On a Tuesday morning three months later, Scully crept into what used to be the spare bedroom in her house. But it had since been turned into the kids'—her kids', she felt—bedroom. Having gotten rid of the full bed that Zach and Megan used to share, bunk beds were set up in the corner, and Megan had squealed in delight when Mulder had said they were getting them that day at the furniture store. The extra space the old bed had left gave the kids more room to collect toys, and they did just that. Sometimes, Scully would look in there to see the hordes of dress up clothes and dolls and action figures and art supplies and toy cars and worry they were spoiling them. But Mulder had once pointed out that if there were any two kids in the entire world who deserved to be spoiled, it was Zach and Megan. Furthermore, they were good kids and there was nothing like seeing them happy. They both still preferred spending time with Mulder and Scully over any toy, their hugs over any treat, and as long as that was the case, Scully could live with the toys.
Scully turned on the nightstand lamp and crawled into bed with Megan, loving the feel of the little girl's body snuggled against her in sleep. She could've stayed like that all day, stroking Megan's hair back and watching her sleep peacefully for the first extended period in her life. But it was Tuesday, and they had to get going.
"Megan, sweetheart, it's the morning," she cooed softly, listening closely as Zach shifted in his bed above them.
Megan responded by burying her face into Scully's neck.
"Come on, it's Tuesday."
Slowly, the little girl lifted her head and, sleep-tousled hair covering an eye, she smiled.
"We get to go see Julie today," she said with as much enthusiasm as she could after just being roused from sleep.
"That's right, and Mulder is coming with us this time," Scully informed her. Julie was the children's therapist, who had been recommended to them at the hospital after Megan was examined. Every Tuesday for three months, instead of going right to school, Megan and Zach had been going for an hour to talk to her, and Scully and Mulder had seen dramatic improvements in both of them. They'd both successfully started school, Zach in third grade and Megan in kindergarten. Zach had been taking less responsibility for his sister and the previous actions of his mother, as well as dealing with her death properly. Megan's largest hurdle was getting over the sexual abuse, but some improvements that came along with her healing included less anxiety, especially when she wasn't around Mulder and Scully, easier bath times, and less bedwetting. Both children were blossoming into brighter and happier kids, and every day they were improving. And even with every nightmare, every tear, the agents persevered because they knew it was making them better. They'd have endured much worse to ensure that.
"Mulder's coming with?" Zach leaned over the railing to ask. Obviously, he'd been listening when Scully thought he was catching a few extra winks.
"Yes, he's out in the kitchen making breakfast right now." This led to the two youngsters launching themselves out of their beds and racing toward the kitchen. It was a well-known fact that when Mulder was home on Tuesdays, he would make breakfast, and when Mulder made breakfast, he made French toast. And he put more powdered sugar on his slices than Scully would have liked.
It was surreal, how different their lives had become, Scully thought to herself once Zach and Megan had abandoned her. For lack of a better term (and because she didn't want to think otherwise), they were her family. And they'd given so much to her life. She no longer brooded over work, she no longer felt a sense of upcoming dread lurking around every corner, she loved their smiles, she loved their hugs, and she wouldn't trade a single moment with them (even the ones where Megan pulled Zach's hair or Mulder initiated a whipped cream fight at the dinner table) for anything in the entire world. A year ago, when she thought about herself and her life, she saw a lonely, unhappy woman with no prospects other than getting to the bottom of a global conspiracy that had cost so many lives. And she'd wanted more. But Zach and Megan had filled more holes in her heart than she knew were there. Most surprisingly, they'd given her a man that she never knew Mulder was. He was so content in his role as a caregiver. The love he showed for the kids made Scully love him in impossible ways, and it was always nice to see him happy. He deserved happiness.
Chattering from the kitchen brought Scully out of her reverie. She had to go out there and make sure Mulder wasn't letting Megan put her own sugar topping on her toast, otherwise she would use the whole bag.
"You're gonna like Julie so much, Mulder. She's got TONS of toys and you can even paint pictures if you want to," Megan explained over a thankfully acceptable serving of French toast and powdered sugar.
"Is that so?"
"And sometimes she brings her doggy Rex, and he listens while we talk."
"Is he a good listener?" Mulder asked, passing a cup of coffee in front of Scully's face as he sat down to the table.
"Yeah. He stays still and he doesn't bark and he's never mean to me."
"Very good. Maybe I'll get to meet him today."
Mulder attending the sessions that day had to do with a meeting Julie wanted to have with the both of them afterward concerning the kids' progress. Mulder and Scully agreed that Scully would accompany the kids to their therapy sessions. The task involved mostly waiting in the waiting room with one of the kids while the other was having a session, but they both agreed that one of the changes they were going to have to make with the kids around would be in their work schedules. Scully had offered actually, knowing that while Mulder would do anything for the kids, he was having a harder time adjusting the amount of time he spent at work. And, though Scully didn't know how to admit it or bring it up, her assignment on the X-Files was starting to feel like just that. Since the destruction of the consortium and Mulder learning what had really happened to his sister, the elusive truth that they set out to find they were discovering more and more to be elaborately upkept lies. When it was just her and Mulder, there seemed to be a lot less at risk than there was now with two kids in the mix. But she refused to lay down her life and leave her children anymore all for a lie. She knew eventually Mulder would come to the same conclusion, but she didn't want to bring up her feelings to him quite yet.
The two shared virtually everything else, including a bed. They'd slept together seven times since they had agreed there was no going back from their first indiscretion. Well, seven and a half, Scully almost blushed at the memory of their first and only office mishap. It would be eight if Skinner hadn't knocked on the door, giving Mulder just enough time to zip himself up and Scully to button her blouse. The look on his face that day, though, had scared Scully, and that was why after Skinner (none the wiser) left, she hadn't even been able to look at him. He'd been so passionate, kissed her with such intensity, and when he moaned her name, there was no other sound like it in the world. She knew what was behind their seemingly platonic romps in the hay, but she was too scared of getting rid of every safety net she'd built in her relationship with Mulder. Contrary to what he knew about her, she hadn't always been a strong confident woman (still wasn't sometimes), and she'd been hurt by lovers in the past. Men who thought she would be okay with being treated as "just another girl," and one man who she feared would throw away his whole world at the expense of everyone in it just to be with her. That intensity scared her. She didn't think she deserved it. She saw the same intensity in Mulder.
Scully didn't realize how engrossed in thought she had been that whole morning until her eyes casually glanced at the clock over her kitchen stove. And she nearly panicked.
"We have ten minutes to get out the door and nobody is dressed!" she alerted them. Her whole life, she had been punctual Dana Scully, and she was finding with kids, that reputation was becoming slightly less than indicative of what she was actually able to manage. However, Mulder picked Zach up right out of his seat, grabbed Megan's hand, and the three made their way to the bedroom.
Neither one of them could do this alone.
XXX
"Thank you so much for being here today, I know that your work schedules are very busy," Julie Tybol, a whirlwind young woman with a fresh face and a fresh take on child psychology, greeted Mulder and Scully as they stepped into her personal office. Both adults could see why Megan and Zach liked her. She had an instantly friendly personality; she was the kind of person who could make anyone feel good about life.
"It was no trouble," Scully, more familiar with the woman than Mulder, smiled.
"Please have a seat. I've asked you two to meet with me just as an evaluation of progress, which is something I like to do for each of my clients two to four times throughout the year."
Mulder was very curious as to what the counselor had to say. In the FBI, "evaluation" was never a good word. Call him defensive, but he had been seeing drastic improvements in his children, and he wasn't going to let anyone tell him otherwise.
"I'd just like to start off by saying… I see a lot of children on a daily basis, but Zach and Megan are two of my favorite kids to talk with," Scully watched as Mulder's suspicious face broke out into a smile. "Despite what they've been through—the abuse, the abandonment, and their mother's death—they are incredibly thoughtful and resilient."
The three adults talked for a half hour about the progress that each child had made and where. Julie's reviews were glowing.
"Bottom line, you two, is that you have nothing to worry about. You have two incredibly strong children on your hands, and they love you very much. The improvement they've shown has been outstanding, and I'm glad you agree. Mr. Mulder, I understand that your adoption petition is still pending. Let me assure you that if you need any references or recommendations or even a personal testimony, my office would be more than happy to give them to you. I feel that you two, as unique as the situation you are in is, are the best people for these children to be with, and that their outstanding progress is in no small part attributed to you."
Mulder and Scully's hearts each swelled with pride. Not only were the kids showing extreme improvement, but over the course of their partnership, there were a lot of things they were told they couldn't do, and there were a lot of ways in which they had felt they failed. They were reminded of that almost daily. No matter what was said about them, though, they'd saved two children in every sense of the word.
"Thank you so much Julie," Scully said for the both of them as they were leaving her office. The grin on Mulder's face threatened to split it in two, though, as he shook the young woman's hand.
"The pleasure is mine," her words were cut off by Zach's delight at seeing Mulder and Scully from his vantage point in the waiting/play area. Soon, both kids were wrapped around their heroes.
"Mulder, can have lunch at a sit down place?" Zach asked hopefully.
"You know what, Scully, call the school. I'll call work. It's the perfect time to go to the movies," Mulder declared, making the kids' eyes pop open to double their size in excitement. Normally one to protest, Scully only grabbed her phone from her purse and took hold of Megan's hand as they walked out of the office. They weren't accustomed to getting such good news, and it came at the best possible time.
Maybe Mulder was letting go of his chokehold on the X-Files.