for AmorFati32, who is just an all-around trooper, and for anyone who reads and reviews loyally - I hope I've done justice for you all.
"Where the hell did you go?" Scully didn't even bother making sure the kids left the room before yelling. Mulder winced and lowered his head, not entirely sure he didn't deserve something thrown at it. Zach, who had previously been working on his homework, stood on the back of the kitchen chair and wrapped his arms around Mulder's neck, and Mulder briefly considered using the child as a human shield. Scully may just kill him for that, though, and Zach probably wouldn't want blood on his clothes. Besides, Mulder knew both kids had Scully's back in any argument. They adored her.
"I'll tell you later," Mulder said in an off-handed manner so Zach wouldn't feel the need to ask questions.
"We had math races in school today, Mulder, and I came in second," the little boy mentioned instead.
"Really? That's incredible, what type of math was it?"
"Times tables."
"Look at you, smarty pants. Let's see your skills in action, what's 5 x 4?"
"20," Zach quickly answered, a smile beaming up his face.
"2 x 6?"
"12."
"7 x 8?"
"Uh, 56!" Zach shouted excitedly, so proud of himself.
"Oh boy, you're going to have to slow down there with the book-learnin' son," Mulder kid, "I have a few more years before your college fund matures."
"Dana says I'm going to Harvard."
"That worn out old community college? No, you'll have to go to Yale," Mulder could see Scully at the stove ready to set out dinner, so he traveled over there to help her. Even he knew he'd be needing all the brownie points he could get.
"Why not Oxford?" Scully finally looked Mulder in the eye.
"Because I would miss him too much."
"What's Oxford?" Zach asked.
"It's a college in England. Mulder went there," Scully explained.
"How long until I get to go to college?"
"A long long time," Scully informed him, grabbing the homework and replacing it with a plate of tilapia and asparagus. He made a face, but Scully had already mastered the you'd better eat it look.
"Believe us, Zach, you don't want to grow up too fast. Stay a kid for as long as you can," Mulder let the boy know, sitting down to dinner with his family and knowing what he would have to do to keep them safe.
XXX
Not surprisingly, Mulder volunteered for primary bedtime duty that night. Since for a long time after the kids came to live with Mulder and Scully bedtime had been such a stressful ordeal, they had a long process of rituals that neither child was ready to break yet. Bath and shower, pajama putting-on, teeth-brushing, a small clean up at Scully's insistence, a beginners' book that Megan would practice her reading in, one chapter out of Zach's book, stuffed animal check, nightlight check, another stuffed animal check, then goodnights. That routine was what had helped Zach and Megan to stay stable after coming to live with Mulder and Scully – all routines were. It was so amazing for the agents to have watched them go from fearful and neglected to confident and at peace, a little boy already thinking about college and a little girl who'd gone two full weeks without an accident overnight, all thanks to them. And they'd do bedtime every night for the rest of their lives if it meant their children were able to dream sweet dreams, even if it did take almost an hour.
"They're really getting into James and the Giant Peach, aren't they?" Mulder tried to distract Scully from her inevitable questions once the kids were asleep and their door was shut halfway.
It wasn't going to work. But it was a nice try.
"Where did you go today?"
"I'm sorry I ditched you at the office. I left you the car, though."
"Yeah, it was great for driving around DC searching for you all day. What the hell were you thinking? Leaving me and the kids without any hint as to where you were going, being gone all day, turning your phone off… do you know how scared I was, Mulder?"
"I'm sorry, Scully," Mulder tried putting his hands on her shoulders, but she brushed him off.
"I'm not interested in sorrys. Tell me where you went."
"Alright, but you have to promise to let me tell you the full story before you react."
"Just get to it," Scully pinched the bridge of her nose, a clear sign that her frustration was getting the best of her.
"Let's sit down," Mulder led her to the couch, and instantly, Scully knew she was not going to like what she was about to hear.
XXX
"He wants you to join him? What does that mean?" Scully asked, trying to digest all the information her partner had just sprung on her. She was rightfully angry that he had even thought about meeting with the Smoking Man without telling her, much less going through with it, but she had to deal with what everything Mulder said meant. The man and his goons had destroyed their work deliberately to get their attention; to change the game. Scully had a big problem with doing anything on CGB's terms, but she had to admit that the promise of safety was a big bargaining chip. It had been an unspoken fear between her and Mulder during their whole quest to adopt Megan and Zach… what would happen once they got everything they wanted?
"I don't exactly know. I don't think I ever would. I would be a pawn in his game, just like I always have been."
"No. That's not true. What he said to you, Mulder… he knows he needs you. He knows you're better than him."
"Scully, either way, he's asking me to live the life that he does. I don't want to be him. I don't want people to die by my hand."
"He isn't going to give up on this. When that man wants something, he gets it. If you tell him no, if you continue to work on the X-Files and try to bring to light all of the secrets he's tried to keep in the shadows, he's going to hunt you for the rest of his life."
It was hard for Mulder to recognize his fate. But it didn't fully hit him until he saw that realization on the face of the woman he loved. He didn't tell her that three years ago, he had been offered almost the same deal, and he would've taken it solely to save her. Now that they had a family together, there was no way he wasn't going to give them the best life possible. Even if it meant sacrificing himself.
He opened his arms for Scully, and she leaned into them as far as her stomach would allow. It was a surprise to him, though, when he heard her sniffle, indicating she had started to cry. Resting his head on her soft hair, Mulder whispered,
"I'm not going to let anybody own us."
XXX
"Where is he?" a dying man in a wheelchair asked his assistant.
"None of our surveillance has indicated that he's anywhere in the area, sir. Do you want us to survey the home once more?"
"No. They're not at the damn place, they tracked their cars into the city this morning."
"Maybe he's decided not to take the deal, sir."
"They'd both agreed to take it last night."
"This is Mulder we're talking about, though, sir."
The dying man turned to his assistant in a manner that, had he been even a few years younger would have struck fear in the hearts of his children.
"You listen to me, I've been watching Mulder since he was born. I know everything about the man, even things he doesn't know about himself. There are a lot of things he will do in the name of 'the truth,' but he has a family now. A man who searched for his sister for 26 years will not give up the chance to live without fear, even if he is Fox Mulder."
"Sir, I just got word that he and Agent Scully have been located… at FBI headquarters."
XXX
"I just can't accept this. You've been in worse situations before, both of you. I just can't accept that your office gets trashed, and that is what drives you to resign," AD Skinner tried to wrap his head around the scene in front of him. It had happened without warning – Mulder and Scully had just handed him their resignation letters. In an effort to explain, because she really did feel they owed it to the man, Scully stepped forward.
"It wasn't the destruction as much as it was what the destruction represented. We all know that there has been a concerted effort to get rid of our division, from both outside and inside forces. It's just too great a risk anymore."
"I understand that you both have a deep connection to your work. Hell, I've developed a greater understanding of the X-Files in the last few years. But just because the division is closing doesn't mean that you both won't do well in other areas of the Bureau. Agent Scully, you've always had a place at Quantico, and Mulder, there is more than enough work to keep you busy in Violent Crimes."
"It's the lifestyle, Sir. We don't feel that it is conducive to a family."
"Scully, I'd like to point out that there are many female agents who have begun families and still find that the B—"
"I'm very aware of the statistics, Sir. We both are. We spoke about this decision at great lengths and we feel we've both gotten what we wanted from our work on the X-Files. There is nothing left in it for us but danger and the chance that we could be taken away from our children. We can't justify staying here to ourselves anymore."
AD Skinner ran his hands over his face and scrubbed at his eyes. He couldn't argue with her. If that was the path their lives were going down, the FBI wasn't the best place for them. But damn if he wasn't going to miss them.
"Surely you have something to say about this Mulder," the AD addressed the man with the faintest whisper of a smirk on his face.
Mulder took Scully's hand and proclaimed loud and clear for the bugs that he was sure were around without anyone else's knowledge,
"I guess They won," he accepted his victory.
I played with the outcomes of Mulder's choices and realized that this third option had been lurking behind the louder, more obvious, decisions the whole time. there will be a future chapter with Mulder and Scully discussing what leaving the FBI means for them - I don't believe either of them, especially Mulder, would just be able to walk away without some mixed emotions. but for now, let me know what you think. and get ready for an angsty surprise next chapter!