disclaimer: the x-files do not belong to me, i'm simply borrowing characters and situations for recreational purposes and my immense enjoyment.


~Halloween, 1988~

"You're late," Scully frowned as she opened the door for him. Mulder stood there with an apologetic look on his face and with the cutest pumpkin trick-or-treat bucket in his hand.

"Sorry, but I saw this in the drugstore and couldn't resist," he offered her the bucket, and all was forgiven. Even if he hadn't brought the bucket for her daughter to collect candy in, the fact that he was there was enough to exonerate him of all sins. When she had left California, Scully had given up all hope of her daughter having a father-figure in her life to experience all the "firsts" with her. She didn't want to get her hopes up, since she had only known Mulder for two weeks at this point, but he did seem to think the world of Anna. His gentle flirtations with her weren't all that bad either.

"It's alright, Ellen is late with Trent too." Ellen was a fellow bartender at Baladays, the bar where Scully worked, and a friend. They had bonded over their similar situations as single mothers. Ellen was the first person in Georgetown that Scully had told about her daughter. After her confession, Ellen had proceeded to tell her every minute detail about her 4-year-old son, Trent's, father Andrew, who had cheated on her with her "tramp of a sister" only six months after she gave birth. Scully had not shared any details about Anna's father with her, but Ellen seemed mostly content to talk about herself. She was Scully's only friend, besides Mulder, though, and their personalities complimented each other nicely. She was glad that she and Mulder were finally going to meet.

"Where's the kid?"

"Laying on the floor in the nursery, trying to roll onto her stomach."

He rushed back there.

Scully supposed she had a few minutes to finish folding the clothes she had put to the side earlier before Ellen got there. One by one, she had to pick a few onesies from the pile that she was sure Anna had grown out of. Scully loved to watch her baby girl develop and learn more and more every day, but she also wanted to freeze her in time and keep her little forever. There were nights that she had spent crying through, wishing that Anna would never grow up to realize the horrors of the world.

"I thought you hated cats," she heard Mulder call from the bedroom. Somehow, the small detail that she was allergic to cats had made its way into a conversation of theirs one day.

"It was the warmest costume I could find; if she wears long sleeves and leggings under it, we'll only have to put gloves on her tonight."

Mulder emerged from the bedroom, carrying a gray kitten costume-clad Anna, complete with eared hood with a pink bow. Scully had used eyeliner to paint a nose and whiskers on her, which took forever but added the perfect finishing touches to the ensemble.

A knock on the door signaled Ellen and Trent's arrival, and Scully bounced up to get it. During boring periods at work, Scully had managed to tell her friend almost everything about the amazing Mulder. She was so ready to get Ellen's approval; she had no doubts that she was going to love him.

"Sorry sorry sorry we're late, someone decided to lose their cowboy hat," a tall, dark-haired woman apologized, ushering her son through the door and kissing Dana on the cheek. She didn't even notice Mulder standing in the living room until she had asked, "Has your boy toy gotten here yet?"

"Hello," Mulder smirked, picking up Anna's hand and waving it toward the woman and her son. Under her breath, Scully began to chuckle, and her friend hit her in the arm.

"Ellen, this is Fox Mulder. Mulder, this is Ellen, and that's Trent," Scully introduced. Mulder shook Ellen's hand, saying how nice it was to finally meet her, then kneeled down to Trent's level.

"Hi Trent," he said enthusiastically.

"Hi," the boy muttered, shy enough to hide a little to the side of his mom's leg.

"What are you supposed to be?"

Hesitant, Trent decided to finally answer, "A cowboy."

"Nice. You know, I was a cowboy for Halloween three times in a row when I was little."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and I got the most candy ever when I was dressed as a cowboy. I think it's going to be a very promising night for you."

"Will you help me carry it all?" Trent asked in amazement, not sure if he could fathom the amount of candy Mulder could transport.

"Of course," Mulder agreed, which earned an enthusiastic "yes!" from the little boy. Ellen gave her friend a look that said, "Wow, he sure impressed the hell out of me." Scully could not agree more.

"Okay Trent, I want you to get on the couch so I can take a picture of you and Anna in your costumes," Ellen directed. Mulder delicately set the little girl in the boy's lap, and the way Trent interacted with her gave Mulder the impression that they saw a lot of each other. He smiled sweetly when his mother told him to. Anna didn't look too pissed either.

"Alright Aunt Dana, can you take a picture of the two of us now?" Ellen posed with her son by the front door as Scully snapped the shutter on the Polaroid One600, then shook the photo out for her friend. Ellen looked at it with approval as if to say, "That one's going in the classifieds."

"Okay, Dane, you and Mulder get together with Anna ." It was a little uncomfortable for Mulder, who had been standing off to the side as the picture-taking occurred, to suddenly be thrust into what was usually a very memorable photo for a family, a picture of the baby's first Halloween. But he gladly stood next to Scully and her daughter as Ellen snapped away.

After she put the developed photos down on the coffee table, Mulder checked to see that no one was looking. Then, he snuck one of him and the Scully girls into his front pocket. Anna was watching the whole time, but he put his finger in front of his lips and knew that she would never tell.

"Does he have a brother?" Ellen whispered in Scully's ear as they made their way out of the apartment.