Sorry about the delay. I've been on a role with one of my other stories. Anyway. I hope you all enjoy!
One Week Later
"Dad, you know I can put her to bed," Scully reassured her father as he carried Shiloh to her room.
"It's alright, Starbuck, you're cleaning up," he assured her as Maggie held up her hand to Scully telling her not to argue.
Both the women shook their heads as Bill Senior carried the child into her bedroom. He cherished his little Stubb and was always happy to help out however he possibly could. It wasn't very often that Scully admitted to herself that things would probably have been nearly impossible with Shiloh without the help and support of her parents, and she would always be grateful to them for all they did for her and Shiloh.
"Stubborn as a mule, that man," Maggie told her daughter, shaking her head as Scully dried her hands.
"Oh, yes. He must be where I get it," Scully replied lightly, giving her mother a humored smile.
When her father returned he strolled over to the Christmas tree that was still up, even though it was already the second of January. "Going to keep this up all year?" he asked.
"Yup. All year," she told him, pushing her red hair behind her ear and straightening the sleeve of her white blouse. "Since you always made us take the Christmas tree down the day after Christmas, I'm making up for lost time."
He smirked at her. She was definitely his daughter, smart tongue and all. "If your idea of a good time is picking up dried pine needles, treat yourself," he quipped back.
"I pick up after that little munchkin, what's some pine needles?"
They exchanged a humored glance as Scully leaned against the counter. "Alright, Maggie, let's shove off," he told his wife. "That granddaughter of ours needs to get as much rest as possible and she'll wake up if we stay much longer."
Maggie looked slightly disappointed. "Oh, okay," she said then turned to her daughter. "Thank you for having us." They gave a tight hug. "Dinner was delicious, as usual."
"Thanks, Mom," Scully replied breaking the embrace to turn toward her father. She took a few steps toward him and puffed her chest out a little before raising her hand to her head in a small salute. "Good sailing, Ahab."
He grinned at her and pulled her into a hug. "Goodnight, Starbuck."
Maggie and Bill Sr. exchanged a look over her shoulder. There was something that needed to be said that was up to Bill to say. "How's work? Good?" he asked her, surprising her more than a little. He was making an effort, but she didn't see it the same way. She felt like he was testing her.
She nodded and looked him square in the eye. Her beautiful features not showing any sign of aggression or defense. "Yup. It's good."
"And that partner of yours?" Bill asked, his eyebrow raising in a similar Scully fashion.
She fought the smile that came to her lips at the thought of Mulder. "He's good. Don't worry, Dad. He's got my back and I've got his."
Bill seemed alright with this answer, but at the same time, Scully didn't see that. All she saw was worry. She followed her parents to the door and locked it behind them. As much as she loved her parents, sometimes it was easier to take them in polite conversation about nothing than them asking about her job and her partner.
Scully wasn't quite ready for bed, so she curled up on the couch with a glass of wine and decided to watch some of her favorite old movies. It didn't take long for her eyes to drift closed and she fell asleep with the throw pulled around her still wearing her clothes from the day before.
Something woke her. She wasn't sure what, but something did. Her eyes opened abruptly to see her father sitting in the chair across from her. His mouth was moving but she couldn't hear him.
Sitting up and pulling the blanket with her, she tilted her head. "Dad?" She kept looking at him. "I thought you guys left. Where's Mom?"
Bill Sr.'s mouth kept moving, but still there was nothing audible. The phone ringing made her jump and she answered it quickly so it wouldn't wake Shiloh. By the time she looked back, her father was gone.
Confused, she kept staring at the empty arm chair. Her eyebrows furrowed, unsure if she dreampt the whole thing or not. "Hello?"
There was a sound of muffled crying in the background and instinctual panic set in. "Hello?" she tried again.
"Dana?" And just like that, her heart dropped even more. When a mother calls their daughter crying it's never a good sign.
"Mom?" The alarm in her voice was evident, as was the urgency. "What's the matter?"
"We, um… we lost your dad. He had a…. a massive coronary about an hour ago. He's gone."
Scully was shaking as she turned toward the arm chair. That was impossible. Her dad. He was sitting in her living room, not thirty seconds ago. But that had to be a dream. This had to be a dream.
"What?" Scully asked softly, even though she had heard her mother crystal clear. "No…"
"I know… I… We're going to have to… to tell Shiloh…"
For a moment Scully had forgotten that part. But her mother was already going through so much. "No, Mom. It's alright. I'll tell Shiloh. We'll come over tomorrow afternoon."
Maggie was starting to cry harder on the other end of the phone. "I have to go Dana. I have to tell your brothers…"
Just like that, the phone conversation was over. No goodbye, no I love you, nothing. It took less than a minute phone call to be information that her father was gone, that she'd never see her beloved Ahab again.
Slowly she moved back toward the couch and sat there for a long moment trying to sort everything out in her head. He was just at her house. She searched her mind for memories of the symptoms, but she found none. She wasn't looking. Suddenly she began to cry.
Scully sat there. Her face in her hands, tears rolling down her cheeks freely as she struggled to keep herself from completely breaking. How was she supposed to tell her seven year old daughter that her beloved grandfather was dead? That the man she had seen only hours ago was gone and she would never run into the loving arms of her Ahab again. How do you tell your child that?
A quiet sob broke her as she curled up onto the couch and pulled the blanket tight around her. She couldn't stop crying and she had to. She had to find some place calm so that she could be the rock for her daughter.
Silently Scully cursed the world. Shiloh was just starting to love again and this happens. The person she held on the highest pedestal was lost to her, just like her birth parents. How can this happen to such a precious little girl? Why was she damned to a life of tragedy?
She entire body shook as she cried into her hands. Mulder. Her mind suddenly called for him. Shiloh would need him. Shiloh would want him. She didn't dare admit to herself that she wanted him there too. After waking up next to him on Christmas morning, she suddenly feared the worst. What if something between her and Mulder happened, something bad, and Mulder left? Her daughter adored him…
Still, he was her partner first. She was going to make this work. He just had to be patient with her. Truthfully, she hadn't had a serious relationship since Shiloh came into her life. Priorities change. Shiloh came first in her life, followed by her career and then herself. Mulder fit in all three categories and that complicated things for her. The magnetic full she had to him was unexplainable, but they had been working together for ten months now. In a way they had just met but it felt like they had known each other for years.
Taking a deep breath and trying to calm her sobs, she reached for the phone. She knew his number by heart and as she dialed in. It was the smallest comfort in just knowing he was going to be there with her, even if just on the phone. She took a deep breath and bit her lip.
"Mulder." His voice was husky with sleep and suddenly she felt extremely guilty. Of course he was sleeping, what the hell was she thinking?
Closing her eyes, she rubbed her damp face. "I'm sorry, Mulder. I shouldn't have called."
"Scully?" Suddenly he was much more awake. "What's wrong?"
Mulder's heart was racing as he sat up on the couch and immediately reached for his shirt. He could tell she was upset. It was written in her voice, and even if it wasn't it was two o'clock in the morning. Something was definitely wrong. "Is Shiloh okay?" he asked as he tried to pull his shirt over his head and searched for a pair of jeans. Please let Shiloh be okay, he mentally added.
"She's okay. I mean. It's not her," Mulder froze as he heard Scully choke on a sob.
"Dana, what's wrong?" he said softly, already wishing he was there to comfort her.
The sound of her voice was so broken that he almost didn't hear it. "I just don't know how to tell her that her grandfather died."
His heart broke as he let himself fall onto his couch. Of course her first thought was of her daughter. "She's going to want to see you," she told him softly. "I don't want you to feel obligated but could you maybe come over in the morning?"
He wanted to save her, he wanted to pull her into his arms and tell her that things were going to be okay. Scully thought the world of her father, he knew that. He knew Shiloh did too. So why couldn't she let him help her right then? Let him go to her, wrap her in his arms and tell her everything would be okay.
"I'll be there," he told sitting back against the couch and keeping his eyes closed.
She leaned over the side of the couch and hung up the phone. There was no point in attempting to sleep. Instead, she stood up and went to her kitchen. Coffee, only because she refused to be on her forth glass of wine when he daughter woke up.
Mulder didn't sleep after her call. He didn't sleep that often either. Still, his mind wondered until he couldn't take it any longer. It was six o'clock in the morning and he was standing outside Scully's door, resisting knocking on the door.
Suddenly the door opened and Mulder looked at his partner in shock, embarrassed to be caught. He blinked and then suddenly offered out the plastic bag her paper was in.
She accepted it as though this was a common occurrence; obviously her emotions were numbed by the news of her father's death. "Would you like some coffee?" she asked him, expecting him to follow her into the apartment.
Taking a deep breath, Mulder fell into step behind her and followed her into the kitchen."Sure," he accepted though he had a feeling she would have poured a cup anyway. His eyes fell to her wrist where he noticed she was wearing the charm bracelet he had gotten her for Christmas.
"Dana," he said softly, reaching for her hand.
She looked up at him, connecting their hands and intertwining their fingers. The moment their eyes met, she broke. Tears escaping again. Mulder went to her and pulled her against him, holding her there in the kitchen.
"He was here not twelve hours ago and he was fine. A massive coronary."
Mulder moved her over to the couch and they laid together, her face buried into his neck. She was exhausted, he could see that. Her eyes had dark circles beneath them and she was unwilling to sleep. Still, as her head rested on his chest her eyes drifted closed despite the coffee she had already drank.
They had crossed some serious lines recently and they didn't know where to go. Scully was such a strong woman that she may have let him cross a line, but he wasn't sure what to do now. Did they begin outings? Actual dating? Or was this a game to her? They were best friends, but now there were benefits added in. The very last thing Mulder wanted to do was screw it up.
He knew Scully loved her father very much. Starbuck. That's what he called her. She was not really a Daddy's girl by definition, but she was most definitely her father's daughter. Shiloh felt much the same toward her beloved grandfather. He knew that's what was pushing Scully over the edge. Shiloh was not going to take it well. Maybe that was the real reason she called him over, for his experience in psychology.
That wasn't Scully's motive, not really. It helped, but really Shiloh was going to attach on to Mulder, the other main male figure in their life. Someone the Shiloh truly adored. Someone that Scully adored.
Her mind was cloudy with sleep as the rhythm of Mulder's heart lulled her to sleep. The pressure of her light weight against him, kept him in a half sleep, comfortable for an insomniac. They were alright.
A few hours later, they awoke on the couch. Scully shifted and Mulder woke easily, meeting her tired eyes as they both yawned. His hand touched her face as they laid close to each. "Morning," he said gently, checking her expression.
She rested her head against his shoulder and pressed her feet underneath his legs for extra warmth. Her hands were cold as they slid under his shirt and rested against his abs. It was almost erotic as her cold nose touched his jaw and mouth exhaled hot breath. "Thank you for staying," she whispered.
His warm hands slid underneath the back of her shirt and he held her close. "Thanks for calling."
The sound of cereal spilling into a bowl make them shoot up to see Shiloh standing on her chair getting ready to dump milk all over the kitchen table along with the cereal that was already rolling onto the floor. Scully was up in a heartbeat, saving herself from cleaning up an even bigger mess.
"Sweetie, what are you doing?" Scully asked, noticing that her daughter had dressed herself in miss matched colors and hair was more unruly than usual.
"I'm hungry," she said simply, as though it was the most obvious answer in the world.
Mulder grinned at her answer, mostly because she sounded just like Scully. Even the kid was getting a little sass in her voice.
Seeing that her mother was not satisfied with this answer, Shiloh sighed and pushed her dark curls out of her face as she hopped off the chair. Finally she began to reenact her morning mission. "I-" she pulled herself on the counter top, much to Scully's dismay, "got up here and-" she pulled open one of the cabinets revealing the bowls and motioned toward them, "got one of those and then I-" she sat down on the counter and hopped off, moving over to the cupboard, "climbed up-" she began to climb the shelves until she could reach the other boxes of cereal, "and gots my cereal and I-" she jumped down. Mulder glanced at Scully and noticed she was not nearly as impressed as he was as she covered her eyes with her free hand and shook her head. Shiloh opened the fridge and pointed to a vacant spot the most likely once held the milk. "Got my milk. 'Cause I'm a big girl and can make breakfast."
Scully was not in the mood for arguing. Instead she just poured the milk into the bowl for the girl and started cleaning off the table.
Mulder sat across from Shiloh who was half sitting/half standing on the chair as she ate her cereal pleasantly. Her eyes never left her mother as Scully made a fresh batch of coffee and poured a cup for Mulder and herself.
Shiloh eyed the cup and pursed her lips. "Mommy, I wanna be a grown up like you and Mulder," she said promptly. She pushed her empty cup toward her mother. "I want coffee too."
Leave it to Shiloh to make Scully smile at a time like this. "Sweetie, you won't like it," Scully told her as she glanced at Mulder's grin. His free hand was covering hers as they both sipped on their coffee.
"Please, Mommy. Ahab says it's for grownups."
The atmosphere turned sad again, and even Shiloh felt her mother's pain as she set her coffee down and took a deep breath. Mulder squeezed her hand as she pushed her chair back and moved toward the wide eyed girl, now giving her mother her full attention.
Scully picked her up and moved toward the couch. Shiloh didn't argue about being taken away from her breakfast before she was finished and Mulder just followed behind them. Scully had Shiloh on her lap facing her as she brushed unruly curls out of the way.
"Something very sad happened while we were sleeping, baby," Scully said softly, feeling new tears rise to the surface as she met her daughter's eyes. Shiloh only watched her mother intently. "Last night, Ahab got kinda sick. His heart got sick and stopped working-" The child was already catching on. It killed Mulder to see it as Shiloh started shaking her head, her hands latching onto her mother as Scully's voice started to crack. "And the doctors did their very best but-"
"He went to live with my real mommy and daddy… with the angels…" Shiloh finished for her. Tears rose to her daughters eyes and she shook her head violently. "No!" she shouted, burying her face in Scully's chest. "Tell the angels to go away! I don't want them anymore!"
Scully looked at Mulder for help as the girl started to sob, clinging to her mother for support. Tears were rolling down her cheeks and he finally realized that Scully didn't ask him there to guide her with telling Shiloh, but be there for both of them.
There was nothing they could say to make the pain go away. There was a funeral to plan, arrangements to be made, people to call, and Scully had to go to her mother's to help her with all of it. Mulder was her shoulder, because she was everyone else's. Through the next couple days, he didn't leave their side. Even getting take out for the entire family as they sat in Maggie's house making the arrangements.
Mulder didn't care if he didn't know where he and Scully stood, at least they were standing together.
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