October 31st

Scully kissed Maggie and William and ignored the looks that Mulder and Emily were giving her and the clock. "Are you sure you don't mind, Mom?" Scully asked for the third time since Maggie had gotten there.

"I don't mind. It makes more sense for me to come over here if I'm going to be with him for the entire day. I brought my crossword puzzles with me for when he's asleep, so you don't have to worry about me having nothing to do over here." Maggie assured her. "If anyone calls, I'll take a message and tell them you'll get back to them tomorrow."

"Ok. Thanks again, Mom." Scully said, rushing out the door to catch up with Mulder and Emily who had given up in disgust and headed for the car.

She caught up to them just in time to hear Mulder say, "...and if Reyes asks why we're late, you can tell her that your mom was being a nervous Nelly. Reyes will understand, since she hopes to have rugrats of her own soon."

"Mulder." She said in a warning tone. He just grinned at her, which ticked her off more. However, she couldn't focus on her annoyance fully because she kept getting distracted by stray thoughts about how handsome he looked in his jet-black tux.

"So glad you decided to join us." He teased.

Despite Mulder's worry about the time, they got there well before the ceremony started. Emily's nervousness about being the flower girl faded considerably because her fascination pushed everything else aside. She'd never seen a wedding in person before, so she was captivated by the delicate flowers that decorated the church, and all the people filling the pews.

Right before the wedding march started, Emily tugged on Scully's hand and whispered louder than she meant to. "Reyes looks like a princess." Several people in the surrounding pews nodded in agreement. Reyes dress was a dream in off white, and suited her figure very well. Scully glanced at her friend's face, and decided that delight took a decade off her face, because instead of merely looking good for her age, she looked like a very young woman indeed. Watching as her daughter flawlessly performed the very important duty of being the flower girl made Scully hide her smile, least the girl notice how much her solemn performance amused her.

She was not the only happy parent, as Reyes' adoptive father looked very proud as he walked his daughter up the isle to where Doggett waited for her. Doggett had wondered if Reyes' parents would be able to make it to the wedding, and was relieved when they had arrived the night before. Up until then he'd had a reoccurring nightmare that passengers from their flight would be kept hours for security checks just because it was an international flight. He didn't realize that Reyes had shared his fear with her parents, and encouraged them to try to get a flight out of Mexico city the night before they had intended to.

The minister had a kind face, and gave the guests and the wedding party a beatific look before starting the ceremony. It would be several months before Doggett and Reyes compared notes and realized that neither of them had very clear memories of the ceremony. Most of the minister's words were a blur, and only the "I do's" stood out clearly. Doggett didn't even have time to worry that Mulder would do anything silly with the rings, and soon they were safely on their ring fingers. Both mothers of the couple cried tears of happiness as the couple kissed for the first time as man and wife.

**

Despite Doggett's threats, the reception was not decorated in black and orange. The only hint that it was Halloween came in the form of the wedding favors left on each table. In addition to the typical things, like miniature wine glasses filled with Jordan almonds, there was Halloween candy and plastic spiders decorating each setting. This delighted all of the children and teenagers in attendance, and many of the adults as well.

Scully worried that Emily would be shy, but before she knew it, the girl had dragged a reluctant Gibson out on the dance floor. "Uh oh. I didn't think we'd have to start worrying about her behavior around boys for a while yet." Scully said with mock horror as the pair got into the dancing, much to the shouts of encouragement from those watching. Gibson turned pink, but manfully ignored it.

Mulder gave her a serious look. "She's already a lot more forward than her mommy."

"Oh is that so?" Scully asked, raising her eyebrows.

"As I recall, I had to grab your hand and pull you kicking and screaming onto the dance floor the first time we danced." Mulder drawled.

"That's not how I remember it." Scully told him as she pulled him to his feet. "As I recall, I went quite willingly."

Mulder's arms went around her waist. "Well, I definitely kissed you first." He commented as he began to nibble on her ear.

"You know what they say," she said as they glided out onto the dance floor. "Good things come to those who wait."

Mulder looked down at her as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Does this give you any ideas?"

"You mean about getting married ourselves?" She asked, lifting her face to look at him.

"Yeah, that."

"Will you be disappointed if I say no?" She asked tentatively.

His face broke out in a sunny grin. "Heck no. Because I don't really see us as the married in the church type." He confessed. "I picture us saying our vows as Elvis pronounces us man and wife-"

"Mulder-"

"Not the real Elvis, before you correct me since I'm pretty sure he's dead- "

"Mulder-"

"But an Elvis impersonator. They had one right in Graceland that would perform ceremonies for you there-"

"Mulder, you're incorrigible." Scully exclaimed.

"I know. But that's why you loooove me." Mulder sang, making her laugh in agreement.

**

Sita De Brabant was wishing that she was wearing something other than the mint dress she was beginning to loathe, when a male guest, who had been taking maximum advantage of the open bar, gave a low whistle and said, " Hey, Sexy, don't I know you?"

She cringed and firmly said, "No."

"Naw, I'm sure I do." He persisted, staring blearily at her. He snapped his fingers. "Wait, I know where I know you from. You're the chick who jumped out of the cake at my best friend's bachelor party last year. Makes me wish I didn't miss the bachelor party for this John guy." He said while leering at her.

Sista gave him a hard stare. "You are mistaken. I'm a legal aide, not a stripper."

"Well, you look just like her." He said with a puzzled look.

"That's a fascinating coincidence." She replied icily. The man shuffled off red-faced and muttering to himself.

Skinner, who had caught part of the exchange, came up behind her and asked, "Is that man giving you trouble? You'd think going to a wedding as a woman's date would keep a guy from acting like an ass, but..."

Sista gave Skinner a small smile. "He just mistook me for my cousin, whom I am unfortunate enough to look just like." She explained.

"Why is than an unfortunate thing?" Skinner asked.

She frowned. "Because my cousin makes her living stripping at bachelor parties."

Skinner chuckled. "If he, or anyone else, gives you any trouble just give a yell. There's a whole table full of current and former FBI agents here, so anyone who gives a guest a hassle is in for it."

"Fortunately, she was with me last night so there probably won't be any more cases of mistaken identity."

"That's good to hear."

"Yeah, since it's a real pain. I'm sick of having to explain, always a bridesmaid, never a stripper." She tells him with a smile. As he walked away she was struck by now much his demeanor reminded her of her protective, favorite uncle's.

**

Off to the side of the hall two young guests toyed with the favors on their table and chatted. One of them, Nicole Clark, was a young cousin of Reyes' who lived in the US, unlike most of Reyes' family. The other was Jenny Doggett, John's much younger sister who'd surprised the family with her arrival shortly before he graduated high school. The two young women had both been surprised to run into someone they knew at the wedding. Since they were seniors at SUNY, they'd struck up a casual acquaintance dating back to a shared class the year before.

At first they'd been watching Gibson as he was dragged onto the dance floor, and talking about how bad they felt for the teenager, but when Scully and Mulder rescued him from the little girl, then their conversation turned to the topic of the FBI agents.

"Your brother is an agent, and so is my cousin. Have you ever given any thought about maybe becoming one too?" Nicole asked. "We'll be old enough to start Quantico in a year."

Jenny shrugged. "I don't know...It could be interesting, but John says it's a dangerous job. Or at least it was, before he switched assignments."

"Yeah, Monica always made it sound so cool in their division." Nicole said wistfully. "I don't know if being a regular agent would be as exciting. It was just a thought, anyway. "

"I wonder what the guys on the regular FBI divisions look like though..." Jenny wondered aloud, looking over towards Mulder. Nicole giggled.

**

"Reyes tells me you have a little boy as well." Kate Queen commented to Scully as they got club soda during the band's break between sets.

"I sure do. William is with my mother, because we thought a wedding wouldn't be a good place for a not quite one and a half year old baby." Scully said with a smile.

"Do you have any pictures of him?" Kate asked, wondering what the child of a couple like Scully and Mulder would look like.

Scully went to the table and riffled through her purse. Skinner and Mulder glanced at her, shrugged, and continued their conversation while she dug. She returned with one of the most recent pictures of William and handed it to Kate, who examined it.

"Gosh, what a cutie!" She exclaimed, taking in the dimpled smile and the red-gold curls. "Who's the man in the picture with him, though?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Oh. That's his uncle Jeffery, Mulder's younger brother. This was taken a few weeks ago." Scully explained. The picture had been snapped right before Jeffery headed off for the unknown, leaving only a promise to keep in touch.

Kate nodded. He wasn't as classically handsome as his older brother, but there was definitely something attractive about him. "Is he, um, single?"

Scully shrugged. "So far as I know. He's pretty private about his personal life."

"Maybe you could give him my number if you see him." Kate said, turning pink with embarrassment. Scully just smiled at her.

**

Felinefeme Doggett's friend Kim Cho, the younger brother of a rookie who was wet- behind-the-ears when Doggett left the police force in New York, had flown in for the wedding. Doggett found it funny that he'd kept in touch with the younger man, since he hadn't even been the one Doggett had worked with, but that's how things turned out some times.

Doggett smiled when he realized that Kim had cornered one of the bridesmaids. He let it be, though, since Lee was smiling coyly, and seemed pleased by his attentions.

Kim was immediately taken by the attractive young woman. He wasn't sure if it was something about the calculated way her eyes took him in, or the lithe way she moved, but she brought felines to mind. She certainly seemed to be enjoying the little game of cat and mouse they'd been playing, though. "So...what do you do?" He asked her.

"I'm a DJ for an alternative music station." She told him with a half smile.

"You have a great voice for it." He complimented her.

She didn't even blush. "How about you?" She asked.

He shuffled his feet a bit. "I bred Japanese Bobtail cats." Frequently his line of business put women off, so he wasn't sure if he'd like her reaction. "There's about a dozen kittens tumbling around my house at any given moment." He added with a faint smile.

"Really." She said, her eyes widening in appreciation. "You admire cats. I like that in a person."

"Do you, now..." Kim asked, taken a step closer.

Doggett stopped paying attention when his beautiful bride came up and pulled him back onto the dance floor.

The reception lasted for three more hours, then the newlyweds slipped away after a new round of well wishing, eager to start their honeymoon. The guests left soon after, all with kind words about the pair still on their lips. Finally it was just the staff left cleaning the hall, and wondering what would make anyone want to get married on Halloween.

**