This is long. I'm sorry, I had a lot of time on my hands, clearly. Special thanks as always to DearPearlie for all the times she listens to me babble on about this story, and for her friendship. Once you've read this go read her stories. Do it!
Mulder exited the bathroom and stepped into the bedroom, noticing Scully sitting up in bed, gently burping Ellie.
"She's still hungry?"
Scully nodded, smiling wearily. "When isn't she? She's definitely your daughter."
Easing into bed, Mulder immediately rolled onto his side to face his partner. He kissed his daughter, smiling as he watched her eyelids flutter and eventually close. "It's tiring work being born," he murmured, and Scully hummed in agreement.
"It sure is. It's tiring pushing out a baby too."
Mulder nodded in agreement, wincing. He was still in awe of Scully, at the whole experience of childbirth. He'd missed Ashley's birth, and William's had been a fraught and stressful time, with both Mulder and Scully panicking that their son was going to be kidnapped - or worse. "How are you feeling?"
"Surprisingly good still. I mean, I definitely feel like I pushed out a baby, but I'm good. I think it's the adrenaline. Give me a few days and it'll wear off." As Ellie let out an impressive belch, Scully moved to get out of bed to return the baby to her Moses basket, but Mulder stopped her. "I got her." He took the baby from Scully's arms, but rather than move, he simply laid the baby down between them.
"Mulder -" Scully warned, but he shook his head.
"It's ok, I'll put her down in a little while."
"We can't fall asleep with her -"
"We won't. I won't. You should try and sleep Scully, you must be exhausted." Neither of them had slept much the previous night, both too wired following the birth of their daughter. They'd both lain awake, too scared to close their eyes in case they woke up to find it was all a dream. Ellie's safe arrival seemed almost too good to be true.
Sighing, Scully scooted further down I to the bed and mirrored Mulder's position, propping herself up on her elbow. She placed her free hand on Ellie's stomach, feeling her daughter's even breath.
Mulder gently traced circles on the baby's arm. "She's perfect Scully."
She grinned. "You've said that already."
"It's true."
"She is cute."
"Cute? She's awesome." Mulder smiled. "You know, you once asked me if I ever wanted to get out of the car -"
"What?"
"Don't you remember? We were on a case and you spoke about me stepping out of the car and living a normal life?" Scully nodded at him to go on. "It's taken me a long time, but I finally understand it."
"Mulder? Are you delirious?"
"Ha-Ha. I mean it Scully. Back then there was Ashley, and I knew I loved her but things were different. I was obsessed with the X Files -"
"And an ass sometimes," Scully added, chuckling.
"Hey that's...yeah that's probably right," he conceded. "I honestly thought that the X Files would give me the answers I needed, but all I needed was this. You, Ash, a home together, then Will and -"
"Sleepless nights and dirty diapers."
"That too. Scully, I don't say this nearly enough as I should, but I hope you know how I feel about you?" She nodded uncertainly, as though worried he was going to pull out an engagement ring and try again. "I love you. You and the kids are the best things to ever happen to me, and I can't thank you enough. I mean, seeing you give birth to Ellie was just...you were amazing Scully. I'm in awe of you."
"Just remember that in future when I'm asking you to take out the trash or clean out Bam Bam's litter tray. Can you clean out Bam Bam's litter tray by the way?" Scully asked as an afterthought.
"Do I have to?"
"Four stitches Mulder."
"Want me to do it now dear?" She smiled sleepily, her eyelids growing heavy. "Sleep Scully. I got this."
"Make sure you put her in her basket."
"Yes dear."
"I mean it Mulder, especially if William comes in here in the night."
"He's fast asleep. Besides Ellie's here, he'll keep a wide berth from our room for a while."
Scully groaned, closing her eyes. "Don't remind me."
"He'll be fine. We'll be fine. I love you."
"Mmm, what you said," she said, drowsily, slowly drifting off to sleep. Admiring both his partner and their new daughter, Mulder couldn't help but notice the similarities in their profiles. Ellie was Scully's daughter through and through, beautiful just like her mom. He watched the two of them sleep, relieved that they both drifted off peacefully, especially Scully given how worried she'd seemed about William's reaction to his sister. "Sleep tight," he murmured, feeling his own eyelids get heavy.
Following Scully's warning, he kissed his partner, and then his daughter, and rose from the bed, lifting Ellie carefully and transferring her to her basket. Rejoining Scully in the bed, Mulder spooned up behind his partner and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Xxxxx
Mulder stirred as he heard the now familiar sound of Ellie fussing. Quickly coming awake, he immediately got out of bed, taking care not to disturb Scully. She'd had a late night trying to calm their unhappy daughter before bedtime, and had barely been asleep an hour. She needed her rest if possible. Making his way over to Ellie's basket, he lifted his daughter into his arms, immediately discovering the problem. "It's ok Meatball," he whispered. "Daddy's got you."
"You ok?" Scully's sleepy voice rang out from beneath the comforter, before Mulder heard her shift in the bed.
"It's ok, I got her."
"Do you need me?"
"She's just wet. I got this Scully, go back to bed."
"Mmm'kay." Moments later, Scully's even breathing told him she'd did as he suggested and fallen back to sleep, leaving Mulder to deal with the baby. Passing by Ellie's changing table, he retrieved a fresh diaper and baby wipes, before making his way out of the room, not wanting to wake his partner once again. Instead he padded downstairs, flicking on the light to the living room and immediately flinching. It was too much too soon. Even Ellie's whimpers turned to cries, as though she too had been blinded by the light. "Sorry sweetheart," he murmured, locating the changing mat they kept downstairs, placing it on the living room floor and, after sinking to his knees, set about changing his daughter's diaper. The baby's cries immediately quietened and she looked up at her dad. Mulder couldn't help but smile. "You feel better for that Meatball? Do you?" After securing her diaper and testing it by picking up his daughter, Mulder got to work trying to fit Ellie's moving limbs into a new onesie, which was way too big for her. "Mommy tells me this is for a newborn," he said, referring to the oversized clothes. "Something tells me you're going to be short just like her. Either that or you're going to have the mother of all growth spurts too." He smiled, lifting Ellie back into his arms and moving to the sofa. The baby didn't look away from her dad once, as though she too was in awe of him just as he was of her. "We can stay here for a minute," he continued. "Until you fall back to sleep, and then we'll go back in with mommy. She needs her rest right now. You wore her out earlier. That and your brother," he remarked dryly. "Don't take any notice of Will. I'm sure you'll win him over soon. You're cute, it'll help." Mulder yawned, realizing that while he could easily go back to sleep, Ellie looked anything but tired. "You're not sleepy, huh?"
Ellie blinked at her dad innocently.
He smiled. "That's ok, I can stay up. It's a good job your old man used to be an insomniac. I'm used to it. Let's just hang out here for a bit, shall we? Have some daddy daughter time? I'm taking your silence as a yes". Mulder paused as he heard footsteps coming down the stairs, hoping that Ellie hadn't woken her brother up. William was usually a good sleeper, and if he woke in the middle of the night, it was practically impossible for him to get back to sleep. Mulder wasn't sure he was ready to cope with a cranky four year old at 2am. William currently disliked Ellie enough as it was – the last thing Mulder wanted was for his son to blame the baby for something else. He looked up just as Ashley arrived at the bottom of the stairs, yawning as she walked towards the sofa. "Hey, I'm sorry we woke you".
"You didn't wake me", she sniffed, leaning against the stair rail. "I just woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. I saw the light on down here and thought I'd investigate." She seemed reluctant to come any closer.
"It's ok, you can join us."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course. My girls together".
Ashley looked as though she was about to argue but thought better of it, making her way to sit on the sofa next to Mulder, curling her legs up beneath her. She smiled sadly at Ellie, and Mulder knew she had something on her mind.
"You ok?"
"Mmm". She reached out and took hold of Ellie's hand. The baby looked up at her sister, holding eye contact until she blinked. "I don't want to interrupt".
"You're not interrupting. One of us had to have a diaper change, and before you ask it wasn't me. So Ellie and I were just hanging out now. The more the merrier".
"She's cute", Ashley commented, not taking her eyes off of the baby. "She looks like you".
"She has my coloring, but I see you and William in her".
"Maybe".
"You ok?"
"Yeah". She smiled sadly.
"You sure?"
"Uh huh." She didn't sound it.
"Are you ok with all this?"
"All what?"
"This. Ellie. Things have been a little crazy the past few days or so". Mulder remembered when William had been born, and how Ashley had felt knowing Mulder was his biological father. He hoped things were different this time.
"I'm fine."
"Your mom used to say that all the time. I didn't believe her either. C'mon sweetheart. Tell Meatball and I what's wrong."
"Meatball."
"Yeah." He had a feeling he knew where this was headed. "Ash, I hope you know -"
"If you're going to tell me you love me, I already know. I know how you feel about me, else you wouldn't have adopted me."
"Then what's wrong Tigger?"
"Tigger," she repeated to herself.
"Ash -"
"I'm just being stupid."
"Tell me."
She hesitated before speaking. "I don't know. I guess I see you with Ellie and Will, and I guess it makes me feel a little sad that you didn't know me when I was that age."
"Ash -"
"I don't want you to think that I don't love them though. I do, Will is great and I love the baby." Ashley's voice broke, and Mulder realized his oldest daughter was close to tears.
"You're my baby too".
"I was never your baby". Sure enough her tears fell over.
"Hey hey hey." Mulder wrapped an arm around his oldest daughter. "You were my little girl though. You came into my life a two foot tall bundle of energy and cuteness, and you stayed. And you are my daughter. I feel exactly the same for you as I do Will and Ellie. I wish I could have been there to see your first steps and your first tooth and words, but I'm here now, and at least I missed out on diaper duty". Ashley smiled. "I've said it a thousand times, and I'll keep saying it every day like I once told you I would. You're my daughter Ash, and not just on paper. I love you, just as I love the others, and you're mine. So no more tears. Not over this. Save them for when you break Aaron's heart."
"Adam."
"Whatever."
Ashley laughed. "I'm not going to break his heart dad."
"You mean you're not going to dump him?"
"Sadly not."
"Damn. It was worth a try though."
"You're stupid."
"I'm the best."
"You're the best at being stupid."
"Love you too Tigger."
"Thanks dad."
"Anytime." As he saw Ashley stifle a yawn, Mulder glanced at the clock in the corner of the room. "Next time let's do this in broad daylight, shall we?"
"Sounds good. She's almost asleep." He followed Ashley's gaze. "Thank god. Will's going to be up in a few hours for school."
"Want me to drive him?"
"Very funny kiddo."
"I'm a responsible driver!" Ashley saw her dad flash her a wide grin. "Shut up."
"I didn't say anything."
"I promise I won't crash the car."
"I'm not saying you will. I'm just saying that right now you're not driving your brother anywhere. He's distracting."
"I was just trying to help."
"And I love you for it. But we're good. I'll drop him off and then catch some zees when I get back." It was Will's first day back at school following the birth of his sister. "That's if he'll leave your mom for a few hours. I'm sure once he realizes Ellie will be staying at home he won't be quite so keen."
"He'll be ok dad. She's cute, and Will's cool."
"I keep telling your mom that."
"But you don't believe it?"
"Will's a Scully. He's stubborn."
"You're stubborn too!"
"In that case there's no hope."
"Well, I think she's pretty awesome. William will too dad, I'm sure."
"I hope so. Come on." Tapping Ashley's shoulder, Mulder got to his feet, carrying his baby daughter. "Bed time. Now."
Xxxx
Two days later and William still wasn't overjoyed at having a sister. Most of the time he ignored Ellie until she cried, then he begged and pleaded with Scully to let Mulder deal with his sister. Mulder helped out when he could, but there were obvious times when only Scully could deal with the baby, which then led to more tantrums and tears from William. Both Mulder and Scully managed to keep calm, despite the added stress, coupled with the usual exhaustion from having a newborn baby. But it was tough, and they both longed for the day that William at least accepted the new arrival, though they weren't entirely sure this would ever happen.
Baby Eleanor was completely oblivious to the drama surrounding her arrival. She was already proving to be a content baby, spending a lot of her time sleeping, until either her mom or dad relented and woke her to check she was still breathing. Other than that, she was a beautiful, healthy and happy baby girl, completely worth the wait. And unlike William, Mulder, Scully and Ashley were completely smitten with her.
"I like this story mommy," William commented. The little boy sat on the sofa with Scully in her arms, who had just been reading to him. Mulder was busy in the kitchen having volunteered to make dinner that evening, while Ashley was at the movies with Adam, with a strict curfew of 8.30pm. Scully knew that Mulder would be out on the porch by 7pm at the latest, standing guard in wait for his daughter.
"Me too. It was a good choice baby."
"Can we read it again?"
"Again? Don't you want to try a different book?"
"Nuh uh." William shook his head firmly. Sometimes there was no way of negotiating with him. "I like this one."
"Where have I heard that one before Scully?" Mulder called from the kitchen, and Scully smiled to herself. Ashley had been just the same, watching her favorite Disney films repeatedly until the video tapes had worn and both Mulder and Scully knew all of the words by heart.
"Ok, here we go again." As Scully flicked back to the start of the book, Ellie began to cry. Glancing up at the clock, Scully sighed. "Right on cue."
"Want me to get her Scully?"
"Thanks, but it's dinner time."
"Daddy can get Ellie mommy," said William. Scully squeezed her son's shoulders and pressed a kiss to his crown.
"I'm sorry baby, but your sister's hungry. I'll be back in just a second and we'll keep reading, OK?"
"Daddy can feed her."
"Only mommy can feed her now."
"Why?" One of William's favorite words.
"Because..." Scully glared at Mulder as he stepped out of the kitchen, smirking over at her before disappearing once again. "Because Ellie is a baby, and sometimes only mommies can feed babies when they're first born. I fed you too when you were your sister's age. Ashley too."
"With your booby?"
Scully couldn't help but laugh, and she could hear Mulder's chuckles from the kitchen. "Yes baby."
"William looked adorably puzzled. "But how -?"
Ellie's cries escalated and Scully got up and headed over to her daughter's Moses basket. "It's ok baby, mommy's here." Yawning, Scully lifted her daughter into her arms and kissed her, before heading back to the sofa. She sat down, arranging her daughter on her lap and unbuttoning her blouse, and within moments Ellie was latched on quite contentedly. Scully however noticed her son's expression, and didn't want him to feel left out. "Do you want to read to me sweetheart?" Satisfied Ellie was comfortable, Scully wrapped her arm around William, both surprised and grateful that her son hadn't yet burst into tears."I like it when you read to me. I think Eleanor would like it too."
William eyed his sister wearily, before giving his mom a look which suggested he didn't really care what his sister thought. "Ok."
"Good boy, Scully said as William picked up the book and opened it onto the first page. He opened his mouth to start reading and then changed his mind, instead moving to sit on his mom's lap. "Be careful sweetheart," Scully warned, as her son's leg bumped his sister. "What are you doing?"
"I wanna sit on your lap."
"Give me a few minutes and you can sweetheart." But William was having none of it, and after Scully shifted Ellie as much as she could without disturbing her daughter, he was perched on her knee. She sighed as she looked down at her two children. She knew William was just going through a phase, that his world had been turned upside down following the birth of his sister. With the age gap between him and Ashley, William had been used to being the centre of attention, and now baby Ellie was taking up a lot of his parents' time. It was no wonder he was so upset.
Mulder came out of the kitchen and found them like that, Scully sat on the sofa, Ellie balanced on one knee, William on the other. And he noticed with some relief that William wasn't, for once, making any attempt to hit out at his sister. Both Mulder and Scully also caught sight of Ellie wide awake, staring up at her brother with a look of awe as she nursed. Sadly William was completely oblivious, ignoring his sister in favor of reading to his mom.
"You ok?" Mulder asked.
Scully glanced up, giving him a thin smile. She looked uncomfortable, albeit relieved. "I've never been this much in demand," she remarked dryly.
"Well honey, make some room for me on your lap and I'll join in too. Or would you rather sit on my lap?"
"I've got two words for you Mulder, and only one of them is repeatable in front of the little people."
He smirked. "This is progress though, isn't it?" he asked, gesturing towards the kids. "This is a good sign?"
After a moment Scully nodded. "It's been at least five minutes and as yet there hasn't been any blood shed, or any tears for that matter.
Mulder looked as relieved as Scully felt. "So we're good?"
"I think we're good."
Sadly, William didn't agree.
Xxxxx
Mulder glanced down at his watch, noting that barely two minutes had passed since the last time he'd looked. He returned his gaze to the door in front of him, and shook his head. "Where is he?"
Beside him stood Scully, who was holding Ellie's carrier in her hands. The little girl was now five days old. Scully had complained of cabin fever, so she and the baby had accompanied Mulder to pick up their son from school. William however, didn't appear to be in too much of a hurry to leave class.
"You know what he's like," she said. "He's worse than you at getting distracted."
"Should I go in and get him?"
Smiling, his partner shook his head. "He might only be four years old Mulder, but I guarantee he'd claim you're embarrassing him. Look," she added, as the door to William's pre-school opened. "Here he is." Sure enough moments later William came running out, along with his friend Corey. Their teacher, Mrs Baker, a woman in her mid-thirties, followed close behind, her gaze trained on Mulder and Scully. Scully heard her partner sigh.
"What's he done now?" He murmured. Just the previous week William's teacher had approached Mulder in the playground, and informed him that his son had been "animated" in class earlier that afternoon, unable to stop talking even during quiet time. Not that Mulder was surprised – William wasn't in the least bit shy, and loved to talk.
"Hi sweetheart," Scully greeted her son as he ran up to her. "Did you have a good day?"
"Uh huh." Greeting his mom, William handed Scully his school bag before chasing after Corey.
"Don't go too far!" Scully called, just as Corey's mom shouted a similar warning to her own son.
"Hi there," said Mrs Baker, smiling at both Mulder and Scully.
"Hi."
They both waited for her to explain what William had done this time, but her words surprised them. "William's been telling us all about your new arrival. I thought I'd come out and meet him if you don't mind." She looked down at the carrier that Scully was holding, her smile quickly turning into a look of confusion as she saw a pink blanket covering a sleeping Ellie. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "It's a girl?"
Scully smiled politely, nodding. "Yes, this is Eleanor. She was born on Sunday."
"Oh! I'm so sorry," William's teacher said, blushing. "I didn't realize. William told me he had a brother."
Both Mulder and Scully exchanged a look. "William desperately wanted a brother," Mulder explained. "He's been a little upset since his sister was born. And has obviously been in denial," he added with a little shake of the head.
"My daughter was exactly the same when her brother was born," Mrs Baker announced. "Whenever my back was turned she was trying to dress him up in her doll's clothes, or put make-up on him."
"How long did it take for her to adjust?" Scully asked.
"Well…he's three now. Sometimes she still likes to dress him up." Noticing Mulder and Scully's dismayed expressions, William's teacher laughed. "It's not so bad. William will come around soon I'm sure. In the meantime, don't be surprised if other people are shocked to find you've had a little girl. She's beautiful by the way."
"Thank you."
"Mom?" Scully looked up to find William with his hands on his hips impatiently. Corey and his mom were now making their way out of the school grounds. "Can we go home? I'm bored now."
"William! Don't be rude!"
"It's fine, I won't keep you. I just wanted to meet the new baby."
"Moooooom!"
"We're coming! I'm sorry," Scully said to the lady in front of her, who laughed.
"It's fine. I'll let you all get on. It was nice to see you. See you tomorrow."
"Bye."
As William's teacher walked off, Scully turned to look at her partner, sighing heavily. "I thought he was doing better," she admitted. "He hasn't cried in a few days, and I honestly believed he'd come to terms with having a sister."
"Well he has," Mulder said with a smile. "He's just pretending she's a boy. It's got to be better than hitting her and screaming the house down."
"Mulder you're not helping."
He took hold of her hand. "It's early days Scully. Meatball is barely a week old. If he's still doing it when she's sixteen, we'll get him some help."
"That's not fun –"
"Mom!" William shouted, more insistently this time.
"C'mon Scully," said Mulder, leading her after their son. "Let's not keep him waiting."
Xxxx
Scully woke to the sound of a saucepan crashing to the floor, followed by a bad word. Stretching, she smiled to herself, wondering what trouble Mulder was getting himself into in the kitchen. As she sat up she yawned, rubbing her eyes as she came back to herself. She'd only been asleep for an hour, she realized as she glanced down at her watch, but she felt rested. She'd needed that. The late nights and early mornings with Eleanor were beginning to take their toll. Thankfully Mulder had insisted she take a nap – he could take care of the baby for an hour or so. At least that was what he'd told her. Scully glanced over towards the bassinette in the corner of the room and stood up, well aware that Ellie would be awake any moment now and ready for her next feeding. "I'm coming baby girl," Scully murmured to herself as she padded over, stopping short when she saw that the bassinette was in fact empty. She blinked sleepily. Mulder must have placed Ellie in her crib upstairs. Rather than head immediately upstairs, Scully made her way to the kitchen first, to check Mulder hadn't caused himself an injury when he'd dropped the pan.
"Hey," she said as she entered the room.
Mulder glanced up from stirring a pot of vegetables, smiling when he saw her. "Hey. Nice nap?"
"The best. Thank you, I needed that," she said, heading over for a kiss. "Where's William?"
"In his room cooking up some mischief I imagine. Ash has gone to dinner at Adam's. I've told her if she's not back by nine at the very latest then I'm taking my gun and going to get her. Oh and that she'll be grounded for life."
"I bet she appreciated that."
"I believe the words "hate" and "you" were uttered."
"Of course." Scully glanced around the kitchen. "Where's the baby monitor?"
Mulder followed her gaze. "Upstairs."
"Upstairs? Mulder, how are you going to hear Eleanor if she starts crying?"
"Ok Scully, first of all, that baby has got the best set of lungs going – each time she cries they get an earthquake on the West Coast. I can hear her from the living room Scully, it's fine."
"You put her upstairs Mulder, how –"
"No I didn't."
"What?"
"I didn't put her upstairs. She's in the living room."
Scully's smile faded, her eyes widening. "Mulder, she's not in the living room."
The wooden spoon hit the saucepan, water splashing over the cooker. "What?"
"She's not in her bassinette."
"She was."
"Well she's not now!" Scully snapped. "Oh god!" Scully turned on her heels and ran out of the kitchen, with Mulder close behind her. "Eleanor?"
Mulder wanted to remind Scully that their five day old daughter wasn't able to answer back, but he wisely didn't comment. "She couldn't have gone far –"
"She shouldn't have gone anywhere Mulder!" Scully shouted, running over to the front door and throwing it open. "And this door isn't locked! Anyone could have come in and taken her. Oh god, where have they taken her?" She ran outside, not caring that she wasn't wearing anything on her feet, while Mulder hurried upstairs to check William was in his room like he was supposed to be. Maybe their son had seen or heard something, he surmised.
Scully glanced down the driveway, suddenly cursing the fact they lived on such a sprawling property. They didn't have any immediate neighbors, which meant there were no witnesses to what may have happened. Running over to their car, Scully glanced inside, well aware that there was no way her daughter could possibly be inside. She wasn't. Tears springing to her eyes, Scully was just about to check behind the back of the house when she heard Mulder's voice.
"Scully!"
Running back inside, Scully heard her name called again, and made her way upstairs, where she met Mulder in the hallway. "Mulder, have you –" She quietened as he pressed his finger to his lips, shushing her. At her questioning glance he stepped aside and pointed towards William's bedroom.
Puzzled, Scully crept towards the door to William's bedroom, glancing inside. As she did so she let out a sigh of relief, feeling her earlier panic and nausea fade. Mulder came to stand behind her, and together they looked into the room, where William knelt on the floor, concentrating as he pieced together his railway track. The track ran the entire way around Ellie, who was laid out on the floor, wide awake as she waved her tiny little arms in the air quite contentedly. On top of her stomach was one of William's trains. As he connected the final piece, William retrieved the train from his sister, and began racing it around the track, leaning over his sister as he did so. "Watch out Ellie," the little boy said. "The train's gonna crash!" He ran the train around the track once more, before steering it onto the floor and towards his sister, crashing the locomotive into the baby, who startled, but didn't fuss. He did it once more before finally Scully stepped forward, wanting to interrupt before William got bored with his sister and hit her harder. "Hi sweetheart," she said softly as she entered the room, coming to a standstill next to her son. "What are you doing?"
William paused his game, smiling up at his mom sweetly. He had no idea of the worry he'd caused his parents just moments before. "Playing."
"Yeah?"
"I'm playing with Ellie."
"So I see. It looks like a fun game."
"I think Ellie likes it."
Scully slowly eased herself onto the floor, sitting next to her son. She reached out, placing a hand on her baby girl's stomach just to reassure herself that Ellie was safe and well. In the meantime Mulder entered the room, seating himself on the other side of William.
"I think she does too," said Mulder, smiling down at his son. "I didn't hear you come downstairs and get her," he commented casually.
"She sounded like she was about to cry," William explained. "I don't like her crying."
"We don't either."
"So I asked her if she wanted to play and she said yes."
"That was good of you William," Scully commented, unable to stop herself from reaching out and lifting Ellie up into her arms. She kissed her son as he continued to play. "You're a good big brother. But maybe next time you want to play, let mommy or daddy bring her up to your room, ok? Then you can play with her all you want."
"She doesn't play much," said the little boy dejectedly.
"Give her time and she will do soon. In the meantime," said Mulder, picking up another of Will's trains and setting it on the track. "I'll race you."
"No!" Giggling, William surged forward and steered his train around the track, with Mulder's close behind. Smiling to herself, Scully pressed her lips to her daughter's forehead, glad to have Ellie safe in her arms, and relieved that finally, William had come to terms with his new baby sister.