November 22nd, 2019

Emily looked at herself in the bathroom mirror and thought about how her life had changed in the last year. All this time she had been living as a nomad, and now she finally felt at home. She made amends with her brother and she had a brand new baby sister – the little Nugget, as she liked to call her -, siblings she had always wished for, that had appeared in her dreams, but could never find the enough amount of hope to actually believe that she would meet them someday. She found her parents, who welcomed her and loved her through thick and thin, who took care of her when she got back from the hospital and helped with her physical therapy and when she got her appendix removed three months ago. In all, she had what she longed for: a family.

Getting closer to the mirror, she examined her new looks. Her brown hair was long gone, being replaced by her original blonde. Scully had gone with her to the hairdresser's and held her hand when the brown hair product started to rinse out. It was funny, she thought, that she felt nervous and somewhat sad to be leaving behind one thing that she had disliked about her knew identity, something that had been a part of her for so long which she associated to a dark time in her life.

She ran a hand through her freshly washed hair and recalled how Scully suggested bangs when the hairdresser asked her what sort of haircut she wanted, but Emily immediately shot her down. She hated those bangs ever since she was a kid, and she wasn't going to get bangs as an adult if she had a choice. Instead, she settled for a bob that had since grown to her shoulders.

Sometimes she'd worry that all of this was some kind of sick dream, a mind game, and that she'd suddenly wake up and find herself alone in some place she had never stayed long enough to call home. Absentmindedly, she would pinch her arms, her hands, her thighs – one time she punched herself in the face –, and she wouldn't stop until her entire body ached, her skin red. That feeling, however, had started to slowly disappear with each passing day.

"Emily! People will be arriving shortly, are you almost done in there?" Mulder yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

"Yeah, Dad. I'll be right out!" She called out. Dad. It felt good saying that. She loved saying that. The first time that word came out of her lips, she hadn't realised it until she noticed Mulder staring at her with a surprised look on his face. They had been playing Pictionary and, when she saw Mulder changing cards, she gasped, "Dad, you are such a cheater!" She laughed and shook her head, reaching for her glass of coke. Mulder let out a bearably audible whimper and tears started to block his view. Scully simply smiled.

Returning back to the present, she gripped her towel tightly around her and left for her bedroom.

Given that William had decided to stay, even though he would leave for a few days once in a blue moon, she had to come up with a creative solution as to where she would sleep. During her physical therapy, Scully had prepared Mulder's office for her, but she would feel claustrophobic once in a while and she didn't feel as if it was her own space. So, she suggested revamping the attic into a bedroom, or at least a good portion of it. They agreed almost instantly and Scully took Emily to pick out the furniture while Mulder and William cleared out the attic.

Now, she looked at her room – her room -, and she felt proud of herself. She had a knack for interior design that she didn't know she had. Almost all of the furniture was picked out by her: the rustic grey chests, the brown desk, white nightstand with a matching dresser and wardrobe, and the bed placed next to the wall right below the window that was big enough to let the right amount of sunlight in. Scully picked out the all-white linens and greyish throw pillows.

On this warm, sunny November day, she dressed herself in the clothes that William gave her for her birthday: a pair of dark jeans and a light blue shirt, finishing her look with white sneakers. People were coming over to celebrate her 25th birthday and she wanted to look nice, yet she couldn't shake the nervousness off.

When she left the attic, she noticed that William's bedroom door was still closed. Surely, he's sprawled on his bed snoring, Emily thought. He had sneaked out of the house late at night and gotten back at the early hours of the morning.

Lily was sitting on her high chair while Scully fed her some mashed bananas, and squealed at the sight of her big sister. "Mee-mee!"

Scully turned and put the plate down, Lily's chubby hand finding the mashed bananas immediately and shoving the fruit in her mouth. "Happy birthday, sweetheart." She hugged her and rubbed her back.

"Thanks, Mom." Emily smiled as she let go of the embrace. "Uh, Mom? I think you have a little situation with Lily over there…" She said pointing towards her sister who was covered from head to toe in mashed bananas.

"Lily! I just bathed you, sweetie." Scully whined, picking her up. Emily giggled and reached out her arms for her, but Scully shook her head. She walked over to the sink and stripped her off her onesie, leaving her only in her diapers. Scully placed Lily on one side of the sink while she turned on the faucet on the other side.

"I have pancake batter ready in the fridge, I'll just wash Lily off and make some for you." Scully said with her back to Emily.

"Chocolate chip?"

This time, Scully turned her head over her shoulder and smiled. "Of course. Help yourself with some coffee, I just made it."

As Emily started for the coffee pot, Mulder walked in smelling of coal. "Grill's starting to heat. Ooh, are we making pancakes?" He rubbed his hands.

"Yeah, after Mom finishes with Lily. We've got a little mashed banana's situation going on." Emily said.

"Again? Scully, I've told you not to leave the plates on the high chair, she'll just throw them on the floor or on herself." Mulder playfully scolded. Scully simply chuckled and shook her head.

"How's everything outside, Mulder?" Scully asked as she bathed Lily.

"Good, good. It'll be ready by the time everyone gets here." Mulder walked in to the kitchen and hugged Emily by her shoulders, giving her a kiss on her temple. "Happy birthday, daughter."

"Thank you, father." Emily smiled.

"So, 25 years-old. Someone's approaching her thirties, huh? You know you're a quarter of a century old?" Mulder teased as he made himself a cup of coffee.

Emily's smile turned into a frown. A few weeks before, she had mentioned that getting closer to her thirties made her sad because usually people enjoyed their twenties and had accomplished things by the time they're thirty: college, trips, maybe even start a family. But she didn't enjoy much of her twenties. So now, every time the subject about her age came up, she couldn't help but feel a little sad inside. When this happened, Mulder tried to lighten the mood by telling jokes – something she figured out she inherited from him -, but they almost never worked.

Upon the awkward silence, Scully turned around as she had an idea. "Presents! Want to see what we got you, Em?" She clapped her hands in excitement.

Emily offered back a weak smile. "Sure."

"Mulder? Help me, please?" Scully asked as she walked passed him. He got up and followed her to their bedroom.

"Why, why would you bring that up when you know it upsets her? And on her birthday, no less." She said with her hands on her hips.

"Sorry, Scully. I thought she got past it. I'll apologise to her later, I didn't realise that it still made her sad. I'm sorry." He slumped his shoulders and looked at her with his puppy eyes. He truly looked like a defeated puppy, and Scully couldn't resist it.

She dropped her hands and sighed. "It's okay, but you shouldn't apologise to me. Now go wake up your son, we got presents to give."

Xxxx

Everyone was outside gathered around the table: Mulder, Scully, William, Emily, Doggett, Monica and Skinner – who was now walking with the help of a cane. Lily sat on Emily's lap, playing with strands of her hair and the golden cross hanging on her neck. William and Mulder had helped with the food, setting the plates of hot dogs, burgers, bowls of salad that Scully had prepared with Emily's help, and the drinks on the table.

While everyone helped themselves, Scully looked around. This time last year, it was just her, Mulder and Lily against the world living at the house. She was certain that William was alive, but still needed some kind of confirmation, even though she knew it in her heart. And now, not only did she have her confirmation, but she also had her son living under the same roof as her. To make things better, the daughter she thought was dead, the daughter whose funeral she had gone to, had shown up one day with hard proof that everything told to them had been a lie. Mulder and Scully were hers and William's parents, not projects who Scully bore.

She also reminisced on the last few months. The doctors had removed Emily's chip, but just to make sure, Emily had an MRI last month to see if everything was fine, which, luckily, it was. She remembered that night when Emily came into their bedroom, holding her stomach and crying, saying that she couldn't bare the pain and how scared they were that something was seriously wrong, only to be proven otherwise by the doctors telling them it was just her appendix.

They had come a long way since Emily's almost abduction – and Mulder's for that matter – and she couldn't help but smile and feel grateful about how her life had turned out.

Pleasantries and compliments of the food flew left and right. Nobody seemed to be having a bad time, nobody seemed bored. And that was the only thing that mattered to Emily.

"Excuse me. I'd like to say something, if I could get your attention." Mulder said as he stood up holding a glass. "Emily. You've been a true surprise to us, not only now, but when you were a kid as well. And what a nice surprise it was. We loved you when your were with us, we missed you when you were gone, and we loved you even more when you came back. We had our differences, of course. But at the end of the day, Scully and I could not have been happier than to have you back home with us. Happy birthday, sweetheart." Mulder smiled and lift his glass up. Their guests smiled back, wished her a happy birthday as well and took a sip of their drinks.

As Mulder sat down, Emily whispered a thank you and an I love you. And he thought he had to give her a present.

Xxxx

At around 6pm, everyone left. William slumped on the couch and turned on the football game, Mulder joining him in a heartbeat. Scully went to put Lily down for her nap and Emily started to put the leftovers in the fridge.

"Did you have a nice birthday, Em?" Scully asked as she walked into the kitchen. "Leave everything on the table, I'll clean this up later. You go sit down." She said as Emily was grabbing the plate with half a chocolate cake she and Scully had baked.

"It was amazing. Thank you, so much." Emily smiled, walking over to the couch.

"Yeah, I had a nice time. Thanks, Mom." William chimed and smirked. Emily slapped him on the knee and he moved to the end of the couch, letting her sit in the middle .

"Shut up, idiot. It's not your birthday, and nobody asked you."

Scully rolled her eyes and walked towards her family, sitting on the armrest.

"So, I assume you'll be breaking in those new books we got you tonight, am I right?" Mulder asked with his eyes glued to the TV.

Emily had grown fond of Scully's academic books, and they had given her a collection of books for her to expand her knowledge. "Maybe. If it's not today, it's tomorrow though." She lacked the education William had had growing up, and she found that learning from Scully's books – whether it was about biology, history or geography – were the next best thing she had.

"Nerd." William said. Emily ignored him, knowing perfectly well that he'd be borrowing them for his mid-terms and exams. He decided to finish high school and had just started looking at Universities, although he wasn't exactly sure as to where to apply or what courses he wanted to take.

"Thank you, everyone, for the presents. William, I didn't know you had such good taste in clothing. Or is it just women's clothes? Cause you dress like shit."

William poked Emily on her side, causing her to jump and yelp. Automatically, she responded with a slap on his arm and he grabbed the sore spot and yelled an 'ow.'

"That's enough, children." Mulder ordered in his serious Dad voice that made Scully weak in the knees.

The four of them sat watching TV – Scully had changed the channel and they were now watching a romantic comedy -, and Emily felt overwhelmed with emotion, so much so that she thought she was going to cry. She played in her head over and over again Mulder's speech and waves of love would drown her.

Memories of the past few months started to replay as well: how different everything has been. She never knew the loving touch of a mother's hand until Scully stroke her hair when she'd have nightmares the first few months. She never knew the love and patience of a father until Mulder took her shopping and she couldn't decide if she wanted the blue dress or the white crop top with the matching trousers (Mulder said he liked both, but was relieved when she ultimately decided to go for the dress. The crop top showed a little too much skin.) She never knew the love and protection of a sibling until William saved her, nor did she know the annoyance of having a sibling until they started to tease each other and push their buttons. With Lily it was different. She was a baby and she absolutely loved her big sister. When she said her name – or tried to say her name – Emily grabbed her and spun her around the room while Mulder and Scully watched in adoration.

Right now, she glanced between her parents and her brother and she smiled to herself. "Hey, Dad?" She whispered, leaning towards him, her eyes not leaving the TV.

"Yes?"

"Thank you for your words earlier. They mean a lot."

Mulder turned to look at her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Well, I meant every single one of them, Em. You're more than welcome." He smiled.

"Okay, I want to say something." Emily announced after a few moments as she stood up and turned the TV off.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Protested William. Scully shushed him.

"It's been a wild year. With ups and downs, happy moments, sad moments, fearful moments. The day I showed up on your doorstep I didn't know what my future was going to be. I didn't know if you were going to accept me, I didn't know if I was going to get abducted; I hated William – I still do, by the way –" Emily clarified and she was responded with chuckles from everyone, "but everything has changed now. I finally feel safe. I finally feel as if I have a home with a family who loves me for who I am, not for what I'm useful for.

"I remember as a three year-old when Mom sat on the floor with me, watching me draw a potato, and introduced me to Mulder. I was shy and I just smiled at him, but to this day I remember thinking 'they're so pretty together, maybe I can go with them'," Mulder and Scully looked at each other with a mixture of surprise and sadness at the memory.

"All my life I've been afraid. But now I'm not. And I have all of you to thank. Even you William. Because if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be with the pretty couple I had wished to go home with. I love you all, so much." Barely visible tears had started to fall Emily's cheeks. Meanwhile, Scully couldn't stop sniffling and Mulder had wiped a tear or two. William, on the other hand, simply stood up and hugged his sister.

Mulder and Scully joined them in a group hug that had to be broken when Emily announced that they were suffocating her.

They sat back on the couch and Emily rested her head on her father's shoulder. As she closed her eyes, she smiled and said to her inner self in disbelief, "I came home."

AN: THE END! I can't believe I actually finished a whole fic. Thank you all so much for the comments and the favourites and the support. If it weren't for your motivation, I would've surely abandoned this a long time ago.

I hope you enjoy it!

PS: You can also find me on Ao3 by blossomofsnow65. You can find one-shots there if you'd like to check them out.