Scully couldn't understand it. There were some cases that got to Mulder, but usually she could see those coming and there was nothing in this case that indicated he might become obsessive. And yet he had barely slept. He'd been working every hour of the day, his temper was short, and she hadn't seen him eat or drink anything other than coffee.
She'd tried to entice him with food, with a warm place to lay, placating him when he snapped, but to no avail. He hadn't even shaved since they arrived.
Scully had had high hopes of this case when it had arrived on their desk- it looked to be open and shut, and it was near enough to her brother's house that she'd be able to see her nieces and nephews. And, though she had refused to actively think of it, the following weekend was her birthday, and she so rarely got to spend that with family.
"Agent Scully?"
She lifted her head from the file she'd been frowning at to find a lanky boy in the doorway, surely too young to be in a police uniform. "Yes?"
"Agent Mulder has caught the suspect and is bringing him in."
Scully stared at him dumbly. Agent Mulder couldn't have caught the suspect. He'd told her he was going back to the motel to shower.
"How did you find him, Agent?" The officer in charge of the case cornered Agent Mulder as soon as the suspect was removed from his grasp.
"It was a hunch." Was all Mulder muttered, brushing the dirt from his sleeve.
"And you didn't think to call backup? He's killed 5 people!"
"There wasn't time." Mulder's eyes scanned the bullpen. He knew Scully would be furious with him for going off without her. Worse, even, because he'd lied about where he was going.
"You're telling me you drove for half an hour out of town and didn't have time to call it in?!" The officer barked at him.
He could see Scully now, approaching at a fast pace, but her face wasn't angry. Worse, it was upset.
"I didn't want to get you all out there if it was going to be nothing." Mulder attempted.
"Are you hurt?" Scully asked as she came to a stop in front of him, eyes scanning his body for an injury.
"It's protocol to call in back up!" The officer snapped, ignoring Scully's presence. He was as shocked as Mulder when she was the one to snap back at him.
"You expect him to call you for backup when you've spent the last four days making it entirely clear what you think of Mulder and his theories? You should be thankful he's caught the guy for you, since you've all been so caught up on a half-baked theory about gang violence! Are you hurt, Mulder?" The last question came out as snapped as the first.
"No."
Scully nodded her head, and nothing else was forthcoming from anyone as she walked out the building front doors.
Tara's smile fell when Scully opened the motel room door with tears on her cheeks. "What's happened?!"
Scully attempted a reply around her sobs, embarrassed to be found in such a state. She'd left the police station both hurt and furious that Mulder had gone off alone. He'd promised her he wouldn't do that anymore. He'd promised not only as her partner, but as her lover. He'd promised that if she allowed herself to fall, to break open for him, that he wouldn't do this anymore.
"Auntie Dana?"
Her eyes fell down and she realised her niece and nephew were stood looking up at her with concern. A flick of her eyes told her Bill was there as well, approaching at full speed from the car now he'd seen her face.
"What did he do?"
"Bill-" Tara tried to soothe, putting a hand to his chest.
"What the hell has he done now?!"
Her brother's anger dried Scully's eyes, and she lifted her sleeve to wipe away the tears that still lingered. "What are you doing here?" Her voice still wobbled, though.
"We've come to pick you up." Tara offered.
"Pick me up?" Scully frowned, eyes turning to her brother who had suddenly gone quiet. "Bill?"
"..We wanted you to come and spend the weekend with us for your birthday." He offered.
"You didn't ask her?" Tara questioned.
"How did you know the case was over?"
"We didn't." Tara's eyes remained on Bill who continued to stare at the ground.
"…I spoke to Agent Mulder earlier in the week, and he assured me the case would be over before your birthday."
Scully could imagine how that conversation had gone. Suddenly Mulder's behaviour began to make a little more sense to her. She opened her mouth but instantly snapped it shut when she remembered there were young children watching. Sensing this, Tara mumbled something about a milkshake and turned the children in the direction of the diner next door.
"Dana, I just wanted to spend time with you…"
"Oh, I can just imagine how you told Mulder that, Bill. I bet you mentioned every time I'd been hurt in the past, told him it was his fault, and then told him he had to finish the case by today. Do you have ANY idea how stupid that was?! You could have got him killed! You could have got me killed if I'd followed him! You know how seriously he takes his work, Bill, and you know how guilty he feels about the past!" Scully ran her hand through her hair and then turned to re-enter her room, trying to remember where the hell she'd thrown her phone.
"He's no good for you, Scully. I wanted-"
"Oh, do not start that now." Scully shot back, her voice dripping with venom as she held the phone to her ear. Straight to voicemail. "You know what? Thank you for the invitation, but I don't want to spend my birthday in your company. In fact, I don't want to spend any day in your company until you get it through your thick skull that this is it for me! This is my life. Mulder is my life! If you can't accept him, then you can't accept me." She grabbed her keys and her jacket, storming past her brother.
"Scully-"
"Apologise to Tara and the kids for me." Was all she offered as she climbed into the car, her shaking hands gripping the steering wheel.
Mulder sat at the desk he'd been given with his head in his hands. He ached with tiredness and overused muscles, but the sooner he completed this paperwork, the sooner he could get home and forget this case had ever happened.
He'd convinced himself somehow that if he completed this case today, in time for Scully to spend her birthday with family, that Bill might soften towards him. He's been thinking a lot lately about asking Scully to marry him, but the thought of Bill's objection, the thought of him telling the whole congregation about all the times he'd let Scully down, had given him nightmares. He feared laying his head on the pillow in case he dreamt of Scully's face dawning with realisation before she walked down the aisle away from him.
She'd probably be at her brother's house now, where she belonged. With people who could keep her safe.
"Mulder."
Except she wasn't. She was here, stood in front of him with an indistinguishable expression on her face. Mulder's eyes fell to his lap.
"Mulder." Scully repeated, stepping closer, one finger touching his chin to tilt his head up, though he immediately shut his eyes so he didn't have to see hers.
There was a shuffle of papers, and he knew she'd sat on the desk in front of him. Her finger still danced under his chin, stroking the stubble there. Mulder felt suddenly overwhelmed with tiredness.
"Mulder, you did the wrong thing."
He nodded. It was all he could do. He had done the wrong thing.
"I know…I know you agree with Bill. I know you think that everything bad has been your fault, and I know I can't change your mind because I've tried. But Mulder, even if, in some parallel universe, it was all your fault…I wouldn't care. I love you. You can push me away all you like, you can listen to my brother and beat yourself up, but I'm still going to love you. I'm still going to follow you, I'm still going to get angry with you, I'm still going to worry about you, I'm still going to need you, Mulder." Scully sighed, finally drawing her hand away from him as she stood. "I'll finish the report, you go back to the motel and sleep. Our flight is in a few hours, so I will pick you up once I'm done and we'll go to the airport."
"Our flight?" Mulder asked with a frown, his eyes finally flickering open. "But your birthday-"
"I wanted to spend my birthday with people I love. I wanted to spend it with you."
"But-"
Scully's voice was suddenly tired. "Look, you and Bill both need to understand that I love you, I love my job, and neither of those things are going to change, so you're both going to have to live with it."
Mulder nodded his head mutely, pushing himself wearily to his feet. "Scully, I didn't…I really didn't know if he was going to be there. It really was a hunch."
Scully nodded, slipping into the seat he'd vacated.
"..Scully?"
"What, Mulder?"
"Go to your party. I know you're upset with Bill, but he's your brother, and we both know how important family are, even when we're angry with them."
When Tara opened the door she was relieved to see Scully stood before her in casual clothes, the tears that had covered her face cleared away. "I didn't know."
"It's okay." Scully smiled. "I know. I know what my brother can be like. Is there still cake?"
"Lots of it." Tara stepped aside to let her sister-in-law walk in, surprised to see a rather hangdog Fox Mulder follow her, Scully holding his hand tightly. "Fox."
"Mulder." Mulder corrected more from habit than anything else.
"Do you mind making us some coffee?" Scully asked. "If I'm going to have to be nice to Bill, I'm going to need stimulants."
Smiling, Tara shut the front door and ushered them inside. "He's out the back grilling. There are a few people out there already. Three guys showed up claiming to be friends of yours, so I let them through but I've no idea who they are."
"The three stooges." Mulder supplied.
"They're eccentric but harmless stalkers." Scully offered, tugging Mulder towards the backdoor.
Five hours later and Scully wasn't quite sure how they'd managed it, but Mulder and Bill had been entirely civil to one another, at least in front of her. Mulder was now fast asleep sitting up on the couch with her niece drawing a felt tip moustache on him, a plate of half eaten cake held vicariously on his lap.
Bill was in a similar position in the armchair, his son giving him multicolour spots all over his nose.
"Do you think we should stop them?" Scully asked.
"Nah." Tara replied. "they probably both deserve it."
"Do you think they'll ever get along?"
"…Probably not. It'll make Christmases interesting, though."
Scully smiled at the thought of Mulder spending Christmas with them. "Yeah, it will."
"Happy early birthday, Dana."
"Do me a favour and tell me if Bill is planning any more surprises."
"As long as you do me a favour and send me a photo of Mulder in those red speedos you told me about."
As Scully choked on a laugh, as Tara grinned and as the children stepped back to look at their handiwork, Scully realised Mulder had been right. Family were important. And he was part of their family now, whether Bill liked it or not.
"Scully."
"Hmm?"
Mulder walked carefully through the darkened room towards the bed. Bill had begrudgingly offered for them to stay the night so long as they stayed in different rooms. "It's midnight."
"Mulder, 'm sleeping."
"It's your birthday."
"it'll be my birthday for the next 24 hours. Go to bed."
Without another word, Mulder slipped into bed beside her, wrapping her in his arms. Scully considered a protest, but she was too warm and sleepy and simply rubbed her cheek against his chest as she got comfortable.
"Scully?"
"Mm?"
"Do you think one day you'll marry me?"
"…I hope so."
Mulder dropped a kiss to her hair.
"Do you think Bill will object?"
"We'll ask the celebrant not to read that bit."
Mulder dropped another kiss to her hair, a smile on his lips.
"Mulder?"
"Mm?"
A firm punch on his arm came next. "Don't ever to shut me out again or I will rip your testicles off."
Mulder let out a huff off a laugh into the darkness. "Scully?"
"Mmm?"
"I love you."
"Love you too. Fox Mulder, asshole extraordinaire."
"…Scully?"
"What?"
"Do you think Bill would kill me if I had sex with his sister in his house?"
"Yes."
"Okay. Goodnight, Scully."
"…Mulder?"
"Mmm?"
"Sorry I hit you."
"It's okay."
"…Mulder?"
"Mmm?"
"Did you bring your gun to bed?"
"It's been 5 days, 3 hours and 2 minutes since we've made love, Scully. I'm a weak man."
"…Go on, then, but be quiet!"