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jodithann827 · 20 days

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One Night Stand (Revised)

9/13

This chapter is rated teen/ Ao3/ @today-in-fic

Ray’s Deli

Saturday, April 17 1993

*Ding Ding*

The ringing of the bell on the door announces their presence. Walking into the small deli, Emma lodged on one hip, Scully pauses, searching. She spots him, sitting across the room at a small corner table, out of the way of the hustle and bustle of the lunchtime rush. She steadily makes her way towards him and notices a small high chair in place of where a chair should be. Her heart melts, just a bit, realizing he purposefully sought out one for Emma to sit in. He stands as she approaches.

“Hey Scully,” he greets her, a sheepish grin on his face. She thinks it’s adorable, him being cautious, not fully sure how he should act around her now. She gently places Emma into the high chair before gathering some small toys to occupy her. She then focuses on herself, removing her jacket, a lightweight spring one that she places over the back of her chair.

“Hi Mulder, thanks for grabbing the high chair for her,” she offers him a wide smile. Smiling back, he nods, but his eyes wander to Emma, they are magnetized to her face. All he can do is stare. He saw her last night, but it’s as though he’s really and truly seeing her for the first time today. She’s enchanting, the most beautiful child he’s ever seen.

“Emmy, do you remember my friend from last night? Mulder? Can you say hi” Scully prompts the child, gently combing two fingers through her hair. Emma briefly looks up, acknowledging her mother said something to her but then is right back to her toys.

“She’s pretty shy around new people,” Scully explains, grabbing a menu to decide her order. It’s a tactic and she knows it. She frequents this deli enough to know the menu by heart, but having it close gives her something to do with her trembling hands. Mulder nods in recognition and they are quickly interrupted by a well-intentioned waitress, wanting to take their orders. Once the minutiae of ordering is out of the way, they stare at each other, a bit awkwardly, not knowing who should break the silence first.

“When’s her birthday?” Mulder finally asks, unable to handle the silence. He figures it a fairly easy question.

Scully takes a sip of water before answering. “February 15th. She was born in the middle of a blizzard. Some 6 inches of snow on the ground when I went to the hospital.”

“When did you find out?” he asks without elaborating, knowing she knows.

“About six weeks after. There was a stomach bug going around, so I thought I was sick. I was training at Quantico, pushing myself to the brink so I thought it was exhaustion on top of possibly having a bug. My friend Ellen, the one who I was at the bar with that evening, she’s the one who suggested I take a test. I was floored when it came back positive.”

“We were careful, Scully,” he blurts, then lowers his head, embarrassed if anyone overheard him. He looks ashamed, but she gives him a forgiving smile.

“I know Mulder, I was there,” she tells him softly. She realizes she'd been living the life for over two years, while he was just given the information yesterday. Understandably, he needs time to comprehend, to adjust. “Condoms aren’t one hundred percent effective.” She looks at him, looking at Emma, who had abandoned her toys in favor of the crayons and paper that were within her reach.

“Look, Mulder, I know we’re in a strange situation. It is weird and difficult, and awkward as hell. It’s a life that you may or may not have imagined yourself in. I just want you to know that I am ok. Emma is okay. It took a while for us to get to this place, but we are. We are happy and healthy and living our lives. We don’t need anything,” she hopes she doesn’t sound harsh, as it’s certainly not her intention. She wants him to understand that she doesn’t need anything from him.

“Can I ask you a question?” he asks.

“You just did,” she smiles, her attempts at lightening the mood fall slightly flat with the arrival of the waiter and their food. Scully busies herself tending to Emma, cutting her food, and moving the toys. She turns to look at Mulder. “Of course, Mulder, you can ask me anything.”

“If you knew how to get ahold of me, would you have?” He waits for her answer, which comes immediately as the words leave his mouth.

“I never would have kept anything from you. You know, even before I found out I was pregnant, the day after we met, I went through my apartment with a fine tooth comb, looking for anything, any clue, that would give a glimpse as to your identity. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything, and it’s not like I could use the FBI database to find you, though nothing would have come up, William,” she emphasizes with a slight laugh. “I wanted to tell you so badly, Mulder. That night we had, it was amazing and I tried to deny the connection, if I’m being honest, because it terrified me. Never in a million years did I expect any of this to happen, even though she’s the best thing that has ever happened to me.” She pauses, ruffling Emma’s hair. In turn, Emma provides a fistful of pancakes into Scully’s mouth, which makes Mulder bark out a surprised laugh. Emma, understanding she did something funny, attempts to do it again, much to Scully’s amusement.

After wiping her syrupy face, Scully continues. “Look, Mulder, when you sat in that hotel room in Oregon and disclosed everything you’d been through with Samantha, well it made me realize that I couldn’t dump this situation on you, not that Em is a situation, but you know what I mean. You have so much going on with your work and your search for the truth. You said it yourself; nothing else matters–”

“But Scully,” he interrupts. She holds a hand up, indicating she’s not finished. Her voice is steady and even when she continues.

“I love my job, but Emma is my world, my everything. She comes first in my life, no matter what. I live and breathe for her and we have a pretty good life going for us. She’s not lacking anything. My intent is not for you to feel like you need to step in or step up. I’m going to leave it up to you, but I don’t want you to feel pressure. If you want to be in her life as my friend and co-worker, that’s fine. If you want to be cool Uncle Mulder, that’s okay too. If you decide that you want to be a father to her, I won’t stop you. But the one thing I absolutely will not tolerate is having her hurt by significant people going in and out of her life,” she pauses to let him digest the information and after a moment passes, she adds, “I don’t want an answer from you right now. It’s a big decision and I want you to take some time to think about it.”

He hears Scully’s words, but can’t help his continued gaze at Emma. Deep in his heart, he knows he’s already falling in love with her. He acknowledges Scully’s words with a slight nod, not trusting his voice.

“It might change our working relationship or this friendship we seem to be developing, but I’m willing to try and figure it out if it’s something you want,” she tells him.

“Scully,” he says, finally finding his forgotten voice. She looks at him, her skeptical gaze searing into Mulder’s memory. He pushes forward with his request. “I’d like to spend the day with you ladies if that’s okay. Scully looks at Emma, who’s polished off most of her pancakes, at least the ones she didn’t feed to Scully, smiles, and nods.

Scully Residence

Saturday, April 17 1993

Exhaustion. He feels it from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. Every body part aches and he feels as though he could sleep a million hours. But his heart is full, bursting at the seams. He nurses a beer as he sinks further into Scully’s couch and thinks about the day he had. Once they’d finished lunch it was decided that an adventure to the local park was needed. At first, Mulder was hesitant. Mr. ‘willing to jump into any dangerous situation that crossed his path’ was nervous about playing with a small child. He’d sat back and watched Scully interact with her daughter; his daughter; their daughter. She’d pushed her on the swing, crawled up the plaything, down the slide, and chased her around the woodchips. He wasn’t sure who his eye was drawn to more, Emma or her mother. He would have been content to sit there all day, just watching them in their blissful happiness.

Out of the blue, Emma toddled up to him, grasped his pinky finger, which dwarfed her microscopic hand, and attempted to pull him to the swings. “Push,” she demanded with a giggle. Mulder had looked at Scully, looking for permission. The mega-wat smile on her face was all he needed. He lifted Emma, placed her on the rough material, and started pushing. He was overcome with joy, as well as astonishment. He couldn’t believe how light and little she was. She clapped her hands and squealed with the delight of a child on a summer day each time Mulder’s hand connected with her back. Every so often, he would turn to face Scully, needing assurance that he was still doing okay, and each time he was rewarded with a smile.

After their romp at the park, Mulder suggested a quest for ice cream, which delighted Emma. He wasn’t sure if more of the melted cone ended up in the little one’s stomach or on her face and clothing. The icing on the proverbial cake was when Emma decided to reenact feeding Scully and Scully ended up with melted chocolate ice cream on her face and in her hair, and though she tried to be annoyed, she laughed right along with Mulder and Emma. Without thinking, Mulder took a napkin and dapped at the sticky substance on her cheek. He couldn’t get over how natural the day had felt.

Squeals of delight brought him back to the present. Scully was bathing Emma, possibly unsuccessfully if the sounds coming from the bathroom were any indication. It sounded more like an exuberant playtime. What am I going to do, he thinks to himself while he waits for them to finish. Knowing he has a monumental decision to make, he takes another sip of beer. It’s a two-fold problem. No, problem isn’t the right term because any fool would be lucky to be in his shoes. But it was an issue he had to address, sooner rather than later. He’s a father, and nothing would change that. Emma had already captured his heart with her soft eyes, warm smile, and joyful attitude. If it was just about Emma, his choice would be easy. But who’s he kidding? None of this is easy. There’s Emma, and then there’s Scully. He’d be lying to himself if he admitted he didn’t think about that night often. How easily they communicated that night, how much fun they had, and how mindblowing the sex was. He was also really enjoying working with her on the X-files. She challenged him in ways he’d never been challenged before. She made him think and work for his theories. How sustainable would the partnership be? Would he be able to be a father to his child and just be a friend to her mother? There were so many questions racing through his mind.

“I started to put her down,” her voice startles him. He turns to see Scully, holding a pajama-clad Emma. “She keeps saying ‘Mudder’ so I’m thinking she wants to say goodnight to you.” Emma reaches out her arms to Mulder as Scully comes closer and Mulder’s arms automatically lift to receive her.

“Goodnight sweet Emma,” he nuzzles into her cheek.

“Night Mudder,” her sweet voice carries through the room. She yawns and snuggles into his chest, her eyelids heavy and her thumb going straight into her mouth.

“Do you want to put her to bed?” Scully asks in a hushed tone. He nods and stands, ever so carefully, a man holding the most precious gift, and follows Scully to Emma’s room. He places her, softly, into her crib. Instinctively, he kisses his fingers and then places them onto Emma’s cheek, before smoothing her hair out of her face. They carefully back out of the room and retreat to the front of Scully’s apartment, Scully, in search of a glass of wine, and Mulder, in search of his half-finished beer.

Once enveloped in the couch, Scully lets out a monstrous yawn after giving Mulder a shy and apologetic smile. “I love her so much, but she can be exhausting at times.” Mulder gives her a skeptical glance and redacts her statement. “Okay, all of the time.” Mulder nods approvingly.

They sit in silence for a while before Mulder praises her. “I don’t know how you do it, Scully. I barely survived the day.”

“You get used to it and it helps that she is a good girl. My family helped out a lot in the beginning. They still help a lot since I am working more now,” she explains.

“Will you…” he starts but trails off. He hesitates, watching her sip her wine.

Sensing his trepidation, she gives an encouraging nod. “What, Mulder? Ask me, it’s okay. I told you I would tell you anything.” Her voice is soft and reassuring.

“Would you feel comfortable enough to tell me about her birth? I don’t mean the details, you don’t have to share those, but maybe just the experience?” Scully is taken by surprise. The request is the furthest thing she thought he would ask. Smiling, she nods and takes his hand. Then she begins.

#dana scully #fox mulder #the x files fanfic #x files #au fanfiction #msr #msr fanfic #baby Emma #family day #how will this work

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snowbellsquiver · 1 year

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AU:

Snow and Charming escape the curse through the wardrobe to a land without magic just before Snow gives birth to baby Emma on the side of the highway. She awakens a day later in this strange new land to Emma’s cries. Disoriented, Charming reassures her that they are safe and she marvels over Emma; relieved for the first time since her wedding. They got away. Good will always win.

#{ snowbellsquiver }#au verse #my gifs #daddy charming #mama snow #charming family feels #emma x snow #marymargaretblanchard #emmaswan #emma x david #david nolan #ouat #charming family #mary margaret x david #baby emma #snowing #david charming #henry mills #wardrobe verse

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naehja · 8 months

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probably in a happy AU without demons Ray, 5 years old: Honestly, I am so evil. So full of darkness. I feed of the souls of the living I strike fear into- Emma, also 5 years old: You sleep with a black kitty plushie made by your mum. Ray: He’s my sECOND IN COMMAND IN MY ARMY OF DARKNESS!

#rayemma #tpn incorrect quotes #baby ray #baby emma #emma #ray #tpn emma #tpn ray

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jerzwriter · 2 years

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New Horizons

Title: New Horizons Book: Open Heart (Post Series) Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Kaycee MacClennan-Ramsey) Rating: General Category: Fluff Warnings: None Summary: It’s Kaycee’s last day at Edenbrook. While a friend is there to support her, Ethan and Emma are there to take her home. Words: 1273 A/N: I dedicate this fic to @dorisz , who made this absolutely precious edit of Ethan, Kaycee, and little Emma for me. I think she heard me squeal halfway around the globe! Dori, you are a treasure, my friend! A/N 2: This is a HC about Kaycee's future career plans. This may be of interest to some who read the story. (Please note, I have not had a chance to update the name yet, so if you see "Casey" it's the same character.) Participating in @choicesjuly2022challenge Day 30 Domesticity

CHARACTERS BELONG TO PIXELBERRY STUDIOS

The sun was streaming through Kaycee's office window, the patterns of light forming on her desk so familiar they felt like a visitor from an old friend. Closing her eyes, she took a moment to bask in its warmth, relishing the comfort of the familiar while surrounded by so much change.

A knock on the door broke her from her reverie.

"Harper," Kaycee smiled, "come on it."

"I’m glad I caught you. This place looks so….”

“Empty,” Kaycee sighed. “It’s so hard to believe.”

“Yes. It truly is. Any second thoughts? Maybe you can stay. I do have an in with the Chief,” Harper smiled.

“Really, Chief Emery. Now, I think you know my decision is final.”

The two women laughed cordially, but a feeling of poignancy filled the air as Harper took a seat across from Kaycee for the last of their late afternoon chats in Edenbrook.

“And, as much as I hate losing you, I couldn’t be happier that it is. Kaycee, you have created something bigger than yourself! The clinic will be a blessing for the underserved in our community. You should be extremely proud of yourself, and heaven knows we all are.”

“I know, and I am proud and so excited about the things we will be able to accomplish. It’s just,” she let out a deep sigh and swiveled in her chair. “I never realized just how much I would miss this place. In recent days, I feel like my time here has passed before my eyes, and it’s just so hard to believe. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was practically a baby when I first walked through these doors, and now….”

Harper nodded toward a picture frame, the last unpacked item on Kaycee’s desk. “And now, you have a baby of your own.”

“Yes,” Kaycee’s face warmed with pride as she clutched the frame against her chest. “I do… but enough about Ethan.”

Harper broke into a fit of laughter as the man himself entered through the door; a sweet little cherub held his hand and wobbled in at his side.

“When I hear my name followed by Harper cackling, I know no good can be taking place.”

“Oh, it’s all good, Ethan,” Harper assured, readily ignoring him to focus on the little beauty at his side. “Hello, Emma! Come here, give your Aunt Harper a hug.”

“Da-ta-da-ah-da-ta-dah!” Emma sang as she waddled into Harper's waiting arms.

“How does she get more beautiful every time I see her?”

Ethan shot an adoring gaze at his wife, “You’ll have to ask her, Mom. Clearly, it’s her genes and not mine.”

“Of course! No one suggested otherwise, Ethan,” Harper grinned.

“Wow! Suddenly I’m not so sad about Kaycee leaving. At least I’ll just have one of you ribbing me now!”

“Oh, don’t worry!” Harper assured, “Tobias will be more than happy to pick up any slack left behind. Don’t you agree, Kaycee?”

But when Harper swung around, she found her friend and colleague clutching a tissue and peering out the window on the verge of tears. Ethan nodded after he and Harper exchanged a knowing look.

“You know, if it’s OK with the two of you, I’m going to show this little angel off to the nurses. They always love seeing her! Would that be all right?”

“Oh,” Kaycee startled, “yes, of course. Just let me give Emma a little kiss first.”

Kaycee leaned over her desk, and Emma’s chubby little hands tangled in her Mommy’s hair as she lavished her with kisses.

“OK, little miss, let’s go show you off! We’ll be back very soon, Mommy!”

Ethan was already standing behind his wife, his arms lovingly encircling her waist, when Harper closed the door. Kaycee took a deep breath as she leaned back into his embrace, cherishing the reassuring kisses he placed on the top of her head.

“How are you doing, dear,” he whispered.

“It’s really my last day here,” she cried. “I’m leaving.”

“Yes, you are. To do amazing things!”

“I know,” she turned around into his arms to face him, mindlessly toying with his lapel as memories flooded her thoughts. “It’s just, this has been my home.”

“And it always will be. But you’ve done all you can here. The youngest person to ever become a fellow and then a member of the diagnostic team. Creating a specialty diagnostic unit for women and children. Implementing vast improvements to our community clinic until you realized you could do better striking out with that on your own.”

Kaycee smiled when she felt her husband's chest rise, his eyes aglow with utter pride.

“I always knew you were something special, Rookie, but look at you now. It is such an honor to be your husband.”

“Hmm,” Kaycee grinned. “I bet that’s one thing you didn’t expect me to accomplish when we met in that lobby all those years ago.”

“No,” he chuckled, “I most certainly didn’t. But having you as my wife and that beautiful little girl as our daughter, they’re my greatest accomplishments, bar none.”

“I bet you say that to all the girls,” Kaycee teased.

“Yes,” he guffawed. “I tell all my wives and mothers of my children the same thing.”

Ethan sat on the desk and held Kaycee close, sharing one last lingering embrace that neither wished to break.

“Come on,” he finally spoke, “we should go. Have you packed everything?”

“Yes,” she replied. “Everything but that.”

A warm smile spread on Ethan’s face as he lifted the frame from her desk, lovingly staring at the image of their little family. Wrapping it carefully in packing paper, he placed it on top of the small cardboard box on her desk.

“That will always be one of my favorite pictures,” he stated.

“Mine too, and I already have a place set for it in my new office.”

“I knew you would. Think of it, I’ll be staring at my copy, and you’ll be staring at the same picture across town.”

“And Emma has the same picture in her cubby at daycare,” Kaycee reminded him.

“That’s right, just one more thing that unites us until we’re all back home where we belong.”

Kaycee exhaled a cleansing breath. Change was frightening, but she was confident, there was nothing they couldn’t accomplish as long as they had each other. The silence was broken by the soft mewls coming through the door.

“Emma!” Kaycee consoled as her arms reached for her little girl. “What’s wrong, baby?”

“She’s had enough of this place,” Harper insisted. “She’s ready to go see her Mommy’s new office.”

“Is that what it is,” Kaycee smiled. Emma’s tears stopped flowing the moment she was back in her mother’s arms.

“Of course,” Ethan beamed, “That’s where she’s going to spend time, watching her mother accomplish the most incredible things.”

“He’s not wrong,” Harper agreed. “Now, I know you two, and you’ll drag this out needlessly. I’m still your boss for another twenty minutes, so I’m exercising my authority and ordering you out! Ethan – pick up that box and take your family home.”

Harper clutched Kaycee’s arm with a broad smile.

“Your work here is done. You did good! I’ll give you three a few moments alone.”

Bouncing Emma on her hip, Kaycee slowly turned around, taking in her office one last time.

“Well, I guess that’s it. Ready to go home, Ethan?”

Ethan lifted the box and met his wife by the door, placing a soft kiss on her lips, then another on Emma’s forehead.

“I’m ready to leave,” he smiled tenderly, “But I’m already home, Kaycee. I’m with the two of you.”

Permatags: @a-crepusculo @animesuck3r @annoyingmillenialnewbie @bex-la-get @binny1985 @bluebelle08 @bluerosesbloom @coffeeheartaddict2 @crazy-loca-blog @danijimenezv @differenttyphoonwerewolff @dorisz @genevievemd @jamespotterthefirst @jennieausten @kingliam2019 @lady-calypso @liaromancewriter @lucy-268 @mainstreetreader @parisa-kh @peonierose @potionsprefect @quixoticdreamer16 @rookiemartin @rosebuddee @schnitzelbutterfingers @secretaryunpaid @sillydg @spookycolorpeanut @socalwriterbee @thegreentwin @trappedinfanfiction @writer-ish @youlookappropriate @zahrachoices @kachrisberry @fayeswiftie @choiceskatie @ofmischiefandmedicine @tessa-liam

OH Tags: @aishwarya26 @onikaloverr @peonyblossom @toadfrog26 @jerzwriter2

#open heart #ethan ramsey #ethan ramsey x mc #choices fanfic #ethan x casey #choices fic writers creations #open heart fanfics #choices monthly challenge #baby emma

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emmasaviorswan · 10 months

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Let me just cry in the corner for a moment..🥹

@snowbellsxquiver @ocenitram

#emmasaviorswan #charming family #ouat #all the feels #lost time #baby Emma #Spotify

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liron-ao3 · 1 year

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FAMILY DON'T END WITH BLOOD

Mature

81,733 words

A family moves into the house next to Castiel and his two kids. Little do they all know that their lives will change forever.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/43358685/

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lostinswiftlore · 2 months

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In honor of Emma Stone’s latest Oscar win, here’s a photo thread of some Taylor & Emma throwbacks.

#emma stone #taylor swift #when emma falls in love #baby tay #baby emma #emtay

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madisonmcarthy · 3 months

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jennaushkowitz My 👧🏻

#jenna ushkowitz #baby emma

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marisatomay · 1 year

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blah blah blah aging tumblr population etc etc if you are ever visiting a family that just had a baby, and you know that they have other small children, bring a little something for each of the other kids. it doesn’t have to be anything fancy but, even the most charitable, well-behaved child starts feeling left out and lonely after the nth visitor brings gifts and attention for their parents and new sibling and, either isn’t there for them at all or the only engage with them about their baby sibling, especially since their parents have probably been completely consumed with the new baby. make their day and they will remember that bit of kindness and attention from you forever.

#like i still remember when my brother was born my sister and i were bored shitless in the hospital and really lonely #because all of the attention was on our parents and nate #or if people did even say hi to us it was just to ask if we were excited about the baby #but when my aunt visited before even saying hi to my parents she came right up to emma and i and gave us each a beanie baby #she’s the eldest of four so like. she Understood.#and that meant so much to us skjfkdjdjkfdkdkdk #yes this happened in 2000 yes i still remember it what about it!!!!!!!

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anyataylorjoys · 2 months

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POOR THINGS (2023) dir. Yorgos Lanthimos

#filmedit #poor things #poor things 2023 #filmgifs #movieedit #moviegifs #fyeahmovies #userbrittany #userlera #usersavana #gifs*#bella baxter #emma stone #mark ruffalo #poor things spoilers #I must go punch that baby

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the-chikyuu-times · 1 year

Photo

#manjiro sano #mikey #baby mikey #shinichiro sano #emma sano #baby emma #takemichi hanagaki #takemitchy #tokyo revengers #anime #gifs #gif #edits #edit #graphics

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jodithann827 · 19 days

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One Night Stand (Revised)

11/13

Rated: this chapter general/ Ao3/ @today-in-fic

Scully Residence

Saturday, April 17 1993

“So, in the end, I decided I couldn’t give her up,” Scully concludes. She’d left out some of the more intimate details of the birth, including the part where she longed for William, or who she thought William was.

Mulder’s quiet for a long time, soaking in every detail that left her lips. Scrunching his eyebrows, lost in thought, he finally speaks. “I’m sorry you had to go through that alone.” His voice is steady but quiet. During the story, he had moved, ever so slowly, and unintentionally, closer to Scully.

“Thank you,” she genuinely replies, then adds, “I wasn’t alone. I couldn't have gotten through that day without my mother or Melissa. Heck, not only that day but all the months that followed. After we got home from the hospital my mom stepped up and taught me how to be a mom. Apparently, it doesn’t come naturally to everyone.” Scully neglects to tell him about her bout with postpartum depression and how Melissa would crawl into bed with her some nights, just so Dana knew she wasn’t alone.

“I loved her unconditionally, but I had no idea what I was doing. The first few weeks were difficult, to say the least. She wouldn’t sleep or eat. I was sleep-deprived. Missy was a godsend, and even my dad came around once he got home. He spent so many evenings driving her around in the car to put her to sleep. Now she has him completely wrapped around her finger.” Scully smiles at the memories.

“We stayed with my parents for about a year. I was able to finish my training at the academy and was then offered a position to start teaching at Quantico. I knew it was time for us to get a place of our own. We got into a pretty good routine, although it’s kind of been uprooted a bit now…” she trails off. She still hasn’t met his eyes, almost afraid of looking. She’s never been this vulnerable; she hates the feeling.

“We can focus on cases closer to home,” Mulder interjects.

“That's Sweet of you to offer, Mulder, but that’s okay. My parents have already told me they’ll keep her when I travel. I know they miss her. Even though they see her often, they watch her during the day, it’s still not the same as having her under their roof all the time. And Missy helps when she can. She’s back to traveling a bit more, but she makes it a point to come home more often since Emma’s gotten bigger. She doesn’t stay away as long.

“You’re amazing,” is all Mulder says. Scully gives him a genuine smile that immediately fills his heart with warmth.

“Thank you, Mulder,” she starts, though she’s interrupted by a yawn. Covering her mouth in embarrassment, she starts to apologize. Mulder waves his hand.

“It’s been a long day,” he rises. “I’ll let you get some rest.” He hesitates slightly, knowing he needs to leave, but not wanting to leave the discussion unfinished.

Sensing his unease, Scully offers, “We’ll talk Monday?”

Nodding, Mulder makes his way to the door, Scully trailing behind him.

He opens the door, then spins to face her again. “She’s amazing too, Scully. She’s a special little girl.” This makes Scully grin again. He leans in, ever so slowly, and places a gentle kiss on Scully’s cheek. “Thank you for today. I’ll see you Monday morning.

Before she can respond to his words or the kiss, he's out the door. She lifts a hand to her cheek, caressing the spot Mulder’s lips had just touched. Ginning again, she closes the door and makes her way to bed, knowing she will have wonderful dreams tonight.

Scully Residence

Sunday, April 18 1993

The steaming mug of coffee is almost too hot to touch, but Ellen wraps her always-cold fingers around it. She was supposed to hear from her friend that morning. Since Dana had changed units at work, she was always on the go, between her job and Emma; though she couldn’t and wouldn’t begrudge her friend. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t dying to know what happened after their first case, so when Dana called this morning asking her to come over, she jumped in the car without a look back.

Pouring herself a cup and checking the monitor one last time, as Emma is down for her nap, Scully sinks into the chair at her kitchen table. She blows into her mug, seemingly avoiding Ellen’s inquisitive eye. “I told him,” she says, more so into her mug than directly to her friend.

“And…” Ellen trails off, waiting patiently, albeit anxiously, for Scully to continue.

“Well, it didn’t quite happen the way I thought it would, that’s for sure.” At Ellen’s questioning glance, Scully continues. “It happened by accident. I told him he was her father. How do you think he reacted? I don’t think shock covers it. He got up and walked out of the apartment. He didn’t seem angry or sad, just zero affect.”

Ellen starts to interject, but Scully doesn’t let her. “Then he called me later that evening and asked if we could go to lunch; him, me, and Emma. So we met him yesterday and had lunch. We talked. He asked a few questions. Then he wanted to know if he could spend the day with us. So we did. We went to the park, got ice cream, came back here, and had dinner together. Then he helped put Em to bed after I bathed her. Once she was asleep he asked me about the day she was born. I was honest and told him most of it. Then he left.”

Ellen carefully nods her head, almost treating Scully as a nervous doe; afraid one wrong move would spook her and keep her from telling the rest of the story. She’d known her long enough to know she was holding something back. “And…” Ellen pushes gently.

“And he kissed me on my cheek when he left.”

“Well that’s a lot to digest,” Ellen says, sitting back in her chair.

“I don't know how to start,” Scully tells her friend, honestly. “Ellen, it felt so natural. The day itself was a day I dreamt about ever since I had Emma. It was like we spent the day as a family.

“Dana,” Ellen said, sternly, but softly, “Don’t get carried away. You spent one day together. That doesn’t make you a family or Mulder a father. He has no idea what it’s like to be a parent. Hell, Rob’s been a father for six years and he still doesn’t know what to do with Trent half the time,” she smirks, trying to lighten the mood.

“I know, I know. It was just…. Well for those few hours, it was nice.

Ellen pauses, taking a sip of her coffee, hoping to regroup. “So? What’s Mulder going to do?”

“That’s the sixty-four thousand dollar question. We’re going to talk at work tomorrow.” Ellen choked back a sip and arched an eyebrow at her.

“What?” a slightly defensive tone emerged from her.

“It’s just… the office?” Ellen hesitates.

Ever inquisitive mind, Scully questions, “What’s wrong with that?”

“Dana, you are so smart, but sometimes I wonder what goes on in that head of yours. You aren’t making a business deal or talking about your latest case. You’re talking about a decision that could impact you and your child for the rest of your lives. It isn’t something that you should talk about in passing by the water cooler.”

Sighing, Scully knows her friend is right as she considers her words carefully. At the end of the day, this is the second biggest decision she needs to make, next to having and keeping Emma. It’s not something that should be treated lightly.

“I’m scared,” her voice is barely above a whisper. She feels Ellen’s hands envelop hers and her eyes travel to meet her friend’s.

“Talk to me,” Ellen persuades, gently.

“I told him if he wanted to be a part of Emma’s life, I wouldn’t stop him. If he decides he wants to, he can choose in what way, and how much involvement he wants. But I made damn sure that he understood that he can’t go in and out. I refuse to expose my daughter to that. Once he’s in, he’s in,” she explains.

“I’m not hearing a problem, Dana. I mean, I haven’t met him, but from your descriptions of Mulder, he doesn’t seem like a horrible person.

“No matter what, I have to work with him daily, Ellen. We are just starting to develop our working relationship, developing our trust in each other–”

“Dana, come on. The trust is already there and you know it. You felt it the night you met him. I mean, you’re the mother of his child for Christ's sake. He’s going to do his damndest to protect you, and before you say it, I know you don’t need protecting, that you went through the same training he did. I’m just saying it’s nice knowing someone has your back; someone who is as much invested in your home life as you are,” Ellen rationalizes.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” Scully sighs.

“You’re in love with him,” Ellen tells her, in a tone Scully is used to hearing come from Missy’s mouth. Very matter-of-fact. “I know how enamored you were with him three years ago. I know that you fell hard for him, that you tried to hide it most of the time, and that it took you a very long time to get over him. Those are the facts, the hand you were dealt. He’s back in your life now and if I had to bet money, just from the way you’ve described him, he’s going to want to be in Emma’s life. The real question isn’t what do you want from Mulder for Emma, but what do you want from Mulder for you?”

The silence was deafening as Scully absorbed her friend’s words and before she could respond, Ellen added, “Is there any bureau policy about partners becoming involved?”

“Well, nothing explicitly, though it’s probably frowned upon. But Ellen, we’ve only been working together a few months. We’ve been on a handful of cases,” she rationalized, “And don’t get me started on the good ole’ boys club…” she trails off.

“You have to tell him,” Ellen pushes.

“I can’t,” Scully pushes back.

Ellen sighs, pulling her best friend into an embrace. “I don’t know if you’re going to have a choice. However, if I were you, I would focus on taking it one step at a time and focus on his relationship with Emma first.”

Nodding, Scully knows her friend is right, but it doesn’t make her any less terrified, and there isn’t much Dana Scully’s afraid of.

Later that evening, once the dishes are cleaned and Emma’s in bed, Scully sprawls out on her bed, grabs her phone, and nervously dials the number that has become so familiar over the past weeks. He answers on the first ring, his voice sending chills into the very depth of Scully’s core.

“Mulder, it’s me,” she says, attempting to even out her breathing, not wanting to convey how nervous she is. She licks her lips as she waits.

“Hey Scully, what’s up?”

She pauses, formulating her thoughts. “I’ve been thinking. I know we had an emotion-filled day and we covered a lot of information. I also know that there’s still a lot to talk about. I’m not sure that talking in the office, or passing, is the best thing.”

“So what do you propose?” he sounds relaxed. Scully could picture him smiling into the phone.

It’s now or never, she thinks to herself. “I was wondering if you wanted to get dinner next weekend, just us. We can talk about everything then. I can ask my friend Ellen to watch Emma; she loves having her over. My mom watches her so much during the week so I don’t particularly want to ask her on a weekend too, and I haven’t ever left her with a traditional babysitter yet,” she’s rambling.

“It’s a date,” he replies. So simple, so sure. Then he adds, “Friday night?”

“Friday night is great,” she manages to squeak out, having lost her senses when the word date came out of his mouth.

“Okay then. I’ll see you in the morning, Scully.” And with that, he hangs up.

Scully slowly places the phone receiver back on its cradle. Surely he used the word date as an expression, didn’t he?

#dana scully #fox mulder #the x files fanfic #x files #au fanfiction #msr #msr fanfic #baby Emma #now what?#no talking by the water cooler #it’s a date!

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