AN: Here's part three, the ending. I swear, my friends are gonna kill me for finishing this one when there are three other stories begging to be finished on the net :::laughs nervously::: Oh well, I always have unfinished stuff I am trying to get around to :::grins::: Hope you all enjoy.
"Hello?"
"Hey."
"Hey yourself," A smile crossed her face. "Where are you?"
"Um, I am at the grocery store."
"Doing what?"
Trying to figure out how to wrap your gift, He thought to himself. "I was picking up some of that tea you like," He commented out loud to her.
Scully chuckled. "Better make it the decaf blend. There's no way I'm going to string out William on caffeine or I will never get any sleep."
He felt a grin cross his face. "Sure thing. I'll be over in a few. Who's there?"
There was a pause as she looked around the house. "Well, mom and Bill with his wife and kids. Our three wise men just showed up a few minutes ago, and-" She was cut off as she heard knocking on the door. She walked over to answer it, smiling as she did so. Skinner stood on the other side of the door and swooped her up into his arms, giving her a large hug. "Skinner just got here," She laughed heartily into the phone as he put her down.
"Tell him hi. I'll be there in a while," With that he hung up and tried to hurry.
Scully hung up her cordless and turned towards her former boss. "How are you doing Walter?" She asked him.
"Aren't I supposed to be asking you that?" He said with a small grin. "Where's William?" He asked as he looked around. She noticed a gift in his hand, but didn't say anything.
"In the kitchen with mom cooing over him," She replied.
"Oh, do you need any help with anything?"
"Nope. Bill and his wife are cooking. Mom is helping out occasionally. Langly, Frohike and Byers are talking on the couch."
Skinner nodded. "Let me stick my head in the kitchen, then I'll go say hi to the guys."
Scully watched him as he went in and said hi to her family. She couldn't help but smile again. It filled her with an overwhelming warmth to have her family and her extended family be able to get together to celebrate this happy occasion. She turned back around as she heard another knock at the door. She went and answered it; part of her hoping it was Mulder. It was not, but the people behind the door were almost as good.
"Agent Doggett, Agent Reyes," She hugged each of them as they walked into the house.
"You know, we are off the clock right now, so why not just call us John and Monica?" John said as he walked back out the door for a minute to bring back in a rather large, wrapped box.
Scully looked at him in surprise. "Oh John, you didn't have to," She said in an appreciative tone that managed to sound scolding at the same time.
Monica elbowed him in the ribs. "I told him he didn't have to," She replied about her good friend. She produced a much smaller box and handed it to Scully.
"Hey," John said in his defense. "I wanted to do this. It's something special."
"Well, you can put the gifts in the living room with the other nine million that are out there. I think Skinner just went that way to talk to the lone gunmen."
"The who?" Monica asked, confused, as she took her gift back from Scully.
John grinned. "Come on, I'll introduce you," he said as he dragged his gift into the living room.
Scully chuckled, and walked back to the kitchen to check on William.
Just as Monica was settling in to talk with Skinner and the new men she had just been introduced to, John's cell phone rang. "Hello?" He drawled into it as he tried to find a quiet place to talk.
"Doggett, it's me," Mulder said into the phone. "Think you can do me a favor?"
"I guess," John replied in a slightly baffled voice.
"Good. Come down to the parking lot and meet me at my car. Have someone up there keep Scully distracted."
"Be there in a second," He replied and hung up the phone. "Monica," He called out in the direction of the living room.
"Yes?" She questioned as she walked back to meet him.
"Can you keep Scully busy for a little while?"
"Sure, I guess," She said, a little brought down. The conversation had just been getting interesting and she couldn't help but think that Byers was cute in his shy little mannerisms. She made her way off to the kitchen, hoping she could talk to the man again later.
John made his way down to the parking lot to find Mulder trying to haul an oversized package out of the back of his car. "Hey," he said as he ran over to help him. "You better watch it or you are going to hurt yourself."
"Geez Doggett, didn't think you cared," Mulder muttered as he shifted so Doggett could take some brunt of the weight.
John decided not to respond to that as he helped him to the elevator. "What in the world is this?" he asked Mulder as they rode up to the apartment.
Mulder simply grinned. "It's a surprise," The elevator stopped and they climbed out, finding Skinner holding the door open for them. They brought in quickly with his help and carried it into Scully's bedroom and shut the door.
"Mulder," Scully said happily as she walked out of the kitchen. It had been a week since she had seen him and he had only talked to her on the phone twice during that. She never realized how much she really missed him until she saw him again. She walked up and gave him a hug, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and burying her face in his chest.
He was momentarily startled by her intimate display of affection in front of everyone, but latched onto the opportunity, wrapping his arms around her and planting a soft kiss on the crown of her head very quickly. Indeed, it was a rare thing to have her pull him into an embrace for a change.
"Where's the tea?" She asked as she pulled away, expecting to see a small brown package in his hand.
Mulder cursed under his breath. "I left it in the car," He admitted. "I'll be right back," He ran out the apartment at top speed. When he returned, he found everyone sitting down to eat the roast and several side dishes Bill had helped his wife prepare. He extended a brief hello to Bill and sat and talked with Scully's mother for a while as they ate. He then made his way over to the conversation between Skinner and Doggett. After the meal ended, everyone made their way into the living room to open up gifts. Since the lone gunmen had already presented Scully with hers earlier (a brand new security system), they held William on the couch and kept him entertained. Monica sat across from Byers and grinned stupidly as she watched him make faces at the little child she had helped bring into the world.
Bill and his wife presented Scully with their gift first. It was a set of crisp linen baby clothes for special occasions, and a christening gown made of antique lace that had seen their own children's christenings. Margaret passed her daughter a small box. "Open it," She encouraged her.
Scully unwrapped the small box to pull out a silver chain that had a crystal hanging on it. "It belonged to your sister," Her mother told her. "I remember her telling me it was supposed to bring protection. I'm sure Missy would like it if some small part of her was watching over William."
Scully got misty-eyed, but refused to cry. Skinner handed her his gift next. She unwrapped it to reveal a picture frame that was matted with several black and white photos. She was clueless for a second, until she looked closer. In one picture was the image of the town she had given birth to William in. In another one was an image of the front of the building that had served as her shelter. There were various other shots, each containing their own aspect of beauty to them in their mono-colored schemes. She thanked him by giving him a quick hug. Monica decided to give hers next, due to it was something similar. Scully opened up the gift to pull out a blanket, that had a patchwork pattern sewn on it. "The patches on it are actually the sheets used from your delivery that I had cleaned up and dyed so I could have this made. I thought William should have part of his beginnings to keep with him always," She explained.
"Thank you," Scully replied. Two presents were left on the table, one big, one small. She moved in front of the large and tore back the paper. She revealed a plain brown box. Curious, she pried it opened and looked inside. The contents were wooden pieces to something that was disassembled. She looked up at John questioningly.
He cleared his throat, slightly nervous. "It was a rocking horse, that was my son's when he was little. I wanted it to bring happiness to a child again rather than just sit in storage over the years."
She was touched beyond words. The last gift was a little gift bag and she pulled out what was inside, producing a little stuffed fox.
"What's the meaning behind this?" Bill asked, very confused.
Scully gave a small smile as she stroked the fox's fur and held it against her chest. "More than you can know Bill," She replied. She was getting ready to speak again, when Mulder interrupted her.
"Scully, can I speak to you for a moment in private?" He asked, kind of urgently.
"Mulder," She said in a confused tone. She had told him before hand that the purpose behind bringing everyone together was to announce to them that Mulder was the father. She wanted to go ahead and get it over with. She wasn't looking forward at all to the gasket her brother was going to blow over it.
"Please Scully," He begged. "Just for a minute. I swear it's important."
She sighed, finally giving into defeat. She excused herself and walked down the hallway after him, following him into her bedroom. "Mulder this better be…" she trailed off as she saw the large package sitting wrapped on the bed.
"Surprise."
"Why did you do this?"
A small smile crossed his face. "I wanted to. Go on, open it."
She approached it cautiously, trying to figure out the best plan of attack. Whatever it was, was huge, and was enclosed in a very big decorated pull-string bag. She reached up and untied the string, and let the bag fall down. She gasped at what she found. A huge chest made out of mahogany laid before her. It was polished till the natural color shined, the dark gold shade looking delicate. There handles and the lock on the front appeared to be plated in gold, complimenting the wood. She ran her fingers across the etchings of moons and stars, which were carved into the wood. "You shouldn't have Mulder," She said softly.
"It's a hope chest, Scully," He remarked.
"For William? They're not traditionally made for boys Mulder."
Mulder chuckled. "I know that. It's for us. Our hopes."
"And what are our hopes?"
Mulder stepped closer, looking down into the blue eyes he had been captivated by for over eight years. "The hope that you could be granted a daughter just like you were granted a son."
She sighed softly. "I knew enough never to hope too much for this miracle. I would never expect to be blessed twice."
"I would hope anything for you Scully, but that is maybe just because I-" He faltered on the word, choking in fear of rejection.
"I love you Mulder."
His eyes focused on her, his mind still trying to process what she had said. She chuckled slightly and his heart wrenched, part of him thinking that she was getting ready to say it had been a joke.
"You look so weird Mulder. Like it was the worst thing in the world I could have said to you," She said with a small smile on her face. On the outside she may have been acting cool about it, but on the inside she was wrought with nervousness. She was finally pouring out her heart to him. What if he had already decided she wasn't worth the effort? He continued to look at her oddly and she decided it had obviously been the wrong thing to say. Her heart felt like breaking, but she would not show it. "Um…" She started. "Never mind what I said. Evidently, this is a one-sided emotion."
It took a minute for the whole situation to catch up with his body due to shock. The minute it had though, he sprung into action. He leapt forward and grabbed her, devouring her lips in a passionate kiss.
Time seemed to freeze as his lips crashed into hers in a whirlwind of love, tenderness, desire and need. She thanked God for everything that had led them up to that moment, to that one kiss that was making her heart want to leap out of her chest with all the emotions she felt.
"It's not one-sided," He gasped as they both came up for air. "I love you more than you can ever know. God blessed us once with William and I am so happy to have him, but I had to know how you felt about me before you told all those people out there that I am his father."
She reached for one of his hands and entwined their fingers. "It took me a while to comprehend what I felt for you. I was terrified of it at first. And then that one night…" She trailed off with a sigh. "I never meant to hurt you. It had just felt like a dream. Too good to be real. I was afraid of waking up. But when you disappeared, I realized how deeply I loved you. The proof of that love was being nurtured in my womb. I realized then that no matter what; I would always love you. That nothing could ever change the way I felt-" Tears were streaming down her face as she spoke. Her voice sounded as frail as the expression she wore. "And I was terrified I would never see you again. Never get to tell you that I loved you."
Mulder leaned forward and kissed her gently on her forehead. "You never had to worry about that. It was my love for you that kept me alive, that brought me back. I would never leave you."
Scully sniffled, her emotions overwhelming her once more. She buried her face in his shirt and cried happily for a few moments while he held her close, enjoying the feel of her in his arms. She backed away slightly as she calmed down, swiping her tears off her face. "Um, so where does this leave us?" She asked him.
He looked at her curiously. "What do you mean?"
She fidgeted a moment, finding her plain gray shirt suddenly fascinating to look at. "William," She commented at last.
"Scully," He said softly and pulled her close to him again. He placed a finger under her chin and gently angled her face up so he could look into her crystal blue eyes. "I love you. I want to be part of your life and I want you to be part of mine. And I want to be William's father if you will let me."
"Of course I will let you!" She kissed him, wrapping her arms around him tightly. "I would never have it any other way," She whispered as she pulled back.
A knock sounded on the door startling them both slightly.
"Who is it?" Scully called out, not bothering to push herself out of Mulder's hold.
"It's Skinner."
"Come in."
Skinner stepped into the room to find Mulder with his arms wrapped around Scully's waist and her face looking like she had been crying recently. "Is everything alright?" He asked uncertainly. "We were starting to get worried."
"Everything's fine. We'll be out in a second, Walter." Mulder replied.
Skinner simply nodded at them, bewildered by Mulder's use of his first name. He then left, the door clicking shut behind him.
"Well, I guess we should go. Everyone is getting anxious." Mulder said with a smile creeping into the corners of his lips.
"Are you ready to go through with it?" She asked him.
"Definitely."
She kissed him one more time, and led him out of the room, hand-in hand. Everyone's attention turned to them as they entered and Scully felt a sensation fill her that had not in a long time. She was content. Nothing felt more right to her than this. To have him by her side, to be telling the truth to her family and close friends. William was a miracle, and it was time to reveal the source of that miracle. It was time to unveil their love.
"What's going on?" Bill asked.
"Is everything okay?" Doggett seemed just as persistent as Bill to get answers.
Scully smiled at them all as her grip tightened on Mulder's hand. She felt more joy at what was about to happen than she thought she ever had. "Mulder and I have an announcement…"
The End
Ending AN:
:::Ducks down under desk::: Before you start yelling "What a crummy ending!" please let me say, I wanted to end it this way rather than having an episode of writer's block. Maybe one day I can be convinced to expand on this story a little, but for now I'm as satisfied as I can be with the ending. I hope you all like it. If you don't, constructive reviews are always welcomed. Hopefully soon I will start another X-Files story. Thanks for all the reviews I received so far. It was fun! :::waves happily:::