All notes disclosed in chapter one.
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Saturday Two Weeks Later, Mulder's Penthouse
Mulder held Cassie close, making sure she was secure and warm. She buried her head deeper into the crock of his neck, her little arms holding tightly around his neck.
"You sure you'll be okay? She's really picky when she's sick," Dana told him, her heart telling her to relax but her expression said she was completely unsure.
"Yes, we'll be okay. We have stuffed animals, chicken noodle soup, orange juice, our favorite blanky. We have everything we need until you come back," Mulder assured. Cassie sniffled as her answer.
"Okay, okay. I'm just not used to letting other people watch her when she's sick. She's always with me. I just… I have to learn, that's all."
"I can be a good father, you know," he said gently.
"I know. You're a great father. I'm still not completely used to this," she confessed. "I trust you; I just don't always trust myself."
He actually smiled at that. "Well, as long as you trust me," he joked. The grandfather clock chimed close by. "You'd better go before they fire you."
"They won't fire me; I'm good at what I do."
"I hope you are," he murmured before kissing her. She allowed herself to get lost in him, if only for a moment. She'd never get tired of the feeling.
A muted sound caught her attention. She quickly pulled away and focused her attention on Cassie.
"Cassie, what's wrong, sweetie?" Her hand went up to Cassie's back, rubbing soothingly.
"It hurts," she cried into Mulder's neck.
Dana's heart broke a little. "Oh, baby, I know it does."
She continued to rub her back, her mind working out potential other options.
"Don't even think about it," he said suddenly, reading her mind.
"But maybe I should stay here today. How bad could they really need me?"
"Obviously pretty bad it they're calling you on a Saturday," he reminded. "I can do this. You've trusted me before; trust me now so you can be impressed when you come home."
She quirked an eyebrow. "Home?" she repeated.
"Or close to it." He began to move them to the door. "Go on. We have everything; you've given me all the instructions. Go to work, she's ion good hands."
"But…"
"No buts, just go."
Dana resisted the urge to protest again. She knew she could trust him with this; he was great with her. She'd just never had anybody to share the responsibility with.
So she kissed Mulder and Cassie goodbye, and after assuring Cassie she wouldn't be gone long, left quickly without looking back.
All notes disclosed in chapter one.
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Mulder convinced Cassie to lift her head long enough to check her temperature. He kissed her forehead gently, noticing immediately how warm she was. Her head quickly went back to his shoulder, her tears drying slowly.
"I think it's time for some more medicine," he told her, making his way to the kitchen.
"Noooo, I don't want med-cin," she promptly complained.
"But if you don't take med-cin, your ear won't get better and that fever won't either," he explained. "Then we'd have to make a visit to mommy at the hospital but not in a fun way."
"Don't wanna take it," she whimpered.
He set her down on the counter. He found her medicine on top of a group of stuffed animals. He held them up so he could read the small printing on the labels Ear drops—we'll do these later. Cough medicine—we'll see. Motrin IB for children—bingo. Antibiotic with a really long name—bingo again.
"Okay, Cassie, ready to take your medicine now?" he asked, already anticipating the obvious answer.
"No," she cried, tugging at her ear.
He set the small bottle down he still held and kneeled to her level. He pulled her hand away from her ear. "Don't mess with it, Cassie. You'll only make it worse," he advised.
"But it hurts!"
"I know it does but it won't get better unless you take your medicine."
"But I don't want to!"
He knew he wouldn't win the battle so he took on another tactic. "How about you take your medicine and then we can have a big bowl of ice cream and then curl up in bed with Snickers and read stories?"
That did the trick. Her tears seemed to dry up miraculously. "What flavor?"
He smiled. "The best kind."
"Chocolate with 'mellows?"
He nodded. "You bet."
After that it was easy to get her to take her medicine. She was glad when she didn't have to take any of that 'yucky liquid stuff.' The chewable tablets went down with ease and soon Cassie was ready for ice cream.
"Let's take this upstairs and finish that story we started the other day," he suggested, settling a bowl in her arms.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Cassie started for the stairs but he quickly pulled her back.
"I'm carrying you. I don't want to have to give you the yucky stuff any more than you want to take it."
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"That's not what she says, Mulder!" Cassie giggled.
"How do you know? You can't even read," he laughed with her.
"'Cause I know how it goes," she said like it was obvious.
He closed the book. "Feeling better, aren't you?"
She nodded, cuddling up in his arms again. "But I'm sleepy."
"That's the medicine kicking in," he explained. "Does your ear still hurt?"
"A little."
"Let's get you settled in bed then. We still need to put ear drops in."
Cassie grimaced but didn't complain. He put the drops in quickly, holding her hand when he saw tears. Snickers settled close to Cassie, her nose pushing its way against her.
"I'm tired, Mulder."
"Then go to sleep."
She closed her eyes. Mulder rose long enough to close the blinds. She couldn't sleep with light in the room, just like her mother.
"Mulder?" she called out, her voice tired.
"What, sweetie?" He sat down next to her, taking her hand in his.
"I love you, Mulder."
His breath caught in his throat. He felt like all the oxygen had been sucked out of the room.
"I love you, too, Cassie."
Damn, those blue eyes sucked you in every time.
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Continued in next chapter……..