Yay! The beginning of Season 2! Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter. This is more light hearted, I promise!
Enjoy!
A week after the termination of his position, Mulder begins his new assignment above the basement. However, left with the inability to take his daughter to work everyday due to his reassignment, Mulder once again relies on the help of Adam and Rachel who happily watch after Chloe. However, when the family takes a vacation at the beginning of the summer, Mulder chances his paranoia and asks Maggie to babysit once again. The woman readily agrees to which Mulder brings his daughter to the woman's home early on a Friday morning. Stepping inside Maggie's house, the agent is met with a face he has not seen in a couple weeks. The look the two people exchange causes Maggie to usher Chloe into another room.
"Scully," Mulder says in disbelief. The red head simply smiles a soft smile at her former partner replying, "Mom said she was watching Chloe. I decided this was as safe a place as any to see her and speak to you. How are you?"
"Doing pretty well. Chloe's helping me from going insane during this reassignment. You?"
"I can't complain. I'm teaching at Quantico again. How 've you been? How's Chloe?" Scully questions motioning her former partner to take a seat on her mother's couch.
"She's doing fine. I need to take her to the bookstore, though. She finished a good portion of the Nancy Drew books you bought," The man answers teasingly. Scully smiles answering, "I'm glad she enjoys them. How has she been dealing with your job? How have you been dealing?"
"I'm taking it one day at a time. Trying to be a good boy and not step on toes is exhausting, especially since I don't have free range to bring Chloe into the office. Do you not work today?" Mulder asks realizing he should head into work. Scully shakes her head answering, "I don't go in until nine."
As the adults talk, Chloe quietly peeks from around the corner to watch the pair. Even though Scully is rarely around, she still wishes the adults will still see each other and eventually get married. Although, her last wish is a pipe dream, the nine- year- old happily listens to Scully and her father talk, excited she will spend time with the woman, if at least for only a few hours.
As the summer continues, the agents make sure not to speak to each other at work, although Mulder does a better job at ignoring his former partner than she does. Scully also tries to see Chloe once a week when she has dinner with her mother on Friday's, which are usually the nights Chloe spends the night at Maggie Scully's so the man can finish his paperwork. One Friday night, Mulder, coerced by Maggie, agrees to stay for dinner and the older woman cannot help the warm feeling she gains watching her daughter interact with Chloe and Mulder. A part of her feels honored to gain a glimpse into the life her daughter and the Mulders created less than a year prior.
"Dad, can I repaint my room for my birthday?" Chloe questions as the group eats dessert. Mulder swallows the pie he has in his mouth before answering, "How about when you're thirteen?"
"But, Dad!" Chloe protests giving Scully a quick glance for backup. Seeing his daughter is trying to form an alliance with his former partner, Mulder quickly asks, "What color do you want to paint it?"
"Lime green," the nine year old responds. Mulder raises an eyebrow at his daughter stating, "Your room's already green."
"But not lime green," Chloe stresses. Scully tries to hide a smile by taking a bite of her food leaving her partner to fight his own battle. Instead, the former X-file runner turns to his friend asking, "What do you think, Scully?"
Rolling her eyes, the red head responds, "I'm the tie breaker?"
"She obviously won't reason with me Scul, so now it's your turn," the man smugly defends. Holding back a comment about her not actually being Chloe's mother, Scully looks at the nine year old answering, "I think you should wait about a month and then see if you still want to paint your room."
"If the answer is still green, you don't get to paint your room until you're thirteen. Got it?" Mulder wages with his daughter. Chloe mulls over the compromise before agreeing to the proposition.
"When is your birthday, Chloe?" Maggie questions feeling as if she is interrupting a familial, albeit unconventional, moment. Turning to her surrogate grandmother, Chloe answers, "September 23."
"Are you doing anything special?" The older woman asks as she watches her daughter clear her plate from the table. Chloe, seeing Scully take the dishes, offers to help. Scully smiles slightly at the child's perception and care. Also, aware of Mulder's wanting to admonish his daughter for the girl's rudeness, the woman quickly says, "I've got it, Chlo. Continue talking. I believe my mom asked you a question."
Noticing her blunder, Chloe mutters her apology before explaining how she wants her birthday party. Escaping a topic he has heard enough about, Mulder soon follows Scully into the kitchen with both his and his daughter's plates.
"Thanks," Scully says as her partner adds his dishes to her collection. A cheeky grin on his face, the man answers, "Welcome."
Lapsing into a comfortable silence, the pair merely listens to Maggie and Chloe talk in the other room.
"What is Chloe doing for her birthday this year?" Scully questions as she washes off another plate. Mulder smiles as he responds, "She's having a scavanger hunt around the Smithsonian before she and her friends get hyped up on cake and ice cream. She's been planning the scavenger hunt herself. A few items have stumped her though. She may need the help of someone other than dear old dad."
Scully gives a small laugh at the man's latter comment. Handing him two of the washed plates, she teases, "Are you asking me to help her, Mulder?"
"Why Dr. Scully, I thought you'd never ask," He retorts taking the dishes and drying them before asking where the items go. Scully points to a top cabinet before returning to her last couple dishes and asking, "Are you sure you want to let a bunch of ten year olds run around a museum?"
"They'll have chaperons. A couple parents volunteered to head the groups and I have ground rules for the girls to follow," Mulder informs the red head who drains the water from the sink and turns back to her former partner.
"You have ground rules?" Scully questions with an eyebrow raise. Mulder, drying the last two plates, makes a face at the woman stating, "I can be mature. You've seen me with Chloe."
Knowing how loving and caring a father her former partner is, Scully merely smiles at the man stating warmly, "I have."
A smirk on his face, Mulder is about to comment on his partner's words when his daughter and Maggie make themselves known.
"Hey, Mom," Scully smiles as she wipes her hands on the dish towel Mulder places on the counter. The woman knows she sounds guilty of something when she sees her mother raise an eyebrow. Finished with his task, Mulder turns to face the females inside the room as he explains, "We were discussing your party."
Seeing her father direct his statement toward her, Chloe smiles asking Scully, "Will you come? I know Dad's worried, but-"
"I'll see if I can make it. When is it?" Scully questions guiding Chloe into the living room leaving Maggie and Mulder alone in the kitchen.
"Do you like my daughter, Mulder?" She questions wondering how the man will receive her question. Maggie Scully knows the two are friends, but sometimes wonders how close the pair actually is.
"She's a wonderful friend, Mrs. Scully. I couldn't ask for a better person to have around my daughter either," Mulder answers not wanting to speak on a topic he is still unfamiliar with. He and Scully are friends who coincidentally have no one else except their immediate families to talk to since Deep Throat's murder. To some degree the former partners share a bond that is closer than should be allowed for two colleagues. However, the pair knows their boundaries and sticks to them. Maggie for her part can tell the man's words hold a deeper meaning than what he merely says and decides to drop the subject. Relieved by the reprieve, Mulder thanks the woman for dinner and tells his daughter good- night and that he will pick her up tomorrow morning before leaving for his home. Chloe watches her father leave from her place on the couch next to Scully before saying, "I miss you not coming over as much."
"Me too," Scully says as she kisses the top of the girl's head and settles back into the movie Chloe picks from the movies which now reside at Maggie's home.
The weeks continue in much the same pattern until a Friday night leaves Chloe to storm into the room she claims as hers when she stays at Maggie's. Over the last week, her father and Scully rarely talk to each other when he drops her off on Friday nights. She feels as if she is stuck between two feuding, divorced parents. Yet, her father and Scully are neither in a fight nor in a relationship. According to her father, the adults are simply not allowed to be near each other at work and the tension sometimes comes about on Friday nights. Sighing, the nine year old flops back down on her bed deciding that staying at Maggie's house for the night will do her well. As the girl tries to understand the little her father explains of his and Scully's current situation, she hears Scully's mother call her name from the other side of the door.
"Chloe, I just got a call from Dana. She can't come to dinner with us tonight," Maggie says once she opens the door. Seeing the girl's distraught face, the woman asks if the child is okay. Chloe merely nods, not wanting to burden the woman with her problems. She can talk to Anna tomorrow. Instead, Chloe watches as Maggie leaves the room. Feeling a little guilty for leaving the woman alone, the nine- year- old heads to the kitchen to ask if she can help with dinner. Maggie, happy for the help tries to ignore the feeling of helplessness she has regarding her daughter. She is able to stave off the feeling until, trying to find a show to watch with Chloe, stumbles upon a news report regarding a hostage situation, especially when the name Mulder is mentioned. The woman and child watch the news in shock as they listen to the fate of Chloe's father. Finally prompting the child to go to sleep, Maggie makes sure the girl is asleep before worrying herself more with the news reports. Dozing off, Maggie wakes up a few hours later to her phone ringing.
"Hey, Mom. I'm sorry if I woke you," Scully says.
Relieved, Maggie disregards her daughter's comment by asking if she is safe.
We're both fine, Mom. I just wanted to tell you that we're heading to your house. I tried to persuade Mulder to go home, but he wants to see Chloe," Dana Scully says as she drives both her and her former partner to the older woman's home. Maggie does not blame the former hostage for wanting to see his daughter. She understands the the love of her children. Instead, Maggie agrees to the plan before straightening her living room as she waits for the agents to come to her home. Opening the door twenty minutes later, Mulder gives a slight nod in greeting before heading straight to his daughter's room. Waking slightly when she feels a hand touch her forehead, Chloe smiles broadly when she sees her father staring down at her. Quickly sitting up, the child hugs tight to her father never wanting to let him go. Mulder relishes the girl's hug for a few minutes before soothing the girl back to sleep. As she places her head back on the pillow, the nine- year- old asks for Scully. Confused, Mulder grants the request and smiles when he sees Scully come into the room moments later and murmur a song in his daughter's ear. Times like the one in front of him makes him wish Scully will stay with him forever, especially for his daughter's sake. Leaving the two alone, Mulder exits the room to find the aroma of food coming from the kitchen.
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