When Mulder gets home he finds everybody out in the backyard. David and Jared are talking animatedly, and one of the twins is clutching a video camera. Since the boys' backs are to him and their heads are bent over whatever they're looking at he's not exactly sure which boy has the camera in his hands, but he would never admit that. The rest of the kids are in their bathing suits, and playing with their water wiggle, a piece of summer entertainment equipment that has always creeped Mulder out a little bit. He understands that it's just a toy, but its vapid smile and the way it moves are sort of freaky.

And Scully, she's sitting on the deck in a rocking chair, with Isaac in her arms and a smile on her face as she watches the other kids. Sighing, Mulder plops down in the matching rocking chair beside her, and regrets it a little when her happy look fades away upon seeing his face. It doesn't surprise him at all when her first words are, "What's wrong?"

Mulder shakes his head slightly. "I talked to Adrianna and my sister today. Actually, I went to see Samantha after I spoke to Adrianna."

Her brow furrows slightly. "What's up?" Scully's tone is wary.

Sighing again, he plucks at the fabric on the knees of his pants. "Adrianna's giving the baby away."

"No!" His wife's mouth hangs open in disbelief after that one word. After a second or two she regains her composure. "Oh Mulder… Does Luke know?"

"Yeah. According to Adrianna he broke up with her once she told him. Honestly, I really can't blame him. I'm not happy about this, and it's not my baby."

Scully leans her head back against the wood frame of the rocking chair. And she makes no move to stop Mulder when he leans over and picks up their own baby. "He must be devastated. When he came to see me pretty much the only thing we talked about, other than how cute Isaac is, is how much he is looking forward to being a father."

"I know. And I guess we shouldn't be surprised that it's turning out this way, not after Samantha told me that she had to really talk Adrianna into keeping the baby."

"But she's not keeping the baby–" Scully starts to say, but then she shivers. "Oh."

Mulder pauses with a slight startle when he feels Isaac wrap his tiny fist around one of his fingers. Funny how much you forget about babies when you're not living with one on daily basis for a few years. "I'm not sure if he didn't know that, or if he's just been trying to fool himself about her coming around. If I had known that, I wouldn't have been surprised by all of this."

"But we didn't know. So it feels a lot like being blindsided, doesn't it?"

"It does. I tried to talk to Samantha, ask her how she could let Adrianna given baby away after what happened to her, but…" Isaac still holds onto his finger, and he wonders if the baby's hair being such dark blonde means that he's more likely to turn brunette than either of his older siblings – even at nearly fourteen Page's hair still shows no sign of darkening. "I was afraid to push it," he admits. "I don't want to lose her, too."

Instead of saying anything, Scully gets to her feet, and wraps her arms around him and Isaac both. For a moment he just lets himself enjoy the solace, but then he looks up at her. "We have to tell them," he says, eyes cutting to the kids who shriek as they either dart towards or away from their water toy.

He feels Scully's breath hot on his neck as she sighs and says "I know. I know we do."

Spaghetti, salad, and Italian bread are already on everyone everyone's plates when Mulder takes a deep breath and says "Mom and I have something we need to talk to you all about" loudly enough to be heard over the kids' various conversations. Nine pairs of eyes immediately look his way.

He winces, wishing that they didn't all look so wary already.

"What?" Page asks cautiously.

Looking down, Mulder says, "I talked to Adrianna and your aunt today..." There's no good way to tell them, he realizes. Get it over with, he tells himself. It's like ripping off a Band-Aid, doing it slowly only ends up hurting more. "Your cousin is going to give her baby up for adoption."

Most of the kids gasp in surprise, and David immediately begins to cry, which startles him a little because he'd expected the strongest reaction to be from Page. Scully acts quicker than he does, and gathers the boy in her arms and lets him cry on her shoulder.

"It isn't fair," David says when his tears slow down a little. "Isaac was supposed to have her baby to play with, and now there won't be anyone else his age in the family."

"Hey, it's okay," Mulder attempts to sooth him. "I'm sure that Isaac and Jon-Jon are going to be great friends."

"I know, but it's not the same," David sniffs, but he does stop crying.

As soon as her brother calms down, Page asks "Why?" in the same controlled tone Mulder recognizes from times when his wife and her sister have struggled to reign in their anger, though Scully has succeeded more often than Missy.

Mulder shrugs, not up to defending his niece. "Your aunt says that she's not ready to be a Mom yet. She wants to go to college and get a good job before she commits to a baby."

"She's selfish," April says hotly, not bothering to make the effort to stay in control of herself that her sister is.

"What do you care?" Jared surprises everyone by snapping at her. "You don't even like babies."

"That's not-!" April sputters.

Before they have to break up a fight, Brianna looks at her parents, small face confused. "Adopted means that you get a different Mommy and Daddy?"

"Yes," Mulder says, bracing himself for more tears.

"Gibson's adopted," Zoe says confidently. "And he lived with his real mommy and daddy until he was twelve." Mulder blinks, not realizing that even his youngest daughters are aware of that fact about their friends' middle son. And then he cringes when her very next words are, "Does that mean that Adrianna's baby is gonna live with her and Luke until he is twelve?"

"No, it doesn't," Scully speaks up softly. "He'll go to live with his new parents as soon as he's born."

"Will we even get to see him?" Christopher asks. His expression says that he's afraid that he already knows the answer.

"Maybe in pictures. But probably not."

"Oh."

"Can we eat now?" Sammy asks unhappily.

"Yes, we should do that," Mulder agrees but he shoots his wife a quick look. "But after dinner I'd like to talk to Page and April. And Sammy," he adds after a moment's thought.

Dinner is largely a silent affair after that.

Although they don't make any verbal protests, it's more than obvious that none of the three oldest kids are happy that their parents intend to continue the earlier conversation. They look more than a little sullen as they take seats in the den.

Eventually Page speaks up. "I don't see why we should get a lecture just because Adrianna is a screw up. You don't have to remind us about safe sex. We know. And we're smarter than her anyway."

Scully exchanges a look with her husband – this is the first time either of them has heard one of their children express the realization that they are more intelligent than Samantha's kids. While it's true that Samantha is no shrug in the brains department, Scott is more nice than smart and their girls take after him.

"We're not going to tell you to have safe sex–" she starts to say but Sammy cuts her off.

"I know, don't have sex at all until we're married like the priests say."

Her mind pulls up an image of the late Father Joe, and she immediately pushes it away. "Dad and I aren't going to talk to you about sex tonight," she tells them. They'd discussed what they want to say when they'd loaded the dishwasher.

"Then what?" April asks grumpily.

Mulder reaches for Scully's hand. "We want to talk to you about talking to us." He smiles at them. "We want you to always understand that you can, even if you think that we're not going to be happy about what you've done or something you feel or think."

The kids give him puzzled looks, and Scully adds, "We know that you understand that we are also very upset about the choice your cousin has made but we don't want you to get the idea that you can't tell us something like that because you're afraid that we wouldn't forgive you if you did. You can always come to us, even if you have to tell us something upsetting."

"What if we kill a man in Vegas?" Sammy asks. "Just to watch him die?"

"Okay," Mulder says, trying and failing to keep from smiling at the obvious joke. "You can tell us anything except that."

"What if we fall in love with an alien?" Page asks, trying to help Sammy lighten the mood.

"Depends on the type of alien," Scully tells her with a straight face. "An alien like those kids on Roswell, okay. But the Predator is right out."

"Very droll," Mulder tells them. "Bad jokes aside, have you listened to what we've said tonight?"

Page gets up and kisses his cheek. "Yes, Dad. You'll always hear what we have to say even if we screw up big time."

"Well, good." Anything else he might have in mind to say is lost when Isaac begins to cry over the baby monitor.

July is bleeding into August one warm day when Scully finds herself with the free time to do some laundry. She's made sure that she pocketed the baby monitor and has headed down stairs. It feels like a minor luxury to have Isaac sleep long enough to get some chores done before her guest arrives, especially since he's recently finished up a three-week growth spurt that most of his siblings went through at that age too. It seems a bit silly to her that it's called a growth spurt considering how little growing takes place, but when you're only twenty inches long to begin with even half of an inch is quite the gain.

At least there isn't a mountain of dirty clothes next to the machine, she reflects as she loads the washer. Mulder has been good about getting the kids to help him keep up with the massive amount of clothes that a family that size needs to launder, but Scully hasn't let them wash her clothes. She's let them think that she doesn't want to put them out, but really, she's seen how they do laundry and doesn't want her own clothes subjected to their somewhat indifferent treatment. She hasn't had them wash the baby's clothes either because both Sammy and April balked at touching anything 'with poop on it,' so Isaac's clothes need to be washed too, but at least his are small and nearly everything he's worn his entire life so far almost fits in just one load.

The clothes are already in the dyer and she's on her way up the basement stairs when she hears a gentle knock on the front door. Rather than loudly calling and risking waking her son, she just makes her way to the door a bit faster than she normally would.

As soon as she opens the door, she sees her nanny smiling at her. "Hope I didn't wake him."

"No, he's still asleep," Scully reassures Alan. She finally looks down and sees that there's a plastic handle held in one of his large hands. "And speaking of sleeping," she says with a fond smile.

"Sophie is actually already a pretty good sleeper," Alan remarks as he and Scully walk into the living room with his new daughter.

"Really?" Scully raises an eyebrow. Sophie Carruthers is only ten days old. This is only the second time Scully has seen her, though of course she'll see her a lot more often when Alan begins to bring her with him when he nannies for Isaac once she goes back to work. Not that she wants to think about that too hard.

He gives her a sheepish look and taps a fist on the wooden coffee table that will go back into storage for a while once Isaac and Sophie begin to crawl. "So, do you mind if I go up to your attic and take a look at what you still have up there from when Zoe and Brianna were babies?"

"No, go ahead," Scully invites. "I'll keep an eye on this little doll while you do."

He grins at her. "That's a first – one of the kids I've watched's parents looking after my kid."

"Funny. There should be a double stroller up there, and the extra baby swing," she notes. She knows that he's assessing the baby accoutrements left over by the girls in particular because they're twins. Isaac and Sophie aren't remotely related, but given they're only a couple of weeks apart in age they'll be pretty much the same size and at the same developmental stages for a long time to come.

"Great." Alan stops for a second to give his sleeping baby a soft pat, and then he wanders towards the stairs.

Alone with the baby girl, Scully takes the opportunity to get a good look at her. Alan's wife has honey brown hair, and it certainly looks like the baby might have inherited this from Gwen. "You know you're awfully lucky," Scully whispers to her. Sophie only purses her lips, and makes no other attempt to wake and listen. "Most firstborn's parents are totally clueless, but your daddy and mommy both have a lot of experience with kids." Alan's wife is the director at a private kindergarten, and they'd met when Alan was nannying for his last family before the Mulders.

In the distance the dryer buzzes to let her know that the clothes are dry, but Scully ignores it. It's nice that the house has been quite long enough to wash and dry clothes, and she doesn't want to move and break the spell even though at the back of her mind she knows that she'll eventually need to wake up Isaac and feed him if he doesn't wake on his own. That's not something she's had to do very often with any of her babies, but it happened more than once with every one of his big brothers and sisters, so she's not too worried that he's sleeping soundly for one afternoon.

Glancing down at Sophie, she smiles. "Before too long you're going to teach your daddy not to make absolute statements, aren't you? Be nice when you do it, huh?"

"What are you whispering to my girl?" a mild voice asks behind her.

She turns and thinks, not for the first time, Alan has a fairly soft tread for a man of his size. It's not from nannying babies, either, because Isaac will be the first child under the age of two that he's worked with. Not that she worries that it will challenge him. Smiling innocently, she just shrugs and says, "I was asking her not to give you too hard a time."

"Aww," he coos as his baby daughter begins to wake up, "She would never."

This time she can't contain herself and begins to laugh. "Oh, Alan, you keep telling yourself that." He scowls, but in a good-natured way. "What did you learn during your scouting trip to the dark confines of the attic?"

"We're in good shape for the dynamic duo."

"Great."

Alan picks up the carrier again, and the baby begins to stir in a way that makes Scully wonder if she's planning to cry all the way home. "Well, I think we'll be off."

"Take care," Scully tells him.

He laughs. "I always do."

August 2, 2008

Doggett sighs when he sees his eldest son sitting on the back steps. Normally he's been happy to have the boys home for the summer, but this year… Gibson has taken Hannah and Rebecca out to a waterpark for the day, giving Monica and Jon-Jon a breather (and by default, the other two Doggett men as well). He's glad that Luke hadn't taken up any vices like drinking or smoking, but it's at times like these that it looks like he could use a vice or two. Especially considering the situation he'd gotten himself and Mulder's niece in.

Good God, Doggett thought, sitting wearily next to Luke, of course it'd have to be someone in our friends' families. Never shoulda let the kids out of sight for the summer a few years ago, even if was for a brief bit of sanity. Then again, hindsight is always twenty-twenty. He couldn't have predicted Luke and Adrianna's relationship would result in an unplanned pregnancy any more than he could have some fairy godmother or guardian angel giving Mulder a second chance at life (and by extension, his, Monica's, Luke's and Gibson's lives a do-over too).

"Dad," Luke breaks the silence. "Do you think I'm crazy?"

"Compared to what I've seen out there? Not really," Doggett dodges the question uncomfortably.

Luke sighs loudly, sounding as young as he looks. "I thought she was happy," he says, not for the first time. "I thought we were gonna do this together. I thought we could work it out."

Now Doggett sighs. "Son, you know not everything works out the way you think it should."

"Yeah, but I thought," and now a slight blush touches his sunburnt face, "I thought I knew better," he mumbles it fast, as if it would lessen the impact, make it sound less stupid. It doesn't, but neither of them comment on that.

John Doggett looks away, the unseen side of his mouth turning up a bit. "Did you mean it?" he asks. "The proposal, I mean." It's been an awkward few weeks since that last painful phone call, and neither the Doggett parents nor Luke have brought it up. The fact that John is doing so now suggests either sheer optimism or a weary what-the-hell. John's going for the latter, but suspects the former might have a bit to do with it as well.

Luke runs a hand through his short hair, reminiscent of his father. "I was," he says, "I was also desperate. I thought, if I proposed, she'd say yes, and that would fix everything." He makes a face at his father's surprised look. "I mean, I was meaning to ask her, but later, maybe, when things got settled down a bit. I kinda panicked."

"Yeah, you did." Doggett shakes his head. "I know I pretty much stink in the proposal department myself, but that was–" He shrugs.

"Yeah," Luke groans. "God. Everything's a mess. I thought I could handle it, but it's driving me nuts. Everybody seems to think it's okay for Adrianna to give up our baby. I mean, yeah, she's the mom, but aren't I the dad? Don't I have a say in this, too?" He stares at the fence, but doesn't really see it. "I was really looking forward to being a dad. Isn't that weird? I know most guys my age don't, but I don't care. Even if me and her weren't together, I'd still want to be a dad."

Doggett leans back against the railing. "Why's that?" Yeah, it's not the usual dream of most early twenty-something guys, or even men who were a bit older, so he's honestly curious.

Luke smiles uncomfortably. "I had a great role model," he says. "And even though it was earlier than I expected, the thought of being a dad, well, it was kinda, I dunno. Wow." He chuckles and makes a face. "That sounded kinda dumb. But, I dunno, at the risk of sounding cheesy, it was like getting a Christmas present early. Like getting something you'd always wanted, but never thought you'd get so soon. You know what I mean?"

Doggett's heart aches for his son, not for the first time, as he gives a small nod. Good Lord. Yeah, it was kinda cheesy, but his son's like that. It was nice to know something hadn't changed after all these years, although he wished his son had a bit more common sense when it came to contraceptives. Then again, it's not like he and his sons talked all that much about sex or… anything like that all that much, either. He thought he got lucky foisting most of that onto Monica and their health teachers, but he supposes asking horny teens (and apparently young twenty-somethings) to check the expiration date on condom boxes or double-check condom quality might be a bit much. He could already feel a migraine coming on, although he'd like to blame it on sleepless nights between work and a baby of his own under the same roof.

Well, that's one worry Luke won't have when the adoption proceedings go through. To be honest, he was more than a little worried when he first heard the news, and even more so when he heard their plans for their baby's future. Even with relying on a bunch of people, like friends and family, to help care for their child, there would still be a lot of sleepless days and nights, a lot of frayed tempers, arguments about money, chores, school, anything, really, and extra hormones from the mom's side ensuring that no day is a boring day. While he's thankful that he and Monica got their respective paternity and maternity leaves, along with FBI-grade childcare, he knew it would be a lot harder for his son. He doubts there's anything like paternity leave for college students, and if his son did have a job, it would be part-time to supplement his education, and that would barely be enough to cover childcare, much less support a girlfriend or wife. And, should he have the harebrained notion to ditch the scholarship and go into full-time, the pay would barely be above minimum wage, and yeah, supporting a girl and a kid would pretty much be a moot point. There was no question of them getting their own place, renting was too prohibitive for young parents with one part-time job between them, even if her parents would have supported the idea of their daughter moving to Boston to be with Luke.

Plus, if he is being totally honest, both kids are kinda flakes. Outside of the whole teen and unwed pregnancy, yeah, Luke can be a space case about practical matters even if he does have book smarts, and Adrianna is a little less shallow than the kids' end of a pool. Since Adrianna moving north hadn't really come up their kid would probably spend most of his time with Mulder's sister, being the only stay-at-home mom in their immediate circle, and the new family would probably stay with the Hills whenever Luke could come home, rather than the Doggetts because both grandparents (oh God, I'm old enough to be a grandparent and still have a baby of my own at home!) on Luke's side would be out working on something dangerous. If Luke decided to not continue his education, it would likely still be a long-distance relationship, and that puts added stress on an already stressful situation. Much as their secret relationship lasted this long, having a baby wouldn't have done them any favors.

Perhaps it is for the best that they broke up, Doggett muses, and that his grandson's going to be put up for adoption. There's a pang in his heart at that word, but at the same time, he's fairly sure that even if his son or Adrianna suddenly rose to the occasion, their life together would be unbearably hard, and naivety can be worn down to nubs when a child keeps you up all night.

He looks up at the clouds scuttling across the sky. Is he overthinking all this? Probably not. The Hills probably did a bit of soul-searching as well before coming to their decision, especially when Adrianna said she'd talked to other teen moms. Well, good for her, doing her homework. He was as surprised as Luke when he heard Adrianna's sudden change of plans, but not too surprised when Luke took it badly. His son had been nothing but positive about their unexpected child, and hearing that he would be taken away, well, that Christmas gift metaphor makes a whole lot of sense.

Luke exhales heavily, the first noise John's heard in a while, startling him out of his thoughts. "I know, it makes sense to on paper, but I don't want to give him up," he says, standing up and brushing off his worn-out shorts. "I remember what it was like holding Jon-Jon for the first time," he says, "and Rebecca before that, and Hannah before that. It was amazing, knowing I got to be their big brother. I think it'll be even more amazing to get the chance to hold my own son, knowing I get to be his father. The thought of knowing I'll never get that chance…" He swallows hard, and goes back into the house.

John Doggett closes his eyes when he hears the door close, his lips pursing as if in pain. Having a baby is more than getting a gift, although it is, he thinks, it's about responsibility. And I don't know if you are up for that much, no matter how much I'd like to believe you are.