Sunlight was streaming through the half open shutters, on the small square windows on the left wall in their master bedroom.

Mulder blinked and stretched his legs (carefully, he didn't want to wake the beautiful red-head next to him before she was ready), his right arm was still draped over Scully's tiny waist.

Mulder smiled, closed his eyes and breathed in, deeply. The idea that this was his life was still somewhat unbelievable... to him, but he was grateful every day that Scully stuck by him and offered him, his very own little family.

The previous night swam lazily through his mind; the mind-blowing orgasm, the tender kisses and falling asleep in each others entangled embrace.

Unpredictable Scully was always a delight.

Mulder brushed some strands of loose hair from her face, he preferred her sans make up, the more natural look. He liked to see the beauty spot above her top lip, and the freckles that dotted her face.

"You're so beautiful, Scully. You have no idea how much I love you..", whispered Mulder as he ran his thumb over Scully's cheekbone, like he had done many times before.

Scully began to stir...

Mulder watched as her eyes flickered behind their lids. She let out a tiny moan, and his eyes lit up. Scully was his touchstone, his constant, his one in EIGHT billion and his best friend. The only woman he would EVER love, and protect with his life.

"Mulder...", Scully slowly opened her eyes and looked at him, their faces an inch apart, as he stared adoringly at her in the daylight.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you, you just looked so adorable"

"It's fine", Scully stretched, yawned and rested her right palm on Mulder's cheek.

"Thank you...", Mulder slipped an arm under her head and another around her waist, pulling her body flush against his "for last night"

She closed her eyes, buried her head in the crook between his neck and shoulder.

"Last night...", Scully sighed.

"Yeah. I owe you one", Mulder laughed.

"Why do you still let me drink that stuff?"

Scully tilted her face up, and looked at him seriously.

"If there's one thing I know about you, it's that no one can stop you from doing something when you put your mind to it"

"I hate that about me..."

"Shut up"

They both started laughing.

Mulder kissed her forehead, and then her lips. Scully was still laughing when he kissed her, and she tickled his side by scratching her nails down it.

"Ok. Time to get up, Mulder"

"Why?", Mulder whined.

"Because Will will be up soon...", Scully started to get out of the bed, but Mulder grabbed at her hip as she turned away from him.

She was still in her tank top, but missing her leggings (her arse was visible through her lace underwear) which had come off after she washed her mouth out in the bathroom sink and they crawled into bed together... spooning. The perfect fit.

"Hey, come back to bed", Mulder moved across to Scully's empty side of the bed and looked at her with puppy dog eyes "just for a minute. Please?"

"I need to pee, and I really need to brush my teeth", Scully smiled and pointed at said smile with her index finger, to prove her point.

He watched Scully while she peed, brushed her teeth and spat the excess toothpastey water out into the bathroom sink turning the tap on to wash away, from the comfort of their warm bed.

Mulder put on a pair of grey sweatpants, while Scully threw on a pair of denim short shorts.

Mulder and Scully were in the kitchen, preparing breakfast when William came bounding down the stairs, in his pajama bottoms and a white singlet (the same outfit he wore on the trip, minus a pullover sweater)

"Ishy!", William squealed. Ishmael charged at William, his tail wagging furiously, and they entered the kitchen together.

"And so it begins..."

Mulder laughed, and looked at William. The kid always woke up with more energy than both of them combined.

"Good morning, sleepyhead...", Scully said when William cuddled up to her, while she was flipping pancakes on the old style stove "Did you sleep well? No dreams?"

"I don't 'member"

Mulder made William and Ishmael sit down at the table (because they were getting under Scully's feet) while he got a tumblr of orange juice for Will and some dog biscuits for Ishy.

"Which one, kiddo?", Mulder was standing in the kitchen and held up two boxes of cereal, fruit loops and cornflakes.

"I want both!"

Scully looked over at William, then to Mulder and winced. William had inherited Mulder's very disturbing eating habits.

"What about pancakes? You can't possibly eat all of it, Will"

Scully tried to talk William out of the decision, and Mulder jumped in to help.

"I think Mommy is right. Pick one"

"Fruit loops, please", William replied, choosing the more sugary of the two.

"Well, you can't win them all" Mulder looked at Scully, laughed and rubbed the small of her back before pouring the fruit loops into and plastic bowl.

They sat down to eat, and Mulder noticed that the gold cross around Scully's neck had become tangled in her loose braids, so he moved it back to it's rightful place. Scully looked at Mulder, with so much adoration and love, that his heart literally skipped a beat and he had to take a breath.

"Are you excited to go down to the beach later?", Scully tussled William's hair.

"Uh huh", William was shovelling pieces of pancake into his mouth.

"Slow down, slugger", Mulder smiled.

Mulder had surprised Scully, just after William's first birthday with a trip up the Vineyard. In the months leading up to the surprise, he had been gathering information, covertly, from Scully about what her dream vacation home would look like. When they arrived at 1013 Archet Cove, Chilmark, with a one year old Will asleep in his car seat, Mulder had given Scully the keys to the front door and told her it was theirs. Forever. She was shocked, impressed and happy to have a place to get away to. Archet Cove was a green, leafy tree lined street with beautiful old houses lining either side, and those old fashioned gas lights, that had been update to electric decades ago. The bungalow was set back and down a slightly longer driveway than the rest of the homes. The edge of the property bordered a slope that led down some wooden plank stairs, to the white sandy beach below. They had been coming here every year, since the summer of 2002, for varying amounts of time; anywhere between a weekend and the whole summer, back when William was a toddler. And they would sit down on the beach, watching the sunset every night with William on a towel, dug into a hole in the sand so he didn't get any ideas of trying to wobble away from them.