A/N: Hey, guys! Sorry for not posting yesterday. I ended up getting stuck at the DMV all day (all for a twenty minute appointment, too). This chapter, as you will notice, is almost twice as long as the normal updates. Yes, this is the scene you've all been waiting for! I hope it lives up to your expectations.
XXXXX
[Maggie Scully's House
Bethesda, Maryland
Thursday, 9:56 AM]
"Mom, it's us!," Scully called from the doorway as she carried Jacob inside the house, with Em holding onto her right hand; Michelle was trailing behind her with Bella and Peter.
Maggie came out of the kitchen and walked through the living room to greet them. "Hi, guys. You're right on time. Come on, breakfast is all ready."
She led them through to the patio in the backyard, where she had her large patio table set up for the eight of them. As they sat down, Maggie noticed that an extra chair that was empty. "Where's Fox?," Maggie inquired. She was determined to weasel any information that she could out of them today, without actually directly asking about future children.. or the locked room. 'I want to know what they're hiding in that room.' Late last night, on her drive back, Maggie had decided that Fox was right- they would have told her if Dana was pregnant already; so, she didn't have her mind set on that… Well, mostly…. she still was planning in using that same line of questioning with Dana. On one hand, she really wanted to know… On the other, well, she just liked to watch them both squirm a little bit.
After half an hour of Dana asking Bella and Peter about what they liked, how school was going, what their favorite subjects were.. before Maggie finally changed the subject. "Dana?," she asked innocently as she wiped a bit of jam off of Jacob's cheek.
"Hmm?" Scully answered noncommittally, as she was staring down longingly at, yet another, whipped cream covered waffle that was sitting in front of her. 'Definitely Mulder's children,' she mumbled quietly to herself before taking a long sip of her water. Luckily, no one heard her.
Maggie took another bite of her food before continuing, "Fox said that you guys haven't really talked about when you're going to have more children. Us that true?"
Scully started choking on her water. Michelle chuckled under her breath at her reaction, but became silent (almost immediately) upon seeing the death glare that Scully sent her way. After a minute or so, Scully was finally able to catch her breath.
"Are you okay, Dana?," Maggie asked with fake concern. "Sounds like I caught you by surprise there." She smiled innocently.
Wiping her mouth with a napkin, Scully answered her. "No, mom.. not at all.. We, um, decided to… leave it completely up to God and his timing." Scully folded her hands in her lap and did her best not to look guilty. 'It's not a complete lie… we definitely did leave it up to His timing… it just happened sooner than we thought.. a lot sooner than we thought,' she internally commented to herself. She really didn't like lying to her mother, even if it was by omission.
Maggie beamed at her. That wasn't at all what she had been expecting her daughter to say. "That's wonderful, dear." She took a bite of her food. "So, that means we might be getting another baby soon?," Maggie asked hopefully. Just because she convinced herself that they weren't already pregnant, didn't necessarily mean that she wasn't still holding out hope, for now or at some point this year or the next.
Scully couldn't help herself. She looked up and met Maggie's eyes, blue reflecting into blue. "Yeah. Maybe soon, mom." She smiled brightly, earning one from Maggie in return, as well.
Maggie clapped her hands together. "Ooh, that will be so exciting! Ugh, I can't wait!"
Scully let her thoughts drift. 'You won't have to wait much longer, mom. Hopefully only a few more hours, actually…' she silently mused to herself. "We can't wait either, mom." Scully leaned over and ruffled Jacob's hair. "We want as many of these little guys as we can get, now that we can actually have them."
XXXXX
[Air and Space Museum
600 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC
Thursday, 1:45 PM]
Ring. Ring. Ring.
Scully looked at her phone. "Hey Michelle can you watch the kids for a second? It's Mulder calling," she whispered. She didn't want to interrupt the "Story Time" that the kids were sitting in on. Today's topic was about the planetary system; and like true spawn of 'Fox and Dana: the science nerds', Em and Jacob were completely enamored by the presentation.
Nodding in response to the question, Michelle motioned with her hands for Dana to shoo away and go talk to 'her man' (or so she had so eloquently put it earlier this morning).
Scully pressed the answer button so it ringing and stepped out of the private room. "Hey babe, how's our project comin' along?"
Mulder cackled loudly from the other end of the line. "Babe?," he asked questioningly, still laughing at her coin of term.
"Yes, babe. Mulder," she sighed with a smile. "I thought I'd try it out. It sounds all nice and cute in my head… But then I said it out loud… And now I feel stupid because it doesn't fit and it sounds juvenile. We're not juvenile."
His laughter had slowly dwindled while she was speaking her piece. "I'm all for trying out nicknames, but you're right; that one did sound off. It doesn't match us."
"No, it didn't.. Oh, well. Now we'll have to move on and try other ones, I guess."
"Whatever you say sweetie," he crooned.
"Gross, Mulder."
"This is never going to work if you keep shooting them all down, Scully."
"Oh, come on. You know you agree with me. Besides, can you really blame a girl for not liking any of them when you already call her honey and Scully? I'm kind of partial to those two at the moment."
"Don't forget about 'mommy and daddy', either. We won't grow out of those for the rest of our lives."
She could practically feel his smile through the phone. "Well, now I'll never get tired of that set."
"Me neither, honey." He waited a second before speaking again. "So, how's today going? Have you spilled the beans on accident, yet? How are the kids? I really miss you guys. It's awful lonely, not being around you-"
"Woah, woah, woah. Slow down there, buddy. I can tell you've missed us. We've missed you, too. I can't tell you how sad I am that you're not here to see how excited the kids keep getting over all of the space and science related things. Jacob loves all of the things that look like rockets; and Em keeps gravitating towards all of the planet, stars, and astronaut stuff… They're so similar to us, Mulder." She took a deep breath and moved towards the gift shop, needing something to hold so she could calm her fidgeting hands. "As for me giving away the news… I don't think she suspects anything. Although, Michelle did have to cover for me when I had to throw my breakfast back up… and a few hours later, my lunch…That reminds me, did you tell my mother that we didn't talk about having more children?"
She heard a small crash sound over the line.
"Mulder?"
"Yeah, I'm here. I just dropped something. I, uh, she came up to me last night, while you were still asleep. She kept asking me questions about 'when are you having more kids?', 'do you think you'll have any more soon?', and 'have you guys talked about having more?'... and I couldn't even look at her without knowing that I would give it away, so I just got out of the conversation as quickly as I could." He hesitated slightly. "You're not mad, are you?"
Scully could hear the apprehension in his voice. He was afraid that he'd accidentally pissed her off. "No, I'm not mad, Mulder," she breathed airily. "She asked me the same things this morning." Suddenly, a thought came to her. "You don't think she's onto us do you?"
"I don't know, maybe? I guess we'll find out tonight based off of how shocked she seems."
Scully couldn't help the excitement that was beginning to rise in her chest. "So the surprises are all set, then?"
"Yeah. yeah, they are. That's actually why I was calling you, to let you know that everything is good, and that you guys can come back anytime you want to."
"Mulder?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. I'm excited."
"You don't have to thank me, Scully. I want this just as badly as you do."
"I know," she giggled. "I just still can't believe that all of this is real; and that it's all really happening."
"Me neither, Scully. Me neither…"
XXXXX
[Mulder-Scully Residence
Mclean, Virginia
Thursday, 3:57 PM]
"Okay, guys!" Scully said as she unlocked and opened the door, allowing everyone to filter into the quiet house. "Let me go get Daddy and then we can take you to see the first surprise. Stay right here."
Scully quickly made her was up to their bedroom, figuring that was most likely where he was. "Mulder?" She called for him as she opened the door.
He was sleeping. Not just sleeping, though; he was full-on passed out in his jeans and tee shirt, on top of the covers, in the middle of the bed, his limbs spread out as if her were a starfish.
She giggled at his appearance. Walking over towards the bed, she bent down and kissed his forehead, while gently smoothing her hand repeatedly over his floppy brown hair. "Mulder," she called softly. She kisses him lightly on the lips. "Honey, we're home," she said against his lips, a little louder this time. She continued to run her hand through his hair, even as he began to stir awake.
"Hmm?," he grumbled sleepily, as he turned over onto his right side, towards her body.
She sat down on the edge of the bed. "Mulder, we're back. It's time to show the kids their surprise."
His eyes blinked open slowly. "Hi," she whispered softly, his hand coming up to caress her cheek.
"Hi," Scully repeated back to him. She leaned in for one more kiss before grabbing both of his hands and pulling him upwards until he was in a sitting position. "C'mon my handy-dandy-man. Come show off all of your hard work." She dragged his still half-asleep self down the stairs and to the front door, where everyone was still patiently waiting for them.
"Alright, kids. Follow us for your surprise," Scully directed them. She lead them through the living room, kitchen, and over to the back door. She slid it open and stepped outside. "Okay, here it is! Now, make sure to tell daddy thank you, he spent all day putting this together for you guys!"
Both Mulder and Scully watched as all four of the kids gasped. There was a gigantic swingset and playground structure set up about twenty or thirty yards away from the edge of the grass.
"Woahhh!," they all chorused together.
Em was the first one to speak after their initial reaction. "It's like a park in our own 'ah-ard'!," she said, sounding completely dazed and mesmerized by the huge wood and metal structure. "Thank you, Daddy!" She snapped out of it and jumped into into Mulder's arms, giving him a heartfelt hug.
After he set her back down on the ground, he whispered something in her ear. Em nodded in understanding and turned towards Scully. "Thank you for picking it out, Mommy." She said a little more quietly, as she came up and reached her arms upward, wanting a hug from her mom, too.
"Oh, you're welcome, baby!" Scully said as she cradled Em's head with one arms, using the other to hold her up. She kissed the side of her head and set her down. "Okay, now go play with your cousins and brother and test it out." Em, Bella, and Peter all raced towards the play structure. Michelle, who was holding Jacob, looked over at Scully as she squeezed her arm. "Will you stay out here with them for a bit? We want to tell mom, now."
Michelle smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "Of course." She watched as the kids all took their time trying out each feature on the swing set. "Good luck," she added.
Scully gave her a small, closed-mouth smile in return. "We'll be back in a few minutes." After their appointment yesterday, Scully had wanted to include Michelle in on the reveal. But after she thought about it more, the more she wanted to tell her mom alone. Just Maggie, herself, and Mulder. It made it more special that way. Plus, someone had to keep an eye on the kids.
She turned to Maggie. "Hey, mom. Why don't you come inside for a minute? There's something we want to show you.."
Maggie's ears perked up. 'What is this about?' She couldn't imagine what possible thing they could have to show her…. Unless it had something to do with that locked door upstairs… 'Maybe,' she thought.
Scully grabbed Mulder's hand as the three of them walked inside. She met his eyes, silently asking him to go get the ultrasound picture out of her purse. He nodded understandingly and leaned in to kiss her cheek. He disentangled his hand from hers and detoured into the kitchen to grab it.
Mulder caught back up with them just as they were nearing the top of the stairs.
"Dana, what is all this about?" He heard Maggie ask Scully as he approached them. "What could you possibly have to show me?" Mulder couldn't tell if she was genuinely confused as to what they were about to tell her.. or rather show her… or if she was just a really good actress. 'It could be either.'
Scully tested the doorknob to make sure it was unlocked. It was. She carefully opened the door slightly. It wasn't enough to see inside, but it was definitely enough to get the adrenaline flowing in all three of their veins.
Scully grabbed Mulder's hand, again, and wordlessly opened the door completely, without answering her mother's questions. She motioned for Maggie to walk inside the room. They followed in after her and awaited her reaction.
Maggie slowly made her way to the center of the room. She was shocked. She didn't know what to think. Inside the room, was a crib, a changing table, a dresser, a rocking chair, and a diaper bin. Everything was made out of matching oak wood, except for the diaper bin, of course- that was plastic. She spun around and looked at Fox and Dana.
Fox was standing behind Dana, leaning against the wall that was next to the closet, with his arms wrapped around her daughter's small frame. His hands were resting on her stomach. Dana's hands were resting on top of his. They were both smiling like mad. It finally all clicked together in Maggie's head.
Mulder and Scully watched as Maggie's face registered her comprehension. They were expecting a quiet, happy reaction from her when she figured it out. As it turns out, they were only half right. Maggie squealed loudly and started dancing in place. "Ooooh! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!" She jolted forward and enveloped Scully in a tight bear hug. She resumed her squealing as she pulled away. Maggie moved Dana away from Fox and pulled his head down so she could kiss both of his cheeks. She gave him an identical hug, as well. Mulder and Scully giggled contently at her reaction.
Maggie pulled away from Fox and walked over towards the crib. It was all set up with little yellow sheets that had ducks on it. There were similarly themed stuffed animals set up in the corner of the crib. "Oh, I'm so happy for you two!" She fingered the fabric of one of the baby blankets. "Wow, another baby. Another grandbaby!" She sighed giddily.
"Mom," Scully commandeered her mother's attention. "There's more…"
Maggie looked at Mulder and Scully with a bewildered expression as they walked over to the far side of the room, where there were a bunch of sheets- covering what she assumed to be leftover furniture from the move.
She watched as they both pulled the sheet that was furthest to the left, in the corner of the room. Maggie gasped. It was another oak crib. She looked up questioningly at both of their faces. "T-Two?," she asked softly, almost as if she was afraid that she would be wrong if she said it too loudly.
Scully shook her head 'no', leaving her mother very confused. 'Why would they have two cribs if they weren't having twins?' They approached the other sheet. What Maggie saw when they lifted the sheet away caused her eyes to tear up. She needed to sit down. She backed up and plopped down into the rocking chair. It all made sense now; and she just couldn't believe it. "Dana? Fox?," she croaked out, with the sound of tears heavily lacing her tone of voice as she spoke. "Th- Three? Triplets? Are you having triplets?!" She held up three fingers to demonstrate her question.
She saw the huge ear-to-ear grins that spread out over both of their faces. Their smiles were so big that it looked like it might physically hurt if they tried to smile any wider.
"Yeah, mom." Scully couldn't contain her happiness and excitement anymore. Her mom's reaction was making her feel extra emotional. She took a few steps towards Maggie and held three fingers up, mimicking her mom's hand gesture. "We're having three." Her hand drifted down towards her stomach. She felt Mulder walk up behind her, placing his hand on her back in 'his spot', for comfort.
Maggie burst out into tears. "Come here," she sobbed out. She held her arms out. Scully kneeled down on the ground in front of the chair and leaned into her mother's arms. She held Maggie while she cried, knowing that eventually the tears would stop and that she would want to talk more and ask them questions about their newest little miracles. Mulder sat awkwardly next to Scully, on the side of the rocking chair.
Around five minutes later, Maggie finally began to sniffle as her tears lessened. She leaned back and sat up straight, pulling her face away from Scully's shoulder, where her face had been resting. She looked over at Fox. "Triplets? Really?"
Both of them grinned and nodded. "Would you like to see the ultrasound pictures, Maggie?," Mulder asked her shyly.
Scully looked lovingly over at him. She found it adorable that now would be the time for him to feel apprehensive and self-conscious.
Maggie nodded eagerly. "Yes. Yes, I want to see them, please." She swiped furiously at her eyes, trying to get all of the moisture away from them so that she could see the pictures more clearly.
Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled the black and white piece of photostock. He silently handed it to her.
She ran her fingertips gently over the picture. "Oh, my God," she breathed, feeling new tears threatening to make an appearance. "Ohhh, I'm so happy," she pulled Scully into another hug and then reached back over for Mulder, giving him another one, too. Once she was sitting back in her seat again, still gazing at the picture, she asked, "How far along are you?"
Scully giggled. She couldn't wait to see the surprised look on her mother's face when she realized how far along she actually was. "Nine weeks, mom."
Maggie's head shot up to look at her daughter. "Nine?," she inquired dubiously.
Scully stood up, causing Mulder and Maggie to both to stand up, as well. She nodded. "Yes, mom. Nine."
Maggie looked back and forth between Fox and her daughter as she tried to do the math in her head. Once she got it, she smiled secretively and looked up at Mulder. "Well done, Fox," she said proudly as she patted him on the shoulder.
Scully and Maggie both laughed as they watched Mulder fold his hands behind his back and look down at the ground. He was rocking forwards and backwards, from the balls of his feet to his heels. His ears were tinged bright red.
Maggie turned around and gave them both, yet another, hug. "Thank you. This is the best surprise I've ever gotten."