Precious moments

May, 2022

The quiet spring night fell gently on that tiny spot of the Earth where the unremarkable house was located. It was nearly 9 o'clock now and Scully had spent the last hour in front of her computer and with a few books open over the desk, working on a report about one of her patients at Our Lady of Sorrows Hospital. While she typed many technical terms related to the patient's treatment, the doctor could hear two dear voices coming from the upstairs bedroom: a little girl's giggling and her father's altered pitch quoting The Hobbit's lines. It was the kind of background noise that made her smile and filled her heart with an incredible sensation of joy.

She had just concluded the text and was rereading the material to make the necessary adjustments when she realised that those voices had ceased a while before. Even though she was curious to know what was going on upstairs, it took her some extra time to fully check the report and finally send it to the hospital.

Task fulfilled, Scully shut the computer off and left the room. She climbed the stairs and walked towards the bedroom on the right side of the corridor, where a white door held a cute nameplate written "Grace". It was half open and from the corridor she saw Mulder sitting on the armchair holding a three and a half little girl. Wearing pink pyjamas with stars and a moon printed on, the little one was sitting on her father's leg and had fallen asleep with her cheek resting against his chest, right over his heart. One of her chubby hands was still clutching his shirt as she breathed softly with her mouth slightly open. An illustrated copy of The Hobbit was now closed next to Mulder but he still kept his glasses on even though the reading session had finished a while ago.

The scene was enough to touch Scully's heart but what almost brought her to tears was the look on Mulder's eyes. There, she could read all the pain and sorrow he had endured along the years, especially when the possibility of fatherhood had been taken from him twice. She could also see his emotion as he gently held the little girl right against his heart, treasuring that precious moment as if he would never allow it to be over.

"Hey…" She spoke in a low voice as she entered the room.

Her approach took Mulder out of his thoughts, which were a mix of sadness and joy, and he looked at her with a soft smile. "Hey."

Scully knelt on the wooden floor right next to them and gently ran her fingers over Grace's long brown hair.

"Did your audience make it up to the end of the chapter?" She wanted to know, smiling at him and desperately wanting to chase away any sad thoughts that could cross his mind. They had been through darkness for far too long.

His smile grew wider and he nodded. "Yes! Until the trolls were turned into stone!" He happily reported. "And it was such a good passage that I had to repeat it three times!"

"Making the trolls' voices, right?"

"One for each darn troll!"

They both laughed quietly.

"Then there was a yawn and she fell asleep almost immediately after Bilbo celebrated his victory! Right on her bedtime anyway."

Frowning, Scully quickly checked on her watch and gave him a surprised look. "But it was almost an hour ago, Mulder…"

Sheepishly, he nodded his head. "I didn't realise it'd been so long."

"You have been sitting here in this same position for almost an hour?"

He shrugged his shoulder. "I didn't want to wake her up."

"Oh, Mulder…"

"She's…I…I just wanted to make each moment last for as long as possible without actually bothering her." His voice came out filled with emotion, causing her to raise a hand and lay it against his face.

"Your love would never bother her," she was quick to point out. "You want to make each moment count. To make up for all the joy and happiness that has been stolen from us for far too long. I understand you. And in a way she understands it too."

Not able to speak, he nodded again and lowered his eyes.

"And look at us." Scully kept on talking. "Treasuring our little miracle. A sweet little girl with bright eyes, a charming smile and vivid imagination that fills our days with so much joy that it's capable of chasing away the darkness that tries to haunt our thoughts once in a while."

He smiled and covered her hand with his own, never tired of contemplating his lifetime partner – her beauty in and outside always striking him and managing to keep him standing no matter what the future held.

"You both Scully women have that effect on me."

Smiling, Scully raised a little and kissed his lips gently, careful not to bump into the glasses that he still wore. The glasses that made him extremely charming and gave him a very distinguished and elegant look.

Then, she rose to her feet and motioned to him. "Now c'mon, let's put our little one in bed. It's been almost an hour and if you don't move from this chair you'll end up with a contusion on your back just like the other day!" She gently admonished, trying to add a little humour to the conversation as she knew very well that the comment would bring a funny memory.

"Oh, but that was not from sitting on a chair, that was when we-"

Scully gave him a pointed look and raised her eyebrows, and a goofy grin appeared on his face as he remembered why and how he'd ended up with a terrible three-day backache. "Yeah…I think you're right."

"Of course, I am." She replied, opening Grace's blanket and straightening her pillow.

Mulder carefully deposited the little girl on the soft mattress and Scully covered her small body afterwards.

They watched as Grace stirred just a little and Mulder looked for her favourite toy: Bibi, the cloth doll that had once belonged to her aunt Samantha and later, to Scully. Carefully, he deposited it in her hands and Grace relaxed a second later.

They each kissed her soft plumb cheek and wished her good night in whispered loving voices. Under the soft light on the side table, the couple stood watching their daughter for a few more minutes, Scully sitting on the edge of the bed, tenderly touching Grace's foot, and Mulder kneeling on the floor, with his hand on the girl's head.

He finally stood on his feet, deciding that sadness should have no room in that small part of the Earth. Tomorrow would be another day to be filled with new joyful moments for him and his family. Secretly feeling his back complain a little, he shot Scully an affectionate smile and extended his hand to her. Grinning back at him, she gladly took his proffered hand. They grabbed the baby monitor and left the bedroom, closing its door behind them.

"The back still hurts, huh?" She asked with some amusement, as they descended the stairs.

"It was a mere reflex from the other day. Everything is fine." He spoke with a defensive tone in his voice. It was impossible to hide a secret from that woman, he thought.

"Hum…I see. Well, maybe I can treat you with a glass of wine to make you relax a little?"

That suggestion was enough to make a grin appear on his face. "I'm totally up for that kind of treatment, doc!"

"Good!"

As they got to the bottom of the stairs, Mulder made a movement to take his glasses off but was immediately stopped by Scully, who put her hand out in a warning sign.

"Put those glasses back, Mulder!"

Confused, he frowned a little. "You-You wanted me to read the report you were working on?"

Scully let out a deep sigh and ran her eyes along his body – from top down. Then, she gave him a pointed and mischievous look. "They're not for reading, Mulder."

Still confused, he shook his head. "I don't get it, you…Ohh!"

It took him a second to understand what she was implying. And when he did, a pleased and large smirk appeared on his face as he replaced the glasses.

"I'm all yours, Scully!" He cheerfully gave a step towards her, glancing at her lips and then back at her eyes.

Holding his gaze, Scully wrapped her arms around his neck with her eyebrows raised. "Hum…Good to have such an obedient patient…"

Mulder's arms encircled her waist and he brought her body closer to his, clearly enjoying that flirting. "Oh! Obedient?! So, you mean…"

"No, no handcuffs." She was quick to say. "From what I can see, you're still recovering from your back issue and I don't intend to do anything that can aggravate it. Much on the contrary. I plan to have you lying on your back…"

A smug grin formed on his face as he heard that. "Ah, Scully…"

"I still remember what it was like to-"

Mulder didn't wait for her to finish her sentence. With a quick movement, he captured her lips in a long, intense kiss that went straight to her core and made her limp in his arms. Relishing the feeling of her soft lips, he deepened that caress, mouths open and hearts racing as none of them seemed to get enough of each other. Only when air became an issue, did they part, with Scully panting and trying to recover her senses while he loosened the tight grip around her waist.

"So should I wait here until you choose the goodies to initiate the treatment, doc?" He spoke against her lips, aware of the effect his kiss had on her.

"What?" She managed to speak, not clearly focused and still trying to regain her balance by grabbing his t-shirt.

He was delighted to see that reaction. "The wine…You suggested it, remember?" Came his soft reply, as he captured her lower lip and kissed it quicker than what she would've liked, receiving a low moan in reply.

Then he pulled away, watching as she gathered her thoughts again.

"Oh…I'll…I'll go get it…" She nodded, still holding his shoulders for support.

"Okay…I'll wait for you right here!" He said, planting a chaste and teasing kiss in the corner of her lips. "Unless you're having difficulties to walk up to the kitchen…"

Scully let out a soft sigh, still reaching for some air and aware of his seductive techniques. "You're gonna pay for that…"

That statement caused him to grin back at her, and he gave her a playful wink. "My pleasure, Scully! I'm a gentleman, I always pay!"

Scully finally disentangled from his arms and her look back at him was a mix of a threat, a promise and of her endless love.

Watching through transition lenses as she headed to the kitchen and took two glasses and a wine bottle, he marvelled at the fact that even after so many years their love was capable of going up in flames at the same time it could hold such a great amount of tenderness.

Then, she walked back towards him with a smile, her mind seeming to be working on a plan.

"Upstairs, Mulder. Now."

"Yes, ma'am!"

The end.