Chapter 9

Later that evening, Carolyn watched as Daniel and William sat together on the front steps of Gull Cottage as the boy practiced with his abilities. It seemed that the lesson tonight was telekinesis, and Daniel was patiently offering suggestion and advice from what he knew during his time as a spirit. She sat quietly in a chair behind them, enjoying the cool ocean breeze on a beautiful Maine evening and listened quietly.

"Uncle Daniel?" William turned to the older man and set his bicycle which he was holding aloft settle back on the ground.

"Yes, William?"

"Is it true that you really can't do any of this…" he gestured to the air around him, "anymore?"

"It's true."

"Is it because you are alive again?"

"Yes."

"Huh. I still think you can do stuff."

"Why would you say that? I'm human now. How could I possibly have any of my spirit abilities?"

"I think they're just slow to come back to you." He regarded the Captain carefully. "At least the ones that do come back."

"You think I'll get some of them back?" Daniel was amused by the boy's assumption.

William nodded, his expression serious. "You will, I know it. But I think first you have to learn to be human again."

"From the mouth of babes," Carolyn said, and he turned his head to exchange a glance. "And, William, it's already past your bedtime."

"But it's just getting dark!"

"That's because it's summer as you well know. You're up an hour later than you are supposed to be."

"Aww, Aunt Carolyn." He turned to the Captain. "Uncle Daniel?"

"I cannot help you, lad. Your aunt's word is law."

"Even for you?" He asked, surprised.

"Especially for me, isn't that right, my dear?"

Carolyn laughed. "It most certainly is."

"There you have it! We must obey our orders," Daniel said easily.

"All right. I'll go get ready for bed."

"Good lad," the Captain said as he ruffled his hair. "Say goodnight to your Aunt Carolyn on the way up."

William ran over to Carolyn and gave her a big hug and kissed her on the cheek. "Goodnight, Aunt Carolyn. See you in the morning."

"Good night, William. Love you."

"Love you too," he said as he disappeared through the front doors and they heard him running up the steps.

Carolyn began to get out of the chair she was sitting in, but Daniel gestured for her to remain where she was.

"I'll make sure he gets in bed. Wait for me here?"

"Of course," she smiled as he gave her a gentle kiss and then followed William up the stairs.

She sighed in relief, and settled back against her chair, staring out at the waves hitting the rocky coast.

Carolyn wasn't sure what had changed but over the last couple of days, but Daniel seemed a bit more settled with himself. She longed for his touch again, she longed to be loved by him. Patience was overrated.

She smiled as she recalled his interactions with William. He really was so good with children, it made her sad that the way their history was rewritten with his sojourn back in time in which Candy and Jonathan became his children, that he wasn't around to raise them or see them grow. They now retained no memory of Bobby from the original timeline, they only knew that they were raised with a single mother and that their father, although beloved, was unable to be with them.

After they were introduced to the Captain at Gull Cottage she let their attachment form naturally, and the then ghost, as yet unaware of how his future would change, bonded with Candy and Jonathan who were now his children. Eventually, in later years she told them all the truth which they then accepted. The past had been changed and the only ones that remembered the original timeline were her and her Daniel.

But it gave her Daniel in her life in a way that he couldn't be with her before, and she couldn't even begin to express her gratitude for that fact.

Watching him with William though, that was beginning to awaken feelings in her that she thought long gone. They were both alive, they were both in the prime of life again, the possibility existed that they could have a normal life. They were in love, they were married, and they were settled. That normal life could include children. Their children. Children conceived and born into a safe environment with parents desperately in love with each other. She closed her eyes and sighed, imagining doing everything right this time, having the support of a loving husband as they looked after their child together. Sleepless nights, diaper changes, projectile vomiting, she wanted it all.

God help me, she thought with a wry grin and wondered how Daniel would react to such a discussion.

The object of her thoughts was there almost as she thought of him, bounding out of the house with more energy than she had seen in some time.

"Daniel?" she questioned, and he heard the note of amusement in her voice.

"My love?"

"You seem undeniably energetic."

"It's William. Having him around puts me in good spirits."

"No pun intended."

"No," he said but she saw his smile.

He studied her for a few moments and pulled up a chair to sit across from her. "What's on your mind, my dear?"

"You can read me so well?"

"When I am paying attention and not self-absorbed as I have been of late, yes." He took her hand in his. "Tell me."

"I don't know if you're ready to hear what's on my mind. I mean, you're having difficulties yet…you haven't adjusted…"

"Yes, that has been true, and you have my sincere apologies for that. I do however believe that I have a better grasp of things."

"Why? How?"

He shrugged. "Knowing that I have to accept that I'm human now and as such I have human… weaknesses as well as those common to the male of the species." He gazed into her eyes. "I am far from perfect, my dear, and will probably never achieve the kind of power and control I had as a spirit. This form," he gestured at himself, "has so many flaws in design, it is so limited…"

"But it's what we all are, Daniel. Have you ever thought of me that way? Or our friends? Limited?"

He blinked. and Carolyn knew that thought hadn't crossed his mine. "No, of course not."

"Then?"

He sighed and gave her an accepting smile. "Then I need to accept that I am one of you now and that it is a remarkable thing to be human. That I need to explore the new possibilities before me."

"There are things we can do as humans that we couldn't do when you were in spirit form…" Carolyn ventured and bit her lip as she regarded him.

"What kind of things?" He asked, and she could see a myriad of thoughts running through his mind.

"Be together."

"We were together when I was a spirit…"

"Not like we can be together now. Now we can be a family."

"But we are a family. We are married…"

"I mean…" she steeled herself, not knowing what his reaction might be. "…I mean we could have our own family…"

"I am not following this. We have our own family, we have friends…"

"Oh, for God's sake! Sometimes you are so dense! A baby, Daniel. We could have a baby."

"Oh. That." His eyebrows drew together, and his expression grew serious and he leaned back in his chair, dropping her hand and suddenly drumming on the arms of his chair. "A baby? Us? Really?"

"Really. That is, if you want. I know you feel bad about Candy and Jonathan, but things are different now for us." She paused. "There's no rush, and I know you have a lot to figure out, but I thought maybe, someday…"

"A baby, our baby…" clearly the thought was still playing in his mind.

Carolyn sat back and waited for him to speak, their silence comfortable even if it was a bit awkward. After a couple of minutes, he leaned forward and took her hand again. "When would you like to get started?"

"I beg your pardon?" This was not the response she was expecting.

"When would you like to get started on this…project?" There was a definite twinkle of excitement in his clear blue eyes.

"Wait. Am I hearing you right? We haven't been together since you've regained your humanity. And you just want to dive into making a baby?"

"Well, you did ask." His grin lit up his face, and he stood up and reached for Carolyn's hand, pulling her into a close embrace. He looked into her eyes and she found herself lost in the pools of dark blue as he kissed her, tentative at first as though for the first time.

She responded in a very unladylike way, and opened her mouth to him, seeking admittance as she escalated their kiss to passionate. He responded in kind and pushed himself against her and she felt his arousal and almost groaned in relief. It had been such a long time that all she wanted to do was push him on the ground and have her way with him.

He must have felt the same because she felt herself with her back against the wall of the house as his lips frantically worked their way down her neck. He pushed up against her again and she did moan. Somehow, she found the strength to put her hands on his chest and push him away.

They were both breathing heavily as they looked at one another.

With an apology in her eyes, she gestured to the upper floor. "We have a houseguest," she stammered at last.

He swallowed with difficulty but nodded his consent. "You are correct, of course," said and took another step away from her. "The difficulties of being a human male," he tried a joke at his current state of arousal.

"It's all right, Daniel. In fact, it's much more than all right," she regarded him with a look that promised him much more.

"Maybe tomorrow, after he is returned to his parents?"

"Yes, definitely." She assured him.

They continued to gaze longingly at one another until he cleared his throat and smiled at her. "I have another idea that I would like you to consider."

"Which is?"

"I would like to take some time and go on an extended sea voyage." He didn't miss the way her face fell and before she could turn away, he grasped her hands within her own. "Carolyn, look at me."

After a few moments she drew her resolve together and did as he asked but he could see the unshed tears.

"I don't mean a voyage by myself. I want you to go with me. I want us to take at least a couple of months and travel together by sea. Would you consider it?"

"Oh, Daniel," she buried himself against his chest and he held her tight, rubbing her back as he tried to comfort her.

"You thought I'd leave without you?" He drew back to look at her.

"It's what you did, I mean you were gone for months at a time, it was normal for you."

"That was before you were in my life. Even if I wanted to I doubt I could be removed from your beatific presence for that length of time." He placed a sweet kiss on her lips. "I want to go on this trip with you, but I should warn you that I am not totally accustomed to this new life yet. I still have a few…kinks to work out."

"Let me think about it for a day?"

He nodded. "Yes, however long you need, my dear." He stepped away from her and gave her a smile.

"You look like you're going somewhere?"

"A walk, I think. I need to walk off some of my unspent…energy."

"Got it. While you're gone I'll go and say goodnight to William."

"Excellent. I will be back in a short while."

With one last kiss they parted ways, and each went about their individual tasks.

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Mulder gently brushed a stray strand of hair away from Scully's face as they lie in bed together in the afterglow of their tender lovemaking. He did his best to breathe her in completely, to absorb into every cell of himself, everything that was Scully because he loved her with all his heart.

"I take it, you're happy?" Scully's bright blue eyes, filled with love for him, searched his.

He pulled her tight and squeezed her, wishing he could somehow let her feel all his love and happiness, instead he settled for words that seemed inadequate. "Love you," he whispered into her ear. "And you, and William, and the new little one…I don't have any words," he admitted, allowing his hand to rest on her abdomen.

"Fox Mulder at a loss for words? I never thought I'd see the day."

Mulder chuckled. "Yeah, well sex, and impending fatherhood can do that to a man."

"But you're happy?"

"Yes, Dana, extremely happy. And I will be around this time to help with everything, I'm looking forward to it." He placed a sweet kiss on her lips. "Are you okay with this? You seem a bit…hesitant?"

"It's nothing."

"Scully…"

"Okay, fine." She adjusted herself so that she was facing him and let her hand wander down his side, over his hip. "I'm worried about you."

"Me?" Mulder seemed surprised. "Why?"

"Mulder, you've always been searching for answers, searching for the truth as long as I've known you. You don't need to do that anymore."

He snorted. "Yeah, funny how meeting an immortal, powerful spirit who assures you that situation is well in hand can make a believer out of you."

"You can let go of the conspiracies that have plagued you?"

"Plagued is a good way to put it." He rolled over on his back and expelled a long sigh. "But yeah, I've thought about it a lot and I think I can. It's not that I didn't want a good life with a family of my own, more that I just never expected that I could have it."

"Do you believe in it now?"

"I want to believe, and I think I can believe." He shifted his eyes to watch her. "Which brings me to another point, what do I really want to do?"

"Do you know? We haven't had much time to decide and you've seemed uncertain."

"Well, Scully, I'm not sure what you'll think of what I want to do. You may not like it."

Scully felt her stomach knot up with apprehension. "Go on," she said.

"I want to be…well, I want to be a house husband."

Nothing he said could have shocked her more, she tried to calibrate his answer along with all the answers she expected, and this was nowhere in her mental library of answers from Mulder.

"It's just that it would cost money to have a babysitter for two kids and I missed everything with William because everything was so fucked up…I just can't think of a better way to spend my time."

"But Mulder! You've got an Oxford education, you're a crack investigator and profiler, a great psychologist…"

"Are you trying to argue me out of this?" He chuckled quietly.

"No, it's just that you'll probably get restless…"

"How do you know that?"

"I don't, but given your history…"

"Dana, past history is just that…past. We have an incredible opportunity for a brand-new life together, with our kids." He shook his head. "Gods! I never thought I'd hear myself say something like that."

"And you're really all right with this scenario?"

"Couldn't be better." He shrugged. "But at some point in the future I will probably want to work again. I don't know, maybe a child psychologist? Helping kids would be good. Maybe investigating the paranormal?"

Now it was Scully's turn to chuckle.

"What?" He seemed affronted.

"You! You have to be involved in the paranormal."

"Well," he frowned, unable to dispute her words.

"Mulder, it's okay. It's part of you. I understand." She sighed. "Just don't leave us."

"Scully, why would I do that? I finally have everything I've ever wanted, everything I was afraid to hope for, and it's all because of you. I'll never leave you."

"That sounds like a threat," she teased.

"Hey!"

Her hand ran over his chest, and he closed his eyes and sighed. "You feel so good."

"I'm barely touching you."

"It's enough. Hell, Scully, just the right look in your eyes makes me horny."

She laughed at that and raised her eyebrow at him in a very familiar gesture. "A house husband? Really?"

"Really." He grinned at her. "I will be a kept man. Your kept man."

"I can work with that," she promised with a wicked smile.

He gauged the look on her face and swallowed a brief bubble of apprehension, wondering what it was that she was up to. "Scully?"

"Mulder," she purred and grasped his semi-hard shaft, coaxing it to life.

"Scully," he breathed and threw his head back. "What are you doing?"

"If you don't know…" she looked at him, her eyes dark with desire. "I'm having my way with you…" she said at last.

Joyfully, he gave himself to her dominating advance.

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AN: Only a few chapters left – thanks for reading.