Their first year working together, Mulder finds a Christmas gift Scully left for him. Feeling guilty he did not get her anything, he sets out to fix that, intent on finding her something special.

December 23, 1993

Just a little something I thought you would enjoy. Merry Christmas.

Mulder read the note twice and then looked at the carefully wrapped box on his desk, Scully having left it there while he had been elsewhere.

With a sigh, he picked it up, but did not open it. Shaking it slightly, it made a small sound, the weight of it hardly anything at all.

"Something I'd enjoy," he mumbled, wondering what it could be, but still not opening it for more than one reason.

First, it was not yet Christmas. Second, he had not thought of getting her something and now he felt like a shit for not doing so.

"Damn," he whispered. Taking the box with him, he grabbed his coat and walked out of the office, intent on finding her a meaningful Christmas gift.

Why are malls so fucking crowded? he thought, dodging past someone holding an impossibly large amount of bags in their hands.

"Sorry," the man said, sighing heavily. "The holidays…" He shook his head and Mulder nodded, walking away from him.

A Christmas tree and Santa's Village drew a large crowd of people, children crying and screeching, parents yelling for them to be quiet and stand still. Santa bellowed out Ho Ho Ho and elves danced around merrily trying to keep the attention of children on Santa's lap.

Mulder walked past and let out a sigh of relief that he did not need to stand in that line and deal with an upset or overly excited child.

He bypassed the next few stores, jostled by other shoppers, until he saw a shop he knew would yield a gift befitting Scully. Stepping inside, he walked around until he found what he was looking for; something she would like but not buy for herself, balking at the cost.

Feeling good about his purchase, he paid extra for it to be gift wrapped. Spying the tree printed tissue paper, remembering Scully telling him about how her father always insisted the tree be taken down the day after Christmas, he asked for that to be added to the gift bag.

"He was the only one who ever put it all away, telling us we would never get it right," she had told him, as they drove on a long dark highway one night a couple of months ago, both of them a bit tired, telling stories to stay awake. "I used to feel guilty about it, as if I should be helping, but my mother never did, leaving him to it. He would mutter continuously as we sat around playing, and as we got older, drinking tea or something alcoholic. He would glance at us, shaking his head, and once when I was fifteen, I saw my mom flip him off."

He had laughed as had Scully, nodding her head.

"It was hilarious, especially as he did nothing to retaliate, just grumbled even more. My mother winked at me when she saw I had seen her do it and told me not to mention it to anyone," she had said with a smile and he had laughed again.

He knew she would appreciate the tissue paper, remembering both her past and the night she had told him that story.

Thanking the cashier, he made his way out of the crowded mall and to his car, shivering in the chilly air as he waited for it to warm up. There was a blank note card in the bag and he took it out, debating what to put on it, before deciding on simply writing Merry Christmas, using the pen from his glove box.

Driving over to Scully's, both of the gifts on the passenger seat, he suddenly felt nervous about his gift. He'd never bought her anything more than something to eat or drink. Pushing the thought aside, he pulled up to her apartment and parked the car.

Knocking on her door, he waited anxiously, her gift hanging from his fingers and the one from her in his other hand. He heard the locks being undone and then she was there, smiling at him.

"Mulder. What's going on?" Her eyes landed on her gift to him. "Oh… you haven't opened it yet?"

"Well, no. It's not Christmas."

"It's not like you to wait," she teased. "Come in." She stepped aside and he walked in, the door closing behind them.

"It smells good in here," he said, setting the gifts onto the table, looking around at the simple decorations she had set out, and at the tree in particular.

"I'm baking orange cranberry bread for Christmas at my parent's tomorrow night. I also made some cookies earlier. What are you doing here, Mulder?"

"I uh…" He sighed and looked at her. "I didn't get you a gift and when I saw that you had left one for me, I uh…"

"Oh, you didn't have to do that," she said. "That's not why I got it for you. I just saw it and knew you would probably get a kick out of it." She smiled and raised her eyebrows.

"Still, I thought I should have gotten you something. So…" He shrugged and she nodded.

"Well, I think once you open the gift, you may see a return gift wasn't necessary."

"You thought of me and purchased something. It should be reciprocated."

"Mulder…"

"Here," he said, picking up the bag and handing it to her.

"Thank you," she said, taking it from him, her eyes widening at the name of the shop on the bag. "Mulder… this is… it's an expensive shop. I… what I got for you… Mulder, it's not… this is too much."

"You haven't even opened it yet," he said with a chuckle.

"But I know what's in this shop."

"I'm sure you do."

"Mulder, I can't…"

"Open it, Scully," he said, smiling at her. She sighed and came over to the table, setting the gift bag on top of it.

"Nice tissue paper," she said with a smile, setting it onto the table beside her. He smiled, though he felt more nervous with each piece of tissue she removed.

"Mulder," she breathed when she had taken all the paper out and lifted the gift from inside the bag. "Oh… this is beautiful."

She rang her fingers across the leather bound journal he had gotten for her and she looked at him, shaking her head. Reaching into the bag again, she took out the box, opening it and taking out the blue fountain pen as she let out a breath.

"Mulder, this is too much. I… oh… what I got you, it's not nearly as nice as this gift. I can't… wow, this is the one I… Mulder…" She looked at him and shook her head again.

"There's extra ink there too," he said, looking into the bag. "Here it is. I know you prefer blue ink over black, so I got you a few." He showed her the five he had gotten for her.

"Mulder, it's seriously too much… I-"

"Do you like it?" he asked and she smiled with a slight nod. "Then it's not too much." He smiled and she sighed.

"Once you open yours you'll see why it is," she said quietly and he shook his head. "Open it, Mulder."

He picked up the box and listened to her sigh as he ripped off the paper and set it onto the table. Turning the box around, he started laughing as he looked at the picture on the box and then at her.

"Is that what's inside?" he asked and she nodded, making a worried face and sighing.

He opened the box and took out the contents, taking off the plastic covering and removing the ornament, laughing as he turned it around.

"This is perfect. I love it."

"It's not anything big," she said softly and he shook his head, smiling at her.

"It's great," he said, looking at it again.

It was a wide open mouthed pumpkin with the background of a forest at night and a large yellow full moon. A Sasquatch figure was standing front and center, smiling with its head turned toward the mouth of the pumpkin.

"It's just something silly I saw in a shop one day. It made me laugh and I thought…" She shrugged and he smiled at her.

"I like it. It's funny and something I would have bought if I'd seen it."

"It's not as much as all of this," she said, gesturing to her gifts, her chin scrunched. "You see what I was saying now?"

"What I see is a gift that you will enjoy and use and something I will enjoy as well." He smiled and she let out a breath as she nodded.

"I really do like this pen," she said, looking down at it with a smile as she held it in her hand. "I look at it every time I go into that shop, but I've always left without it, How did you know?"

"I didn't. Not that particular pen anyway, but I do know that you prefer using fountain pens to ballpoint ones. I've seen you picking them when given the choice, yet you don't have one of your own. Seemed like the perfect gift once I saw it."

"It is," she said, smiling at him. "Thank you."

"Thank you," he replied, looking at the ornament again and smiling.

"Would you like a cookie or two? You can be my taste tester, make sure they are good," she offered, putting the pen back into the box and the box and journal into the bag.

"Sure," he said, reboxing his ornament and taking off his coat.

Cookies were added to a plate and mugs of hot chocolate made to drink as they sat and talked. When the loaves of orange cranberry bread were ready, it only took a small amount of cajoling to try that as well. Butter melted into each warm slice he ate, as Scully used her pen for the first time, smiling and thanking him once again. Taking another bite, he nodded as he watched her creating the familiar swirl and loops of her handwriting.