happy Sunday!

Maggie Scully tentatively walked up to her daughter's apartment door, intensely praying that her cryptic conversation over the phone with her that morning didn't mean she was deathly ill. Or in grave danger. Or any of the things she seemed to be when she called her mother with little more to say than, "I think this is something we need to talk about in person." She made the sign of the cross before she knocked on the door.

"Hi Mom," Scully answered, seemingly in no trouble or peril whatsoever.

"Hi Dana," Maggie hugged her daughter tighter than she knew she should have.

"Come on in."

Scully knew that her mother was worried when she got off the phone with her. Then, when she realized that nothing seemed to be wrong with her, Maggie relaxed for a few seconds. Until she walked in the house to see Fox Mulder and two strange children sitting at her daughter's table like they belonged there. That was when she became very confused.

"Who is that?" Megan asked, looking up from her breakfast.

"That is Dana's mom, Maggie. She's very nice," Mulder answered. If she was satisfied with that answer, Megan didn't show it. She looked suspiciously at Maggie, almost like she had a reason not to trust her.

"Dana, do you want to tell me what's going on?" Maggie tried to remain calm. But all her mind could fall back on was visiting a small, red-headed little girl in a children's home two Christmases ago. And how, only days later, she was watching as that same little girl was buried in the ground.

"Let's sit down," Scully and Mulder shared a look. He was obligated to help break this news to Maggie, and he trusted the children would be okay as long as they were only in the next room. Kissing Zach's head, Mulder got up and joined the women in the living room.

"What's going on Dana? Who are those children?" Maggie wasted no time in cutting to the chase. Even Skinner's initial reaction to the children hadn't been that brazen.

"Mom, those are Megan and Zach Harris. They are Mulder's cousin's children. Yesterday Zach called Mulder and told him that he hadn't seen his mother all day and that someone had come in and trashed their house. She has a history of using drugs and as far as we can tell, she's relapsed, which could potentially explain the break in if she owed someone money. We brought them here and called Social Services. They're doing an investigation, but for the time being, Zach and Megan are going to be staying with Mulder and I."

To Maggie, the whole story was big news. To Mulder, though, the "Mulder and I" part of the explanation was what he was really surprised about, and he had lived the other stuff.

"How are they doing?" Maggie finally asked, having taken a few seconds to digest what this meant.

"They're still a little weary, Mrs. Scully, but they're warming up to the idea of being here. Anywhere would have been better than what they were living in," Mulder piped up.

"You have no idea where their mother is?"

"We don't Mom. That's actually why I called you here. Mulder and I think it would be beneficial if we joined in on the investigation. But the kids need someone to take care of them. We were wondering if you would be able to help us out. I really don't trust anybody else, considering the situation we just pulled them from."

Fifteen minutes ago, Maggie had thought her daughter's cancer had relapsed. Now she realized that she just needed a babysitter.

"Right now?" Maggie remembered back to her daughter asking her if she had plans for the day on the phone.

"Yes."

She couldn't decide whether or not she was angry. After all, the last time she had seen her youngest daughter was when she and her partner had spent a night at her house following a high-profile case in California. Neither of them would tell her much about what had happened on that particular case, but she knew it had changed their lives. Dana's life was changing in so many ways that her mother wasn't privy to anymore, she realized as she noticed Mr. Mulder's hand on her right shoulder.

"Okay honey."

XXX

"We'll only be gone for a few hours," Mulder tried to explain an hour later as he and Scully made their way out the door. Or attempted to. Megan was currently attached to his partner's leg, screaming in fear of being left alone.

"NO!" was all the little girl would offer. They should have anticipated this, Megan seemed to have a host of attachment disorders. But since she had agreed to stay with them, Maggie had been interacting with Zach and Megan beautifully. Mulder and Scully actually thought they would be able to slip out of the house unnoticed after Maggie had started reading Charlotte's Web to the kids, but to no avail. Both children had figured out they were making their way toward the door, and Megan had reacted badly.

"Megan, sweetheart, you and Zach are going to stay with Mrs. Scully," Mulder tried lifting her off the ground, but the little girl suddenly became dead weight in his arms.

"NO NO NO NO I don't want you to GO!" she screamed, clawing at Scully's leg, not feeling she could grab on tight enough. Maggie and Zach watched the scene unfold in pain.

Mulder was about to try again, but Scully put her hand up to stop him. She bent down and picked Megan up herself, and the little girl curled into her embrace.

"I don't want you to leave," she mumbled into Scully's neck pitifully.

"I know," Scully sympathized with the young girl by rocking and cooing to her. "But we're going to come back very soon."

"No you're not."

"Megan," Mulder got her attention, "Dana I and I both love you. We would never leave you. We're going to come back."

Megan's tears began to abate, as if she were realizing for the first time that when somebody leaves, they don't always leave forever. Maybe she was.

"10 minutes?" she asked, holding up her ten fingers hopefully.

"Well, it'll be a little longer than that darling."

"Oh."

"But," Scully put her forehead together with the girl's, "I'm sure if you ask my mom very nicely, she'll want to bake cookies."

Maggie was delighted by the idea. Her daughter would make such a great mother. Megan, to her merit, gave the woman a shy glance as she stood up and walked over to them.

"Do you want to make cookies, Meg?" Maggie asked, making sure she took her time in approaching her.

Scully felt Megan's nose hit her throat.

"I want to," another small voice popped up. It was Zach, who was now standing right at Maggie's hip. To some it may have looked like he was also seeking attention, which was something no adult could blame him for. But Mulder instantly recognized what the little boy was doing because he had performed the same act when he and Samantha were young. He was trying to assure Megan that everything was going to be okay. And in that moment, Mulder didn't see the scared, frightened boy who had been clutching his sister in the shower stall, completely afraid and completely the victim. He saw a little man emerge from the child. He had never been so impressed.

"Really?" Megan asked her brother. It was unlike him to trust new people. The people that his mom had exposed him to in his short life hadn't been the type of people he could just let his guard down around.

"Can we have chocolate chip?" Zach asked Maggie.

"Of course. I'll even let you lick the spoon just like I used to let Dana when she was a little girl."

"Come on Megan," Zach grabbed her hand and waited as she was peacefully set on her own two legs. Then, they ran off to the kitchen together, even though they didn't know the first thing about making cookies.

"Thank you Mom," Scully heaved a huge sigh of relief.

"No need to thank me, dear, just show me where your mixer is."

As the two women went off in search of the kitchen appliance, Mulder's cell rang. And when he was done with the conversation, he had a gut feeling that his life would be changing more permanently than he ever could have expected.

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