Family Time
Even though she had slept pretty much all day, all she really wanted to do was go to bed. Instead she changed into her bathing suit and headed out to the pool with the kids. Mulder was taking a quick shower before joining them. He always needed to shower when they had been away for cases. It rejuvenated him, and helped clear the drive from his mind.
They had both agreed it would be best to let Walter know they were overnighting in a town full of vampires. They'd wait for a more appropriate time though. Now was for spending a little down time with the kids. Her heart catches in her throat as she watches Maggie slathering Melissa with sun screen.
"You are most definitely like the Captain, like the Scully's!" Maggie exclaims.
"Grandma, do you think Ahab would have loved me and Will if things were different?" Melissa asked suddenly.
"Oh your grandfather would have loved you right off the bat, kiddo." Maggie replied. "You would have wormed him around your finger the same way your mother did, when she was a baby."
"Would he have liked my dad?" Melissa asked softly.
"I think he would have loved your dad, your grandfather always told your mother that the right man for her was the man who would follow her to the ends of the earth, and your dad has done that. Why he went all the way to Antarctica to save her one time you know." Maggie told her.
"Really?" Melissa asks shocked.
"Yes, really and there was a time when your mom had been abducted and in my heart I truly felt she was gone from us, but your dad kept searching, and searching he refused to give up on her. I was afraid for him then, afraid of what would happen to him if she wasn't returned." Maggie tells her.
"Wow, then that's what I want!" She exclaims. "When I am older, and looking for a husband I want the guy who will chase me to the ends of the earth. He's gotta be just like my dad!"
"I think your dad will agree with you there. Okay honey, your covered go get wet." Maggie tells her. Melissa didn't need a second telling she ran and jumped into the deep side of the pool. When she surfaced her red curls were plastered down and she began looking around for her errant twin.
Her face broke into a huge smile as she saw Dana walk over and sit in front of Maggie who was now slathering her with back with sunscreen. The two women are talking softly and it's very tempting to listen in, but she promised Uncle Charlie she would stop listening when she wasn't invited. Instead she calls out to Will.
'Hey, little brother where are you? Hurry up!' She called.
'Gimme a second I'm talking with Billy.' He replied.
'About what? We're fine here.'
'Uh food dummy, did you feel moms reaction when I mentioned Chaco Fried chicken?'
'Yeah that was really weird. So what's Billy going to do?'
'He's about seven miles away, he's going to have some of his friends bring us I get back to placing the food order?'
'Sure, fine, whatever! Just make sure there's one extra bacon, extra…'
'crispy, I know Melissa shheeesssshhh!'
She breaks the link with her brother and smiles when she sees her father sneaking up behind her mother. Her mother lets out a squeal as Mulder scoops her up and begins walking very determinedly to the edge of the pool. "Put me down Mulder!" She exclaims. "Please Mulder put me down!"
"Okay Doc, whatever you say." He replies as he holds her out over the edge of the pool.
"Mulder, don't please!" Scully's wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.
"Do you really think I would do that to you?" He asks innocently. She's about to answer when he jumps into the center of the pool. The water splashing up on the sides, and waves pushing Melissa away; they both rise to the surface laughing.
Maggie is laughing along with everyone else who is in the pool. Melissa hears a mans laughter coming from behind Maggie and looks to see who it is. Her eyes widen in surprise when she sees the spirit of Captain Scully standing behind Maggie. His hand on her shoulder, unconsciously Maggie's hand cover's it.
'Grandpa?' Melissa asks in disbelief. He taps the side of his head reminding her he can't speak to her telepathically. She climbs out of the pool and heads towards Maggie. She sits down next to her so that she can have a covert conversation with her Grandfather.
"Are you gonna come in Grandma?" She asks Maggie. "I really think you it'll help you relax, sleep better tonight." Melissa informs her.
"I think your right, I'll be right back. I'll go change." Maggie tells her.
"So your my granddaughter?" Ahab asks laughingly.
"Yep, and the funny looking kid who just came to the pool wearing the blue swim trunks is my twin brother William." She tells him.
"And my Starbuck is your mother?" He asks.
"Yep, I'm named after Aunt Melissa, Will is named after our other Grandfather, but it could also include you cause you're a William too!" She tells him.
"I know, so what did you want to ask me Melissa Hope?"
She looks at him from the corner of her eye, "I'm not sure what you mean Grandpa." She tells him confused.
"Well you must have had a very important question to ask me, for me to be here." he answers.
"I wanted to know if you would have liked my dad, or would you hate him like Uncle Bill does. Uncle Bill blames dad for a lot stuff that's happened since you left." She informs him.
"Do you mean would I have pulled out all my guns, and gear and threaten your dad like I used to threaten Aunt Missy's boyfriends?" He laughs.
"What?" She almost squeals.
He starts laughing, "ask your grandmother about it tonight. But as far as your mom's concerned I couldn't have chosen a better man for her myself. Why your dad, he loves her mind more than any other thing about her. He respects the fact that she is not only a beautiful woman, but intelligent too. When she first joined the FBI, I looked at it as if she were rebelling against me. Turning her back on what could have been a promising career in medicine. Then she went off to the Arctic with your dad, on a case. When she came back I could tell something was different about her. I couldn't put my finger on it exactly. Until your father showed up at my door while your mom and grandma were out shopping.
November 1993
Captain Scully is sitting in his favorite chair reading the paper. The house is quiet Maggie and Dana are out shopping and having lunch. Time to catch up now that she works for the FBI, at first he was upset about her decision to join after they recruited her straight from medical school. But his pride won out in the end. His daughter a FBI agent. He wonders if Maggie would get upset if he tried cooking a nice quiet dinner for them. The last time ended up with the fire department being called.
The bell rings and he glances at his watch. They weren't expecting any company, so he wonders who it could be. He puts the paper down and goes to the door. When he opens it, he sees a young man shifting restlessly from foot to foot. He looks as if he's about to run away.
"Can I help you, son?" he asks softly. He doesn't want to spook the guy.
"I'm looking for Captain William Scully, retired naval." The kid stammers.
"I'm Captain Scully, how can I help you?"
"My name is Fox Mulder and I work for the FBI…"
"My youngest daughter works for the FBI, is there a problem son?"
"Uh no, no, no problems I'm your daughters partner Sir."
"Come on in out of the cold son, I'm not paying to heat the outdoors." He invites him in. He watches the man carefully as he takes in the appearance of the room, clean, meticulous, everything in its place. "May I ask what this is about son?"
"Uh yeah, okay look I want you to know that your daughters in a very dangerous job." He blurts out.
"Let's go sit in the other room, would you like coffee, tea, a beer?" He asks.
"A beer would be great thank you." Mulder answers.
"Go sit in the living room, I'll be right back." He tells Mulder as he heads off to the kitchen. He grabs a couple of beers from the fridge and heads back into the living room. He's not sure what Dana's partner wants, but he'll know by the time the man leaves. "So what is this all about Agent Mulder?" He asks as he comes back and hands him a beer. "Are you threatening my daughters safety in the bureau?"
"Oh God no!" He exclaims. He watches as Mulder takes a deep draw off the beer closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "Let me restart please?" Mulder almost pleads.
"Take your time son, Maggie and Dana are out shopping now, Dana said something about not having the right clothes for the case you two just came back from and asked her mom if she'd like to go shopping and for a late lunch. I don't expect them back for at least another four hours." He tells him.
"Dana and I work in a division called The X-Files sir, we investigate and try to validate those cases that have been deemed unsolvable, or were never investigated to begin with. Quite a few of them deal with the paranormal, cryptozoology…"
"Science fiction fairy tales, huh?" Captain Scully interrupts.
"I guess that's a new spin on it, but yes." Mulder informs him.
"Like that case from Okobogee" He asks. Mulder looks at him startled. "Dana didn't go into a lot of detail, but it perplexed her greatly that the girls blood work showed some similar anomalies as certain government employees." He tells him.
"Yes, that's true." Mulder answers before taking another swig from the beer.
"Hold on son, is it considered classified? Would you be able to give me some details?" He asks.
"Well a young lady disappeared on a family camping trip, Dana and I went down to investigate it. The girl had been missing for about a month. We did eventually find her. When we found her she was confused and disoriented, she believed the date was the same night she had disappeared. Medical testing showed anomalies in her blood work, anomalies experienced by astronauts in space. the anomalies are caused by extended periods of weightlessness sir."
"So who ever took this girl kept her in either an anti-gravity chamber, or she was taken by a UFO is what you're saying?" He asks seriously.
"No, it's what her blood work revealed, that was the proof."
"Uhuh. Mr. Mulder do you know who Jack Scully is?"
"I've heard of him, he's an author he wrote a book about UFO's."
"Jack was my younger brother, it was his belief in extraterrestrial life that got Dana interested in science. The only things my daughter has ever taken on faith is family and the church. Anything else you have to give her good solid hard evidence to get her to believe. Sometimes even then with the evidence right in her face will she still not believe."
"Sir, I came here tonight because as Dana's partner, and knowing her, getting to know her. I couldn't not let you know just how dangerous this job really is, I'm not threatening her. It's just a fact I came here to state. This last case we worked on in the Arctic, we found an unknown pathogen."
"What do you mean an unknown pathogen?"
"We came across a parasite, a deadly parasite. It causes the host to behave in a manner contrary to their normal behavior. It survived in a hibernate state deep in the ice of the arctic. Exposure to the air caused it to come out of hibernation and a few of our party were infected."
"Were you and Dana exposed to the parasite? Were you infected?"
"No, but there was a close call. I realized tonight, that I owed it to you sir, from one man to another… that I had to let you know I will do everything I can to make sure your daughter is protected out there in the field."
"Son, I know that you're her partner. That's what you do, you look out for one another."
"No Captain Scully. I'm more than her partner. I count her as…" Captain Scully watches the emotions cross Mulders' face and realizes the boy has fallen in love with his daughter, he just hasn't admitted it to himself yet.
"A friend? Or something more serious?" He asks suddenly. The blush tells him all but he ignores it.
"I don't want you to think that Dana isn't a capable field agent because she is. She's more than capable. I just wanted, needed you to understand that I don't respect her any less, for being a woman in a predominately male world. I respect her more for it. She is amazingly brilliant and makes me work my ass off for any conclusion I've come to on the cases we've worked together so far. I've never had anyone make me work so hard for anything, than she does." He tells him.
"So you like her, and you respect her, and you came to tell me you'll protect her?" Ahab asks. It's finally dawned on him that Fox Mulder is asking permission to be more than a coworker to his daughter.
"Something like that. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come here. Could you do me a favor and not let Dana know I was here. I don't know what I thought I was doing. Just pretend I was never here please?" Mulder asks as he drains his beer.
Captain Scully smiles over at him. He understands the man is in love with Dana, but before he agrees to anything he has one final question for him. "Now why would I do that Mr. Mulder? Why should I not tell my daughter that you came here claiming to be her white knight in shining armor?"
Mulder chokes, "I am no white knight, but honestly I really don't want her to kick my ass. She's one of the best shots at the bureau, I know she's capable of taking care of herself in the field. I just wanted to let you know that…that…" He falters.
"That what son?"
"I'd take a bullet for her sir. And I would hunt down and make sure justice is served to the someone who fired that bullet."
"I understand son, I understand. I promise I won't let Dana know you came by, but I do appreciate it. Why Starbuck, she may be small but she is fierce. Had to be being raised Navy. transfers all the time, not being able to put down roots. I think that's why the FBI was a blessing to her. She's not good at standing still very long. She likes too, just after a while as soon as those roots begin to take hold, she needs to fly for a while make sure she really wants to be where she is."
"I understand Captain Scully, thank you." Mulder stands and shakes his hand.
"Is she really one of the best shots in the bureau?"
"She broke a record held for years by one of her former instructors for five years." Mulder told him.
"Really?"
"Really, and honestly sir I don't ever want to have to be on the receiving end of a shot fired by her. If she shoots to wound or shoots to kill your guaranteed that bullet will hit its mark straight and true."
"Thank you Mr. Mulder. I must say it's refreshing to know that even in this modern day and age, that you felt it appropriate to come and let me know that you'll take care of my daughter out in the field."
"You're welcome Captain Scully, and I must say she is an amazingly intelligent woman."
"Beautiful too, wouldn't you say?"
"Yeah in more ways than one," Mulder answered before heading out the door.
After seeing Mulder out Captain Scully sat back in his chair, laughing about the fact that Fox Mulder was in love with his daughter. 'Going to have Dana invite him over for dinner some night. See how the two of them are together.' He thought. 'Sometime after the holiday's, let the craziness settle down.'
Melissa looks at her grandfather's spirit. "You knew even then daddy was in love with mommy?" She asked him.
"I most certainly did, because if he wasn't he never would have come over that night. Never would have told me he'd take a bullet for her. A man only does that for the woman he knows he wants to be with for eternity. When her life means more than his own."
"Grandpa, mommy knows you came to visit her before you crossed over, knows that you wanted to tell her something, what was it?"
"I wanted your mother to know how very proud of her I was. That I loved her as much as a father can love his child. Even more so, and to always follow her heart that it would never let her down. Standing here talking to you, makes me even more proud of her. Why she had you and your brother. Knowing in the end no matter how badly she wanted to raise the two of you. She couldn't keep you two safe the way she wanted too. Giving you two to your Uncle Charlie, she knew what she was doing there. Your Uncle Bill, well he never would have understood the why, but your Uncle Charlie he understood it and didn't question it. And the fact he raised you two to know who your parents were. He made me just as proud."
"I wish you were here with us grandpa." She whispers.
"Oh Sprite, I'm always with you here." He tells her placing their joined hands over her heart. "Just remember that, love. I know you and your brother have some very difficult choices coming your way in the future, just remember love will always find away." He disappears from her sight.
With a heavy sigh she looks over to the pool where her father is throwing around her brother and cousins. Her mother sits on the steps of the shallow end. Laughing and talking with her aunts and grandmother. Her Uncle Bill is sitting on the sidelines glaring at everybody. He's beginning to believe and that's enough for now. Uncle Charlie is talking to him softly about something and she realizes this is what they will be fighting for.
They will be fighting for families all over the world. They will be fighting for their slice of the normal. She pushes the darkness away for the moment takes a deep breath and runs towards the pool "CAAAAANNNNNNOOOONNNN BBBBBAAAAAAALLLLL" She screams as she jumps in. When she surfaces she is laughing. As everybody from one end of the pool to the other is soaking wet from head to foot.
Nobody ever told her she couldn't use her ability for practical joking and she loves the fact that Uncle Bill literally has steam coming from his ears.