So its been long enough, right? I'm sooo sorry. I meant to do this, then I got sick, then I had work...excuses excuses. X Files aren't mine...no Mulder and Scully for my personal enjoyment. (mwuaha, if only!) The story is mine though, so please be nice to it.
As always, thanks to my beta, Jen. You rock!
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Back outside Scully had gotten out of the pool and was running around its perimeter. She ran around the skewed figure 8 of the pool, laughing as Mulder chased her.
As Mulder neared her, Scully turned sharply and fell, raking her right knee on the ground.
Mulder stopped immediately and went to her.
"Ouch..." She moaned as she picked herself up.
Scully examined her knee, which was already bleeding, and stood all the way up.
Mulder too was looking her over, checking to make sure that she was okay. He helped her up.
"Here...let me..." He motioned to pick her up, then smiled. "I promise that I won't throw you in the pool. I'm going to take you in to your mom so she can clean you up."
Scully nodded, finding it absurd that she would need to be carried or that she would need her mother to fix up her "boo boo," but she didn't mind. In fact, she found it quite amusing.
Mulder bent over and picked up his partner's tiny figure. She barely weighed a thing to him.
He carried Scully to the back door, somehow managing to slide it open without shifting her a hair, and brought her inside.
He heard voices in the kitchen, so he headed in that direction.
"What the hell did you do to my sister?" Came an angry voice.
Mulder didn't have time to react, but he knew somehow that it was not Charlie addressing him in such an abrupt manner. He stared blankly into Bill Scully's face.
Charlie, Laura, and Margaret were standing in the spacious kitchen, watching the scene unfold.
Tara, Bill's wife, stood silently off to the side, near the front entrance to the kitchen. She held Matthew, her two year old son in her arms, not even grimacing at her husband's demeanor.
Mrs. Scully did not share her daughter-in-law's familiarity with such rudeness, and did not tolerate it from her children.
"BILL SCULLY!" She snapped, appalled that he would say such a thing to a guest in their home.
Maggie looked apologetically at Mulder and Scully, who had been quickly, though gently released from the former's arms.
"Bill was able to get off early and make it out here," Maggie explained to the two. She didn't add what she was actually thinking; that it was a shame that Bill had come to ruin Dana's day.
Margaret Scully loved all of her children, regardless of their faults. They all had them; Dana and Charlie had theirs, and Bill had his. She was not blinded by motherhood, as many are, but rather saw her eldest son for what he was. She knew that his hatred of Fox was unjust, and wished that he would change.
Through the years Fox had become like another son to Maggie. She truly believed that he would be her son-in-law one of these days. If only Dana would stop sitting around ignoring the obvious and DO something about it. Maggie knew how much Fox and Dana cared for one another, and how hurt they were by Bill's attitude.
Her daughter was right about Fox though. He was not afraid of Bill at all. He merely didn't meddle with the family. Most of the time he avoided Bill altogether, but once in awhile, Maggie could tell that Fox wanted nothing more than to get her eldest's goad. It would be pretty easy too...
Maggie went back to Dana's relationship with Fox. She wished Bill could see it; wondered if maybe he did. Either he had no idea of how those two really felt about one another, and honestly hated Mulder, or he did see it and was selfish enough to try and keep his sister from the love she deserved.
"I asked you a question, Mr. Mulder. What on Earth happened to her?"
Mulder opened his mouth to reply, but Scully beat him to it.
"Bill," she began, in a forced, rational and calm Scully-voice, "He didn't do anything to me. I was running around the pool just like Mom always told us NOT to do."
Maggie raised an eyebrow at her. "See? I told you! Tommy, this is why we don't run around the pool..."
The five-year-old looked up from his popsicle to see the bloody scrape that his Aunt had on her knee. He had been completely oblivious to the scrape as well as his Uncle's hostility.
"Aunt Dane gots a boo boo?" Tommy asked, concerned.
Laura nodded yes to confirm this.
"Grandma needs to kiss it," he said, matter-of-factly.
The adults in the room all giggled at this, glad for the tension breaker. Bill didn't laugh, but continued glaring at Mulder.
"Dana, that really does look awful. Come on upstairs and I can clean you up," Maggie said, heading to the fridge for ice.
"Mom, I'm a doctor...I can handle a scrape," Scully said, thinking it ridiculous that her mother would have to clean her up.
"If you're a doctor you should know about 'difficult patients,'" Maggie said, shutting the freezer door. "Now come upstairs with me."
Scully obeyed, but glanced over her shoulder as she left. She was unsure of whether or not it was safe to leave Mulder down there.
Mulder stared back at her, but he didn't seem bothered. His eyes didn't communicate the need for her to be there. They spoke more for his desire that she get bandaged and better. He was always concerned for her, no matter what...
Scully headed up the stairs, hoping that he would be ok. Charlie and Laura were there, and Bill probably wouldn't start anything too heated in front of Tommy and Matthew. Tara was absolutely useless, however. She most likely didn't condone her husband's actions, but she would never dare to challenge him on them.
Overall, Scully liked her sisters-in-law. She had always felt that her brothers had shown good taste in marrying Tara and Laura. She just wished that Bill wouldn't be so hostile to Mulder. She liked and accepted their wives, why couldn't he accept Mulder?
Scully chided herself. Mulder was not the same as a spouse. As far as she knew, he wasn't even a potential. Scully could not dispute the fact that she loved her partner deeply, but they weren't ready to take things to another level. If they were, she figured that they would be there by now.
Maggie gently cleansed the large scrape on Scully's knee and placed a bandage over it.
"Dana, are you alright?" She asked, noticing that her daughter was staring out the window into space.
Scully shifted her attention back to her mom.
"Why'd he have to come? He wasn't supposed to be here."
"Dana..." Maggie began with a warning tone.
"No, Mom. You know that I love Bill, but this is the first time that Mulder has actually come up here with me. I thought that everything would be okay, but now, thanks to Bill, he isn't ever going to want to come back."
"Dana," Maggie said softly, "You don't know that that's how things will happen. If you want Fox to continue to join us, as a part of our family, he's going to need to get along with everyone in the family. He'll be able to handle Bill, and hopefully, the two of you will have a wonderful time, regardless of your brother's attitude. Maybe Bill won't even bother Mulder again."
"Thanks, Mom. I do hope things are okay," Scully said, as she lowered her leg and began to stand.
Maggie helped her up and exited the bathroom. "Let's get downstairs so that we can start barbequing dinner," she said, heading down the stairs.
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So, what does everyone thing? You know I'd love to hear about it through some reviews! *wink* I brought in "angry Bill." Sorry to the one comment that was happy he wasn't there. I had been planning it for awhile, so I read that and was like "oh darn! Bill *is* coming..." But, things will work out in the end, I hope. Hehe. There are probaby two more chapters coming...so look forward to them! I hope to have the story finished by the Fourth of July...since thats sort of the theme.
