July 2020
Scully finished putting away the dishes from lunch and dried her hands on the towel in her hands. As she hung it up on the oven door, she glanced down at her feet and sighed.
The nail polish she had applied a few weeks ago was nearly gone and she knew she would need to do something about it soon. Making a mental note to take the polishes out later, after Faith was down for a nap, she sighed again and looked up, catching Mulder's eye.
"What the troubs, Bubs?" he asked from across the room and she chuckled. Shaking her head, she walked over and sighed as she sat beside him on the couch, where he sat watching Faith play.
"Not really troubling, just…"
"Tell me," he said, bumping her shoulder and smiling at her.
"It's… it's silly, really."
"Nonsense. Out with it."
By way of explanation, she set her bare feet on the coffee table and pointed with another sigh. He looked down and back up at her with a frown.
"What? Your toes?"
"Yeah. Like I said, it's silly and not even something I do very often, but I would really like to be able to go and get a pedicure," she said with a tiny pout and he smiled. "Get out of the house. Sit in one of those wonderful massage chairs… hmm. Have someone rub my feet while I read a magazine about some celebrities I've never heard of nor care to know really, or just close my eyes and relax." She hummed again and closed her eyes as she leaned her head back on the couch and let out a breath.
She heard Mulder shift around and then his foot brushed against hers. Opening her eyes, she watched as his toes ran across hers. Clasping her hand, he brought it to his lips and kissed it.
"It's been a long time, I know. Being home all the time like we have been," he said, both of them looking at Faith as she knocked down her blocks with a squeal of delight. Scully smiled at her and Mulder kissed her hand again before letting it go and standing up quickly.
"What're you doing?" she asked, looking up at him in surprise.
"Give me about… ten minutes, okay?" He bent and kissed her, stood back up, and turned toward the stairs with a grin.
"Okay," she said with a shrug and a quirk of her lips. She scooted off the couch and sat down next to Faith on the floor. "What could your daddy be up to, my love?"
"Dada," Faith said, walking to Scully and crawling into her lap. "'Piedah?"
"Itsy Bitsy Spider?"
"Yes."
"Okay," Scully said with a smile, hugging her close and kissing her head before she began to sing.
When she had finished, Faith stood up and picked up two books, bringing them to Scully and climbing back into her lap. As she read and Faith repeated the words she knew, she kept her back to Mulder, not wanting to ruin whatever surprise plan he had concocted in his mind. She could hear him banging around, opening and closing cupboards, the sink running and the front door opening.
Her curiosity was not the only one that was piqued. Bella trotted over to him and then out the open door, her tags jingling as she walked back and forth across the porch, following Mulder with whatever he was doing.
"No, Bella!" Scully heard him say and she smiled. "That's not for you, girl. If you're thirsty, go inside."
"Thirsty?" Scully asked Faith, her lips pressed against her sweet smelling hair. "What is he doing out there?"
"Cow. Mooooooo," Faith said, pointing at the cow in the book. "Cat. Maow. Gay. Maow."
"Yes, love. Grey says meow. You're so smart."
"Gay. Gay. Cat." Faith stood up and walked over to the scratching post, reaching up to pet Grey, who was sleeping with her head hanging off the side. "Hi, Gay."
Grey woke up with a trilling purring meow, opening her blue eyes and stretching. She let out a big yawn and then pushed into Faith's hand with a purr.
"Aww, Gay. Wahv, Gay."
"You love Grey, Faith?" Scully asked her with a smile at hearing her say love for the first time. Rising up on her knees to work her way closer to the scratching post, she rubbed Faiths back gently. "Honey, I love you so much." She kissed her head and then they both pet Grey, who rolled over and stretched, scratching at them gently.
"Ladies," Mulder said behind them and Scully turned to look at him. He was smiling as he stood in the doorway, arms outstretched. "Would you care to join me on the porch?"
Grey jumped down and ran toward Mulder, Faith laughing as she followed her. He laughed as he scooped Faith up and kissed her, blowing into her neck and making growling sounds. She laughed and wiggled in his arms. Scully stood up and smiled, shaking her head as she walked toward them.
"What's on the porch, sneaky man?" she asked and he wiggled his eyebrows.
"Well, it's not exactly a massage chair in a nail salon, but…" He stepped aside, moving Faith to lay across his shoulder and patting her on the butt. Scully stepped past them and let out a breath as she walked through the doorway.
"Mulder…" she said quietly, shaking her head again. She looked back at him and he grinned with a shrug as she turned to look back at what he had done.
On the porch, he had set up a chair from the outdoor table set, along with the small chair from the child's table set they had bought last year. In front of the chairs, was one of the black plastic tubs they had used for beverages at Faith's birthday last year, filled with water and bubbles. The large makeup bag, in which she kept her collection of nail polish bottles, polish remover, fingernail clippers, and cotton balls was sitting on the table, and a couple of towels lay across the back of the other chair.
"You… Mulder…" She shook her head as she walked across the porch and sat down, putting her feet in the water, glad she had worn shorts that morning. "Come on, Faithy my love, this is your spot. Daddy's going to treat us to pedicures." She tapped Faith's chair with a grin and Mulder set her down beside it.
Faith leaned forward and looked at Scully's legs and then touched the bubbles sitting at the top of the bucket. She looked up at them and then back at the bubbles.
"Bath," she said, splashing her hands in the water. "Watah."
"Yes. It is like a bath," Scully said with a chuckle. "But, we are going to do things a little differently. Sit down, love." Mulder knelt beside her, rolled up her leggings, and helped her put just her legs in as she looked at him confusedly.
"Yeah, just like this. Can you feel Mama's feet in there?"
Scully touched Faith's feet with her own and she gasped. She looked at Scully and then raised her feet out of the water and splashed them back down, spraying water and bubbles everywhere. Bella barked excitedly and came over to the tub, putting her face in and coming back up with a nose full of bubbles. They all laughed as Mulder wiped her muzzle and stood up, his shirt wet in spots.
"I fear this may not go as seamlessly as you may have pictured when you decided to do something so sweet," Scully told him, moving her feet in the warm water as Faith splashed hers again. Grey walked over cautiously and when a drop of water hit her, she jumped and ran away.
"Yeah. I kind of thought it would be one of those moments we look back on that was idyllic. But…" He sighed as Faith splashed even more, the bubbly water in the tub disappearing quickly as it hit the porch.
"No, Mulder. It's perfect," Scully said with a chuckle, and she meant it. It was perfect.
"Hey."
He looked at her and she crooked her finger at him. Walking around, he stood behind her on her right hand side. He bent over as she continued to crook her finger with a smile, her eyes shining.
"It's perfect, really," she repeated quietly. He looked down at the whirlpool of water Faith was creating. It was soaking the porch, her legs and Scully's, their clothes, and Bella's face, as she refused to budge from beside the tub. "Now… you best hop to it. These feet aren't going to massage themselves." He chuckled, kissed her neck loudly, and stood up.
"Yes, ma'am." He bent and kissed the top of Faith's head as he walked around them.
Looking at the wet porch, he shook his head. Raising his eyes to Scully's, she smiled with a shrug, knowing he was about to get very wet, despite the best of his intentions.
He told Bella to move and she sat up, licking his hand, and then flopping down in the shade. Grey chased after her, swatting at her tail as she wagged it. Mulder sat down cross legged in Bella's spot and sighed with a happy smile.
"Do Faith's toes first. See if we can calm some of that wildness," Scully suggested and he nodded.
"Hey, wild girl," he said with a laugh, grabbing a hold of one of Faith's feet, the splashing stopping instantly. "I'm gonna paint your toes, okay?"
"Toes. Pigs." She made a pig sound, or her version of it, breathing quickly in and out through her open mouth. They both laughed, as they always did, the sight of it beyond adorable.
"This little piggy went to market," Mulder began to recite, rubbing her feet and twisting her little toes. She laughed and clapped, saying some of it with him.
He put her foot back and repeated the process with the other foot. Knowing she wanted more than a mental picture, Scully pulled her feet out of the water and shook them off, walking with wet feet across the porch and into the house to grab her cell phone.
"Mama go." She heard Faith say and she smiled. She was speaking so much now, adding new words to her vocabulary daily. Sighing at how fast time truly did fly, she walked back onto the porch to join them.
"Mama," Faith said with a smile as Scully sat down beside her.
"My love," Scully replied, stroking the top of her head.
"Dada, toes, pigs."
Scully grinned and took some pictures of them, her phone on silent, so as to capture candid shots. Watching Mulder be so attentive and gentle, especially with Faith, always made her feel like mush inside. Every day he was wonderful with her, of course he was, but these special moments… God, it just made her melt.
"Okay, Miss Faith," he said, her feet held in both of his hands. "Now that your feet are clean, if Mama would be so kind as to hand me a towel and the bag there, we'll get your little piggies painted."
"Pigs." She made the snorting sound again and Scully chuckled as she turned to do his bidding.
Handing him the items, he dried her feet and pretended to bite her toes, making growling noises as he did. She laughed and pushed them closer to his mouth, silently asking him to do it again.
"I'll get those piggies!" he cried, growling and moving his mouth all over her feet. She squealed and Scully caught every second of it on video.
"Okay, time to get serious," he said, scooting her chair away from the tub a little and opening up the bag, moving things around as he looked inside. "So in here, we have a few color options. Let's see… oh a dark red… a bit grown up, but there is a pandemic going on, so...what the hell? Ah, a nice purple- lilac? Is that what we would call that color? Eh… a couple different shades of pink. Orange, really?" He looked at Scully in disbelief and she laughed.
"It was for that thing at the hospital. At Halloween a few years back, remember?"
"Oh, right. So this is old polish?"
"Some of it is. The pink ones and the lavender are not."
"Lilac, lavender, it's all purple to me," he said with a shrug as he set the colors in his lap and closed the bag. "So which one would you like, my girl?"
"There are a few more bottles in the bag."
"No, there's not."
"There is or there should be- different shades of blue. Did you not see them?"
"Saw them. Not an option. Not for her," he stated, not meeting her eyes as she looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"I'm sorry, what?" She shifted her feet in the tub, raising her right foot, and poking at him with her wet toes.
He looked at her then, his eyes dark and full of desire. Taken aback, she made to move her foot, but he caught it. Squeezing her toes, he stared at her hard and she swallowed as her heart began to pound.
"The blues are for you. You can pick one of them when it's your turn." He let go of her foot and returned his attention to Faith. "So which would you like, sweetheart? Red, pink, or lavender?" Scully put her foot back in the water, his words intriguing her as to why blue would be the color for her, even as the look in his eyes made her feel out of breath.
Faith stood up from her chair and then squatted down to see the bottles better, reaching for the lavender one and a light pink. She looked at them and then at him, handing the pink one back and holding onto the lavender one.
"Purple? Is that the color you want?"
"Puhpo."
"Okay! Great decision, Squatchy." He put the other bottles away and set the bag beside him. Reaching for hers, she pulled it back and shook her head.
"No. My puhpo." She held it closer and he smiled.
"I see. Well, it appears you'll need a demonstration as to what will be happening before we can move forward. Mama, if you would be so obliging…"
He reached for the bag again and looked up at Scully. She nodded and lifted a foot from the water. He dried it quickly and took the bottle of "grown up red" from the bag. Opening the bottle, he began to paint her big toe, glancing up at Faith with a smile as he did.
For a moment, Scully was transported to a different time; when she was pregnant with William and feeling very uncomfortable. She had complained about a lot, a lot a lot on that particular day; one of the complaints being that her toes were chipped and messy. He had walked away and into her bathroom and she knew she had pushed too far, tears pooling in her eyes as the pregnancy hormones had betrayed her yet again.
But then, he had walked out of the bathroom and guided her to the couch. Making sure she was comfortable, he had sat down on the floor in front of her and placed her feet in his lap.
Taking his time, he had painted over the pale blue polish she had been wearing. He had said nothing, understanding that any words he said would have fallen on deaf ears. Making sure they had looked good before he got up, he had propped her feet up on the coffee table.
"Better?" he had asked softly, as she looked at the freshly painted dark red on her toenails.
"Better. Thank you," she had said, shaking her head and sighing as he had sat down beside her. "I know it's silly-"
"No, Scully. It's not. You're growing a person inside of you. A little uber Scully. You can complain about things. I may not be able to fix them all, but toes… well, that I can do." He had taken her hand and squeezed it as she put her head on his shoulder.
"Thank you."
"Mm-hmm."
They had sat in silence until she spoke and corrected his previous comment.
"An uber Scully-Mulder," she had said with a whisper and he chuckled softly, nodding against her head, as he had moved his arm to wrap it around her shoulders.
"See, honey? You see how I painted Mama's toe? That's what I want to do with the purple, but on your toes. Do you want me to do that?" Mulder's discussion with Faith pulled her back to the present and she took a deep breath as she closed her eyes briefly.
"Me. Me do puhpo," Faith said and Scully looked at her as she handed her bottle to Mulder, put a foot on his leg, and held onto his shoulder. He chuckled and nodded, closing up the dark red.
"Sit down then, my love. Sit down." He glanced at Scully and they both smiled. Making sure the dark red was closed properly, he put it back in the bag and moved Scully's foot back into the tub. "I'll take care of that later." He winked and began to shake the bottle of purple polish as Faith sat down.
"With a shade of blue?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "As that's already been decided?"
"Hmm," he said, putting Faith's left foot on his leg and opening the bottle. "I didn't decide that, honey, you did. Years ago, in fact. Okay, you ready, love?" He looked at Faith and she nodded enthusiastically.
With a chuckle, he opened the bottle and set it beside him, taking the wand out and holding onto her little foot. When he painted the first toe, she gasped and put a hand on Scully's knee as she leaned forward to look closer.
"Puhpo! Mama! Puhpo toe. Puhpo pigs!" she exclaimed and they both laughed exuberantly.
She watched intently as he painted the next one, once he had stopped laughing. When they were all done, he put her right foot beside her left and started with her little pinky toe.
Scully ran her thumb across the top of Faith's hand before she began snapping more photos, catching the excitement and wonder on Faith's face, and the happiness on Mulder's.
"Annnnd done!" he said, looking up and smiling at Faith as he closed the bottle. One last photo was taken, before Scully put her phone down on the table. He bent his head and blew on Faith's toes, attempting to dry them faster. She giggled and lifted one closer to his mouth. "Oh no! Purple piggies!"
He pulled back as he held her foot and she giggled again. Bella ran over, her tail wagging as she pushed under his arm, licking at his face. He laughed and Faith squealed, pulling her foot back and standing up.
"Oh, Bell," she said, hugging her neck as Mulder wrapped an arm around Faith, knowing how excited Bella could get.
She licked at them both as Scully once again took pictures, smiling as she moved her feet around in the now much cooled off water. Grey sat a few feet behind them, her tail wrapped around her legs and her head cocked to the side as if trying to figure out why everyone was so excited.
Once Mulder had gotten them calmed down a bit, Faith sat back down and put her feet back in his lap.
"Moh puhpo," she said and he smiled.
"No, love. You don't need more. They're all finished. You wanna play in the tub while Mama has her turn?"
"You'll need to add more warm water before she does. It's a little chilly."
"Oh, you should've said," he told her, feeling the water. "No, it's a lot chillier." He looked at her and she shrugged.
"It feels good to me in this heat, but it won't to Faith."
"Okay, I'll be right back." He stood up and walked inside, Scully laughing as she saw the wetness from Faith's splashing, staining the back of his dark blue basketball shorts.
"You got him good, love. Nice job," she said as she lifted Faith into her lap.
"Mama. Puhpo toes. Yook." Faith pointed as she wiggled her toes and Scully laughed.
"Yup. You have purple on your toes. Daddy painted them for you." Faith leaned back and took a deep breath, putting her arm up around Scully's neck. Taking a deep breath of her own, Scully began to hum and rock her in her arms.
"Wahv Mama."
"Oh, honey. I love you. So very much." Scully squeezed her tighter and rested her head on top of Faith's.
"Okay! Here's the warm water," he said, carrying a large silver pot in his hands.
Scully took her feet out of the tub and he set the pot down.
He dumped out half of the water from the tub, and then refilled it with the warm water; some bath toys coming out with it. Scully smiled as she stuck a toe in and felt the temperature. With a nod, he smiled as he set the pot down and reached for Faith.
"You ready to play in the tub, purple piggies? Let's get your clothes off." He took off everything and set her down naked into the tub. She looked at him with a smile and began to splash happily and play with her toys.
"Good plan to keep her occupied. You still have a job to do and I have some questions," Scully said, clearing her throat and raising her eyebrows.
"Is that right?" he asked as Bella laid down beside the tub, calm in the middle of Faith's excited play.
"Oh, it's absolutely right," she said, moving her chair a little, away from the tub, and handing him a towel. He smiled as he took it from her and picked up the makeup bag.
Sitting down cross legged again, he took her feet into his lap and dried them with the towel. She wiggled her toes and he grabbed at them, his eyes once again desirous as her heart raced.
"You want to know about blue being the color for you," he stated with certainty.
"You're damn right I want to know about that," she asked, shaking her head and glancing at Faith. She was playing with a tiny pink watering can with a white daisy on the side from some toy set she had and had taken into the tub one night.
"I figured you might have figured it out by now," he said, taking out the polish remover and cotton balls. Looking up, he winked as he opened the bottle and applied it to a cotton ball, and then her toenails, removing the current light pink she had been wearing.
"Nope. I'm at a loss here," she said, her right foot moving slowly up his inner thigh.
"Hey," he warned, moving her foot back to his knee. He looked at Faith and shook his head. "Stop that."
"You started it."
"How?" he asked incredulously, shaking his head.
"You mentioned the blue polish and then looked at me all… hmm. You started it. It was just a simple pedicure until you did that, so yeah, you started it." She pressed her toes into his knee and he let out a sigh; continuing to take off the polish as he shook his head.
"Mama. Yook. puhpo." Faith held a purple walrus bath toy in her hand, holding it out to show Scully. "Puhpo toes."
"Yeah, baby. It's purple like your toes. Good job. You're such a smart girl," Scully said, smiling at her as she watched her playing happily in the black tub.
Mulder had moved onto her other foot by the time she looked back at him. The toenails on her left foot were now bare and it looked odd to her, having them been light pink for quite awhile.
"Ahem…" she said, tapping him with her toes. He looked up and she raised her eyebrows. Nodding, he took a deep breath.
"Your toes were painted blue the first time I ever really noticed and it threw me," he explained and she frowned at him. He smiled and finished taking off her polish, setting the cotton balls beside him. Lifting a foot, he began to massage it and she sighed happily.
"We were in South Dakota and it was hot as balls outside. The air conditioner had stopped working in your room, so you were in mine, where it was only slightly cooler. You were grumpy and frustrated with the case, talking really fast as you paced, and all I could do was watch you." He hit a particularly sensitive spot on her foot and she groaned, her head dropping back.
"You were so serious about it, and all I could think was that you were so beautiful, and I couldn't stop myself from looking at you while you were distracted." He stopped massaging her foot, simply holding it in his hands, and she raised her head to look at him. "You were wearing a black camisole and your work skirt, fanning yourself as you paced around in your tirade. Your hair was pulled up with pieces of it falling down and your heels were off in the corner."
She smiled at him, remembering that case and he was right, it was as hot as balls outside. It was muggy as well and their motel was next to a large disgusting pond which smelled and drew mosquitoes to it. She had been bitten a lot while they were there, forcing them to stop at a drugstore for bug bite medication on their way home. Needless to say, she had been unhappy the entire time they were there.
"I remember South Dakota," she said, taking her foot from him and offering him the other. He grinned and began to rub it. "But what does that have to do with blue toenail polish?"
"I'm getting there," he said with a wink, glancing at Faith, who was filling the little watering can and pouring it on her head.
"Hmm…"
"So… as I was saying," he said as his thumbs rubbed the sole of her foot and she moaned again. "I was looking at you and knew if I was caught, you would kill me." He looked up at her and she shrugged with a smirk.
"Well, when you stopped moving, I noticed your toes were painted blue and I wasn't able to concentrate on anything else."
"Why?" she asked with a laugh.
"Mama. Yook." Faith filled the watering can again and poured it out on the porch.
"That's nice, honey," she said with a smile, turning her attention back to Mulder. He shook his head and shrugged.
"I don't know. There was just something about seeing those blue toenails, knowing you had been busting balls all day, staring down our suspect, wearing heels… I can't explain it. It was just so… hot."
"Quite literally," she laughed, remembering the heat of the room. "What if they had been red?"
"Nah. Not as good," he said with a shake of his head, rubbing her heel and smiling. "Red is too commonplace. But blue… hmm." He shook his head again and she laughed.
"That was years ago. God… we hadn't even been working together that long at that point. Barely even nine months."
"Oh, of that I am well aware," he said with a heavy sigh and a shake of his head and she laughed again.
"That one time and now I'm destined to choose only from shades of blue?"
"It was more than once and every time it was hot. You've had different colors, of course, but the blue, well… And as I'm the one painting your toes today, you will be choosing from the various shades of blue in the bag." He grinned and set her foot down on his lap, holding both of them in his hands. She smiled and then held her hand out as she licked her lips.
"Hand me the bag."
"Good. I'll check that the water is still nice and warm for Squatch as you pick." He handed her the bag as he stood up and stretched, walking over to Faith and squatting down.
"Hey, love. You having fun?"
"Dada. Yook. Puhpo." She showed him the walrus and he kissed the top of her head. "Pigs. Puhpo."
"Yes, your piggies are purple. You warm enough?" He felt the water and nodded, kissing her head again as he stood up, walking back to Scully.
"So, did you make your decision?" He sat down and stared up at her with a smile.
"Wellll…" she drawled out as she handed the bag back to him. "I can't say that I have as I like all of them." She sighed and showed him the bottles in her lap.
"Five bottles? You have five bottles of different shades of blue?!"
"I like blue," she said with a shrug. "And apparently you do too."
"Exactly! I'm saying, you have those five bottles of blue and they haven't appeared more often in the rotation? Seriously?" She laughed and shook her head.
"If I had known how much you enjoyed it, they would have. But as I'm just learning of it today, I can't be held responsible."
"Fair enough. Hand me the bottles," he said with a smile, putting out his hand and smiling, as she handed them to him.
"South Dakota," he mumbled, setting one aside. "Movie night at your place. Tennessee. My apartment. Kroner."
"What?" she asked curiously, watching as he looked at the bottles.
"Well, these might not be the exact color, but they're pretty close." He shrugged and stared at them, mumbling under his breath.
"You remember the exact shades from each of those times?" she asked incredulously and he raised his head to look at her.
"I remember everything, Scully. Did you forget that?" He smiled with a wink and her heart raced again.
Faith splashed in the tub and Scully glanced at her, making her decision. Placing her feet in his lap, she nodded. He tilted his head to the side and she grinned.
"All of them."
"What?" he asked, his eyes wide.
"Five bottles, five toes on each foot… seems the decision has already been made. Five shades of blue… one for each toe."
"Do you have any idea what you're saying?" He shook his head as he let out a deep ragged breath. "Any idea, Scully?"
"She goes down for a nap in half an hour," she said, glancing at Faith and then back to him. "I know what I'm saying." He stared at her and she smiled, winking as she slowly moved a foot back and forth across his thigh. He cleared his throat and grabbed her foot, stopping her movements.
"They will need time to dry. The girl needs to get out, dried and dressed… and all in the next half hour. I suggest you figure out the pattern you wish to use before it gets too much later," she said, pressing the toes of her other foot into his leg. He swallowed hard and nodded.
"Yes, ma'am," he said in a low voice and she shivered with the anticipation of what was to come. He picked up the first bottle and began to shake it, his eyes once again full of desire as he stared at her.
"Half an hour," she said again. "Forty five minutes, tops."
"No. It will be half an hour," he stated firmly, as he began to paint her big toe dark blue.
"As long as they look good."
"All the blues at once, Scully… do you even know me?" He shook his head and she laughed. "Now, stop distracting me, woman. I'm working on a deadline here."
"Yes, dear."
She watched him for a second, the serious dedication he gave to the task, and she grinned. As she turned her attention to Faith, she looked up and smiled at her, the pink watering can in her hands, and Scully smiled wider.
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes as the warm wind blew, happy in the moment. No other pedicure would ever measure up to the one shared with her wild girl and given by the man she loved.
No matter how wonderful those massage chairs would feel one day, nothing would compare to discovering the love and desire that lay unknown within the different shades of blue.