A/N: So, this took me a while to get up... this is the part of the story that I've had in my head for weeks. And no, this story isn't going to only go one day at a time. We're going to have a jump into the future here soon. Also one into the past, I think. Anyway, I'm enjoying putting our dynamic duo into a different situation. Although I can't picture them just like this I enjoy writing them this way.

A/N II about a week later: This thing is like some kind of nicotine monkey sitting on my back screeching "Write me, write me!" and I keep trying to ignore it because my muse has rendered my brain and hands totally incapable. Tonight, I am determined. Maybe I can choke out a paragraph and finish this chapter.
A/N III: I officially apologize. I killed my muse and went out looking for a new one. Took a while. Lots of applicants. We're in a trial period right now, and judging by the end of this chapter, I'm not sure whether Muse2.0 can cut the mustard or not. We'll see.

When Mulder woke the next morning, the house was quiet and cool. He stretched out along the length of the couch and looked at the clock. It was just after 6 a.m. He stood up and stretched again- having slept in a bed every night for the last 8 years or so, going back to the couch was doing a number on his old muscles. He heard the shower turn on and suddenly wondered what time they had to be out of the house in the morning. The kids had school and Scully had work. They probably left around 7:30. He sighed and sat down on the couch again, picking up the remote and turning the TV on to the news. He knew Scully liked to be informed first thing in the morning.

Half an hour later, Scully came out of her room, wearing a dark red blouse and black slacks. She looked like an agent again, not a mom. The thought made him sigh.

"Morning, Mulder. Shower's free if you want it."

"I'll wait. I don't want to get in anyone's way."

She shrugged and headed to the kitchen. He followed her and watched as she took boxes of cereal down from the cabinet.

"Can I help you with anything?"

She grinned a little and ran through her mental to-do list.

"I am running a little late this morning. If you would iron the kids' uniforms that would be perfect."

"Uniforms?"

"Private school."

"Learning Latin?"

"Yeah."

"Wow."

"We talked about that when Joshua was born. We wanted our kids to go to a private school so they'd have more opportunities."

"I know. I just... I can't believe they're old enough to learn Latin or wear uniforms or any of that."

"Yeah," she said softly, taking her eyes away from his face. "They grow up fast."

He cleared his throat softly and let the tension dissipate on its own.

"So, where are their uniforms?"

"They're hanging up in the laundry room."

He nodded and left the kitchen.

"Hey Mulder?"

"Yeah?"

"You got a crowbar?"

"What?"

"I need to pry the kids out of bed."

He chuckled and headed for the laundry room, suddenly wondering if he even remembered how to iron.

""How do I look mommy?"

"You look fine, Hanny, but what are you going to do with your hair?"

Hannah sighed and clutched at her blonde curls.

"I forgot all about my hair!"

"At least go run a brush through it. Uncle John will be here in 10 minutes."

"MOM!" Joshua hollered from his room. "I can only find one of my cleats. And the laces are all tangled."

Scully sighed and was about to reply when she heard Mulder's voice.

"I'll fix your laces and you can look for your other cleat."

Joshua must have nodded his agreement, and Mulder came back into the living room and sat down on the couch with the shoe.

"Thanks Mulder," Scully said with a small smile. He just nodded as he worked on the tangled laces. "What are you going to do today?"

"I'm not sure. I thought I would go and see the gunmen."

"They'd like that."

"They're mad at me like everyone else is."

"But they'll be glad to see you like everyone else is."

"Are you sure?"

"You can't feel sorry for yourself about this. It was your decision. No one made you do it. And now you have to deal with the consequences. And as much as that hurts you, we were hurt too. I love you and I want you to stay, but frankly you're just going to have to deal with this. It's only fair."

"It's hardly fair. I put you through a lot, and this adjustment period isn't going to even that all out."

"Let's not worry about that right now. We'll just talk about it later, okay?"

"Okay."

Hannah came into the room with a brush in her hand and tears in her eyes.

"Mommy, my hair won't go in a ponytail. It's making me mad."

Scully sighed and brushed Hannah's hair through once before gathering it all into an elastic band.

"There you go. Get your shoes on sweetheart."

Mulder finally finished with Joshua's cleat and set it on the coffee table.

"We'll be home around 4:30. I thought we could just order a pizza for dinner. Will you be home then?"

"I'll be here," he answered somewhat somberly. She sighed and sat down next to him.

"Mulder, look at me. We've been through a lot together. Probably more than most. It's never torn us apart before and it's not going to now. We're going to be fine. I don't want you to worry about that, okay?"

"Alright."

She rubbed the back of his hand gently as the doorbell rang.

"Kids, Uncle John is here. Hurry up."

"Mom, are you picking me up from practice?"

"Yeah, I'll pick you up at 4. Hannah, you don't have piano lessons today, so Aunt Monica will pick you up after school. Okay?"

They nodded and Mulder handed the cleat to Joshua.

"Did you find the other one?"

"Yeah, but the laces weren't as tangled as the first one. I can fix it before practice."

He nodded and the kids were out the front door in a whirlwind of backpacks and plaid.

"So when do you have to leave?" Mulder asked as Scully poured her coffee into a travel mug.

"In about 5 minutes. The kids' school is in the opposite direction of where I need to go, so John takes them in the morning."

"He's been kind of a stand in for me, hasn't he?"

"He's helped out with a lot of things, yeah. But as I recall, you asked him to take care of us."

"And as I recall, you resented the fact that I thought you needed someone to take care of you."

"I think I threw something at you."

"It was my shoe and it hit me in the face."

She chuckled a little.

"Sorry."

"I deserved it."

"No. You didn't need me to be mad at you right before you left."

"You had every right. And I knew you weren't really mad, you just didn't want me to go."

"No I didn't. But I knew you kind of had to. There's no hard feelings about the leaving."

"I know."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. I've got to get to work. You have my cell phone number if you need anything."

"I'll be fine."

"Alright. I'll see you when I get home."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"Drive safe."

He watched her get into her car and pull out of the driveway, and then he was alone. Their goodbye had been ordinary (albeit starkly lacking in a goodbye kiss) and he almost believed for a split second that things had always been this way. That the kids weren't confused, that Scully wasn't off kilter, and that he knew every small detail about their daily life. Part of him wanted to run away again, except out of fear this time, not honor. He wanted to let them live their lives, no interference, no uncomfortable moments, no periods of adjustment. But he knew he had to stay in the house for a while. Get comfortable, recalibrate his mind to the routines, and somehow, win their trust. He wasn't sure which of the three tasks would be the hardest.

He showered and dressed quickly, deciding to wait until late morning to visit his friends. They didn't usually like to get up before 10 am. Instead, he wandered around the house, taking in the little details- what was new, and what was old. His fish tank was still bubbling away, but seemed to have a whole new set of fish. There was an eel. He'd never had an eel before. Sighing, he went to the bookcase and pulled out the four picture albums. Sitting down on the couch, he started with the first, which began when Joshua was born. The first month of his life filled over half the album, at which point Scully had realized that she had been spending more money on developing film than she had been on diapers. She'd mellowed out on the picture taking after that, but she'd still managed to fill almost two albums before Hannah was born. He finally got to one of his favorite pictures. The copy of it had traveled with him for the first year of his absence before he had misplaced it. The picture had been taken the day before Hannah was born. Scully had been standing in the living room, holding Joshua as best as she could, considering the large belly she had to work around. Their noses were pressed up together, and they were both smiling.

He chuckled to himself as he remembered Scully's voice waking him up later that night.

"I'm getting drugs this time," she said as he rubbed his eyes.

"What?"

"I said, I'm getting drugs this time. I know I said I was going to do it without them, but you might walk away from this without a hand if I go that route."

"I take it you're in labor."

"I'd curb that tongue."

"Noted. I'll call your mom and get your bag."

"Not quite yet. I don't want to go too early."

"So why'd you wake me up?"

"Many, many years ago, you said we were in this together. You didn't launch into specifics."

"So we're miserable together?"

"Absolutely."

He chuckled and reached over to rub his hand over her stomach.

"I like you pregnant."

"Ug, why?"

"You waddle."

"I am perfectly capable of making you waddle too, mister."

He chuckled as the baby kicked at his hand.

The memory retreated from his mind as he closed the picture album. It was too much for now. He'd missed too many moments.

"Mulder, we're home," Scully called as she opened the door. Mulder came out of the kitchen wiping his hands on a dishrag.

"Perfect timing. Dinner will be ready in an hour."

"You're making dinner?" Scully asked, her eyebrows raised and a smile on her face.

"Yes."

"You are making dinner?"

"Yes."

"But mommy, daddies don't know how to cook!" Hannah exclaimed, struggling to get out of her jacket. Scully giggled and knelt down to help her daughter.

"Some daddies can cook. And some can order in really well. Good golly Miss Molly, what did you do to this zipper?"

"I got play-doh stuck in it yesterday."

"Hanny, what am I going to do with you?" she sighed as the zipper finally came undone.

"Thank you, mommy."

"You're welcome. Go put your backpacks away guys."

The kids left the room and Scully moved to stand next to Mulder at the stove.

"Thank you for making dinner."

"No problem."

"Did you see the guys today?"

"Yes. They were predictably cold. Then Their excitement got the better of them and they launched into a 4 hour discussion of the conspiracy theories they've come across in the last few years."

"They've missed you."

"Yeah, I know. How was work?"

"It was okay. I have a lot of tests to grade tonight."

"For your high school class?"

"Yeah. Human biology 2. I swear some of them are just in there for the unit on reproduction."

He chuckled at the disgusted expression on her face.

"How's that?"

"The whole back row. It's like they think no one can see them. If I see one more make-out record broken in my class, I'm going to quit."

"Can't you tell them to knock it off?"

"No, I can't. Because we can't tell them to stop doing anything that could in any way be construed as expressing themselves. You know, we can't even grade with red ink anymore. Apparently I lowers their self esteem."

"Green ink is going to do the same thing once you grade in green for a while."

"Yes, that's the logical answer, but logic has no place on this school board. Believe me, I asked."

"I'm sure you did."

They smiled together for a moment before she moved to get the plates down from the shelf.

Dinner was cleaned up, homework was done, the kids were in bed, and Mulder and Scully were sitting on the couch, with Michael Buble' playing softly in the background. Mulder was almost totally relaxed. He'd played Barbies with Hannah, making up voices for each doll. He'd talked sports with Joshua for a while, even getting smile and laugh out of his son. Reading stories and putting the kids to bed had come with such an ease it was like he had never been gone. Scully was sitting next to him now, her feet propped up on the coffee table and her head tipped slightly towards him.

"You look tired," he commented. She giggled and turned so she could look at him better.

"Shut up."

Their eyes held, and for a moment, he was reminded of a night almost like this. It had been late fall, many years ago. Maybe 10. She'd just come home from the hospital, and they'd been sitting just like this, talking quietly, her face lit up with a smile. He'd kissed her that night, an innocent, brief, goodnight kiss as she drifted off to sleep.

He replayed that night in his mind and wanted nothing more than to kiss her again.

"Scully?"

"Hmm?"

"Dance with me."

"What?"

He stood up from the couch and extended his hand to her.

"Dance with me. Please?"

She sighed and took his hand. He pulled her towards him gradually, giving her ample time to escape. She didn't.

They swayed slowly to the music and she tried to calm down her breathing.

"It's just me," he whispered.

"I know. I'm sorry; I'm just having a hard time believing that you're here."

"Want me to pinch you?"

She chuckled at that and rested her forehead on his chest.

"Mulder, I missed you so much. There were days when I didn't think I could get out of bed."

"I'm sorry."

"I wanted you here so badly and now that you're here, I don't know where you fit. And I want you to fit. I want you to fit so well that you can't ever leave."

"Honey, I'm NOT leaving."

"I mean leaving like going out to get a gallon of milk. I don't want you to leave for any period of time."

"You know how bad my cabin fever gets."

"I know," she chuckled, lifting her face to look at him. "I just want it to be perfect again."

"If I kiss you, are you going to press charges?"

She giggled.

"No, I won't."

His lips came down to meet hers faster than she anticipated. It was a gentle kiss, one of pure love, with more just under the surface. She pulled away after a moment, catching her breath.

"Looks like you're going to have to teach me how to do that again," she commented, almost blushing.

He smiled and hugged her fiercely before kissing her forehead.

"I love you, Dana."

"I love you too."