February 23, 2022
Scully smiled as she sat on the large blanket watching Mulder and Faith playing fetch with Bella.
They were up the hill from the house, a birthday picnic planned and executed, the weather surprisingly warm and accommodating.
She brushed her hair out of her eyes as she sat forward and picked up a slice of yellow bell pepper, nibbling on it as Faith laughed and Mulder fell onto his stomach, feigning an injury. Faith jumped on his back and Bella barked, sniffing at him and jumping back and forth, her tail wagging at an incredible speed.
Mulder rose onto his hands and knees, Faith squealing with delight as she gripped his shirt, Bella now barking and running circles around them, her excitement unable to be contained.
Scully's eyebrows rose as Mulder began pretending to be a horse, walking on all fours as Faith told him to go faster.
"He's gonna pay for that later," she mumbled softly, knowing he would never say no to Faith, but would be sitting on the couch with a bag of frozen peas on his knees later. "Not as young as we once were, especially today." She sighed as she stretched out her legs and took stock of her years.
58. She was 58 today.
"That's a lot of candles," she whispered, smiling at the sight of Mulder raising up and whinnying, much to Faith's delight.
It was a lot of candles and some days she felt every one of them and other days, like today, she felt it could not be possible she was any older than thirty- her journey with Mulder just beginning.
The ankle she twisted at eleven years old, ached sometimes, giving her a slight limp for a couple of days. Her many scars and past injuries would twinge and pull, but always felt better relatively quickly. Sore muscles were treated to Mulder's finely honed massage skills, his large hands knowing how much pressure would bring about a moan as the muscle uncoiled and she relaxed.
All in all, considering the past, the problems and injuries she had sustained, she was in relatively good shape. Laughing at herself, she shook her head, choosing to not walk down a path of woe. Closing her eyes, she leaned back on her arms and tilted her head toward the sun.
"It's just a number," she whispered, knowing she did not feel that old. "I'm healthy and happy, that's all that matters." Smiling, she exhaled deeply.
"Mama? Mama are you sleeping?" Faith asked and Scully opened her eyes.
"No, I'm not sleeping." Faith smiled and stepped onto the blanket, sitting on Scully's legs. Sitting up, Scully wrapped her arms around her and kissed the top of her head.
"You having fun with Daddy?"
"Yes. He was a horse. He so silly."
"He is silly," Scully said, looking up and smiling at him as he sat down at the end of the blanket with a deep sigh, Bella following behind him, sniffing at the grass. "How are you doing there, horsey?"
"Never better. But the horse needs to rest in the barn for a bit." He gave her a look and she laughed as she kissed Faith's head again. "Faithy, come here a second."
"Okay, Daddy." She stood up and walked closer to him.
Pulling her close, he whispered in her ear and she smiled as she looked over at Scully, nodding her head in agreement to what he was saying.
"Yes. I can." She grinned at him and then turned around. "I going to get you some flowers, Mama. Be right back." She walked off the blanket and Bella fell in step beside her.
"Well, that was supposed to be a surprise," Mulder murmured and she laughed heartily as she watched Faith begin to pick flowers.
"It was a good try," she said, catching his eye. He smiled and nodded, rubbing her shin and then squeezing gently.
"Good birthday?"
"Great birthday," she assured him, smiling happily.
"We can order in tonight, whatever you like."
"Sounds good."
"It's weird how things change," he said softly and she tilted her head.
"How do you mean?"
"Well, for us with birthdays especially. We never really celebrated, not really," he said and she nodded.
"No, we didn't."
"But now, with her, it feels like it's needed, or maybe needed isn't the right word, but more like necessary. She needs to know these days are important and so they become important to us."
"Well, I'd argue that birthdays especially have always been important, but not something we've been showy about. Our birthdays were usually celebrated with a nice meal or sex… or both." She smiled and he nodded, squeezing her shin again.
"But now we need to make more of an effort, show her visually, especially as she gets older and is more aware."
"That's true," Scully said, smiling at him and then Faith. "I loved the decorations this morning, in case I hadn't said it."
He laughed and looked at her, both of them thinking of the decorations at home. A happy birthday banner with unicorns and butterflies hung on the wall by the stairs. Balloons of many colors and many different designs floated on the floor, no helium added, but fun to kick around. Green crepe streamers were wrapped around Scully's chair and a bouquet of flowers sat on the table.
It was a hodgepodge of items, Mulder giving Faith free range to pick out the decorations at the party store they had visited. She had been excited to show every one of them to Scully, Mulder shrugging with a grin.
It was chaos and a lot of it.
And she loved every bit of it.
"You did say," he told her, smiling and then looking over at Faith who was singing softly and still gathering flowers. "She had so much fun picking out the decorations and getting them ready for you this morning. And that's what I'm saying, you know? She was so excited and it's now created a memory for her to recall later. To know that we took the time to celebrate you, then we will do the same for her. I want that to be something she holds and carries and continues on."
"God, I love you," she said and he smiled at her.
"I love you too." He moved up and she moved down, meeting in the middle and kissing softly, the wind blowing her hair around their faces.
"Mama! Mama, I have your flowers!" Faith called and they broke apart, smiling at one another and then her as she ran over, many different colored flowers in her hands. "See the purple one. So pretty. And yellow and green."
She knelt down and laid them all carefully in Scully's lap, arranging them in the order she liked best, talking about why she liked each one.
"Faithy, did you see this one?" Mulder called.
He had stood up and walked not far from the blanket, plucking a flower from the ground. Turning around, he held out a dandelion and Faith stood up, walking over to him, as she reached out to touch it.
"Now, you don't touch this part, but you can hold the stem. This is a dandelion. A wish flower."
"A wish flower?" she asked and Scully smiled.
"Yes. So what you do is close your eyes, make a wish of anything you want and you open your eyes and blow, like this…" He closed his eyes, nodded, opened his eyes and blew softly, the dandelion seeds blowing in the wind.
"Wow," Faith whispered and Scully stuck out her lip with a sigh, Mulder grinning as he caught her eye.
"Now you try it," he said, holding a different one out for her to blow.
She took it and held it, examining the flower from all sides. Looking at Mulder, he nodded and smiled. She closed her eyes and nodded, Mulder grinning at Scully, and then she opened then, blowing on the dandelion.
The seeds flew off of half the flower and she stared at them as they blew away. Laughing, she blew the rest of it and danced around, chasing them as they flew even farther.
"Here, honey, give this one to Mommy," he said as she came back and he held out the biggest one of them all, smiling at her when she took it.
"Here Mama. It's a danlion." She gave it to Scully and smiled at her. "You take a big breath and make a wish. Like me. And like Daddy. You ready, Mama?"
"I am, my love."
"Go, Mama. Make a wish and…" She puffed her cheeks up and blew out, Scully grinning at the sight of her.
Glancing at Mulder and then looking back at Faith, she closed her eyes. Not needing to make a wish, she sent out a thought of thankfulness, drew in a deep breath, opened her eyes and blew firmly into the puff of dandelion seeds.
They dispersed and Faith laughed as she chased them again, Bella barking as she followed her. Mulder knelt beside Scully on the blanket and stared into her eyes.
"What did you wish for?"
"I'm not supposed to tell," she whispered, smiling as she touched his cheek. "But since it wasn't technically a wish, I guess I can."
"Is that right?"
"Hmm," she hummed, kissing him softly. "I offered up thanks for the happiness I feel today. That I feel every day."
"Hmm," he hummed back and she smiled, kissing him again. "Happy birthday, love."
"Thank you." He smiled and kissed her once more before sitting beside her.
She put her head on his shoulder and sighed as they watched Faith and Bella playing, the thankful dandelion seeds bound for places unknown, to bring wishes and happiness to others.