I've been a little slow at updating recently, but I thought I'd post this now. It's short, fluffy, daft and doesn't make sense, but it's just a little snapshot of the Mulder/Scully family at Christmas, and it's my Christmas treat for you all in case I don't get round to updating the Revisted story before the big day. Thanks everyone for sticking by my story, and for their reviews, constructive criticism and kind words. Have a great Christmas, and here's hoping 2017 is kinder to us all. Thanks again.
Mulder crept down the stairs, taking his time, careful not to drop the pile of heavy gifts he was carrying. It was his fifth and final trip from the attic down to the living room, and though he considered himself a fit person, he was struggling. He made a mental note to tell Scully that the following year they'd either have to cut down on Christmas presents for William and Ellie, or get them smaller, easier to carry gifts which wouldn't threaten to send him hurtling down the stairs or put his back out. This year William had insisted to Santa that he wanted a train set, a new bike, and copious amounts of Lego, while Scully had found Ellie an activity table that would keep the tot busy for hours, in addition to a ride on Disney Princess carriage that she just couldn't resist buying. Add to that Ashley's requests of expensive jewellery and baseball tickets and Mulder's pockets were feeling a lot lighter. He only wished he could have sold a few more books to support his family's expensive taste.
When he'd finally deposited the last of the gifts as close to the Christmas tree as possible – which wasn't easy bearing in mind how many there were – Mulder groaned in relief, straightened up and retrieved the digital camera from his pocket. He switched it on and stood back, trying to get all of the presents in shot, which was no mean feat. After he'd taken a few snaps – at Scully's request of course – he placed the camera back in his pocket and headed back up the stairs, straightening his beard as he walked. It was a Mulder Christmas tradition to dress up as Santa each year while he sorted the kids' presents. He and Scully had three inquisitive children, one of whom believed wholeheartedly in Santa, and he knew it would break William's heart if he discovered that the big guy wasn't real. Little Ellie on the other hand, was the opposite, and had developed a severe dislike to Santa since her encounter with him at the mall. Every time there was a commercial on featuring someone dressed up as Santa, or even if William mentioned his name, the little girl burst into tears – on a good day – and sometimes simply stiffened and screamed and clutched at one or both of her parents until the danger had passed. As a result William was banned from talking about Santa in front of his sister, although sometimes he dropped his name into conversation just to laugh when Ellie got upset, and none of them were allowed to talk about the night where Santa would visit their house. The little girl was distraught enough seeing him on television, let alone realizing he'd be in her home while she was asleep. Both Mulder and Scully hoped she'd grow out of her fear so that in future years she could enjoy Christmas just as her brother and sister had done.
Just as Mulder reached the top of the stairs, he could detect the sound of his youngest daughter crying. Most nights Ellie slept right through, but Mulder presumed his daughter could sense the excitement in the house and wanted in on the action. He wondered whether she'd settle down herself and was just about to return to his own room when he heard her little voice. "Mama! Mama!" Mulder paused. He looked down at himself and then back up towards the door at the end of the hall, to William's bedroom. The little boy had recently gone through a period of waking in the night, and Mulder recalled a Christmas a few years back when William discovered his dad dressed as Santa. Thankfully Ashley had been on hand to save the day before her brother discovered the truth about Santa, but Mulder doubted he'd be able to pull it off this time. He quickly decided to go to his daughter before her cries escalated and William woke up. Just as he reached the door to the nursery Ellie's cries indeed escalated. He opened the door and switched on the light. "Hey Meatball, what's all this noise?" he asked as he saw his daughter standing up in her crib, clinging onto the side as she cried. "What's got you so upset baby, have –"
His words were drowned out as Ellie suddenly looked over at him, her eyes going wide before she let out a piercing scream. It was then he realized just why she had reacted to him in that way. "Shit!" he hissed, quickly closing the door behind him so as not to wake the others, before he pulled down the fake beard and discarded the hat. "I'm sorry Meatball, it's daddy. See?" He approached the crib cautiously, not wanting to scare the baby further but wanting her to quieten before William came to find out what the noise was. "Ssssh baby, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. See?" he asked as he stood right in front of his daughter. "It's me. It's daddy. I'm sorry sweetheart. I'm sorry for scaring you."
"Ellie?"
Mulder stiffened as he heard his son's voice on the other side of the door, and so he hastily lifted Ellie into his arms. "It's ok baby," he said, looking for a place to hide before William got the shock of his life and Mulder ended up with two distraught children on his hands. "Daddy's got you." He quickly raced back over to the door, flicking off the light, and had barely made it behind the crib when the door opened. "Ellie?"
Mulder crouched behind the crib with a wriggling, still crying Ellie in his arms. "It's ok Will," he called out. "Your sister's upset. Go back to bed please."
"She's crying a lot," William argued, entering the bedroom.
Mulder's heart stopped, and he was grateful that William wasn't yet tall enough to reach the light switch. "It's ok buddy, I've got her." Ellie must have recognized Mulder's voice, and her cries had slowly simmered down to whimpers. She clung to him, resting her head on his shoulder, earning herself a kiss on the cheek in response as Mulder gently rubbed her back soothingly. "Atta girl Meatball," he whispered. "You're ok."
"Where are you daddy?"
"Daddy!" Ellie suddenly exclaimed, reaching out to pat Mulder's cheek. He nodded against her and then replied to his son.
"I'm over here Will, but please go back to bed," he replied, not wanting to sound too stern, but also trying to deter William from crossing the room to find him. "If you don't then San…then you won't get any gifts tomorrow."
"But –"
"Will, what's happening?" Scully entered the bedroom behind her son and reached out to switch on the light. "Leave the switch Scully," Mulder snapped, and thankfully she did as he said. "Meatball was upset so I came in to get her. Will heard the noise and came to investigate, but I've told him that he really needs to go back to bed," he stressed, hoping Scully would take the hint. Thankfully she did. "Come on baby," she said, approaching the little boy and taking hold of his hand. "Let's go back to bed shall we? Daddy's looking after Eleanor and you'll need your energy for tomorrow morning. We'll all need our energy for the morning," she added, and Mulder hummed in agreement. William was like a whirlwind at the best of times, but his excitement tripled on Christmas morning. As Scully led him out of the bedroom, William paused and bent to pick something up off the floor. "What's this?" he asked as he and Scully stepped out into the hallway. As he went out into the light he looked down and squealed. "Look mom, he's been!"
As Mulder stood he could see William holding his previously discarded Santa hat. Scully shot him a warning look before quickly closing the door and hurrying the little boy along the corridor, leaving Mulder alone with Ellie. "That was a close one Meatball," he murmured to his daughter, rocking her gently in his arms. "You almost gave the game away but I think we covered it up well, don't you?" he asked, though his heart was still racing. "I'm sorry for scaring you though with my Santa outfit."
"Santaaaaa," Ellie replied, sucking on her fingers.
"That's right baby, Santa. You see, he's not so scary after all, is he?"
"Santa. Daddy." She looked up at him and even in the dark Mulder could make out her cheeky grin. "Daddy Santa."
Sometimes it didn't pay to have intelligent children, Mulder thought to himself. "Let's keep that just between us, shall we Meatball?"
"Santa Daddy!"
Xxxxx
"Mommy! Daddy! He's been!"
William raced down the stairs towards Mulder, who was waiting with the camera poised, ready to snap pictures of his excited children. Scully came walking down the stairs behind her son, carrying baby Ellie, who was rubbing her eyes wearily. William had woken his entire family up at just past 5am, eager to get downstairs and started on unwrapping his gifts – although Mulder and Scully tried to get him to sleep a little longer, it was to no avail. Scully had barely enough time to put on her bathrobe and get Ellie from the nursery before William was racing downstairs. Little Ellie was tired, as were they all, but she seemed to realize that something exciting was happening. Mulder and Scully only hoped that their youngest daughter wouldn't be too wired to nap later that afternoon, else they'd be faced with a very cranky little girl come evening.
"Wow, look at all those presents Will," said Ashley, who was following her mom down the stairs. She shook her head in amusement when she saw just how many gifts were waiting for them. She was no doubt exhausted, having finished late at her new waitressing job, but she too was excited. Ashley may have been 18, but she still loved Christmas as much as she did when Mulder first met her. Some things would never change.
"I have been a good boy this year," William replied, his expression deadly serious.
"You've been a better boy," Scully corrected him. Just a few weeks previously, after a spate of time outs for bad behaviour and poor life choices, William had received a letter from Santa, reminding him to be a good boy and not to get into any more trouble at home. Thankfully he'd done as Santa had suggested, although his parents knew they could only use that mode of bribery for a year or two more at best.
"Are these all for me?"
"No baby, they're for everyone." Scully set Ellie down on the floor, then crouched down beside her. "Look baby, presents! Presents for Ellie!"
Ellie glanced over at the pile of gifts, her eyes wide, then looked back at her mom. "Lee?"
"That's right. Presents for Ellie."
"And for William," the little boy said to his sister. "Santa's brought us lots and lots of things!" Leaving his sister's side, William rushed over to a large oddly shaped parcel with his name on it. "This is for me?" He immediately began tearing at it, while Mulder took photos and the rest of his family looked on for amusement. "Santa's brought me a bike!"
"Daddy!" Ellie suddenly spoke up, pointing at Mulder.
"What do you say to Santa, Will?" Scully asked. "He can hear you."
"Thank you Santa!"
"Daddy!"
Mulder shook his head at his little girl, as though trying to warn her, forgetting she was only eighteen months old and not aware of the consequences of what she was saying. "Ok Meatball, if you want to get in on the action you can." He scooped her up into his arms, then looked around for a label with her name on. "Here –"
"Santa Daddy!"
William looked over at his sister. "No stupid," he stressed. "That's daddy. Santa's back in the North Pole."
"Daddy Santa!"
"Daddy's not Santa." For a second William looked unconvinced and, not for the first time, Ashley stepped in to save the day.
"Hey Will, what else did Santa bring you? Look at this!" she pointed at another large parcel and instantly William had forgotten the conversation. Scully edged closer to her partner, shaking her head. "What's all that about?" she whispered, her eyes on her son's delight as he tore at the wrapping to reveal another gift.
"Meatball saw me as you know who last night."
"I know that."
"Yeah well for some reason we make intelligent babies, and now all she keeps saying is 'daddy Santa'. She's as good at keeping secrets as you are Scully."
Scully smiled, shaking her head at her daughter, who grinned cheekily up at her. "On the one hand I'm proud of her, but…"
"Yeah."
"Just keep it a secret for a few more years sweetheart," said Scully, taking Ellie from her dad and kissing her. "Give your daddy and I some more time to bribe your brother to be good, ok?"
Ellie shook her head, giggling as her mom tickled her. "Daddy Santa!"