Mulder prepares the meal while Grace does her homework at the dining table near him 'Daddy!' She says calling his attention, he turns to look at her raising his eyebrows
'What's wrong kiddo?' he answers
She reads directly from her notebook looking for a response from her father 'Ask your parents what their love is like and write a brief summary of their response' she looks up from her notebook making a funny face 'How's your love for mom, dad?'
He swallows and scratches his head with one hand putting the kitchen towel over his shoulder, - How is it possible that this is the school task of an 8-year-old girl? What the hell is he gonna say? - he sighs and low fire to the stove, to go to sit at the table with his daughter ' Well honey, that's a hard question, you know?' he says trying to find the words, but he doesn't find any, he's totally lost with this question, how can he explain his infinite love for Scully?
The girl awaits for his answer resting her cheek in her hand while hitting her pencil against the table, he looks around trying not to focus on her, because if something he have learn in eight years about his daughter is that she's just like her mother, she need answers, right away
'Dad' she says making his turn his gaze towards her 'Do I need to wait for mom to answer this one?' she says with a boring expression
He doesn't want that to happen, Scully would kill him, he's in charge of the homework while she works, he can't let that happen 'No Gracie, I have the answer, just let me find the right words, okay?' he says getting a little nervous
She nods rolling her eyes, a mini Scully in every sense. He focus his gaze on a plant next to the window, the sun always hits it direct and keeps it alive and flourished, he smiles looking at it, and then looks to his daughter 'Alright, I'm gonna tell you a story, hope you like it kiddo'
She tries to protest but he stops her with his hand 'No, no. You want an answer that's what you gonna get' she sighs and puts her pencil down crossing her legs on her seat to hear her father's story
he saƱala the plant by the window and begins his story 'You see that plant over there?' He asks her, she nods looking at the plant and back to him 'My love for your mom is just like that plant'
She frowns and huffs a laugh mocking him 'Dad, come on, it's a plant'
He nods smiling 'Indeed, but I haven't started yet, so hear me out' she rolls her eyes again and crosses her arms over her chest 'You're just like your mother' he says amused.
She raises her eyebrows and nods 'So they say'
He shakes his head and continues 'On October thirteen of 1995, your mother gave me that plant for my birthday'. The girl looks at the plant again with her mouth open, the plant is large, it's in a pot of about forty centimeters and it is about one meter high, without mentioning that it is flowered and well maintained
'Seriously?' she says enthusiastically, her father always knows how to start a good story and keep her attention 'How is that possible?' she says, uncurling her arms and putting them on the table to lay her chin on them
'Well, that has required time and dedication, there have been times of drought, but it still lives, just like us'. The girl smiles and he continues 'When your mother gave me that plant, she thought it would not last more than a couple of months, she was almost right' he says winking at his daughter and making her laugh 'I think that's the only time your mother wasn't right in her life' he says smiling
'What time, Mulder?' Scully says startling them both
The girl stands up suddenly and goes to hug her mother 'Mommy, we didn't hear you come in' she says hugging her tightly. At eight years old, she reaches her mother's chin, she will be as tall as her father
'Well, it seems I got here just in time' Scully says kissing her daughter's forehead 'I want to hear the story about that time I was wrong' she says raising an eyebrow as she looks at Mulder
He blushes a little, but smiles while standing to receive his wife in his arms 'This time I'm not wrong honey, sit down while I serve you something and continue with the story' she looks at him smiling and stands on tiptoe to kiss him gently on the lips
While he serves her something to drink, she sits next to her daughter at the table, when she has the soda in her hand Mulder continues with his story making her a question 'Remember that plant that you gave me on a birthday 30 years ago, Scully?'
She narrows her eyes, just what she does when she wants to remember something 'The one that didn't last more than two months, as I was sure it would be' she says with a smirk
He shakes his head closing his eyes 'Wrong again Scully' he says pointing to the plant
She frowns hugging a laugh 'That is not it, Mulder. You gave me that plant before leaving, after William was born' she says pursing her lips
'I did' he says smiling 'I didn't want it to die after having taken care of it for five years' she opens her mouth with surprise 'and when we fled we took it with us, it was our travel companion until it came to live here with us, and look at it, it's still here'
She doesn't know what to say, just stretches out her hand on the table and covers his hand with hers 'Oh Mulder' she says feeling a lump in her throat 'I remember that once I wanted to throw it out the window while we were traveling, and you stopped me'
He nods smiling with bitterness 'That plant almost died with you Scully, two years after being with me, I wasn't able to water it for several weeks, but it came back to life with you. It almost died on the road due to lack of water and sun, but it didn't. It almost died with me when it was just the two of us in this house, without you, but it didn't'
She smiles broadly as tears fall down her cheeks 'I'm so glad it didn't' she says in a whisper.
They're daughter look at them crying too, but she didn't understand the story 'So, mom was wrong?'. They both laugh while Scully caresses her cheek
'Yes I was, honey. I was' she says looking to Mulder with sweetness 'We are all wrong sometime'
'OK' the girl says looking to her notebook 'Buy dad, I still don't know how your love for mom is, I can't say is like a plant' she says pouting
Scully smiles and squeeze her daughter's hand over the table 'Just say, our love is as infinite as time'
Mulder smiles and nods looking to his wife 'I like that one better'
