Title: Saturday In September
Author: M. H. Greathouse 
Rated: PG
Category: MSR; babyfic; fluff
Spoilers: "Existence" and a small one for "Home"
Summary: Mulder spends a day out with his family
Distribution/Archiving: I'll send to Gossamer and Ephemeral. Yes to anyone
who's archived something of mine before. If you haven't and you want it,
please ask first
Disclaimer: All things XF belong to CC, 1013, FOX, and lots of other people
who aren't me. This story belongs to me.

Some timeline issues: Since the 1013 timeline is sketchy at best, this is my
version...we're to believe that "Requiem" took place in May, so "Existence"
took place in late-March, this takes place in late September.

Author's Notes: Part of this story came about way back in May when jeri was
visiting me. I let it stew long enough that it turned into this whole...thing.
I hope someone out there enjoys it. And lastly, special thanks to Maeve for
being a fountain of help and suggestions while I was writing, and Amanda for
taking a last look at it and helping me with a title.

~X~

As I wake, I slowly come to the realization that I'm alone. I crane my neck
to see the clock and roll over, hoping for at least another hour of rest.
It's Saturday, so I can spend the day relaxing at home. Through the door I
hear Will chattering happily, with Scully answering in his brief pauses.
Their muted conversation relaxes me until I'm lightly dozing.

Scully's hushed "Let's get daddy up!" doesn't fully register before I feel
the slight weight of my son on my back as he lightly drools on my shoulder.
After managing to carefully pull Will off my back I roll over and settle him
on my chest. Scully is sitting at the foot of the bed, dressed in khakis and
a white t-shirt, grinning.

"Enjoying yourself?"

"Time to get up!"

"Scully, it's Saturday." I'm whining. I know I'm whining. It doesn't stop
me.

"It is Saturday. You're right. But it's a beautiful day, and I have some
things I need to do."

"So you go do whatever things you had in mind, and we men will stay here and
do...manly things."

She's laughing at me. The woman I love more than anything - with the
possible exception of our son, snoring quietly against my chest - is
laughing at me and not even trying to hide it. She crawls slowly closer to
me, her laughter subsiding. "Mulder, what 'manly things' do you think our
7-month-old is capable of?" She kisses Will's little fist then lays her head
on my shoulder.

"Football."

"Hmm?"

"College football. I'm pretty sure he'd love to watch a couple games with
his old man."

"You're coming along." She lifts her head enough to whisper against my ear.
"If you're a good boy maybe you'll get a surprise tonight."

I don't even get a chance to answer before she grabs Will and rolls off the
bed. "Fifteen minutes," she tosses over her shoulder as they leave the room.

~X~

I was ready in ten minutes. I move very quickly when I'm properly motivated.

After taking Will to the park for about an hour, we're at the mall. Will
grows out of his clothes faster than we can buy more, so I've let Scully
drag me into Gymboree. We've already hit Baby Gap and Children's Place. At
this point I'm just trying not to notice all the crying children. Will is a
great baby - the only times he's cried all day has been when he was hungry
or needed to be changed. But I can't say that for most of the other kids
we've seen today.

There's an FAO Schwarz at the end of this wing that I'm dying to go in. I've
been the dutiful father all day, so maybe Scully will let me play after this
store.

"Fox!!"

"What?"

"I've been trying to get your attention for 5 minutes. I'm going to pay for
what I've got here, then get a few things for me. Do you want to take Will
for a little bit?"

I can honestly feel my eyes light up. "Sure. I'll take him to FAO Schwarz,
maybe get him a few toys."

"Just what he needs." She rolls her eyes, smiling. "I'll only be a few
minutes."

"Take your time. Don't worry about us." I take the stroller handles, leaning
over to give her a brief kiss before walking toward the massive toy store.

Once in the store I pick the baby up. William's mouth forms a tiny 'O' as he
reaches out to touch a giant silver teddy bear. His chubby hands grasp at
the soft plush ears. I follow with my own hand. It really is soft.

"You like this one, huh?" He smiles at me before returning his attention to
the bear. "He's bigger than you are." I fumble around the bear's neck to
look at the tag. 'Millennium Snuffles,' commemorating New Years 2000. I
smile. Maybe I can talk Scully into this one after all. "I'll see what I can
do, pal." He's been babbling almost non-stop to the bear since he first saw
him.

I start to carry him toward the book section, but he looks up at me, green
eyes big as saucers, lower lip trembling, and refusing to let go of the
bear. I know I said earlier that William is a great baby. But like all
babies he occasionally has a small tantrum. I can tell that this will be one
of them, so I pick up Snuffles and take him with us to the books.

A few books are already sitting on the table. Seeing a few others on nearby
shelves that I want to take a look at, I pick them up and sit on the carpet,
William on my lap still clutching Snuffles' arm. I open a copy of "The
Velveteen Rabbit" and read softly to him. Will is enthralled by the
pictures. After a few minutes I see his eyes start to droop.

Before he falls to sleep completely I hear Scully's soft "Hey," as she sits
down beside me.

Will turns his sleepy eyes toward her, a quiet smile on his lips as she
pulls him off my lap. "What's up, big man?" She speaks so softly to him as
he buries his face in her neck. She turns soft eyes toward me as she speaks
again. "Mulder, why do you have a giant silver bear and a small library of
children's books?" She keeps her voice gentle, soothing, hoping that naptime
will come a little early.

"The bear was Will's idea. He saw it and was hooked. The books? I thought we
should get him a few classics."

"'Where The Wild Things Are'?"

"Yes. You're not trying to say it's not a classic?"

"No, I'm trying to say it will give him nightmares."

"Come on, Scully. It was one of my favorites when I was little." I give her
my best puppy-dog face. She barely manages to hold in a snort of laughter.

"What else do you have?" She pulls the stack of books toward her, all the
while skillfully keeping William perfectly still as he begins to doze.

She sorts through the titles I so carefully chose, a small grin playing on
her lips. "Mulder, how do you go from 'Goodnight Moon' to 'Where The Wild
Things Are'?" I shrug non-committally, my fingers brushing over William's
little fist. As I lean over to give Scully a soft kiss Will lets out a small
whimper, turning glassy eyes first toward my face, then hers.

"I had a feeling." She smiles at me as she stands. "Don't go totally crazy
in here. I'm going to go feed him." She drops a chaste kiss on the top of my
head as she rushes out, looking for somewhere private so she can nurse.

I sift through the books beside me before picking up all six titles and
carrying them to the register. It isn't until after I've handed my credit
card to the woman at the counter that I decide to get the bear. I ask her to
wait and run to grab the plush animal.

"That makes your total $251.22." I manage not to cringe at the total. Scully
will kill me for spending that much on toys, but I'm a sucker. I'll do
anything to see my son smile.

I take the bag of books, tuck Snuffles under my arm, and make my way out of
the store before I do any more damage to my Visa bill.

I know there's a restroom nearby and figure that's probably where Scully
went to feed William. I think my best bet is to try not to look too lost
while I wait for her. I notice a VoiceStream kiosk a few stores down. It
happens to be right in front of the hall leading to the restrooms, so I'll
be able to see Scully when she comes back out.

I walk casually over. The service representative is helping another
customer, so I'm free to look without being hounded to buy the service.

I have to admit: I've felt lost the last several months without my cell
phone. Scully once told me I couldn't go two minutes without my phone before
lapsing into catatonic schizophrenia. She was teasing at the time, but I
really REALLY need my phone.

I'm working out a way to rationalize this need to Scully when I hear a quick
"Can I help you, sir?" I look up to see the service rep - 'Ryan' his nametag
tells me - standing in front of me. He's a big guy. Not really tall, not
really fat. Just broad. His cheeks are bright red, as though he just ran a
marathon, but I get the feeling it's a permanent look for him. I've been
skimming the description of the service plans and look at him.

"I hope so. I'm interested in the 'Get More' plan. I have a new baby and
recently changed careers, and in the process lost my free cellular service."
I stop rambling long enough for him to pull a form off a pad, attach it to a
clipboard, and place it in front of me.

"I just need you to fill out this application and I can get you set up. Is
there a particular phone you're interested in?"

"Nokia 6190," I say a little too quickly. He doesn't show any reaction as he
get the phone from behind the counter and puts it in front of me. I've
finished the application and hand the clipboard back to him when I look up
and see Scully and William emerge from the opposite hallway.

She eyes the kiosk warily, then sees the bear sitting in the stroller next
to me. As I take William from her she raises her eyebrow in silent question.
I give her a sheepish grin and turn my attention to William. He's wide awake
now, and babbling happily as he pulls the end of my sleeve into his mouth.

"I'm impressed. You went close to 9 months without a cell."

"I know it's not an immediate need, but with me teaching at George
Washington I'd feel better if I knew you could get in touch with me at any
time."

"I know. It makes sense. I'll be going back to work in a couple weeks. It's
going to make a lot of things easier." She kisses first my cheek, then
William's as Ryan comes back over to us.

"Mr. Mulder, your new phone number will be 703-555-2318. You have free
CallerID, Call Forwarding, Paging, and Call Waiting. Your service plan also
includes 600 minutes that can be used anytime." He picks up the phone. "The
battery on the phone will last up to 270 hours on standby, or up to 5 hours
talking. It also - " he stops as Scully's laughter becomes noticeable.

She hides behind her hands, embarrassed. "I'm sorry. It's just...if you knew
how many of these phones he's been through in the past few years. He
probably knows more about them than Nokia does."

Ryan smiles. "Well then I guess I can skip the rest of the speech about how
to turn the phone on, get a new faceplate installed, and the rest of the
boring details. The phone should be charged for about 24 hours before you
use it for the first time." He puts the phone in a bag and hands it to me
then fishes a business card out of his pocket. "If you have any questions,
or want to change your service plan in any way don't hesitate to call."

I reach out to shake his hand and William grabs the young man's tie. I
gently wrestle it from his fingers before he can put it in his mouth and
smile an apology.

"Have a good evening, sir." He lightly squeezes Will's hand before I pick
him up and help Scully try to rearrange the stroller so that he'll fit.
After just a few minutes we both give up. Scully takes the baby and I push
the laden stroller toward the parking garage.

Once we get to the car it's another 10 minutes while I unpack all the bags
and arrange them in the trunk, then collapse the stroller and lay it to the
side of the bags.

I collapse behind the wheel and look in the rearview mirror at Scully,
seated next to William. "Any other stops today?"

"Not unless you want to pick up dinner on the way home. I'm too tired to
cook."

"Chinese?"

"Italian."

~X~

It's 11:00. William is asleep. Actually, he's been asleep for close to 3
hours. He should be down until at least 5 am. He didn't get much of a nap
today, between the park and shopping, so hopefully he'll sleep in tomorrow.

I shouldn't say that. It sounds like I don't enjoy spending time with him.
That couldn't be further from the truth. But I also love mornings when he
sleeps late and Scully and I get some one-on-one time.

I just finished up the dishes while she changed into pajamas and put a movie
in the VCR. I pour a couple classes of tea and grab the bowl of popcorn,
sitting next to her on the couch just in time to see the opening credits of
'Operation Petticoat.'

"In a Cary Grant mood tonight?" I put a glass in front of her and the
popcorn between us. She snuggles into my side, smiling as she kisses my jaw
before returning her attention to the movie.

Her quiet breathing and warm body quickly lull me to sleep. When I open my
eyes again the apartment is dark except for the soft light coming from our
bedroom.

"Let's go to bed."

I let her pull me off the couch and lead me to the bed, where I strip down
to my boxers before climbing in beside Scully. She reaches across me chest
to make sure the baby monitor is on and a pull her hand to my lips.

"I was a good boy today. Where's my surprise?" I'm sure she can hear the
grin in my voice.

She smiles in the pale moonlight, shifting to lay flat on my chest. "You're
half-asleep. You'll get it in the morning."

"Okay." I tighten my grip around her waist as she nuzzles into my neck. I
feel myself drifting to sleep when I hear her sleepy voice again.

"I thought I told you not to go too crazy at FAO today?"

My hand idly strokes up and down her back as I answer. "It seemed like a
good opportunity to spoil him a little." I shift a little underneath her, so
that our faces are side-by-side on the pillow.

She presses a warm, lazy kiss against my neck. "I know. 'Night Mulder."

I continue to softly stroke her back until I feel myself drifting off for
the night. I manage a whispered "I love you" before the long day finally
catches up to me and I fall into contented slumber.

The End