Special thanks to oldmoviewatcher for being a great sounding board, and for letting me borrow Chloe. Happy reading!
XXXXXXXX
Despite sleeping during the car ride home, Nathan woke up once they walked into the house. "I'm not falling for that one, buddy," Mulder good-naturedly told his son after he began to wiggle in his arms. He knew Nathan wanted to be on his own two feet, most likely in search of a certain puppy. "You know there's no running around for you."
As soon as Nathan yawned, his parents knew he would drop right back to sleep. "We should keep him in our room," Scully insisted, rubbing Nathan's back as his breathing deepened. "We have to check for a fever every couple of hours, and we need to make sure he doesn't sleep on his cast."
Mulder nodded, hoping that his aggravation wasn't apparent. His guilt faded when he saw Scully shoot him a sympathetic smile; she was obviously thinking about their dry spell as well. He kissed the top of Nathan's head as he readjusted his hold on the two-year-old.
"You're home!" Hannah softly greeted them as they walked into the living room. She cringed when she saw Nathan's blue cast and the heavily bandaged area covering the stitches on his brow. "Poor baby," she whispered, running her hand along his arm.
Nathan barely stirred, burying his face into his father's shoulder. "Let's get him settled," Mulder whispered as the two-year-old finally dropped back to sleep.
Scully, in her infinite wisdom, had changed Nathan's pajamas right before they left the hospital, so there was no need to wrestle with his cast and risk waking him. "Do you think that he's okay alone? I don't want him to roll on his arm," Scully asked.
"We'll check back in a half-hour. Even if it happens, we'll be able to hear him," Mulder reasoned, pointing to the baby monitor she had just brought over from Nathan's bedroom. "But right now, you need to eat. Coffee and crackers from a vending machine do not count as food. And I have it on good authority that you won't be the one cooking tonight."
It wasn't until Mulder mentioned food that Scully realized she was famished. Just as he promised, Hannah had a late dinner waiting for them. "You made your Yankee pot roast! This smells delicious," Mulder happily remarked, a boyish grin lighting up his face.
Both Hannah and Scully smiled upon hearing the excitement in Mulder's voice. "What else would I make, Fox?" Hannah tsked with a laugh. "I always made this when you needed some cheering up."
"How was Will?" Scully asked Hannah as the three began to eat.
"He fell asleep about an hour ago," Hannah said between bites. "He and that puppy wore each other out. I don't know how you keep up with them, Dana."
"She's had years of practice," quipped Mulder with a cheeky grin, much like one that would cross Nathan's face right before being sent to time-out. "Has the oldest spawn phoned home?"
He peeked over at Scully, hoping that she had cracked a smile. Mulder was determined to make her laugh at least once before she fell asleep. It was a game he played with himself when he knew that under her masked exterior, she was emotionally or physically exhausted. She absentmindedly spun her fork in her mashed potatoes, slyly smiling when their eyes met, knowing exactly what he was trying to do.
"He should be back any minute," Hannah responded, clueless as to the silent conversation the partners were exchanging. "Oh, I completely forgot. A restaurant called to confirm your reservations for tonight? I told them that you wouldn't be able to make it."
Scully arched her right eyebrow, intrigued. She had completely forgotten that Mulder was making mystery plans for them that evening. "What restaurant?"
"Don't answer that question," Mulder sputtered, prompting both women to laugh.
Meanwhile, Kyle stood at the front door, reluctant to enter the house; the only reason he didn't dawdle was that he knew Dave's parents wouldn't drive away until they saw him walk inside. He fumbled with his key, and relaxed upon hearing laughter from the direction of the kitchen.
That meant that Nathan was okay.
For most of the day, he had managed to not think about his younger brother's injuries, but as his friends began to be dropped off through the narrow city streets, the distractions decreased, and his thoughts wandered to what had happened the previous evening. Although his father had repeatedly told him that things would be alright, Kyle wasn't sure whether believed him. After all, wasn't it the kind of thing that all parents would lie to their kids?
He had more trouble than usual sleeping the previous evening. All he could think about was how he had treated his brother over the past few months. It wasn't that he hated Nathan; he was just a pest, always demanding attention, talking non-stop, and doing things he wasn't supposed to. He knew that complaining out loud would only further aggravate his father, who would tell him that Nathan was only two and would grow out of his mischievousness. And then Dana would inevitably follow-up with a comment about how Nathan really looked up to him, and just wanted his big brother to play for a few minutes. It was much easier to just ignore them both, and then appease his father and stepmother by saying a few things to them during breakfast and dinner.
But the thought of Nathan seriously hurt made Kyle shudder. He really hadn't expected his little brother would jump off the kitchen counter. Even though Nathan always received a time-out when he was caught climbing things he wasn't supposed to, he kept repeating his behavior.
But what scared him even more was his father's reaction after seeing Nathan sprawled on the floor. He immediately threw him and his friends out of the room, his anger blatant, and even tossed Bandit into the hallway; the puppy hadn't done anything wrong. In fact, Bandit really liked Nathan and would never hurt either him or Will.
Kyle crept into the kitchen, placing his bag of apples on the counter. As he shrugged out of his jacket, he asked after his brother. "He's sleeping upstairs," Dana reported.
"So he's alright?" Kyle asked with some trepidation.
"In a few days, once the pain goes away, he'll be running around again. He really likes his cast," his father responded.
"Why don't you have some dinner?" Hannah fussed. "And don't say that you already ate."
Even though they had stopped for pizza on their way home from the orchard, Kyle was still hungry. He loved Hannah's cooking, and he didn't want to do anything that would result in Hannah threatening not to make the apple pie she had promised.
While digging into his food, Kyle observed his father, who was noticeably more relaxed than he had been that morning. Content with that thought, he didn't even realize that Dana was speaking to him until his father gently nudged him. "What?" he mumbled, his mouth full of mashed potatoes.
"I wanted to let you know, and I'll tell your friends as well, that Nathan would have done the same thing even if I was in the room," she explained, her voice slightly shaky. "I shouldn't have left him and Will with you guys like that."
Suddenly, the anxiety sitting in Kyle's stomach evaporated, despite not thinking he had been harboring guilty thoughts about his brother's accident. As he slowly swallowed his food, his father began to speak.
"When I first saw Nathan last night, I was afraid, and I know that I was rough with Bandit. I didn't mean to scare you guys. So maybe I could take you and your friends to see a movie next week? And I also need your help in making sure that Bandit and I are friends again."
Mulder and Scully exchanged nervous glances as they waited for Kyle to react, torn about whether they should have ventured into such a conversation without Kyle initiating it. Scully was hyper cognizant of tendency to not bring up subjects that made her uncomfortable, and she was determined to make sure that she acted as she had in Dr. Meadows' office two days prior. She felt Mulder squeeze her hand under the table, and she returned the gesture.
"Can we go to the park with Bandit tomorrow?" Kyle asked hopefully, his face brightening.
"Of course, bud," Mulder responded, reaching out to ruffle his son's hair. "You and me. I'd like that."
XXXXXXXX
Both Mulder and Scully simultaneously jerked awake when they first heard Nathan's cries. "I know it hurts, monkey," soothed Scully, pulling the two-year-old close, careful not to disrupt his injured arm.
"Do you want me to get the Children's Tylenol?" Mulder groggily yawned.
After catching sight of the alarm clock, she groaned. "He can't take it for another couple of hours."
Mulder sat up, rearranging some pillows so Nathan could better snuggle with both his parents, resting his injured arm on his father's side. "Nathan-monkey, do you want to hear a story about you and Woofy going on an adventure?" he asked.
Scully couldn't help but smile as she listened to Mulder tell a tale of Nathan and Woofy traipsing through a magical forest, filled with talking animals and buried treasure. She loved watching him interact with the children, and envied his ability to instantly create a world of make-believe. Within seconds, he was able to get Nathan giggling. Once Nathan drifted off to sleep, Scully whispered, "He's a pretty amazing kid."
"Of course he is," Mulder responded. "You know, I have a feeling that this is only the first of many trips to the emergency room for this little monkey."
"He's certainly fearless," agreed Scully. "I see a lot of you in him."
"I wouldn't say that I'm fearless, Scully," Mulder said, extending his arm to trace patters on Scully's back.
"Fearless doesn't mean that you not know the risks, or understand them," explained Scully softly. "It means that you do something despite them. And while I don't condone jumping off the kitchen counter, I have to say that I admire his curiosity in trying new things."
Mulder held back a throaty laugh, not wanting to wake up the sleeping toddler. "I can't wait to see what he comes up with next."
XXXXXXXX
"But I wanna go!" Nathan cried, stomping his foot, his lower lip protruding.
"Sshh, Nathan." Mulder knelt down to his son's eye-level. He didn't know why he thought he would be able to get away with taking Will, Kyle, and Bandit to the park without Nathan getting wind of their excursion. It had already been a trying morning; Nathan clearly wasn't feeling himself, and had been cranky and more stubborn than usual since he woke up. The plan had been to get as many people out of the house as possible so he could settle into a nap, and if Mulder hadn't known any better, he would have bet that Nathan knew exactly what his parents were trying to orchestrate, and was doing his damndest not to fall into the trap.
"What if we made you a fort? A fort just for you? But I can't help you make it until you stop whining, okay?"
Nathan sniffled, quickly realizing that his father meant business. Once the two-year-old calmed down, Mulder took his good hand, and together they went into the living room while Scully got Will ready for some time outside. "Will," she warned as he wiggled away once she began to apply sunscreen to his face. "You know the rules. This goes much faster when you stay still, bullfrog."
Kyle made his displeasure known as she helped Will into his vest, packed the diaper bag with snacks, some juice, and some Band-Aids. "We're just going to the park," Kyle groaned, impatiently tugging on Bandit's leash, the dog taking it as a cue to bark. When he had asked his father if they could take the puppy for a walk during dinner the previous evening, he had intended for it to be a one-on-one excursion. He also wanted to see if his father would give him more information about where Charlie could have gone to if Dana wasn't around.
"And it will be a rather short trip if you don't have this with you," responded Scully.
"Whatever," Kyle muttered, backtracking with a 'sorry' once he met his father's stern gaze. "But I know you're thinking it too."
Mulder bit his tongue, reluctant to further prolong their outing. "I'm not saying anything," he defended himself, hands in the air, grumbling when he heard the front doorbell chime. Before he was able to tell Kyle that he would answer the door, a clattering of voices wafted through the first floor.
"We got this for Nathan," Chloe brightly chirped, holding a helium Thomas the Tank Engine balloon.
"That's so thoughtful, Chloe. Thank you," smiled Scully as Kyle led his friend into the living room. Walking out of the kitchen, Scully saw a pregnant woman in the open doorway. "Oh, please, come in!"
"Hi, I'm Stella Pollack," the blonde woman shyly introduced herself, holding out her hand. "You must be Dana. It's nice to finally meet you."
Before Scully could respond, Kyle and Chloe reappeared the hallway, Chloe asking for permission to go to the park. Stella nodded, giving her stepdaughter a look that prompted the girl to ask her hosts whether she would be able to join the group. "The more the merrier," Mulder shrugged, sensing that Scully wouldn't mind the opportunity to spend some time with another adult. "Let's just get out of here."
Stella exchanged smiles with Chloe, who triumphantly followed the Mulder brood out of the house. Once the front door slammed behind them, Scully asked her guest whether she would like to have some tea.
"That would be lovely. I have to say, it's nice to get out of the house. Hank's painting today, and Chloe has done an admirable job of not helping him," Stella commented, resting her hand on her stomach. "Common sense dictated that father and daughter take a bit of a break from each other."
Once the hot water boiled, the women carried their drinks into the living room. "Nathan, can you say thank you to Ms. Pollack for the balloon?" Scully asked, a bit concerned that Nathan had been so quiet.
"No," called out a muffled voice from under the confines of the fort, which consisted of blankets hanging from the sides of the couch and an arm chair, and a stack of pillows that surrounded the furniture.
Scully bit back a smile as she approached the front flap. "Can I please come in?"
"Okay," Nathan dramatically sighed. "But I want Daddy and the park."
Scully peeled the blanket back, unveiling an exhausted Nathan who was clutching his balloon with his uninjured hand, with Woofy settled on his lap. "What do you say to Ms. Pollack?"
"Thank you," Nathan softly said, his eyes drooping. Scully stealthily rearranged some of the pillows to make it easier for Nathan to rest his arm.
"Are you tired, monkey?"
Nathan shook his head with a fierce look on his face; he was always his most stubborn when he was tired. "Are you okay playing trains with Woofy while we sit here?" Nathan sleepily nodded with heavy eyes, turning his attention to his toys.
"Chloe has been a good friend to Kyle," Scully noted as she sat down. "She's a breath of fresh air, along with others."
"That's nice to hear," responded Stella with a tight smile, a faraway look on her face. "She's going through kind of tough time right now, and those kids have meant everything to her. I don't want to imagine how things would be if she didn't have them."
"Eleven is a difficult age," agreed Scully, wondering whether she was qualified to make such a statement after only seven months of experience. "Especially for an only child adjusting to new siblings."
"Is it alright if I ask you how it's been with Kyle? I mean, I know that we only just met, but I really don't have anyone who is a stepparent to an eleven-year-old to ask these questions," Stella asked, choosing her words carefully.
"Most of the time they aren't in each other's orbits," shrugged Scully, setting down her tea. "Both Will and Nathan look up to him, and he's been pretty patient with Will so far, but Nathan's in the terrible twos stage, so that's been a bit more difficult. The family therapist we've been seeing says it's not unusual, and he keeps reminding us that everything is a process. But Chloe keeps talking about her new little brother, and she seems very excited."
Stella rolled her eyes. "That's what everyone keeps telling us," she grimaced. "Before we knew the sex of the baby, a few months ago, we had my two-year-old niece stay with us for a few days. Chloe was very excited and insisted on having the baby stay in her room instead of ours, and the first day was fine. Then the baby wakes up at night, crying. Hank gets her to calm down, and calls her his favorite little girl. Chloe just couldn't handle it, and had a meltdown; she was hysterical, and I-we just felt powerless. She just cried and wouldn't talk, tried to lock herself in her room. We ended up asking Hank's sister to come over, and thankfully, Chloe just spilled everything, she calmed down, and then Chloe spent the rest of the weekend at her place. Hank just felt so guilty, he was devastated, I was paralyzed. We were originally not going to find out whether we are going to have a boy or a girl, but after that, we felt we needed to, in order to help prepare Chloe. But since that weekend, Chloe has kind of ignored her father. He wants to spend a lot of quality time with her now, before the baby arrives, so it's been hard for him. This baby means a lot to us...I had a miscarriage a couple of years ago, which Chloe doesn't know about, and for Hank and myself, well, we just got our second chance, but it's hard to be happy when we know Chloe is in such pain."
Stella took a long sip of tea. "Wow, it must be the hormones. I usually never talk about this kind of thing."
"No, please don't be embarrassed," Scully pleaded. "I-it's been different for me, for us-I've never had to go through what you did. But I understand, or at least I think I do. I was told that I would never have children, so Will and Nathan...it's our miracle. And I've seen Mulder struggle with the fact that his relationship with Kyle is different, and will always be different from that with the other two. And sometimes when I'm with the younger kids, and I look up and see Kyle, he just has this spacey look on his face, like he doesn't quite know where he fits in, and it's really hard to see that. Mulder and I keep telling each other that we can't get too wrapped up in the past, in things that can't be changed. As I've said, we've been working with a therapist, someone who Kyle really likes. He sees Kyle each week, and the three of us met with him a few days ago, and it was incredibly difficult, but afterwards, I just knew that because we made it this far, it's going to be okay. It's going to be a slow process, but we'll get there."
"That might be something we should look at," Stella mused, running her hands through her blonde hair. "Things have been start-and-stop for Hank and I. Chloe has always been our foremost concern, and we tip-toed around her; looking back, maybe too much so. We finally got settled into our new place a couple of weeks ago, and now it feels like all of this chaos is happening at once, but it actually took us nearly two years from our initial decision to move in together. We hit every roadblock imaginable-contractor issues, then a flood thanks to our upstairs neighbors that took months to clean up, and during that whole time, Chloe was so impatient for us to move. That first night all three of us were at our new place, she just couldn't stop crying. We asked her what's wrong, and she said that everything was different, things would never be the same and that she missed home."
Scully winced, thinking about her concern that Kyle did not feel at home in Georgetown, not realizing the transparency of her facial expressions. "I take it you've had a similar conversation?" Stella carefully prompted, unsure about how much more her new friend would want to share with a near stranger.
"Sort of," Scully attempted to explain. "I think it's not so much him thinking about New York, as it is the quality time alone he and his father used to share. They have a special bond. It's always hardest when Mulder gets home from a trip, especially when his brothers are clamoring all over him."
A few hours later, as they cleaned up the kitchen after lunch, Mulder asked her, "Be honest, Scully. Did I throw you in the lion's den this morning?" "No, we had a nice conversation," Scully answered, choosing her words carefully. "We have a lot in common, and she's by far and away the best parent I've met. So it's a nice try, but I'm not calling off Saturday's dinner."
Mulder laughed, leaning against the kitchen counter at an angle designed to invade her personal space as much as possible. "I didn't think you would, even if it were to just teach me a lesson. Do you think we may have found another set of parents to be actual friends with? Or have we dodged a bullet, and can safely be completely antisocial?"
Her lips curved into a smile, and she moved closer to him, a chill running up her spine when she heard the clatter of the utensils she dropped in the sink. She tried to avoid looking at the wall clock, knowing that no matter the time indicated, it wouldn't be enough for them to sneak away upstairs, or even to the office down the hall. "Do you feel like being antisocial tonight?"
He swallowed hard, his gaze centering on her lips. "I always like being antisocial with you," he said into her ear. "It's my favorite."
XXXXXX
Their interlude was short-lived; in ignoring the ringing phone, they only gained about thirty seconds of additional privacy before Hannah walked into the kitchen, with Kyle right behind her, handing Mulder the cordless handset. "It's your boss," she announced. Reluctantly, Mulder let go of his rather red faced partner, who slunk out of the room, but not before placing one last kiss on his Adam's apple.
Mulder managed to keep the conversation to a minimum, promising to both be on his best behavior the next day, as well as to show up to the formal announcement of the task force on time. Kersh assured him that there would be minimum fuss. "Can I bring someone?" Mulder asked on a whim; he knew that it went completely against his recent policy of keeping his personal life off the radar, but at the same time, he wanted Scully to be with him. Although this new task force reeked of opportunism on the part of the Bureau, his promotion was still tangentially rooted in the success he shared with Scully in their fieldwork.
"No, this is pretty much off the books. We'll get you out of there in less than ten minutes. It's more along the lines of a department heads meeting than a commendation ceremony," Kersch droned. "The Director has a busy schedule, so you better not hold anything up."
"You really haven't changed, Fox," Hannah clucked as Mulder turned off the phone and headed to the kitchen table, reaching for a cookie. "It's a good thing that I think Dana is perfect for you. Otherwise, you would be hearing me lecture."
"As opposed to what you are doing now?" Mulder grumpily muttered. It didn't matter that he was now an adult in his own home; having your nanny catch you making out with someone never ended well.
"You weren't much older than Kyle when I found you and Kristy Tur-"
"Stop it, don't finish that sentence," Mulder gagged. "I don't want to even think about-Kyle, stop laughing. It's not funny, goddamnit."
"Who was she?" Kyle rarely got a glimpse into his father's formative years, and was eager to hear anything that would provide some insight into his adolescence.
"No one," sulked Mulder. Hannah had warned him that afternoon fifteen years earlier that she would always remind him of that particular escaped, and she performed an admirable job in keeping that promise.
"Did you like her more than Mom?" Kyle asked, biting into an apple.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion for Mulder, as he looked up from the table and saw his son's hazel eyes challenging his own. "Of course not," he quickly-and firmly-answered. "I loved your mother."
"Really?" The eleven-year-old was taken aback by his father's response to his rather impulsive question. "You did?"
"Just because we weren't right for each other doesn't mean that we weren't happy at one time, Kyle. I'll always cherish the time your mom and I had together. I wouldn't change anything," Mulder continued, determined to be honest with his son. Hannah gave him an encouraging look as she left the kitchen.
"But you like Dana more, right?"
Mulder sat back, looking at his son intently. He chewed on his lip for a moment, carefully thinking about how he was going to answer the question, relying on both his training as a psychologist and his experience as a parent. What Kyle needed most was his reassurance that he was loved and was a part of the family they had created in Georgetown.
"I love Dana more than anything," Mulder leaned forward, trying to move as close to Kyle as possible. "But I'm not the same person I was back when I was with your mom, so it's not a real comparison. The bottom line, Kyle, is I never would have met Dana if it weren't for you."
Kyle looked down, nervously playing with his hands, his apple abandoned on the table. "What is it, bud?" Mulder gently asked, not wanting his son to retreat quite yet.
"Will you get mad if I ask you a question?" Kyle began, trying to work up the courage to ask him a question that had been niggling at him since his father explained his new job to him during breakfast that morning.
"Of course not. You always ask good questions," Mulder tried to inject a touch of humor in his voice.
"Mom said you got divorced because you worked all the time," Kyle started, his voice shaking slightly.
"That was a big part of it," Mulder agreed, wondering where the conversation was going; there had been a period of time, when Kyle was seven, when he would ask a lot of questions about his parents' divorce. He didn't even think that they had broached the subject since then.
"What happens if you work too much now?"
Mulder felt as though he had been punched in the stomach. It was not only an incredibly obvious question, but one that he hadn't expected at all. He thought about the past few weeks, and suddenly things began to click into place.
As those thoughts flew around his mind fast and furious, he found himself tongue tied. Maybe Kyle was afraid that their life in Georgetown wouldn't be permanent, that it was a mere layover like their summer on the Vineyard. Maybe he was wondering about whether there were any cracks in his relationship with Scully.
"I promise you, Kyle, I won't let that happen. Dana and I-"
But by the time he managed to look up and speak, he was alone in the kitchen, Kyle's half-eaten apple abandoned on the table.
XXXXXX
"What's wrong?"
Scully hadn't realized anyone was even in the kitchen when she first entered the room; the late afternoon sun had retreated, casting shadows in the room. She tightened her grip on Will, who was sitting on her hip, pointing to the refrigerator. It wasn't until she hit the light that she saw Mulder, spaced out at the table, looking out the window with a grim look on his face.
He looked just as startled to see her. "Nothing," he lied. However, he didn't fool his partner; she knew something was up, but also knew that sometimes Mulder had to let his thoughts percolate in his head before he shared them. And as much as she wanted to probe him further right then and there, she knew that she owed him the same courtesy he had been careful to afford her over the past several months as the case against her brother, and finally, the trial itself, had progressed.
Pull back with Mulder, push with Kyle, she silently reminded herself. What complicated communication dynamics there were among the three of them; at least they could be straightforward with the toddlers.
Lost in thought, Scully didn't realize that Mulder was relieving her of Will until she felt the baby kick her on her side. "I'll take over," Mulder quietly offered, tickling a still drowsy Will. Just like his mother, he always needed a few extra minutes to adjust to the waking world.
"Let me get the juice," Scully answered, brought back to reality. "Both of them woke up pretty thirsty. I'm worried about Nathan getting enough fluids."
As Mulder sat on the living room floor with Will, playing with his farm animal set, he thought about the two mothers of his children. He knew that eventually, they would have to confront the issue of Diana being Nathan's biological mother, but he pushed aside that particular thought for a later time. As he asked Will what sound the cow made, it struck him that his youngest son was now about the same age as Kyle when he had moved out of the home they had shared in Alexandria. As things broke down with Diana, he had found solace at the office, which fed into his workaholic tendencies, creating a vicious cycle that he really hadn't woken up from until well after he had met Scully. Just the prospect of splitting up with Scully made Mulder shudder. They had gone through so much to get where they were today that he couldn't imagine either of them wanting to calling it quits.
"Baa baa," Will sang to himself as Mulder passed him the sheep. As he began to wander away, Mulder leaned over to scoop him up, needing to keep him close for another moment longer.
"You know what, slugger? You are the best parts of your mommy and me. And that's something that no one else has," Mulder quietly explained to Will, hoping that no one, even Scully, would be able to overhear him.
XXXXXX
As Nathan was still out-of-sorts all afternoon, Mulder took the opportunity to hide out in his fort to try and cheer up the hurting toddler. Despite only having one good hand, Nathan had managed to move most of his toys under his blanket-tent, growing frustrated that there wasn't quite enough room to maneuver his trains. "Let's move some stuff over here, monkey," Mulder delicately suggested, reminding himself that bedtime was only an hour away.
"No!"
For a brief moment, Mulder felt that he owed Scully an apology for all of the times he had snapped at her for trying to get something-anything-from his desk. The times in which she needed a file, paperwork, or piece of research and was met with a disapproving growl and a dirty look were probably too numerous to mention. He ducked his head to glimpse her across the floor, watching Will build a tower of blocks.
"Daddy," Nathan whined, waving a Richard Scarry book.
"Do you think we should read this with Mommy and Will?" Mulder asked Nathan, who had earlier resisted the idea of sharing his patch of space with anyone but his father.
"No."
At least the kid was honest, thought Mulder.
"I think you'll have more fun if you read with Will," suggested Mulder, hoping that a few stories would coax both kids into going to sleep early. "Like when you share your toys, you have more games to play."
Mulder took Nathan's silence as a yes, and called out to Will to join them. He had to admit that it was rather cozy reading books with two pajama-clad toddlers who smelled of soap, a warm fire a few feet away, the flicker of its flames catching his eye every time he turned a page.
Although he had guessed that both boys were asleep by the time he read the book for a second time, Nathan's cry of 'more' prompted him to read it for a third, by which time he suspected that they had both fallen asleep. Not wanting to risk waking either of them, Mulder sat back against the couch, listening to their breathing, closing his own eyes.
XXXXXX
The look on Kyle's face as he entered the kitchen perplexed Scully. "What are you thinking?"
Kyle look taken aback by the question. "Nothing," he shrugged, not wanting to go into the conversation he had with his father earlier that day. "I have to take Bandit out, and Dad's sleeping."
"I'll walk with you," Scully offered, grateful that she would have a few moments alone with her stepson to try and gauge what he was thinking.
Kyle shrugged, relieved that he would at least be able to avoid his father for the time being.
One thing that Kyle appreciated about his stepmother was that she was unfussy. When his brothers weren't concerned, she was always able to get ready in only a couple of minutes, and with the exception of the morning school run, she never hurried him along. "How long is Hannah staying?" Kyle asked her as they walked down the street.
"I'm not sure," Dana responded, sticking her hands in her jacket pockets. She had only gone outside to take out the trash right after dinner, and even in the short amount of time since, the temperature had dropped considerably. "Probably a couple of weeks. So she'll have time to make all your favorites."
Kyle gave a small smile. "I just like having her around," he explained, tugging on Bandit's leash.
"I agree," agreed Scully. "I've really missed her too. And I've only known her for a few months. You've known her your entire life."
Kyle nodded, unsure of what to say until he finally decided to change the subject completely. By the time they walked back to the townhouse, they were engrossed in a friendly argument about the possibility of the Exorcist ghost still haunting their neighborhood. Neither of them noticed the figure on the stoop who curtly interrupted their conversation by sneering, "What the fuck is going on?"
XXXXXX
"Karen," Scully held her breath as she realized her sister-in-law was in front of them, a suitcase at her side. She shouldn't have been surprised that Karen had arrived at their home unannounced, but the events of the past few days had left her whiplashed and unable to think straight. "It's good to see you."
"You're lying," Karen quickly answered. "Don't try arguing with me, Dana. You are a terrible liar."
"Can you please bring Karen's suitcase up to the guest room on the third floor?" Scully asked her stepson. "We'll be there in a minute."
Kyle grabbed the suitcase and hurried into the house, eager to be out of Karen's firing range. Although he did not dislike his aunt, he found her to be incredibly difficult.
As soon as Scully was satisfied that Kyle was out of an earshot, she said, "I don't know what's going on, Karen. Honestly, I don't know any more than what he wrote in that note."
"Who the fuck is that woman Charlie ran off with?" spat Karen, her tears dropping fast and furious. "Were they having an affair? I don't know what to think anymore, Dana."
XXXXXX
"I hope to God Karen never finds out that it was me who introduced them," Mulder whispered in Scully's ear as he left for work. Karen was sulking in the living room, obviously hungover from the Ambien-and-whiskey cocktail she had made herself the previous evening, before Scully confiscated her medication and hid the alcohol.
Despite throwing him a look that he took to mean she didn't find his comment funny, she leaned in for a kiss. "Good luck," she murmured.
"So this is how you wish me luck in front of the kids?" Mulder whispered, referring to the fact that she had taken advantage of the fact that she was the first one up fora change, waking him up for some leisurely morning sex mere hours after their last coupling. "I wish you were going to be there. It's not going to be the same without you."
Scully nodded, not trusting herself to speak. He deserved this promotion; it had not been lost on her that the only time Mulder had not been climbing the Bureau ladder was during the tenure of their partnership. "I wish I was going to be there too," she truthfully admitted.
Two hours later, Mulder was cooling his heels outside of Kersh's office, hoping that the meeting wouldn't take too long. He was eager to get the formalities over and done with, meet his team, and then figure out what the hell he was doing in the privacy of his own office instead of a busy corridor on the tenth floor. After Kersh's assistant motioned for him to enter the conference room, he was caught completely off guard by the sound and sight of camera flashes and the smattering of applause.
He had been set up.
And he felt like an idiot for believing Kersh's line the previous afternoon about this particular meeting not being a press conference.
He clenched his jaw and planted his feet on the floor, drawing on his nearly forty years of New England WASP manners, politely smiling when the Director nodded his way, and eagerly shaking the hands of the Director, several assistant directors, and the other members of his unit. To his disappointment, the Director continued to share remarks with the press while everyone was still assembled at the front of the room, and a jolt of shock registered through him when he was asked to approach the podium.
To his embarrassment, the Director summed up his early success with the Behavioral Sciences Unit, then glossed through his work on the X-Files, not mentioning the division by its name, instead focusing on Mulder's high solve rate. Just as Mulder thought the Director was winding down his remarks, the older man took it in an unexpected direction. "Special Agent Fox Mulder has been indispensable in closing old cases that others have given up hope of ever solving. His work on the Bedford case is only one example of his talent…"
The pounding of his heart in his chest drowned out the rest of the Director's speech. He swallowed hard, livid that the Bureau had decided to out his involvement with the case—without his consent—as a preemptive measure to being otherwise scooped by the media. It would only be a matter of hours before his partner's name would be connected to the case.
As much as he wanted to storm out of the press conference right then and there, never to return to the Hoover Building, he knew that he was trapped until the meeting's bitter end. Once the Director would finish his talk, there would be another round of handshaking and back-slapping, all to be documented by the press, a dimension of Bureau protocol that Mulder had always hated. As the formalities progressed, Mulder's anxiety grew by leaps and bounds, and by the time he shook his third hand, he didn't much care if an early exit from the room would be frowned upon, so-to-speak.
When he stuck out his hand for the fourth time, Mulder felt completely overpowered. He wasn't able to get a good look at the man whose hand he was shaking, and he felt overpowered by his husky voice. "As long as we are able to keep tabs on you here, Agent Mulder," the stranger said. "You won't have to worry about your sister's safety. Remember, that offer ends as soon as you submit your resignation. We look forward to your continued service with the Bureau."
Mulder stiffened, dazed as the man disappeared into the sea of suits swarming the room. A familiar buzzing emanated from his inner jacket pocket. After fumbling for his phone, he was met with a familiar voice. "It's Charlie. I found something, but you can't tell Dana."