February 7, 2022

"I really appreciate you doing this for us, Fox," Rachel said quietly, closing the door and locking it, following behind him as he carried in two large boxes of diapers. "We are down to the last few diapers. I couldn't leave to get more and the delivery time was too long to wait. Not to mention, the boxes from the grocery store would last for about a day and we would be right back in this situation. I swear we went through ten diapers before lunchtime just a couple of days ago."

"It's not a problem. Two babies is double everything. I get it," he replied, setting the boxes down and smiling at her. "I know it's also been hard the last couple of days with Skinner being sick. How's he feeling?"

"He's getting better, but still very tired. He's staying in the guest room, quarantining himself away from us to take all necessary precautions, even though it's just a cold, thank goodness. The babies are sleeping too, so it's nice having this little bit of time to myself."

"Ah, I should have left the boxes on the porch. I hope you weren't sleeping too."

"No," she said with a smile and a shake of her head. "I got them down when you texted to say you were at Costco. I checked on Walter, gave him more water, and came down here to wash the morning dishes. I just finished when you arrived."

"Okay. Well, you need help with anything else? Trash need to be taken out? Anything?" he asked with a glance around.

"That would be wonderful," Rachel sighed and he nodded, turning toward the kitchen. She followed, determined to dry and put away the dishes.

"Sit down," he told her, pointing to a chair at the kitchen island.

"What?"

"Sit. Rest. I'm gonna make you some tea. Decaf or full caf?" he asked as he grabbed the tea kettle, filling it at the sink.

"Oh. You don't have to do that," she said, sitting down as her eyes filled with tears and she drew in an annoyed breath.

Fucking hormones.

"I don't have to," he said, turning on the burner and setting the kettle down. "I want to and you could do with one I'm sure." He looked over and smiled at her, shaking his head as he watched her wiping her eyes on one of Jacob's onesies; the napkin holder empty and the twins' folded laundry piled on the counter.

"I'm sorry," she whispered and he chuckled softly, coming over to rub her back before he walked over to the cupboard and took out some napkins, handing her a stack and taking Jacob's onesie from her hand.

"You don't need to apologize, I understand." He smiled and she nodded, wiping her eyes.

"I'm an emotional person, but these fucking hormones have made me crazy at times. I can't wait for them to regulate and feel back to normal."

"Completely understandable," he said, folding Jacob's onesie and setting it back down. He smiled and rubbed her back again as she blew her nose.

"Thank you."

"Hey. How about this instead? You forget about the tea and go upstairs and take a nap?"

"Oh, no. I can't," she said, shaking her head. "If the babies wake up…"

"I'll be here. I can stay. Scully and Faith are at home and we don't have any plans. I'll let her know that I'll stay for a couple of hours and give you a chance for a rest."

"Fox, no. I can't do that. I… I already asked for too much when I asked for help getting the diapers."

"Rachel…"

"You and Dana are here helping us often, and so kindly of you, I don't want to-"

"Rachel… do you want to sit here with me, drinking a cup of tea? Or would you rather take a bath? A nap? Or perhaps both?" She stared at him and he smiled, waiting for her response.

Glancing around the room, taking in the laundry piled on the counter, the dishes waiting to be put away, and the bottles in need of sterilizing. There were clothes in the dryer waiting to be folded, and trash she had smelled, but had not had the chance to take out. The list piling in her mind, she began to cry softly.

"I'm so tired," she whispered, covering her face.

"I know," he said, helping her up and pulling her in for a hug. She took a deep breath and cried on his shoulder, as the tea kettle began whistling softly. "Hey, let me get you that cup of tea and you can take it upstairs. Relax however you want. I'll be here. I've got it."

"Thank you," she said with a deep sigh.

He pulled back and rubbed her upper arms, stepping to the stove to turn off the burner. He made her tea as she wiped her eyes and blew her nose again. Taking the mug from him, she thanked him again, and quietly walked upstairs.

Pausing at the guest room door, she heard Walter snoring softly and she smiled. The babies would sleep for at least an hour and a half, maybe even longer. If she took a quick shower, she could also take a nap, recharging for the day.

Waking up to her chest aching, she glanced at the clock and saw it had been nearly two and a half hours since she had laid down. Sitting up, she yawned and stretched. Pulling her still slightly damp hair back, she reached for the breast pump, stretching and readying herself for the task at hand.

Twenty minutes later, she carried the full bottles downstairs, yawning once again.

"Yeah, come on, you can reach it. Ohhh… yeah, there you go, you got it. Nice job," Fox was saying as she stepped into the living room, both babies laying on their bellies between him on the floor.

"Hey," she said softly, all of them looking up at her. Both babies smiled, moving and squealing with excitement.

"Well hello," Fox said, smiling at her, moving to sit up on his knees. "Good nap?"

"Yes. Thank you. Hopefully they slept for a while?"

"They did. They've only been up for about forty five minutes. Diapers have been changed and they've been fed. I gave them a few minutes for their food to settle and they've been playing on the floor since. They're getting really close to rolling over."

"I know," she said with a smile. "I'll be right back and you can get going."

"Take your time. There's no rush," he said, patting both babies on the butt and tickling their backs. She smiled and walked into the kitchen to put the bottles into the refrigerator.

As she did, she saw that the laundry was now off the counter. The dishes were put away, bottles were in the sterilizer, and the trash had been taken out. Blinking back tears, she put the bottles away and washed her hands.

Walking back into the living room, she paused. She was about to thank him for all he had done, but instead she watched him as he looked at his phone. Thinking he was taking a picture or video, she saw him smile, shake his head and then type something, his smile growing as he clicked the phone off and put it into his pocket. Shaking his head again, his attention returned to the babies.

Taking a deep breath, she let it out and smiled. Whatever he had read, she knew it was from Dana. Only a message from her would bring on that smile. She had seen it many times over the years; the certain smile he had for Dana and Dana alone. Every time Rachel saw it, it caused her to smile, while also simultaneously feeling as though she had been caught viewing an extremely private moment.

It was only a smile, but it spoke volumes.

"Hey," she said and he turned to look at her, his smile changing.

"Hey."

"Thank you for cleaning up. I appreciate it more than you know."

"You're welcome. I checked on Skinner too, hearing him up and moving around. Brought him some toast and orange juice. He sounded better, but I didn't see him, just left the food on a tray outside the door."

"That's for the best. I wouldn't want him getting any of you sick," she said, joining them on the floor and kissing Jacob's head. "Thank you for staying. I feel immensely better."

"Great. I'm happy to hear it." They smiled at one another and then he patted both babies again, telling them goodbye and he would bring Faith with him next time. He stood up with an exaggerated groan, and she smiled as she took Elizabeth into her lap and gave her a squeeze.

"The clothes are put away and the diapers are in their room, though I left a sleeve of them in your office so you don't need to go upstairs. Also, Scully ordered you some dinner to be delivered at six, so you don't need to worry about making anything."

"Oh," she said, rubbing her cheek across Elizabeth's head to hide her tear filled eyes and quivering lip. "Thank you. Both of you."

"You're welcome. Take care and let us know if you need anything else."

"Yeah," she whispered, taking a deep breath and blinking back her tears. "I will." She looked up and he smiled with a nod.

"Bye, Rachel. Bye, Double Trouble. See you soon." He waved and walked to the door, opening it and closing it gently, typing in the code to lock it behind him.

Jacob screeched and her attention turned to him. Wiping her eyes, she lifted him into her lap, holding both of them and kissing them until they giggled. A thought passed through her mind of how lonely and dreadfully different her life would be if Fox Mulder, in search of a therapist at the behest of Maggie Scully, had never walked into her office.

"Not a world I want to imagine," she whispered, as she rocked from side to side, closing her eyes and smiling happily.