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Staying with Scully while Mulder and Agent Reyes head out for a case weeks later, Chloe flips through TV channels while Scully changes into pajamas. Coming out of her bedroom, the woman asks, "Find anything?"
Chloe shrugs and points the the television.
"This looks good," She answers.
Sitting on the couch, Scully watches as an apparently caffeine addicted woman tells a diner owner that she needs more coffee after five cups. Biting her tongue, the red head keeps from commenting how unhealthy five cups of coffee in one morning is. However, by the theme song, both mother and daughter are hooked.
"I'm going to get some water, do you need anything?" Scully asks during a commercial. She notices Chloe begin to object and replies, "I'd rather do this now before it takes me forever to get off a couch."
Smirking, Chloe nods asking, "Can I have some coffee?"
Shaking her head, Scully answers, "We're all out. Your dad drank the last of it when you two were here last. What else do you want?"
"Tea," The teen reluctantly answers. Ten minutes later, Scully comes back with the drinks and a bag a sunflower seeds. Happily, Chloe opens the bag and eats a few seeds.
"What did I miss?" Scully asks her daughter as she grabs a few sunflower seeds from the bag.
"Lorelai just asked her parents for money for Chilton," Chloe answers before nodding to the sunflower seeds and remarking, "I thought you didn't like them?"
Giving a noncommittal hum, the red head answers, "No, but the baby does."
Chloe almost speaks again when the show comes back on.
"Mom, do you think I should still see Phoebe," Chloe states once the episode ends. Turning to her daughter, Scully tries to guage her comment. Finally she asks, "What prompted that?"
Shrugging, Chloe answers, "I just worry that it may not go well."
Scully simply hums in response trying to figure out the best way to approach her answer. Selfishly, she wants to keep her daughter home for Christmas to have one more year with just the three of them, but knows she needs to be supportive of Chloe's decisions. Running her fingers gently through the teen's hair, Scully states, "If that's what you want to do, Chloe, do it."
Sighing, Chloe mumbles her thanks and adds, "But, I don't know what I want to do."
With a smile, Scully replies, "You'll think of something. For now, you need to get to bed."
Before her daughter can protest, the red head answers, "It's a school night. Go."
Rolling her eyes, Chloe gives her mother a kiss before getting ready for bed. Taking their mugs to the kitchen, Scully wonders if she needs to tell Mulder about Chloe's predicament. Despite his not liking Phoebe, Mulder never talks bad about her to his daughter. Just as she finishes cleaning up, the red head hears the phone ring. Grabbing the phone, Scully answers it to hear Mulder on the other end.
"How's Chloe?" Mulder asks.
"Fine," Scully answers, "I think we found a show to watch together."
"Oh, yeah? That's great," Mulder comments although not fully understanding the dynamic between his girlfriend and his daughter. Scully takes a seat on the sofa knowing she will be talking to Mulder for a while. As he asks about her day, Scully settles further in the couch.
"Did you know the baby made me crave sunflower seeds?" She asks her boyfriend. Hearing his laugh on the other end of the line, Scully remarks, "Definitely your kid."
"Can I talk to this one?" Mulder asks. Rolling her eyes, Scully answers, "I guess."
Putting her feet up on the couch, Scully puts the phone to her stomach as she listens to snippets of what Mulder tells their baby. As the two bond, Scully gives Mulder updates on the baby's reactions which are predominantly kicks toward the phone. Finally, the couple hangs up and Scully heads to bed. Despite her daughter being old enough to take care of herself, Scully still has to wake her up in the morning.
Doing paperwork the next day, Scully is surprised to hear her telephone ringing. Picking up the receiver, the red head is doubly surprised to hear her mother on the other line.
"Dana, I was wondering if you were free for lunch tomorrow," Maggie asks her. Eager to spend an afternoon with her mom, Scully answers she is before asking where they are going. Nailing down details, Scully meets her mother at one in the afternoon at a fairly relaxed and cute restaurant. Hugging her mom, the red head is surprised to see her mom hand her a gift bag.
"Open it," Maggie instructs her daughter. Doing as she is told, Scully pulls out the tissue to find a onesie with tiny teddy bears on it. With a small smirk, Maggie remarks, "Since you won't tell me what you're having, I got you something as generic as I could."
Putting the onesie back, Scully thanks her mother adding, "It's nice to know you're already spoiling this one, too."
"Well, I couldn't buy baby clothes for Chloe. I hope this one's a girl. So far she is my only granddaughter."
With a laugh, Scully jokes, "I'll see what I can do."
Just as she puts her gift bag next to her purse, the waiter comes by to ask their order.
"I was meaning to ask you what you're doing for Thanksgiving," Maggie asks her halfway through their food.
"I thought we were coming over to your house," Scully comments as she picks through her salad. Seeing the smile come over her mother's face, Scully cannot help her own.
"Did you think I was going to spend it alone?"
Shaking her head, Maggie answers, "I knew you were coming, but Fox and Chloe are coming, too?"
Nodding, Scully answers, "Of course! Who all is coming?"
"So far, Charlie and his family. Bill is spending Christmas with us this year," Maggie informs her with a frown. She understands the pull from families for the holidays and likes their arrangement, but that does not mean she misses all of her children together any less. Pulled back from her thoughts, Maggie listens to her daughter update her on her own family, something Maggie is infinitely glad her daughter officially has.
"We're going to my Mom's for Thanksgiving," Scully informs Mulder as they ride into work in early November. Nodding, Mulder knows he cannot get out of it. With his mother gone, he and Chloe need to spend it somewhere. Noticing her boyfriend's hesitance, Scully asks him about it. Not having anything against Maggie, he happily agrees to the request, although it does not stop him from asking, "Is Bill coming?"
Shaking her head, Scully answers, "He and Tara are spending Thanksgiving with her parents this year."
Immediately relieved, Mulder asks what they need to bring. Shrugging, Scully answers, "I was going to help mom plan it."
Over the next week and a half, Mulder says nothing more about Thanksgiving, fairly content to not spend the holiday with Bill. Not until he notices his girlfriend stress does he become concerned. One day, Monica has the day off, so it is only the two of them which means Mulder has more time to keep an eye on Scully.
"What are you getting so worked up about?" Mulder asks Scully when he notices her heavy sigh come from their desk in his office. Looking up at Mulder, Scully answers, "Thanksgiving. My mom called while you were getting lunch. Apparently, Charlie can't make it. One of the boys has a Judo tournament."
"A Scully doing Judo? That sounds scary," Mulder teases. Noticing his girlfriend finds nothing funny in his comment, the man reassures her, "It'll be fine."
"I just wanted Chloe to experience a typical Scully holiday since she won't be here for Christmas," Scully explains, "It will be the last one with just the three of us."
Allowing himself the privelege, Mulder crosses to Scully who still sits in his office chair as it's the only one comfortable enough for her now and kisses her forehead. Gently, he tilts her head up to look at him.
"It'll be fine," He reassures. "Any family holiday will be a typical one for her despite a sibling."
Relaxing, Scully agrees, "You're right. I think I'm going to take a break from this."
"Okay," Mulder answers secretly excited to have changed her mind. Sometimes having a psychology degree pays off. Deciding to end their day early, Mulder tells Scully to put her coat on.
"I have a surprise for you, but I'm going to need you to trust me, okay?" Mulder asks once his girlfriend is ready. Eyeing him with a look of disbelief, Scully finally nods. It's only once the couple is outside D.C. proper that she gets concerned. An hour later, Scully finally asks, "Mulder, where are you taking me?"
"Just sit tight. We're almost there," He tells her hoping she will not be angry at him in the next ten minutes. To Scully's disbelief, the car is stopped at a house in the middle of nowhere.
"Mulder," She chides not in the mood for an X-file at a little over six months pregnant. When her boyfriend grins, she knows she's in trouble. Getting out of the car, Mulder goes to the other side and opens it for her. Taking her hand, Mulder helps her out of the car before leading her up the steps.
"There better not be ghosts here, Mulder. I can't eat the chocolate I gave you like last time," Scully announces. With a smirk, Mulder asks, "Did Dana Katherine Scully just make a joke?"
Not waiting for a response, Mulder turns toward the door and fishes a key from his pocket. Opening the door, Mulder steps in first to turn the lights on before turning to gauge Scully's reaction. Scully simply stares at the room in front of her, still trying to comprehend the fact that Mulder has a key to the place. Finally, Scully dumbly asks why he has a key in the first place.
"It's ours," Mulder answers. Then, Scully starts to cry. Realizing this, Mulder continues, "I bought it a couple weeks ago with some of the money my mom left me. The rest I matched with Chloe to give the baby a college fund."
"You bought a house?" Scully announces. "For us?"
"Yes," Mulder answers. "Do you want to take a look inside?"
All Scully can do is nod as Mulder shows her the open living and dining room before crossing into the kitchen which looks horrible. Letting her take in the rooms, Mulder nods to the sorely outdated appliances remarking, "The house needs a lot of fixing up, and it won't be ready for another six months or so."
Scully simply nods as she envisions cooking with Chloe and watching Mulder with the baby on a lazy weekend. Her thoughts are interrupted by Mulder announcing, "It's by a great school district, surprisingly. K through twelve, so we never have to worry about that."
"What will Chloe do about her last couple years?" Scully asks returning to her usual practicality.
"I'm keeping my address to the apartment, and we may be living in the apartment part time. At least it will be a place to go when both of us are too tired. We could keep your place, too if you want."
Shaking her head, Scully replies, "I don't want the upkeep of three places. Do you have the entire layout? I'd like to figure out what all we'll put in here."
Nodding, Mulder answers, "It's at home."
When his girlfriend is still silent after a minute, Mulder finally asks, "What do you think?"
Swallowing the urge to cry again, Scully smiles at him.
"I love it," She announces.
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