Huge thanks to DearPearlie for giving me the idea for this, in particular Ellie's costume!
"Honey I'm home!" Mulder called out as he shrugged off his wet jacket and hung it up on the back of the door. The long, hot summer had given way to cold and wet fall days, and today was no exception.
"We're up here!" Mulder kicked off his shoes as he heard Scully's reply and bounded upstairs, heading in the direction of their bedroom. As he entered the room he paused, looking down at Ellie who was sat up against a mound of pillows. At just over five months, she was almost at the stage where she was sitting up by herself – almost, but not quite. Mulder and Scully knew it wouldn't be long before she was doing so though – already she was proving herself to be a determined and intelligent little girl, not to mention happy. She always had smiles for her family and now slept through the night – in fact she was as good as gold, and Mulder and Scully barely knew she was there. And sometimes, that was the problem, especially when she was left alone with William. The little boy seemed resigned to the fact that Ellie was there to stay, but that didn't stop him from getting up to mischief when he was around her. Still, on the plus side, he didn't hit out at his sister, and as far as his parents knew, he hadn't tried to kill her - yet.
"Scully?"
"Hmm?" Scully was busy tidying away freshly folded laundry into their chest of drawers.
"What the hell have you done?"
Pausing, Scully turned to follow Mulder's gaze over towards their daughter on the bed. She smirked. "Doesn't she look cute?"
"Cute?" As if on cue, Ellie grinned over at her dad, raising her arms up as she recognized him. Taking the hint, Mulder approached the bed and lifted her into his arms. "Meatball, what has mommy done to you? I leave you guys alone for a few hours and this happens."
"What are you talking about? I thought this could be her Halloween costume."
"Halloween? Scully, she's a chicken."
"A chick actually." Scully padded over towards her daughter, kissing her nose. "A cute baby chick, aren't you sweetheart?"
She was right. Little Ellie was dressed in a full chicken outfit – her face visible beneath the head, on which was a little orange beak. And as much as Mulder hated to admit it, his daughter did look adorable in it.
"That's not very scary Scully."
"She's five months old. She's not supposed to be scary."
"But it's Halloween."
"And you can dress in whatever you like for Halloween." William skipped into the bedroom, launching himself onto his parents bed. "Isn't that right baby?"
"Uh huh." He pulled himself up into a seated position.
"But Ashley and I have an idea for Halloween, for all of us."
"William has already decided on his outfit."
Mulder ignored his partner. "We each have a character to dress up as."
"Who chose the characters?"
Mulder thought for a moment. "I did."
"Mulder, I'm not going dressed as Princess Leia."
He smirked. "As much as I would love to see that, it's not Princess Leia."
"Who is it?"
"It's a surprise."
"No way. I don't trust you."
"Come on Scully, you have to. We all have characters and outfits."
"Eleanor is not going as Darth Vader. I'm not letting you put her in a mask."
"It's not a Star Wars theme. I promise you, Meatball will look cute in her outfit. Besides, it's better than a chicken. And you won't be Princess Leia, although if you want to make my fantasy come true we can come to some arrangement."
"Mulder…" Scully warned, well aware that William was listening in.
"I already have my Halloween outfit daddy," announced the little boy, suddenly catching sight of his little sister's costume. "What's Ellie wearing?"
"That's exactly what I said Will." Mulder ignored the glare his partner was shooting him. "And what do you mean you got your outfit? When?"
"This afternoon," Scully explained. "We popped to the mall after school."
"What outfit is this? Who are you going as Will?"
"Dora the Explorer," William answered, matter-of-factly.
Mulder blinked. "Dora…what?"
"Dora the Explorer. She's my favorite."
"Uh huh…" He turned to Scully. "No."
"Mulder."
"Buddy, what about Bob the Builder? You like him too right?"
William turned his nose up. "I like Dora better."
"But Dora's a girl."
"And?" It was the wrong thing to say in front of Scully. "If Will wants to go as Dora, he can go as Dora."
"How about a pirate? Doesn't every kid want to be a pirate?"
Again the little boy wasn't impressed. "I like Dora."
"It's better than who he originally wanted to go as," said Scully.
"Who did you originally want to go as Will?"
"Cinderella."
Mulder groaned. "You're right," he conceded. "Dora is better." He moved closer to the bed, perching on the edge of the mattress and setting Ellie down in front of him. "But the character Ash and I thought you could be is wayyyy cooler than Dora."
William raised his eyebrows in a move that mirrored his mom's when she used to listen to Mulder's theories. He wasn't buying any of it. "Dora is the best."
"But we're all going as something else. Don't you want to be like us?"
After considering his dad's question, William suddenly reached out, placing his hand on Mulder's arm. He shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry daddy," he said softly. "You're cool, but Dora is the coolest."
Mulder shot Scully a warning look as she bit back a sarcastic comment, then returned his attention to his son. "Thanks buddy. If you want to go as Dora, it's ok with me. But," he added. "If you change your mind, just let me know, and you can join your sisters and mom and I."
"Wait a second, I didn't say I was joining you," Scully protested.
"Of course you will. Like I said, our idea is cool. Besides, what were you going to go as? Don't tell me a dead doctor? Scully, you did that last year."
She didn't look impressed with his comment and Mulder realized that was indeed who she was going as. "Well Eleanor has her outfit and will go as a chick."
"No can do. Ash and I have her outfit sorted. Maybe you can take her to your mom's in this outfit and take photos, but she wears my costume when we take in some hardcore Trick or Treating. Deal?"
"I don't trust you."
"I promise I won't make you wear a Princess Leia outfit. In front of the kids," he murmured, grateful that William was too busy eyeing his little sister suspiciously. Mulder suddenly let go of Ellie's waist, smiling as his daughter stayed upright. "Look Scully, she's doing it all by herself."
Scully followed his gaze, and wandered over towards the dresser to retrieve the camera. "Look at you clever girl!" She quickly snapped some shots of the baby, trying to catch Ellie's attention.
William meanwhile, scooted closer to his sister. "You look silly Ellie!" He said, pushing her over so that she fell backwards onto the mattress. The baby shrieked, clearly enjoying the game, as was William, who giggled as she fell.
"William," Scully warned.
"But she looks funny mommy!" He protested. "I like it when she falls over."
"She might look funny dude, but you're not to push her. One day she might hurt herself." Mulder leaned over the baby, blowing a raspberry on her stomach. Although she couldn't feel it thanks to her outfit, Ellie giggled at the noise. "My little plump chick," he cooed. "Don't worry Meatball, daddy's Halloween outfit for you is way better than this."
Xxxx
"You have got to be kidding me." Scully stood over Ellie's baby bouncer in the living room, looking down at her daughter and shaking her head. Her daughter, who was clearly not impressed, stared up at her mom with pleading eyes. "Mulder!"
Moments later she heard the sound of footsteps descending the stairs, and Mulder soon appeared before her. "Obliviate!"
Scully tore her eyes away from the baby to glance over at her partner, rolling her eyes as she did so. When she'd left the house earlier that morning, he'd been clad in jeans and a sweater, but now he was wearing dark pants and a matching shirt and a black cape. A long dark wig sat on top of his head and in his outstretched arm he held a magic wand. "Oh god. Harry Potter."
"How dare you speak his name," Mulder sneered, keeping his wand at the ready. "I am Severus Snape."
"You look ridiculous Mulder."
"Don't make me Avada Kedavra you."
"It would help if that was actually a real magic wand."
"Honey I'll show you my magic wand later if you like, just not in front of the kids."
Scully didn't batter an eyelid. "Speaking of the kids," she began. "Would you like to explain why our baby girl seems to have grown a beard since I left the house this morning?"
Mulder grinned, clearly proud of himself. "Doesn't she look cool?"
"She looks pissed."
They both looked down at their daughter, who was still silently stone-faced. Like her dad, Ellie was dressed differently from when Scully left for work in the morning. Now she wore a long dark grey dress with a purple cloak wrapped around her, and held a wand in her right hand. On her head sat a matching hat – which was far too big for her – and sure enough she now had a long white beard, which masked most of her features. Her big blue eyes were still visible, and Scully was right, she didn't look amused.
"She's just absorbing how awesome she looks. She's Dumbledore, she's officially the coolest."
"She's plotting how to kill you." Scully bent down to get a closer look at Ellie. "Oh sweetheart," she cooed, lifting the beard from her daughter's face to inspect her cheeks. "You'd better hope this beard doesn't irritate her skin Mulder."
"She's fine, we practised already."
"What?"
"We trialled this outfit out the other day, didn't we Meatball?"
Ellie just stared at her mom, giving Scully her best puppy eyes. "Mulder, look at her."
"Scully, I swear. She's secretly loving it. Besides, doesn't she look cute?"
"She looked cute as the little chick."
"And she'll be the little chick tomorrow when we go to your mom's. But tonight she's hanging with the Potter family."
Unable to stop herself, Scully chuckled as she took another look at her daughter. "I'm sorry baby girl, I shouldn't leave you alone with your daddy." She looked back up at Mulder. "Ok, she looks adorable. I'll give you that."
"She'll be the coolest baby on the block."
"She'll kill us for this when she's older."
"That's why we have to enjoy it now. Besides, think about all the sleepless nights she's given us. This is payback."
"What are we going to do with your daddy Eleanor?"
"I can think of a few things you can do to me Scully. It involves my magic wand and a –"
"Oh god seriously…" Ashley came running down the stairs into the living room. She was in her outfit too, her hair backcombed to make it frizzy, dressed in a school uniform with a cloak and a wand. Scully had no doubt she was supposed to be Hermione. "You guys are disgusting."
"Ashley did you help your dad with Ellie's costume?"
She grinned, nodding proudly. "Doesn't she look cool? We thought about drawing a scar on her and making her Harry, but then we thought about this. Will was going to be Harry, but obviously not now."
"Where is your brother?"
"He's upstairs in his bedroom. He's turned it into an obstacle course and is currently speaking Spanish and insisting that his backpack can talk."
Scully groaned. "And this is before he's had any sugar."
"He looks cool though. Although," Ashley added. "He'd have looked way cooler as Harry."
"We'd better get going soon," Mulder commented as he glanced up at the clock. "Before all the good candy goes. We don't want to be left with the healthy stuff."
"Go get ready mom," Ashley ordered.
"Your dad still hasn't given me my outfit." Scully's eyes narrowed as she saw both Mulder and Ashley share a grin. "What? What aren't you guys telling me?"
Ashley rushed over towards the dining table, returning a few moments later with a bag. "Your outfit is in here," she said with a smirk.
"Aren't you going to give me a clue?"
Reaching into the bag, Mulder pulled out another wand. "Well, we appear to be missing a Harry."
"Oh no," she said, shaking her head. "Definitely not. No."
Grinning, Mulder nodded smugly. "Oh yes. Welcome to Hogwarts Scully."
Please review. Oh and go Google "Baby dressed as Chick" and you have Ellie in this chapter ;)
