XXXXX

[Maggie Scully's House

Bethesda, Maryland

Saturday 5:45 PM]

"Mom?! We're back!" Scully called into the house as they stepped inside the door.

"We're in the kitchen, Dana!," she called back, her voice somewhat muffled from travelling through the house.

They walked back into the kitchen, where Maggie and Em were quietly making soup. Scully smiled. She loved how Em seemed to be getting along so well with her grandmother. "Hi, Em." Scully walked over and picked her up, setting her down on her hip. "How was your day?"

"Good! Me and Gramma went to the 'pezzing' zoo!"

"The petting zoo? Wow, that sounds like a lot of fun!" Mulder leaned in to kiss Em's forehead in greeting.

"Yeah, there was SO many animals!" She exclaimed.

"Yeah, I bet there were!" Mulder opened up his arms, asking for his turn to hold Em. After Scully handed her off to him, she turned around to help her mother finish cooking dinner. "Hey, mom? So, I called Michelle today. She said she'd let us know when they can come up... I, uh, tried calling Tara, but she wasn't home. Bill answered and I wimped out.. I don't want him to react badly and ruin what a perfect little reality we have right now. But I know I need to do it, and the sooner the better because they're family and they need to know. I was hoping that maybe you'd sit down with me when I try and call Bill again? Maybe even tonight?" She looked over at Maggie pleadingly.

"Of course. We'll call him right now if you want." She looked at her watch. "It's only 2:45 there right now, Tara should be home now probably, as well." Maggie rugged Scully's arms reassuringly. "I know he can be a bit…. stubborn and spiteful and arrogant… Even if he reacts poorly, we won't let him ruin your happiness, okay?" Scully nodded. "Okay, then let's go call him quick." She began to walk out of the kitchen. Turning around, she added, "Oh, hey Fox? Can you stay in here and just make sure the pot doesn't boil over?" It wasn't so much of a question as it was a command. Mulder verbalized his agreement anyways.

XXXXX

Ring. Ring. Ring.

"Hello?"

Scully looked at her mom for a little bit of strength.

"Helloo?"

"Hey, Bill. It's Dana, again."

"Dana, what's going on? You rarely call, let alone twice in one day."

"Bill, I have some news… I'm not sure how you're going to take it…" Maggie reached for her hand, encouraging her to continue. "So, I'm just going to start off by saying that what I'm about to tell you… has made me really, really happy. I've never been this happy, quite honestly. And this is a permanent thing. It's not something that's ever going to go away no matter how much you disapprove or don't like it…"

"Dana?" She could here the intense skepticism in his voice.

"I'm getting married, Bill-"

"Woah. Woah. Woah. Wait. I didn't even know you were seeing anyone? And now you're getting married? To who?"

Scully sighed. "You didn't let me finish, Bill. I'm getting married to Mulder…."

"What?! Dana, you've got to be kidding me! Are you out of your mind? Is that bastard forcing you into this?"

"What?!" Scully could feel her temper flaring. She was going to lose it if he didn't quit. "No, B-," she didn't get to finish her statement because Maggie ripped the phone out of her hands.

"William! You will not speak of Fox that way! Do you understand me?! He is a part of this family whether you like it or not so you're going to suck it up and play nice! He makes your sister and Emmy happy and I love him dearly for it. You need to get over your childish attitude and act like a fucking adult." She handed the phone back to Scully and smoothed her shirt down with her hands.

Scully was too shocked to say anything right away. She couldn't believe that her sweet mother had just used those words… towards her own son, to top it all off. Bill was also pretty stunned, or at least she assumed so, because he hadn't said a single word into the phone, either. Remembering that she was supposed to be talking to Bill still, she pressed the phone back to her ear and made sure he was still there. "Bill?"

A second of silence. "... Yeah." He sounded like he was anticipating getting yelled at again, but that wasn't really why Scully had called. "Would you like to fly out here.. maybe? Michelle and the kids are coming up soon, too. and I'd really like the family to all be here."

"Um, I'll, uh, talk to Tara and see. If you want us to fly out, I'll try and make it happen…" Scully was grateful that he wasn't adamant against coming to see them. "Dana?.."

She cleared her throat. "Yes, Bill?"

"Does he really… make you.. happy?"

"Yes, he does. He's the love of my life, Bill."

"Okay, I'll try and get along with him. I'm not promising that I'll like him. But.. I'll try…"

"That's all I'm asking for."

"Oh, one more question. Who's Emmy?"

Scully smiled. "I'll explain when you get here. I didn't tell Michelle, either. It's a little too complicated to explain properly over a long distance call."

"Alright, so I'll talk to you later then? Unless there's another life changing surprise?"

She smiled at his attempt to lighten the mood with humor. "Yeah, okay. I'll let you go. Bye.."

"Bye, Dana…"

Click.

Scully turned to her mother. "I cannot believe you said that, mom!"

"Well, he needed to hear it!" Maggie defended herself.

"Thank you for sitting here… and for yelling at him.. I don't know how I would have reacted if you weren't here to keep me from saying things I might have regretted."

Maggie chuckled. "Oh, yes. That good 'ol Irish temper of ours…" She patted Scully's knee and got up from where they were sitting. "Let's go eat."

XXXXX

Sitting down at the table, Mulder carefully set Em down in the chair next to where Scully was sitting. He leaned down to whisper in Scully's ear. "How did it go?"

"Rough," she answered honestly. "But I think it's okay now."

He kissed her cheek. "Good." Before he could sit down, his telephone rang. He stepped out into the living room to answer it. Scully and Maggie exchanged curious looks.

"Scully." His tone of voice made her turn around quickly. It sounded like it was something urgent. "They moved Jacob's transfer date up to tomorrow night. I need to go out there now and get him."

"Mulder, no. I need to go with you."

He squatted next to her chair and caressed her cheek with his thumb. "But Scully, you need to stay here. With Em. And you have to go to your doctor's appointment tomorrow, to make sure what Kurt said was true." He put both of his hands on her face. "I'll be careful. I promise. I'll have Kurt with me. And I'll bring the Gunmen. I'll bring him home, Scully. And we can have our family." He wiped the tear off her cheek. "Okay?"

It took everything in her not to tell him not to go without her, but he was right. She needed to stay tomorrow. "Okay." She nodded reluctantly.

He pulled her into a really tight embrace, and then pulled away for a long, simple kiss. Turning around to Em's chair, he hugged her goodbye and tried to explain it to her as best as he could. "Em, there's an emergency and I have to go help. But I'll be home in a few days. Mommy's going to stay here with you. I love you. I'll see you soon.." He gave a quick hug to Maggie, apologized for disrupting dinner, and then left quickly.

It was hard for Scully to let him walk out the door alone. But she knew it was for the best. Soon, they'd have their family, all together. She couldn't help but be anxiously excited. She wanted to meet their baby boy, and never let him go, again.