The Teenage Years
Part 8
by Trycee
Time-Line: Present Day
Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Files, this is written for fun not profit.
*I've drawn from my own experiences as a parent of a teenager. I have had some strange experiences with other parents with my child in both sports and in dating and so I am using them in this story. *
Tim passed a fresh beer to Mulder. "We'll leave the wine to the ladies," Tim chuckled.
Mulder chuckled back.
Scully could tell that Mulder liked Tim. Mulder reached out and held her hand under the table and rubbed her fingers.
Jamie smiled as she served up the lasagna, salad and homemade breadsticks she was famous for. "I love to cook. We should swap recipes. I always have some new ones for when Tim rolls into town."
"I'm gone sometimes a week or two weeks at a time," he explained. "But, it pays the bills," he said, proudly. "That's all that counts, right," he said, to Mulder.
"That's right," Mulder said, as he sipped on his beer.
William cleared his throat. "So, Lisa. How come you never said anything to me before in class?"
Lisa blushed shyly. "I don't know," she said.
Scully was trying to pretend that she was listening to Jamie's chatter about recipes as she piled her plate with more food than Scully ate in a week but what she really was paying attention too was the interaction between Lisa and her son.
"I think you're cute," William said.
Tim stopped mid-sentence. "She's beautiful," he said, directly to William. "And believe me, I've got my eye on you!"
William gasped but Scully placed a hand on his back and he relaxed. "I have nothing but good intentions in mind," he said, to Lisa's father.
"That's all I expect," Tim said.
William nodded. He grabbed up his glass of water and took a shaky sip. He looked at his dad and he could read Mulder's thoughts. "Relax, he's trying to intimate you. Don't worry about it."
William breathed out and began to eat his food, occasionally glancing over to Lisa who would smile shyly at him. "What movies do you like?", he asked.
"I like lots of movies," she answered, in between the adult chatter.
It was hard for them to try to talk but he was trying and he could hear it in her thoughts that she appreciated the effort. "Where should we go on our first date, alone?" he then quickly turned to her father. "If that's okay with you, sir."
Tim sipped on his beer and glanced over to his wife and then surveyed Mulder and Scully. "You seem like good people to me. Sure, why not."
William beamed and looked at his parents and then back at Lisa. "Where should we go?"
"Some place in the city...There's no place here," Lisa said. "I'd like to go maybe to the mall in the city, catch a movie, I dunno. There's not much to do around here. I'd don't get to see the city much."
William looked at Scully and she nodded her head. "That sounds good," he said.
"I work in the city so that's not a problem," Scully said, glancing at Jamie. "If it's alright with you."
"We'll talk," she said. "But, anyway. Anyone got room for dessert?"
"There's more?", Scully almost groaned.
The food was delicious but it was all so fattening and she knew Mulder would be teasing her later about eating even half of what she ate. Her stomach was already doing somersaults from all the grease and salt she was unfamiliar with. This was no yogurt and salad.
"OH YES!", Jamie said, walking into the kitchen and returning with a large german chocolate cake. "We believe in eating here!"
"I see," she said, under her breath.
"Umm," Mulder smiled. "Looks good."
"Stick with me and I'll fatten you up just a little bit," she said to Scully.
Scully put on her best fake smile. Jamie though gladly sliced up a large slice for each person. Mulder dove right in. "This is really good."
"Oh it's got mayonaisse and chocolate and applesauce and all kinds of stuff in there."
Both Scully and Mulder stopped eating and glanced at eachother.
"It doesn't hurt the taste, as you can see," Jamie continued.
Mulder shrugged his shoulders and dugged back into his cake.
"I'm full," Scully said. "I don't usually eat this much."
"Yeah, I can tell that," Jamie chuckled along with Tim.
"My wife can whip up all kinds of food."
"Scully is a great cook in her own right," Mulder said. "And a great baker."
"Thank You, Mulder."
"Yeah we should swap recipes," Jamie said. "Since the kids'll be dating and we'll probably spend a lot time together."
Both Mulder and Scully leaned back in their chairs. "We will?"
"Oh yeah," Jamie said. "You know, holidays...Birthdays...stuff like that. You know, we'll have to share them," she smiled. "Like, we'll decide who'll get them for Thanksgiving dinner and who'll get them for Christmas."
"It's the same as when you're married," Tim chimed in. "I go to my in-law's for Christmas, but they come over here for Thanksgiving. We throw a big dinner party here every year. I mean, Thanksgiving is what, two weeks away, so we'll decide a little later. I mean, this is their first date, so let the kids have their first REAL date together and then we'll decide, ya know...who gets them for Thanksgiving."
"No problem!", William answered, turning to give his parents a stern look. "This is a really good cake, Mrs. Hayes. Almost as good as my mom's and Grandma's."
"Well," Jamie smiled. "Now that's a good compliment then."
When the dinner was over, they stayed and chatted before Scully explained that she had an early surgery in the morning. "What was that?", Scully said, as they drove home.
"I liked them!", William said.
"Tim was a cool guy, Scully and you did like Jamie."
"I liked her," she said, her voice raised. "I liked her but what is with this sharing our son and their daughter on the holidays? And what is with the talk about getting married straight out of highschool too?"
Mulder glanced back at William and could see that he was shaking his head. "I'm too young to get married."
"Exactly!"
"Just calm down, Scully."
"Mulder, don't patronize me or I'll shoot you in a place that's uncomfortable!", she said, with fiery blue eyes.
Mulder nodded his head and kept his eyes on the road.
When they reached there home, Mulder said. "I wouldn't mind another piece of that cake."
Scully scoffed. "Mulder, this is serious!"
"Scully, you're not gonna like anyone. This is your baby! You're being over protective."
She looked surprised. "You think that's it? "
He stared down at his hands. "I do."
"Can I say something?".
"What?", they both said, glancing in the backseat.
"I think she really likes me."
Both Mulder and Scully began to smile. "She does, son."
"So, when can we go on our date?"
Scully sat on her Mother's sofa. "Is it me or is everything suddenly so strange? I mean, all these years Mulder and I lived here and never, not once did we encounter such luancy."
"Well, it's like that Rose lady said, Dana," Maggie spoke. "You didn't have William with you then. So, if so you would've seen it sooner. It's something about kids that bring the crazy out in people."
They both chuckled.
"Believe me, with the four of you, I have my stories."
"Really?"
"Yes, and we're talking about Navy moms," Maggie said. "They all wanted to prove how loyal they were to the Flag, The Government, to The Navy and to their Husbands. They would compete with each other and they didn't care if they bulldozed over you to get there."
Scully had covered her mouth as she sat with her arm in the crook of the sofa. "Mulder accused me of being too protective of William because he's my baby. He used those exact words. I couldn't sleep last night. I tossed and turned all night," she said, looking into her mothers eyes.
Maggie reached out and pulled Dana into a hug. "It's okay. You lost a lot of time, Dana. You have a right to feel that way."
She could hear a low moaning cry bubble up from Scully's throat as she pressed her mouth against her mother's neck and cried into her. Maggie held her tightly until her tears subsided. She grabbed a tissue box and handed it to her. "I'm glad you got that out. You don't cry enough, Dana."
Scully looked surprised.
"You hold it in way too much."
Scully nodded her head. "I know I do."
"Does Fox know you're afraid of losing William again so quickly because he's growing up?"
She nodded. "He knows but he doesn't understand," she said, as more tears escaped. "For most women, they're children stepping into dating signals they're getting older. But for me, it means that I only have a less than three years left to raise my son. I did not get to see William's first birthday," she said, wiping her tears.
"I know," Maggie said, holding her hand.
"I just got him back. We got him right before the war began which was a miracle in itself and then to see him defeat the aliens, that was incredible," she said, with wide eyes. "Then to see him be a normal kid and dating...it's a dream come true," she said. "But, to know it's over in a flash."
"It's not over," Maggie said. "Look at you and me."
"Mom," Scully said. "How many times did I come and see you when Mulder and I were off working?"
"That was different Dana. You didn't know anyone existed when it was just you and Fox...you two were deeply in love and in serious denial."
Scully blinked. "But there'd be weeks at a time before I'd even call you...and I'm a girl. Look at Charles and Bill."
Maggie nodded. "Boys do go off and create their own families but something tells me William will be different, Dana."
Scully wiped her eyes but fresh tears continued to fall. "How?"
"Because he has your heart," Maggie said. "Because you and William are connected. Because he can feel you and you can feel him. So, see...you are not losing him like you did before. You are just letting him spread his wings this time and this time, you'll know where he is."
Scully closed her eyes. "I want to believe that, Mom. I do."
"Trust me, Dana."
"Okay," Scully said. "I'll try."
"Don't worry, Dana. Everything will be okay."
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