you up all night, but I wanted to give you a big hug. Can I hug you and then you go back to sleep?"
Scully's chuckled taking a whiff of his coconut smelling hair. "Of course, baby. I love your hugs, you can hug me whenever you feel like it." Scully sat up and moved to the middle of the bed. Once William noticed she was comfortable, he jumped at her. She let out a soft and quiet "oof", but decided to ignore the sudden weight put on her already heavy belly and enjoy this moment with her son. "Are you okay?"
"I had a bad dream, but Daddy made it all better." William broke the hug and looked at her in the eyes. Scully smiled again, a hint of worry in her eyes that Mulder will surely notice later, and William patted her cheeks, giving her another kiss on her cheek. "I love you Mommy. From here to the skies."
Her eyes started to water – damn you, hormones – and she hugged him close again. "I love you too, baby. So much."
"Let's go have breakfast! Daddy's making pancakes." For a three year-old, her son could be bossy; but Scully didn't mind. Most of the time. He grabbed her hand and started to pull her out of bed, but Scully stayed put. A tiny boy wasn't going to be able to help her get up.
"Your Daddy's making pancakes? Mine are better." She said with a playful pout as she started crawling – or at least she attempted to crawl - towards the edge of the bed.
"That's what I said! Now come on! They're going to get cold." William was now standing on Scully's side of the bed, waiting for her.
"Excuse me, Sir. Please, stop being so bossy. Let me go to the bathroom first and then I'll meet you there."
"Fiiiiiiiiiine." William whined and rolled his eyes jokingly as he left the room.
Scully stood by the bathroom door for a moment, thinking about how lucky she was. She had a husband who had given her a beautiful son and a soon-to-be-born beautiful daughter. She loved waking up to the smell of pancakes and not heading straight to the bathroom because of morning sickness. She loved spending time with William and being woken up by him with hugs and kisses. She loved the alone time she had with Mulder and when they made passionate love once they made sure that William was asleep (except for the time when there was a thunderstorm and William almost caught them.)
There were days where she would worry about how her son felt about having a new baby sister and how things would change. Will he feel left out? Will they get along? How will they manage to go about their daily routine with a toddler and a baby? She shook her head and forced those thoughts away. Today she'll spend the day with her boys. They'll have Mulder's pancakes for breakfast, maybe watch some TV, go to the park, go out for lunch and then see how the rest of the day turns out.
At night, when William's asleep, she'll ask Mulder what their son dreamt that made him sad; maybe she'll cry, or maybe not. Right now, she'll enjoy what little time she has left with him and her husband; and she will make sure she hugs her son good night tonight and every night.