A few hours after they went to bed Scully was awoken suddenly by a loud bang. Half asleep, Scully laid there, until she heard another bang, she then quickly shot out of bed. Scully whispered to Mulder to try and wake him, but he was fast asleep. Scully rolled her eyes, and left her bedroom to investigate the origin of the noise.
"Mom, what was that loud crash?" Skylar mumbled, half awake as she stepped out of her room. Scully looked at her daughter and smiled. Skylar was wearing one of her father's old Washington Redskins t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants.
"Nothing sweetie, go back to bed," Scully enouraged softly. Skylar grumbled and went back to her room. Scully smiled and hoped her daughter fell right back asleep. Skylar was prone to sleeping issues, and some nights could be rough on her. Also, when Skylar could sleep, she usually had night terrors, that prevented the sleep from being restful. After searching through the house fully, and she knew everything was clear, Scully returned to Skylar's room to check on her. When she opened the door to her daughter's room, she saw Skylar was wide awake, staring at the ceiling. Scully sighed and went to sit on her daughter's bed,
"What's wrong sweetie?" Scully asked softly, Skylar grunted and turned away from her mother. Scully exhaled, and climbed into bed with her daughter. She tried wrapping her arms around Skylar to hold her.
"Mom," Skylar whined, "I want to be left alone," Scully ignored the girl, and held her tighter. Skylar tried to protest, but Scully wouldn't allow it.
"We'll talk in the morning. You need to get a full night's sleep," Scully said calmly. Skylar wiggled out of her mother's grasp, and rolled over so she was facing her. Scully smiled and pulled Skylar into her arms so she could hold her. Within ten minutes Scully felt that Skylar was fast asleep. She laid awake though, waiting to see if she heard anymore sudden, loud bangs.
The next morning Mulder was slowly waking up as he reached over for Scully. When he realized she was no longer in the bed with him, he fully woke up and got out of bed. He quickly pulled on a shirt as he left the room in search of her. As he searched the house, he approached his daughter's room, he saw Scully fast asleep holding Skylar.
"Hey Scully," Mulder rubbed the older woman's shoulder gently, trying to wake her. Scully slowly stirred, and loosened her grip on Skylar.
"Hey baby," Scully smiled at Mulder. Mulder stepped back so Scully could get out of bed. As Scully was trying to leave, Skylar tighted her grip on her mother's shirt. Mulder gave Scully a confused look.
"I heard some loud noises last night, and when I got up, Skylar was awake as well. After I tried finding the source of the noises with no luck, I check on her, and she was having trouble falling back asleep, so I went and laid with her," Scully explained as she finally got out of bed. As she stood up, Mulder pulled her into a hug and kissed her.
"I'm glad we took this vacation, we all needed it," Mulder said with a smile.
"You and I really needed it," Scully said with a smirk as she kissed Mulder back. Mulder laughed as Scully playfully led him to the bathroom. Mulder followed with a grin on his face.
An hour later, Mulder went into their daughter's room to wake Skylar. He gently shook Skylar. Skylar yawned and rubbed her eyes before looking up at her father.
"Get dressed, your mother is making breakfast, then after we're done eatingm we can go on a hike, how does that sound?" Mulder asked with a smile. Skylar yawned and nodded. Mulder smiled as he ruffled his daughter's hair. Skylar groaned as her father left the room.
Thirty minutes later Skylar walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Scully smiled at her daughter, and set a plate of food in front of her. Skylar mumbled and smiled before she ate her food quietly.
"How did you sleep Sky?" Mulder asked as he sat down. Skylar looked up at her father.
"Alright, I guess. I woke up when I heard a loud crash, but I fell asleep again, after Mom stayed with me," Skylar explained between bites of food.
"Any night terrors last night?" Mulder asked with caution. Scully looked at Mulder, then looked at Skylar. Asking about her night terrors could be tricky. Times it could be okay to ask, and other times it could trigger flash backs, and Skylar would break down and panic.
"No night terrors last night. Mom was there helping me fall asleep, plus she made me feel safe, so no night terrors," Skylar explained as she was finishing up her plate of food. Scully beamed with pride. Mulder looked at Scully and smiled.
When they were done, Skylar put her dishes in the sink and went off to her room to get ready for the hike. Scully followed after her daughter, and knocked on the door frame as she entered the room.
"Hey Mom," Skylar grinned, "Dad and I are going on a hike." Scully smiled at Skylar.
"Your Dad and I got you some trail cameras to use while we're here," Scully said as she handed a large package to Skylar. Skylar grinned, sat down on her bed and started to open the box.
"Awesome! These are so cool! Thanks Mom!" Skylar grinned as she packed her new camera's into her backpack. Mulder stepped into the room, and smiled when he saw what Skylar was holding. "Thanks Dad!" Skylar exclaimed as she saw her father.
"Glad you like them," Mulder grinned, "Would you like to go set them up?" Skylar nodded without looking away from the camera she was holding. Scully sat on the bed with her daughter.
"Listen, you better be safe out there, No wandering off the trail, and do not wander away from your father, do you understand?" Scully asked firmly while trying to hide the nervous tone in her voice.
"I do Mom," Skylar said with a smile.
"Promise?"
"I promise Mom. Can we go now please?" Skylar asked eagerly. Scully nodded and hugged her daughter.
Skylar got up from the bed, put her backpack on, and went to the front door. Scully got up and kissed Mulder. He kissed her back and grinned.
"You better keep her safe. You know how she is, and I refuse to lose a third one," Scully said nervously.
"Trust me Scully. She's safe with me. I'll check in with you while we're gone," Mulder smiled.
"You better, or we'll be done," Scully looked at Mulder.
"Dad, let's go!" Skylar whined.
"One second Sky, be patient!" Mulder called back.
"We'll be back in a couple hours," Mulder said to Scully as he kissed her. Scully smiled as she watched Mulder walk out of the front door with their daughter.
"Come on Dad!" Skylar yelled as she ran towards the woods.
"Sky! Get back here with me or we're not going at all!" Mulder scolded. Skylar sighed and walked back towards her father. Mulder smiled and walked with Skylar towards the trails.
"Dad, can we set up a camera facing towards the cabin?" Skylar asked as she looked up at her father. Mulder nodded and showed Skylar how to set up the cameras.
A while into their hike, Skylar set up all her cameras. Her father followed her smiling. He kept texting Scully since he knew she was anxious about Skylar.
"Hey Dad," Skylar interuppted his thoughts.
"Yes sweetie," Mulder replied.
"Why do you and Mom care about me so much? No one has ever cared about me before like you guys have," Skylar asked her father softly.
"You're special," Mulder started off, "When we found you in that back alley while we were investigating that X-File, we had no idea at the time how much you would mean to us. After you recovered, you helped us get information we never would of imagined us having if it wasn't for your shapeshifter abilities." Skylar smiled at Mulder.
"Your mother became so attached to you during that case. She was devistated when the case was over, and she thought we were going to lose you. You stayed for some reason, and she learned all she could about you. When she learned about your past, and your abilities, she wanted to do nothing more but protect you, and she's extremely skeptical about the unknown. Her biggest fear is you moving on. You've been here over 500 years, and yet you chose her and I to attach yourself too, and because of that she wants to love and care for you like you deserved to be loved and cared about when you got brought into this world."
Skylar was smiling at her father. He was right, in all the years she was alive, no one cared about her as much as those two did. She was upset though, because she knew she would outlive them as well, and it's been bothering her as of late. But for the first time in her life, she felt safe, loved, and she was happy. So she kept her form as a teenager to keep her adoptive parents happy.
"Come on, let's go home and see your mother," Mulder smiled. Skylar went on ahead as her father followed behind her.