A/N: I knew I wanted to write another chapter, but I wasn't sure it was needed, exactly. But then I realized that while Mulder and Scully had some resolution, Mulder didn't have any with the kids. So I am going to continue this story until I feel that they're all happy again.

I also just realized that as of late, all my stories have to do with Mulder and Scully as parents. The photoblog wasn't kidding... newborn pics do give you baby fever.

It would be his first public act as a parent.

Well, the first act since he had returned, anyway. He'd been home for almost a month now, taking a few online courses to get his counseling license. Things at home had been happy. Hannah treated him like he had never left, Joshua (while still getting used to the idea of another man in the house) had dropped his "too cool" act and had finally come around. Scully had started to rely on him more, and their relationship was almost better than it ever had been. The family had settled into comfortable routines.

It was a Tuesday morning when Scully called him from work. Her voice was strained, on high alert but not panicked.

"Mulder, are you busy right now?"

"Just doing some research. What's wrong?"

"The school called. Joshua got into a fight on the playground. They need one of us to go and pick him up and I can't get away."

"Is he hurt?" he asked, slipping his coat on.

"No, he's been suspended."

"Are they sure they have the right kid?"

"Yes. Can you just go pick him up? I'll be home early and I guess we'll sort this out then."

"I'm on my way."

"Thanks. Love you."

"Love you too."

He hung the phone up and headed out to the car.

The drive didn't take long, but it was long enough for him to think up all sorts of scenarios. Maybe Joshua had been provoked and fought back and the other kid got suspended too. Maybe he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Joshua didn't have a bullying bone in his body except when it came to his sister, and even then it was short lived. Mulder couldn't imagine that the school had the whole story. Obviously something more went on than a typical schoolyard skirmish.

He pulled up to the school and parked, then headed for the office.

"I'm here to pick up my son."

"Name?"

"Joshua Mulder."

"He's in with the headmaster right now. He should be out in a minute. You can take a seat over there."

Mulder obeyed and plopped down in one of the leather chairs. He sighed and looked towards the headmasters door. When he and Scully had discussed private school, he had never thought his small kids would end up at a place with a headmaster. It suddenly occurred to him that he had no idea how much Scully paid in tuition. She could be hemorrhaging money and he would never know it.

The door opened and Joshua exited the headmaster's office, his head hung low.

"Josh?"

His son looked up and an uneasy half smile cracked across his face for a moment.

"Dad!"

"What's going on, bud?" he asked as Joshua sat down next to him. Before he could answer, the headmaster cleared his throat.

"Mr. Mulder. I would like a word with you in my office."

He'd stood in front of judges, juries, the FBI director, Bill Scully, and Kersh, but he had never been so nervous before.

"Wait right here for me, okay?"

Joshua nodded and Mulder followed the older gentleman into the office.

"Mr. Mulder I assume you know why you're here."

"There weren't many details given, but from what I understand, Joshua got into a fight."

"Yes. It seems that he and another boy were involved in an altercation, during which, the other child's nose was broken."

"Broken?"

"Yes. Normally when two students fight they are asked to leave for the rest of the day and must write a letter of apology to the other students involved. Because of the injury caused, we're suspending your son for two weeks."

"Does anyone know what caused the fight?"

"No. The other student claims that Joshua was unprovoked, and frankly we find that hard to believe, but Joshua won't give us any details, so we're forced to act as if the other child's information is accurate. As per school policy, both parties and their parents will have to sit down with me and discuss the situation before Joshua can return to school. You or your wife can call and schedule an appointment with me later."

Mulder nodded, hoping he could remember even these small details to pass on to Scully later.

"You can go ahead and take your son home now."

He shook hands with the man and left the office.

Joshua was swinging his legs slowly, talking to Hannah who was sitting next to him.

"But you were bleeding, Joshy!"

"No, the other kid was bleeding. It just got on me a little."

"You didn't get hurt?"

"No."

"Are you in big trouble?"

"Yeah. Really big trouble. And I haven't even talked to mom yet."

"Maybe you shouldn't have hit him."

"I had to!"

"Why?"

"Because. You wouldn't understand. Just trust me, okay?"

She nodded and looked up to see Mulder.

"Daddy!"

She ran to him and he picked her up, kissing her cheek gently.

"Hi princess. Shouldn't you be in class?"

"It's lunch time. My teacher said I could come and check on Joshy. He has to go home, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Can I go home too?"

"No, you need to stay here until school is over, okay?"

"Alright."

He set her back down and she walked over and gave her brother a hug before turning and leaving the office.

"Ready to go?"

Joshua nodded and followed his dad out to the car.

"Want to tell me what happened?" he asked, once they were out on the road. Joshua sighed.

"Not really."

"Okay. You can just tell your mom when she gets home."

"No!" Joshua shouted. "I can't tell mom."

"Why not?"

"I just can't."

"You're going to have to tell one of us."

He was quiet for a long time, obviously weighing his options. Mulder glanced in the rearview mirror and could see Joshua chewing on his bottom lip- a definite Scully trait. He'd never noticed that before.

"This kid was picking on Hannah," he said finally.

"What kid?"

"Alec Tompkins. He always picks on Hannah and teases her and I always tell him to stop. But today he was being mean and he pushed her. So I pushed him back."

"How did he end up with a broken nose, son?"

"I hit him in the face."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

Mulder sighed as he parked the car in the garage and the two of them got out.

"Josh, I need to hear the whole story."

"I can't tell you."

"Bud, you can tell me anything. As it looks right now, you just started beating up on this kid without any reason. I know you better than that. I know you're not a bad kid, and there's got to be more to the story."

Joshua sat down on the couch and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Alec was just being a jerk, so I hit him."

"That's the whole story? He didn't say anything to you to make you hit him? He didn't hit you first? You just decided to smack him."

He shrugged.

"Josh, that doesn't sound like the whole truth to me."

"Well it is."

"And you're not lying?"

He just shrugged again.

"Okay. You need to go to your room until your mom gets home."

"But-"

"Go. Take your book bag; you might as well do your homework while you're in there."

"Dad!"

"Josh, I'm not going to tell you again. Go to your room."

"Fine!" he shouted, taking his bag and stomping off to his bedroom.

"Don't you dare slam that door!"

Scully came home at four with Hannah in tow.

"So what happened?" she asked once Hannah was situated in the kitchen with some graham crackers and milk.

"He won't tell me the whole story. He says some kid was picking on Hannah and he stepped in and smacked the kid. I think there's more to it, but he's not saying anything."

"Where is he?"

"In his room. I sent him there once we got home. I told him you would be in to talk to him when you got home."

"Maybe we should both go talk to him."

"Okay."

He followed her down the hall where she knocked on Joshua's door.

"Can we come in?"

"I guess."

She opened the door and Mulder was surprised to find a spotless bedroom. Joshua was prone to the Mulder messiness, but when he was frustrated, apparently the Scully spic and span came out.

"Want to tell me what happened today?" Scully asked, sitting down next to him on the bed.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because. It's not important."

"It's important to me."

"I can't tell you, okay?" he shouted, standing up from his bed and crossing the room.

"Joshua, don't raise your voice at me."

"Sorry."

"Come back over here and sit down."

He obeyed.

"Now, your dad and I need to know what happened today so we can deal with it. It seems that you're leaving out a big chunk of the story."

"But I can't tell you, mom."

"Why not?"

"You'll be mad."

"Then who can you tell?"

"I don't know."

"If I leave, do you think you can tell your dad?"

"I guess."

"Okay."

She stood up from the bed, then leaned down to kiss his forehead before leaving the room.

"Okay bud, what really happened?"

"Alec was picking on Hannah, and then he called her a crybaby. I pushed him and he started to tell me I was stupid. And then he said mean stuff about mom."

"What kind of stuff?"

"He called her a bad name."

"What did he call her?"

"I can't say it. It's a bad word."

"I'm giving you permission to say it just this once."

"He said that mom didn't have a husband but she has kids, so she must be a... a... a whore." He whispered the last word, then covered his mouth.

"So that's why you hit him?"

He nodded and Mulder reached down to hug him.

"Did anything else happen?"

"No. His nose was bleeding and a teacher came over and took us to the headmaster's office."

"Okay. Let me go talk to your mom for a minute and then I'll be back, okay?"

"Are you mad at me dad?"

"Son, I'm upset that you chose to fight in that situation. But I'm not mad at you. I understand how you felt."

"You do?"

He sighed, not sure if he should tell his young son about his similar situation.

"A long time ago, before you were born, there were some people at work that were saying things like that about your mom. I overheard them and I handled it the same way you did."

"You hit someone, dad?"

"Yes, I did."

"Did you get in trouble?"

"Big time."

"Does mom know?"

"Yeah, she knows. And even though I did something that I shouldn't have, she still loves me."

"So she's not going to be mad at me, just mad at what I did?"

"Basically. That doesn't mean you're not going to be punished though."

"Oh."

"But your mom and I are always going to love you, no matter what. Okay?"

"I know."

Mulder left the room and found Scully in the living room.

"So?"

"Apparently this kid called you a whore, so Josh hit him."

Her eyebrows lifted up.

"Wow."

"He broke the kid's nose to defend your honor, honey. If I said I wasn't even a little proud of him it would be a lie."

"I'm sure you told him that what he did was wrong, no matter what the kid was saying."

"You might want to hit on that point."

"I will. He actually broke the kid's nose?"

"Yep."

"Who was it?"

"Alec Tompkins."

"Great."

"What?"

"His mother. I was on the PTA with her last year. She's the biggest gossip I have ever met in my life. She's probably written up a petition to get Joshua kicked out of school. I swear, that woman has too much free time."

He chuckled a little as they sat back on the couch.

"You know, Scully, none of this would have happened today if I hadn't left."

She sighed.

"You do not get to take the blame for this. You could have stayed these last three years, and Joshua would have gotten into a fight over something else. It's inevitable. He's a boy, and has more of you in him than either of us would care to admit. Yes, you were gone, and yes, it was hard, but not everything that happens in life goes back to that. Got it? I don't want to have to tell you again."

"I got it."

"Good. Now let's go talk with our son about proper playground conduct."

"Can we tell him that next time someone says something about his mom he can say something back about theirs?"

She just rolled her eyes.