Scully woke up and for a second was disoriented as to where she was and what was happening. Looking around, she blinked and then drew in a deep breath as she scrambled to get out of bed, looking into the empty bassinet in Mulder's bedroom.

"Oh my God," she breathed, a hand going to her throat as she opened the bedroom door, her heart racing.

"Mulder, did-"

She stopped speaking and froze where she stood as she smiled at the sight in front of her.

Asleep on his couch, Mulder had his arms wrapped around one month old William, who was also asleep, his mouth open and pressed against Mulder's shirt.

Moving her hand from her throat to her heart, she let out a relieved sigh and carefully stepped closer to them, mindful of the creaky floorboards.

"Oh," she said and on quiet feet, turned around and hurried back into Mulder's room to find his digital camera.

Setting the sound of the shutter click to silent, she walked back into the living room and smiled at the sight of them sleeping before she began to take pictures and then a video.

She sighed as she watched them and then set the camera onto the desk. Torn between wanting to touch them both and then kiss William's sweet smelling head, she instead left them to sleep.

Something caught her eye as she made to go toward the kitchen for some water. She frowned when she realized it was Mulders's watch. Confused as to why he would have taken it off before the end of the day, she remembered what happened the other day and her breath caught as she stared lovingly at them.

"What happened to this little man?" Mulder had asked, picking up a sleeping William from his bassinet in the living room when he had arrived at her apartment. "Are those scratches?"

"Hmm, yeah," she had said, gently stroking William's cheek where his impossibly small, but sharp, baby fingernails had created red scratches on his face. "His nails are so small, I didn't want to risk hurting him by cutting them. But, after I saw these scratches, I had to, worried or not."

"Is he okay, though? Does he need to see the doctor?"

"No," she had said, smiling at Mulder as he had gently brushed his lips against William's cheek, murmuring that he was sorry for the scratches. "They'll be okay soon."

"Hmm," he had said with a nod, kissing William's cheek and then his forehead. "As long as you're sure."

"I am."

"Were his nails hard to cut?"

"Exceedingly. Like threading a wiggly needle that constantly closes just as you get the thread close to it."

"Sounds like an accurate description," he had said with a chuckle, kissing William again. "God, he smells so good."

"Doesn't he?" she had asked, bending close to smell and then kiss him. "It's intoxicating."

"Getting high off the scent of our son… is that okay to do?" he had asked in mock seriousness and she had laughed, kissing him softly in response as William had begun to fuss, rooting and searching for his next meal. "Oh, I think it's time to pass him over. But I get him when he's done eating."

"Sure," she had teased as she walked toward the couch and began to unbutton her top, reaching for him when she had been ready. "You get the easy job."

"I would help out in that department if I could, but for now, I'll do whatever else I can." Kissing the top of her head, he had handed William to her, touching the little scratches once again. "Gotta be more careful, little man. Protect that delicate skin that your mama made for you."

"He's okay," she had whispered, helping William latch on and start feeding. "They should fade pretty soon."

"Good," he had said, kissing her head again. "You need anything? Water? Juice? Something to eat?"

"Water, please. And maybe some peanut butter toast?"

"You got it," he had said, taking off his jacket and laying it on the couch.

She had hummed as she looked at William, his eyes barely opening as he ate, all of his fingers wrapped around one of hers.

"So beautiful," she had whispered, raising his hand and bending her head to kiss his fingers. "I love you so much."

When Mulder had taken him back to burp and rock him, he had made sure nothing he was wearing would bother William as he held him.

"Good thing I'm unemployed these days," he had said and she raised her eyebrows in a silent question. "No buttons from my dress shirts to press uncomfortably against his skin."

"True. And an added bonus, you fill out your t-shirts quite nicely," she had said as she had buttoned her shirt up, smiling at him with a wink.

"Hey, none of that. You still have recovery time that needs to be adhered to."

"Oh trust me, I'm in no condition for any of that, but you can't fault me for admiring the window display, even if I won't be purchasing anything today."

"Interesting way to phrase it," he had said, laughing as William burped loudly and then breathed softly. Mulder had looked at her with a soft smile and shook his head. "See? I think babies have a built-in mechanism that knows when to do something so goddamn cute, it then releases dopamine that takes away the memory of sleepless nights and tired bodies that are barely making it through the day. They know, Scully. They know."

"Must be an X-File," she had said with a grin, unconsciously swaying just as Mulder had started to do so with William.

"This is spooky," he had said, motioning to them both moving in sync.

"Is it? Really?" she had asked with a small chuckle.

"I suppose not," he had said, shushing William when he began to cry. Patting him on the back gently, he had smiled at her. "I love you, you know."

"I do know," she had said with a grin. "But, I'll never get tired of hearing it."

"Come over here and kiss me," he had said and she had stood up, walked over to him and kissed him softly, an arm wrapping around his waist while her other hand had rested on William's back and they had swayed slowly.

"I love you too, you know," she had said, scratching her nails gently against Mulder's back.

"I do know. And I'll also never tire of hearing it."

"That's good."

"Mmhmm," he had hummed as William had sighed contentedly.

She sighed as she watched them now, William breathing deeply as he slept, Mulder's arms protectively around him, his watch on the table to avoid any further scratches or harm to the tiny human they had created.

"God, I love you," she said to them, shaking her head as she smiled.

Knowing she had a little bit of time before William would be waking for his next feeding, she tidied up. Clearing the coffee table of the sunflower seeds and the shells, she then quietly took Mulder's glass of tepid water into the kitchen and refreshed it with icy water.

Finding his refrigerator quite empty, she went into the bedroom to get her phone and order delivery from the Chinese restaurant they frequented.

Back in the living room, she watched as William began to stir, Mulder's arms tightening immediately as his eyes opened drowsily and then shut again.

"Shhh, it's okay," he whispered, patting William's back. "We had a deal that we would let Mama sleep a little longer. She's so tired, buddy. Shhh…"

"Hey," she whispered, sitting down on the coffee table and touching his arm. His eyes flew open and he looked at her in surprise.

"Hey," he said, swallowing and clearing his throat softly. "You okay?"

"More than okay."

"Did you sleep?"

"I did. And I see you two did as well." She smiled and placed her hand on William's back, rubbing softly.

"He was fussing and I wanted you to sleep without worrying about him. I came out here with the intent to put him back in the bassinet once he had settled, but…" He shrugged and closed his eyes with a small smile.

"It's hard to put him down when he's so warm and snuggly?"

"Exactly," he breathed, rubbing William's back gently as he settled with some grunts and moans. "Then once I laid down with him, well…" Mulder chuckled softly and opened his eyes to look at her. "I was powerless to not fall asleep."

"I completely understand," she said, covering his hand on William's back.

"I think it's the best sleep I've ever had on this couch."

They both laughed quietly as she rubbed his hand and he stared at her, his eyes dropping to her lips. She smiled as she leaned closer and kissed him, her other hand gently squeezing his upper arm.

"I ordered some food, seeing as you don't really have anything here," she said, kissing him once more.

"Hmm. Chinese?"

"Yeah."

"I was dreaming about egg rolls. You must have known."

"Actually," she said, sitting up and laughing quietly again. "I was craving some chow mein and sweet and sour pork, so I ordered it."

"You didn't get egg rolls?" he whined, sticking out his lip and she laughed silently.

"Yes," she said, leaning forward to kiss him. "I got egg rolls."

"Ahh, Scully," he said with a smile as William scrunched up and began to cry. "Okay, buddy. I know. Let's get up and get you ready to eat."

Half full containers of food were spread out on the coffee table a little while later, as she held William at her shoulder, patting his back to coax out a burp. He grunted and stretched before burping twice.

"Good boy, William," she whispered and kissed his downy head.

"So, I've been thinking," Mulder said, coming into the room carrying their glasses, refilled with ice water.

"Hmm. What about?" she asked, smiling her thanks as he set her glass on the coffee table.

"Well, it's not something we've discussed, but I'd like to," he said, sitting beside her and taking a drink of his water.

"Okay."

"How would you feel about a roommate?" he asked and she raised her eyebrows.

"It finally happened, didn't it?" she asked. "Byers is tired of living with Frohike and Langly and being around them fighting all the time. I knew it would happen eventually." She shrugged and he grinned as he shook his head.

"You think you're so funny."

"Eh," she said, moving William and cradling him as she smiled.

"No, not Byers, woman," he said, setting his glass beside hers. Reaching for William, he lay him on his knees, rubbing his belly tenderly. "It's about our current living situation. I'm at your place or you're here. It seems unnecessary to have two places of cohabitation."

"Are you saying you want to… cohabitate with me? With us?" she said, glancing at William and then at Mulder.

"Live, cohabitate, spend my days with you, move in, whatever you want to call it, I want it."

"Just your days? Not your nights? Because if you don't have a place to live at the end of the day…"

William let out a loud fart, followed by the sounds of a very wet poop. They both looked at him in surprise and then he did it again, grunting as he pushed.

"Yeah, she is being a shit, isn't she?" Mulder asked William with a scoff. "First she asks about Byers moving in and now she's asking where I'll spend my nights… She's lucky that I love her so much."

"I'm just trying to be thorough."

"You're being a pain in my ass is what you're being," he said. "Even the kid can see it."

"Are you sure that's what you want?" she asked, searching his eyes and swallowing nervously.

"Yes," he said, taking her hand and laying his other hand on William's chest. "Since I came back, this place hasn't really felt like home. It's…" He looked around and shook his head. She squeezed his hand and he smiled as he looked back at her. "It's not where I'm supposed to be. When I'm here, I wake up reaching for you and or thinking I heard him crying, but I'm alone. I don't like it."

"I don't like it either," she whispered and he nodded.

"So, what do you say? Would you like to cohabit with me? Or more accurately, me with you?"

"I would like that very much," she said softly.

William kicked and cooed, drawing their attention, before they looked at each other again.

"Yeah?" he asked, squeezing her hand.

"Yeah," she said, squeezing back. "Very much."

"Good," he said, grinning happily.

"I mean, it'll be good as I am tired of changing most of the diapers. Especially the dirtier ones." She looked down at William and then back up at Mulder, raising her eyebrows suggestively. "So, if you agree to, let's say a seventy thirty split, I'd say we have a deal."

"Seventy thirty?" he asked, letting go of her hand and lifting William to his shoulder.

"Uh huh," she said with a nod.

"I accept," he said and she grinned. "But seeing as how we're at my place right now…" He made to hand William over to her and she shook her head with a laugh.

"I don't think so. He just ate from my body. That dirty diaper is all you."

He nodded and smiled, moving William to the crook of his arm and leaning towards her for another kiss.

"I accept. Whatever the stipulations," he said again and she kissed him, holding his face in her hands.

"No stipulations. Just you… Well, and the fish," she said, smiling as she stroked his cheeks with her thumbs. "Everything else we can figure out along the way."

"Yeah," he breathed, smiling back at her. "The fish will be happy for a change of scenery."

"Maybe we could even get a bigger tank? Add more to the collection?"

"I like that idea."

"You go change him and then we can talk more about it."

"You got it, Boss."

"Boss? Oh, I like that," she said and he laughed as he leaned closer for one more kiss.