A/N: A bit of sap. This story will be wrapping up soon.
The X-Files doesn't belong to me.
December 26th, 1997
"Am I going home with you?" little Emily asked, her face still a little pale, a little sickly. Still shy and quiet. "Now that I'm better?"
"You have to stay for one more day," Scully explained. "To make sure you're all better. Then you're going to come with me."
"Okay." she smiled bashfully. "That sounds fun. What about the man who makes funny faces?"
"Mulder is his name. Yes, he'll come with us too."
"Good. I like him."
Scully smiled. "Me, too."
"Can I..." Emily trailed off.
"What is it? You can tell me."
"Can I call you my mama?"
Tears sprung into Scully's eyes. "Yes. Of-of course you can." She sat down next to her soon to be daughter in the hospital bed. "Go to sleep; we can have some dinner when you wake up and Mulder will bring presents."
"Stay right next to me." she requested. Scully laid down and Emily snuggled a little closer, falling asleep quickly. Scully had to hold herself back from crying tears of joy into the little girl's hair.
December 26th, 1998
"How was your Christmas, Em?" Mulder asked over a morning cup of coffee with Scully and a sleepy Emily.
"Good. We went to grandma's and saw Uncle Bill and Auntie Tara and Uncle Charlie. Who did you see?"
"I just celebrated Christmas by myself."
Emily frowned. "That's not right. You should be with your family during Christmas."
"Me and my family just don't get along, sweetheart." Mulder explained.
The young girl pursed her lips in thought. "We'll be your new family then." she decided.
Mulder smiled. "That's a good idea. What did you get for Christmas?"
"Lots of things! I can't tell you everything I got because mama said it's bragging." Scully sighed and placed a hand on her forehead. "What?"
Mulder held back a chuckle. "Nothing. You're a hundred percent right; it's not good to brag." He took a long sip of coffee, looking at Scully, who was simply smiling at the scene. "Hey Em. Do you know what happened today a year ago?" she simply looked at him with curiosity. "Your mom adopted you."
Emily grinned at Scully. "Really?"
"Yes. You got better and I was able to have you. And a little while later, you came home with me." Scully said.
"Wow. A year is a long time. Can I go play with my toys now? I ate my waffles."
"Sure, baby." the girl hopped out of her chair and went to play. "A year isn't a long time when you're a mother," Scully mused to herself. Mulder interlaced his fingers with hers. "It feels like just a few weeks ago...I still wish she was a little more social, but she really is happy. She still adores you—you practically hang the moon to her. I guess I couldn't ask for more."
I love you. The words were forming on his mouth but he couldn't say them. He remembered her reaction from last time; it was understandable, but he would be lying if he said it didn't hurt. He only kissed her hand and hoped that could convey everything he was feeling. "I promise I'll never leave either of you. Not if I can help it."
"Thank you." Scully replied, smiling, glints of tears in her eyes.
The spirit of Christmas died down, but New Year's Eve was almost as exciting to Emily, if only because she could stay up until midnight. Her mother let her drink a small amount of sparkling apple juice in a "fancy" plastic cup. She danced to the music of the performers until she got tired and climbed onto the couch with her mother and Mulder. It was about an hour until midnight when she starting dozing.
"You wanna go to sleep?" Scully asked.
"No!" she exclaimed groggily. "I have to stay up til midnight!"
"Okay," she replied, amused at her daughter's determination.
"What do you do when the ball drops?" she asked.
"You kiss the person you love the most." Scully explained.
"Why?"
"I don't...actually know why, come to think of it."
"To have a good start to the new year," Mulder said.
"But kissing is yucky." Emily replied.
Mulder grinned. "When you get to be older, it's a lot of fun." Emily just made a face.
The little girl eventually fell asleep about thirty minutes to midnight, but her mother woke her up five minutes until the ball dropped. "Did I fall asleep?"
"Yes. But we still have five minutes 'til New Year's."
"Oh, yay!" she said. "Can I have more fizzy apple juice?"
"Sure," Scully got off the couch and poured two flutes of champagne for Mulder and her, and some sparkling apple juice in a fancy plastic cup for Emily.
"What's that?" Emily asked when she sipped some champagne.
"Fancy adult juice," Mulder said. Scully laughed—he was, more or less right. At one minute to midnight, Emily stood on the couch and counted down with everyone else.
"Three...two...one, happy New Year!" Emily jumped up and down on the couch, then turned to find her mother and Mulder kissing. When they pulled apart, Scully kissed her daughter's cheek. "Happy New Year, honey." she said. "It's time for bed." Emily wanted to protest, but as soon as her mom picked her up, she could've fallen asleep in her arms. "You're getting heavy." she teased.
"Am I gonna be tall and big?"
"One day you will be." she tucked her daughter in. "Did you have fun?"
She nodded. "Why did you and Mulder kiss?"
"It's just what you do on New Year's."
"Is he your boyfriend then?"
Scully sighed. "It's time for bed, Emily. Goodnight."
"Okay. I love you, mama."
"Love you too," she gave her daughter a goodnight kiss. The girl fell asleep quickly. When Scully came back to the living room, Mulder himself was yawning. "Tired?" she asked.
"A little," he replied; she could tell it was more than a little. "Thank you for having me over."
"Anytime, Mulder. When's your next case?"
"Day after tomorrow. I'm going to Washington with Reyes. Something about a satanic ritualistic murder, which is what Monica used to specialize in."
"Sounds intense." Scully found herself yawning as well. "God. We're all exhausted, aren't we? Do you have enough energy to drive home?"
"Oh, I'll be fine."
"Don't stay up too late, please. I know you keep yourself up. You worry me." she placed her hands on his face.
"I'm fine, Scully, I promise."
She shook her head. "No, you're not."
He sighed. "No, I'm not, you're right." he admitted. "I just...can't seem to keep myself down. I'm all over the place all the time, but it keeps my mind off things."
"Just keep yourself safe. Get some sleep." I love you, she thought, hoping her words conveyed her silent message.
"You, too. Take care of Em. Don't beat yourself up over little things. I'm always thinking of you two." I love you, his words were silently saying. "I'll see you soon, Scully."
"See you." they kissed, chastely, but there was definitely something there, something that had always been there. He wondered briefly if the champagne brought this on, but he knew this was going to happen eventually—they would come to terms with their feelings. There was still more to be said and done, but they would discuss that when he came back from the case. She hoped he would be safe and that he would return soon.
The next week, Mulder was in the hospital, still in Washington State. He had been caught in a car accident with Monica on a case, but he was far more injured than she. She had to explain to her daughter that Mulder would be staying in Washington for awhile, that he was hurt. "Is he gonna die?"
"Oh, God, no." Scully said. "No, he's just hurt. The metal from the car jammed into his side very deep and it damaged some parts of his body. He could've died, but God decided it wasn't his time yet, I guess."
"Can we call him?"
"Not right now, baby. He's in the hospital and he needs rest. Soon, he'll be back to us and we can help take care of him." she knew her daughter loved to play doctor and take care of others; she would be all over Mulder when he came back.
"Mama, I'm worried about Mulder." she admitted.
"Me, too. He'll be okay, it's just gonna take awhile."
"I wish he didn't have to be stupid and crash his car."
Scully couldn't help laughing, thinking she should've corrected her daughter, but she had thought the same thing (Why is he so stupid sometimes?!) about the man she loved so many times.
A/N: Sorry I haven't been updating as frequently, I've been going through a really rough time lately. Thanks for reading.
-Lulamae