It was a crisp Saturday morning, and Mulder's jog through the park had been uneventful—until he spotted a familiar figure ahead. The red hair was unmistakable, and as he drew closer, he realized it was Dr. Scully. Beside her, holding her hand, was a young girl of about five with curly ginger hair, chatting animatedly.

Mulder slowed to a stop directly in front of them, suddenly aware of the sweat on his brow and hoping he looked somewhat presentable. "Good morning, Dr. Scully," he said, catching his breath. "I didn't know you lived around here."

The girl spoke up before Scully could. "We live in Georgetown."

Scully smiled politely. "Good morning, Agent Mulder. Yes, we live in Georgetown."

Mulder crouched slightly to address the little girl. "And you are?"

"I'm Maddie Scully," she said proudly, gripping Scully's hand tighter.

"Hello, Maddie Scully from Georgetown," Mulder said, smiling warmly. "I'm Fox Mulder."

Maddie giggled. "That's a funny name."

"Well," Mulder replied, grinning, "my mom doesn't have as great taste in names as your mom does."

Maddie beamed. "My mommy is the best. Today she's taking me to that special place where I can devour the unborn and have pancakes!"

Mulder blinked, momentarily caught off guard, and looked at Scully, who appeared utterly mortified.

"Eggs," she corrected quickly, her cheeks flushing. "She means eggs. There's a lovely little diner nearby. They serve pancakes in the shapes of animals, and Maddie loves eggs. So, we're having eggs and pancakes this morning."

Mulder glanced back at Maddie, suppressing a grin. "That's certainly… an interesting way to describe your breakfast." Then, turning to Scully, he said, "It's a lovely little diner, indeed. They have really good food. I didn't know they opened that early."

"They don't," Scully replied, her composure returning. "That's why we're on our way to the playground to kill some time there."

Maddie tugged on Scully's hand and looked up at Mulder curiously. "Do you like pancakes?"

"I do," Mulder said, nodding. "Especially the kind shaped like dinosaurs."

Maddie tilted her head. "Eggs are baby chickens that weren't fertilized."

Mulder looked from Maddie to Scully and back again. "Maddie, how old are you?", his tone filled with amused disbelief.

"I'm almost five," she said proudly. "Fertilized means that Mr. Chicken gives his seed to Mrs. Chicken, and then a baby chicken grows in the egg."

Mulder coughed, trying to stifle a laugh. He looked at Scully, who had gone slightly red but was holding her composure.

Scully sighed. "Maddie, remember when I told you that everybody knows about that, but it's not a topic to bring up?"

Maddie nodded solemnly. "I remember."

"Good," Scully said gently. "Then let's change the topic, shall we?"

Mulder cast a glance at Scully, who looked flustered but determined.

Scully shook her head, exhaling. "I didn't want to tell her that babies are brought by the stork. I thought it was a good idea to give her the proper terms. I just didn't think she'd retain it all and share it."

Mulder, truly impressed and utterly amused, raised an eyebrow. "So Mr. and Mrs. Chicken are proper terms now?"

Scully rolled her eyes but couldn't stop the small smile creeping onto her face. "It seemed appropriate at the time."

Maddie giggled. "How do you know my mom, Mr. Fox?"

"We work together," Mulder explained.

"So, you find out how people died?" Maddie asked, her wide eyes filled with curiosity.

"I try," Mulder said, smiling.

"Do you use a scalpel and a big microscope for that?"

Mulder glanced at Scully, clearly amused. "I'm afraid I don't have that superpower, Maddie."

"My mommy works with a big microscope. I got a little one for Christmas," Maddie said enthusiastically. "It's fun! Mommy showed me how to look at cells I got from a cotton swab."

"Wow, Maddie, that sounds fascinating," Mulder said, genuinely impressed.

Scully gave Mulder a knowing look. "She's been on a science kick lately. Keeps me busy answering questions."

Mulder leaned in conspiratorially toward Maddie. "Well, I run after people who hurt others. That's why I'm jogging right now—so I can keep up."

Maddie's eyes lit up. "My mommy goes jogging too! I have a stroller that Mommy puts me in when she jogs. It's so much fun. She can go really fast!"

Scully checked her watch and gave Mulder a wry smile. "Wow, time flies when your toddler overshares. The diner opens in about 25 minutes. Time to get to that playground, Maddie."

Mulder straightened, smirking. "Enjoy your morning, ladies."

As he jogged off, Maddie turned to Scully, still smiling after him. "Mr. Fox is funny."

Scully shook her head, trying not to smile. "He certainly is."

Mulder had planned to finish his jog and head home, but instead, he found himself running a few extra laps around the park, sneaking glances toward the playground. Scully and Maddie were hard to miss—Maddie laughing as she climbed the jungle gym, and Scully keeping a watchful eye, her occasional smile softening her usually composed demeanor.

As they started leaving the playground, Mulder adjusted his route to intersect with theirs, pretending not to notice them until they almost bumped into him.

"Hey," Scully said, startled but amused. "You're all over the place this morning."

Mulder slowed to a stop, grinning. "Seems so. I have to be fit for the job." Then he crouched slightly to Maddie's level. "Did you have fun at the playground?"

"Yes!" Maddie beamed. "And now we're going to eat. My mommy takes me to a special place this morning", she told Mulder again.

Scully added, "We do little outings on weekends—nothing fancy, but I want us to have some quality moments, just me and her."

Mulder nodded in understanding, his grin softening as Maddie blurted out, "My mom is the best. That's why I'm not sad that I don't have a daddy."

Scully's smile faltered, and a flicker of embarrassment crossed her face. She cleared her throat quickly and turned to Mulder. "How about I cash in that rain check now? Care to join us for breakfast?"

Mulder's grin widened, clearly pleased. "I'd love to. I'm a fan of the unborn—especially scrambled."

Scully rolled her eyes but smirked. "No talking shop, though," she warned, glancing at Maddie.

Mulder nodded solemnly. "Understood. She'll… tell everybody about it. I get it." Then, after a beat, he added, "You know what? I live about one block from here. Let me go clean up, and I'll meet you in 15, maybe 20 minutes?"

He glanced at Scully, then at Maddie, as if waiting for their approval. Maddie tilted her head and said, "Make it a Navy shower. Quick soap and rinse. No excessive posing."

Mulder looked momentarily stunned, unsure how to respond. Scully groaned lightly. "Maddie, you don't have to repeat everything Grandma tells Uncle Charlie."

Maddie grabbed Scully's hand, tugging her along. "Come on, Mommy! We're gonna be late for pancakes!"

As Mulder jogged off toward his apartment, he couldn't help but feel a warmth in his chest he hadn't expected. This morning had taken an interesting turn, and he was more than okay with that.

Mulder stood in front of his closet, frowning at its contents. He had already gone through a full-blown clothing crisis, changing twice in an attempt to strike the right balance. Too casual? Too formal? After much deliberation, he finally landed on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeve shirt, figuring it was safe territory for breakfast with Scully and her daughter.

When he arrived at the diner, Maddie was already sipping enthusiastically on a glass of chocolate milk. Scully glanced up as Mulder approached their table, offering him a small, amused smile.

"I hope you ordered your pancakes already," Mulder said as he slid into the seat across from them.

Maddie shook her head. "We haven't. Mommy said we needed to be polite and wait for you. Can we order now?"

Mulder chuckled and leaned forward conspiratorially. "We have to," he said, feigning urgency. He turned slightly to flag down a waitress. "Let's not keep you waiting any longer."

Maddie beamed at him, clearly thrilled that breakfast was finally imminent, while Scully raised an eyebrow, her expression caught somewhere between amusement and exasperation.

As Maddie happily dug into her stack of animal-shaped pancakes, her focus entirely on the syrupy masterpiece before her, Scully and Mulder spoke in lowered tones across the table. Maddie, engrossed, paid little attention to the adults.

Scully stirred her coffee, glancing at Mulder. "Maddie does have a father," she began, her tone measured. "He's not… dead. He's just not in the picture."

Mulder shook his head lightly. "You don't have to explain yourself to me."

There was a brief pause before he continued, his voice soft. "When you had to leave the Academy the other day… it was because you had to pick Maddie up, wasn't it?"

Scully nodded, her gaze dropping to her coffee. "Yeah. I try to pick her up early as often as possible."

Mulder leaned back slightly, his tone thoughtful. "You could have told me."

Scully exhaled, her lips twitching in a faint, wry smile. "It's… complicated. It's difficult enough being a woman in the FBI. But being a single mother? That's a whole other level." She met his eyes, her honesty bare. "I wasn't sure how you were going to take it."

Mulder regarded her for a moment, his expression serious but kind. "Dr. Scully, if there's one thing I know, it's that you don't need to explain yourself to anyone—least of all to me."

Scully's eyes softened, and for a moment, the conversation hung between them.

The conversation between Mulder and Scully flowed easily, the two of them talking about work, odd cases, and mundane life details while Maddie remained absorbed in her pancakes. She seemed entirely focused on her meal, her fork moving with precise enthusiasm, but her ears clearly worked just fine.

When Mulder casually mentioned being born on Martha's Vineyard, Maddie suddenly looked up, her face alight with curiosity. "I was born in a hospital," she announced, her tone matter-of-fact.

Mulder chuckled. "Well, that's good. Hospitals are great places for babies to be born."

Maddie nodded sagely, her tone serious, as if she were imparting great wisdom. "Babies should always be born in a hospital in case something happens."

It dawned on Mulder what Maddie had understood. "Oh, no, I wasn't born in the vineyard," he explained quickly. "I was born in a hospital on the island whose name is Martha's Vineyard."

Maddie tilted her head, considering his clarification for a moment before announcing with equal gravitas, "I was a breech birth. That means my butt came out first."

Mulder blinked, his lips twitching with amusement. "Well, that sounds like an… interesting start to life."

Scully, sipping her coffee, gave Mulder a sidelong glance. "And a very painful one into motherhood."

Mulder grinned at her. "I'm really trying to be sympathetic, Dr. Scully, but I've got to admit—I have something of an outsider's perspective on that one."

Maddie, satisfied that she'd shared enough about her origins, returned her attention to her pancakes while Scully shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips.

As Maddie slowly chewed on another piece of her pancake, she suddenly looked up at Mulder with wide, curious eyes. "Mr. Fox, do you believe in God?"

Scully nearly choked on her coffee. "Maddie! That's a very personal question. You can't just ask someone that."

Maddie shrugged. "Okay. Do you believe there's a man in the sky who can do anything?"

Scully sighed, visibly mortified. "I'm so sorry," she said, glancing at Mulder.

Mulder raised a hand, smiling. "That's fine." He turned his attention to Maddie, leaning forward conspiratorially. "I believe there are men who live in the sky. Like E.T."

Maddie's face lit up. "I love E.T.! His finger lights up!"

Mulder grinned. "That's right. So, I figure if there are guys like him out there, maybe anything's possible."

Maddie nodded solemnly, clearly satisfied with his answer, and went back to her pancakes.

Scully shook her head, murmuring under her breath, "You're encouraging her."

Mulder smirked. "Hey, she asked."

Maddie, after a moment of thought, looked up again. "But do you believe that one of those men is God?"

Mulder paused, considering the question. "I don't know."

Maddie nodded with an air of understanding. "That's cool."

After breakfast, they stood up to leave the diner, and Maddie tugged on Scully's hand, ready to move on to their next adventure.

Scully turned to Mulder, offering a small smile. "You're really patient answering all those questions."

Mulder chuckled, adjusting his jacket. "I'm soaked, though, as if J. Edgar himself had grilled me."

Scully raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. "It's just a phase, I hope."

Mulder grinned. "Maybe. Kids are unpredictable."

They exchanged a look, and as Scully turned to lead Maddie out, Mulder couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth linger from the unexpected but pleasant morning.