Title: Every Step 3: More Than I Could Ask For II Summary: Scully thinks about the last six years of her life. About herself, Mulder and Hannah, and their very unconventional family. Notes: You will probably need to read the rest of the series to understand this. But fear not, this is only the third story so just read: Every Step 1: Just You and Every Step 2: More Than I Could Ask For II Scully-Mulder Residence "What did I do to deserve him?" I ask myself as I stand there in his doorway late that night. I still can't believe how good he's been to me, us, through everything that's happened. Most men would have run a mile, when they were told that their best friend was expecting someone else's child, and I half expected Mulder to. I knew that he'd support me professionally, by letting me have time off work, and being a bit lenient when it came to getting field notes and Autopsy reports in on time (like he wasn't already!). I even dared to think that he might help me unprofessionally to a certain extent, by babysitting occasionally or something, just to help me out. But I could not, and would not have expected him to be as wonderful as he has been. I was surprised when he didn't get angry when I told him about what happened between Agent Pendrell and me. I wouldn't have blamed him if he had. I guess that our relationship has always been based on a "If I can't have you, no-one can" theory. But he surprised me. He supported me, comforted me, was there to listen to me, and to help me decide what to do for the best. He was a true friend, and for that I will be eternally grateful to him. Although, I have always wondered how different things would have been if Agent Pendrell had still been alive, how Mulder would have taken the news. I am sure that it would have eventually ended something like this: my cool and (occasionally!) calm partner being kicked out of the bureau for beating the crap out of a fellow agent. But despite every thing, he's been amazing! He stuck by me during the pregnancy, was there for me at every turn. He was there to hold back my hair during the morning sickness, and to hand me a glass of water when my stomach calmed down. To force me to eat something when even the thought of food made me nauseous. He was there at the first scan, to hold my hand and to help me pick out the hands, nose, spine, feet and toes. I sometimes think he was more excited than I was! He was there with me when I told my family. He was there to squeeze my hand reassuringly as we stood on my mothers' doorstep. He was there to reach out and pull me back when I lost my nerve and wanted to leave. And to comfort my mother when she realized I would not be married to my Childs father, and that in fact, my child would not have a father at all. He was there to stick up for me against my brother to calm him down and to stop him from saying or doing something we'd both regret, to tell him it was a mistake, a stupid accident, and that he shouldn't blame me for what happened. Mulder was there to look out for me at work. There to help me explain to Skinner, and to convince him that I would still be able to do my job while bringing up a child. He was there to protect me in the line of duty. To make me admit that there were some situations I couldn't afford to put myself into, and to convince me to take time off when I really needed it. He was there to help me to decorate the nursery in my new Apartment. And, there to help me reach things on the top shelves in my kitchen cupboards when the bump was restricting my movement. He was there at the birth, to hold my hand and to stroke back my sweaty hair, and to comfort me when it got too hard and I didn't think I could do it anymore. There to say, "Come on Scully. Just one more push!" There to kiss my forehead when it was all over and to tell me how proud he was of me, and how beautiful our baby girl was. He was there to hold her in her very first minutes of life. To gaze down at her with a look of regret, that tore my heart in two, a look that said 'I wish you were mine'. He was there to have tears of sheer joy in his eyes when I said softly to her "Say hi to Daddy", one very small sentence, which held the biggest offer I've given anyone in my life. And then he was there to look up at me, as if to check I really meant it, and to accept. To become my little girls Daddy, and to accept all the responsibility that came with it. He was there to help me choose her name: Hannah Jane Scully. And then to be there at the christening as her father, to stand by me at church and to ignore his own religious beliefs and to take up mine, even if only for the day. He was there to support me when I first got her home, when he "temporarily" moved in to our apartment for "just a few months or so until she sleeps through the night," and after six years he's still here. He was there to help me put her back to sleep at all hours of the night, when she seemed to only be able to sleep for an hour or so at a time. He was there to pace the floor of the nursery with her cradled in his arms, humming gently to her until she drifted back off to sleep. He was there for her first Christmas, to sign her very first Christmas card 'lots of love Mommy and Daddy', and to spoil her rotten buying her mountains of unnecessary gifts. He must have spent literally hundreds of dollars on her. It was that Christmas that he brought her Samantha, the cabbage patch doll that she's carted around everywhere for the last six years. Mulder was there to take her to school on her first day at kindergarten, to kiss her goodbye and then to watch her walk up the steps. He was there to squeeze my hand as we watched her go, and to reassure me that she'd be OK. He was there to help me organise and throw birthday parties for her and 30 other screaming children at MacDonald's, and to spilt the cost with me! He's been there to go to nativity plays. To smile at her, and scoop her into his big, strong arms at the end, to kiss her cheek and to tell her that he was proud of her. And to reassure her that nobody noticed when she dropped baby Jesus on his head... twice! He's been there to take her to the Park, to push her on the swings and to catch her if she falls, to teach her to play baseball and basketball. To teach her to read and write, and so much more. He's been there during the night when she's had nightmares about big scary monsters. And for some reason, it's his room she runs to when she's afraid, not mine. And he's always there for her to run to, to hold out his warm arms and let her get in with him. To tuck her in and enfold her in his arms, to shield her from whatever evils this world could throw at her. And as I stand in his bedroom doorway tonight. Watching them lying curled up together fast asleep, exactly as I've just described. The only man in my life, My constant, My touchstone, My partner in everything and my baby girl, My sleeping beauty, I know. I know that this is how it's always going to be. The three of us, our unconventional yet perfect little family against the rest of the world. I know he's here to stay no matter what. I know that it doesn't matter what biology or conventional wisdom may tell me, or how many times my mother may inform me that "Marriage is the only state in which to raise a child." I know that they're wrong, because if not biologically or lawfully, in every other way he is her Daddy, and he loves us both, and I don't even need a declaration, let alone a ring and a slip of paper to tell me that he's with me, every step of the way. End Please tell me what you thought! Even if you thought it sucked!
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