July 10th

"Mama," Faith said, holding out her hand. "I ready for hanitizer." Scully laughed and took the foam sanitizer from their backpack and pumped some into Faith's hands and then into her own.

"And we go…"

"Round, round, togetah, round, round," Faith said as she watched Scully, mimicking the way she rubbed the hand sanitizer into her own hands, looking up with a smile when she was finished and the foam was gone. "I have my water?"

"Here you go," Mulder said, handing her cup to her as Rachel sighed audibly.

"Sometimes I think she can't be any cuter and then she does something like that and I want to…" She made a squeezing motion with her hands and gritted her teeth. "Ugh. I just want to squeeze her so hard. That's not a weird thing to say is it? I really shouldn't want to squeeze a child, right?" They all laughed and Faith smiled as she drank her water.

"I understand what you mean," Scully assured her with a smile.

"Good, because I don't want to sound too crazy." They laughed again, Faith drinking her water and eating some apples as they waited for their own food.

They were having lunch at a café in downtown Bethesda, planning on telling them about the house as they ate and then driving over to look at it. Scully felt nervously excited, knowing it was the right decision, feeling her mother was guiding her in her plan.

"So this was a surprise, to see you all again so soon," Rachel said with a smile.

"Well, we need to go to my mom's house today and so we thought… we're in the neighborhood-ish, why not get some lunch?" Scully explained, her heart beginning to pound harder.

"Oh, your mom's place… I liked it there. Well, the two times I was there anyway." Rachel laughed and then sighed. "That's the kind of place I want to find. A place that has character, a past, a story to it. We looked at four more places yesterday and hmm…" She shook her head and sighed, then smiled at Faith.

Mulder squeezed Scully's thigh gently under the table and she nodded slightly, looking at him with a quick smile.

"We have two more houses to see tomorrow and then won't be able to see any more until Wednesday as I have some work to do and Rachel has clients," Skinner said, his arm going around the back of Rachel's chair.

"As long as I can be there, I will be," Rachel said, rubbing her stomach. "These two are growing so fast though. We have another appointment on Friday. Hopefully we'll be able to see the sex this time, as last time neither of them felt like being little exhibitionists."

They laughed and Mulder cleared his throat, squeezing Scully's leg again. She nodded, opening her mouth to speak, but at that moment their food arrived. Plates were shifted, thanks given to the waitress, food placed on Faith's plate, and drinks refilled before it was quiet as they began to eat.

"Have you had any odd cravings?" Mulder asked Rachel, nodding at Scully. "Scully was obsessed with grape juice, grilled cheese, and french fries. But grape juice the most."

"Oh my god, I would salivate at the thought of it. Seriously, we're talking Pavlov's dog. It was bad." Scully shook her head and Rachel chuckled as she ate a cherry tomato.

"Lemonade. Peanut butter sandwiches-"

"Sandwiches…" Skinner scoffed and shook his head. "As if there is always bread involved. You eat it right out of the jar by the spoonful. The sink is littered with spoons bearing the remnants of peanut butter."

"Oh yeah. Green olives, right out of the jar," Mulder said with a nod, pointing at Scully as they all laughed and Scully nodded, looking at Rachel in understanding who shook her head with a smile.

"Unco," Faith said, tapping Skinner's arm. "I have that cannaloop?"

"My cantaloupe?" He laughed, picking up the slice of it on his plate. "Sure you can, girl." He handed it to her and she grinned, holding it in her hands and taking a large bite. He stroked her head and shook his head. "So GD cute."

"And she knows it," Scully said, smiling as she watched Faith wiggle happily with cantaloupe juice on her face.

"I also really like super garlicky food. I pay for it later, but it's like you said," Rachel said, smiling as she too watched Faith, before turning to Scully. "As it was with you and grape juice, it makes me salivate. I have to have it."

"It's very strange how important those small things become to us."

"God, yes." Rachel shook her head and snatched a fry off Skinner's plate. He smiled, taking a handful and placing them onto her plate, kissing her nose quickly, as Scully watched them with a smile.

"So you need to still go or you already have gone to your mom's?" Skinner asked and Scully inhaled at the question, recognizing her opening to get the ball rolling.

"Need to, after we leave here."

"Is everything okay?" He frowned slightly and she let out a breath, Mulder's hand on her leg again.

"Yes, the house itself is fine, but the reason for the visit may be a bit more in question."

"What exactly does that mean?" he asked with a chuckle.

"It means it depends on what you have to say."

"What I have to say? What are you talking about?" he asked again, and Mulder squeezed her thigh as she smiled.

"Dada. I have more chicken?" Faith asked, halting the conversation momentarily.

"Please?" Mulder said, reminding her to ask politely.

"Thank you," she answered and they all laughed, Mulder shaking his head as he moved his hand from Scully's leg to place some pieces of chicken onto Faith's plate.

"Please continue with what you were saying," Skinner said and his expression was one she knew well; remaining neutral, even as he was thinking and anticipating something.

"I have a proposition and you need to just listen. Both of you, but you especially… Walter."

"Scully?" he asked and she found it comical that these days she chose to use first name to show she was serious and he chose her last to do the same.

"My mother's house was left to me in her will. Just me. She died five years ago and aside from our wedding dinner, it's sat empty since then. Well, not empty as it's still as it was when she died, but empty of life. Of a family." She looked at Rachel, who frowned and shook her head slightly, not fully understanding. Scully smiled and looked at Skinner, his expression similar, but she could see he was beginning to understand.

"Scully…"

"I want to give the house to you," she stated and Rachel gasped, fumbling her fork, which clattered to the table.

"Absolutely not," Skinner stated, his eyes hard. "I will not take your mother's home. You can't-"

"You're not taking it, I'm giving it to you."

"No," they both said, shaking their heads.

"Both of you? Really?" Scully asked with a smile.

"Dana," Rachel began, glancing at Skinner for support and he nodded furiously. "There is no chance that I would-"

"You said yourself that you liked it. That it had character."

"Yes, but that's a huge leap from: 'I like it here, can I please have it'?" Rachel said, looking to Mulder for help, but he only shook his head with a smile.

"I think it's a great idea."

"You couldn't possibly," Skinner scoffed.

"It's the perfect sized house, the location is balanced between both your places of work, it's close to the city, but not right in the heart of it." He looked at Scully and she smiled, reaching for his hand and holding tight. "It's truly a perfect location."

"It's your mother's house," Rachel said softly and shook her head. "I would never…" Scully smiled as she reached her other hand across the table and Rachel grasped it.

"You would never… and that's precisely why it's being offered," she said, squeezing Rachel's hand. "When you mentioned your tough time finding the right house, the idea began to take root. I just needed to see it on my own and look at it through different eyes."

"Dana, I don't want you to-"

"A house needs to be lived in or it starts to decay." She looked at Skinner and smiled. "A home should hold life, not waste away, being of no use to anyone."

"Dana," he said quietly and her smile grew at the name change.

"At least come and look at it, before you say no."

"They may agree to live there, but he will never take it without payment," Mulder reminded her again as they pulled into the neighborhood, Skinner and Rachel following behind them.

"And I am fully prepared for that conversation," Scully assured him and he quietly chuckled.

"I am well aware." He looked at her as he turned left, her mother's street the next on the right. "You're sure? Absolutely sure."

She smiled as they drove down the familiar road, the one she had traveled countless times in various states of feeling. For birthdays and holidays and when her heart had been broken, feeling it would never be the same again.

Her mother's house had been a safe haven, a place she had always been welcomed and loved.

But it was not the house that had loved her, it had been the woman within.

"I'm sure," she whispered. "A house is what waits for the love to fill it, for the people who live within to supply it and make it a home. This house needs to be a home again. It needs to be full of happiness and love and babies, not sitting like an empty former shell of itself." She looked at him and nodded. "I'm sure."

"I love you so much," he whispered, taking her hand and kissing her fingers as she smiled.

They pulled into the driveway, Skinner pulling up beside them. Scully turned her head and smiled at him through the window, but he did not return it, his jaw tight.

"Keep working that Scully charm of yours," Mulder said, kissing her hand before shutting off the car. "Just like you used to do."

"I never."

"Bullshizz, you know you did. Let's go."

They all got out, Faith toddling up the walkway in front of Mulder. She pointed out the flowers and bent down to smell one, stopping everyone's progress.

"Mmm, floweah smell nice," she said and stood up with a happy sigh, Scully smiling as she heard Skinner's gruff hum behind her.

"You don't play fair, Scully," he said quietly and she laughed at the use of her surname again, looking at him over her shoulder.

"Just because she's had you wrapped around her finger since she was born, doesn't mean you get to blame me when the cuteness she exudes is successful."

"Yeah, yeah," he growled as Mulder unlocked the door and pushed it open, stepping inside with Faith.

Scully stopped Skinner and Rachel, who had a hand at her throat and the other on her belly, from going inside as she needed to say something.

"There will need to be remodeling done, the house is in need of it, just keep it in mind when we go inside. I know you've been here before, but it's with different eyes that you will look upon it now."

"Dana," Rachel whispered. Scully smiled as she turned around and walked inside, turning again to see their faces, to witness the first impression they had, to see if her feelings had been correct.

Rachel entered first and drew in a breath before bursting into tears, her hand going to her mouth to stifle the sound. Skinner followed and drew in a deep breath as he looked around.

"Raycho crying. Why her crying? Raycho sad?" Faith asked, looking at Mulder who was holding her. "Dada? Raycho crying."

"Yes, my love," Mulder said with a smile. "Rachel is crying, but I think it's because she's happy."

"But her crying. Her say waah, baby on bus. Baby on bus say waah."

Laughter filled the room, breaking the tension that had been lingering. Rachel dried her eyes and walked over to Faith, taking her from Mulder and squeezing her tight.

"You happy, Raycho? No more sad?" Faith asked, touching her cheeks.

"I am happy sweet Faith. Very happy." Rachel smiled at her and Faith smiled back, now playing with Rachel's necklace.

"I know it's just this room, but this is exactly the feeling I was talking about," Rachel said to Skinner and Scully, her eyes wet. "It just feels right, you know? There is something about it, it's just…" She shook her head, tears sliding silently down her cheeks.

"It's perfect," Skinner said and Scully smiled. He looked sternly at her and shook his head. "But, we still need to have a discussion."

"I would expect nothing less," she said with a laugh.

They went upstairs, all the curtains and windows opened to let in the light and some fresh air. Rachel was quiet, wiping her eyes often as she shook her head with a smile. They left Faith with the men and walked out of the main bedroom.

"It's exactly what I imagined I wanted. It's an odd thing to say, but it just feels welcoming and how I want a house to be. There is history and happiness, but also…" Rachel said as she touched the wall of Scully's old room. "There is sadness and heartbreak here. Pain and suffering as well as happiness. Other houses have it of course, but…" She looked at Scully, who smiled with a nod.

"I understand."

"You don't think that sounds… illogical? To say that I can feel it?"

"Rachel, you know us. You know what we did in the past, our jobs. You've seen Mulder's poster up in our home. Illogical is who we are. Well, maybe not illogical. More so… willing to believe what we can't always see, whether it's faith in religion or little grey aliens orbiting out in space." They both laughed as Scully shook her head.

"This was my room. My mom kept it for the grandkids when they came, which was never often enough for her liking." Scully smiled at the sparsely decorated room, one in which she herself had stayed for a bit after she and Mulder had separated. There was heartache held within those walls, but only a small amount compared to all the happiness it had seen.

"My sister's room was next door and we shared the connecting bathroom. My younger brother Charlie had the room at the end of the hall. My older brother Bill was in the Navy when we moved back here, so another bedroom wasn't needed. He stayed on our old pullout couch when he visited. After my sister left, it was only me and my younger brother Charlie."

"Did you two get along?"

"We did. He was fun and far less serious than my older brother." Scully smiled as she looped her arm through Rachel's and they walked through the bathroom and into the next room. "I think these two rooms will be perfect for the babies. The other room for now, it being closest to the two of you, then each in a room so they can share the bathroom, which will also be easiest on you two for quite a while with naps, bathing, and goodnights."

"Dana…" Rachel sighed, squeezing her arm and shaking her head. "This is perfect, it really is what I was looking to find."

"Good, that makes me happy."

"I just…" She pulled her arm gently from Scully's and shook her head again. "You know we will not allow you to give us this house. Walter would never agree to it and I… well, I'm pregnant. You really shouldn't add any undue stress onto a pregnant woman." She rubbed her belly and stared at Scully, who smiled and then laughed.

"Nice try, but you've already shared with me your secret for getting out of conversations and arguments. That isn't going to work on me," Scully said with a wink and a smile.

"Fuck," Rachel said through gritted teeth, narrowing her eyes at Scully, who laughed and reached for her arm again.

"Let's go see more of your house," she said, walking out of the room and down the stairs.

Through the living room and into the kitchen they went, looking around at it, Scully thinking of conversations at the small table in the corner. She touched the placemats sitting upon it and felt dust on her fingers when she pulled them away.

Yes, it was time to let go of the past and accept the future.

"Rachel, come outside with me."

They walked into the backyard and Rachel laughed softly as she looked around.

"We met here, Walter and I. Well, not right here, but in this house for your wedding reception. He walked in with Faith in her car seat, her dress over his arm and I remember thinking that there's something about a man with a baby that's so goddamn attractive." They both laughed and Rachel shook her head. "He took her out and though some of the women offered to help change and dress her, he insisted he could do it. I didn't know him, but I watched him. I saw how he talked to her and how he smiled at her and hooo…" She raised her eyebrows and shook her head. "So sexy."

Scully laughed, remembering watching them together that night, seeing her shy smiles as they danced.

"He took her into another room and the others walked away, back to helping where it wasn't really needed as Tampa chased them away, but I waited, wanting to listen and see how it went. I never heard any crying, only her laughing and him swearing," Rachel smiled and Scully watched as she rubbed her stomach, her eyes seeing something Scully could not. "Then he came into the room carrying her with a triumphant smile on his face, but he didn't notice me as he was talking to Faith. Telling her he would show everyone who had doubted his ability."

"So was that the moment for you?"

"Hmm?" Rachel shook her head, frowning slightly. Scully smiled and Rachel sighed as she shook her head again. "I don't know about it being the moment, but it definitely got me to notice him, to wonder who he was exactly."

"And to write this down?" Scully asked, taking the note she had found under the cabinet from her back pocket, and handing it to Rachel.

"What is this?" She opened it and Scully saw her cheeks redden. "Oh my God…" She shook her head and looked at Scully. "Where did you find this?"

"When I was here the other day, the pop thing from my phone fell off and rolled under a cabinet. When I reached for it, that note was beside it."

"I threw this one out, not wanting him to think I was teasing him or being less than serious about a dinner date, because I really did want to see him again. I had told him he was a good dancer and he didn't seem exactly overjoyed at the statement." She was looking at the paper again and smiling.

"Looks like it didn't make it to the trash after all. It was here all this time, waiting to be found. It was fated."

"Dana," she said, shaking her head. "You're not making this easy."

"I don't plan to," Scully laughed. "This is the best plan for this lonely house. The best for the two, eventual four of you, and I think once you think about it more, you'll agree with me. Make some changes, make it yours, and it will be perfect."

"I really do like it. It just feels right. And I already have good memories attached to it. The dinner with your mother and Fox, your wedding dinner, and meeting the man I would fall in love with and marry, just a little over a year later," Rachel said, letting out a deep sigh as she looked at the paper again, and Scully smiled.

"This house needs you. Needs life," Scully said with a smile as she looked around the yard. "And a pool. Don't you think a pool would be perfect back here? We all begged my dad for one, but he would never relent. You need a pool."

"Dana…" Rachel shook her head. "Walter was right, you don't play fair." She looked out at the yard and she sighed with a nod and a slight smile. "But yes, a pool would fit perfectly, and still leave us with some yard in which to play."

"Exactly. It's the perfect home."

Rachel looked at her and smiled, reaching for her and hugging her for a few moments. When they separated, Rachel wiped her eyes and stared into Scully's, asking silent questions.

"You're absolutely sure?"

"One hundred percent," Scully said, squeezing her hand. "Let's go inside, it's hot and I know your husband has some things he wants to say to me." She smiled and Rachel squeezed her hand as they walked back inside.

Faith was playing on the living room floor with some toys Mulder found in a bin in the hall closet, which had been there since Matthew was a small boy. She was happily taking them all out and examining them, completely engrossed as they all sat at the dining room table.

"First and foremost," Skinner said, staring at Scully. "You will not be giving us this house. I… we will not accept it. As kind as it was for you to offer it, we cannot do that, not without payment."

"I figured as much," Scully responded. "Just as I would if our roles were reversed."

"Good. Then that's settled." He gave her a curt nod and then looked at Rachel, who nodded with a smile. "That being said… this house checks all our boxes for what we were looking for and we would be honored to call it our own."

"I'm so pleased," Scully said, tears filling her eyes.

"Dana," Skinner said, reaching for her hand and shaking his head. "If you're not-"

"No, I am. I'm completely sure. They're happy tears," she assured him, grasping his hand. He held her gaze and she nodded. "I promise."

"Okay," he said, squeezing her hand and letting out a breath as he let go.

"So," Mulder said, clapping his hands once. "We'll start with an inspection, get an appraiser out here, discuss payment, and then pack this stuff up. Once it's empty, renovations can start."

"Could I… could we talk about that?" Rachel asked quietly.

"What?"

"About furniture and things that are in here? What will you do with it?"

"Storage somewhere I'm sure," Scully said and Mulder nodded. "Then we can sort it out later, give it away or bring some to our house."

"If we have room for it."

"True."

"Could I ask that some things stay? Like this table?" Rachel smiled as she looked down at it, running her fingers across the smooth surface. "I really like it and it fits this room perfectly. I love the smoothness of it, but it has this one scratch here. It's imperfect, but that makes it even better."

"That's from a plate my mom always told us to pick up if we moved it," Scully explained, smiling as she looked at it. "One night, when I was about sixteen, the priest at our church, Father Mackey, came over for dinner and slid the plate. We all heard the scratch and looked at my mom, our eyes wide. She smiled and waved it off telling him it was fine even as he apologized profusely. It was not spoken of anymore, but we all felt her anger. Later that night, she tried to use furniture polish, sandpaper… anything to diminish it. She swore a lot that night and spent more time in confession the following Sunday than she usually did, but eventually it became a well known story in our family. The Mackey Muckup became its name, or Foible of the Father, if we were feeling especially… religious. 'Cover the Father's Foible. Whatever it takes, make sure it's not seen, for God's sake.'"

"Bet your mother loved that," Mulder said as they all laughed.

"After a while she didn't mind it," Scully admitted with a shrug.

"So, could we discuss keeping some things, when the time comes?" Rachel asked, wiping the tears from her eyes with a smile.

"I'd like that," Scully answered with a nod, and the discussion continued with the plans that would need to be made.

July 16th

"The house passed it's inspection. Everything looks good," Skinner said, bringing bags of food into said house for dinner and Scully smiled with a nod.

"They called Dana too, just as I got here a few minutes ago," Rachel said, with a grin as she set plates and silverware onto the table, kissing him quickly as he passed into the kitchen to set down the bags so they could all eat.

Since the decision had been made for the house to be sold, Mulder, Scully, and Faith had decided to move in temporarily to avoid driving back and forth as they began to go through items in the house. Grey had been taken to Violet and Denis's house for the duration of their time there. So, along with Bella, the trio had come to stay until the house was cleared out.

Rachel and Skinner had joined them nearly every night, to talk over plans and be an extra set of hands to speed up the moving process. The rooms were done one at a time, the items Rachel wanted to keep left within consolidated spaces upstairs and down, to make renovation easy.

Boxes had begun to stack up in Melissa's room upstairs of things to donate as well as take to storage. Video calls with her brother's had left them all crying, especially Charlie, who wanted specific items he had forgotten about. They had been set aside to be sent to him later.

Though it had seemed like a big task at the start, it actually had gone smoothly. Maggie Scully had not been a woman who believed in clutter or having many knickknacks lying around. She had been sensible in the items she had decided to keep over the years.

"That's Navy and Military life for you," Scully had said as she carefully wrapped and packed some delicate items. "You move enough times, especially with four kids, you live simply and keep only that which holds the most value to you."

Rachel had taken a liking to Scully's father's office. She had cried as she looked at everything, telling Scully about her own father and how wonderful he had been and how hard it was when he died.

"He was my biggest cheerleader," she had said, touching the desk and looking at the pictures on the wall. "I was lost when he died."

"You were young," Scully had said softly and Rachel nodded.

"I was. But it doesn't really matter the age when it happens, death fucks you up whenever you experience it. It leaves such a hole inside of you. Such a…" She had shaken her head and let out a breath. "Sorry, not where I was playing to take this conversation."

"Don't apologize, Rachel," Scully had said to her, rubbing her arm gently. "Tell me more about him."

So she had as they packed up the office, both of them trading stories, laughing and crying in turn. When everything had been boxed up and stacked onto the desk, Rachel had turned to her with a small smile.

"Thank you, I guess I needed to discuss him."

"Me too."

"Dana? Please feel free to say no, but could I have that drawing of the diagram of a battleship? I'd like to keep it here, hanging next to my own pictures."

"I think that…" Scully had started to say before a lump set up residence in her throat. She had blinked back tears, wiping at them quickly, as she nodded.

"I'd like that," she had whispered, Rachel pulling her in for a hug.

All in all, things had gone extremely well. The house was nearly finished and packed and that weekend they were all going to be there to finish it. Tomorrow they would have a moving truck there, two men Skinner knew from work, coming to help move the items to their designated places.

Tonight though, they would eat and after Faith had gone to bed, they would sit around the portable fire pit Mulder had purchased as a surprise.

Sitting down to eat, they talked about their day, the house, and plans for tomorrow. Faith sat on Skinner's lap when they had finished, her hands on Rachel's belly as she felt the babies moving around.

"You feel that, Faithy?" Rachel asked and Faith nodded.

"The baby's in your tummy. Baby come out? I want to see the baby." She suddenly gasped and pulled her hands away as Rachel breathed in sharply.

"That was a big movement," she whispered, laughing incredulously. "Wow. It was big wasn't it Faith?" Faith was hesitant to put her hand back, but Rachel smiled and held her hand on her stomach, moving it to feel the babies again.

"Baby push my hand. I feel baby moving on my fingers."

"Yes. Soon the babies will be here and you can see them. You can even hold them. Would you like that?" Faith nodded and smiled at Rachel. "There are two babies, Faith. A boy… and a girl."

"WHAT?" Mulder and Scully cried out together and Rachel smiled with a nod.

"You've been here all this time and not said a word about it?" Scully said, staring at Rachel and shaking her head in disbelief.

"We had the ultrasound earlier today. I wanted to wait for Walter… and the right moment."

"Well, you certainly got it." Scully grinned and sighed happily. "A boy and a girl… I knew it. I knew it would be one of each. Oh..." She got up and came to sit beside Rachel, placing her hand on her stomach next to Faith's as she smiled at Rachel.

"Mama feel the babies? Two babies in Raycho's tummy." She lifted her hand and used it to help push up two fingers on her other hand. "Two babies, Unco." Skinner laughed and kissed the top of Faith's head.

"Yup, little girl. Two babies." He smiled at her and she nodded, placing her hand back on Rachel's stomach.

"So," Mulder said with a grin. "Now that you know, do you have names picked out or are you waiting?"

"No, we have names," Rachel said, looking at Skinner with a soft smile.

"Will you be waiting to tell people or…" Mulder pressed and Rachel shook her head.

"No, you don't have to wait." She took a deep breath and Skinner nodded with a smile as he rubbed Faith's back gently. "The boy will be named after both of our fathers: Jacob for my dad and Charles for Walter's."

"Jacob Charles," Scully said softly, moving her hand and sitting back. "I like that. It's a good name."

"Thank you."

"And for the girl?"

"Elizabeth Grace, for Walter's mother and my grandmother." Rachel smiled as Scully sniffed and wiped her eyes, looking at Faith as she continued touching Rachel's stomach.

"That's… those are both perfect names. I love them."

"Mama, you crying? You sad?" Faith scrambled from Skinner's lap and over Rachel, who grunted as she pushed on her stomach, clambering to get to Scully. "Why you crying?"

"No, my love, I'm not sad. I'm happy." She laughed as she lifted Faith off of Rachel. "Happy that we will soon meet the babies, Jacob and Elizabeth. Won't that be fun?"

"Yes, Mama," Faith said, snuggling close and touching Scully's cross as Scully smiled at Mulder across the table. He winked at her and then looked at Rachel and Skinner.

"Good names chosen for good people," he said with a hum and a nod. "We need to make a toast." He pushed Scully's drink in front of her and then reached for Faith's. "To Jacob and Elizabeth. May they be strong, caring and kind."

They all raised their glasses, Rachel sniffling as Faith tapped her plastic cup to her glass one, smiling happily.