This takes place during 6x01, so spoilers for that.
Enjoy!
After coming back from Antarctica, Mulder keeps a close eye on his friend and even requests to stay with her wherever the bureau assigns them. However, the pair tries hard not to mention the last weeks knowing their kiss does not need to become a topic of gossip. Instead, they pretend the kiss is merely nonexistent unlike the male agent's hovering.
"Mulder, I'm fine," Scully says before the OPR committee comes to assess them.
"Never said you weren't," He states popping a sunflower seed in his mouth before grabbing a magnifying glass from his desk. Rolling her eyes, the red head redirects, "How is Chloe handling being home."
Her friend shrugs answering, "Fine. I think she's tired out from Six Flags, though."
Scully smiles wishing to see the girl back from her trip. However the bureau is still wary about her disappearance, so an accounted absence will not look good on her personnel file. Noticing the sad look on his friend's face, the agent asks, "You want to have dinner with us?"
"Mulder, I don't–"
"It'll be fun! Chloe really wants to see you," The man states using his daughter as leverage. Scully almost answers when there is a knock on the door. She mouths yes just as her friend stands up from the desk and crosses the room.
Being summoned upstairs, the agents plaster happy smiles on their faces as they take their pieced together information to a conference room.
Hours later, the agents get in touch with Maggie to watch Chloe while they head out to Arizona.
"Sure, did you want me to bring her home before you get home?" The mother asks. Asking Mulder, Scully replies, "Yeah. We'll call when we're on our way back."
Coming back after days with Spender, Diana, and Gibson, the adults are worn out and eagerly enter Mulder's apartment.
"Shower!" Scully calls out as her friend loosens his tie. Toeing his shoes off, the father goes toward his daughter's room to check on her. Seeing she is peacefully asleep, he begins to close the door. Walking back into the dining area to retrieve his luggage, the man smirks at the note he finds on the table in Maggie Scully's handwriting. With the knowledge that there are leftovers in the fridge, the man tiredly heads toward his bedroom.
Undressing, Mulder slowly recalls the events of the last couple days and the anger he still holds over officially being taken from his own project. If the FBI simply shuts down his project, he can rest easier. However, with Diana and Spender taking over, he is constantly concerned. With a look upward, Mulder sighs and puts a T-shirt on. With the shirt on, the man looks toward the door when his partner dressed in pajamas she has with her makes her presence known.
"See something you like?" The man teases. She does, but knows egging the man on will probably cause her to kiss him again. Something she does not want to do right now, especially with a teenager in the other room. ClearIng her throat, the red head responds, "Hey, Mulder, I'm going to sit in Chloe's room for a bit. After Gibson–"
Mulder nods in understanding before taking a shower himself. Putting pajamas on, the man walks into his daughter's room to find Scully staring at the teen. She looks up at her friend and tries to convey her thoughts to him. Images of Gibson and his tests flood her mind, which only makes her think of Emily and then of Chloe's appendectomy.
"She's fine," Mulder whispers to the woman who sits at the desk chair. She feels his hand on her shoulder and follows him out of the bedroom. Safely in the hallway, Scully looks up at her partner. He smiles at her and squeezes her shoulder which prompts the red head to lean into him. Mulder hugs Scully to him for a moment before the woman breaks away and whispers, "I'll take the couch tonight."
The man begins to protest when he sees his friend's eyes. From her expression, he knows it will not be a good idea to be alone in the room together, especially after their unspoken kiss. Instead, he says, "I'll get you a pillow."
The next morning, Chloe wakes up to noise coming from the kitchen. Peeking into her father's room, she finds the man still asleep. Eyes widening, the teen rushes into the dining area. With a smile, Chloe eagerly hugs a pajama clad Scully who just manages to take a mug from the cupboard.
"I've missed you!" The teen states looking down at her guardian. Now, with the teen a few inches taller than her, Scully officially feels like the odd one out. Placing her mug on the counter, the red head asks, "How was Six Flagss and Mom?"
"Six Flags was great! Anna and I rode most of the roller coasters together and we even got Mr. Adam on a lot of them."
"Rachel didn't ride?" Scully questions figuring the mother as a person who enjoys amusement parks. Smirking, Chloe replies, "She was stuck with Ben on the little kid rides most of the time and became our designated bag holder."
Scully shakes her head while pouring tea in her mug asking, "And my mom?"
"She's good."
"What did you do?" The red head asks knowing she will now have to extract information. Chloe shrugs answering, "Not too much. I mainly told her about my trip."
Smiling, Scully asks, "Did you have a nice time, at least?"
"Yeah," Chloe replies. After a moment she asks, "Did you ever talk to your mom about boys?"
"Once or twice, why?" The red head questions wondering what is happening with the teen. Sighing, Chloe says, "Maggie thinks you're seeing someone."
Shocked, Scully nearly jokes on her drink before asking, "Why?"
"Morning ladies," Mulder calls as he enters the kitchen ending any chance for the red head to gain information regarding the thirteen year old's comment.
"Morning," The teen and woman chorus just as Chloe hugs her father. Scully smiles at the sight before brewing coffee. Just as she places a liner in the coffee filter, the woman hears her cell phone ring. Heading toward the couch, the woman sits down once she realizes her mother calls.
"Sure what time do you want to meet?" The red head asks when her mother asks to have lunch with her.
"One? I wanted to see you, Dana. I've been worried about you," Maggie replies unable to ease her feelings that her daughter is hurt in some way.
"Okay, Mom," Scully replies with a small eye roll.
"You'll understand with your own kids," Maggie replies quickly remembering her daughter cannot have children. Backtracking, the mother says, "Dana, I'm so sorry–"
"It's fine Mom," Scully says lookIng toward the kitchen which house a laughing father and daughter. Standing from her seat, the woman walks over to the kitchen to see Mulder beginning to make pancakes.
"Mom!" Chloe calls out only to stop when she sees her guardian is on the phone.
"Dana, are you with Fox?" Maggie questions. Biting her lip, the red head replies, "I was too tired to drive home last night. I'll see you at one okay?"
Closing her phone, Scully looks at her surrogate daughter who tries to put sprinkles in the pancake batter. Seeing the woman's raised eyebrow, Chloe defends, "I'm trying to tell dad that they're to welcome you guys home."
Rolling her eyes, Scully answers, "Nice try, but put them away."
Dejected, the teen puts the sprinkles back in the drawer before heading off to her room mumbling something about taking a shower. Shifting his stance as he cooks, Mulder looks at Scully and says, "I called my mom yesterday. I'm going to take Chloe to see her after we eat and get dressed."
"Good," Scully replies wholeheartedly. Her friend stares at her with concern as he asks, "You're sure you're okay?"
"Mulder, I think you should ask yourself that question. Why do you insist on hovering?"
He shrugs not wanting to relive seeing his friend in a vat of green liquid. Placing a hand on the man's arm, the red head whispers, "I'm fine."
Throughout breakfast, Chloe watches her father and Scully interact. Neither adult says much to the other, but the teen can see the pair having a silent conversation.
"Hey, we're going to see Grandma after breakfast, okay?" Mulder tells his daughter as they finish eating. Confused, the teen replies with an elongated, "Alright. Is something wrong?"
The father shakes his head saying Chloe may want to get to know her grandmother better. Looking over at Scully, the thirteen year old relents when she sees the red head's reassuring expression. With everyone leaving around the same time, Chloe gives Scully a hug while promising to call her when they get to her grandmother's.
"Dad, is Scully okay?" The teen asks as she and her father enter their second hour driving to Teena Mulder's. Nodding, the father answers, "Yeah. Why?"
"You look at her as if she's going to break or something," Chloe explains putting her feet on the dash board trying to get comfy.
"I do not," Mulder answers knowing he and Scully have a pact not to tell the thirteen year old about Antartica and the kiss. Chloe rolls her eyes answering, "Okay."
The man thinks the teen will ask something else until she puts her headphones on and lets her father drive.
"Comfy?" Mulder asks as hints at his daughter to get her feet off the dashboard. When the teen nearly nods in response, the father says, "Feet. Floor."
"But–" Chloe begins as her father gives her a stern look. Sitting up the teen grabs a handful of the sunflower seeds sitting in the console. The rest of the drive the father and daughter laugh and joke until Chloe falls asleep. After turning on his mother's road, Mulder wakes up the teenager. Staring out the window, the teen soon grabs her father's cell phone. He raises an eyebrow at her before the teen tells him she is calling Scully.
"Hey, just wanted to tell you we made it safe," Chloe says into the phone once they arrive at Teena's.
"I'm glad. You didn't drive your dad too crazy?" Scully jokes. The teen shakes her head adding, "Just enough to keep him on his toes."
The red head smiles knowing the child inherits Mulder's humor. Shaking her head, Scully ends the call and puts her phone back in her purse.
"That was Chloe. She and Mulder made it to his mom's fine," The woman tells her mother who sits across from her at the table. Maggie merely nods before asking how the parent and child are doing.
"Fine," Scully answers. "Chloe is taller than me now."
"Dana, she's been taller than you for a year now."
"No, she hasn't," The red head replies refusing to believe how tall the teen is. Maggie merely smirks knowing how she feels. Instead of launching into a story about her sons, the mother asks, "How have you been?"
"Fine. A lot's happened in the last few weeks. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. Your work is important to you," Maggie says and soon keys into her daughter's wavering glance to the table. Curious, the woman asks, "Dana?"
With a sigh, Scully asks, "How did you know you wanted to be with dad forever?"
"Well, I realized I liked your father more than a friend and couldn't imagine life without him. Are you and Fox–"
Nearly choking on her drink, the red head replies, "No! I just wanted to know."
Scully knows her words are far from true, but cannot tell her mother about the kiss, especially with Diana still being a factor. Instead, the red head changes the subject by asking, "How's Matthew?"
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