A/N: Next chapter is up and reviews are always a pleasure for me to read! Have fun because that's what counts!
6. 13 PM EST-Time, Friday
Katherine Scully's house, Lincoln Landing
They were all gatherred around the huge dining room table, staring at the left overs of a very rich and opulent meal. Just the candles and a tinted glass lamp spent comfortable and warm light to the room.
Tara was sitting next to her husband, who was covering the small of her back with his hand, while she held little Matthew on her lap. Matthew was mumbling something and playing with a napkin he had gotten hold of. He was like a mix of both of his parents – the light blonde hair clearly coming from his mother, the steel-blue eyes from his father. After finding a spoon, little Matthew completely forgot about the napkin and started treating the table in front of him, as if it was a drum and the spoon was his drumsticks. He seemed to be very content and happy with so many people surrounding him.
Scully was placed next to Mulder and couldn't help but to looked at him from time to time. Just to make sure, he's alright! Because he was like a stranger among her family – he didn't know them, at least not really. But every time she caught a glimpse of his face, he seemed to be happy and smiled at the others or at a comment her granny made. And that was her signal to start smiling as well because she really liked having him here.
Of course, Mulder recognized Scully's looks every minute and it caused a strange but pleasant tickle on his skin. He had been more than welcomed to this family. Nobody seemed to bother that he was there. Not even Bill. And that was what Mulder was surprised about the most. But for the moment he just shrugged it off. With a sigh of relief he took another sip of his wine and let his view glide over the table, from face to face, as suddenly Scully's granny directed her word towards him.
"So, Fox, you're worring together with my granddaughter, is that correct?"
Mulder nodded and shot a quick glance over to Scully, who was smiling back at him. "Yes it is, since … um, seven years now, Ma'am."
Katherine Scully nodded back and poured herself some more redwine. "You know her very well then, huh?" She knew where she wanted this to get out. She so knew.
Mulder shrugged his shoulders. After all, Mulder didn't even know that Scully still had a granny. So, knowing someone was quite relative. "Well, I hope so. We are good friends."
Yeah, alright, "good friends"! Katherine Scully beamed at her granddaughter and her handsome and young companion. "Can you explain to me then, why she isn't married off to someone? I mean, she looks absolutely stunning, doesn't she? Therefore, I can't explain that to me. Can you?"
Mulder coughed slightly and nearly spluttered his wine, as he recognised the impudent grin on the pensioner's face.
Bill Scully coughed as well, while Tara started grinning cheerfully and Maggie Scully's frowned. Apparently, nobody was in on Katherine Scully's "match-making-attack".
Without any inhibition she had asked him out of the blue. He swallowed and put his wine glass back to the table carefully. What was he supposed to say now? Of course, she was stunningly beautiful, and everybody who thought she wasn't, either had to be blind or gay, but …
Scully was faster in replying and therefore saved him from a somewhat awkward situation. Dana inhaled noisily and said seriously: "Granny!"
"Oh come on, Dana, or is this embarassing for you? I just wanted to know your special friend's opinion on this." The emphasis on the word special friend had been just about perfect. That was what Katherine Scully could tell from the look on all the other faces.
Scully shook her head and seemed nervous. "He's not my special friend."
Mulder looked at Scully with a hurt expression, although he knew what she wanted to say. But nevertheless, he felt dissapointed.
Scully, noticing his sad eyes, stuttered and said: "Fox … I mean, Mulder, … he is my partner, Granny!"
Katherine grinned back and looked over to Mulder. "Oh, I see, so you are partners already."
Scully gaped at her granny stunned. "Yes … I mean, no. Granny, he is my partner. But not in the way you think, alright? We are partners in the sense of colleagues!" She was desperately trying to defend herself.
"Aha, colleagues." Said Scully's mother suddenly, shooting her daughter a somewhat confused look. Had her daughter hid something from her?
Mulder smiled pained as his and Bill's eyes met. What was wrong with this family? Or better to say, what was wrong with Katherine Scully? Desperate to make a match? If this behavior continued over the weekend, it would be hard to handle.
Scully looked over to Mulder and confirmed: "Yes, colleagues."
Bill shook his head wrathfully. He somehow still wasn't fond of his little sister's partner, … colleague, whoever! But actually, that wasn't quite true. A part of Bill liked him, he had had the chance to observe this man a whole evening and somehow he really had the ability to make his sister laugh. That was a point for Mulder. Developing a certain sympathy for Fox Mulder, Bill thought of it as an anomaly. Bill knew that he was most likely jealous. Jealous of Mulder and that's why he had decided to don't like him. "I'm putting Matthew into bed." Bill said and got up.
Matthew was still sitting on his mother's lap with his eyes small and sleepy. The spoon was hanging losely from his fingers and as his father took him into his arms, Matthew's blonde curls sank immediately to his father's broad chest. "Say good night, Matthew!"
But Matthew simply started waving his spoon, before closing his blue baby eyes and drifting off to sleep.
Mulder shot a glance over to Scully, who was watching her little nephew being carried up the stairs. He saw her sighing and taking a sip from her wine. What was she thinking? She was slowly turning herself back to the table, while absentmindedly stroking through her fiery hair. You are really stunning … he said to himself and exhaled deeply.
"We should get started!" Tara suggested with a look at the table in front of them. Maggie and Scully nodded in agreement.
Mulder got up as well, offering his help, but Katherine Scully shook her head and told him to stay with her. "Stop, Fox, you are coming with me. You're not supposed to leave old people alone."
Sully giggled and leaned over to Mulder, whispering something into his ear. "Be careful. She is up to something. You just saw what she's able to do. So, watch out, she seems to like you. Don't get into a dicussion about relationships. She's good at that."
Mulder smiled. "Protect me!"
"And miss the oppportunity of you being grilled by my granny? Never!"
Mulder shrugged his shoulders and looked directly into her sparkling eyes. "You want to see me suffer, right?"
"Oh yes!"
And both were grinning at each other.
Katherine Scully had to stop this flirting. Before she wanted to carry out and on with her plan she wanted to get to know her future grandson in law a bit better. "Excuse me, if I'm interrupting your flirting, but I think you should take the soup to the kitchen, Dana, before one cellular organisms start to form." She gave each of them a mischievious smile and watched her granddaughter slightly go red. "What, Dana? Is there something you want?"
Scully shook her head no and hurried towards the kitchen. Her granny was plannig something. And it slowly dawned at her what the old lady was up to.