So, this chapter is anything but happy. It's also rather short. Mainly because I couldn't find the best transition into next chapter as well as this is really sad. Sorry.
However, did anyone else die of laughter when Mulder was tripping in Monday night's episode? I about died when I saw Skinner and the Lone Gunmen.
Enjoy!
The next Friday, Scully picks Chloe up from school. A little early, she turns off the car ignition and waits for the doors to open. Seeing a woman around her height stand outside an SUV with two small children, Scully smiles softly wishing to have the life the woman has. She then catches sight of Chloe coming toward her vehicle. Getting out of the car, the agent is surprised when her surrogate daughter heads over to the other woman as one of the little boys runs over to the boy Chloe walks with. The red head watches the kids interact before Chloe leaves her friend to search for the agent. Seeing her, the girl goes over to the woman's car.
"Hey Sweetheart," Scully says stroking the preteen's hair.
"Hi!" Chloe greets knowing the weekend is exclusively for her and Scully. Getting in the car, Chloe commandeers the radio.
"Who was that you were walking with?" Scully asks hoping to ignore the music coming from the Top 40 station. She can only take so much of N*SYNC and The Spice Girls.
"Kyle. He told me he'd let me meet his brothers. Aren't they cute?" Chloe asks.
"Yeah," Scully answers as she exits the school parking lot, "How old are they?"
"Nathan's two and Will is a year," The twelve year old answers adding, "Kyle thinks that if I'm around them long enough I'll never want a sibling."
The red head chuckles at the response before asking, "Do you still talk to Amanda or Anna at all?"
"I stayed the weekend with Anna last week and Amanda and I talk during lunch. They're both busy though with trying to get on sports teams."
"Does Kyle play any sports?"
"Basketball. His dad taught him. Why?" She asks.
"No reason, I just wanted to know. Are you okay with staying at my apartment this weekend? I don't feel up to doing too much."
"Sure," Chloe shrugs knowing not to ask for too much from her surrogate mother at the moment. After a brief silence, the girl asks, "What's it like having cancer?"
"It's difficult," Scully answers, "Why?"
"I'm just curious. Amanda's aunt had it, but it went into remission. She also said her aunt lost all her hair."
"I'm glad hers went into remission, but we'll talk about this all later. All right?"
"Okay," Chloe answers softly. Noticing the change in mood, the red head asks, "How was school today?"
"It was okay, except one of my teachers has decided that my name isn't Chloe anymore."
"What do you mean, your 'name isn't Chloe'?" Scully questions. Sighing, the twelve year old explains, "There are two other Chloes in all of my classes, so instead of being Chloe M, Mrs. Laurence had me use my middle name because Chloe Mori is before me alphabetically and got to be Chloe M first."
"Sounds complicated," Scully states. "Is it just that one class that you go by Samantha?"
"Yes, but Brett and a few of his friends have stuck to calling me Samantha all the time, so now the whole school thinks my name is Samantha," Chloe exclaims.
"Well, Chloe, I don't know what to tell you except you'll have to deal with it."
"Aren't moms supposed to be supportive?" The preteen asks.
"When the occasion calls for it," Scully answers secretly beaming that Chloe still wants to call her her mother. Still happy upon entering the apartment, her high is crushed when Chloe asks, "Does your mom know you have cancer?"
"She does," The red head answers as she puts her coat and purse away before making dinner.
"Would you be upset if I had cancer?" Chloe questions knowing what the answer will be. What she doesn't expect is the glare she is given as Scully reprimands, "Don't talk like that. I would be crushed if anything happened to you."
"Like your mom?" Chloe probes. Curious about what the girl is driving at, Scully asks, "What is wrong?"
"I don't want you to die," The twelve year old mumbles. Knowing she cannot sugar coat her diagnosis, Scully motions for the girl to come to her before crushing her in a hug.
"Chloe, I can't say I won't die, but I can promise you that I will make sure I am there for you, okay?"
By now both preteen and adult are crying as Scully wipes the girl's tears away. Sighing, the red head asks, "If you need me to answer anymore questions, I will. For now, let's do whatever it is you want. Within reason."
Smiling a little, Chloe agrees before both surrogate mother and daughter vote on a movie for the night while planning out the rest of their weekend.
Dropping Chloe back off at Mulder's on Sunday, Scully comes inside as Mulder asks his daughter how her weekend is.
"Yeah, it was good," The twelve year old replies smiling at the red head. Realizing he will simply be out of the loop, Mulder asks,
"What all did you do?"
"Stuff," Chloe answers before going off to her room. Looking quizzically at his partner, Mulder parrots, "Stuff?"
"Calm down, Mulder. It's not like we TP'd a house or did anything illegal," Scully replies adding, "We talked about my cancer and school. I'm just happy I got to spend time with her. It feels like we haven't been able to in the last couple weeks. You're doing a really good job with her."
"Thanks, Scully," Mulder answers, "Do you want to stay here for a bit?"
The woman nods as she sits on the couch watching Caddyshack with her partner. At this point she is happy with anything that does not have to do with cancer.
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