Title: "A Rather Strange First Encounter"

Chapter 9 "Christmas Expectations"

Author: Jerome Mullins

Disclaimer, Summary and Rating: See previous chapters.

Author's Notes: It is Christmas time once again and Dana's looking forward to a special visit. The story concludes with some Christmas cheer and a few happy surprises.

I should mention that the mentioning of _How the Grinch Stole Christmas_ is used without permission and in no way am I being paid for its use in my story. Please do not sue me.

Just a general note: I began this story back on March 6, the anniversary of Mulder and Scully's first meeting and I am posting this final chapter on September 6, the ten year anniversary of the very first airing of the show. Amazing how time has flown.

This chapter is dedicated to my wife and son as well as all our future children.

And now without further delay.

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"Nine months is too long," Dana said as she shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "We should have done this in the middle of the summer. It would have made this easier."
Mrs. Scully smiled brightly. "All good things to those who wait." she recited the proverb without missing a beat.
Dana looked coldly over to her mother and sneered. "It still doesn't make up for the fact that it has been nine months since we've been apart. Nine months, that's almost an eternity."
"An eternity?" her mother chuckled heartily. "I remember saying that same thing to your father when I was carrying you."
Dana rolled her eyes at the oncoming moment of maternal nostalgia she knew was brewing in her mother's mind.
"I carried your brothers and sister for nine months," she shook her head. "I carried you for nine months. But you were the one that seemed to take the longest. You were the one I was really looking forward too," Mrs. Scully's right hand left the steering wheel and reached out to touch Dana's cheek gently.
Dana didn't pull way from the caress, she accepted the touch gladly. It was only more recently that she and her mother had been able to communicate with each other in ways neither had been able to do in the years before. They were open with each other, told each other everything; Dana loved being honest with her mother and she could tell that her mother was enjoying the new relationship as well.
"What are you going to do first? When you get home?"
"Drag him under the mistletoe and kiss that beautiful mouth of his." Dana said without a moment's hesitation.
"Don't neglect our guests," her mother said with another hearty chuckle.
Dana shook her head, how could she have forgotten about the guests? They were all back at their new house in Baltimore. Her father and brothers had gladly volunteered to stay at the house and greet them as they arrived while she and her mother went on their way to Dulles International Airport for the eight o'clock arrival of the London flight. Dana's excitement was building as they closed the distance between them and the airport.
Dana's spirit was already and an all time high; this was her favorite time of year and her Christmas cheer was heightened by the impending arrival of a dear friend, as well as a new life.
She looked down to her swollen stomach and gently stroked her hands over the fabric protecting her unborn child. Boy or girl; she didn't care. The child was his. That was the only thing that mattered to her.
She and her mother had left the house before the first guest arrived, most likely it would be their parish priest, Fr. McCue, or maybe Dana's Irish aunt, Olive. With her due date expected the week after Christmas, and the fact that the Christmas Eve traffic would be one solid wall of cars from Baltimore to Dulles, her mother had volunteered to make the trip with her. The last thing she wanted for her daughter to be alone if her contractions started days ahead of schedule, forcing her daughter to give birth to her grandchild in the middle of holiday traffic.
Dana looked down at her watch, 7:55, and then back to her mother. She sighed and continued to watch the cars ahead of them move slowly into Washington, D. C.
"We'll get there, maybe just a few minutes late." Her mother took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"I know," Dana sighed heavily. "It's just been so long."
"Nine months," Mrs. Scully nodded. "I know."
"And I've _changed_, Mom," Dana looked over to her. "I mean, look at me."
"Pregnancy does that, dear; especially in the ninth month."
Dana shook her head and looked back at the traffic. She quietly thanked her mother for being calm; it made her feel like she had a foot in reality. But she longed to be with him. Her darling Fox Mulder was the only one who could firmly plant both of her feet in reality, making her feel as if there were no others but the two of them. She longed to look into his deep hazel eyes, see the love that sparked behind them and feel his lips upon hers.
This ache for him had become more and more painful as the time passed.
"Eight o'clock," she mumbled to herself.
Her feet were tapping on the floor impatiently.
"March." She sighed.
Mrs. Scully was enjoying this side of Dana, she was always so together and orderly, always had "her duck in a row" as she used to tell her youngest daughter while she still had her red hair done up in pig tails. Dana was becoming unglued and it was all because of the man she loved. Mrs. Scully was thrilled that Dana had at last found someone who she knew showered her with love and adoration, she loved that her daughter was in love; she also loved that her daughter was expecting. She prayed that they would have many children together, she prayed for their future happiness together. But she also knew that it would be all too easy for the both of them, they were in love.
The very moment Dana had stepped off that plane from her week's vacation abroad, her mood had changed for the better. She was floating happily on a cloud, she hadn't come down since. The fact that Fox Mulder had brought this change upon her daughter made her love Fox too, she was so happy to see her daughter happier than she had ever been.
Up ahead the bright lights of the nation's capital pierced the night sky. Everywhere they looked they were surrounded by Christmas decorations and lights. Everyone was out there on the streets, smile after smile. There is no friendlier place to live than in a large city on the night before Christmas.
The trip to Dulles was almost at an end, they could see the flights coming in now. They were little more than a mile away. Half a mile. Entering the parking lot. Out of the car. Approaching the front entrance. Heading toward the arrival gate.
Dana looked down at her watch, 8:15, the flight from London had just landed but no one had come out of the gate yet. She stood next to her mother, shifting her weight from one foot to the next; the gate opened and the first class passengers were coming off now. Her excitement was building. Her heart was in her throat now.
More people off the plane. No one she knew yet.
Then-at last-a familiar face.
Dana was spotted first. While she had changed greatly since March, her beauty still went uncontested by any other creature. No angel in Heaven looked as beautiful as she. Her pregnancy heightened her beauty and added a glow which made her look absolutely radiant and alive. A hand shot up from the crowd of passengers making their exit, it waved far above their heads and caught Dana's attention in an instant.
She left her mother's side and moved closer to the on coming crowd, a gasp of breath and then a deep and welcoming laugh. They tightly embraced and exchanged a gentle kiss on the cheek. Dana was then pulled back slightly so a better view of her swollen stomach could be assessed.
"My God," was the first reaction heard in a low and disbelieving voice. "How far along are you?"
"Nine whole months, I'm due next week." Her radiance grew even brighter as she said it.
"And you didn't tell us?" was the next reaction.
"I wanted to surprise you," Dana shrugged playfully. "Merry Christmas."
"I am going to kill that man," she shook her head with a laugh and gave Dana another hug.
Maggie began laughing hysterically and pulled Dana in for another hug.
"Two wasn't enough for you?" Grace continued to shake her head.
"Never," Dana shook her head when Maggie let go of her. "Not for Fox and me. I hope we have three more before we're through."
Maggie took hold of her friends' arm and was lead back to be greeted by Mrs. Scully.
"Maggie, it's so wonderful that you could come. Dana's been talking about this for weeks." They hugged.
"I can't tell you how happy I am to be here," Maggie smiled. "It's been three years since I've come back to the States."
Mrs. Scully then gave a hug to Grace who gave an even brighter smile. "Any excuse to get away from London for a bit is fine by me," she looked around. "And where is the horny little devil? Don't tell me that he was too busy to come along with his wife and mother-in-law to pick up some old friends?"
"He's working late," Dana said leading them to the baggage claim. "He said he has something to do that couldn't wait until after Christmas."
"Working late?" Maggie paused, deeply surprised. "On Christmas Eve?"
Dana shrugged, although she wouldn't come out and say it, she was a little hurt that he wasn't there with her. She knew that he had been looking forward to seeing Maggie and Grace too, she also respected the fact that he worked hard to provide for his family, but she was lonely without him.
On their way back to Baltimore the three of them were able to catch up on the last nine months. Grace had finally been promoted at her job in downtown London where she worked for a magazine on interior design. No longer writing features, she had been given one of the top editing positions which came with a corner office two floors up from her previous office as well as her own monthly column, not to mention a handsome raise in pay. She was also happy to announce that she had found someone, a photographer named Aaron, whom she had met while on a buying excursion in Paris last June. They did not actually start to date until they ran into each other again while riding the tube the following August from Piccadilly Circus to Kenningston.
Grace was now an official professor where she taught Psychology at Oxford University, she had been awarded tenure during the summer and started her first semester that August. The semester was over now for the Christmas break and she was happy to be away for a while. She also proudly announced her engagement to Thomas Anderson, an American stockbroker turned artist, whom she had started seeing the year before.
As soon as the three of them started chatting, it was as if they had never been separated. Dana told them everything about the previous nine months; Fox's new position working for the FBI as a SAC in the Violent Crimes Unit. The job kept him at home more often, a wish come true for his wife and family. Meanwhile, Dana had been able to start the new semester teaching med-students at the University of Maryland where she had graduated, but had to take off the following month on maternity leave. Now she was days away from her due date and was overjoyed with the prospect of spending the holidays with her dearest friends and family.
"And how are the children?" Maggie asked anxiously.
"They are doing so well," Dana smiled brightly at the thought of her two angels. "William is getting so big now. I can't believe he'll be three in February. Katie's starting to walk, she's got that down. She's started talking too but she's quieter than Will, kind of shy. Wait until you see her, she's the spitting image of her father."
William was undoubtedly his mother's little helper. He had his hands in everything she did from cleaning to cooking and even on the rare occasions she brought him along to her classes he was the teacher's little helper. He loved doing anything and everything with his mother; but she knew that her son adored his father. Katie too was her father's little princess. It seemed that neither of them could get enough of their father's attention, they loved to be around him and do things with him; Dana couldn't blame them, she couldn't get enough of her husband either. She still found herself rolling over to greet him in the mornings and stopping, just as she had done the morning after they were married, and staring at him, not even sure what she had done to deserve such a man as her husband. She was still in that dreamy phase of their marriage and it didn't look like she would be coming out of it any time soon.
She was hopelessly in love with Fox Mulder, loved everything about him and loved everything about his children. One of her secret pleasures was watching him take care of them. He would feed Katie in the mornings and tie William's shoes and play with both of them as he got dressed and ready for work. Now they had a third on the way and she couldn't wait to see him or her, she was anxious to introduce their new child properly to her husband.
"Do you know yet?" Maggie asked. "Whether this is a boy or a girl?"
"No." Dana shook her head. "We decided that we could wait. I want it to be a surprise, just like the others, although Fox has decided to address our child as 'him.'"
"Men and their legacies." Grace shook her head. "What if it's a girl?"
"Then he'll have another princess to take care of." Dana smiled brightly. "He adores Katie, I'm sure he wouldn't mind having another little girl to shower affection on."
"So how long are you going to wait after this one is born before you try for a fourth?" Grace blurted out, causing Maggie to hit the side of her arm.
Dana just laughed. "We might wait a little while longer. I had just given birth to Katie about three months before I got pregnant again."
"You weren't pregnant when you and Fox came out last March, were you?"
"No," Dana said softly with an embarrassed smile across her lips. "I think it was when we got home, right after we arrived, when we made number three."
Her face blushed at the mentioning of her little "homecoming" party she and Fox had after their brief visit to London to see their friends. Neither had been planning on anything when they arrived home, William and Katie were picked up from their grandparents and they had spent most of their energy on spending time with them that evening. However, the children had gone right off to bed after they were fed. As Dana explained it, it was "an unexpected burst of energy" that overtook both of them in the heat of the moment. Even better was learning that their "unexpected burst of energy" aided in the creation of another child. But no matter how surprised either was by the impending birth, both mother and father were thrilled to be having a third child to add to the family.
Talk of Dana and Fox's children then lead to their wedding day. Grace and Maggie had both been made Matrons of Honor and stood with Dana at the alter on that cloudless mid-October day. This year, Fox and Dana had celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary. Dana was in Heaven and it showed. There was hardly a time in the past four years when Dana hadn't smiled, the only time her mother had seen her cry was during a long absence from her husband when a case he was working on had kept him from home for well over two weeks. He called her three times a day, but nothing had been able to cure Dana of her loneliness for him until his return home. But while they were able to talk about all the good in their relationship, they did talk about the bad; namely, Phoebe Green.
"I'm a little disappointed that I haven't seen her name in the obituaries," Grace said. "She's still around, very much alive. Although I'm sure that could be argued."
"Fox mentioned that she tried to get into Scotland Yard," Dana looked back at them.
"She didn't make it." Maggie reassured her. "They admitted her into the training program, even with her scandals at Oxford, but that's as far as she got."
"There were rumors that she was thrown out due to an affair with one of her instructors," Grace shrugged.
"Any truth to that?" Dana asked hopefully.
"None, I'm afraid. Not that anyone really cares about that sort of thing anymore since Prince Charles cheated on Diana and that business concerning your President Clinton. No one gives a thought about morals anymore." Grace shook her head.
"You're unfortunately right," Mrs. Scully nodded.
"Indeed, at times like these we can be thankful for the few remaining chivalrous men that are left in this world, namely your Fox." Grace smiled. "He's a good catch, you make sure to hold onto that one, or else Maggie here might try to land him."
Maggie slapped her again and Dana just laughed.
"I have no intention of letting him go," Dana shook her head. "Not now and certainly not ever."

It never ceased to amaze Dana how long it would take to get anywhere in Washington, D. C. and how much less time it would take to return home, even when both directions were of equal length.
It was a quarter to ten when they arrived back home and the Christmas party was in full swing. The cars of friends and relatives were stretched up and down the street in front of her parent's house. But the amount of cars was of no matter to Dana; she was distracted in her search for one car in particular. Almost instantly, sitting in the driveway, she spotted the car she had been looking for, her husband's dark green 2001 Chrysler.
Walking by the car, she reached out to touch it with her hand, a brief physical connection with something that belonged to the man she adored. She then hurried to the door where her father greeted the four of them. Maggie and Grace were immediately welcomed into the warm house where Dana's father took their coats and introduced them to the party guests. He then greeted his wife with a long kiss under the mistletoe and wrapped his arms around his pregnant daughter in a bear hug.
"Merry Christmas, Starbuck." He kissed her cheek.
"Merry Christmas, Daddy." She kissed him back.
"Now will you go give that husband of yours a kiss?" he took her coat and moved her towards the den. "He's been looking forward to seeing you all night."
Dana's smile brightened and she shuffled through the guests, stopping to accept the holiday greetings and embraces from friends and family as they congratulated her on the impending birth. While she loved seeing all of them, and loved that her extra cheer heightened the holiday celebration, it seemed to take forever for her to reach her goal. At last she made it to the stairs which lead down into the den.
She could hear the television playing _How the Grinch Stole Christmas_ and guessed that they were either watching a tape or the program was being aired for the umpteenth time since November on network television.
A family tradition in the Scully household was to have a place for the children to stay during the night where they could eat dinner and watch the many holiday movies and television shows that were aired to death during the Christmas season. Every year someone in the family would be appointed to chaperone the dozens of children that showed up to the party and every year, since their marriage, Fox had always been happy to volunteer to spend the night with the children. He was a wonderful father and adored children, just one more thing Dana added to her list of "Things Fox Does that Drives Me Wild." She slowly came down the stairs to find them all gathered around the television. There were thirteen children there this year, the oldest couldn't have been older than nine, and sitting in the middle of them was her Fox.
He looked like a big kid sitting on the floor in front of the television. His upper body was leaned back to rest on his bent elbows and his knees stuck up in the air while his feet were firmly planted on the floor, shoes off and pushed aside into some unseen corner. Lying with her head resting on his chest, eyes fixed to the image of the Grinch moving down the chimney, was their daughter Katie. William sat at his father's feet surrounded by his many cousins. His shoes too were missing and Dana noticed for the first time that he had inherited his father's feet.
It appeared as if they had had quite a party down there. Plastic cups, plates and silverware were scattered about everywhere, crumpled and stained paper napkins blanketed the coffee table and floor. The candy dishes that had been filled with holiday colored treats, which she had set out personally just hours before, were reduced down to the slim pickings that were left. Children's Christmas books, among them _The Night Before Christmas_ and _Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer_, lay scattered about on the sofa where it appeared as if Fox had made some attempt at amusing the children by storytelling. However, the attempt had failed and Fox had reduced to "book cracking" to entertain the children. One book in particular appeared to have taken the brunt of the attacks, perhaps willingly giving up its once stiff spine to protect the other books from the same fate in a kind of self-sacrifice.
She shook her head at the sight of her husband's blatant disregard for the author and publishers.
Dana held back from the crowd, treasuring the priceless image of her children and their father together like this. In her mind she added the image of another child. A little boy curled in a ball, sleeping on his father's chest, or perhaps a little girl with dark brown hair, her mouth open as she drooled on her daddy's clean shirt. _Like mother, like daughter,_ she sighed. Dana's concentration was broken when the troop, and their leader, irrupted into laughter at the sight of Max "catching" the loot the Grinch had just snagged from the first Who-house and stuffed the goodies up the chimney. It was then that Dana's presence was noticed.
"Mommy!" William called to his mother and stood, his arms outstretched for her to pick him up and hold him.
A week away from her due date, the task of picking her own son up was a feat that she could only handle if Fox was the one doing the picking-up. Nevertheless, wanting to hold her son, Dana was able to kneel down on her knees and give her oldest child a bear hug and kiss the side of his face. Katie then left her father's side and approached her mother on balanced and quick feet, kissing and hugging her mother in an imitation of her big brother's affections. Kissing her children again, she looked to their father and her heart melted into a puddle of thumping love.
Fox rolled onto his side and watched his two children hug and kiss their mother. Her face glowed with holiday cheer and motherhood. His eyes sparkled in the light given off by the Christmas tree in the corner behind her. He reached out for her hand. She came closer and took hold of it. He leaned up and met her lips, alleviating the trouble she would have in leaned down and meeting his. They kissed each other gently, chaste given the circumstances and their surroundings, and she put her hand on the side of his face. They were both fond of that particular embrace and he returned the gentle caress.
Letting the kids go back to watching the movie, Fox moved closer to his wife and held her as they sat on the ground. Although there were thirteen other children present, a house packed with Christmas spirit and visitors and an unborn child resting in his/her mother's womb, they were alone at that very moment. They kissed, a little more adventurously this time, tongues dueling and hands moving over their clothed bodies. How he wished he could carry her upstairs to their bedroom, but not with all these people around, not yet. When they finally let go they sat in more comfortable positions closer to the Christmas tree.
"Did you get your work done?" she asked.
"I did," he nodded. "It's a shame I had to work today, but if I didn't get it done now, it would be waiting for me after Christmas."
"No, no, Mr. Mulder. You have off these next two weeks, you're going to be here for your wife and unborn child." She tapped the side of his face with a finger. "You promised to be my slave, remember? That's my Christmas present this year."
"Yeah," he said contemplatively. "I know that's what I _promised_."
"You're not going back on your promise are you?" She shook her finger playfully. "You can't go back on your promises. You promised." She added with a giggle.
"I would never do that," Fox said defensively with a bright smile. "I just think I might be able to do better."
He reached behind her and took a small velvet navy blue box wrapped in a silver bow out from under the tree. He held it up to his face, stared at the box thoughtfully and brought it to his ear and shook it. "Santa came by earlier," he pouted his lips boyishly. "You missed him, but I made sure that he left something for you."
Dana's eyes brightened.
Coming down the stairs in front of them were her mother and father followed by Grace and Maggie. Mrs. Scully signaled them to be quiet as they watched the couple under the Christmas tree.
"What is this?" she asked softly, surprised by the small gift.
"It's a Christmas present." Fox said.
"I know that," Dana snorted. "But I thought we agreed that we weren't going to do anything really big this year."
"I know." he shrugged. "But I saw this back in a jewelry shop in London and I couldn't pass it up."
"You got this when we were in London?" Dana's eyes widened even further. "You've been holding onto this for nine months?"
"Sure have," Fox said proudly.
"I got you a tie," she said in a low and embarrassed voice.
Fox laughed and leaned in closer to her.
"How can I ever thank-"
He silenced her question with a kiss and a brilliant smile.
"You already have," he replied softly as he touched her stomach, gently caressing his unborn child. "I actually owe this to you, three times over."
"But how could we possibly afford this?"
"You know all those hours I put in last year? Well, my Christmas bonus covered it but I didn't get it until after Christmas last year."
"Yes, I remember that," Dana nodded. "They lost track of it or something."
"Anyway, I decided to hold onto it for this year, to give you something perfect. But I had no idea how perfect it would be, especially with our little incoming buddle of joy," his hand gently moved over her ballooned stomach and he traced tiny circles on the fabric with his fingers.
Her eyes were shinning with curiosity now. "Perfect?"
"Open it." He said softly. "Keep in mind; I had no idea how perfect it would be."
Without hesitation Dana slid off the elegant bow and opened the velvet box. Inside was a gold plated ring which housed three square diamonds. Her eyes beamed with delight at the very sight of it, her mouth dropped as she examined it under the light of the Christmas tree which made the shine ten times brighter.
"Three diamonds, one for each child you have given me." He said leaning closer to her. He took the ring from the box and gently slid it on her right ring finger. "There's also plenty of room to add more when we need to."
"More?" her voice was soft, distant. Shock had nailed her to the ceiling above them.
"There's enough room for all the babies we're going to have." He said in a low voice, barely above a whisper. "A diamond for each one."
She suddenly took hold of him, kissing him deeply and lovingly, not caring who was there to witness them. She giggled with delight and kissed him again. She pulled her hand back and admired the way it looked on her finger and gave him yet another kiss.
After letting him go, she called the others to come and see. Her mother gasped at the sight of it, Maggie and Grace clearly envied her. Her father chuckled and patted Fox on the back.
"Good choice, son." He nodded. He then joined his grandchildren as they watched the end of the show.
Now finally able to greet Fox for the first time that evening, Grace and Maggie gave him a tight squeeze.
"Pretty impressive there," Grace nodded. "Very pretty."
"I think so. Just like her." Fox nodded. "And just think, I earned enough money to buy that from all that book cracking I did in college."
Maggie laughed hysterically and he gave her a wink. "You must remember to teach your children how to study properly when they go off to school."
Fox nodded, "I hope you're teaching that to your students."
Dana's mother kissed her daughter and then kissed her son-in-law's forehead before she and her husband went back to join the party.
Grace headed back upstairs to refill her drink while William invited Maggie to stay for another movie. Instantly sensing that Maggie was a trusted spirit by her parents, Katie took a seat in her lap and William leaned his head up against her shoulder. Maggie smiled down at them and looked back over to Fox who winked at her again.
Alone again, Dana kissed her husband and brought his ear close to her lips.
"Merry Christmas, my love," and she kissed his ear.
"Merry Christmas, Dana." He then touched her stomach again and felt their child shifted; an obvious movement of preparation for his/her upcoming debut. "We are going to have such a great New Year."

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And it's done! Thank you to all who have been reviewing. I was really touched by all of you who genuinely enjoyed my work. Although this story is done, I do have more in the works and will be posting a brand new, one chapter story within the next few weeks.

I would also like to thank my wife who is my soul mate, number one beta reader, best friend, and muse. Thank you my love, for our son and for all our future children. six, right?