Hi all, well here's the next bit! This one's for my friend AnnieGilly, happy birthday! Hope you've had a great day :)


Scully awoke with a start, feeling more refreshed than she had in a long time. Rolling over, she felt her heart rise as she saw the time was 10:00 AM. Frantically reaching out for the baby monitor, she tried to slow her breathing a little as she saw that it was still on. Maybe Joe hadn't woken? Grabbing her dressing gown, she wandered out of her room, the sight before her making her heart stop all over again.

Mulder was sitting on her couch, the TV showing the latest ball game, with Joe in his arms, a bottle in one hand as he fed the tiny boy. Scully smiled, tears forming in her eyes as she heard him narrating the game, explaining who the players were and how it all worked, Joe content play with the bottle as he listened.

She walked forwards, Mulder turning at the sound of her steps to grin happily at her, pleased to see that she finally looked well rested.

"Morning, Scully! I thought you could use a lie in this morning."

"Good morning," she replied, running her fingers gently through his hair from behind as she kissed the crown of his head, enjoying having him around again. "And thank you, Mulder, I think I needed that."

Walking around to the other side, she sat down next to Mulder, gently kissing her son's head and running her hand gently through the tiny bit of mousy coloured hair he already had. Mulder waited for her to look in his direction, before leaning down and giving her a gentle kiss. It lasted only seconds, but Scully's heart already rose, her cheeks flushed slightly as she grinned back at him.

"So, what are you doing today?" he asked, watching as she moved away to the kitchen, needing a bit of distance between them right now. She cleared her throat, shouting over the sound of the kettle boiling.

"Erm, I thought it was about time I went shopping, so I was planning on going to the mall with Joe," she replied, pouring herself a quick cup of coffee.

"Can I come?" he asked, looking so hopeful that she had to smile, nodding as she drank.

"Of course. Let me just grab a quick shower and we can go," she replied, seeing him beam at her answer.

Mulder laughed as a cloth hit him in the face that Scully threw at him for when he was done feeding Joe. He was just about to come back with a witty retort when he saw that she had already disappeared into the shower.

"Your mother, Joe, she'll be the death of me," he told the child, seeing him gurgle happily. Laughing, he settled back on the sofa to enjoy a morning with his son.


They had a perfect day together, looking just like the happiest family on the planet. Mulder teased Scully at every opportunity, and she laughed, throwing witty comments back in his direction just as she had always done. Soon, they sat in a small cafe, both of them carrying bags, most of which were full of things for Joe. Mulder sighed happily, sipping at his coffee.

"You know, Mulder, I hate to inflate your ego further, but I really am so happy to have you back," she told him, seeing him grin at her.

"Me too, Scully. More than you could imagine."

Just as they seemed to get close again, Mulder's hand covering her smaller, delicate one over the table, his cell phone rang, making him jump. Scully laughed, trying to disguise it as a cough as Mulder frowned at her, reaching into his jacket.

"Mulder?" he spoke into the receiver, his heart and face dropping as he listened to the message. "OK, thank you for letting me know."

He looked down at the table as he put his phone away, not daring to look up and break this peace that had settled on them. He could almost feel Scully's eyes boring into his head, trying to get any hint of what the call was about.

"What's wrong?" she finally asked, waiting for him to look up, and when he did she saw the haunted expression that had slowly disappeared recently had re-surfaced.

"Diana's gone into labour."

Her heart almost stopped at that, finally nodding as she took in the information. She looked up and saw him watching her uncertainly, unsure of what he should do. He hated breaking the spell of the wonderful afternoon with his family, hoping this would no undo what they had been working for.

"You should go and meet your child, Mulder," she told him, the smallest smile on her now pale face as she looked back at him.

"Scully...Joe's my child, and I...I..." he stuttered, trying to get her to understand what he was feeling. But her walls were back up again, what he had hoped to never see.

"Go, Mulder. We'll still be here when you get back."

He stood uncertainly, looking back at Scully for some reassurance, but she was avoiding his eyes, looking instead at a sleeping Joe in his pram. As he reached the door, he hovered, not quite able to bring himself to walk through it. Looking up at him, she finally offered him a more Scully-like smile, knowing he had to go and hating the fact.

"Go!" she shouted to him, seeing him nod and hang his head, knowing that he had no choice.

She watched him walk away, her heart breaking all over again. This had been a bad idea to let him back so quickly, and yet she hurt so much when he wasn't around. Shaking the thoughts from her head, she decided to head back and have a relaxing bath, pushing all thoughts of Mulder from her head for the afternoon. She could worry about this situation at another time when she had more energy, and when she had more control of her feelings.


Mulder sat in Diana's room, trying not to let the feeling of dread fill him. He had seen that look on Scully's face before, and it always came just before she was going to shut him out and not show her feelings to him anymore. Sighing, he wished that was not the case, praying to God he hadn't just undone all of the progress they had made over the last few days.

Diana squeezing tightly on his hand brought his thoughts back to the present. He tried to keep the smile on his face and look interested in her birth, but in reality he wanted nothing more than to head home and spend his time with Scully. Eventually, he heard the unmistakable scream of a baby. Diana looked exhausted, and he offered her a small smile.

"Congratulations, parents, you have a beautiful baby girl," the nurse said with a beam on her face.

Mulder cut the cord, surprised that they would trust the father with what seemed like such an important job, and watched as they passed the little girl to Diana. She glanced down lovingly on her, Mulder never seeing this side of Diana before. When she looked up at him, he tried to put a smile on his face, knowing that the child was truly beautiful, but not feeling comfortable there.

"Do you want to hold her?" she asked, holding the little bundle to Mulder.

A true grin split his face as he held his daughter for the first time, amazed once more by the little life in his arms. Yet he couldn't shake the fact that he just didn't feel the same strength of connection with her as he had the first time he held Joe.

"What are you going to call her?" he asked Diana after a moment, trying to distract those kinds of thoughts from his mind.

"Beth," she replied, seeing Mulder smile down at the little girl.

"Hi, Beth!" he cooed, smiling when she wiggled her arms. Leaning down, he carefully settled her back in Diana's arms again, watching the adoring look come into her eyes again. "She's beautiful."

It took a while for Diana to fall asleep, but once she did Mulder took the opportunity to steal from the room after one last look at his daughter. If the nurses thought it was strange that he was leaving, they never said so. All that was on his mind, despite the happiness of meeting his daughter, was getting back home to Scully and Joe.


He grinned when he quietly closed the door behind him, seeing Scully fast asleep on the couch. Walking over to the now familiar crib, he tickled the stomach of his still barely awake son.

"Hey, Joe," he told him, his heart bursting with pride at the tiny boy once more. He was amazed that he could still feel so strongly about this tiny little baby, even after all this time. "What have you been doing to tire out your Mommy?"

Kneeling down in front of Scully, he felt a wave of sadness again. Her usually peaceful face was marred by a frown, and he could see quite clearly the red lines where she had been crying before she fell asleep. His heart broke, knowing that the woman he loved had been upset without him knowing, and he had a good idea that he was the cause.

Reaching out, he ran his hand gently through her hair, wanting to scoop her into his arms and never let go when he heard a pained whimper leave her lips. After a moment, she woke, jumping slightly as she saw Mulder crouching in front of her, smiling to see her waking.

"Hey, Scully," he murmured, reaching for her but finding his arms brushed aside as she got straight up, heading for the kitchen.

"Hi, Mulder. When'd you get back?"

He sighed, following her. "Not long ago. I was just waiting for you to wake up."

She nodded, keeping her back to him as she made two mugs of coffee, Mulder thankful that at least he was still welcome for a drink.

"How did you get on?"

She was surprised when his voice came from directly next to her, giving her no choice but to turn and look at him. He looked uncomfortable, obviously not enjoying this conversation.

"Diana had a little girl. They're both healthy and doing fine," he told her, gratefully accepting the coffee with a nod of thanks.

"That's good, Mulder, congratulations," she told him, turning away to put the milk in the fridge, her voice expressionless.

"Scully," he groaned, putting his coffee down and walking towards her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. His heart broke as she flinched, doing nothing to encourage the action like she had before. Reaching for her shoulders, he gently turned her around so that she was facing him, her eyes fixed on the floor. "What's on your mind?"

She shrugged, still not meeting his eyes. "Nothing, Mulder, I'm tired."

Lifting her chin gently, he looked down at her with questioning eyes, causing the tears to fall instantly. Pulling her towards him, he held her close as she buried her head in his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist and letting out all of the emotions that she was feeling. He said nothing until he felt her calm slightly, the tears slowing. Releasing her from his hold, he took her hand, leading her to the sofa and sitting down next to her, never releasing his hold on her hand.

"Talk to me, Scully. I can't help if I don't know."

She sighed, shuddering from all of the emotions. "I don't know, Mulder, I just...well things just felt so right, and now I don't know where I stand..."

She broke off, unable to talk anymore. Mulder's throat constricted painfully, understanding instantly what the problem was and hating that he was yet again the cause of this poor woman's pain.

"Scully, look at me," he told her gently, smiling softly at her as she met his eyes uncertainly. "I have absolutely no intentions of going anywhere, Scully, certainly not back with Diana. My only obligation is to spend some time with my daughter, but as far as I'm concerned, you and Joe are my family, and if you will have me, you're the only two people I want to spend my life with."

She smiled, the happiness returning for the first time, as she realised that she had not been wrong, and Mulder was definitely there to stay. A couple of tears slipped free, Scully wiping them instantly.

"I guess, I just thought that when you saw your daughter, the one that you'd known about all along and had input with all along, you might change your mind."

"Scully, I love you. I know this isn't the time to tell you that now that we're just getting on track, but I do. Which means I love Joe just as much, because he came from our relationship." He chuckled, seeing her look questioningly at him. "Actually, I felt less when I was holding Beth than when I was holding Joe somehow. Even when I didn't know that Joe was my son."

She looked surprised, finally letting the walls guarding her heart down again, to Mulder's happiness. He pulled her close for a moment, kissing her forehead softly before letting her go again.

"Scully, ever since Diana first dropped this bombshell on me, my first thought has been how much I wished it had been you saying it, and how happy that would have made me. This, right here, is all that I've ever wanted. And as long as you'll have me, I'm not going anywhere. I love you, both of you."

Scully sat in a moment of shock, unable to process everything that she was hearing. She knew Mulder had loved her at one time, but she hadn't realised that he had always loved her just as much, despite everything. Happiness threatened to explode within her as she realised that this life, the life with Mulder and Joe, was the only thing that she could imagine herself wanting.

Looking up, she saw that Mulder was watching her, somewhat nervously. This turned to surprise when she moved closer, her hands reaching for his neck as she pulled his lips down to hers. He groaned as she kissed him with everything that she was feeling, unable to put it into words but more than capable of showing him. He kissed her back just as passionately, wanting her to know that he felt just the same.

When they pulled away, they stared breathlessly at each other, before Scully's face broke into a happy grin. Standing from the couch, she reached for his hand, pulling him up with her. He looked at her quizzically, before letting her pull him along, his smile matching her own.

"Scully..." he started, before she turned and cut him off.

"Don't talk, Mulder, or think. I love you, and I want to show that to you."

Grinning, he leaned down and picked her up into his arms, enjoying the happy laugh she gave as he carried her into the bedroom.


Diana shuddered as he walked through her apartment, the smoke ringing him and appearing to follow him like some awful ghost. He looked emotionlessly down at the sleeping baby in her crib, Diana's skin crawling. Finally, he turned his attention back to her, a sinister smile on his face.

"You are a failure, Diana. Mulder and Scully are still together, even more closely bound now than before."

She shrugged, crossing her arms as she refused to let his eyes go. "I did what I could, what you instructed me to. They obviously just love each other more than that."

"This could be a problem," he replied, sucking on the cigarette in his fingers.

Diana sneered, seeing him look at her in surprise. "There is nothing that you could do to separate them, not while they both live. I'd have thought you'd have realised that by now."

He laughed. "We'll see about that."

Standing angrily from her chair, she rose to his own height. "Do you really think they are going to be much trouble to you now? They have a child who they are both devoted to!"

"Don't underestimate Mulder's stubbornness, nor Scully's will to follow him and keep him safe." He paused. "Besides, you are going to help me, and you are going to do it right this time. I can't abide failures."

She shook her head. "No, I'm not having any part in this! I'm sick of causing them pain for no gain! Besides, I have a child to take care of now."

"You misunderstand me, Diana. This is not a choice. You are going to help, and I am going to take collateral to ensure that the job gets done this time."

Clicking his fingers, Diana watched in horror as two huge men entered the room, both heading in her direction. She steeled herself for the blows that she was sure would fall, until she realised that she was actually being held. Looking back in CGB's direction, she watched, speechless as he took the sleeping child from her cot.

"No! No, you can't do this! That's my baby!" she shouted at him, Spender taking no notice as he walked away. "Please, don't do this!" she begged, seeing him turn as he reached the door.

"Sort out my problem, Diana, and I'll sort out yours," he shot back with a laugh, watching impassively as she slumped against the two men, all the fight leaving her.

Once they had gone, she sat with her head in her hands, desperate to find a way to solve this problem. Deciding on the best course of action, she set off towards the now familiar apartment, knowing exactly what she had to do.


Ooops yeah, that wasn't the nicest of places to leave it, and Diana's finally back! It'd be really great if you guys felt like leaving some feedback, I want to get it right! Thanks very much for reading, hope you're all still enjoying it :)