Happy reading!
"Does it mention the kids?" Scully folded her arms in front of her, refusing to take the newspaper Preston extended.
"Just that there are three. No names, no ages. It doesn't even say whether they are boys. But Dana, this story-" Preston trailed off when he saw Kyle on the staircase.
"That's the most important thing," replied Scully. "But we do need to know the gist of the article before Kyle goes to school. Unfortunately, he's the one who will probably be dealing with it the most."
"The story is a little, umm, nasty," began Preston warily, unsure of whether he wanted to continue the conversation in front of the eleven-year-old.
"Let me guess," Scully icily responded. "I'm the ungrateful, rebellious, gold-digging daughter of an all-American family who joined the FBI on a whim, against the wishes of her parents, and then promptly seduced and married her boss, who is from a prominent family? A woman who suddenly felt the need to no longer work a month before her brother was arrested for the crime she never noticed he committed?"
"That's the short version," Preston admitted, secretly impressed with his client's savviness. "Any questions?"
"Dad's really your boss?" Kyle asked incredulously. "I thought you were partners."
"Not in the widely understood definition of the term," Scully muttered, mostly to herself. She then turned her attention to Kyle. "I'm sorry you're getting dragged into this again. If anyone gives you a hard time, just try to ignore them. This is not worth fighting about."
"Dana, we need to talk," Preston persisted, following her into the kitchen.
"Mulder's not here, so I have the school run this morning," she sleepily explained, fiddling with the coffee pot. "You are welcome to join us. Hannah will stay with the little monsters."
"Sure," Preston nodded, knowing that it would be the only way he would be able to get some face time with her. He gratefully accepted a cup of coffee as she bustled around the kitchen, deftly slicing some apples for the boys before fumbling around the refrigerator in search of orange juice. After about thirty seconds, he realized that Will was staring up at him from his perch on his highchair. "Umm...I think he wants something," the normally eloquent attorney flustered, hoping he wouldn't have to touch the baby's sticky hands.
Without even turning her head, Scully instructed him to spill some Cheerios onto Will's tray. "After he eats, he'll start talking up a storm, so enjoy the peace and quiet. Kyle, we have ten minutes. Do you have your science book? I think I saw it in the living room a few minutes ago."
"I wanna go," Nathan kept repeating with a pout, ignoring his cereal and fruit. Kyle dashed out of the room, knocking over a chair, returning a minute later with a messy pile of textbooks, looseleaf paper, and some chewed up pencils, the dog barking and running after him. He dumped everything into an already overstuffed backpack before cleaning up everything he had knocked to the ground.
"We're going to school tomorrow, monkey," Scully explained, kneeling next to Nathan so they were at eye level. "And I need you to stay with Hannah. I know she wants you to teach her the alphabet game we played yesterday. If everyone is on their best behavior, guess what we'll do later today?"
"The park?"
"Yes, we'll go to the park, but only if everyone is good for Hannah."
"I'm good, I'm good, I'm good," Nathan loudly rushed, wide-eyed.
"Keep it up, monkey," she said, kissing the crown of his head. "I'll be back soon. Now, say goodbye to your big brother."
Kyle rolled his eyes as Nathan dramatically repeated 'bye-bye,' while Will began to talk with his mouth full, resulting in Cheerios spraying everywhere. The one-year-old immediately burst into tears when his mother cleaned up his face with a damp cloth, sending the dog into another frenzy of barking. Preston winced at the noise that engulfed the kitchen, still dazed by the sheer amount of chaos he had witnessed over the past quarter hour.
"It's usually a lot worse," Kyle explained, as though he knew exactly what Preston was thinking. "If Dad was here, Nathan would be on the floor throwing a temper tantrum."
Preston stopped himself from inquiring about Mulder's exact whereabouts; he sensed that something wasn't quite right, and he knew better than to ask the sixth grader. Minutes later, his patience was further tested when Kyle introduced him to Colin as his attorney. As soon as the kids finally clambered out of the SUV in the school parking lot, Preston immediately asked Scully about her partner.
"He's working," she smoothly replied, not batting an eye. If it hadn't been for her slightly clenched jaw, Preston would have believed her.
"Anything I should know?"
"No. So what did you want to talk about?"
"I wanted to advise you as to your options. You have them, Dana," Preston reminded her.
"Unless it starts negatively affecting Kyle, or they end up printing the kids' names and ages, I don't want to do anything. It would just call more attention to the matter," Scully reiterated, brushing back her hair. "Do you think this will affect my return to work in January?"
"I don't know. They'll probably reassign you to Quantico or stick you in a forensics lab, but that was going to be one of your negotiating points anyway," he sighed. "If you were to return to work next week, they would consider you a distraction. But by January...it could blow over completely."
Scully nodded, lapsing into silence as they fought their way through a particularly nasty intersection. Preston cleared his throat once they entered the vicinity of his office, and decided to go for broke. "Do you want some unsolicited parenting advice from a nonparent?"
She glanced over at him, wondering what else he could possibly say, and softly whispered, "Sure."
"I know you want to protect the kids," he carefully explained. "But it might be important for them to see you fight back, in whatever form that might be. You don't have to make any decisions right now. Just think about it, Dana. I'll be in touch."
He gave her a sympathetic smile as he slid out of the SUV and crossed the street into his building. His words rang in Scully's ear as she drove back home. Throughout the entire situation, she had never considered the boys' perception of her, and a myriad of different thoughts and feelings rattled through her mind. When she finally reached home, she sat back in her seat, pulling her cell phone out of her bag, and once again dialed Mulder's number. Upon hearing that his voicemail was full, she took a moment to compose herself and then entered the house, shoring up her energy for a morning at the park.
When she walked into the kitchen, she saw a small bouquet of flowers on the counter. "Someone named Katie Thomas sent them," Hannah explained once she caught Scully's perplexed expression.
"She's the mother of one of Kyle's friends," Scully explained. "She's in PR, so it could just as well be a sales pitch than a kind gesture."
"Now Dana, I'm sure if she wanted you as a client, she would have sent a large arrangement of roses," joked Hannah, prompting Scully to laugh. "I take it she's not the person you carpool with?"
Scully shook her head with a snort. "No, she's a real estate agent. She promised Kyle a camera if he would take photos of every room and not tell us."
"So he didn't take her up on the offer?" Hannah asked.
"He overplayed his hand, unfortunately," explained Scully, biting back a smile as she relayed the story while packing up for a visit to the park. "He thought he could convince his father to get him a laptop by not complying with her request."
Hannah chuckled. "That boy is just like his father," she shared. "I take it Fox didn't fall for it?"
"No, but he was impressed, especially in that Kyle chose to mention this when he was particularly jet-lagged and sleep deprived. Since we got Bandit, Mulder hadn't had anything to threaten Kyle with for not doing his chores, so now he hangs a laptop over his head."
"But in general, Kyle's been well behaved?" Hannah asked, her tone growing more serious.
Scully drew a breath before answering; Hannah's body language indicated that she was unsure of whether she should ask that question, and Scully wanted to reassure the older woman that it was okay to broach the subject. "Yes. I mean, he's had his moments, but all kids do. It hasn't been easy for him, but he pulls through. We've just been taking it one day at a time."
XXXXXXXX
It wasn't until he woke up on the Gunmen's couch mid-morning that Mulder realized his error in judgment. He didn't know whether he had been simply overtaken by the thrill of the chase, or by a more general sense of nostalgia from a late night road trip, but instead of going home, he had driven directly to the warehouse. Langley and Byers didn't look surprised to see him; they pressed a cold beer in his hands, just like the old days, and within a half-hour, Mulder had fallen asleep.
He stretched as best he could for a few moments, trying to reorient himself and piece together the events of the previous twenty-four hours. Mostly, Mulder attempted to remember why his unconscious would autopilot to a scratchy, lumpy sofa that had probably never been cleaned, instead of the king-sized bed, complete with the love of his life as a pillow, at home.
Stretching, he took a look at his watch. 9:45 AM.
Skinner had promised to cover for him until that afternoon, so he had some time before he needed to show his face at the Hoover Building. Hopefully the gym at headquarters would be relatively empty, so he would be able to shower, shave, and change in peace. He reluctantly got up from the sofa and padded into the kitchen, where he poured himself some bitter coffee, making a face as he took his first sip.
"Did you talk to her?"
Mulder flinched as Byers' words echoed through the room. "No," he admitted, abandoning his mug on the sticky table, brushing past his friend on his way back to the couch, where he grabbed his jacket and made his way out of the warehouse. He ignored Byers' continued attempts to get his attention, holding his breath until the crisp October air hit his face.
Always a glutton for punishment, Mulder looked at his cell phone display as he sat in the Taurus. Two more missed calls since he last checked. He threw the phone on the passenger side seat and drove to work.
It wasn't that he wanted to avoid Scully; he just didn't know what to say. During that one night in March, when everything almost fell apart, she had only made one request of him: honesty. And he took that promise seriously. What it all boiled down to was trust. More than anything, Mulder needed her to understand the difficult situation in which he had been placed. But did he really doubt that she wouldn't? Or was he just doubting himself?
XXXXXXXX
Kyle ignored the stares and stifled giggles as he made his way to his locker. As soon it opened, a pile of crunched up papers, overstuffed notebooks, and some stale M&Ms crashed to the floor. "Need help?"
Kyle looked up to see Natalie shyly staring at down at him. "Sure," he said.
"I stole this from my mom," she mumbled, throwing a copy of the newspaper he had seen Preston try to give Dana that morning. "I thought you might want to read it."
"Thanks," Kyle gratefully told her, flipping through the pages.
"I-I don't believe what it says. Your stepmother, she was really nice, that one time I met her," Natalie nervously explained, not looking up from the papers she was collecting. "I'm sorry that-"
"Dana said it doesn't really matter what the article says," interrupted Kyle, engrossed in the newspaper. "Wow, no wonder she was annoyed."
His nervous laughter took Natalie by surprise. "Seriously, thanks for giving this to me," Kyle reassured her, sticking the paper in his backpack as he tried to find Dave and Chloe before homeroom started.
XXXXXXXX
By the time Mulder entered his new office, it was nearly 11:00 AM. True to his word, Skinner had sent an email to the team earlier the previous evening, indicating Mulder would be spending the morning wrapping up some loose ends with the behavioral sciences unit.
After a hot shower in the gym locker room and some coffee, Mulder had come to the realization that Scully wouldn't expect him to reveal information that would endanger her brother's safety. But once he had worked up the courage to test his theory, he received a call summoning him up to Skinner's office.
Kim Cook greeted Mulder with a smile, immediately asking after Agent Scully. It wasn't lost on Mulder that she was the only person at the Bureau who directly inquired about her. He chalked that up to the fact that many agents were unsure of whether (or how) to broach the subject, as he had technically never confirmed the changed status of their relationship. In any case, Kim also knew the two of them better than most other Bureau personnel.
"She's good," Mulder warmly replied. "The kids are a handful. The two-year-old broke his arm over the weekend, but that hasn't slowed him down at all."
Before he could finish relating the story, the door to Skinner's inner sanctum opened. "Agent Mulder," Skinner gruffly called out. Before Mulder entered the room, Skinner handed him a slip of paper, which read You need to keep it together, prompting the younger man to look at his superior questionly.
Once he walked into the room, Mulder spotted Kersh and the director, who were seated at the conference table, on which several copies of a newspaper were sitting. Mulder paled at the sight of his partner's face looking back at him. He threw a confused look to Skinner, who quickly realized that Mulder had no idea that the article even existed.
It took all of his willpower for Mulder to keep his temper in check. "We will open an investigation to find the agents who spoke to the press," the Director promised.
"Including Tom Colton?" Mulder asked. "He was working with the Justice task force this summer."
"Internal Affairs will be handling this matter, and I'm sure that they will be speaking with everyone who was involved," the Director politely answered.
Mulder clenched his fist under the table, seriously doubting that IA would actually look into the matter; Colton knew which asses to kiss and whose backs to scratch. "And of course," continued the Director. "We'll post some agents around your home to make sure that your children aren't bothered. Your attorney has been in contact with my office on that point."
"Thanks," Mulder mumbled, trying his best to tone down his sarcasm.
Once the Director and Kersh left, with the door closing behind them, Mulder lunged for the newspaper, seething as he read. "I take it you haven't talked to Scully today," Skinner dryly remarked.
"Fuck," Mulder swore. "I need to call home."
XXXXXXXX
Somehow, Kyle managed to get through the morning without his teachers noticing he was not paying any attention. He had been thinking about the newspaper article nonstop, and wondering how well he really knew his stepmother.
"Did you even hear me?" Dave asked, polishing off his potato chips.
Kyle looked up, startled. "What?"
"Are they suing the newspaper?"
Kyle put down his fork, annoyed to realize that his food was gone. Since Hannah's arrival, she had been packing him the most delicious lunches; he hoped that she would be staying longer than a couple of weeks. While Dana's idea of dessert was an extra orange, Hannah always included a cookie.
"I don't think so," he shrugged. "Dana just told their lawyer that it didn't matter what the article said. She didn't even look at it, but she guessed what it said this morning."
"Well if it's true, they can't sue," Dave rationalized, reaching over to grab some Hershey Kisses from Colin's lunch bag while the other boy's back was turned. "Even if the newspaper exaggerated something that was kind of true, they wouldn't be able to win."
Suddenly, something clicked in Kyle's brain, and bits and pieces from previous conversations he held with his father began to flit through his mind. Maybe his dad and Dana were pretending not to care about the media coverage because they were trying to hide something. What Dave just said could fit into his theory; plus, Dave knew his stuff. His father was a lobbyist, and was always getting newspapers to publish stories about politicians. He had told them about some crazy ones during their apple picking excursion the previous weekend.
Kyle needed to get into that safe, and the sooner, the better. "Chloe," Kyle hissed. "I need your help."
"Is it about that algebra homework?" she whined, turning her attention away from Natalie, with whom she had been conversing. Chloe's sidekick had been quieter than usual, barely talking to the group all day.
Kyle shook his head. "No, I need to know whether you can break into my dad's safe."
"Probably," Chloe asked, trying not to sound too interested. She knew Kyle well enough to expect he wouldn't explain the whole story in one go. "Does it have a dial or a keypad?"
"Both. It's a wall safe."
The brunette scrunched her nose. "Maybe. I might need to look at it first. I don't know if I can crack it right away. Why? Anything juicy?"
"I'm pretty sure that my dad and Dana are hiding stuff from me," Kyle explained. "But I'm not sure exactly what. I found some weird things last night, but I know there's a lot more."
That piqued Chloe's interest. She nodded. "So during the stepmother support group dinner on Saturday, before the Halloween dance?"
"That part's going to be boring anyway. Our parents will just be talking to each other," agreed Kyle. "I'll be able to get us into the room with the safe."
"Just don't get disappointed if I can't get it open on first try. It sometimes takes awhile," cautioned Chloe, hoping she hadn't dug herself into a hole. She had bragged about her father's lock-picking lessons a few weeks previously, and didn't want to embarrass herself in front of her new friend.
"We're having Nathan's birthday party on Sunday," Kyle remembered. "Can you go to that too? Maybe we can try it then?"
"Let's mention it during dinner, so it would be really rude if your parents don't invite me right then and there," suggested Chloe. "I'm really good at guilting people. I have to do it a lot because all my Dad and Stella do is talk about the baby."
Kyle just hoped he could wait until Saturday.
XXXXXXXX
"Are you feeling okay, Dana?"
Scully nodded, chewing her lip in an attempt to calm down. She had just read-for the third time-the newspaper article that Preston had given her that morning. "I'm fine," she assured Hannah, self-conscious of her flaming cheeks. "I better go check on the kids. They don't usually nap this long."
Both Nathan and Will were already up by the time she got up the stairs, thwarting any opportunity she would have to spend some time alone. Content that Will could be left in his crib to play with Doggy and Raffy the Giraffe for a few more moments, Scully watched Nathan play with his toys, babbling along about trains and school and dinosaurs. When he looked up and saw his mother, Nathan ran over to give her a big hug, as though he knew she was having a bad day. "I love you so much, monkey," Scully told him. "Let's go get Will and then we can play the farm game."
Bandit lept up when he saw Will and Nathan run into the living room, hopping around the boys. "Ban it!" Will called out, extending his arm to try and pet the puppy, which resulted in both him and the dog tripping.
Will giggled, and Bandit scampered to him, licking his legs. "Ban-ban," he chimed.
Scully grinned, watching them play, so carefree and happy. She settled herself on the floor, in front of one of the couches, resting her head on the cushions. After their trip to the park that morning, the boys had an early lunch before she had to take Nathan for a follow-up visit with the pediatrician. Any concerns Dr. Philips had for the boy's health diminished once she saw Nathan attempt to climb the examination table, much to Scully's embarrassment. "He's quick," Dr. Philips commented. "I see this as the first of many trips to the emergency room for this kid."
She weakly smiled in response. "Believe me, it's in his genetic makeup."
Nathan had fallen asleep in the car, his normal naptime having been disrupted. Scully toted him inside, somehow able to get him into bed without waking. After checking-in on Will, who was taking his own nap, she headed to the kitchen, ready to call Mulder.
"Fox phoned while you were out," Hannah told her, switching off the stand mixer. "He's on a case and drove up to Pennsylvania. He said he'll be back tonight, and he asked me to tell you that he found his sneakers and that's all settled. Or was it drycleaning? He found something in any case."
Relief flooded through her. "Great," she grinned. "What are you making?"
"I'm testing a new cake recipe for Nathan's birthday," Hannah grew excited. "It's like that funfetti mix that Kyle is always bugging me about." While Hannah was normally open-minded about many things, she drew the line at boxed baking mixes: all of her desserts were made from scratch.
The idea of Nathan having a homemade cake, one made by someone who loved him, filled Scully with warmth. Hannah was the closest person the boys had to an in-the-flesh grandmother. While Mulder's mother was doing her best, they had only met her once, and wouldn't see her again until Thanksgiving. "Is that okay? Or were you planning on a store-bought cake?"
Scully snapped to reality. "A homemade cake is perfect," Scully agreed with a smile. She had been planning on getting a train-themed cake from a local bakery, but quickly pushed those thoughts aside. "Thank you."
"You know I enjoy doing this, Dana," Hannah told her. "It's not a bother."
"It still means a lot," Scully responded.
Now, hours later, Scully was brought to attention by Will, who had jumped on her lap. "Oof, bullfrog," Scully said to him. "You are getting big."
"Big Bird," Will pointed to his Sesame Street blocks.
"Let's go play," Scully told him as they made their way to the toybox.
XXXXXXXX
Mulder quietly entered the house, unsure of what to do. Although he was completely exhausted, he knew that it would be some time before he could go to bed. The kitchen was oddly silent as he threw his keys on the counter and made his way to the refrigerator. He smiled while pulling out a bowl of homemade macaroni and cheese, wondering whether it had been made by Hannah, who always put in an extra kick of mustard, or Scully, who always used extra sharp cheddar cheese. He didn't get very far in reheating his dinner when he realized that he was no longer alone.
"I'm home," he lamely announced to Hannah, loosening the tie around his neck.
"How's your case?" she asked, filling the tea kettle with water and eyeing his discarded suit jacket that had been tossed onto the back of Will's highchair.
"Good," murmured Mulder, tapping his foot on the wood floor. "I'm sorry I got tied up."
Hannah took a hard look at her former charge. "I can't tell whether you are giving me that look because you are feeling guilty or because you think that you should be feeling guilty, " she told him. "And I don't think I want to know the answer to that particular question. Kyle's in the living room, and everyone else is in bed."
"Even Scully?" Mulder asked, surprised. He took a quick look at the kitchen clock, which only read 8:30.
"It's been a long day," Hannah explained as she poured hot water into her tea mug. "And she wanted to get a head start on tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
"Nathan's visiting that preschool. Between that and his birthday, he was talking nonstop all day. I can't imagine how excited he'll be right before Christmas."
Mulder sighed. "I knew that," he muttered, stubbornly refusing to admit to himself (or Hannah) that he had forgotten. "Who got flowers?"
"Dana, as she should have, after this morning," Hannah remarked, giving Mulder a look that conveyed a silent they-should-have-been-from-you rejoinder. "I thought it was very thoughtful."
"Who sent them?" Mulder asked, assuming that they had to have been sent from Preston's office, or even from the Director.
"One of the mothers of Kyle's friends, Katie something-or-other. She also got a bottle of wine from Dave's family and Stella called," explained Hannah. "There are some very supportive parents at that school."
Mulder gulped, reading the subtext: you didn't even try calling. He knew that his main excuse-his cell phone had died while he was on his consult in Pennsylvania-was a lame one, even by his standards. He couldn't be bothered to find a phone, while people who Scully met just once or twice managed to do a hell of a lot more.
He pulled a beer from the fridge and took his warm dinner plate into the living room, where Kyle was sitting on the floor, using the coffee table as a desk. His schoolwork was scattered around the floor, and Bandit was sleeping on at least one textbook.
"Hey," Kyle greeted his father with mixed feelings. Part of him was happy to see his him home, but another part of him was annoyed that his dad's presence would complicate sneaking into the home office down the hall. It had taken him forever to get through his homework because he kept thinking about the files he had read the previous evening. Plus he still felt a bit anxious about his father's travel schedule, and he didn't want to start worrying about that issue again.
"Sorry I wasn't home last night, buddy," Mulder said, hoping his apology would go over better with his oldest son than with Hannah.
Kyle shrugged. "Wanna watch the game? I've been showing Hannah how I can multitask but she isn't too impressed."
"She's two for two on that count, bud. How much more homework do you have?" Mulder asked.
"Not much."
Mulder sifted through the piles of papers on the coffee table, startled to see Scully's face on newsprint in their own living room. He turned the television off. "Did you read this, Kyle? It's okay if you did. I just need to know."
"Yup," Kyle nodded, continuing to work on his French vocabulary flashcards.
Mulder set down his dinner, growing increasingly incensed as he re-read the article he had been steadfastly ignoring since his morning meeting.
"Isn't it funny?" Kyle joined him on the couch.
"What is so funny about it?" snapped Mulder.
Kyle looked at his father in alarm; he hadn't heard him that angry since that one morning on the Vineyard when he had been chewed out for not picking up Nathan's toys.
"Show me the funny part," Mulder demanded, handing over the newspaper to the eleven-year-old.
Kyle froze. Sensing his son's hesitation, Mulder rephrased, softening his tone. "What makes this article funny?"
"It just is," Kyle attempted to explain, at loss for words. Scrambling, he opened the newspaper. "Like the part when it talks about how they call her the ice queen and-"
"Stop it right there," Mulder seethed. He took a deep breath before continuing, not wanting to take out all of his frustration on his son. "Do you think they call her that as a joke?"
Kyle looked perplexed. He hadn't expected that particular question.
"Kyle, they don't call her that to be funny," explained Mulder, doing his best to control his voice. "They call her that to be cruel. This whole article? It's not objective, like most stories on the front page of the New York Times. The people who gave this information to the reporters? They were paid. No one checked to see if what they said was true. That's how these things work." What he left unsaid was the very real possibility that a Scully family member was probably one of these individuals.
"Oh," Kyle responded in a small voice, beginning to understand his father's reaction.
"Kyle, you aren't a mean kid," Mulder quietly remarked. "Far from it, really. So why did you think it was funny?"
"I don't know," backtracked Kyle. "I guess I didn't really think about it too much. She said this morning, when Preston brought it over, that it didn't really matter. Then I read it, and I figured that it just wasn't a big deal or whatever."
Mulder closed his eyes, repeating to himself that he was trying to reason with an eleven-year-old, not an adult, that Kyle didn't really know any better. And he had to blame himself for that, at least partially so-after all, he hadn't really been around as much as he should have since their move to DC. "Kyle, do you tell me every single little thing that bothers you?"
"No," he answered. "I'm not a tattletale."
"Just because she said the story didn't bother her," Mulder began. "Didn't mean that her feelings weren't hurt. Even though things in this article might sound unbelievable, it still causes pain."
"So if it's not true, why don't you tell that to the newspaper?" Kyle quickly asked, thinking of Dave's remark at lunch.
"Because it might bring more attention to the story," responded Mulder. "If we say something, the media might then start to write more about it, and we want to protect you and your brothers. We can't talk to the press about this and then say that we want our privacy at the same time."
Kyle sat back, thinking. Things weren't nearly as simple as he-and his friends-had assumed.
But his gut still told him that there were things that he didn't know about, and the answers were just down the hall.
XXXXXXXX
Mulder checked-in on Will and Nathan, who were both sleeping soundly. Will was using Raffy the Giraffe as a pillow, and Doggy was lying on his chest. Nathan was snuggled between two pillows, to keep him from sleeping on his arm. When he walked into the master bedroom, he saw Scully slumped on her side, a sure sign that she was in the middle of a deep sleep.
He took a quick shower before climbing into bed. After watching her slumber for a few moments, he inched closer to her, pressing a kiss on the nape of her neck. She immediately reacted, a shiver running down her back. He took that as a positive sign, and sunk his mouth on her left shoulder blade, sucking on her skin for a moment. "Wake up," he whispered before repeating his actions.
"Mulder?" Scully muttered before letting out a soft moan. She turned around, immediately captured into a kiss.
"I'm sorry," Mulder mumbled, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her closer.
"You can't talk about it, I know that," Scully quickly responded, fighting the lump that was forming in her throat. She snuggled into him even further, feeling the evidence of his arousal press against her back. Unable to turn around in her position, she whispered. "Hard, Mulder. Make it hurt."
The words weren't even out of her mouth before she felt him once again nip her neck, this time his teeth grazing her skin, a move he coordinated with snaking his right hand underneath them both and then into her.
When they managed to flip over, she took a good look at her partner, watching the love, arousal, fear, and guilt radiate from his hazel eyes. "I love you," she softly reminded him as he resumed the previous tempo of his thrusts.
Settling back into bed, Scully draped herself across Mulder's chest, tracing patterns on his side. She didn't quite remember the last time sex had been that intense; it was the only benefit of the stress with which they have had to confront. "Why didn't you call? When it was safe to, I mean?" she asked into his abdomen, not quite brave enough to ask that question while looking into his eyes.
"Self-preservation, I think. I've been asking myself that question all day," Mulder explained. "Fear, maybe, of not being able to compartmentalize. My phone died and I rationalized that as an excuse. I found out about the article around noon, and my heart dropped into my stomach, Scully. That's when I called the house. I don't even know why I didn't try your cell. I screwed up."
"Don't do it again, please," Scully asked. "But this isn't because of the article. It's about dropping off the radar. The kids-I need to know what to say."
"I won't," Mulder promised once Scully's voice dropped off, thinking to himself that this was only the second request she had made to him since March.
"Scully?" Mulder asked, hoping she hadn't fallen asleep.
"Hmmpf," she responded, her eyes growing heavy with sleep.
"It wasn't you, it was me. Not calling, I mean. I knew you wouldn't pressure me into talking about it. I just don't like not being able to share something like that with you. It was me who couldn't handle it, not you."
He hoped that she heard him.
XXXXXXXX
"Can't you just let your hair hide it or something?" Mulder asked the next morning, holding up his hands when Scully shot him a dirty look.
While he was in the shower, she had commandeered the bathroom vanity, furiously dabbing two cotton swabs of concealer on different spots around her neck and shoulders.
"You're going to have to do the back," she ordered. "You bite it, you hide it."
"I didn't hear any complaints from you last night," he reminded her, taking one of the swabs, following her directions. "And I'm your guy for this job. I know how to rub."
She tried to bite back a smile, not wanting to encourage his lame jokes. She had woken up to feelings of anxiety over Nathan's preschool visit, determined to undo whatever damage might have been wrought by the local tabloid media. "He'll be fine, Scully. You'll be fine. They know you at this school, you've met with them twice," Mulder calmly reasoned. "And if they give you a hard time, remind them that they need that new boiler."
"Are you suggesting that we buy our way into nursery school?" Scully asked skeptically.
"Scully, your search for a preschool rivals that of overachieving high school juniors looking at colleges," he opined. "If it were a tax-deductible investment, I would have bought the place weeks ago."
But the grin that crossed Nathan's face when his mother handed him a blue Thomas the Tank Engine backpack was contagious, and at that moment, Mulder realized that all of Scully's planning, and any stress it had caused him, was well worth it.
"So now you have a school bag just like Kyle," Scully explained to Nathan. "And why don't you open it?"
This part really had been an afterthought; she had slipped some crayons and a book that she had found when cleaning into the bag the previous evening, but it made the surprise even more special for Nathan, who insisted on wearing the backpack while eating breakfast,
The meltdown came when Mulder told Kyle it was time to go. A look of panic crossed Nathan's face when he saw them leave without him, and he began to cry, running after them. His parents quickly realized that he thought that his father would be taking him to school just like his big brother.
"You have to be there at eight thirty, right?" Mulder asked Scully. "Why don't we meet you there?"
"Are you sure?" Scully asked, looking at the clock. The preschool was close to their house, so Mulder would essentially be driving halfway to work before turning around again, all during rush hour.
"If I'm late, I'll just say I hit traffic," rationalized Mulder. "Just do me one favor, okay?"
Scully looked at him expectantly. He had a glint in his eye, and she wasn't exactly sure what he was thinking.
"Eat breakfast. You'll need your energy tonight," he whispered into her ear before giving her a quick kiss. "I love you."
"I'll see you soon, monkey," Scully hugged Nathan before he took his father's hand. "Be good."
Kyle groaned when he realized that Nathan would be joining them for the school run. Even when he didn't really feel like talking to his father, he enjoyed having time away from his brothers. At least it only took a couple of minutes to get to Colin's house, so he wouldn't be stuck alone with his family for too long.
Nathan sat in his car seat, grinning ear-to-ear. "Ernie!" he shouted as soon as they pulled out of their parking spot.
"No, that's not fair," Kyle sputtered.
"Kyle," Mulder warned. "He's really excited because he wants to be just like you."
"And I don't like Sesame Street music!"
"It's just once, okay?" Mulder argued as he put on the music.
"Why does everybody always spoil him?" the eleven-year-old protested. "He's not even really going to school."
"Because I should be going to this appointment with him and Dana," Mulder explained. "And I can't, so I'm just trying to do this for him, and for her, and for me, okay?"
There were a million things that Kyle wanted to say, but he knew he was skating on thin ice with his father, and he didn't want to be grounded before (or during) the Halloween dance. He only talked to Colin for the rest of the ride to school, and he didn't even remember whether he had said goodbye to his father when they jumped out of the car.
XXXXXXXX
"Look where we are," Mulder said to Nathan as he pulled into a parking space at the preschool, a few spots away from Scully's car. "This is where you are going to try out school for a day."
When he brought Nathan to the ground, he warned his son to stay exactly where he was. For once, the two-year-old listened, probably because he wanted his new backpack, which was still in the car. Mulder helped him with the straps, and they walked over to Scully hand-in-hand. "How was your ride to school?" Scully asked her son.
"Good," Nathan smiled, jumping up and down, tugging on his backpack straps.
"However, I don't think that Kyle will recover anytime soon," Mulder muttered.
"Ernie?" Scully asked knowingly. "He'll get over it. Maybe not today though."
Mulder arched an eyebrow, impressed with his partner's deductive reasoning. "I guess this is where we part," Mulder awkwardly shrugged, looking at his watch with a sigh.
"I know you want to stay, Mulder," Scully said, squeezing her partner's hand. "It's okay. I bet that your car ride this morning will be the best part of Nathan's day. Well, maybe second to the backpack."
"Scully," Mulder responded. "The look on his face when he saw that backpack-I don't think I'll ever forget it."
"I don't think I will either," she admitted, smiling at their little boy. "Tomorrow is Elisabeth's usual day to come over. What if I see if she could come by a little later than normal so we can pick out a couple of p-r-e-s-e-n-t-s for Nathan's b-i-r-t-h-d-a-y? I could meet you after work."
"Only if I get to take you out to dinner too," Mulder smoothly responded. "And a real dinner, Scully. Not some let's squeeze in a meal around the kids' bedtime sort of thing."
"Alright," Scully agreed. She knew she had to be better about letting the boys stay with other people. "I'll talk to Elisabeth."
XXXXXXXX
The excitement in the house grew to fever-pitch on Saturday. Between Kyle trying to finish his homework-and his costume for the Halloween dance-and Nathan reminding everybody that his birthday was the next day, there was barely a moment of peace and quiet. Even though Mulder had to put in a couple of hours worth of work in the morning, the result of having left the office on time for a good chunk of the week, Scully had managed to set everything up for both dinner that night and for the birthday party the next afternoon.
Kyle looked nervously at the clock. Once Chloe and her parents arrived, they wouldn't have much time to snoop through the office. Dave's mom would be picking them up in thirty minutes, as their friends all decided on themed costumes of B-horror movies that would require the group to arrive together for full effect. Kyle was dressing as The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and Chloe was going as The Spider.
He let out a sigh of relief when he heard the doorbell ring. Just as he suspected, the adults all went into the living room, so he was able to cross the kitchen and grab the key from the laundry room without anyone noticing. "I'll stand guard in the hallway," Kyle explained, slipping Chloe the key.
Chloe followed Kyle as they went to return the key. "I think I have a lockpick at home that will work for the dial," Chloe explained. "But it looks really new, so the keypad might be tricky."
"My uncles installed it when we moved here," Kyle said. "So it might be new."
"The keypad code has to be a four digit number. I have a fingerprinting kit that we can use to see which numbers have been pressed the most, so think of birthdays and stuff that the code could be. Or their anniversary date or something. But we're going to need at least twenty minutes."
"I can do that," Kyle promised, relieved to see Chloe fairly confident that her hacking skills would work.
"Dave's mom is here," Scully called out from the hallway. "Have fun. You both look great."
"Don't do anything stupid," Hank told Kyle. "I have eyes everywhere, kid."
"Stop being a jerk," Stella called out from living room.
"I hate you both," Chloe muttered. "Hey Nathan, can I go to your birthday party tomorrow?"
Nathan ran up to her. "Yes!" he shouted, giving her a small hug before running back to the living room.
"I was invited to Nathan's birthday party," Chloe announced to her father. "So I'm going. It would be really rude if I didn't."
Hank rolled his eyes. "If your homework is done and the Mulders say it's okay, that's fine by me. But next time wait for the invitation in the mail."
"We're happy to have her," Mulder smiled, walking with the kids to the awaiting SUV, slinging his arm over Kyle's shoulders for a side-hug. "Have fun, buddy. And don't do anything that will get you on Hank's bad side."
XXXXXXXX
"It's my birfday! It's my birfday! It's my birfday!" Nathan ran into his parent's room and scrambled on the bed, having grown quite adept at climbing around the house with his cast.
"No it's not," teased Mulder, scooping up his son into a bear hug. "Your birthday is tomorrow."
"No! No! No!" Nathan panicked. "Balloons!"
Scully smiled, happy that the three-year-old noticed the Thomas the Tank Engine balloons on his bedroom door. "You have balloons?" she asked, hoping to sound surprised. "I think that means it's your birthday and Daddy's just teasing you."
"So how is life as a three-year-old?" asked Mulder, playing with his son's curls. "Are you taller than yesterday?"
"Yes!"
"Are you smarter than yesterday?"
"Yes!"
The parents exchanged a special smile as Nathan began to chatter non-stop about being three. If anything, Scully mused, his vocabulary had certainly seemed to have grown overnight. She settled on her side, soaking in the morning excitement. Things had finally settled down over the past few days, and she had noticed that Mulder enjoyed their dinner the previous evening; she had overheard him and Hank making plans to play basketball later on in the week. "What do you want for breakfast, monkey? Mickey Mouse pancakes? Or fluffy waffles?"
Mulder whispered something in Nathan's ear, and the birthday boy chirped, "Daddy cereal!"
Scully arched an eyebrow, curious as to the reason for Mulder's sly grin. "Sugared cereal is the perfect birthday breakfast treat," he argued. "And it gives Mommy the morning off from cooking."
Nathan replicated his father's puppy dog pout and Scully knew she was outnumbered. "Puh-leeeze," he begged.
"For a special birthday treat, yes, monkey," relented Scully. "As long as we have-"
"It's all taken care of," Mulder grinned, bending over to kiss her good morning. "And you are never going to find where I hid those boxes."
"What?" Scully sat straight up, but Mulder had taken full advantage of his head start, thumping down the stairs with Nathan before she could even get out of bed.
XXXXXXXX
Scully had wanted to keep the birthday party a small affair, having asked over a few families who they frequently met at the park and library for games and cake. But after factoring in the Gunmen, Addison and his two daughters, and Coop and Elisabeth, the number swelled.
If Nathan had been excited about his backpack, he was absolutely floored by his parents' birthday present: a Playmobil castle set. Mulder had been immediately drawn to it during their shopping trip earlier that week, insisting that it was the perfect gift. Scully had been worried about the "for ages 4+" sticker on the box, but Mulder had convinced her that Nathan was more than smart for his age, he already loved to play games involving pretend, and it would be something he and Will could play with for years. (Scully still wasn't sure whether 'he' referred to himself or to Nathan, so she assumed he meant both). Furthermore, if he didn't seem to take an interest to it, they could always stick it in a closet for a few months and try it again later.
"So you've had your eye on this for a while," Scully had guessed as they waited in line to purchase the playset.
"Why makes you say that?" Mulder had asked, digging his hands in his pockets.
"Mulder you said 'furthermore' as if you were preparing an argument for debate club," Scully had pointed out, prompting him to pout and then ditch her in line to look at a set of Transformers action figures.
While most parents worried about the one-year-olds putting things in their mouths, Scully had to deal with Will's propensity to stick things in his nose. Once she was satisfied that he wasn't going to do anything naughty with the smaller pieces of his brother's new toy, she turned her attention to the food. "I'm all set here, Scully," Mulder told her, not looking up from the playset. "Don't worry about us."
"So this is the real reason I didn't have to make breakfast?" she good naturedly responded. Mulder gave her the thumbs up sign, barely looking up from the top of the castle.
Nathan had worked himself and Will up into such a frenzy that they both fell asleep for their naps without putting up a fight, waking just in time for the party guests' arrival. Scully tasked Kyle to sit with Will upstairs for a bit, as the baby was still a bit cranky. Thankfully, she had sent Chloe upstairs to join them once she arrived.
"Hey Will. Your mom thought you might want some juice," Chloe exclaimed, handing him a sippee cup. "It's really loud down there."
"I'm only in it for the cake," Kyle glumly told her. "It's been crazy all day. Dana wants everything to be perfect, and my Dad just wants to play with my brothers, and I'm so sick of it."
Chloe dangled a ziploc bag in front of her friend. "We're getting answers, so today really could have sucked a lot more than it does," she reminded him. "Good thing I scored myself an invite to this shindig."
Kyle took the fingerprint kit from her. "This is a real one," he said, impressed.
"Swiped it from my Dad's office last year," Chloe explained. "It wasn't even his. I went to somebody else's desk."
"Smart," Kyle remarked, clearly impressed.
"So what are we finding out?" Chloe asked casually, hoping Kyle would be more forthcoming than he had been earlier that week.
"Stuff about Dana," he shrugged. "She and my dad are acting weirder than normal. I need to know what's really going on."
"But what does that mean?" Chloe asked.
"You'll see once we get in the office," Kyle assured her, taking Will's hand as they descended the staircase
XXXXXXXX
"He's having a great time," Mulder reassured Scully as they bustled around the kitchen. "This stuff can wait. Kyle and Chloe can put out the food. I want you to enjoy this, Scully. Spend his birthday with him. And me."
Scully looked up, nodding. "You're right," she agreed, setting down the bowl she had in her hands.
"I'll get them," Mulder told her, dropping a kiss in her forehead before he started playing with her hair. He had been secretly pretending that she was letting it curl naturally for him, even though he knew it was probably to distance herself from the photos that had been circulating in the press. "You go pin the tail on the puppy."
He watched her disappear into the living room, and he ducked his head in only to whisper to Hannah not to let her back in the kitchen. "Smartest thing you've said all day, Fox," Hannah remarked with approval.
Mulder wondered where the older kids could have gone; the ground floor wasn't that large, and he could have sworn he had seen them on his way to the kitchen. "Kyle?" he called out. "Chloe?"
He didn't know why his first instinct was to open a locked door, but he tried the knob to his office and found himself practically tripping into the room.
"What the hell are you two doing?" he asked, shutting the door behind him.
He looked at Kyle, and then Chloe, and then the swinging door of the wall safe. The floor was littered with papers.
"Why did you lie to me?" Kyle challenged his father.