TITLE: It All Started With a Rubber Glove AUTHOR: DM and Dana Perrin FEEDBACK: Loved and cared for at unruhe1121@hotmail.com or the_ice_queen777@hotmail.com DISTRIBUTION: Please ask first! RATING: PG CLASSIFICATION: SHR KEY WORDS: Mulder/Scully Romance SUMMARY: Post- Existence. An evening spent with the Mulder family. Fluff, fluff, fluff...that's all you'll find here! DISCLAIMER: Not ours, believe us... we tried. CC's a stingy, stingy man. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* "Crap." Scully looked over, spotting Mulder leaning over the playpen with a contemplative look on his face. "What? What's the matter?" A concerned tone took over her voice. "No...crap." Mulder pointed at William, holding his nose in emphasis as William gurgled. Scully tried to contain her laughter. "Diapers are over there, Mulder," She said, pointing to the changing table in the corner. "Sculleeee." Mulder made a face, then with a sigh, picked up his squirming son who was now starting to fuss. Holding him at arms length, he made his way across the room. "Packing any latex Scully?" Mulder asked, looking hopeful, and laying William on the changing table. "Sorry Mulder, I'm fresh out. You used my last pair this morning." She laughed as Mulder groaned, staring at the tiny giggling mass in front of him and sticking his tongue out. "Ah-hah!" Mulder's little light bulb lit up, as he grabbed Scully's hand and pulled her towards the table. "Stay here for a second, I'll be right back." Scully watched, puzzled, as Mulder made his way into the kitchen. Cabinets opened and closed, utensils slammed, and finally Mulder re- appeared wearing bright yellow dish gloves and a towel tied around his nose and mouth. "Bring it on, Scully." Scully's eyes widened as she just stood there, watching her partner. "Mulder, are those my new dish gloves?" "Uhh...." "That's what I thought. Give `em back." "There's no way, Scully." "Mulder..." "Nope." "Fine then." Scully turned and headed for the bedroom with out saying another word. The door slowly shut behind her. A little suspicious, Mulder called to her, "Scully?" No answer. Mulder called to her again, and when she didn't answer he heaved a sigh of defeat and took off the gloves and towel. "Okay Scully, you win! I'm going in with the bare essentials!" Clasping William's tiny feet in his hands, he gave them a quick tickle and un-did the tape on the sides of the diaper. Reaching over, he got out a few fresh smelling wipes from the container and smiled at the baby, whispering... "Armed and ready, Kid..." Mulder removed the diaper and cringed. "Screamin' yellow mustard, Scully!" Still hearing no reply, he wiped William down and stuck the soiled wipes in the diaper with the same fate. Grabbing a fresh one, Mulder once again grabbed his feet and slid the back under him. "Nono...no don't do that!" A small stream of yellow shot over Mulder's shoulder as he protested, trying frantically to find the dish towel as William left a nice amount of moisture down the front of his shirt. By the time Mulder realized he could just finish putting on the diaper, William had already finished and was gurgling contentedly once again. Mulder sighed, taking out yet another fresh diaper and quickly strapping it on his son. "That was low Will, very low." Mulder picked up the infant, cradling him to his playpen and layed him back down. He looked down upon the beautiful baby and smiled, even though he now owned a wet, stained Knicks t-shirt. Walking across the living room, to the bedroom, he opened the door to find Scully on the bed turned away from him. "Don't worry, Scully... I saved your new dish gloves. Can't say the same for my shirt, though." She kept her head turned, looking out the window. "That's nice, Mulder." "Kid's got good aim." "Uh huh." "Hey, Scully?" "Yes?" "What's wrong?" "Nothing, Mulder. Why do you ask?" "You seem kinda quiet." "Do I?" She turned to look at him, lips threatening to break into a full-fledged smile. "You're scaring me, Scully." "Good. You should be scared. How many times have I asked you not to use my dish gloves?" "Uhhh..." "Exactly." "Awww, Scully, the kid dropped a bomb. What else was I supposed to do?" "Just be careful, Mulder... Be very, very careful." "Is that a threat?" He was nervous, but strangely amused at the same time. "Just a friendly warning," she smiled. Rising from the bed she walked out to the living room and leaned over the playpen to retrieve William. "Hey there, little guy... are you hungry? Yes you are, aren't you?" She picked him up and cradled him to her chest. "Oh, you're getting so big. Yes you are." Scully chuckled and affectionately kissed her son on his chubby, little cheek before walking to the sofa. Waiting until she was settled, Mulder made his way over to sit next to her. "You didn't dip my toothbrush in the toilet again, did you?" Scully snorted. "You asked for that, Mulder... Sides, I already said I was sorry... even felt bad about it, remember?" "Yea but you didn't tell me about it until after I had used it for a week." Scully smirked "But then I was sorry." "Alright, alright." Mulder sighed and looked away as Scully unbuttoned her blouse. "Eaaaaasy little fella..." Mulder laughed and turned back to her, running a hand over the light sprinkle of hair on William's head as he ate. "So..." began Mulder, slightly wary of Scully's sudden mood change. "... want to tell me what's bothering you?" She wouldn't attack him with the baby in her arms...right? "I'm fine, Mulder." Mulder stared at her, feeling hurt at her icy reply as he had in every other instance she uttered the same phrase. He stopped rubbing William's head and ran a frustrated hand through his own hair, getting up and walking across the living room to stare out the window. Scully suddenly spoke up "It's amazing, Mulder, that after all this time with William...I still don't know how to be an adequate Mother..." "Scully..." Mulder tried to stop her. "Wait, Mulder. Let me finish." He complied and subconsciously worried the gold ring on his left hand. "I can't pinpoint any obvious errors, but I just don't feel worthy being responsible for this little life." She stroked William's cheek as she spoke. "I feel like I'm going to mess up and one day he'll hate because I didn't..." "Because you didn't... what?" "I don't know, Mulder. Spend enough time with him, read him enough bed time stories... breast feed him long enough... everything." "Scully?" "Yeah?" "Let me ask you just one question." "Okay..." "Do you love him?" Almost speechless she replied, "Of course I do." "Then that's all he needs. That's all that matters." Scully nodded, smiling slightly and looking down at her precious baby. William had drifted to sleep, still feeding every few seconds. Mulder got off the couch, dropping a kiss on Scully's head and taking the tiny bundle in his arms. As Scully laid back against the couch and buttoned her shirt, she watched Mulder's interaction with their son and envied the beautiful sight. Mulder stood swaying back and forth, whispering to the sleeping infant in front of his bassinet. Curious, she rose from the couch and walked over to where they were standing, placing her head on Mulder's arm and tracing the bridge of William's nose. Mulder stopped his whispering and lay the child down among the soft receiving blankets and teddy bears. "Why did you stop?" "Stop what?" asked Mulder. "Your whispering...what were you saying?" Mulder smiled "I was telling William what a wonderful mother he had, and how lucky he was..." Scully felt the tears welling up and blinked them back instinctively, giving off a glowing smile that even the darkest night couldn't hide. "Thanks Mulder..." Mulder smiled back and turned toward William, putting his arm around Scully as they stared at their quiet miracle. "Well...I also told him that if he hadn't stopped breast-feeding by High School we'd have to have a little talk..." "Mulder!" ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Scully rested her head on her pillow and closed her eyes as she listened to Mulder getting ready for bed. She heard him turn the faucet off and then the flick of the light switch. Moments later she felt him slide into bed beside her, wrapping his arms around her waist. Nuzzling her neck, he whispered, "Tired, Scully?" "Mmm hmm." "You sure?" He made a trail of kisses to her throat, up her chin... "Did you brush your teeth, Mulder?" "Of course," he pulled back slightly, trying to kiss her mouth. "Night, Mulder." "Scully?" Silence. "Scully!!!!" End. If you liked it, please let us know!! Feedback is a wonderful thing, after all...