I got very carried away here! I am really into this story. No copyright intended.

"So, it looks like it's back to the mall, huh," Mulder buckled in and gave a sad smile. Poor guy. I knew he hated shopping. I really wanted to let him off the hook, but I didn't want to start bad habits. He wasn't going to get away with the puppy dogs eyes every time.

Ignoring him, I buckled Belle's car seat in the back, with just a couple curse words this time. I put her in and clicked the belt. Giving her one last kiss on the nose, I closed her door. I made a note to let Mulder have his turn with the car seat, once in a while.

Reaching across the console, I grabbed his hand. "Mulder," I began calmly, "we are in this together, true or false," I calmly asked.

"True. Very true, Scully," he didn't hesitate. It made my heart do weird flips.

"Well, than, I hate to tell you this, but shopping trips aren't going to be the worst thing that you are going to have to deal with. Between the two of us girls, you have your hands full. So, embrace the shopping trips, because I promise you, this is just the beginning. You're going to be wishing for shopping trips instead of the things that are to come," I said with a smug smile, releasing his hand. I looked back at Belle and she gave me a smile, and shrugged her shoulders for Mulder's fearful face.

He didn't say anything. He put the car in drive and drove onward. About ten minutes into the car ride, I looked back to see Belle had passed out. Clearly, we ran into her nap time routine. I thanked God she still took those. How much longer until she was over that? We had about 30 more minutes drive time until we made it to the mall. She'd probably sleep the whole way. I smiled to myself. A nap probably wouldn't hurt.

"So, what kind of things are we talking about here, Scully? How bad could it really get? I mean, what should I expect?" Mulder had been silent the whole time, ever since I spooked him about the female race.

I looked over at him with wide eyes. "No, Scully," he began. "I am not backing out. I want this. I just want to know what I should expect. I don't want to be caught of guard."

"Mulder, you can't possibly be prepared for parenthood," I said for the first time, acknowledging what this truly was for us. " I mean, I don't even know what is in store."

"Yeah, but you're a girl. You must have some idea," he tried. I smirked.

"Alright, Mulder. Fine. The truth. The truth is, she is going to be a wonderful handful. She's going to be darling. She's probably going to have you wrapped around her finger. She's going say things that will make you laugh for days and swoon for the next ten years. She going to make you watch the same movie over and over again, until you want to rip your hair out. She's going to want to cuddle, be read to, and help her with her hair. She's going to want to paint your nails and put make-up on you. She'll talk your ear off. She's going to want to spend every moment with you. She's going to beg you to play with her dolls-"

"I can do that, Scully. That sounds wonderful." He smiled to me. But I wasn't finished.

"She's also going to wake up in the middle of the night, because she wet the bed or had a nightmare. She's going to fight us with her veggies. Shes going to push her limits and yell at us. She's going to say hurtful things, when she's mad. She's going to cry. She's going to bring home a boy. She's going to grow up and want a sports bra and a box of tampons. She's going to probably smoke and drink. She's going to be called into the principles office. She's going to be a little terror. It isn't all going to be rainbows and butterflies."

I saw him pause for a second. He drove through a couple green lights, and he finally stopped at a red light. He looked over at me. "If we raise her right, I bet she won't be in the principle's office that often," he smiled over at me. "And I will do background checks on every boy who looks at her the wrong way."

"I don't know, Mulder. I spent the majority of my time in the principles office," I smiled at his shocked face. I tried to ignore his comment about the boys. I knew Mulder would be protective over Belle. I saw the looks he gave men that looked at me.

"Dana Scully, you did not," he screamed, as a car honked their horn.

"Green means go, Mulder. The mall is just around the corner," I gave a devilish smile.

"I'm not leaving you or Belle, ever, Scully. I promise you, I am in for the long haul." I wanted to believe him. I did believe him. But, there were so many flaws in our plan. So many things we needed to talk about.

"We will talk about it later. I promise," he said, reading my mind. I gave him a thankful smile.

"What do you guys need to talk about," Belle said from the backseat. Clearly, Mulder had woken her up. I smiled over at him, interested to see how he was going to get out of this predicament.

"Oh, well... Scully and I just need to talk about where my fish will be staying." He turned to me and gave me a satisfied smile.

"I like fish! Scully, please let the fish stay in my room!" She looked over at me with those chocolate brown eyes. Smooth, Mulder. Smooth.

"Let's go inside and go get what we need," I said, ignoring both of them. Mulder pulled a fast one on me. I was actually grateful, because now I knew where we stood with each other. I knew he had the idea that he was probably going to be staying with me. I didn't know how to ask him. But, the fish were a great start.

"I've never been shopping for myself. My Mommy used to bring home clothes that her friend's didn't use anymore," she said happily, while Mulder took his turn un-buckling her from her car seat. By the way, he used a couple curse words. Belle was none the wiser though.

"Well, we are starting over fresh, Bells. Out with the old, in with the new," I squeezed her little hand when she grabbed mine.

"Like, how fresh," Mulder asked. "How much stuff do we need here," he said a little panicky. He really was adorable when he wore that panic face.

"Well, we need pajamas. We will also need a couple pairs of shoes, underwear, shirts, dresses-"

"Oh! Definitely dresses. I love dresses," she squealed, twirling through the parking lot.

"We will also need a jacket, hair clips, maybe a couple of movies, Teddy Bears, and a couple other little things that Belle might like," I said dreamily. This is what I've always wanted. I wanted a shopping buddy, but more than that. I wanted someone to shower with love. I know it was just materialistic things. I made a note not to spoil her rotten, but I wanted to provide for her. She needed this shopping trip. I wasn't going to make it a habit, I promised myself.

"Maybe I could get another swimming suit," she said with a guilty smile. " I left it at Sasha's."

"That's perfectly fine. You should always have more than one swimming suit. I do," I assured her.

"Scully, you have more than one of those bathing suits. Did you hear that Bells. We need to find ourselves a local swimming pool. Scully still has to teach you the swan dive. And I wouldn't miss it for the world," he gave me the sexy, smug look.

"Ohhh, I forgot. Scully can we swim all the time!" And I knew, I was going to have to invest in a swimming pass for the three of us. I suppose it wouldn't kill me to add some laps into my work out routine. Maybe I could talk Mulder into buying the pass. He'd like that.

"Okay, let's head for the little girls section. We need to make sure we get the essentials too. I don't want us walking out of here without the things we truly need. So let's go to the clothes section first," I used my mother tone.

Mulder picked up Belle and put her on his shoulders again. "Whatever you say, Scully. You're the boss!" Mulder was going to have to realize he was the boss, too. But I liked the sound of me being the boss, so I didn't correct him.

"You can't always carry her, Mulder. It's not good for your back, and it'll also spoil her. Soon she will refuse to walk."

"Hey, Scully. How about we live in the moment for today. Let's spoil her today, and then we can parent her tomorrow. Huh?" Fine. He had a point. It's her first day back with us. Let's make it a good day.

"Why don't you two go take a look at the Teddy Bears and dolls. I'll tackle the clothing department. Don't go too wild, though."

"I see what you just did there, Scully. That was fancy foot work. Belle and I can handle this. This won't be like the last time we went shopping. I'll pull my weight."

And I knew he would. This was a tiny test. I wanted to see what Mulder would do. Would he let Belle walk all over him, or would he put his foot down? I was curious. I gave them 20 minutes. That seemed like enough time for me to find her the essential clothing for the time being, and enough time for Mulder to do some negotiating, need there be any.

Fifteen minutes later, Mulder and Belle came strolling towards me, with happy smiles.

"Alright, Scully, I'll show you mine, if you show me yours." I gave him a soft slap for the sexual innuendo.

"Bells, show her what we got," he prompted her.

"Okay, Scully. You are going to be so proud of us. We made good choices," she said, and she pulled a soft, stuffed kitten from behind her back. It looked very similar to Garfield. I reached out and gave it a little pet.

"Thats very soft," I gave my approval.

"Foxy said that it's as close to a cat as we can have right now," she said innocently. "Then, I found this," she held up a mermaid bath set. There was a little mermaid doll, which came with legs and also a fin. Flounder and Sebastian also came with it. It was perfect. I didn't even think of a bath toy. "Foxy suggested I get the mermaid. He liked her red hair." I gave a knowing look towards Mulder.

"Well, very good choices. I like them both," I smiled at Mulder who pulled one more thing from behind his back.

"Okay, now this is something I want to buy for her," he revealed a tea set. It wasn't a plastic tea set either. It was made of porcelain. It came with every thing and it looked very expensive.

"Mulder, if you want to get that for her, that is your choice. Just know that you'll be having tea parties with her and her stuffed animals."

"Oh, Scully. Don't be sad. We will invite you, too," he said, sneaking a kiss on my cheek. Belle gave a squeal of approval. Mulder was slick. I'll give him that.

"Scully," she squeaked my name, "did you get me any pretty dresses," she hesitated. She was starting to catch on to how much we were spending on her. I think it made her nervous.

"I did! And, I found a few pajamas. They are soft, just like mine," I brought them over for her to feel. She smiled with approval. "I also got you this gorgeous, white dress, which I think will go perfect for a tea party. There are some jeans, t-shirts with kittens on them, dogs, the little mermaid, and all those girly things. I also stocked up on underwear and socks. I found some hair bows that you might like. Oh, and I also found some slippers," I stopped when I saw both of their faces.

"Wow, Scully. You're amazing. I can't believe you did all of this in just fifteen minutes," Mulder gave me a high five, which made Belle reach out for one too. I smiled at their playfulness. She already had Mulder. She was going to be a daddy's girl. I was screaming with joy on the inside.

"Thanks, Mulder. It's nothing really. We still need to get her a few other things like, a tooth brush and kids tooth paste, kids tylonel, shoes, and maybe a couple movies."

He looked more relaxed than when we first started. I think he was scared we'd be here all day. He underestimated my shopping abilities.

"There's no way I could do this without you, Scully. Don't sell yourself short. You're going to be such a great mother," he said into my hair. We didn't want to say things like that around Belle. Nothing is a for sure thing, so we didn't want to build up hope.

"Let's go get the rest of the things Belle needs and find ourselves some food. I am starving. How about you, kiddo? Are you hungry," he quizzed Belle, looking up at her from his shoulders. He really couldn't continue carrying her like that.

"I am so hungry it hurts," she admitted, drumming her hands on Mulder's head.

On second thought, maybe we should take a break and get lunch. I wasn't about to deal with a hungry toddler in the middle of a mall. I wasn't sure if Belle would throw tantrums yet, but I didn't want to find out.

"Mulder, let's take a time out and find her some food. I don't want her getting cranky," I whispered to him.

"Great call, Scully. That's why you're boss. Look, there is a little pretzel place right over there. Let's call that snack time, and then we can just have an early dinner at your house. She's looking beat anyway. I have a feeling it will be an early night," he suggested. It was a fine suggestion too.

"Look at you, Mulder. You're making grown up calls. I am impressed," I cooed, reaching for his hand, dragging him to the cashier, so that we could get food as soon as possible.

After paying for Belle's things, we made our way over to the pretzel shop with all of our shopping bags. "Hey, Scully. How about I take all of the shopping bags to the car, and you and Belle can order for us. I'll take two pretzels, with extra salt and cheese." I gave him a disapproving look, but agreed anyhow. Reaching into my purse, I grabbed the keys and stuck them in his back pocket. He definitely got a kick out of that. I gave him a shove towards the doors and turned to order.

"I miss Foxy already," Belle cried out. I froze for a second. It was happening already.

"Oh, sweetheart. Mulder will be right back in. He just ran out to the car. He's probably already on his way back in now," I said, gently.

"Do you think he misses me, too," she asked with frightened eyes.

"I think that every moment he isn't with you, he is thinking about you," I assured.

"I think he misses you, too," she announced, very happy with my answer.

"Who misses who," Mulder saved me.

"Did you miss me, Foxy," she jumped into his arms. I gave him a look, which he completely understood. We are good like that. I just have to look at him, and he knows exactly what I am thinking.

"I sure did. I missed both of you," he eyed me with a sexy smile, setting her in a chair right next to him. Mulder was pushing his limits, and I wasn't going to let him off easy. We were going to talk, and there wasn't going to be any fancy foot work this time.

I reached over and grabbed his hand, " Mulder," I looked into his eyes, "thank-you for being here."

"There's no place I'd rather be, Scully."

And that was all the confirmation I needed for today. We were going to handle anything that came our way. Belle was never going to hurt for love. She was never going to beg for attention. She was never going to feel abandoned again. We'd give her every thing that a child needs. We were going to make a great team, and an even better family.

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