A/N
I do not own the X-Files or any of the characters. However, I do own the story.
Also, thank you to my editor and cousin: JessAngel

This takes place after "all things" and before "Requiem."

Merry Christmas to all my readers! This is my gift to you for the holidays. I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating and if not, then I hope this story will help you feel better.

Heirloom
Lady Sanna

CHRISTMAS EVE
6:12 PM

Hundreds of customers packed the store hunting for the perfect gifts for their family and friends. Sold out signs were practically on every shelf and fights for certain items ensued forcing the law enforcement to take action. The check-out aisles were long and slow, and people cursed as they looked at their watches in disapproval.

Scully rubbed her temples as she waited in line. She only had a few things to buy while others had cart-fulls. She had considered the express lane, but looking over, she noticed that it was just the same as the line she was in currently. Leaning over, she could see the cashier. He was old, slow, and apparently having trouble getting a price on an item.

She closed her eyes and hoped that he would be able to just put a price on it and move on. When she opened her eyes, the old man flipped the switch on the check out light and it started blinking, signaling a malfunction. Everyone groaned.

---

Mulder walked around in the mall, casually looking around at all the great gift ideas for Christmas. A few kids ran in front of him, laughing, with their mother chasing after.

"Tyler! Bobby! Come back here!" she shouted.

He chuckled and shook his head. He missed being a kid, giving his parents a hard time and teasing his sister. She would always throw a fit and he would get in trouble, but it was all worth it in the end.

He remembered one Christmas, when he was about 8 years old, his mom bought all of them matching sweaters with a happy snowman gracing the front. He looked at it with disgust and was about to get rid of it by saying that it 'accidentally' caught on fire and burned up. Just as he was about to throw it into the fireplace, his mother snatched it from his hand.

"Fox William Mulder! What were you doing?" she demanded for an answer.

"Uhhh.. Uhhh..." He searched his mind for an answer. "I was about to, um, um."

He couldn't think of anything to say. He had already used his other good excuses before and he knew that she wasn't the easy-to-forget type of woman. So, he resorted to the only thing that he could do. Fox pouted his lip and put on the cutest, sad face that he could pull off.

"I'm sorry," he said in a small voice. "I like the sweater. Really, I do."

She shook her head. "Fox, that's not going to work on me this time. You're just like your father. You both use the same face to get me to soften up."

His heart dropped. "But! But!"

"No but's, young man! Now you put on that sweater or else you don't get to open your gifts!" She crossed her arms.

"Okay," he sighed sadly. He rolled his eyes and slipped on the sweater. Then, he stood next to his dad, who also wasn't too ecstatic to wear the sweater either, to take a picture next to the Christmas tree.

Mulder was brought back to the present when he bumped into another man.

"Oh, sor- Oh, hey, Skinner!"

"Mulder," he replied as he quickly hid something behind his back.

"Doing a little last-minute, Christmas shopping, I see."

He nodded. "Yeah, I didn't have enough time before, you know, with work and all."

Mulder gave him a small smile and they just sort of stood there. "So, uh, who are you buying for?"

"My wife."

"That's nice. What are you getting her?"

Instantly, the heat rose in Skinner's face. "Um, just a little something for the holidays."

"Like what?" Mulder was laughing inside. He loved taking his boss off guard like this. Leaning over, he spotted something white and fluffy-looking.

Skinner noticed this and moved it even more behind his back so as to prevent Mulder from seeing it.

"Can I see it?" Mulder asked.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because, Mulder, if you want to keep your job, then you shouldn't be snooping around in other people's business." He said in his loud, authoritative voice.

A few people stopped what they were doing and watched them, but one look from Skinner made them resume what they were previously doing with their heads down low.

"Calm down, man. I was just wondering. Besides-" In a quick second, Mulder grabbed the object from behind his boss. "It's just..."

Skinner snatched it back and hit him over the head.

"Ow! ..Two polar bears.." He rubbed the spot where he was hit.

"They're not just polar bears. ...They're the kind that makes a kissing noise when the magnets in the noses attach to each other."

"Aw, Skinner, I didn't know you were the soft type."

"I'm not. My wife likes them. Actually, she has a small collection of them." He checked his watch. "I have to get going. Shouldn't you be looking for something for Agent Scully?"

"I got it all covered. I just hope she likes it."

"Well, I'm sure she will." He clapped Mulder on the back. "Merry Christmas, Mulder."

"Merry Christmas to you too, sir."

---

After about an hour in line, Scully was finally able to get out of the store intact. She breathed in the cold air and felt so refreshed to be outside and in the open. The parking lot was still full and crowded, but she managed to get out off there quickly.

SCULLY'S APARTMENT
7:31 PM

As she sat on the floor, wrapping presents, holiday music flowed from the speakers of her stereo that sat on the top shelf of her entertainment center. Quietly, she sang along, slowly getting into the Christmas spirit. She needed a quick pick-me-up after what she had been through all day.

Since ten that morning, she had been rushing to get all her gift shopping done. Because of her busy schedule, she wasn't able to get around to it early enough. Her feet were tired, she grew impatient in the lines and thought of just showing her badge saying that it was an emergency and that she needed to get out of there as soon as possible.

Realizing that now, she figured that it could have actually worked, but then again, they probably would not have cared anyway. People become insane around the holidays.

Scully piled all of the nicely wrapped gifts under her tree and looked at it with admiration. Memories of spending Christmas with her family flooded her thoughts which made her smile and cry at the same time. Her brothers would always get the really cool, army toys or pocketknives from her dad and she and her sister would get, of course, Barbies. She didn't mind though. She liked Barbie just as much as the next girl, but she always secretly wanted what her brothers got.

She took in the sight before her one last time before she would become busy with making phone calls to her family. Mulder was also coming over later and she needed to clean up before he came.

She had wanted to give him something homemade, something from the heart. Since the beginning of December, she had been wracking her brain trying to figure out what to do and if it would be nice enough. After not being able to think of something, she started to dig through her closet, hoping to find anything that she could give. However, she didn't want to lose sight of giving him something special and sentimental.

Once, her closet was almost empty, she started to lose hope, but then she spotted something in the way back corner. She reached for it and brought it down, blowing off the dust that it had collected over the years. It was a small, sturdy, brown box that had been duct taped shut. There was nothing written on it and it weighed almost nothing. She wondered what it could be and so, she took some scissors and cut the tape. Inside was just what she needed.

---

Mulder made his way around the whole mall once, before he decided to go to the store and pick up his gift for Scully. Since he was supposed to arrive at Scully's at 8:30, he decided to kill some of his time somewhere other than the office and his apartment.

The store manager greeted him with a warm smile. "Mr. Mulder! How are you this fine evening?"

"I'm doing great, Joe," he replied. "Is my order ready?"

"Sure is! It's in the back. Let me go get it now."

With a jovial spirit, he walked into the back room and rummaged around a bit. He came back with a rectangular object that was encased in velvet fabric. Using a clean cloth, he brought it out for Mulder to see and inspect.

"Wow, Joe, you really know how to make something look so nice."

"Well, since you said that it was for your lady friend, I thought I would do something extra for you." He slid it back under the velvet fabric and handed it to an employee to wrap up.

"So, who is this mystery woman?" he asked.

"She's my partner. We've been working together for seven, almost eight years now. I figured that she deserved one of these by now."

"I see," he nodded. "Oh! That was fast!"

The employee came back with the gift and gave it to Mulder. He thanked the employee and then turned to shake hands with Joe. After they bid their good-bye's and warm wishes for the holidays, Mulder left the mall and made his way over to Scully's.

---

A knock came at the door shortly after Scully had finished wrapping Mulder's gift. She set it down under the tree and made her way over to the door. After making sure that it was him by looking in the peep hole, she opened the door for him to come inside.

"Hey, Scully. I'm not too early am I?" he said as he stepped inside strategically so as to hide her gift behind his back.

"Not at all," she replied. "There are cookies on the table if you want to help yourself to them. I'm going to take a quick shower to rid myself of the stench of all those sweaty shoppers that I was surrounded by."

"Fine by me." He said as he placed his gift underneath another light gift.

He then spotted the cookies that Scully had mentioned. A smile tugged at his lips. They were alien-shaped sugar cookies with icing that detailed the unique eyes and face.

"Oh, before you say anything," she shouted from her bedroom with the door partially open. "I know that aliens are gray not green, but gray icing didn't look very festive for Christmas. So, for now, you'll just have to settle with that."

He chuckled quietly. "A woman after my own heart."

About twenty-five minutes later, Scully emerged from the bathroom, dried and dressed in her usual white, silk pajamas. She spotted Mulder sitting on the floor with her oversized blanket draped around his shoulders. He sat in front of the fireplace staring into it with an almost blank expression.

She studied his features from her standpoint. He looked so much more mature than when she first met him. And now, he looked more relaxed than ever. She loved seeing him like this, out of the office and not caring about government conspiracies and whatnot.

"Hey," she said quietly, being careful not to spook him.

He turned his head and gave her a warm smile. "Hey," he replied.

Scully walked over to where he was sitting and joined him in front of the fireplace. He then put his arm around her, along with the blanket, and she relaxed against him, closing her eyes. Mulder kissed the side of her head and caught a waft of her captivating scent. It made him feel so much at home just knowing that she was there beside him.

"Mulder...?"

"Hm?"

"How much longer?"

He looked at the crystal clock on the mantel. "A while from now."

"...I guess that'll give me time to get back some of my energy then. Wake me up when it's Christmas."

"Sure thing, Scully," he whispered.

She buried her head in Mulder's chest and fell asleep quickly, absorbing the heat that was emitting from his body. She finally felt like everything was right in the world and a whole weight had been lifted off her shoulders. It was a feeling she hadn't felt in awhile and she didn't want to let go.

With a timid hand, Mulder moved an errant strand of hair away from her face just like he always did and watched her sleep. The woman that spent almost every minute with him was lying in his arms, asleep and content. The woman that stood by him and loved him, loved him back. If this wasn't true happiness, then what was?

He closed his eyes and rested his head on top of hers. "Dana, do you realize how much you mean to me?" he said quietly. "How long I've waited for this moment with you? I wish I could describe it."

She stirred and looked up at him, with a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "You really mean that?"

"You heard me? I thought you were asleep."

"I heard every word, Mulder."

"I guess the secret's out then."

They laughed softly.

"You know what? I don't think I can wait for Christmas to come," she said as she reached over for Mulder's gift under the tree. "I was never one to be patient around the holidays."

"Yeah, me neither." He also reached over and grabbed her gift.

They exchanged their gifts, each wondering what in the world the other could've gotten them. Mulder shook his gift a little, like he always did, and Scully started to unwrap the gift, being careful not to rip it. Once, she got to the velvet case, she took out the smooth, rectangular object and gasped when she saw it.

She started chuckling. "Oh, Mulder."

It was a dark, silver plate that had "Dana Scully" on the top line and "Special Agent" below it meticulously engraved on the front.

"Yeah, I thought that you deserved your own nameplate on our office door, since you've put up with me so long."

"Thank you, it looks great," she replied. "But wait, won't this look a little awkward under your old one?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. I have it all taken care of."

He had ordered his own, but he had wanted Scully's to be more special and what better time to give it to her than Christmas time?

"Okay, now it's your turn," Scully said.

Mulder unwrapped it. It was a small, dark blue box that was a little worn around the edges and inside it contained an old, original Victorian key. On it was engraved, "Eternally Yours."

"My grandfather had given this to my grandmother on their wedding day and it was actually the key to their very own, first house that they would spend the rest of their lives in as a married couple," she explained. "She was totally surprised. It had already taken them every cent that they had to even have a wedding, but then he told her that he had been secretly working overtime and saved up enough money to buy them their own home. Ever since, she cherished this key and when she died, she passed it down to my dad as a reminder of how hard they had worked for everything. My dad then passed it down to me and now, I want you to have it."

He looked at it in awe and lightly dragged his finger over the fine craftsmanship of the key. "And all I got you was a nameplate."

They both laughed.

"But seriously, Scully, I really do feel thankful. It means a lot to me," he said.

Scully smiled. "Merry Christmas, Mulder."

He returned the gesture. "Merry Christmas, Scully."

Slowly, Mulder leaned in towards her, their lips only centimeters apart. He could feel her breath light on his face as they both grew in anticipation of what was going to happen next. The heat between them was rising with each second. Her eyes fluttered closed and he took this chance to place a sweet kiss on her lips. She then placed her hand on the side of his face and the kiss deepened with the emotions of wanting the other to know how much the other loved them.

Mulder's lips traveled down her neck, leaving little kisses here and there. She tilted her head back a little as he continued to love her. She placed her arms on his shoulders and hung on to him for support. Carefully, he lowered her to the soft carpet and gave her one last kiss before he wrapped his arms around her.

They held each other in a lovers embrace, neither saying a word and not needing to say anything. All they desired was to keep the real world at bay and spend a quiet evening together. And as the clock struck twelve, they both fell asleep on Christmas day.

---

CASE CLOSED: DECEMBER 25, 2005