William started making noises, and Scully stirred.

"Don't get up... I'll check on him"

Mulder ran his hand along Scully's ribs to keep her from getting up.

The digital clock on the nightstand read 3:21am.

Mulder rolled out of bed, and looked over at William. He wasn't crying, but he was awake, so Mulder picked him up and walked towards the bedroom door, which was slightly ajar.

"Fox... is he okay?"

"He's fine. I'm just going to get a glass of water from the kitchen..."

Mulder looked down at William who was staring up at him.

"We should let Mommy get some more sleep, don't you think, buddy? Get some sleep, Scully"

Even when Scully asked him to help her concieve through IVF, Mulder never believed that one day he would be a father. His own childhood had been marred by a troubled relationship with his parents, especially his father. After whom his son was now named.
Mulder thought about Samantha. Given the chance, would she be a mother by now? Or, would she just be happy to dote on William. Aunty Sam. Mulder would tell William about her one day. He made that promise right then and there.

"Hey, Will. I want you to take care of your Mom, ok? I haven't always been there for her, so I expect you to be, because she loves you. And if you've got even a little bit of me in you.. you're going to need her. She looks after us. We'd be lost without her, you should know that now. And you love her!"

William's little fist popped out from under the burrito wrapped blanket. And Mulder ran his forefinger over it. Babies first fist bump. Mulder had another sip of his water, and placed the glass on the table next to the sofa. William made gurgling noises and closed his eyes.

"So, that's a deal?"

Mulder quipped, as he got comfortable on the sofa.

It was 5:14am, when Scully woke up. Mulder wasn't in bed. And William was not in his crib. She found them laying on the couch, the TV on mute. Mulder was on his back, and William was on his stomach. Heart to heart. Mulder's right arm was resting across William's back, to keep him from wriggling off his chest.

"Have you been out here since Will fussed?"

Scully poked Mulder on the shoulder as she went into the kitchen to fill a glass of her own with tap water. Mulder's eyes began to flicker open and he yawned. It was barely light out.

"I guess... what time is it?"

Mulder patted Will's back and moved into a seated position.

"Almost 5:30. He'll be hungry soon"

After Scully got comfortable on the sofa, and put a burping towel over her left shoulder, Mulder gently handed William to her.

"Is it alright that I had him out here without you?"

It wasn't really Mulder's fault, they'd both kinda just conked out, but he was worried that he had already crossed a line. Scully turned to look at him, her chin grazing Will's tiny head, and wondered if she had caused Mulder to think that spending alone time with his son wasn't on the cards.

"I needed the sleep, and you're his father. You don't have to ask me to take him, unless you plan to take him on a UFO hunt, in which case, no. Always no"

They smiled sleepily at each other... and William began to cry.

Scully unbuttoned her silk pajama top and guided William to his breakfast.
Mulder wasn't sure where to look, he wanted to look... he'd read about this in the baby books, the ones he didn't tell Scully that he read, for fear of being mocked. Mulder decided that he'd enjoyed them in the past, and now it was Will's turn. Scully winced...

"Does it hurt?"

"Yeah. Though, not as bad as I thought it would"

Scully let her head fall onto the back of the couch. Letting Mulder steal a sneaky look at William's mouth suckling on her nipple.