Somehow, and even he wasn't quite sure how (or why), Mulder made it to Scully's apartment before Mr. Perfect. He had rushed up the stairs because the lift was too slow, and by the time he was knocking on Scully's door, he was breathless.
Inside, Scully frowned at the knock and approached the door to look through the peephole. The baby had just gone to sleep and Scully hoped she would stay that way for at least a few hours while she organized delivery of some of her old baby furniture from her mother. "Mulder?" she questioned as she unlocked the door. "Are the results back already?"
"No. I ah...no, they're not back yet. I just thought you might be hungry, since you missed lunch."
Scully looked down at Mulder's empty hands. "Right."
"...So can I come in?" he smiled sheepishly.
Scully raised her eyebrows but stepped aside. "You need to be quiet. She's just fallen asleep."
Mulder nodded, walking in as he wrung his hands. He knew Scully was looking at him inquisitively, but truth be told he couldn't tell her why he was here because he didn't know himself.
"...I'm just making a salad, do you want some?" she finally asked.
"Sure!"
Scully had never heard Mulder so enthusiastic about a salad before and was just about to question him when there was a knock on the door. She watched in amazement as Mulder rushed for it.
Steven was holding a bag of baby things, probably the reason Mulder had managed to beat him here. The agent frowned when Mulder opened the door instead of Scully. "...Agent Mulder."
"Agent Bryant," Mulder acknowledged.
Inside, Scully cringed, making her way to stand beside Mulder at the door. "I'm so sorry, Steve. I completely forgot."
"It's okay. Agent Mulder explained what happened. I brought you some things you might need." He held up the bag, and Mulder mentally kicked himself for showing up empty handed.
"Thank you, Steven," Scully said warmly.
Having no choice, Mulder moved from the door to let the man in. Steven deposited his bags in Mulder's hands, to free his own to embrace Scully and give her a loud, juicy kiss. Scully giggled like a schoolgirl, somewhere underneath all that beard…
"Khm," Mulder cleared his throat to remind the lovebirds of his presence and to prevent them from ripping the clothes off each other while there was still time. "Where should I put this?" he raised Steven's bags to show to what he was referring.
"You can leave them in the bedroom," Scully said shyly, taking a step away from her lover. "Just be careful not to wake Vixen."
"Vixen?" Mulder was alarmed. "You can't call her that!"
"What do you want me to call her?" Scully asked.
"Vixen is a lovely name," Steven made a completely unnecessary comment. Everything that man said sounded inappropriate to Mulder. He rushed to the bedroom, not bothering to answer Scully's question. He didn't give a damn how she called that baby, as long as it wasn't… Vixen.
The room was quiet. Mulder carefully approached the bed, placing the bags on the floor in front of it. He looked at the tiny girl peacefully sleeping in the middle, surrounded by blankets and pillows to prevent her from falling. She looked like she owned the place, and it was clear that Scully's bed would not see any action tonight. For that, Mulder was grateful to a little not-Vixen. If she really were his, he would be proud.
A part of him started to wish that she were.
He left her to rest and found Scully in the kitchen, but Mr. Perfect was nowhere around.
"I asked Steven to get some groceries," Scully answered his unspoken question. She knew him well enough to read his thoughts.
"Ok," Mulder said. He stood there and watched her chop something that he wasn't able to identify. "Do you need help with that?"
"Yeah," Scully left her work and turned to him, wiping her hands with a kitchen towel. "I do need to ask something of you, but it has nothing to do with the lunch."
"What do you need?"
"I have enough groceries to feed an army," she waved her hand as if she wanted to show him her entire kitchen. "I don't need anything from the store. I've sent Steven away because I wanted a chance to talk to you."
"Shoot," Mulder said bravely, though he felt like a coward. Scully never wanted to talk with him and this didn't sound good.
She watched him carefully for a few moments, before speaking again. "I need you to be nice to Steven."
He would do anything for her. Anything but that.
"What did I say to him?" he asked warily.
"I know you, Mulder! You don't have to say anything. It's enough that you're here, during work hours, for no reason but that you apparently knew Steven was coming. Mulder, I can feel the tension from a mile away."
"I don't like him," Mulder admitted, crossing his arms defensively.
"You don't know him."
"I know his type."
"Mulder, what type? What are you talking about?"
"I…" he didn't know what to say. Was his partner really so rigid that she would ask him to prove his dislike? "What do you see in him?" he challenged.
"I see a nice, caring man," Scully responded readily, locking him in place with her gaze. "A man who makes me laugh and who I can talk to."
"Are you in love with him?"
"That is none of your business!"
"Are you, Scully?"
"Mulder… You're still my partner. Our work is still important to me. Nothing will change for you."
"Just answer my question, Scully."
"I don't know how to answer it!"
"You don't know?"
"Mulder, it's too soon. We've only been seeing each other for… I think… I think I might be… Please don't ruin this for me."
He wanted to ruin it for her. He wanted this rookie out of the picture and Scully all for himself. But that wasn't an option anymore. Either he learned to share her or he risked losing her, and that was something he couldn't afford to risk.
"Okay," he finally agreed. "I'll try."
He meant what he said. He really did. But when that Black Santa's cheery face returned with more bags and stuck his tongue in Scully again, Mulder's reason stopped working and testosterone took over, a hormone that didn't keep no promises.
Mulder was actually grateful that the baby woke just as Steven's hand moved down to caress Scully's bum. Scully offered an apologetic smile and walked towards the bedroom, both men in tow. "I think she might be hungry, could one of you-"
"I'll do it!" Steven offered quickly. He'd seen his sister make up a bottle for his nephew, and it didn't look too difficult.
Mulder clenched his teeth.
"Hello, Vixen." Scully smiled as she picked up the baby, dropping a tender kiss to her red cheek.
"You can't call her that, Scully. It sounds like a name from one of my v...one of those videos that are absolutely not mine." Mulder finished lamely, stepping away as Scully lifted the baby to see if she needed a diaper change.
"Well, no one else has given me any helpful names so far, so I just go with the name from the note," Scully shrugged.
"The note was a joke, Scully! A bad one as well."
"It's still the only name we've got," Scully shrugged again.
"Oh, she will love that when she grows up, I can tell you from the experience. Being named after an animal..." Mulder deadpanned, stepping further away as Scully lay the baby down to change her diaper.
"We probably won't even know her by then," Scully sounded sad as she offered this, and her hands stilled for a moment as she gazed down at the baby.
Mulder took a tentative step forward, placing one hand on the small of his partner's back. "Scully, she…" He nibbled his lip for a moment, looking down at the child. "What about Amelia?"
Scully shook her head immediately. "That's too much like Emily."
"That's why I picked it. She has the same button nose and wide eyes, the same pouting lips…" Mulder reached out, unable to stop himself from stroking the baby's cheek.
In the doorway, Steven watched in silence for a moment. Scully had rested her head against Mulder's shoulder and they were both gazing down at the baby. They looked like a family. Then Scully suddenly looked up at Mulder, one of those rare brilliant smiles lighting her face.
"I like it. Amelia."
"The bottle is ready," Steven announced. "Can I feed her?"
"Yes, thank you Steven," Scully sounded genuinely grateful, which pissed Mulder off. In his eyes, Steven didn't give a damn about the baby, he just used her to get in Scully's pants.
"Come to your big brother," Steven said in a terrible baby voice, while picking her up.
Brother? How old exactly was this guy, Mulder wondered.
He took the opportunity to drag Scully away from him and talk to her in private.
"This isn't going to work," he informed her in the kitchen, where "Big Brother" couldn't hear them. "I'm calling Skinner to take you off this case."
"What's gotten into you, Mulder?" Scully was confused.
"What's gotten into you, Scully?" Mulder countered. "Have you even looked at her? She's blonde, for god's sake! She looks nothing like Emily!"
"Damn it, Mulder," Scully was getting pissed. "It was your idea!"
"I was trying to prove a point!"
"Which is?"
"Which is that you lost a child you barely knew you had. I was there and I saw what it did to you. I don't want you to become too attached and end up getting hurt again."
"Are we talking about the baby now, or are we talking about Steven?" she crossed her arms, challenging him.
"I was talking about named-after-a-fox baby, but it's interesting that it reminded you of your boyfriend!"
"Cut the crap, Mulder! This is exactly why I tried to keep him away from you. As for Vixen, if she really isn't yours, why do you care how I call her?"
"Well, she isn't mine and you'll have a proof of that soon enough. Even if she was, I would never give her a female version of my hideous name! But I certainly won't let you name her after Emily either! I'm calling Skinner and I'm talking her with me."
"Taking her where?"
"To my place. Until we find a better solution."
"To your place?" Scully was skeptical. "You are going to take care of a baby by yourself?"
"She was left there for me, not you, remember?"
Scully looked as though she'd been slapped. Her face paled and he saw the fight die in her eyes before she dropped them to stare at her feet.
"Scully-" Mulder began.
"She won't take the bottle." Steven walked in, cutting Mulder off.
When Scully lifted her eyes again, she looked briefly at Mulder, eyes shining with hurt before she approached Steven to take the baby. She was silent as she walked to sit with her on the couch. The men didn't notice the tear she quickly brushed from her cheek.
Mulder dared not approach her, aware he'd gone too far. He barely even noticed Steven stood beside him until the man approached Scully and sat beside her.
"Can you teach me how to do it?"
Scully gave a forced smile, glancing up at her boyfriend before she looked back down at Vixen. "You need to rock her a little bit. I don't know why. It seems to calm her enough to take the bottle."
Steven nodded, brushing the sparse hair on the baby's head, making her shut her eyes. Scully smiled properly at this, turning to kiss his cheek. "Thank you for helping."
"Anytime you need me, I'm here." He promised, not willing to admit he'd come on his lunch break and had been due back at the office half an hour ago.
"I'll finish preparing the lunch," Mulder offered awkwardly.
"I'm not hungry anymore," Scully said sharply.
"I could eat a horse," Steven admitted. "Just like little Amelia here."
"We aren't calling her that," Scully quickly informed him.
"You changed your mind again?" Steven wondered.
Mulder remained silent, realizing he would only make a situation worse if he as much as opened his mouth. All he wanted was to protect Scully, but he only managed to hurt her instead. Story of his life.
"I am thinking Samantha," Scully said to Steven, but her eyes were fixed on Mulder. He bravely returned her gaze, giving her a slight nod. The mention of his sister's name was like a salt on the wound, but he knew he deserved it. Without a word, he turned and went to the kitchen, to prepare food for Mr. Fat here as his penance.
"How about Sophie?" he heard Steven suggest behind his back, as if anybody asked for his opinion. He closed the door behind him, before he could hear Scully's response.
Scully tried to focus on Steven talking to her, or on the baby in her arms, but she couldn't get Mulder out of her head. As usual. She had been hurt by his mention of Emily, but did she really have to mention his sister? She knew he had probably regretted his words as soon as he'd spoken them. He carried so much guilt already that she didn't need to add to it. When Mulder walked in a couple of minutes later and silently put the salad on the table, she tried to catch his eye, but he kept looking at his shoes.
The baby was almost finished now and her eyes were doing slow blinks, but every time Steven stroked her hair, she'd wake up again and give a little whimper. Mulder hovered by the couch watching this, seeing Scully just getting the baby to sleep and Steven wake her again. Would she say anything?
As the bottle was finally empty, Scully put it down and lifted the baby to burp her, Steven continuing to try and involve himself. When the baby cried sleepily for the second time at his touch, Mulder snapped suddenly, making everyone jump.
"She doesn't like you doing that!"
But this made Vixen cry louder, causing Scully to glare up at her partner. "Oh, thank you very much for that, Mulder. Very helpful of you."
"It wasn't me, it was him!"
"Grow up," was all she offered him as she walked with the baby from the room.
"Perhaps it's time you left. Three is a crowd and all that," Steven shot at Mulder as soon as Scully was out of earshot. He was insanely jealous of Dana's partner and had been since the moment they'd met. He could already see the looks they shared, the way they could talk without even speaking, the way Mulder touched Dana in the small of her back as though he had every right to. Perhaps this baby was the way he could make Dana realize she didn't want Mulder in her life.
Mulder gave no reply, but sat heavily on the armchair. His armchair, the one he always sat in, the one Scully tucked the remote and sunflower seed packet into the side of when Mulder had been sick that time and she'd looked after him. "Perhaps it's you who should go. You're probably due back at the office. Can't let all that paperwork wait."
"You are probably right, I'm late already," Steven said peacefully. He didn't really want to fight, he just wanted to be left alone. Dana told him she'd been single for a while before meeting him, so this idiot had all the time in the world to seduce her, if that's what he wanted, he reminded himself.
What did he want, anyway? Steven wasn't sure Mulder himself could answer that question.
He got up, and went to grab his coat. As long as Mulder was here he wouldn't get much action with Dana, and it wasn't worth it to skip work for that. There would be plenty of opportunities to confront this lunatic, Steven was sure of it. His own partner wasn't a much more pleasant man, so Steven had some experience dealing with sexually deprived senior agents.
They never give up, for one.
"Some of us take our work seriously," he couldn't resists throwing a farewell remark. Wrong move. Mulder grabbed his arm furiously and got into his face. "Listen to me, kid! My work is my life! You have no idea about the sacrifice-"
"Let him go," Scully interrupted. Both men turned towards her, surprised to see her. They didn't notice her return, it took them by surprise, but neither of them thought to apologize, believing that it's the other one who needs to make amends.
It took them a while to notice that something was wrong. Scully just stood there and waited, but she was pale and wore an expression that neither her lover nor her top profiler partner could identify. She was clutching a piece of paper in one hand.
"Dana, what's wrong?" Steven finally asked, but Dana wasn't looking at Steven. She was Scully now, looking at Mulder.
"Who is the baby's mother?" she asked firmly.
Mulder opened his mouth to answer, but she wouldn't let him.
"Don't bother telling me you don't know," she warned. "I'm not going to ask you again."
"Scully, I…" Mulder was confused. "What are you talking about?"
"This was just faxed to me," she raised the paper. Mulder approached and took it from her.
It was a report from the FBI lab. DNA test results. Mulder wasn't a scientist, but he understood perfectly what it said.
Vixen Amelia Samantha Sophie, whoever she was and wherever she came from, genetically was his daughter.
