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

~Late February, 1989~

Thunk. Scully gave her daughter a warning gaze, but the baby just laughed to herself and she couldn't hold it for long. Once again, she bent over to pick up the bottle that Anna had thrown on the ground. Like the three times she had done this before, Anna expected her mom to give the bottle back to her, and made some whiny protests when she didn't.

"Here sugar, just don't throw it," Maggie said, noticing her granddaughter's frustrations and scooping some applesauce from a container for her to eat. The baby happily opened her mouth to receive it.

"Any teeth yet?" she asked Dana, who, now that the bottle throwing game was over, had been able to take a bite of her salad.

"No. I've been kind of worried, but when I asked her doctor he said he's seen babies start teething as late as 15 months."

"What about crawling?" her older sister, Melissa, asked from across the table. Since Dana had moved back home from Stanford, Maggie had been so thrilled to have her two daughters near to her. Both of her sons, Charles and Bill, had enlisted in the Navy in honor of their father's career, so it was nice to be able to see at least two of her children frequently. Dana, Maggie, and Melissa had had a standing lunch date at Jollyverti, one of their favorite cafes in Baltimore, every third Tuesday of the month since July when Dana came home.

It was so nice to be able to see her family often, especially since Anna had been born. Anna was their first grandchild, and Scully's mother and father put all qualms aside about her birth and showered her with attention. In fact, sometimes Scully was worried about them spoiling her, but they always came back with the argument that that's what grandparents were supposed to do.

Melissa had been a constant support system as well. Though she had no children of her own (and being the free spirit that she was, nobody thought she would ever settle down), any time Scully was worried about her daughter or bills or anything life had to throw at a single mother, Melissa's calm nature always assured her that everything was going to be okay. It had always been like that between the sisters. Dana was always the perfectionist, striving to do everything to the best of her ability. However, Melissa, two years older, was more carefree, sauntering through life and often providing an outlet for her sister's insecurities. After high school, Melissa had gone to college for journalism, and was a mostly aspiring author. She had yet to make it big, and Scully didn't really understand most of her sister's books about chakras, crystals, and other elements of Eastern culture, but she was rooting for her.

"Not yet. She'll sit on the floor and throw herself forward like she's going to do it, but then second-guess herself and sit down again. She's so weird, some things she's ahead of the curve on and some things… it's like she's taking her time," Scully explained, giving Anna her finger to hold on to.

Maggie put her hands in her lap and tilted her head to the side, watching her daughter interact with the baby. When Dana had first told them that she had gotten pregnant, they were less than thrilled. Her being unmarried and them being staunch Catholics was a problem, as was the fact that she was about to finish medical school in California. There had been a lot of tension between Dana and her parents until the birth of her daughter. Maggie had flown out the week before to be ready for when Dana went into labor, and only 14 hours after she arrived, Dana's water broke. Up until the very moment Maggie heard her baby granddaughter crying for the first time, she was worried that her feelings toward Dana's situation would get in the way of her loving that child as much as she knew it deserved to be loved. But when she emerged, red and screaming, all inhibitions crumbled and Maggie was overjoyed at the prospect of being a grandma. Since Dana had moved back home, their relationship had improved further. Of course, being mother and daughter, they were always going to disagree. At the end of the day, though, Maggie wouldn't change a thing.

"I think," Maggie started, using her power as matriarch of the family and mother of four children to give herself absolute credibility, "that she is like you, Dana. Stubborn. She's not going to do anything until she's good and ready. But, when she does decide to crawl and walk and talk, she'll surprise us with how much she's already learned."

The three women smiled at the girl in the high chair, knowing that, despite minor delays, she had promise.

"So Day, how's Mulder?" Maggie asked bluntly once their family moment was over. Scully almost spit out the water that was in her mouth. She had only spoken of Mulder a couple of times with her mother. Once when she told her that he was willing to babysit and she didn't need to drive 45 minutes down from Baltimore every day to watch her and once when she had to explain why she was leaving early on Christmas Day to go back home. She hadn't given her mother many more details on purpose because… Maggie Scully had a tendency to be nosy, especially when it came to her daughters' love lives. That had been part of the reason why she had picked a medical school so far from home. Melissa knew more about Mulder than her mother did, but was quiet on the subject.

"He's fine," was all she offered, keeping her head down, staring intently at her plate.

"When are we going to be able to meet him? You and Anna spend an awful lot of time with him; I'd like to assess him."

"He's been pretty busy with work lately. He's a field agent for the FBI, so his hours are pretty irregular sometimes."

"Tell me, Dana, what is the relationship status between you two?"

Her mother was trying to kill her, Scully sincerely believed as she once again choked on her water. Across the table, Melissa was trying not to burst out laughing, but was having a hard time of it. Dana shot her a death glare and tried to answer her mom in the least words possible.

"Like I've said before, Mom, we're just friends."

"Are you trying to tell me that this gentleman is comfortable just having a friendship with you, yet he's willing to watch your daughter while you're working your horrible hours and spend every moment of the weekend with the two of you? Really, Dana, you should pull your head out of your idealistic ass sometime."

Melissa could not help letting a laugh escape after that one. Maggie Scully was nothing if not shocking.

"What's wrong with us being friends? I happen to be very comfortable with the relationship we have and I know he is too."

"Sweetheart, you are an MD, please tell me you know that this Mulder guy wants more than just friendship."

"I was suspicious at first too, Mom. But he's extremely respectful to me, beyond affectionate with Anna, and we're happy with the way things are." Actually, Scully was speaking somewhat out of turn there. Since the first night at the bar and the three or four days following that, Mulder had not seemed to be pursuing a further relationship with her at all. Not even after the kiss on the cheek she gave him a few weeks ago. It was like he still wanted to be emotionally invested, but not romantically. Sometimes, Scully got very sad when she wondered if he found her boring or unattractive, but stuck around because she had expressed her fears about him being one of "those" guys. It was ironic. First, she thought he'd run screaming from her because of Anna. Now, she wondered if that's why he was staying.

"Well, regardless of what you may or may not be telling me, I would still like to meet this Mulder. Will you do me some justice there? Give me some peace of mind?"

"Fine Mom, I'll see if I can get him to come to Easter."

"That's all I ask," Maggie said smugly, feeding Anna some more applesauce.

They had agreed on Chinese food that night, giving him an excuse to stick around after she returned home from work at 1 a.m. Mulder had yet to find a Chinese place that closed before 3 in the morning, and that is what he loved about Washington, D.C.

"Hoo boy, I don't know if this kung pao chicken is such a good idea at this time of night," he suppressed a burp coming from deep within him. Scully laughed, rolling herself into his body as they sat on the couch. She didn't bring her forehead up from his shoulder, which he knew meant she wanted to talk.

"How was lunch with your mom and Missy today?" he asked, aware of their standing date.

"Mom wants you to come to Easter," Scully said quietly, the sounds muffled against his sweatshirt.

"Hmm. Meeting your family," Mulder tried to pretend like it was a hard decision. Scully didn't seem to be getting the hint, though.

"I mean, I said that I'd ask you, but don't feel obligated. They just want to meet you because you're so close to Anna…"

"Scully, slow down, slow down. I'd be happy to meet your family."

She whipped her head up and looked directly into his eyes, needing to make sure she had correctly heard him.

"You will?"

"Of course. I mean, if you want me to, that is."

"No, I really want you to. I'm just surprised."

"Why are you surprised?"

"Well we're not… I mean, you and I aren't…"

"Ahh, I've gotcha."

They stared at each others' feet for a moment, wondering what the most appropriate thing to say next was. Scully wanted to tell him, desperately, how wonderful he was and how lucky she was to have him in her life. But everything she could express with words only paled in comparison to what she was feeling for the man next to her on the couch. Not to mention that there was a part of her (a larger one than she liked to admit) that was still untrustworthy and suspicious of men.

It was her insecurities, the ones she felt she was hiding well, that Mulder picked up on the most. He loved Dana Scully and her daughter, that was for sure. But he would never want to make her uncomfortable with him. He'd rather spend his entire life being her friend than confessing to her that he loved her and losing her forever. That didn't mean it wasn't hard to control himself around her, but it did mean it was necessary.

Setting the offending chicken down on the coffee table, Mulder wrapped his arm around his friend and pulled her close, burying his nose in her hair and inhaling. He loved the smell of her. He loved the life he had built with her.

"You need to bring me up to speed with your family members," he let her know, feeling her getting sleepy in his arms.

Through droopy eyelids and yawns, she began to tell him about her father the Navy captain, how he was firm but loving, and how she called him "Ahab" and he called her "Starbuck" after their favorite book to read together, Moby Dick. Mulder made a sarcastic comment about reading a child a gruesome tale about an evil whaler crusading against an endangered species, but if reading that book had made Scully part of the person she was now, he'd start reading it to Anna immediately.

Then came her well-intentioned but busy mother, who he already knew a few details about. She assured him that she was already impressed with the person he was for being such a big help to Scully and Anna, so he was pretty safe in that area. Missy was another that Scully had told him some things about. Her books and her theories, Scully only warned Mulder to not be freaked out by any chants or cleansings she may perform.

"You know, I have a soft spot for new age techniques," Mulder informed her.

"Then I guess you'll have a lot to talk about then. The best word I can use to describe my sister would be 'flighty' though, so you could possibly have a problem holding a long-term conversation with her. I love her to death, but we couldn't be any different."

And of course, she saved telling him about her brothers for last. Her younger brother Charlie wasn't going to be a problem. At 22, he was the baby of the family, and his strong suit had always been using his humorous nature to his advantage in any situation. It was a nice change from her older brother, Bill, Jr., who Scully sometimes thought was more stern concerning her than her own father was. He had the most traditional values, which had put a strain on their relationship since Anna was born. She knew that if they didn't talk about it for long enough, that the problem would go away, but since she had gotten pregnant they had exchanged some harsh words, and she would be lying if she said she wasn't still a little uncomfortable around him.

"I have to be honest with you, Bill's an ass."

"Is he the kind of macho ass who's going to try and show me up at everything, or is he more of a passive-aggressive ass who's going to give me stare-downs from across the room all day?"

"He's the worst kind of ass: a little of both."

"Oh god."

"I know. But he's getting married this summer, so maybe having a fiancée has calmed him down a bit."

"I just have one question then."

"Shoot."

"How big is he?"

A big smile broke out across her face not just because his expression was hilarious, but because he was committing.

"Don't ask me that question Mulder, because it's not going to matter."

"Just give me an idea. Only so that I can be prepared."

"He's a little taller than you and he's been in the Navy since he was 19. But, you are two years younger than him, and you're in better physical shape than he was the last time I saw him. I don't want you preparing for anything, but I am going to tell you that you have a few tools on your side."

"It's always good to know your assets."

Seeing Mulder try to stifle a yawn, Scully knew that she should have let him have the couch so he could sleep. But now that he knew about her family…

"What about your family, are you ever going to pressure me into meeting them?" Scully asked, not expecting his sudden silence and loss of whatever mirth had been bouncing between them.

"I don't really like to talk about my family," was all he offered, looking down at their hands, which had somehow managed to interlock themselves without Mulder or Scully noticing. She used the hand he wasn't holding to gently rub his fingers one by one. It was the only movement for a few seconds.

"Well, when you do want to talk, I'll be right here ready to listen." It wasn't abrupt at all, instead compassionate when Scully chose that to be the end of their conversation. Mirroring her actions from a few weeks ago (which neither of them had still made sense of or been able to forget for a substantial period of time), Mulder pulled on Scully's hand once she was standing and kissed her cheek.

"Sleep well," was what his mouth said after the action; his eyes saying so much more though.

"You too."

thank you for giving me your thoughts! i promise you will not be disappointed with what's to come.