Title: The Christmas Miracle
Author: KS
Rating: PG-13

Summary: Post-IWTB. It is Christmas 2008 and now that Mulder has been exonerated, he and Scully get more than they bargained for this holiday season. This takes place in the same universe as my other Post-IWTB stories where M&S have another child, though this has a standalone storyline.

Author's Note: I've been working on this since July, but had a goal to finish and post this by November. The little boy who played Christian in the movie is supposedly 12 at the time of this movie, but I'm making him 7 for story's sake. Mostly, due to the mention of Mulder asking how old this boy was in IWTB alluding to the fact that he thinks he must be around the same age as their son.

Special thanks to Vered Friedman for the amazing cover photo and Suzanne Feld for taking the time to BETA this story. I have amazing Phile friends!

Scully battled a mixture of emotions the last few weeks after Mulder's recent exoneration. While she was happy they no longer had to keep his whereabouts on the DL, she was terrified that she would once again lose him to his quest. Though, she had accepted that was a part of who he was, it was what made him Mulder, her Mulder. On top of that mixture of emotions, was the fact that just a month ago she had discovered two little pink lines on a pregnancy test just after she had the argument with Mulder and told him she wouldn't be coming home.

As the events replayed in her mind, she could recall the panic and fear she experienced during her last pregnancy when she had realized Mulder was gone. She tried to reach him to give him the news and had hoped it wasn't too late. She knew she had hurt him at the suggestion she wouldn't be coming home. It had all been the hormones. She was normally a very rational person, which allowed her to be a phenomenal doctor, scientist and FBI agent. When the opportunity for Mulder to be a free man presented itself, she jumped at it. Yet, at the same time, despite knowing Mulder never gave up what he started, she became fearful she would lose him once again. Of course he was confused and angry; she had been the one to convince him to help the FBI with the case.

When he wouldn't answer the phone or return her calls within that 48 hours, she was terrified. He had taken her car too, even though he didn't even have a valid driver's license, which only added to her list of worries at the time.

She closed her eyes and shrugged off the memory as she pulled up to the front gate, only to discover it open and unlocked. Normally, this would have sent her into a panic as old habits died hard. But since his exoneration, there wasn't really the extra need, though they valued the privacy. It was also a frequent gesture since finding out about her pregnancy. It wasn't that heavy, but it was a pain to unlock and push each day, so she was glad to have one less thing to worry about after the long exhausting day.

She made the long roundabout along the gravel to the front of their home. She smiled when she noted the Christmas lights that now decorated the exterior of their house. Normally, they would never do anything special during the holidays, as it was too painful of a reminder about all that was lost. But the last few weeks had brought them hope and Mulder had insisted it would brighten things up, literally.

Scully normally would insist on helping with this task as she hated gender expectations and stereotypes, but she knew Mulder wouldn't take any chance that she might get hurt. He must have just gotten to it today and she had to admit it did bring some light into their lives; they needed it after all these years hiding in the darkness.

She quickly parked the car before hurrying inside. The house seemed quiet at first as she removed her coat and hung it up on the coat hanger. As she was setting her keys and briefcase down, she looked up as she heard familiar footsteps approach. "Hey, Doc."

"Mulder. All charges against you have been dropped and you're still homebodied."

He shrugged. "Well, what can I say, old habits die hard. Is that all you have to say to me, Scully?"

He walked towards her and took her free hand in his own. "Besides, we know how much you enjoy keeping a close watch on me."

She sighed and looked down, unsure of how to take that comment. "Nice decor outside."

He shrugged. "Thanks for noticing. I'm glad you like my handiwork, Scully. Truth is, it's the first time I've ever hung Christmas lights."

She crossed her arms and raised a skeptical brow. "Well, I should be surprised, but I'm not considering you had that bachelor pad for so many years. While I didn't particularly mind...it's nice to have fresh food in the fridge and a clean house to come home to."

"Oh admit you enjoyed feeding my fish and warming my sheets in my absences." He kicked himself as he noticed her breath catch momentarily as her thoughts had shifted towards his death. He decided to change the subject. "So, how was work today?"

She looked back up at him and sighed. "Well, Christian's most recent surgery went very well, so much better than expected that we're continuing his treatment. Though he'll likely have to go through a few more. I think he should be able to make a full recovery with this treatment."

He managed a smile. "Good. That's my Scully. You prove those people wrong."

"Though Father Ybarra isn't thrilled, which has more to do with his pride than the patient."

"Well, pissing people off isn't just FBI territory, huh?"

He looked down and she noticed a smirk on his face. "What is it?" He rewarded her with chuckle. Completely unaware of where he was looking she continued. "Mulder? What's so damned funny? This is serious."

Finally, she followed his gaze to the culprit of his laughter. The button of her high waisted slacks had popped open, the bulge of her abdomen having apparently won the battle against the hem of her pants. Her cheeks reddened suddenly in embarrassment and she pushed past Mulder and rushed to their bedroom. When did that happen? She only hoped no one else at the hospital took notice. Even though she was beginning to show at four months, it wasn't too obvious just yet. She untucked her blouse and removed her shoes.

As she began to remove her pants, she nearly jumped at Mulder who had slipped his arms around her waist. "Jesus, Mulder."

"I'm sorry, it was just too funny to resist." Mulder had never been around for most of her first pregnancy, so he enjoyed her little quirks, cravings and bodily changes. Just the thought that they were getting the chance to have another baby together made him smile. The thought that it was his baby causing these changes in her body and just the sight of her ripe with his child stirred his virility. That along with her long strawberry blonde hair, added a softness to her glow that made her even more beautiful to him, if that was even possible. "And here I thought you ditched the nonfat ice cream."

She sighed. She had wanted to hold off on maternity clothes for as long as possible, but it looked like she was going to have to give in. She had donated the ones she had from before due to the pain associated with anything that reminded her of William. That and the fact that she had thought that there was no chance they would have another child, especially now at her age. A second miracle.

She sighed. "It's okay, Mulder. It's probably my fault for insisting on high waist pants." She placed her hand over his momentarily before pulling away to continue getting dressed. "Is it too much to hope that there's dinner in that kitchen?"

He smiled as he reached to tuck a lock of Scully's long hair behind her ear. "Um, oh...I don't suppose you'd be in the mood for some ramen noodles."

She sighed. "Well, I'm sure the baby wouldn't mind as my appetite or choice in food no longer seems to belong to me "

He smiled. "I'm kidding, Scully. Actually, I did go out today. I decided to invest in a crock pot since I'm not the world's best chef. But I figured if anyone could put some food into a crock pot and turn it on, there's hope for me yet."

She smiled up at him. "Well, don't keep me waiting, otherwise the baby will be your undoing. What is it?"

"It's a surprise. Hurry and change, and I'll show you."

He left the room and she quickly opted for her lounge clothes, which thankfully were a bit large on her to accommodate her slowly increasing girth. It had been a long day and her swollen feet were beginning to show signs of her advancing condition. She padded out into the hallway, where he met her by sliding his arm around the small of her back and guiding her towards the kitchen. With her shoes off, the height difference between them was more remarkable.

Her stomach started to growl and she couldn't admit that she was anxious for whatever he had in mind.

He removed the steaming lid and the smell of the warm food filled her nostrils. To her surprise and Mulder's benefit, it smelled amazing. "Beef stew, Mulder?"

He smiled at her. "Uh huh, I figured a salad wasn't going to do it for you too much anymore."

She smiled, placing her hand on the swell of her stomach. "Well, I'm impressed. Where did you find out how to make this?"

"I just Googled crock pot recipes, Scully. Thank God for modern convenience, otherwise I would have had to grab some cook books on my run out."

She smiled. "The internet can't be good for you, Mulder."

"Well, I'm sure my cooking skills tonight will have you eating your words along with dinner." He quickly set the small table and scooped them each a heaping portion into two bowls.

While she waited, she noted there were red stockings hung by their fireplace, not two and not three, but four of them. Two large ones and two little ones. Her voice caught in her throat and tears welled in her eyes. The larger two had their names, and one of the smaller ones was the stocking she got for Will's first Christmas before she had given him up for adoption. The 2nd little one was blank.

They didn't know what the gender of their baby was yet, but she would be able to find out within the next two to three weeks. It occurred to her then that she and Mulder hadn't talked about names just yet. She had only known she was pregnant for about a month, so it was still all surreal to her.

Unbeknownst to her, Mulder was now at her side, telling her dinner was ready. He then caught her gaze and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Um, I hope it's okay, but I didn't feel right not including Will's stocking."

Not looking at Mulder she nodded, her throat right with unshed tears and she clasped his hand without turning around. She took a deep breath. "I know," she whispered.

Mulder knew what was unspoken between them. Though they had mostly come to terms with the adoption at this point, Scully cried every year on Will's birthday and she still saw him in the young patient she was treating, Christian. They both could only hope that one day they would be united somehow. Mulder, though he missed his son, didn't quite have the same connection to him as Scully.

He knew that a lot of that simply had to do with her being his mother, having carried him for nine months and having bonded with him in the time Mulder was gone. He only briefly knew Will, but he still shared the pain at the thought of a child of his being out there somewhere. A child he shared with his beloved Scully. Like the one she carried inside of her that he had been blessed with another chance to get to know.

They mostly ate dinner in silence with the exception of Scully pausing to compliment Mulder on his cooking. He did feel slightly hurt that she would think he wasn't capable of more than making Mac and cheese or ramen on the stove top, but he was getting over it.

Once they were finished, he noticed Scully's eyes we struggling to stay open. She'd had another long day at the hospital and the pregnancy seemed to be adding to her fatigue. He quickly took their bowls and utensils and rinsed them to wash later. "Come on, Scully, let's lay down."

She wanted to protest, but her fatigue had her giving in quickly. She allowed him to clean and lock up while she washed and brushed her teeth. Sinking against the soft mattress and covers was a welcome delight. So much so that when Mulder returned to their bedroom, she was out like a light.

He smiled at the sight of her before slipping in to the bed. He debated whether or not he should suggest they go look for trees together or whether he should surprise her with one. With her work hours lately, he decided it would be best to surprise her with one. God knows there were plenty of tree farms in rural Virginia. He wouldn't have to go far. He draped a protective arm around her and pulled her close to him. She muttered a sigh of content before she relaxed against him, thankfully not roused from her slumber.

Usually they agreed not to exchange gifts, but he was growing tired of it. He wanted to do something special for her. There was also the third bedroom in which would be their baby's nursery and he had decided weeks ago that it would be his project. One which Scully would need to wait to be surprised on.

Scully had said they could find out the sex of their baby as early as two weeks, if that was what he preferred. He'd agreed to that; he wanted to make everything perfect for her this time. Plus it would help him decorate the nursery even though Scully had no problem keeping things gender neutral. He yawned and hadn't realized how tired he had grown thinking about everything. He quickly reached over to turn off the side lamp and snuggled closer to his wife and partner, still thinking.

About three weeks ago, he and Scully had eloped while they were in Fiji for nearly two weeks just after Christian's first intensive surgery. It was very simple and spur of the moment and while he had gotten her a ring, she didn't wear it all that much at work. Most often, she wore it on a loose chain with her cross necklace. It didn't change anything, but the knowledge that Scully was legally his every way brought a smile to his face. There would be no name changes, no announcements and no fussing. They belonged to each other for a long time and there was no need for official announcements and hubbub.

Outside, the wind was beginning to pick up and Mulder could hear the trees tapping on the roof of their house. There was supposed to be a small storm that night which was going to increase throughout the week as Christmas drew near. Mulder had eventually tired himself out with his thoughts and slipped into a deep slumber while listening to the small raps on the rooftop.

The next day, Scully had been going over Christian's charts along with a few other patients in her care. In the four weeks since Christian's life altering treatment, there had been phenomenal improvement in his speech and motor skills. He would still require a few more procedures before full recovery, but she and his parents, along with the other hospital staff and board of directors were thrilled with his progress. He would be able to go home in no time.

This morning's commute to work had been a long and difficult one, more so than usual. The weather was becoming more temperamental as winter went on and it made her long to go back to Fiji, or hell, even Hawaii or Florida would suffice at this point. Mulder had been worried about her making the drive through the light snow storm in the wee morning hours. It was silly since they had lived in this climate for some time, but it bothered him even more now that there was more to lose. Thankfully, they didn't have to do much digging to get the car out after last night's snow storm. However, it was going to increase with intensity as the week progressed, which she knew made Mulder nervous when they watched the forecast that morning. Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden flutter in the pit of her stomach.

The movement startled her and instinctively her palm moved to the area on her lower abdomen. She felt tears well in her eyes. It was a sensation she had only experienced once before several years ago. She rubbed gently at the spot, thankful she was alone in her office at the time. She was coming close to her 17th week and she knew it was common to begin feeling movements during this time, but she had been so overwhelmed by her work at the hospital, the holidays and their vacation that it had nearly slipped her mind. She was thankful for the momentary distraction as she was beginning to feel overwhelmed prior to meeting with Christian's parents to discuss his next procedure.

Though everything seemed to be going well, she didn't relish the thought of telling these young parents that their son would likely have to endure more treatments. Her thoughts were again on William and how her patient, Christian Fearon, resembled him so much...or what she imagined he would look like at seven years old.

William's adoption was the only thing that kept them from being a completed family and she often wondered if William had any other siblings with his adoptive family. Scully often thought of this baby as a girl and she knew Mulder entertained that idea quite well also. He imagined William would have a little sister to pick on, yet be protective of like he did. She only hoped that someday they would know each other.

She sighed as she gently caressed the small bump that was becoming more noticeable under her scrubs and lab coat. For the last several weeks, Scully had worried more and more about her baby. She was almost 43 years old and she had had several complications with William that made her afraid with this pregnancy. She did her best not to over exert herself even though she had a safer profession now. She'd had an amnio a few weeks back that was now standard as per her age to check for any indication of birth defects and disorders such as Down's syndrome. She was outside of miscarriage territory of the first trimester, at least .

Though miscarriage was uncommon after 12 weeks, it wasn't entirely out of the question either. The baby actually seemed to know what she needed since she couldn't really drink much caffeine anymore to get herself through these long hours. She actually had a sudden burst of giddy excitement to get home as soon as possible and tell Mulder about feeling the baby move. She just needed to get through the day first. She supposed she could always text him now with more modern technology. But it gave her something to look forward to all day. She sighed and stood up, grabbing her folders containing all of Christian's paperwork before she headed out of her office.

However, about half way down the hall, she was approached by Father Ybarra along with a few other hospital staff. She wanted to roll her eyes and groan out loud in frustration.

"Doctor Scully, could we have a minute, please?"

She gritted her teeth as she held the files purposely in front her midsection, as if the world suddenly knew her soon to be not so secret. "I have a meeting right now, Father, can't it wait?"

"I'm afraid it can't, Doctor Scully," he said stiffly with his usual piercing gaze. His opinion of her had barely budged despite the success of her treatment and she suspected that was only because he felt humiliated that she had proven him wrong.

"I'm about to meet with the parents of Christian Fearon," she said.

"It's about that family, Doctor Scully," he said with a piercing gaze.

She sighed and followed him, along with the other professionals, to an empty corridor of the hospital. "Well, what is it?" she asked with a tinge of annoyance.

Ybarra, surprisingly, looked down, as if he was having difficulty finding his next words. "We just got word that Christian Fearon's parents have passed away in a terrible accident last night. They hit a patch of black ice and lost control of their vehicle, causing the car to slip off of the side of the hill."

Scully's heart plummeted to the floor as she felt the air leave her lungs and felt her hand move instinctively towards her belly, but stopping herself in the process. "Oh no," she whispered, averting her gaze. She took in a breath to stop the tears from coming in front of these people.

"The details are still unknown, but we're trying to find the next of kin who will make decisions on Christian's treatments."

Scully still couldn't look up. A lump was forming in her throat and she felt bile at the back of her throat.

"Doctor Scully," he prompted.

Losing her battle in attempt to hold her breakfast down, she pushed passed them and ran as fast as she could towards the nearest restroom before her breakfast remains ended up on the tiled floors. She could hear them calling after her, but didn't care.

She pushed her way into the nearest restroom and into the first stall, her files falling to the floor, and emptied the contents of her stomach. She continued to wretch for a couple minutes, trying desperately to hold her long hair in place. For what seemed like an eternity of praying to the porcelain god, she finally felt comfortable sitting back against the door of the stall in resignation, while taking deep gasping breaths of relief.

She rubbed her forehead with her hand, suddenly feeling a bit sweaty and feverish from all the vomiting. She felt the tears she held back now tracking their way down her cheeks as she cried softly. Scully felt lucky not having had much morning sickness this time around until now. However, her thoughts were in her patient. She felt physically sick at the thought that this boy, who had been through hell, had now lost his parents.

On top of that, she wouldn't be able to continue treatments without talking to the new guardian. What if they didn't want to continue? It was working, but that was still a possibility. He would also be relocated. She had a strong attachment to this boy. She knew it had to be because of William's loss, but still. She had to let him go at some point. At the sound of footsteps, she tried to pull herself together and off of the floor. She gathered her things and quickly rinsed her face before she made her way out of the facilities and right back into Father Ybarra.

"Doctor Scully? Are you okay?"

She tried to shrug off any of his vague attempts at concern. "I'm fine. Maybe what I ate this morning didn't sit well. Anyway," she said getting to the point. "Does this child know his parents are dead?"

He shook his head. "No, that's why I was going to ask...since you're fairly close with this boy," he said with a slight narrowing of his eyes to indicate that he disapproved. "Maybe you could..."

Scully felt sick again at the thought. She gave bad news to people all the time, she could do this. I should be able to, she thought. But normally, it was to parents. Not a sick child whose parents died in a tragic accident.

She sighed. "Alright."

He nodded and continued past her.

She took a deep breath and continued down the hall with whatever strength she had left until she reached the little boy's room. As usual, he rewarded her with a big smile, only this time it made her stomach turn with regret. She wasn't going to be his favorite person anymore once she delivered him the devastating news. "Hi, Christian," she said with a forced smile.

"Hi, Doctor Scully," he said without a hitch in his voice.

She was unsure on how to get to the point, so she took his vitals and proceeded with her usual check up routine. While she was doing that, Christian broke the silence. "Are you having a baby, Doctor Scully?"

Scully felt herself turn a shade of crimson and she wasn't sure why. Especially in front of a little boy. She didn't bother buttoning her lab coat today, so the evidence was obvious closer up. No one else had seemed to notice yet and she contemplated her answer carefully to her observant patient. She felt her free hand touch the bump instinctively for a moment. "Uh...yeah, I am," she managed a little awkwardly as she finished checking everything and pulled back.

"Then why do you seem so sad? Having a baby is supposed to be a good thing, right?"

Scully sighed and sat next to him, folding her hands and looking down.

"You're the best doctor in the world...so you've got to be the best mommy too."

Scully fought hard to keep the tears at bay. She was struggling with so many emotions right now, from the pregnancy, to William, to Christian and his situation. She swallowed hard and managed to smile. She took note of the other few kids in the room who seemed to be paying them no mind, thankfully.

"That's very sweet of you Christian, but I have to tell you something, sweetie," she reached out and placed her hand reassuringly on his wrist and lightly squeezed. "Let's take a walk, okay?" she had insisted he use a wheelchair, though at this point, thanks to the treatment, he was able to walk himself.

She pushed him towards an empty room nearby and he looked at her in confusion. He frowned. Scully wanted to burst into tears at this point. She didn't want to do this. Not with the crazy pregnancy hormones. She took a deep breath and tried to contain herself. "Christian...your...mommy and daddy were in a very bad car accident last night," her voice wavered.

He looked at her for what felt like several minutes. He bit his lip a bit. "Are they okay?" he asked, though she could see by his expression that he knew the answer already.

She shook her head slowly and he could see she was fighting to be composed for him. "I'm sorry," her voice broke as she couldn't stop a tear from making it's way down her face. She watched him carefully for a reaction, he looked as if he was trying to be brave and strong in front of her.

"Can I have a hug," he whispered. She looked around briefly, hoping there were no prying eyes watching and waiting for the boy's reaction.

"Of course," she said just as she moved to wrap her arms around him. It wasn't until then that she heard the boy's sobs wracking his body. She closed her eyes and bit down hard on her lip, though a few of her own tears had managed to escape in the process. She wanted to do something, anything, to take this boy's pain away. She was so dangerously attached to him that for a brief moment, she dared herself to imagine him living with them. A minute or two passed before he released Scully.

"What's going to happen to me?"

"We're trying to figure that out now as we speak, do you have any aunts, uncles or grandparents nearby, sweetie?"

He shook his head slowly. She frowned. She didn't want this child to end up in the foster system, but she had no choice in that matter. She was just his doctor.

"I want to sleep now, but you'll come back later, right?"

Scully nodded and tried to smile. "Of course."

She reached out and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I'll be back, okay?"

She walked out of the room and straight into the chest of someone she didn't expect. "Sorry..." she muttered quickly.

"Scully?"

Scully looked up to see the familiar face of her life partner and "husband". "Mulder, what are you doing here?"

He could hear the accusation in her voice and see that she had been crying. He looked from the room she was just in, to the boy he assumed must be Christian Fearon.

"Scully...what's wrong?" he asked, ignoring her question.

She wanted to ask why he showed up like this, but she realized once again that he was no longer a wanted man. Instead she looked down, biting her lip.

She appeared pale and sick to her stomach. Mulder took note of some people walking through the hall throwing them glances. He placed his arm around her shoulders and urged her towards the nearest stairwell exit. She took a deep breath of fresh air and sighed.

"Scully are you okay, you didn't look so good just now."

She shook her head. "It's okay, Mulder. It's just morning sickness. I'll be fine," she gently touched his arm.

He nodded slowly. It was then she realized that Mulder didn't really know what morning sickness was. She hadn't had any until now and she had already passed that phase when she was pregnant with William by the time he was returned to her. "Morning sickness is common during pregnancy, it's nothing to worry about, okay?"

Mulder nodded.

"So now tell me why you're here?"

Mulder looked down and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Erm, well, I just wanted to see this Christian for myself." She knew there were unspoken words between them. To see this boy for myself. "I need to know if there's any competition to worry about."

That earned him a small laugh. "Of course not."

"Well, that Father Ybarra seems to be a real catch."

Scully gave him a pleading look. "Please don't tell me you said something to him, Mulder."

"No, though it's tempting, I must admit."

He noticed she was stalling him. He gently reached for her hand. "Now tell me, why were you upset, Dana? Does it have something to do with the boy?"

The use of her first name was always endearing to her. He only said it when he was feeling very passionate about something.

She shrugged against the cold. "The boy's parents died in an accident last night."

Mulder frowned. "I'm sorry Scully. You don't think it was an accident?"

She shook her head. "I don't know...I just know that I had to deliver this news to a little boy who has already been through so much."

"Oh Scully," he whispered as he pulled her into an embrace. "I'm sorry."

She closed her eyes for a moment as she allowed him to hold her close to his chest. "Me too. I hope he has some family, someone who can take him and allow him to finish his treatments. He's doing so well," she sighed.

"How did he take it?"

"As best as to be expected. He's upset of course, but taking it pretty well."

"That's good," he said as she gently pulled away.

"Well Mulder, it's freezing out here. Let's go back inside and you had better let me finish up some wo-" she stopped in her tracks; hand on her abdomen.

Mulder looked at her in alarm. "Scully? What's wrong?"

She looked at him and smiled, making him relax slightly. "What is it?"

"The baby, Mulder...it's too soon for you to feel anything, but I'm pretty sure I felt the baby move earlier today. I actually couldn't wait to go home and tell you."

He smiled and gently touched her hand. "What does it feel like?" he asked curiously.

She smiled. "Like butterflies inside of my stomach."

"Now THAT would be one hell of an X File, Scully."

She looked at him and rolled her eyes. She glanced back towards the hospital entrance to see a few of her colleagues eyeing them. Shit. Some of the staff had been helping put up Christmas decorations. The planning committee always organized events for the sick children. Someone would play Santa and bring them presents or they would hire someone.

It always lifted Scully's spirit during the holidays, but it also made Scully's mind drift towards her own son. She could only imagine his face as he tore open his gifts and his expression when he told Santa his wish list. Those were moments she would never have with him. As her thoughts came back to reality, she realized she and Mulder had put on quite a show for whoever was there in front. There was no doubt everyone would know she was pregnant now.

She made a move to hurry back in...if she could get past the looks and stares, but Mulder grabbed her wrist. "Scully, I want to meet your patient, this boy Christian."

Scully hesitated. "Alright, but you can't stay long or I'll get into trouble."

She turned to lead him back inside, but he was already ahead of her. She blushed and looked away from the few people who had seen them outside. Scully anxiously looked around as they neared the children's ward. No one appeared for be in the room aside from the other children and some of the other doctors. Christian stirred immediately as if he sensed they were there for him and looked over at them and if she hadn't known better, she would have thought he had been crying. "Hi, Doctor Scully."

From that statement alone, Mulder could understand why Scully had such a bond with this kid. He also never disclosed to her that he had watched her earlier with him. He couldn't hear what was said, but he saw the way her face lit up when she saw him. It was a side of Scully he didn't see often. He also saw the way the somber expression on the boy's face lit when he saw her.

There was as considerable resemblance between Christian and the way they both had imagined William to look at around the same age. Chestnut hair and big blue eyes that could swallow you up.

The little boy in the bed eyed Mulder curiously.

"Hey buddy, my name is Mulder."

He smiled in response. "Hi, are you Doctor Scully's husband?"

Scully smiled at that and let Mulder answer the questions.

Husband. He was still getting used to that title. "Uh, yeah. I am. She's told me so much about you."

Scully looked around again anxiously as Mulder pulled up a chair and sat down.

She wanted to stay here and keep Mulder from being booted out, but she also didn't want Father Ybarra to recognize him with her there knowing Mulder and his ability to quickly gain himself a reputation.

"Mulder, I need to finish those reports I was telling you about before we go, try to be quick about it...I'll be back a little later, Christian."

"Okay, Doctor Scully."

Mulder found their interaction very endearing to him. To be honest, he was worried for Scully that it might be a short lived one. She was so attached to him.

Once Scully departed from the room, Mulder smiled at the boy. "So, when you're not getting your treatments, what do you do for fun?"

"Read comics and play video games."

Mulder chuckled. Typical boy response. "Really? Like what kinds of stuff?"

"Batman, Superman...those sorts of things."

"Do you watch Justice League?"

The boy perked up a bit. "Yeah, at home."

Home. Mulder couldn't help but wonder where that would be after what Scully had just told him. It was silent between the two of them for several minutes before one of them spoke. "I want to get out of here, but I don't have a home to go to. My mom and dad were in an accident."

Mulder frowned. "I know. I'm sorry, buddy. But I'm sure that will be worked out soon."

Christian didn't look convinced, but he nodded anyways. "I lost my mom and my dad, too. It's not easy, but I'll get better, I promise." Mulder said.

Christian smiled. "Because you're married to Doctor Scully, the best doctor in the world."

Mulder couldn't help but laugh at that. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. I'm pretty lucky, because if I get hurt I can count on her to make me better."

The boy smiled.

Scully had finished her day with the rest of her appointments and paperwork, doing her best to avoid the stares of some of her colleagues. The rumor mill wasn't as terrible as it was at the FBI, but still, people talked.

Once Scully had changed in the locker room, she found Mulder, who was still sitting in the children's ward. He didn't notice her at first, so she decided to take in the sight with a smile. Christian had fallen asleep with a large stuffed toy that Mulder had apparently bought for him. She couldn't help but think he was as taken by the child as she was. Mulder looked as if he were doing something on his phone. She didn't want to allow herself to imagine Christian coming home with them. Before she could go down that path, she called out to him.

"Mulder?"

He looked up at the mention of his name and looked back at the boy before quietly getting up and going to her.

"Hey, Doc."

"Did anyone give you any trouble?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I think that Father Ybarra, I'm pretty sure it was him, tried to get me to leave, but there wasn't much he could do when Christian begged me to stay."

Scully smiled. The storm was picking up outside, so she was partially glad Mulder took a cab to come and see her. He could drive home after the day she had had.

Once they were outside, Scully pulled her coat tightly around herself, as if to shield her unborn from the elements as well.

"I don't know, Scully, I have a feeling this tragedy wasn't an accident."

Scully sighed, somewhat frustrated. "Why does everything have to be a conspiracy, Mulder?"

"Sorry, but I can't help it. I just don't feel like it was an accident. So I asked Skinner to have someone look into the case." Scully looked over at him suspiciously as they reached the car. "All right, fine. I asked him if I could look into it."

"Dammit Mulder," she nearly regretted telling him at this point.

He lovingly touched her shoulders. "I know...I promised I wouldn't be doing too much venturing in the darkness, but I just want to be sure."

She sighed and looked down.

"Look, I know you're worried about something happening to me after last time, but I promise once I know there was nothing unusual, I'll back off."

She nodded slowly. He opened the door for her and went around and got into the driver's side. Scully felt a little nervous about Mulder being involved, but she supposed if he felt something was off, might be best to check it out...especially if her Christian might be in danger. Her Christian. Once he was no longer her patient, she knew that loss would reopen old wounds. But seeing him and Mulder together made her long for her own son, especially to be with his younger brother or sister.

She sighed. "You got Christian a gift, huh?"

He smiled as he pulled out onto the snow caked road. "Yeah, just a little early Christmas gift. I figured he could use a little cheering up."

Scully smiled. "Well, that was sweet of you, Mulder."

He shrugged, doing his best to see through the windshield despite the hail pouring down on them. "He is a sweet boy, Scully. I can see why you're so attached to him. He's attached to you, too."

"I know, I just wish...there was something I could do, despite treating him as his doctor."

Mulder gazed out onto the road. "Maybe there is...I mean, I don't want to get your hopes up, maybe we can try somehow to get custody of him."

Scully felt her heart reach her throat at his suggestion, shocked that Mulder would suggest such a thing for a boy he met just once. She clasped her hands tightly on her slowly disappearing lap. "But I tried that before, Mulder...with Emily, remember?"

"It was different then, Scully, you said it yourself. We don't work for the FBI anymore, you have a stable job, we have a house and a baby on the way."

She nodded. "But the fact that I gave William up for adoption might play a part. It was only 6 years ago."

"Yes, but circumstances change...that shouldn't have an effect on your desire to adopt a child now."

She didn't want to dare hope for that. "Okay, but only as a last resort."

They drove in silence the rest of the way home, Mulder concentrating on the increasingly bad weather conditions.

When they arrived home, he looked over to see his partner and the love of his life fast asleep, her head resting next to the window. Her mouth was slightly open in the way that he loved with her long hair falling around her face, but she would never in a million years admit that she drooled at times, so he let it slide. He reached over and gently tapped her cheek, causing her to stir. "Hmm," she muttered drowsily. "We're home, Scully," he said with a smile.

Once he was out of the car, he was at her door before she could get her seatbelt off, but she brushed off his attempt to help her to her feet. He did, however, take her hand in his and she couldn't help but admire the Christmas lights that decorated their home as they walked inside.

Mulder had led her inside to a sight she didn't expect. She nearly dropped her briefcase. "Oh my god, Mulder, you didn't."

He smiled at her reaction to the 7 foot Christmas tree in the window. It was still undecorated, but he wanted to save that part until she returned home. "Is it what you expected?" he used those very words when he had given her that Raggedy Ann doll. "No," she whispered. To be honest, Scully couldn't recall a Christmas like this since she was a child herself. "Do you have decorations?"

He frowned. He was so caught up in cutting that tree down before he went to surprise her, that he forgot about buying ornaments. He did have some more lights, but they definitely needed more.

"Sorry, I guess I'll have to do that tomorrow before I meet with Skinner."

Scully didn't want to think about any prospect of Mulder being in danger, but it was endearing to know he wanted to make this year special.

The next morning, Scully went to check up on her young patient and to her surprise, it looked like he has been waiting for her. "Hi, Dr. Scully."

"Hi sweetie."

"Your husband is really nice. He's a bit weird talking about aliens and spaceships and stuff, but I like him."

Scully smiled. "I think he likes you a lot too, Christian."

"You know, your baby is really lucky to have you both."

Scully really felt for him. "I'll always be here for you, sweetie. I'll make sure of that, if you'd like," Scully knew it was against all policy, but she needed to keep tabs on this child even if he were to leave her. "I'll be back soon, okay?"

Later

She smiled and took the follicle sample she collected for the DNA test, along with her own. It would be a few days still until she had any results. Her last stop was to prepare the samples to be sent to the lab. She wanted to get Mulder's sample also, but at first she needed to rule out suspicions before she got him thinking she was crazy.

She hadn't heard from Mulder all day and she found herself wondering and hoping he hadn't manage to get himself into any trouble while she quickly changed in the locker room. At this point she wondered if it was reasonable to expect any food prepared at home. She decided to call him quickly as she made her way into the stormy weather towards the car.

The worst of the storm was coming in tonight and she needed to get back before the roads got too icy and blocked off. She frowned when she heard his voice mail and decided to pick up some take out on the way home. Just like the good old days when they were on stake out. She eagerly pulled out of the parking lot and grabbed herself some takeout from the closest place down the street where she often went to for lunch. They had the best tomato beef, and Mulder's favorite orange chicken. Not the healthiest, but her cravings were starting to kick in. She mused over that thought with a smile. She couldn't believe she was really having a baby at nearly 43 years old.

She turned on the heater to ward off the cold, even though she was wearing her thick tan coat. Before she got back on the road, she dropped Mulder a text that she was heading home.

She turned on the radio and waited until the light turned green and hit the gas. She could feel the movement of her car against the wind and she clasped the steering wheel tightly in attempt to keep an even pace as she pulled off onto the lonely road she always drove down each day. The forecast was already talking about road closure and she was immediately thankful she had left when she did. Her thoughts kept returning to her little Christian and the things he mentioned earlier. She couldn't tell Mulder, not until she was sure.

She also felt like someone was trying to play a cruel joke on her, but she didn't have reason to suspect Christian would make up such an elaborate story. She sighed and suddenly she wished she had grabbed a cup of coffee as her eyes felt droopy.

It wasn't until she saw a figure in the middle of the road that she realized how fast she was going and she slammed her foot on the brake. However, when she did so, she felt the tires skid below her in their attempt to slow down the vehicle to a stop, she felt the car slew to the side and completely fishtail. Her heart jumped to her throat as she struggled to get the car to come to a stand still. Her only saving grace was the ditch on the side of the road, which slowed the car to a stop. She closed her eyes as she tried to control her frantic breathing. "Oh god. Oh god."

She raised her hands to the steering wheel in a defensive gesture. It was then she felt a more definitive movement in her belly and she slowly placed her free hand there as if to comfort the baby she clearly roused during her stunt. "I'm sorry, baby," she whispered.

Suddenly she felt tears welling in her eyes and slip down her cheeks. She could have gotten seriously hurt just now and jeopardized her baby's life. She opened her eyes and peered out of the window to the darkening sky and the nothingness in front of her. Was she seeing things? Was she just so wrapped in thought a plagued from lack of sleep. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes once more.

She needed to get home before things worsened, but she couldn't help but focus on the fact that she had nearly lost control of the car. She opened her eyes, trying to collect herself as she reached to switch the gear into drive with a shaky hand. She chalked it up to simple fatigue and pulled back out onto the small road that led towards home. Thankfully, she was minutes away and sighed with relief when she eventually pulled in front of the gates entrance that led onto to the acres of their property. Mulder had left the gate open for her again it seemed and she sighed with relief that he had made it home before her. It was one less item on her list of ever increasing worries. She pulled onto the long graveled road that led to their modest home.

She was still a bit shaken up as she entered the front door, quickly setting down her things and the food before looking around the quiet house for signs of Mulder. She saw the boxes of newly purchased ornaments on the coffee table and it warmed her that he hadn't forgotten that simple task. Sure enough, she found him in his office, heavily concentrated on something.

"Mulder," she bit out.

He didn't always turn to greet her when she would come home, but he could tell at the sound of her voice that something wasn't right. Slowly he turned to meet her gaze.

"Hey Doc..."

She looked down a little, fumbling with the keys.

"Scully," he started after moments of silence. "Are you okay?"

He could see that she opened her mouth a bit, still not meeting his gaze, but trying to find words.

He placed his hands on her shoulders encouragingly. "What is it, what happened?"

"Um, I'm not sure..." she started looking up a bit. He could tell she was doing her best to keep tears at bay. "On the way home, I thought...I thought I saw something and then I lost control of the car in the distraction..." she spit out, looking away again.

Mulder felt his heart plummet. "Oh God, but you're okay, right...the baby?"

He moved one of his hands to gently force her to look at him while he took in her appearance for any visible injury.

"Yes, I'm...we're okay, I think. I'm just in a little shock still, but I'll be fine. I think I just hit a patch of ice."

He tried to look convinced. In that moment, he regretted not taking her to work and coming for her later that day. The thought of losing them terrified Mulder.

He could also sense she wasn't telling him everything.

"There's something else, isn't there, Scully?"

She nodded slowly.

He gently put his arm around her and ushered her from his office and to the living room. "Sit down...we can talk about it while you rest."

"I got some Chinese food...you didn't answer, so I wasn't sure if you'd be home. It's a bit of a mess, but it's all there."

He smiled. "Thanks, I'm sorry I just got back about thirty minutes ago. I'll tell you about my discoveries too."

Scully removed her coat before sinking into the couch. Mulder began microwaving the food she had left on the counter while she did her best to get comfortable. She got up once to set the heat a bit higher and she watched the trees move outside in the wind. She could hear branches clamoring the rooftop as the storm picked up.

Scully had tomorrow off and she was ever so grateful for a break, yet she was worried about Christian. She only hoped a decision wouldn't be made until she got her test results back. She sighed as she pulled the throw blanket up to her chin. She had nearly forgotten she had a doctor's appointment tomorrow. More than likely, they would be able to find out the sex of the baby at this point. She and Mulder were also supposed to undergo some genetic testing and counseling to help ensure the baby's health due to their ages and background.

She started to close her eyes, nearly forgetting how hungry she was until Mulder came and sat next to her, but not before setting out some TV trays. He set the steaming microwaved food onto some plates in front of them.

He let Scully dive into her food before he prompted her further on their earlier conversation. He guessed she had hardly eaten anything at work yet again, judging by how famished she appeared.

A few minutes later, after eating mouthfuls of food himself he looked in her direction. "So, what happened today, Scully? Is it the boy?"

She sighed, not meeting his gaze once more. "He said something to me, Mulder. I know you'll think I'm crazy."

He couldn't help but scoff at that. "Me think you're crazy?"

She managed a smile before turning somber again. "Well, Christian told me that I reminded him of his mom."

Mulder's smile fell. "Oh." He knew she suffered daily for the loss of William.

"He also told me...that he was adopted. The Fearons weren't his biological parents and I don't know how I didn't realize that sooner when doing his stem cell therapy."

Mulder didn't like where she was going with this. She was reaching and he knew it.

"Scully," he started.

She continued on. "He also told me that his mom looked like me, but a little younger with dark red hair and how she would sing to him."

"Dana," he tried again. He didn't want her to venture down that road of heartache.

"Wait, just hear me out. He also said that not only did he have two sets of adopted parents, but his first adoptive parents called him William."

Mulder felt his stomach turn. He didn't like this one bit and it wasn't because he didn't want this to be their son after so many years of wondering how he was, but he was afraid of the effect it might have on Scully.

Scully looked over at Mulder after he had been silent for some time, willing him to say something, anything.

He sighed and reached for her empty plate before walking back to the kitchen. "Well, I had an interesting day too. I definitely don't think the Fearons' accident was an accident."

Scully gasped. "What do you mean, Mulder?"

He set the dishes in the sink and washed up. "Well, nothing was unusual about their bodies, but after further inspection of their vehicle, it was clear the brake lines had been severed. It was no accident."

Scully placed her head in her hands with a sigh as she let that fact sink in... until she had another realization. "Mulder, the boy, he could be in serious danger."

"Don't worry Scully, already taken care of. Skinner had someone posted in front of that room 24-7 until further notice."

That only seemed to ease her anxiety just slightly. "Mulder, that kid might be going into foster care if he doesn't have a relative to go home to."

He came and sank back into the couch next to her, draping his arm around her, pulling her close. "That's not going to happen, not until we're sure he isn't in danger, Scully."

She closed her eyes. "I'm having a test run," she started.

He frowned. "What kind of test, Scully?"

"A DNA test," she continued as she heard him exhale.

"Scully," he started again.

"I just have to be sure. Maybe it is some cruel joke, but I need to know."

He sighed. "I know you want to think it's him, Scully. I know each day you live with this unbearable pain that I can't possibly know in the same way and I want so much to go back and change things so you wouldn't have had to make that choice alone, but there are so many adopted kids out there and I know I don't need to tell you what the chances are that it could be him."

She smiled briefly at the thought that their roles were temporarily reversed. "I know and once I get the results, I can move forward."

Mulder didn't want to admit that he was scared about Scully's hopes being crushed.

"So are the bodies being examined?" she asked changing the subject.

Mulder sighed. "It was clear how they died, no autopsy needed and the services are currently being arranged."

"Hmm."

"Well tomorrow, we get to catch a break."

Scully looked over at Mulder. "Don't tell me you're helping them investigate this case."

Mulder shrugged.

"Well, as of right now there isn't really much of a case. Not unless the FBI can come up with some probable suspects. It's considered more of a civil matter that will be left in local law enforcement hands once we can determine the boy will be safe."

Scully nodded slowly. "I see."

Mulder watched Scully for further signs of reaction. "What are you thinking about, Scully?"

"Despite all of this, not much. We have my OBGYN check up tomorrow and I'm just a little nervous. I mean, this is the first time I've had a real checkup since finding out I was pregnant."

He could sense she was worried about the baby. "You think something might be wrong?" he asked with genuine concern.

She shook her head. "Well, it's just that uh, I had complications with William early on. I know circumstances are different, but this pregnancy is considered high risk due to my age."

He nodded. "I'm sure it's fine. I'm just glad I'll finally be able to properly color coordinate that nursery."

That earned him a smile. "Hey, what happened to being gender neutral these days? Nothing wrong with yellow."

"Well, I also don't want to keep calling it an IT either. Besides, think we have enough mystery in our life, Scully."

It wasn't long after dinner that Scully grew tired and weary. It had been a long, stressful day for them both. Mulder had made her some lavender chamomile tea to help ease her nerves for the upcoming doctor's appointment. The storm was supposed to ease up by tomorrow, thankfully.

Christmas was coming in just over a week and Scully realized she hadn't even made plans with her family. She eyed the tree that still needed decorating. Maybe they could get to it tomorrow, she thought with a sigh. She had only recently reconciled with her mom when she told her about the pregnancy. Her mom wanted her and Mulder to come see the family this Christmas now that his safety was no longer an issue.

Mulder was anxious at the thought of seeing Bill after all these years and could only imagine what Scully's older brother had in store for him. After so many years in isolation though, he knew Scully wanted to see her family. He could do this for her. She had sacrificed the last 6 Christmases to stay with him. At the same time, she was a bit anxious and overwhelmed at the idea of travelling. Not only because of Christian, but also because of the affect the stress might have on her pregnancy.

She snuggled up in bed as she waited for Mulder to join her and was glad she made it home safely in one piece as she heard the wind pick up outside. Resisting sleep eventually became futile as she lost her battle.

Scully opened her eyes to find herself walking along a sandy beach, different from the one she and Mulder recently vacationed on. There were lots of people nearby and children running around. Two in particular nearby her were building a sand castle. One was a boy about 10 years old with familiar brown hair and blue eyes. The other was a little girl with long auburn like hair that matched her own and hazel eyes. She couldn't have been older than 3. "Come on 'Lyssa," the boy would encourage.

She looked at him full of admiration, but cried immediately when the water tore away her creation. She found herself coming up next to them, offering to help rebuild their project. "Mommy," the little girl sniffled.

"Mommy"? Was this little girl hers?

She then heard a familiar voice approach them. "Aww, what happened guys?"

She looked over. "Mulder?"

He only smiled back at her in response. She wanted to cry. None of this could have been real. But there he was in some board shorts and a six pack.

"Come on, Scully, it'll be fun."

She wasn't sure exactly what he was talking about, but she followed his actions. The little girl who looked so much like her closed her eyes and sank back into Scully's lap behind her, closing her eyes. Lyssa, the girl's name was...or so the boy who looked like Christian called her.

As she gingerly smoothed back the girl's hair, she wondered if it was a nickname. She felt as if asking now would gather her some odd looks. As she stroked the toddler's cheek, she felt without a doubt that this child had to be hers.

When she looked up, however, she was no longer at the beach. She was in a hospital room tied up to various devices and panicked doctor and nurses were next to her. Some of them were even her colleagues. Everyone was bustling about and she wondered what was going on. Mulder appeared at her side, sorry etched on his face. When the doctors were checking her at the end, she realized she was heavily pregnant. She was giving birth, but not to William. This was different.

The next thing she knew, she was being instructed to push while various medical instruments were held while she was holding tightly to Mulder's hand. It wasn't long after that that she felt the baby slip out and she heaved a sigh. "You have a girl!"

However, when they didn't hand over the baby immediately, she panicked. "What's wrong, give me my baby!" she demanded.

"Scully," Mulder started.

"No, give it to me now!" she demanded.

The doctor she recognized quite well looked over to her hesitantly with a frown and that's when she realized something was terribly wrong. Her baby wasn't crying. They had even suctioned the nose area.

Reluctantly, he handed the baby to Mulder who brought her to Scully and that's when she realized it. The baby had been stillborn. She had a little rosebud mouth that resembled her own and she couldn't bear to look Mulder in the eye as she began to sob frantically. "No, this wasn't supposed to happen. No," she whispered as she held the baby tightly to her chest.

She let out a high pitched scream and suddenly Scully bolted upright in a huff. Her eyes met the darkness of the room and she slowly turned to see Mulder still asleep next to her. She placed a shaky hand on her slightly rounded abdomen. She had no idea where the dreams came from. She absently wiped away the stray tears that had fallen as she slowly sank back down into the bed with a sigh.

She swallowed back another onset of tears as she ran her hand back through her long hair. As much as she wanted this baby, she didn't want to think about the possibility something might be wrong with her due to her age and previous medical history. She touched the cold metal of the cross she wore around her neck and could only pray that their baby was healthy.

The next day, Scully was truly grateful to have been able to sleep in considering the restless night's sleep she had had. This was actually the first prenatal appointment Mulder had been to with her. She did have a check up shortly before she told Mulder she was pregnant to confirm the test she as taken was accurate. Unfortunately, when she was pregnant with William, Mulder wasn't around due to his abduction and later death. While he couldn't contain his excitement, she was a bit nervous. Mostly because she was afraid something might be wrong and she couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. She didn't know why, she had been living with Mulder for over 6 years now and had been intimate during that time, so she shouldn't feel uncomfortable while some goo was placed on her abdomen.

Something about it though made her feel slightly vulnerable. As if he was seeing a part of her he hadn't seen before.

She shrugged that thought off. She was being ridiculous. She wanted him to be there to share the moment with her, since he hadn't before.

"You ready, Mulder?"

"Yes, Doc."

When he met her at the door, he couldn't help but notice her expression wasn't quite right. "You okay, Scully?"

She forced a smile. She didn't want to worry him by telling him about the dreams she had had last night. "Yeah, I'm fine."

She turned and led the way out the door and Mulder decided not to argue, though he could tell something else was on her mind.

The drive into town took just over a half hour. She had searched for an OBGYN that didn't have anything to do with where she worked. Scully was a private person and wanted to keep things that way.

They arrived at the doctor's office, which as just outside the D.C. suburb. Once they parked and as they made their way inside, Mulder instinctively reached for Scully's hand. It was as if he knew she needed some assurance that things were going to be okay. She great fully obliged and he gave her small hand a gentle squeeze before holding the door open for her.

Scully took a deep breath as she walked in, quickly going up front to sign herself in and then taking a seat next to Mulder. She crossed her legs and placed her hands in her slowly but surely depleting lap space. Some of her fingers gently touching the bulge under her coat. She couldn't help but feel a little out of place amongst the many heavily pregnant women in the room. Perhaps it was because she spent so many years either not thinking she would get pregnant or could get pregnant.

Next to them was a sparsely decorated faux fir tree decorated with Christmas lights. Mulder had found himself a Pregnancy magazine that he apparently was glancing through with an awkward grin.

She could tell he felt really out of place amongst all the pregnant women and being just one of the few men in the room. All of the couples she did see were noticeably younger, in their 20s and 30s, while she and Mulder were nearly 43 and 47. She did have to hand it to Mulder though. Despite his passion, he was becoming more rational with age.

Perhaps he was realizing that physically he couldn't chase monsters forever. He rarely let his feelings about the baby show and she hoped he had wanted this as much as she did. That thought was quickly dismissed when she thought about how since discovering she was pregnant, Mulder would want to try and playfully touch her belly to see if he could feel anything. And of course, she couldn't forget his comment the other day about her slacks no longer being able to accommodate the increased girth around her midsection. Leave it to Mulder to find something like that funny.

She was drawn out of her thoughts when she heard her name being called and she looked over at Mulder, who begrudgingly set his magazine to the side to follow Scully. "I hope you weren't getting any jollies from any scantily clad pregnant women in there," she smirked.

"No, that's not really my type of magazine, Scully, though I can think of a sexy pregnant woman who happens to be petite and have long red hair that I'd like to ravish."

Scully gasped in embarrassment, looking from the nurse back to Mulder, hoping nothing they just said could be over heard. As she opened the door for them, the younger, but taller nurse looked over at them with a seemingly knowing smile, which made Scully turn red and avert her eyes. She didn't say anything other than "Right in here," she pointed towards the exam table and let them know the Doctor would be in shortly. Mulder sat in the opposing chair and watched her fiddle with her hands awkwardly. He could sense her apprehension and gently reached over to give her hand a gently squeeze. She looked over and gave him one of those Scully smiles that never failed to warm his heart.

It wasn't long before a knock sounded on the other side of the door signaling entry.

A woman of average build and around Scully's age entered and introduced herself as Dr. Anderson. She had a warm, bubbly personality that instantly put them at ease and it wasn't hard for Mulder to see why Scully had chosen this OBGYN as her gynecologist.

"You're Doctor Scully's husband, Mr-"

"Mulder, call me Mulder."

She smiled at them both and indicated for Scully to lay back and bring her shirt up.

Scully gently released Mulder's hand as she got as comfortable as she could.

Mulder was mildly amused at the sight of Scully's unbuttoned slacks.

The doctor didn't seem that surprised and Mulder suspected that this might be a regular occurrence for her. Scully gasped lightly as she felt the cold goo hit her exposed skin.

"How had everything been lately, Dana? Any morning sickness?"

"A little, but most of the time I feel just fine."

As the doctor started spreading the gel across Scully's abdomen with the goo, she proceeded. "You have been pregnant before, so you know the procedure of course."

Scully frowned slightly, but quickly recovered. She knew this was part of the process and even though all records were private and sealed, she couldn't help but feel a little guilt surface.

"Yes."

"Have you thought about a cesarean section?"

Scully honestly hadn't given it much thought, but she tensed slightly. Mostly of the memories she had of her former Doctor Parenti's parents who had their babies stolen from them.

The other doctor seemed to take note of her discomfort and managed a smile, while gently touching her arm. "It's only recommended as a precaution for mothers at higher maternal ages, since there is a higher risk of potential complications."

Scully tried to manage a smile despite her obvious concern. She watched as a screen showing their baby came on the screen. She could hear a heartbeat that being a doctor herself, she knew was strong and healthy sounding. She was torn between looking at Mulder and looking at the s screen. She knew if she met his gaze, she would have trouble holding back tears. At the same time, she was afraid to look at the screen, afraid she might be able to see something wrong. Instead, she closed her eyes. "Is it okay?" she asked while taking a deep breath.

"Everything looks great so far, Dana. I know you mentioned you had complications before, but the baby looks perfectly healthy. I'm sure I don't need to ask if you've already started your prenatal vitamins?"

Scully shook her head. "No. I mean, yeah, I've been taking them."

The doctor looked over at Mulder, who was evidently fascinated by the image of the baby on the screen. "And I'm going to assume you're taking good care of her, making sure she's not doing any heavy lifting at home?"

He nodded. "I do my best to."

Scully looked over at him, trying to smile while holding back tears.

"Good, anyways, did you want to find out the sex today...if you aren't able to tell already, Doctor?"

Scully smiled. "I'm trying not to look, but yes."

"Actually, Doctor," Mulder piped in. "If you could write it down and put it in an envelope, we'd like to find out later."

That earned him a raised eyebrow from Scully. "Mulder?"

He shrugged innocently. "I have an idea. Just trust me."

The doctor smiled at them. "Of course. I can do that."

Scully kept looking at Mulder questioningly as if he just told her doctor about aliens existing.

The doctor began to gently wipe the gel off of her belly, allowing Scully to pull her shirt back down and sit up slightly. She had turned off the digital screen, but not before printing out an image and handing it to Scully.

"If you want to be surprised, try not to look too hard."

Scully glanced at the tiny photo and suddenly had an image of a little girl with long strawberry hair like her own flash into her thoughts.

With that thought in mind, she slipped the image into her purse as the Doctor handed Mulder a small envelope.

"Melinda can schedule your next appointment up front, but I can assure you that the baby is perfectly healthy. I know I don't need to tell you this, but many women in their early forties have children with no complications. I know you have some previous history and even though this pregnancy is higher risk, I'm quite confident everything will go just fine."

Scully managed a smile. "Thank you."

"Merry Christmas to you both."

A few minutes later, she and Mulder were exiting the building. Scully was relieved, though she was sure she would never stop worrying until she could hold the baby in her arms.

"I thought you wanted to know, Mulder?"

He smiled. "I do."

"Then what was that about?"

"Um, I was just thinking we could find out together later..."

She shook her head, not really wanting to know what he was up to.

"But you already know?"

"No, I don't, Mulder. I tried not to look too much during the ultrasound. I mean, as a mother, I have a really strong suspicion...an educated guess if you will."

He smiled, a little relieved. "Ah, women's intuition?"

"Something like that."

He opened the door for her and then went around to the driver's seat, feeling fortunate that she hadn't asked to drive.

"Um, Scully. We should probably get some groceries while we're out."

"That's probably a good idea, Mulder. I think the weather is supposed to clear up today, but I know we have to stock up on a few things."

Speaking no more of the doctor's appointment, they ran a few other errands before heading back home. They hadn't done any shopping for Christmas dinner as they were still anticipating going to Scully's mother's house.

On the way back, Scully resisted asking Mulder to take her by the hospital to see a certain young boy. Though Mulder insisted Skinner made sure that Christian wouldn't be going anywhere until it was certain he was safe, Scully was still worried about him. Once they arrived home, they put their purchases away and then proceeded to decorate the tree they had been holding off on the past few days.

Once they successfully had ornaments on their tree, Scully was starting to feel a bit tired and announced that she was going to go take a nap. It was just past four in the afternoon, but he knew Scully was beginning to fatigue more easily due to the pregnancy. When she moved to head towards the bedroom, he placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her momentarily. "Okay, while you rest I'm going to make a quick trip back to the store. I just realized I forgot something I needed for dinner. I'll be right back."

She looked at him, not really expecting that but nodded. "Alright, but wake me up once it's ready, okay?"

"Yes, Doc."

Once she padded off to the bedroom, he quickly left the house. Despite living in the boonies, the grocery store was only about a twenty-minute drive.

He went into the bakery, retrieving the white envelope he had handed them with instructions while Scully was shopping earlier and collected the box. Feeling pleased with himself, he managed to get the box back to the car with relative ease. The wind was picking up and tiny droplets began to fall from the sky. He closed the trunk and began his short journey back home to his Scully.

For the first time that day, he noticed Skinner had yet to call, so with his free hand, he fished his flip phone from his jean pocket and hit the speed dial. "Skinner."

"How is everything, Sir?"

"Not much different from yesterday, Mulder, in afraid. I thought you and Scully were taking the day off."

"Erm, well yeah we are. But I just wanted to see if there we're any updates."

"You'll be the first to know if there are any, but as it stands, we have no real suspect and the boy is still safe at the hospital."

"Okay good...let me know if anything changes."

Mulder hung up the phone as he arrived at the gate that led to their property.

He got out of the car and pushed it open. There wasn't any real need to keep it locked anymore, so he saved himself the bother and kept it that way after he drove on in. Plus, he didn't really want Scully to have to worry about moving it each day. He pulled up next to Scully's Taurus and to his relief, the lights were still off even though the sun had set about a half hour ago. She was still asleep. He quickly pulled the box from the trunk and made his way into the quiet house. He rummaged through the fridge, trying to make space to fit the box inside.

"Mulder?" Scully's voice startled him so much that his head cone

Had connected with the freezer door as he stood up. "Ouch!"

This earned a gasp from Scully.

"I'm sorry, Mulder. I didn't mean to startle you."

He looked over to see her clad in that lavender silk robe she often wore. She reached to touch the tender spot on his head, but he caught her hand in his.

"It's alright, Scully. Go get comfortable, I'm going to start making dinner now."

She gave him a once over. Something was up with him, but she decided not to push. After giving him the 'raised Scully eyebrow', she went and sank into their couch.

"So, what's for dinner this time, Mulder?"

Mulder was suddenly caught by surprised. "Uhh erm, grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, is that okay?"

He sighed with relief that he was able to catch himself. He told her he was going to the store to get something he needed for dinner, yet in reality he didn't actually give any thought into it until she asked. He had so busy focusing on dessert instead.

"Sure Mulder," she said in a tone that indicated that she knew he was clearly covering for himself, but she wasn't going to push it further. At this point, she really didn't care what she ate. The baby was making everything seem too appealing.

She closed her eyes as she sank further into the couch, placing her hand absently on the small swell of her belly. He smiled and got to work. It wouldn't be much longer until he was making ham and pie for holiday dinner.

When they were finished with dinner, but not before Mulder got some amusement watching Scully munch down nearly two cheese sandwiches and some soup, did he start collecting the dishes and announcing dessert.

Scully could have sworn Mulder was having way too much fun. Especially when he came up to her with a handkerchief he mustered from somewhere. "Okay, Scully. Better get ready for a dessert, but it's a surprise, so I need you to put this on."

Scully gave him a look that said she wasn't buying any of his shit. Besides, she didn't like surprises. "What's going on, Mulder? You've been acting strange all day."

"Nothing. It's really nothing. I just want you to be surprised. I know you don't like surprises, but I promise you won't be disappointed."

She sighed. "All right, fine. Just this one time."

He was a bit too excited for his own good.

Gently, Mulder tucked a few long strands of her hair behind her ears before tying the cloth over her eyes.

"No peeking, Dana."

She couldn't help but smile on spite of herself.

She could hear him set something on the folding table in front of her, where she had just finished her dinner.

"Okay, in going to remove your eyewear, but keep your eyes closed.".

She felt the cloth slip from around her face and she could hear Mulder fumbling in his pocket, probably for his phone.

"Okay, open your eyes."

Scully took a deep breath before she did so, but what she saw in front of her took her breath away. On the table was an eight inch round cake that could easily fit on top of a wedding cake tier. Only this cake was decorated in pink and blue dots. It was a white cake with fondant covering the outside layer and on top was a matching question mark to go with the pink and blue dots. On small match in writing, it read "boy or girl".

"So this is why you didn't want to find out earlier," she whispered, eyes not moving from the cake.

He was in the middle of snapping photos of her reaction with the shutter sound off. "Yeah...I um, wanted to make it special for you this time since...you know, I couldn't share it with you before."

He saw tears well in her eyes. "Mulder where did you get this idea?"

He shrugged. "Just a little something I saw online."

"The internet isn't good for you, Mulder," her voice broke and he smiled.

"Maybe not, but this is worth it."

He went to retrieve a cutting knife and slipped the handle into her free hand. "You ready, Scully?"

She smiled up at him through her tears. "Yeah."

She felt the weight of his hand on top of hers and slowly he guided it into the cake.

Once he made an incision on each side he went to retrieve a serving spatula and a small plate. As the removed the cake, they both gasped at the pink insides.

"Oh god," Scully choked.

Mulder beamed at her. "Wow...I guess I'm gonna have to return all that basketball stuff...I'm going to have a mini Dana Scully running around...little uber Scully."

She smiled as she though back to the little girl in her dream that referred to her as mommy.

"She better not have my nose though."

Scully picked up the piece of cake and swiped it at Mulder's face, getting icing on his nose until he obliged and took a large bite. She then proceeded to eat the rest in a very improper and unScully-like way, with her mouth entirely full. Her mom would certainly be ashamed.

Before she could wipe her fingers off, he grabbed a hold of her hand and licked the rest of the frosting off.

Scully giggled. "Mulder!"

Mulder had cut himself another piece before Scully went to wash up. She came back into the room a little more solemn this time. "You okay, Scully?"

She shrugged and gave him a sad smile. "It was only a few weeks back that I even considered not having this baby. I'm Catholic and I know it's against God's will to even consider such a thing, but I'm also a Doctor and a Scientist. I support the right to choose even if it's a choice I could never make. But the fact that I even considered it at one point hurts so much, because I'm already so attached to her that I couldn't imagine not having her, Mulder. Despite all the guilt that I carry each day about William."

He frowned and looked at her sadly. He knew she had daily fears regarding this child that were relentless. He clutched her hands tightly in his. "I know, Scully..."

"I had a dream about her, Mulder...she was our little girl, she looked like me, but had your eyes," her voice broke.

Tears were now running down her cheeks and she placed her head into her hands. Mulder set the utensils down. "Scully?"

A moment later, Scully took a deep breath and pulled her hands away, trying to collect herself.

"It's okay, Mulder...I just couldn't help but imagine her just now. Our baby. I had this dream last night and our baby had hair that looked like mine, but eyes like yours."

"I know, Scully, I've seen her too. Maybe we've had the same dream."

They gazed at one another in their unspoken language for moments before Scully spoke. "You think she might be trying to communicate with us?"

Mulder couldn't help but laugh. "Wow, Scully, I know you've become more open minded about things, but that sounds like something Spooky Mulder would say."

She managed a laugh. "I know, it's just that, after everything with William, I don't doubt that this baby might be special too. I mean, how will we protect her?"

Mulder smiled and gently clasped a strand of her hair. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. I'm not going anywhere, Scully, we'll deal with this together."

She hoped he was right.

The next day, the much anxiously awaited DNA test results had come in. Her hands were literally shaking as she studied the file at her desk. She thought back to a familiar time with her daughter, Emily. Scully hadn't been able to save the daughter she barely knew and had been desperately trying to come to terms with the DNA test results she had just received. The deja vu was eerily familiar. It was also Christmas time when she had found out about Emily, exactly ten years ago. Funny how these things seemed to work, it was bittersweet.

She left her office and made her way to the locker rooms to get changed, still in deep thought at the implications of all this. This child whom she had worked so tirelessly to save was biologically her own. She had always felt a connection to Christian, but yet at the same time she never hoped nor dared imagine him to be William. She still wondered whether this was a blessing or some terrible contrived plot to jeopardize his safety. In any case, if he wasn't brought to her, she hated to think some other doctor would have given up on him and let him die. She sighed as she pulled her clothes out of her locker to change out of her scrubs.

Just then she heard a sudden movement from behind her. She hadn't heard the door open in the last twenty minutes she had been there. She felt a shiver go down her spine as she whirled to see who had been lurking there. To her horror, just as she caught a glance, she felt herself being slammed back into the locker. The knob pierced into her back.

She was face to face with a hooded man who appeared to be no younger than fifty five or sixty. He was at least six foot three and in just her tennis shoes lacking height, she felt even more vulnerable and unmatched. She let out a pained gasp, stopping herself from clutching her stomach. She hoped the scrubs concealed her secret to some extent as she didn't want her attacker to know that she was pregnant. "Who the hell are you?!"

He pressed both hands firmly on her shoulders so she was neatrly pinned to the locker. He grinned.

"You're a smart woman...DOCTOR Scully. Take an educated guess?"

She pushed back against the pain of his grip in attempt to relieve her back. "Let me go, you son of a bitch! HEL-", before she could finish her scream, he removed one hand from her shoulder and placed it tightly over her mouth. All while his other hand went from her shoulder to forcefully grab her hair braid and pulled hard on it.

She tears stung her eyes at his grip.

"Now are you gonna scream again?"

Scully glared at him through tears. She eventually shook her head and he removed his hand.

"That boy, your patient, Christian Fearon, as you've already figured out, is your child. He was brought to this hospital because you're a doctor here and we knew you would be able to cure him."

Tears welled in Scully's eyes, still not entirely comprehending everything being thrown at her. The adoption was anonymous, no one was supposed to know. There were two people that had names and a state...Reyes and Skinner. But she trusted that they would never have divulged that info.

"I won't let you hurt him. You took his parents and more than likely are responsible for his suffering. You won't get away with it," she growled.

For the first time in almost seven years, she felt that familiar adrenaline rush. She pushed back against him as he let go of her hair and instead, he grabbed her arm hard, causing her to yelp out loud in pain.

She tried to push her way past him and make her way to the door, but he was quicker and yanked her back. Putting her self defense training to work she delivered a quick kick to his gut as best she could in her condition. She wasn't too far along yet, but her feet were starting to swell and her back had started to ache after long periods of time. He stumbled back, only momentarily, but it was just enough time for her to grab the door handle and scream out. "HELP!"

Before she could swing it open, she felt a blunt object come down hard on her head, causing her vision to blur before everything went black.

It had been hours since Mulder had first attempted to call Scully, so he had driven to the hospital. He had more news on this boy Christian's parents that couldn't wait.

After checking her office quickly, he peeked in on the boy in the children's ward, but there was no sign of his Scully in sight. He asked someone in reception to page her while he went into the children's ward, but not before keeping an eye out around the halls for fear of Father Ybarra. He still got questioning glances from the other doctors and nurses who now seemed to recognize him ever since he made frequent appearances recently. Thankfully, the floor where Scully worked was not very familiar with Mulder and his ability to not follow rules and directions. They figured they would leave him be unless someone complained.

Christian stirred and smiled at Mulder with blur eyes. "Hey, Buddy."

"Hi, Mr. Mulder."

Mulder felt an uncanny connection to this boy, much in the same way he suspected Scully had.

"Did Dr. Scully come and see you today?"

The little boy nodded. "Yes, but she hasn't come back. She said she would, but she hasn't," he frowned.

That wasn't really what Mulder wanted to hear, but he tried to keep the concern from showing for fear of possibly scaring or upsetting the boy. "I see. Well, let me try and see if I can find her. I'm good at that," he managed a smile.

"Mr. Mulder..." He started before Mulder could leave.

He smiled. "Just call me, Mulder, Bud. What is it?"

The boy frowned. "I'm worried that the bad people who hurt my parents might hurt her."

Mulder couldn't help but frown. "I won't let them, I promise," he said, though he wasn't sure why he was saying this to Scully's young patient. He gently squeezed the boy's hand and left the room.

The was one other place that he never failed to find her when she appeared to have gone underground. He snuck his way down to the locker room. Scully always frowned at the idea that Mulder still enjoyed sneaking around. He needed to find her, though, and something about the boy's words worried him. Could the people who killed his parents really be out for them too?

He sighed as he pushed the door open. His heart dropped to the floor, where his beloved Scully lay in scrubs, appearing unconscious.

"Scully!" he yelled as he gathered her still form in his arms. He could see the crimson of dried blood that started at her hairline that had made its way down the side of her face. "I need a doctor!" he screamed before tucking a loose hair behind her ear.

"Mulder," she whispered. Her eyes had opened slightly, lulling back into her head. "You found me."

"Yes, always do. You know that. What happened?! Who did this to you?" He looked her up and down.

Her arm was wrapped around her midsection and suddenly his blood was boiling. What if something happened to their baby? They had worked so hard to establish another life for themselves and find happiness again.

Before he could finish his thought, he heard the door burst open and several shouting voices. He felt arms pulling him away from Scully. "Who are you? You're not supposed to be in here. What happened?!"

"He's Doctor Scully's husband," he heard a familiar voice say. He reached to grab Scully again.

She looked at him with unshed tears. "Mulder...the file...on my desk, go!"

He didn't want to leave, but the plea in her voice told him he must. "I'll be back, I promise," he kissed her forehead and rushed out past the gurney they were helping her onto.

He wondered what it was that was so important that he needed to look at. He swallowed his fear as he rushed back up the stairs and to the fourth floor, which consisted of mostly doctors' offices and storage. He pulled out the spare key Scully had recently entrusted him with and shoved it into the door handle, pushing the door open. Thankfully, Scully's officemate wasn't there. She had forbidden Mulder from going in unless it was an emergency to avoid any possible repercussions. He saw a beige folder on the center of her desk.

Scully being Scully, he assumed this was the folder. Unlike him, she didn't have files littering her desk. He could see the name of her young patient, Christian, at the top of the folder. Inside was a sheet with dotted markings and it took him a moment to realize he was looking at a DNA test. Next to it was a sheet with her own name read on the top, with similar markings. When he realized what he was looking at, he lined them together to see the similarities. He was far from being a doctor, but he realized why Scully sent him up for these. His hands felt numb at the realization. He struggled in his jean pocket to pull his phone out and hit the speed dial to call and ask Skinner for help. Scully and the little boy were in danger.

About an hour later, Skinner entered Our Lady of Sorrows. He had ordered a guard to be posted at the boy's door, though he was still baffled at the news. He found Mulder pacing anxiously in the hospital corridor. He stopped as Skinner approached him. "How is she?"

Mulder shoved his hands into his coat pockets. "She should be okay, they're just running some more tests, because of the baby."

Skinner nodded. Last time he saw them was only weeks ago when he assisted Scully on saving Mulder's ass yet again on the Joe Chrissman case. She had mentioned that she was pregnant and he had felt a weird deja vu hit him all over again. He was always very fond of Scully and for some time it wasn't in just a platonic way, though he eventually accepted she only had eyes for Mulder.

He watched the other man curiously as he trembled with anxiety. "You okay, Mulder?' Skinner sensed there was more than he let on over the phone.

Mulder glanced around the hallway and then took Skinner's shoulder to guide him to a more private section of the hospital. Once he was confident that they were away from prying eyes, he pulled a folder out from the inside of his coat and handed it to Skinner.

Skinner held a look of confusion on his face as he reluctantly took the folder and Mulder watched as he opened it up and looked it over. He waited for what seemed like an eternity while confusion seemed to be more prominent on Skinner's features.

"What the hell am I looking at here, Mulder?" He said as more of a statement than a question, though Mulder looked just as incredulous as he did.

"That boy, Christian Fearon, is a patient Scully has been treating for some time. She found a cure for Sandhoff's disease."

Skinner looked up momentarily, suspecting that wasn't all.

Mulder averted his gaze. "That boy is adopted and Scully performed a DNA test on him. I'm not sure how he got here, but that child is our son...William, sir," Mulder's voice broke.

Skinner shook his head at what Mulder was implying. "What?! How? I mean, I oversaw those adoption records. I had the names and addresses of a family in Wyoming, but I promised Agent Reyes that I would never speak of it to Scully. It's not even in our records, I had gone through great lengths to seal them. Considering the leaks in the government, it wouldn't have been difficult for them to track down adoption records. I had a name and address on paper that I locked away in my safe at home. "

Mulder sighed. He knew Scully didn't want to know where William was for his own protection, even if it destroyed her.

Skinner sensed a request was at the disposal. "What do you need me to do?" He closed the file and handed it back to Mulder, who tucked it out of sight.

"I need you to help us get at least temporary custody of that boy."

Skinner shook his head. "Mulder, do you understand how complicated custody is? It's not a simple matter of me signing a few papers and making it go away. You and Scully will have to go through a lengthy court process and prove to the judge why you should be his guardians and that you're capable of raising him. The earliest I could make that happen is within weeks instead of months since this is an emergency."

Mulder sighed. "I know, I understand that...but this child, our son, is in danger. Scully is also in danger and I know she won't leave this hospital without him."

Skinner watched his former subordinate fight a range of emotions. This wasn't Agent Fox Mulder going off on a wild goose chase, but rather a concerned father needing his help. Mulder was never helpless. He sighed. "I'll tell you what I can do. I get can the hospital to relinquish him into FBI custody until further notice. He'll have to leave with me, but I can bring him to you and Scully. You'll have to do exactly as I say until I'm able to arrange a hearing for you both, at which you'll be on your own to initiate the custody process."

Mulder's face brightened. "I can't thank you enough, sir, you have no idea what this means to Scully and I. Especially Scully."

Skinner's eyes narrowed. "I think I do, but Mulder, you'll have to decide right now if you're okay with a life without chasing monsters. Otherwise, it's not fair to this child. You'll have to convince a judge that you can provide a safe and stable home environment."

Mulder nodded. He didn't want to lose his son again, or Scully. "And Mulder, my ass will be on the line if you don't do exactly as I say. You understand?"

He nodded. "Yes, sir."

Just then, another doctor Mulder recognized came up to them. "Mr. Mulder?"

"Yes? Is Scully okay?"

The taller, slightly older doctor nodded. "Dr. Scully is just fine, as is the baby. She'll be able to go home in no time. She's a little disoriented, but she's been asking for you. She needs to stay home for a few days at least, after the holidays would be recommended."

Mulder nodded. "Thank you." He quickly went to find Scully in her hospital room. She was standing with her back to him and grabbing her things.

Scully stopped and looked at him with a mixture of emotions. He noted that she had changed out of her hospital scrubs and back into her regular clothes. "Mulder," her voice carried a hitch in her tone that suggested she was holding back a range of emotions.

He immediately went to her and pulled her close. "Hey, it's okay."

She allowed herself to fall into his arms. "He's our son, Mulder," she choked out. "The baby I gave away, he found his way back to us," she sobbed.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her. He smoothed one of his hands gently over her head as he breathed in the sweet scent of her hair. "I know, it's a miracle,"

They stood there a moment later before she pulled away, wiping at her eyes. "But he's in danger, they sent him here because I'm a doctor at this hospital. Somebody knows I'm his mother."

Mulder placed his hands on her shoulders with the same pained expression. "Scully,"

"I sent him away to keep him safe, but maybe I made a terrible mistake."

"Scully, you found a way to cure his illness. He's going to recover because he found his way back to you. "

She seemed to consider his words. She took a deep breath and looked down.

"We're going to protect him, Scully."

She looked back at him with a pained expression. "But, how?"

He smiled. "He's coming home with us, Scully."

She gasped in disbelief. "Mulder, what are you talking about? He can't-"

"Skinner is going to take him into FBI custody. He's going to bring him to us, but we have to keep it on the down low until a court hearing is arranged for custody. Of course, it's going to be an uphill battle, but with us being and having a home and jobs that aren't dangerous, we have a good chance."

Scully couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Oh, Mulder. That's...that's wonderful, I've wanted this for so long, but he's still in danger."

"We'll find a way," he insisted. "We always do."

After making his calls, Skinner entered the children's ward where he posted his guard and walked up to Christian who looked at him curiously. Mulder had mentioned this boy shortly after the Joseph Chrissman case, a patient of Scully's. Looking at him, he could see the resemblance to the two of them right away. He had Scully's eyes and face, but he had Mulder's hair and expression. He was a perfect blend of the two agents whom he supervised for the longest time, always getting themselves into some trouble.

"Hi," the little boy smiled back at him with a careful, yet trusting gaze.

"Hey there, my name is Walter, Walter Skinner. I'm a friend of Dr. Scully and her husband, I used to be their boss."

He nodded and studied Skinner's expression. "Doctor Scully is my birth mom, isn't she?"

Skinner opened his mouth, unsure of how to respond. Instead, he just nodded. He perked up for a moment before frowning. "The bad people tried to hurt her, didn't they? The same people that hurt my other parents."

He gently touched the boy's arm. "Your mom is one of the strongest people I know. She'll be okay, I promise."

"Can I get out of here, soon?" He pleased in a way that was very similar to his own parents, who hated feeling handicapped to a hospital bed.

Skinner nodded. "Actually, you should be able to leave today. We're going to take you somewhere safe."

Father Ybarra chose that moment to burst into the room along with several other hospital administration staff. "What do you think you're doing? This patient is only allowed to have immediate relatives only in here."

Skinner sighed and retrieved his badge from his coat. "I'm Assistant Director Walter Skinner of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This patient is being put into temporary FBI custody until further notice."

Christian's eyes lit up at the sight of Skinner's badge. It was like something you'd see on TV or movies.

Father Ybarra glared. "FBI? Why is the FBI involved?"

Skinner started to re-pocket his badge before the boy reached out.

"You're an FBI Agent?! Like in the movies?!"

Skinner was caught off guard. "Well, not exactly...but sort of."

"Can I see?! Please?!" He pleaded with a look that was so eerily similar to his birth parents.

Skinner figured what the hell and handed it over as the boy scanned it over with great enthusiasm.

He turned back to Scully's newest superior. It looked like she had earned quite the reputation here as well.

"This boy's life is in danger and there's no reason he should still be in the hospital, for now, until he resumes treatments."

"What's going on here?" Scully called out from behind the forming crowd. The staff turned in her direction as she pushed through. No doubt they were all privy to the recent events, taking note of her bandaged forehead.

Mulder followed just as Father Ybarra tried to stop him. "No visitors."

"But that's my son," he spit out.

Growing further agitated, Father Ybarra turned to Scully who was now at the boy's side, lovingly touching his face. "Doctor Sc...Dana, you're okay."

"Yes, sweetie, I am. Now we're gonna get you out of here and somewhere safe, okay?"

"Doctor Scully," Father Ybarra barked, causing her to jump slightly. He looked from her to Mulder. "Your SON? What is the meaning of all of this?! Is this some kind of joke?!"

Scully wasn't in the mood, not after the day she had had. "Father, I can assure you this is no joke. As you know, I used to work for the FBI and I've seen many things that I can't explain. But right now, I don't have time to explain the logistics you," she snapped.

Father Ybarra glared in response to her accusatory tone, but she didn't care. After all this time, her son had been here, right under her nose. "You're my real mom," Christian said simply.

She nodded a tearful smile. "Yeah, looks that way," she stopped herself before her voice broke.

Skinner placed a hand on her shoulder. "Dana-"

She knew Skinner's unfinished sentence meant that they would need to follow his cue. She nodded. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

Christian read something in her expression that made him remain silent. He nodded. Before she turned away, she could see his concentration turn back to the object in his hand. A badge...Skinner's badge. She couldn't help but smile at Skinner before turning to leave the room, desperate to get past the prying eyes.

On the way home, Scully was overwhelmed with anxiety. Her son, THEIR son was coming to stay with them. She was afraid to get her hopes up. Skinner had arranged to collect the boy's things from his adoptive parent's' home to be brought to them. They did have a spare day bed in their third room. No one had ever stayed over before, but Scully being the compulsive neat freak she was, knew there was no way she was leaving a room out of the interior design plans. She was so nervous about everything, that she didn't realize she was shaking. Mulder gently touched her thigh. "Hey, it's okay, relax Scully."

Scully had been biting her nails, something that had never once been a habit before. She placed her free hand onto her belly. "This all feels so strange, Mulder. This is what we've wanted; what we've dreamed about for years, but I'm terrified."

"Are you having second thoughts?"

She shook her head. "No, I-I want this and of course there isn't any other choice...but I still remember him as that little baby I gave up all those years ago. I don't know how to be his mother now."

Mulder sighed. "I think it's going to be a process, Scully, for all of us."

She managed a week smile and gently touched his hand. "Are you sure this is what you want, Mulder? Are you okay with all of this? Finding William after all this time and having another baby."

Mulder honestly didn't know how to answer. He had been a father for all of a day or two, just barely had time to register that fact before he was forced to leave them. To this day, it was something he regretted terribly and still couldn't quite get over. William was nearly a distant memory to him, almost as if he only existed in a hypothetical sense. He wasn't sure what was worse, having spent no time at all with William and never really entertaining the idea of fatherhood, or the months Scully spent getting to know him before she was forced to give him away. He assumed it was the latter.

"As I said, it's going to be different for all of us. I didn't have a chance to be a father, but at almost forty seven years old, I probably should get on it, right?"

Mulder's attempt at humor was lost on her. "I'm sorry, Mulder," her voice broke.

He pulled up to their house and turned to look over at her, taking note of the fact that her gaze was focused outside the passenger window. He knew it was a typical habit of hers when she was upset and didn't want to admit her vulnerability. "Hey," he whispered. He gently reached over to stroke her hair and draw her face towards him. "Look at me, Scully," she prodded gently. He saw the tear stains that had just traced their way down her cheeks.

"You did what you had to. Even if I was there, who's to say it would have been any different. He wasn't safe with us then. But it's different now, we can keep him safe."

She took a deep breath and managed a small smile. "I hope you're right." She cursed her pregnancy hormones.

He tried to give her a reassuring smile before kissing the top of her head, careful to avoid the bandage. As she started to open the door, he made a move to get out. "Here, let me."

"I'm fine, Mulder. I can get it myself," she said in a tone that indicated she was going to argue. He nodded and got out of the car.

"Wait, Mulder. We don't have a lot of food, Christmas is next week and we need a lot of things, but we need to get some basics."

"I can do that, Scully. You wait for Skinner."

She gave him a skeptical look as they reached the door. "You, go shopping, Mulder?"

He shrugged. "Well, I can follow a list. Just tell me what we need."

She unlocked the door and made her way to the kitchen. He scanned the room as she scribbled a quick list. He could tell she was just as apprehensive as she was."I think I know what to get him for Christmas, I'll do a little shopping while I'm out. Call me or text if you need anything. Rest until they get here, okay?"

He knew full well it was probably impossible, but he needed her to try. He watched as she absently rubbed her belly as she nodded. She did that a lot when she was pregnant with Will, too. And something about it touched him. Scully already loved this baby so much, even if it wasn't something they planned on.

Once Mulder left, Scully found herself busy cleaning and picking up various items. She opened the door to the guest room and made sure it was somewhat habitable by adding extra bedding and pillows. Meanwhile, she was riddled with anxiety. She didn't really know her son's likes and dislikes, and she had gotten so used to just the two of them living together. Having her son return to her had always been a dream. Now their son being back with them permanently seemed like a very real possibility and they were having a baby on top of that. The sudden realization seemed to drain what remained of her energy reserves and she found herself curled up on the bed, allowing herself to fall into a peaceful slumber.

She was awakened a few hours later by the sound of tires hitting gravel and immediately jumped up, wondering how she'd let herself fall asleep for so long. She hurried into living room to see a black SUV pulled up front and Skinner getting out of the driver's side. Mulder still wasn't back and she could only hope that he was planning to pick up dinner. She found her purse and fumbled with the Blackberry while she sent him a quick text to grab them all some take out.

Scully opened the door as they ascended the stairway, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. To her surprise, Skinner was alone with the boy. She smiled back up at her and she could feel her heart melt.

"Hi, Mulder went out to get a few things, but he should be back soon."

Skinner looked Scully over. "Are you okay, Dana?"

She felt tears welling up suddenly, which she suspected was a result of the hormones in combination with the fact that her son really was right here, standing on her doorstep with Skinner.

She swallowed hard and forced a nod. "Yeah, I'm fine. I don't know how I can begin to thank you, sir."

Skinner reached into his pocket and handed her a folded piece of paper. "You can start by showing up to the guardianship hearing," he smiled.

Scully's hands trembled for a moment at the realization that this was their opportunity to regain custody and when she realized she was still standing in the doorway, she moved to the side. "Oh, come in."

As she closed the door, she watched her son look around in awe.

"Your house reminds me of the farm I lived on. But you don't have any animals or a tractor, do you?" he smiled at Scully.

That smile, it was Mulder's and it was contagious that she couldn't help but smile back at him. "No, well, I can barely get your dad to do household chores, let alone care for anything else," she realized the slip once it was out, but it was too late to take it back. She shifted awkwardly and to her surprise, Will laughed.

After showing them where Will would be staying, they took a seat on the couch in the living room. "Mulder is going to pick up some food, maybe you could stay for a little while?" She asked Skinner. She didn't want to admit she was anxious being alone with her son. She needed Mulder's support.

Skinner nodded. "We're getting his things tomorrow, my old friend who is a judge was able to get me this hearing right away when I told him the situation.

"I can't believe it's really happening," she whispered.

Their attention was now on the boy who found himself near the Christmas tree admiring the lights and tinsel they had finally put on it.

The next few days had went as well as to be expected while they all adjusted to their long lost child being in their home. Skinner had managed to obtain most of the boy's belongings and photographs, while Mulder got the necessities for the bedroom.

Scully was about to ask William what his favorite foods were, so she could make him a special dinner, but she came to a stop in front of his door when she saw Mulder seated next to him at the end of the bed. He had what looked like a photo album in his hands.

He hadn't noticed her yet, so she ducked out to sight. She could over hear Mulder talking about the contents of the album.

"Your mom would get sad whenever she saw these, so she would keep them locked away."

William nodded and waited for Mulder to turn the first page. When he did, Will perked up. It was photos of Dana and Fox holding a tiny baby. They looked fairly younger then though. "Is that me?"

Mulder smiled. "Sure is."

Will looked to be fumbling for words. "That means you're my dad."

Mulder looked fairly surprised at the realization. "Oh no, I'm just this guy your mom put up with all these years."

He smiled and his son seemed to quickly catch on to his sense of humor, much to Scully's relief.

Will looked away for a moment and frowned. "I'm sorry, I don't remember you as much as Dana. Only bits and pieces, but not a clear face."

Mulder couldn't help but feel a tiny stab of guilt pierce his heart. "It's okay, I was forced to leave you and your mom, to protect you both. I only knew you for a few days and from the photos your mom sent me. I wish I wouldn't have had had to leave, though."

Will nodded. "It's okay," he considered his next thought. "So that's why Dana would cry a lot."

Mulder nodded tearfully.

"But why, why did she give me away then?"

Mulder heard something crash to the floor and onto then did he realize they weren't alone. Scully stood in the door way, not moving to pick up the glass that had shattered on the floor.

Will looked over to see Scully in the doorway, mouth open and eyes full of unshed tears. She wasn't ready for this conversation.

"Scully!" Mulder had moved towards her productively and gently led her into the room and away from the glass.

She sat next to Will, folding her hands in her lap while she looked down. "Honey, I-"

Mulder went to quickly clean up the glass. He wanted Scully to be the one to answer this question, but he also wanted to be there to support her.

Will watched as his mother looked away with tears in her eyes. "I never wanted to give you up. Believe me, I...we wanted you so much. Loved you more than anything and still do, but at the time your Fa-Mulder and I had very dangerous jobs with some very bad people after us that we didn't want to risk your safety. Giving you away was the most difficult thing I've ever had to do."

He felt her arm around him and looked over at her. He could see she had tear stains on her face. Fox had come back to sit next to her. "Wow," was all Will could say.

"I wish I had been there when Dana had to make that choice, Bud. The bad people were after me and I couldn't keep you and your mom safe," Mulder explained, not faltering on his words this time.

Will managed a smile. "I think I understand. Most of my memories of Dana involve her being very sad and crying. I never understood why. But I think I do now."

Mulder took Scully's hand in his own.

"Can we look at more photos?" he asked seemingly satisfied with the conversation.

"Of course," Scully picked the album up in her lap and flipped to the next page.

In it were less photos of she and Mulder, but some of Scully with Will and Will by himself.

"Wow, you had really red hair then," he commented.

Scully laughed. "Yeah, I did," she absently ran her hand through her long strawberry blonde locks. "But I've started getting a few grays, so it looks a bit better this way."

Will smiled as he analyzed the photos of himself. Most of which he was watching the camera and smiling. He then had a realization. "My other parents have photos of me too. Can you take me to get some of my things? I'm pretty sure I can find them."

Scully wouldn't have loved anything more than to know what her son looked like all these years. She wasn't sure how safe it was at the Fearon's home considering evidence suggested they were murdered, but she supposed it was a good idea and reasonable to let Will return for his things.

Mulder looked over at Scully. "I'm sure we can do that, Bud. Let me see if I can get Skin-man's help with that."

"Who's Skin-Man?"

Scully gave Mulder a questioning look.

"Remember Walter Skinner? Just know that only I'm allowed to call him Skin-Man."

"Mulder, don't tell him that." Scully rolled her eyes.

Mulder have her an innocent look as Will glanced through more pages. "Who are all these people?"

Scully turned her attention back to the album. There were photos of Will and her mom as well as her nephews with Will on her first and only Christmas with him. "That's your grandma and those are your cousins, Matthew and Bill Jr."

"Will I get to meet them?"

"Soon, for Christmas. They don't know about you yet, but we want it to be a surprise."

Will looked intrigued and looked up at Scully. She couldn't help but smile whenever he met her gaze, part of her still couldn't believe he was there with them.

"I want you to know that we both love you very much, sweetie."

Christmas day had come quickly and for Scully, watching her son devour his presents for the first time was honestly one of the best moments of her life. He said he didn't believe in Santa anymore, until Mulder explained to him how he could still "Want To Believe" to keep the holidays feeling magical while she also told him that Santa was a spirit much like God that you put your faith in.

Before visitors arrived, Scully decided to take a break from cooking. "Mulder, I'm going to take Will for a walk, we'll be back in thirty minutes or so. Can you handle things in the kitchen while I'm gone?"

Mulder looked at her as he was opening the oven. "Ouch!" he waved his hand.

She gasped, and he let out a chuckle.

"Just kidding. It's fine, I've got this. If you trust all my crazy theories, you can trust me to be a big boy in the kitchen, Scully."

She couldn't help but smile beside herself. She turned at the sound of footsteps down the hall. "Are you ready, sweetie?"

The wide-eyed boy grinned at her in a way that was much like the way his father looked at her just now. "Yes, Dana!."

She took a coat from the coat rack near the front door and handed it to him. It took a lot on her part to suppress the urge to want to mother him. While he was seven years old and capable of doing a lot of things on his own, she couldn't forget the image of the baby boy that popped into her mind whenever she saw him. Mulder smiled at them as he finished checking the ham. "You be careful too, okay?" he said more to Scully.

"We'll be fine," she said absently as her fingers brushed the small bump on the outside of her beige coat.

He looked at the boy "I'm counting on you, Bud."

Will grinned at Mulder in a sort of mutual understanding that seemed to only exist between them two. "Yes, sir!"

Once Christian or "Will" got his sneakers on, he took Scully's outstretched hand and followed her down the steps. The fact that their son was back with them still brought on sudden unexplained tears for Scully. Even just walking with him like this was something she had only ever been able to dream about, much less sharing a holiday with him.

In the past few years, Scully would usually devote her time to the hospital during holidays and then come home to Mulder for a quiet dinner. She didn't care to try and put up a facade at her family's house. As much as she loved her nephews, it only served as a reminder to everything she had lost and she couldn't leave Mulder alone. All those years he couldn't leave the house had taken it's toll on her as well, hence being the primary motivator to get him to take that case that was offered. She did enjoy seeing the smiles on the kid's' faces at the hospital when Santa would deliver them each a gift. This year was the exception as one of them was at home spending the holiday with her.

Ever so intuitive, the boy looked over at Scully, who took a deep breath to keep the sudden onset of tears at bay. "Dana, are you okay?"

Scully managed a smile and quickly wiped away any stray tears that might have fallen. "I'm okay, sweetie, don't worry."

He smiled and accepted her answer as she lead him to a trail behind their house.

"My other parents lived in the middle of nowhere too. They had a house on a lot of land like you and Fox, but we had farm animals and stuff."

Scully smiled. "I see. Well, it's hard enough to get Mulder to cook or leave the house," she laughed.

To her surprise, her son laughed in agreement as well then quieted all of a sudden. "Um...do you think we could maybe get a cat or dog someday?"

For some reason, Scully hadn't expected that question. She hadn't had a dog in years since Queequeg, but she did in all honesty miss the companionship. On the other hand, a cat might be easier for them to maintain while she wasn't home.

She gently tugged his hand. "Well, I'll have to talk to Mulder about it first, but we can definitely consider maybe just one."

"Really?! Yay!" he gently tugged on her arm.

Scully really hoped they weren't spoiling him too much, but she couldn't help it. She would give anything to see her son smile after all these years.

A few minutes later, they both fell into an awkward silence again, but it gave them time to admire their surroundings.

The weather was brisk and chilly. The snow had stopped falling for now, but there were patches of it along the path. Trees and bushes were barren after the fall shedding of leaves. Sometimes they would see a squirrel or birds frolicking around.

Will looked up from the ground. "Um, you know that song you used to sing. ..when I was a baby? Could you sing it again?"

Scully certainly hadn't expected that request. Her cheeks reddened as she looked down. "Uh, oh...um, you know, sweetie, I actually can't sing very well. When I sang to you as a baby, it was always when we were alone and I never expected you to remember how terrible I sounded," she managed.

He frowned. "I see. But you will sing to the baby when she's born?"

Scully absently placed her hand on the small bump. "Maybe, I don't know. The first time I sang that song was to your Fa- to Mulder," she corrected. "He said I couldn't carry a tune."

"Carry a tune?"

"I can't sing very well."

He tugged on her hand insistently. "Well, he isn't here right now, so please? I won't judge. I promise."

Scully stopped in her tracks and took the boy's other free hand in her own also. She looked down at him earnestly. "Oh all right, but as long as you promise not to make fun of me later...or tell Mulder!"

"Deal!"

She smiled and gently pulled him along.

"Jeramiah was a bullfrog

Was a good friend of mine I never understood a single word he said But I helped him a-drink his wine And he always had some mighty fine wine

Singin' joy to the world All the boys and girls now Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea Joy to you and me"

Scully continued as they walked until she finished, earning a chuckle from her son that sounded a lot like Mulder. "What? I told you not to laugh," she said with a smile to indicate she wasn't seriously scolding him.

"Okay, maybe you were right, Dana, but I like it when you sing to me. When the baby is born, you should sing to her too."

Scully fought another lump in her throat as the boy continued to walk. "Dana?"

"Hmm?" Scully was lost in her own thoughts.

"Despite having two other families before, I've never had a brother or sister to play with. So I can't wait to meet her when she's born."

"Me too," her voice had broken.

Will turned to look over at his mother. "Why do you look so sad?"

Scully shook her head. "I'm not sad, sweetie, just so happy to have you home with us."

"But you're crying."

"There are happy and sad tears, Will. Right now I'm just so happy that I can't help it. I'm sorry. Forgive me?"

He smiled. "Of course. Do you need a hug, Dana?"

She wiped away the stray tears as best she could and nodded, slowly kneeling down so he could wrap his arms around her. She wasn't much taller than him without her heels, but getting down to his level was a motherly instinct.

She took a deep breath. She could smell the faint familiar scent of the baby she once knew and loved very much and still did.

"I miss my other parents, Dana," he frowned and she could see the tears in his eyes of unshed emotion. Should tell he had been hiding his sadness. Her voice caught in her throat as he paused. "But I always felt like I didn't fit in and they didn't always understand me, but they raised me and loved me as their own."

This only made Scully break out into a sob.

"We love you so much. I hope you know that. I always loved you. I thought about you every single day. My sweet boy."

"I know," he smiled. "I can see it in your face."

She was startled at the memory of Mulder telling her the same thing.

After several minutes passed, Will gently pulled away. "Promise me you won't cry anymore, Mom. You cried so much when I was a baby. I don't like to see you sad."

Scully laughed at the irony of all this. It as if they temporarily switched places. Though being called "mom" for the first time by him wasn't lost on her. "Well, I'll try but I'm not going to make any promises. Moms tend to cry a lot when it comes to their children, but mostly tears of happiness."

"Oh. Ok."

They both stood up and Scully motioned towards the bench a few feet away. Not many frequented this trail aside from the nearby landowners. Surprisingly enough, Scully felt her feet starting to swell. She was getting close to the 5-month mark, but she wasn't too far along yet. However, with her petite frame, it didn't take much for the pregnancy effects to start wearing on her. The grassy smell in the air also wasn't agreeing with her too well. Thankfully, the odd cravings hadn't kicked in nor the change of taste buds that would put her favorite foods on the dislike list, though she suspected that would be coming soon.

Will obediently sat next to her as she placed her free arm around her son, while the other was curled productively around the small curve of her belly. "Will, there's also something I need you to know, it's very important, okay?"

"Okay."

He nodded, giving her a questioning look that looked so much like her own that she smiled.

"You can't wander around the property without Mulder and I. It can be dangerous, especially at night. It may seem harmless, but there are coyotes and other animals around here that wander around at night and in the wee morning hours. We don't want you to get hurt or take any risk of losing you. Do you understand?"

Scully's words also had additional underlying meaning as a result of the other dangers she and Mulder had faced, but she didn't want to unnecessarily scare her child by elaborating any further.

He nodded. Will could see fear in her eyes and she had taken on a sudden tone of voice to indicate that she was very serious.

"Yes."

"You have to promise me," her request was now just a hair above a plead.

He nodded. "Okay, Dana. I promise I'll be careful. You don't have to worry."

She smiled. Satisfied, she placed a kiss to his head and together they admired the acreage behind their property. Their home was no longer in sight and she realized they had lost track of time. "Well, we had better get back. We need to make sure Mulder didn't burn the house down with his cooking while we were gone."

Will giggled. "Dana, there's something else I need to ask you."

"What is it, sweetie?"

"Why does Fox have pencils sticking out of the ceiling?"

Scully couldn't help but laugh out loud at the unexpected question.

"And why is his name Fox? Were his parents mad at him when he was born?"

Scully clutched her side as she couldn't contain herself at the boy's questions. So frank and got the point like herself, but with this innocent curiosity that reminded her so much of Mulder chasing one of those crazy theories of his.

"What? I'm serious," he said with slight annoyance, yet he was smiling because he enjoyed seeing Dana happy.

"You're going to have to ask him those questions I'm afraid," she said taking hold of his and walking back toward their home.

Mulder watched as Scully and their son entered the front door and it was a sight that warmed his heart, though he wasn't the type to admit it out loud. He saw the way Scully always looked at their son and her gaze was always filled with maternal affection and unconditional love. He had honestly never seen a mother love their child to the same degree. He had only seen her as a mother for just a few days before she had to leave.

There was a time where he feared how parenthood would change their relationship and he was afraid of that change. He never wanted to lose what they had to the challenges of parenthood. It had been difficult when it was forced on him, when he returned from the dead, but everything had changed the moment he saw Scully with William as a newborn and put him in his arms. He felt the same overwhelming love he saw in Scully's face. However, when he found out about the adoption, he couldn't help but feel a little betrayed that she had made that decision without him. Deep down he knew what she did was for their child's best interest. But he didn't really have much time to entertain the idea of being a father and thus over the years, he started wondering whether it had all been some sort of dream he had pushed away in his mind.

"I hope you got something accomplished while we were out," Scully's voice brought him out of his reverie. She was smiling at him, with her arms folded over her chest.

"Huh? Oh yeah. Don't worry, Scully, I printed the directions this time," he smirked holding a piece of paper up.

She raised her eyebrow questioningly. "Oh, I see," she took a deep breath, smelling the slightest smoke in the air. "Did you set the timer?"

"Umm, well."

"Just get whatever it is out of the oven, before it burns," she said, hiding how impressed she was that everything was still intact."

"Are those your orders, Doc?"

"Only if you want to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning," she smiled.

Their son was quite amused by the way they interacted with one another. It was definitely not the same as the parents he'd known most of his life.

"Okay, okay. Hey Bud, want to come and give me a hand?"

Their son ran into the kitchen. Scully's head shot up. "Mulder, please make sure he doesn't burn himself." Scully was in overprotective Mom mode, which was understandable. They had just gotten their child back, though they still had a process to go through before he was legally theirs again and the slightest mishap could jeopardize that.

"Yes, Mom," Mulder rebuked.

As Mulder showed the boy proper cooking safety, he glanced over at Scully who was now sitting on the couch. Relaxing wasn't something she did often, but the pregnancy was taking up a lot of her energy stores.

"Hey Scully, Skinner called."

"Oh really? What is he up to?"

"Well, I figured I'd invite him and Kim to dinner. He said he was going to bring a surprise."

Scully raised her eyebrow. "You know I don't like surprises, Mulder."

"I know, but he promised it would be good and nothing, you know, spooky."

"Okay, well I'll hold you to that. My mom is going to be here at three. Bill and Tara are going to Tara's parents house this year. I am actually a little disappointed, but it would be hard for us to go to California right now and I know you and Bill are still on each other's naughty list."

Mulder was honestly relieved. His son helped him a little bit in the kitchen until Scully had insisted on taking over, to his dismay. Though she had already given him a lecture on how pregnancy was a condition and not a disability.

As he put on a movie for their son, he his mind briefly wandered over to the discussion he and Scully had about their son's final treatment. Her most recent treatment of stem cell therapy had allowed the boy to walk again and had resolved his speech impediment for the most part.

Once the baby was born, Scully now planned to have stem cells harvested from the umbilical cord for one final treatment on the boy, which she explained would exhaust the disease in it's entirety. One of them could possibly be a match, but she had explained that stem cells from a full blooded sibling was more likely to be an exact match. Their son was fortunate to have such an amazing doctor as his mother and he didn't want to think about what may have happened if Scully hasn't been pushed by Father Joe to not give up.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang and their son nearly tripped as he ran to open the door, but not before Scully instructed him to ask who it was and look through the peep hole. After standing on his tip toes, he opened the door to a rather dumbfounded Margaret Scully. "Hello," he smiled.

"Um, hi," he looked from the boy back to her daughter who came up right behind him. "Dana, who's your visitor?"

Scully was at a momentary loss of words; she hadn't thought about how she was going to break the news to her mother about her grandson. Her eyes filled with tears. "Mom, this is your grandson...William, but he has been going by 'Christian' for several years," her voice broke.

Maggie looked at her daughter and over her shoulder to Fox, who appeared to be giving them all some space. "Oh god, it can't be, can it?" She placed her hands over her mouth. She had been devastated when Dana announced she had to give William away for his safety.

"Oh, my sweet baby boy, is it really you?" She knelt down to him as tears laced her throat. He smiled back at her with Dana's eyes.

"Hi, Grandma," he looked back at Scully for a moment for reassurance and she smiled in response.

"Can I give you a hug?" She pleaded. He smiled and nodded and she all but tightly grabbed onto him for dear life. Scully felt a mixture of guilt and happiness at the sight. Her son had hugged Maggie back, before turning to Scully and looking her up and down.

"Oh Dana, look at you, I know most people probably can't tell too much, but you're showing now. How far along are you? Did you find out the sex? You're not going to keep me in suspense this time, right?"

Scully laughed as she led her mother in and took her coat. "Well, I suppose I can tell you," she teased. "It's a girl."

Maggie gasped. "It's a girl, really?"

Scully smiled in response as her mother placed her hand on her slightly rounded abdomen. "My first granddaughter," she beamed. "It's unbelievable, a miracle. You keep surprising me, Dana. Now how is the food coming?"

Mulder reddened as the older woman started fussing around in the kitchen and once she noticed Mulder's less than stellar handiwork, she started busying herself and insisted Scully take a seat. "I must say, I'm sad Bill won't be with us, but he sends his love."

Scully looked over at Mulder who gave Scully a knowing grin. "I'm sure he does," he whispered so only she could hear.

Their son looked between them curiously. "When do I get to meet him?"

Mulder suppressed a groan. "Soon, son, soon."

About an hour later, there was another knock on the door as Maggie was helping set the table. This time, Mulder was right behind her when she proceeded to answer it. He heard the familiar voice that was Skinner, but as he stepped closer, he could see not only Kim Cook, his assistant and now wife, but two people standing behind them. "Oh, now it's a party." He loved that line.

Behind them were two faces he hadn't expected to see and that he hadn't seen in about six years. They had aged slightly as they had over the years, but it was them. "Wow, is this your surprise, Skin-man? I'd have to admit, they weren't on my guest list. You got me good."

Scully was instantly at Mulder's side, bracing herself for this surprise.

"Agent Mulder and Agent Scully, I guess I should lose the Agent bit now, huh? It's been a while," John Doggett greeted with a shake of Mulder's hand.

Doggett had added a few pounds, but nothing excessive and his hair had grayed and receded some.

Monica Reyes stepped up. She was thinner and her hairline had also slightly receded with age, but she still had no noticeable greying. "Mulder, Dana," she said, pulling her dear friend into a hug, which Scully had welcomed.

"Well, this definitely wasn't what I expected," Scully said with a wry smile.

When they had stepped to the side, they had gotten a glance of William, who stood there with an awkward smile that reminded Scully so much of Mulder. Monica got down to his level.

"Wow, you must be William, though you go by Christian now. You probably don't remember us, but we knew your dad and mom when you were a baby, and when she was pregnant with you."

"Hi," he said shyly.

"Hey bud, wow, you look so much like your mom," John started before catching Mulder's distrustful eye. He never wanted to admit his unrequited love for Scully, even though he and Monica were very happy together. They had gotten married just a couple years ago and Monica had just found out she was pregnant a couple weeks back, but they hadn't told anyone since she was still well within the first trimester.

Monica grinned at John. "It's so great to see you both again, unfortunately, I was too caught up with work to fly back to Mexico City for the holidays with John."

Maggie smiled when they all made their way inside. "Dana never fails to surprise me," her gaze darted over to her daughter.

"It's nice to see you again under better circumstances, Mrs. Scully," Monica greeted the older woman with a quick peck on the cheek.

Scully had never felt more relaxed and contented at a holiday gathering before. If it wasn't just her and Mulder, it was the unpredictability at her mom's house with her brothers.

As they settled in, Maggie took charge with bringing bowls to the table while the rest of the group caught up in the living room. Their son sat right next to Scully the entire time, while she kept a protective arm around his shoulders.

"Dana, you're expecting again, congratulations," Monica said.

Scully blushed. "Honestly, this isn't what I was expecting at almost 44 years old, but everything is perfect. How about you and John?" She glanced over at John Doggett.

Monica smiled. "Well, after everything that happened six years ago, we spent some time in Mexico City with my parents until the Assistant Director was able to clear our names and it also gave us an opportunity to explore some UFO cases out there,"

Mulder perked up a bit at that.

"I decided to move to New York with John, where he took a detective assignment and I started a job criminal profiling."

"That sounds like a dream compared to spending six years living as a recluse from the government," Mulder quipped.

"You never lost you sense of humor at least," John smirked.

"Dana, you must have completed your residency. I hear you're a physician now at a small hospital nearby," Monica said.

Scully smiled and nodded. "It was one of the few things I could do with Mulder in isolation. I suspect our names were cleared around the same time, but it wasn't so simple with Mulder, not until they wanted something from him. I never understood why they needed him for that case anyways, but I'm glad it's over, at least for now."

"Well, I hope so, because John and I are expecting a sort of miracle of our own," she smiled and touched his hand.

"Oh Monica, you're..."

"Yeah, I'm only a few weeks along, so we haven't really told anyone."

"Wow, I'm happy for both of you," Scully smiled at them both. "Sometimes it's nice to...have a second chance," she said pointedly at John.

"Yeah," he smiled. He hadn't been this happy in a long time and he hoped it would be a chance to make things right.

"Dana, Mulder," Skinner interjected. "Can we have a minute?"

Scully felt her knees go weak for a moment before she nodded. She knew it had something to do with whoever was after this son and who killed his parents.

She looked over at her son who was eyeing them suspiciously in the way Scully almost did. It made Mulder smile. "We'll be right back, ok, Bud?"

He smiled and nodded. "Okay," he said turning back to his PSP game device that Mulder had gotten him as an early Christmas gift. He said he didn't believe in Santa anymore when he opened gifts that morning, but he suspiciously felt that his son wanted to believe.

Mulder ruffled his hair before following Scully and Skinner to the outside porch.

Scully absently touched her stomach before catching herself and folding her arms across her chest. "What is it?"

Skinner sighed. "The good news is that we caught the man who tried to attack you."

Scully gave him a skeptical look. "And the bad?"

Skinner shoved his hand into his pockets and exhaled a deep breath, watching it pierce the cold air. "He won't say anything about who he is or where he comes from, but he's not going anywhere."

Mulder shook his head. He knew there would always be danger lurking around and waiting for them. Despite having years of peace, he knew it wouldn't last. "It doesn't matter, there are always more."

Scully glanced over at Mulder in shock. "Mulder, how can you say that?" She asked, trembling slightly.

He placed a reassuring hand on her arm. "We know it's all part of the plan, but we're together now. We can protect them both," he gestured towards the light swell of her abdomen.

She sighed, holding back tears.

"He's right, Dana. We'll do everything we can to make sure they stay safe. That's actually why I asked Reyes and Doggett for their help. , I think you're going to need it. We're going to need it. But for today, let's not worry about this."

Scully nodded slowly as Mulder put a loving arm around her shoulders before they went back inside the house. They looked over at Monica and John who were talking to their son and telling him stories about when they first met his parents and asked him what he liked to do for fun.

Maggie had just finished placing all the food dishes on the table and announced that dinner was ready. While the were afraid for what may lie ahead of them, everything was just perfect and the couldn't remember a time they were this happy, aside from William's birth.

The snow had started to fall outside and with the Christmas tree lights illuminating the interior of their house along with the amazing aroma of food, they knew they finally had the strength to prepare for what lie was ahead. But today, they simply wanted to embrace the calm before the storm. As Mulder said, the darkness would always find them, but this time they would be ready.

End

This was also inspired by the Nursery Files' Christmas Reunion Challenge.

Elements:

(Post-IWTB Reunion)

This Christmas, give readers a gift that CC didn't - a reunion. Write a Christmas fic that involves Mulder and Scully spending time with their son William on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Have they gotten him back? Are they just visiting him at the Van DeKamps? Or is it a mere chance encounter? You tell us.

Challenge requirements:

* Set your kidfic during a Christmas after I Want To Believe. It doesn't need to be 2008, but William should still be a child.