Mulder went home at least what was now his temporary home, with a heavy heart. His feelings were bubbling to the service that he in all reality did not want to deal with at this very moment as they would be too complicated and possibly throw everything out of balance. He said merely days or even weeks ago that the ball was in her court, but when faced with the very concept he got scared, he loved her; she loved him but he was so scared he was going to get hurt again.

The next day he arrived at Scully's bright and early as promised, Melissa had taken the kids out to a recreation centre and the park for the day while everything was getting moved into their house.

Mulder walked up the driveway, his hair swept to the side. Lose grey jogging bottoms hanging low on his hips, and a black tank top showing off his well-toned arms and pecs. The sun started rising signalling the dawn from beyond the houses behind him. He looked up as Scully opened the front door to her temporary house.

"Are you ready Scully?" Mulder asked

She looked at him, her hair in a small ponytail. Blue jeans hugging and curving everything that mattered

"As ready as I'll ever be," she mused. She walked back into her temporary accommodation followed closely by Mulder. "I only have a few boxes to put into the car."

"What time does the truck arrive at the house?" Mulder asked. Leaning against the wall and staring at her.

"In about an hour" she replied back, walking through into another room. She came back carrying two small boxes. "There are a few more small ones through the kitchen if want to grab them."

"Sure Scully" she watched him wander through and come back with the boxes and walk through the front door to the car. He placed the box down and beeped the car open and opened the trunk. She wondered after him, giving him the box before grabbing the rest. They worked in a steady rhythm of silence filling his car before heading to their new home.

They arrived at their new home placing the boxes onto the porch. Mulder was bringing the last of the boxes onto the porch when he casually stated "I brought some things across this morning like we agreed, I certainly don't have much these days" he shrugged.

"Thank you" Scully proceeded to walk through to the kitchen, one of her favourite rooms in the newly acquired house. It still hadn't quite sunk in that she and Mulder were going to be living together with their kids. She walked to the kitchen stove placing the kettle on the boil "Do you want anything" she shouted through "Tea please" came a muffled reply.

She opened the cupboard finding the empty cups where she would put them if she was living on her own. She opened another cupboard to find all her favourite tea and coffee sitting neatly in rows. She smiled inwardly to herself knowing he still cared. She placed the tea in their rightful cups, and waited. A couple of minutes later she was pouring the water into the cups when she heard Mulder's footsteps echo through the empty house. She finished making the tea before turning around to give Mulder his.

"Thank you for the tea bags."

"My pleasure Scully" he sat down at the little camping table and chairs that he had brought over.

"I'm sorry about last night," Scully said with some regret in her voice.

"It's ok, like I said once we have got into a routine with the kids and everything settles down for a bit, we will get to us" he emphasized that last word looking directly into her eyes as if he could see her soul. "I just want to get to know them, and for them to get to know me" he inhaled a breath and looked down at his cup before whispering "And you."

He dared to look at her and she simply nodded in reply. Wrapping her hands around her own cup and took a small sip checking the temperature so it didn't burn her mouth.

"I will start paying my half as soon as tomorrow if that's ok?" she asked sheepishly

"There is no need for you to pay straight away you have a month, but if you want I can go grab the bank details out of the office later," he answered honestly. He knows that Scully will be prompt with the payments, and that was the agreement that they had come to. Even so, what she didn't know was he really didn't want any of the money back at all. And all the money was for her and their kids and he would equally split the money into separate bank accounts and they would get it when they were 21 or Scully would get it upon his death.

"Yes please." She took another sip and the temperature was just right. She let the liquid flow down her abdomen into her stomach, its warmth flowing through her like when the sun first touches your skin on an early midsummer morning.

They filled the rest of their time with idle small talk avoiding very taboo subjects and before they knew it the movers were there knocking on the door. Their tea was abandoned as Scully opened the front door and directed the movers to where certain big items were going to go and in which rooms. They both spent hours talking and debating over the phone on placement. It was quite funny and ingenious really both sitting in different parts of America at their representative tables (in Mulder's case a desk), with floor plans of the house which were to scale and so were the little picture diagrams of each room. They laughed, they shouted and some very unpleasant words were exchanged. This conversation spanned over a week before they finally settled on everything, they both had some give and take but in the end, it was a compromise they were both happy with.

Mulder watched as Scully ordered the workmen about, laughing slightly at her red headed temper coming out in full swing, especially when the workmen were doing something wrong. He quickly escaped the room she was in so that her temper was not set on him.

Several hours later the sunset behind the houses and darkness was starting to descend on the neighbourhood. There was a soft wrap of the brass door knocker against the wood door.

"That should be my Mom and Missy back with the kids" Scully shouted upstairs

Mulder came out of the study and started walking down the stairs, "Do you want me to get it?"

"I've got it," she replied already at the door. He nodded and continued walking down the stairs. Scully opened the door quickly and swiftly "Hi babies did you have a good day?," they nodded sleepily "Hi Mom, Missy" she gave them a quick hug before inviting them in. "I hope they haven't behaved too badly" Scully led them all through to the living room.

"They were really good and I spoiled them rotten," Maggie said happily and Scully rolled her eyes and Mulder smiled at them all. Missy glared and Mulder shrugged it off; he knew he had to prove himself to her but that would only take time.

"Have they had dinner?" Scully questioned unloading the toddlers out of the double stroller.

"Yes, Dana, but they didn't eat much because they are too worn out."

"Thank you" she kissed Ellie first and then Will, both the twins giggled as she engulfed them in a hug. She stood up and then the kids ran to Mulder.

"Hi, have you been good?" Mulder said in a childlike voice crouching down to their level as they both nodded and hugged him around his neck as he picked them both up one in each arm.

Scully smiled at the sight of him with their kids, it truly warmed her heart, it always did. She turned back to her Mom "Do you want a tour?"

"Not today maybe tomorrow, I'm going to let you and Fox get the kids settled in tonight and I will be back tomorrow to help out so you can go shopping."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure Dana enjoy your new home." Scully hugged Maggie and walked to the front door. She turned back to see Maggie tugging Missy by the arm, with Missy giving her a look as she was about to say something and Maggie gave her one single look that only a mother could give her daughter, as Missy shut her mouth and followed her to the front door.

"Bye Mom, bye Missy!"

"Bye Dana, I will see you tomorrow!"

Scully closed the front door and Mulder was still holding each child in his arms. Both Will and Ellie rested their heads in the crook of his neck.

"Do you want me to bath them and then put them to bed?" he whispered.

"No, just help them put on their Pj's and I'll help you put them in their beds."

"Thank you."

"My pleasure Fox," she said teasingly he growled low in his throat, but secretly loved it that she used his first name. Now don't get him wrong he still hated it and would always prefer Mulder, but every once in a while, sometimes he didn't mind being called Fox. He followed Scully up the stairs and into the kid's room and helped her undress then redress them into their Pj's before placing them in their beds, setting the lullaby music on their favourite track. After they both kissed them goodnight, they turned off the lights and turned on the baby monitor. They looked them over and quietly closed the door.

The rest of the night was spent pleasantly in the living room. They put on another film and nixed the wine, but still ordered Chinese it wasn't too long before Scully fell asleep on the sofa. He placed her favourite afghan around her so she wouldn't get cold. He tentatively glided the back of his finger against her cheek and she did not stir.

He got down on his knees and kissed the crown of her head. He buried his nose in her hair and whispered "I love you" and even though she was completely sound asleep. She muffled "I love you too" back at him. He was momentarily stunned, but quickly recovered and he gently picked her up. Still, light as a feather, thinking nothing has changed, his inner mind mused. He curled her body towards his chest and carried her up the stairs and slowly placed her on the bed. She was still covered in her blanket curled around a pillow when he slowly pulled the door to a close. He walked downstairs to put the Chinese food in the fridge and turn off the tv and film. His inner mind is still trying to put things together. Everything had changed though it really hadn't, they were co-owners of a house kind of. Also, they were living together, actually living together which in all honestly scared him half to death. What scared him, even more, was he was a father, and by God, he wanted to do good for them and be a better man than his father was to him. He sighed making sure the doors were locked and the lights were off before heading back upstairs and heading to bed himself.