2.

Mulder was incredibly relieved to find the children alive. He'd been upset when he'd heard Skinner's orders – the man knew how Scully took personal offence to crimes involving children, and he'd deliberately placed Scully on a case where two children might be murdered. Mulder was not happy with Skinner, but was still relieved that the children were fine.

He stood in the doorway of Jacob's room, watching as Scully gently fussed over the baby in her arms. The boy was sleeping on the bed, one hand gripping a teddy bear and the other curled into a thumb that was not quite positioned in his mouth anymore.

"Is she okay?" Mulder asked, turning his attention to the little girl in Scully's arms.

"Yeah," Scully murmured, not looking up. "She was just hungry. I think she missed her night time feed, and getting cold with Jacob didn't help much either."

"He's got a lot of spunk in him," Mulder said quietly, looking at the little boy. His pale cheeks were flushed with sleep now, but Mulder couldn't help thinking Jacob looked a little too pale.

"I think he saved his sister's life," Scully said honestly, rocking the baby. "I hope they find who did this, Scully."

"They've already got several ideas," Mulder said.

"Jacob will be used as a witness," Scully stated.

"Social services are on their way."

Scully's eyes flashed. "They're sending the kids to Social services? What about grandparents!" she demanded.

"Anne Logan's parents were killed in a car accident years ago. Paul's father is suffering from Alzheimer's – his mother is looking after him full time. I don't think it would be fair to send the children to them, no matter how willing they were," Mulder said quietly.

"Brother's and sisters?"

Mulder winced. "Anne's sister isn't exactly suitable for mothering material," Mulder said carefully.

"Mulder?"

"She works as a stripper at a local bar and according to several of the officers downstairs, they're fairly certain she's been in several pornographic movies."

Mulder was a little amused to see Scully's eyebrows hike up her forehead.

"Pornography?" Scully asked with disgust.

"According the neighbours – well, a Mrs. Arnold – Anne Logan and her sister Amber never got along very well. She thinks it's unlikely that Anne would want Amber looking after her children."

A real spurt of anger at the dead couple flushed through Mulder, surprising him. "They didn't have a will, Scully. They made absolutely no provision for these children in case something happened to them. Jacob and Lucy will be packed off to social services and fostered off from one home to the next unless someone wants to adopt them," he added bitterly.

Scully hugged the baby in her arms, closing her eyes. "It's not fair, Mulder," she whispered quietly, not looking up from the baby. "It's really not fair."

"No," he said, watching her. Something jerked and twisted inside him as he watched her with the baby. Scully should have her own baby, he thought, but she couldn't. Not for the first time, Mulder felt more regret and grief at what he'd caused Scully to lose, and felt unworthy to be in her company. "You staying here?"

"Until the social worker arrives," Scully agreed quietly, one hand straying to the little boy's forehead and pushing back his hair gently. "They shouldn't be alone right now."

Mulder nodded. Scully would make a great mother, he thought again, before leaving her with the children.

---

Thinking about it now, Mulder supposed he shouldn't have been surprised by Jacob's reaction. He'd informed Scully when the social worker had arrived, and watched as she gently woke the little boy up by smoothing the hair back from his face and calling his name softly.

The little boy woke slowly, obviously confused with sleepiness and the presence of the strange woman in his bedroom. Mulder could see the exact instant the little boy remembered what had happened – his brow creased in concentration, and his mouth dropped open in fear less than a second later.

"Easy," Scully whispered, pulling him toward her for a hug. He struggled at first, silently, but allowed her to hug him. "It's okay, Jacob," she murmured, pressing a kiss against his temple. "You're safe now, okay? You and Lucy both. You did a good job, you kept her safe. You're very brave," she told him, her voice gentle.

Mulder wasn't an expert with children, but he thought that the boy's silence was unnerving at best and definitely a point of concern at worse. He opened his mouth to say something, when Jacob caught sight of him.

Jacob's silence was over – he screamed long and loud, and grabbed madly for Scully, panicking.

"Well," Mulder said, a touch hurt, "that was encouraging."

"You're a man, Mulder," Scully pointed out, desperately rubbing the boy's back and trying to soothe him. "I think we're safe to guess that it was a man who… you know…"

And Mulder felt like a prime idiot for not figuring that out first.

Jacob's screaming woke the baby, who also started screaming. "Can you get her, Mulder?" Scully asked, sounding slightly frazzled.

Mulder was definitely not an expert with children – he couldn't remember once actual holding a baby. Scully raised her eyebrows in a 'Now, Mulder' kind of way, and Mulder tried very hard to hide his panic face from her. The minute he put his hands around the baby and picked her up, Jacob's screams turned to bellows of anger and panic.

"Jacob, calm down!" Scully order sharply. "He's not going to hurt her. Mulder is my friend. He'll look after Lucy, and you. He's not going to hurt you."

The businesslike attitude of Scully's tone probably meant more to the kid than her actual words, Mulder thought, awkwardly trying to rock the baby. Lucy wasn't impressed with his technique, and kept her lusty wails ringing through the room.

"What's going on in here?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

Mulder turned, baby balanced awkwardly in his arms, to the preppy young social worker standing in the doorway. Her hair was blond in a Californian bleached kinda way, and her blue eyes were still bright and innocent. He thought she was pretty, but terribly green. Maybe in a few years time she wouldn't wear her heart on her sleeve anymore. As it was, her face was concerned and slightly worried at the scene in the bedroom.

"We're fine," Scully said. "Mulder, put the baby in your arm like a cradle and support her back with your other hand."

Mulder didn't think Scully's way sounded particularly safe – it sounded like he was handling the baby like a football that way. Instead, he held her against his chest, and to his great surprise and delight, she calmed down a bit.

"You must be the social worker," Scully continued, still holding Jacob and rubbing his back.

"Alice," the woman nodded. "And these must be Jacob and Lucy."

Neither child responded, and the room settled into an awkward silence.

Scully sighed. "Where are you taking them?"

"There's a home not too far from here," Alice said quietly. "I'll keep them there until everything is sorted out regarding… what happened. And then we'll probably foster them out."

Mulder wasn't too impressed that the girl, young as she was, spoke about passing the kids around in front of Jacob.

"Come on, Jacob," Scully said, coaxing the boy to his feet. "I want you to meet Alice. Alice is going to look after you for a while."

Jacob, it appeared, had other ideas. The minute he and Scully were standing he attached himself to Scully's leg like a limpet, wrapping his arms around her thighs and tucking his head out of sight.

Scully, Mulder thought with a smile, looked a touch disconcerted to be handled so intimately by a little boy, but she hid the discomfort quickly. "Come on, Jacob," she said, trying to peel his arms from her legs. "Alice is going to take good care of you."

Once again silent, Jacob shook his hidden face against Scully's leg, and refused to let go.

"Does he have to go the shelter?" Scully asked finally, looking up at Alice. Mulder was stunned with the naked look of longing on Scully's face.

She wanted him, Mulder realised, almost dropping the baby. She wanted the little boy.

"Well, he's a potential witness to a crime," Alice said carefully. "And there's not anyone else who's come forward to take him. It's our only choice, I'm afraid."

"I'll take him," Scully said firmly. "I'll take them both."

"You?" Alice blinked. "That is a very out of the ordinary request, Agent Scully," Alice pointed out. "FBI agents don't normally volunteer to take the children in for a few days."

"Is it possible?" Scully demanded, her hand rubbing Jacob's back again. Mulder was surprised to find himself imitating the movement on Lucy's back, rubbing gentle circles and cuddling her head with his cheek. He was surprised at how cuddly the baby was, and decided not to think about it too much.

"Well," Alice said hesitantly. "It'd have to be cleared with the people in charge of investigating what happened, and I'd have to clear it with my supervisor too." She narrowed her eyes at Scully. "Why are you so keen to take them?"

"They need someone," Scully said.

"Alice?" Mulder interrupted. "Could we have a word outside, please?"

Baby still in his arms, Mulder followed the girl out of the room. "What the hell are you doing?" he demanded.

"I beg your pardon?" she asked, irritated at his tone.

"That boy in there has enough problems already, without needing you to go in there and start making statements about the uncertainty of his future. Right now, he wants Scully. Scully is happy to look after him."

"What about when Agent Scully moves on?" the woman demanded. "Have you thought about that? That little boy will get even more attached to her, and then she'll give him up because her job needs her to go someplace. She's an FBI agent, just like you. You should know you can't look after a child with a career like that."

"How do you know Scully doesn't have children already?" Mulder pointed out evenly.

The girl paused. "I guess she could have children," she said finally. "But that little boy still needs constant attention and care for a few weeks at least. She can't give him that if she has a full time career."

"So you'll give him constant attention for the next few weeks at the shelter, only your constant attention is divided between how many children exactly? And then, once he's had enough constant attention you'll pass him off into a foster home? How is that any more beneficial to him than letting him stay with Scully?"

Alice narrowed her lips. "It's not ideal, Agent Mulder. What would be ideal is if there was someone here now who could take him. Relatives or friends or someone. But the fact of the matter is there is no-one for that little boy, or the little girl in your arms. I want to make it as easy as possible for that boy to transition into life in foster homes, and I don't know if letting Agent Scully look after him for a few days or a week is the best thing for him."

Mulder paused. "Tell you what. You clear it with your supervisor, and I'll clear it with mine. Then you have a chat with Scully when Jacob isn't nearby, so you can set yourself at ease," Mulder suggested.

Alice sighed. "I only want the best for him, Agent Mulder."

"I'm sure you do," Mulder said, "and right now, I think Scully is what that little boy wants."

A smile touched Alice's lips. "Agent Scully doesn't have children, does she?"

"No," Mulder said quietly.

Alice nodded. "Then maybe Agent Scully wants Jacob too."

And that, Mulder thought as he turned back into the bedroom where Scully and Jacob were waiting, as possibly part of the problem.

---

Lots of ship coming, I promise. Of course, lots of nice reviews encourage lots of ship!

Yes, I am shameless. Maybe I should change my pen-name to Shameless!

Silf