They had made their way in a circular route to Atlanta where they found a cheap apartment and furnished it with inexpensive and second-hand furniture. Mulder had found a job in construction and Scully was staying home with Danny and loving it.
She made a lunch for Mulder each morning and kissed him goodbye as though it were the most natural thing in the world; then she and Danny would get on with their day. There was park within walking distance where they usually went every morning before it got too warm.
Danny had never had the opportunity to play with other children and was very shy at first. When he was feeling shy, Scully played with him, pushing him on the swings, digging in the sandbox and climbing on the jungle gym. Danny was delighted to watch his mother play and play with him. He knew this was unusual for her; he could feel it, so they learned how together.
When she realized he was uncomfortable on the slide, she climbed it with him and held him in her lap for the ride until he was able to do it on his own.
He was convinced that there was nothing she couldn’t do. After a full morning at the park, or at the grocery, or some other excursion that she dreamed up, they would return to the apartment for lunch.
He had fallen in love with grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken noodle soup, though occasionally she would throw in a peanut butter and jelly, and had even gotten him to enjoy egg salad now and then.
Lunch was usually followed by a story and a nap. He was thrilled with his new sleeping bag with Harry Potter on it, and loved curling up in it on top of his new bed. Scully had begun reading the first Harry Potter book to him. She had worried that it might be too advanced for a three-year old, but this was Danny and he was enthralled. She found herself thoroughly enjoying the story herself and looked forward to this time together more than she had thought possible.
She would do her housework while he slept and then they would fix dinner for Mulder when Danny woke. At first she was a little unnerved that he would hand her what she needed before she asked, but it was true that he could see into her mind and she was learning to accept it. It was outside of her comfort zone, but this was Danny - her son, Mulder’s son.
When Mulder came home after work, Danny would meet him at the door and even though being with Scully during the day was incredible; having everyone together was better still.
They ate at their little kitchen table and each would tell what they had done that day. Danny knew that his Dad spent a lot of that time winking and smiling at Mom, but he knew how happy his Dad was finally.
Scully couldn’t help but notice that Mulder’s body was benefiting from the work he was doing. Being a single parent had cut into his gym time drastically, but he was blessed with a good physique to begin with, working without his shirt, building up his pecs . . . yes, she had noticed.
While they were eating dinner on Friday, Danny suddenly looked up. “Oh! We bought Mom a bag today.”
Mulder looked startled. “A bag?”
Scully smiled over at Danny. “Yes, a bag. Danny thought that I should have an emergency bag like the two of you do.”
“Do you think we’re going to be needing it, Kiddo?”
“No, but she should still have one.” He looked very serious at this pronouncement.
“You’re right about that. It was a good idea.” Mulder nodded at him.
“He also thought,” Scully spoke, “that maybe you and I should share one since we’re a couple. And since yours is in such bad shape, we replaced it.”
“We get to share?” He waggled his eyebrows at her.
“Dad!” Danny rolled his eyes, but he was smiling as well.
“Anyway.” Scully took back the conversation, “I thought you guys should have some guy time tomorrow. You two used to spend all your time together. So while I’m at the laundromat tomorrow morning, you two go bond. I’ll freshen all of the ‘emergency’ clothes and then after nap time, the three of us can do something together.”
Mulder looked over at Danny. “Sounds like a plan to me.”
Danny nodded and asked to be excused. He always tried to give them a little time alone after dinner. They cleared the table while he watched a little TV.
“You really okay with the two of us going off without you tomorrow?” He was watching her as she dipped her hands into the soapy water.
“Yes, I’m okay with it. The two of you need some alone time without the ‘Mom’ watching. Just don’t fill him up with candy or pop.”
Mulder crossed his heart. “I promise.” He rinsed the dishes as she washed them. There wasn’t a lot of room in this apartment, but they gave each other space. Mulder looked over to make sure that Danny wasn’t watching, then pulled Scully against him as he leaned against the counter.
His arousal was always welcome, but she too glanced back to make sure they weren’t being observed. The kiss was deep and a promise of things to come that evening.
After his bath, Danny fell asleep in his sleeping bag in the middle of the story that Mulder was telling him, and he returned to the larger room to join Scully.
“You really wore him out today.”
“He had a good nap too.” She looked up after knotting the thread she had used to reattach the button to his work shirt.
“I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to wear me out for awhile.”
“Was that a proposition?”
He grinned, “Do I need to work on it?”
“Might help, in the future, but it actually sounds pretty good right now.”
He took her hand and led her into their own room.
*****
When she lay sated in his arms, he brushed the hair off of her forehead. “Happy?”
She nuzzled his chest, “You can’t imagine.”
“Oh, I think I can. I missed you.”
She took a deep breath. “Much as I hate to say it, I can’t see this lasting.”
“Why not?”
“I feel guilty not working. You have to be the breadwinner. I don’t feel like I’m pulling my weight.”
“Not . . . not pulling your weight? You’re kidding, right?”
“No. You go to work every day and I - “
“And you keep our son. That is so much more important than anything I do. And he’s so happy. We were good together, really we were, but now . . . Scully he practically floats. And I can provide for him now, and you. I couldn’t really do that before and I had to take him to places he shouldn’t have had to go. He wasn’t getting any playtime. He didn’t know any better, but I did. Even my screwed up childhood was better than what he was getting.”
“He had you.”
Mulder sighed, “Yeah. And I had him, but we needed you. And now we have you. Don’t give any more thought for now about getting a job. You do remember that you brought a dowry to the ‘marriage’.”
Her eyebrow rose and he grinned. “You will marry me sometime, won’t you?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Well, we can’t get a license in our real names now and I want to give you my name, even if you don’t take it.”
“Take it?”
“You know, change your name. Either way is fine with me, you’ll always be my Scully. You understand don’t you?”
She chuckled at the uncomfortable look on his face. “Yes, I understand. It isn’t a safe time, and to be honest, I feel married to you and we do have a child together.”
He smiled then, “Yeah, we do.” He pulled her even closer and let her fall asleep cradled against his chest.
*****
The next morning after her boys left, Scully emptied out the two emergency bags and took the clothes to be washed. At the bottom of Mulder’s bag she found a file full of his notes. She decided to carry it with her to read while she was waiting.
Once the clothes were in the machine, she pulled the file back out. She knew his shorthand and fell into reading his words. These were his notes on their encounters with the very ‘things’ that she had wanted to protect her son from.
She hadn’t realized how many places Mulder and Danny had lived, or the amount of information that they had accumulated about these beings. She was fascinated. It wasn’t until she stopped to put the clothing in the dryer that she realized she wasn’t questioning the origin of these beings. She’d been with Mulder long enough to know that, while he might not have physical proof, he knew what he was talking about.
This information; it needed to be written up, saved in a better way than these notes. She could transcribe these notes; save the information on disks, not on the hard drive. Then when it was possible, send the information to the gunmen. She smiled to herself then, she’d fallen into X-Files mode so quickly.
When the clothes were dry, she folded everything, and piled them on top of the folder then headed home. The boys were still out, which didn’t surprise her. She decided to repack the bags, changing some of the items in Danny’s bag for newer, larger sizes. She made sure the photo album and her picture were on the bottom. Once everything was packed to her satisfaction, she pulled Mulder’s old bag to her.
She pulled out his extra razor, toothbrush and toothpaste from the outer pockets and checked the large compartment, to make certain she hadn’t missed anything. The cardboard on the bottom was loose and she realized there was what looked like another file underneath.
She found what turned out to be a notebook under the flap. Flipping it open, she turned to the front page.
“Scully, I don’t know if you’ll ever see this. Part of me hopes that you don’t but I feel the need to record what’s going on so that you will know our son, at least through this.
“I am still in complete and total shock that you have this kind of trust in me. Don’t get me wrong, Scully. I knew that you trusted me, more than anyone else in the world has ever trusted me. I’ve savored that along with your partnership for years. Then you learned to trust me in a new way and you came to my bed. You let me love you, as I had wanted for so long.
“We came together without even the hope of a child. We both knew that was an impossibility. I’m not sure either of us could comprehend what kind of miracle we could create.
“He’s asleep now. He seems very tolerant of my ignorance. I see you in his face; in the little noises he makes. It reminds me of the little noises you made when we were together. I’m reminded of those times you would fall asleep on my shoulder in some car while we were on stakeout. You always had that same innocence in your face. Maybe that’s when I started falling in love with you, when you felt safe enough in my presence to fall asleep against me.
“I’m rambling, but I miss you and I feel so damn overwhelmed at what you’ve given me. I’m not worthy of this much trust, Scully, but I swear to you I will do my best to keep our son safe, and hopefully some day to share him with you. God, how I want that; to have the three of us together.
“For the practical side, I’ve named our son Danny, for you. He’s taking over four ounces of formula at a time now and sleeps for up to three hours. I’ve become damn competent with diapers having had more practice in the last couple of weeks than in my entire life prior to this. I was able to get a job telemarketing, so that I could hold up with him and not be seen.
“I did contact the guys and had them send me a few things, and some cash. I want to provide for him better than I can right now. I guess he doesn’t notice at this point, wanting only security, food and an occasional dry diaper. I think he knows I love him, I think he can feel it. I hope so.
“I wish you were here.”
*****
Mulder held Danny’s hand as they walked home. There was some ice cream on Danny’s face, but more on his hand as the cone melted. Mulder held the bag with the half-pint for Scully in his other hand.
They were in sight of their building when Danny stopped still.
“Danny? Danny! Are they here?” Mulder kept his voice low, but the tension was there.
“Mom . . . Mommy’s crying.” He dropped the cone to the ground.
Mulder looked at him, then in one movement scooped Danny up and tucked him under his arm, then sprinted to the door.
They burst in to find Scully sitting on the couch, tears still flowing down her face. He stopped and let Danny down, then realized he was still holding the bag of ice cream.
“Uh Danny, would you put Mom’s ice cream in the freezer and wash your face?”
Danny looked up at him, then took the bag from his Dad’s hand and backed into the kitchen, as though he was afraid to take his eyes off of Scully.
Mulder knelt in front of her, “Scully? Scully, what . . .” He reached for her hand and spotted the notebook in her hand for the first time. “Oh Scully.” He rose and sat beside her, turning her to envelop her in his arms. “I didn’t mean for you to find - “
“I had to see this.”
He nodded, his lips in her hair. “I should have been with you, I don’t know, prepared you some how.”
She started to speak, then saw Danny watching from the entrance to the kitchen. His eyes were full of fear. She reached out her arms to him and he ran into them. She pulled him to her lap and cuddled him. Mulder’s arms encompassed them both.
The three of them sat that way for some time. Finally Danny sat up and turned to look at Scully. “Are you sad enough to leave us?”
Scully’s eyes widened, “Danny no. I’m not going away. I was sad because I was reading about when I wasn’t with you. I missed so much.”
“So you’re not going?”
“Look at me Danny. I will never willing leave you, you or your Dad. You need to stop being scared of that Sweetheart. I love you and I’m very, very happy to be with you. You know I’m telling the truth.”
Danny closed his eyes and burrowed into her. She turned slightly to look at Mulder. His eyes spoke volumes, and his arms tightened around both of them.
When Scully finally felt her son relax in her arms, she stroked his hair. “Hey, did I hear something about ice cream?”
Danny looked up then and managed a smile. “Yeah, Daddy and I bought you Rocky Road.”
“That’s my favorite. Thank you.”
“What if I get you a bowl?” Mulder offered.
“Thanks.” She sat up a little straighter, and Mulder reluctantly left them. “Just a little.” She mouthed to him over Danny’s head and he nodded.
She made herself enjoy the ice cream as Danny watched and when she was through, made a show of licking the spoon. “I suppose you had ice cream too?”
Danny nodded sheepishly.
“So you’re probably not hungry for lunch.”
Danny glanced at Mulder, then away.
“Okay, this time. But I think you’re ready for a nap. Come on, let’s skip the chapter for now, but I’ll lay down with you until you fall asleep.”
He nodded and took her hand to pull her up and toward his room.
All of the emotion, not to mention his fun with Mulder, had worn him out and he was asleep in no time.
When she emerged, Mulder was still on the couch, rereading the notebook that she had been reading. She sat beside him and his arm went around her.
“He asleep?”
She nodded.
“You okay?”
She shrugged then.
“You speaking to me?”
“I’m sorry. I was caught off guard. What I did to you . . . “
“Yeah, what you did to me.”
She looked up then and saw the huge smile on his face.
“Do you really not know, Scully? You gave me our son; you gave me Danny and the most extraordinary amount of trust that I can imagine. Scully, you thought I was capable of looking after, hell of being a father to our son. No one, no one, has ever thought that about me. And because you believed, I did too. Yes, it was hard. And damn lonely. God, I thought I’d die of loneliness at times, except I had him. Then I’d remember that you didn’t have either of us and I’d quit feeling sorry for myself for a little while.
“The book really did start out as a record of his growth, his first smile, his first word, but then I realized when I wrote in it, it was almost like talking to you. Maybe I got carried away a little - “
“No. It was beautiful.”
“You know I used to dream about coming to get you, having you with us.” He smiled then, “It might have been dangerous, but I used to sleep with him on my chest. We both seemed to get comfort from the contact.”
He sighed, “Maybe you should lie down for a little while.”
“I’d rather sit here with you. Talk to me about information in the file.”
“File?”
“The information you’ve accumulated on them.”
“You had a busy morning.”
“I took the file with me when I did laundry. I’m glad I didn’t find the notebook until I got back. I would have made quite a scene.”
He squeezed her, “Well, they don’t seem to like rural areas. They congregate in cities. And I can’t prove it but they seem to like warmer cities and cities near water. There aren’t as many in Chicago, say as near the Mississippi delta and I think that‘s because of the climate.”
“Have you found a way to kill them?”
“Scully, if the trash compactor didn’t work . . . “
“Skinner told me about that. You’re sure he went in?”
“Oh yeah. Scully, I wasn’t willing to take any chances. I was trying to protect you, you and Danny. I took nothing for granted. Billy Miles went into that truck.”
“But it was him at the birth. I recognized him, he was . . . he was one of the people that . . . “
“It’s okay.” He kissed her gently, “Don’t go there. But I have to tell you, if that doesn’t kill them I’m pretty much at a loss.”
“What about . . . “ She glanced toward Danny’s bedroom.
“I haven’t had the guts to ask him. He’s a mature three year old, but he’s still three years old.”
“I don’t know what made me ask that.”
“Don’t feel guilty Scully, I’ve thought it a thousand times. And I do think he could be the key. But for now . . . “
“We should just stay out of their way.” She finished for him.
“The only flaw in our thinking is that it gives them a lot of time to get ahead of us.”
He saw the fear in her eyes then.
“I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t apologize. It’s the truth, and you came for me because Danny sensed something. I feel safer than I have in a long time being here with you. I’d almost forgotten what that felt like.”
“Me too Scully. This is going to sound hokey, but if they do take over, at least we’ve had this.”
“Come on Mulder, we’re not going to just give them the planet. We’ll think of something, and Danny’s growing fast.”
“I thought I was the one with the ‘out there’ ideas. You really think Danny will come up with something?”
“I don’t know, but he’s your son and he’s very special. We both know he’s a miracle, why couldn’t he . . . “
Mulder nodded then.
“We need to get our act together before Danny wakes up, and I need to finish folding the clothes. Why don’t we do something special tonight?”
“Like what?” Mulder’s eyes gleamed.
“We’ll have to do that after he’s in bed for the night, Big Guy.”
Mulder grinned, but settled back to listen.
“Why don’t you go rent a couple of videos - ones that Danny can watch - and we’ll have pizza and, I don’t know make him feel secure tonight.”
“You don’t suppose he inherited his fear of abandonment?”
“Do I have to reassure you that I don’t want to leave too?”
“That’s another thing we can do after he’s in bed for the night.”
“Tell me again how you went for three years . . . “
He grinned, “Eidetic memory, remember?”
“Yeah. Go on, I have housework to do. Get something rated G Mulder.”
He rolled his eyes and headed for the door.
*****
When Danny woke he joined them; he spotted the bag from the video rental immediately and shook the two tapes out.
“Toy Story!” His eyes gleamed, “what’s Caddyshack?”
Scully turned, “Mulder you didn’t.”
“Hey, there’s a lot of history behind that movie. Besides it’s - “
“Yeah I know, a classic.” She rolled her eyes and turned away, while Mulder grinned at Danny, waggling his eyebrows.
“You’re gonna love it.” He mouthed to the boy.
*****
They watched Toy Story first; Danny happily ensconced in Scully’s lap.
He was dozing half way through the second movie, so Mulder lifted him into his arms and carried him into the bedroom. He leaned over to kiss Danny goodnight, “We need to be in Clebeland when it gets cold.” The boy didn’t even open his eyes.
“Danny? We need to leave here?” Mulder glanced over at Scully who had followed them into the room.
Danny nodded, mostly asleep. “Clebeland.”
“Okay, Kiddo. Get some sleep.” He kissed his son again, and after Scully did the same, adjusting the covers slightly, followed her out.
“Cleveland?” She looked up at him.
He pulled her down to his own lap on the couch. “Makes sense. It’s cold and it’s near water. We’ll have to ask him some things tomorrow. It’s a big city, plenty of room to hide.”
“I’ll need to get him some winter clothes. He’s growing so fast.”
“Are you okay with just pulling up stakes?”
“As long as I have you two with me.”
“I’d rather not have to make a dash in the night this time. Maybe we could actually take some of this stuff with us. Rent a u-haul or something?”
“Sounds like a plan. Maybe, maybe by then we’ll feel comfortable asking him . . . “
“Yeah.”
*****
The trip to Cleveland had been made with no problems and apparently no notice by anyone. Danny still couldn’t say exactly why this location had come to him, but it didn’t matter. They were together and they weren’t being followed.
Mulder was headed back outside for another load, Scully and Danny close behind him, when the woman stopped him. Her eyes raked Mulder and she offered her welcome to the building in such a breathy tone that Mulder wondered if she might have a cold or something. Scully walked up about that time, holding Danny’s hand. Mulder quickly introduced them.
“Hon, this is Joyce, she lives upstairs. This is my wife Lora and my son Danny.”
Joyce’s smile dimmed slightly, “Pleased to meet you.” She belatedly held out her hand to Scully, who shook it and murmured something appropriate.
“Well, we have a lot to do.” Mulder took Scully’s arm and moved his family toward the car. Once the woman had moved on inside, Mulder looked over at Scully who was watching him with narrowed eyes. He shrugged and gave her that dumb grin, then trailed her back inside with another load.
Once inside the apartment again, Danny shut the door behind them. “Who’s Diana?”
Mulder looked over at him quickly. “What?”
“That woman reminded Mom of Diana.”
Mulder glanced at Scully, who was studiously ignoring him. “She was someone unimportant that I knew a long time ago.”
Scully met his eyes then and gave him the slightest nod.
“Well I don’t like Joyce.”
“Why not Kiddo, is she . . .?”
“She’s a person, but I didn’t like her. What’s ‘really hung’ mean?”
Mulder’s eyes widened and he looked up in time to see Scully’s eyes start to twinkle.
“And why does she care how big your penis is?” Danny demanded.
Scully turned away, her hand coming up to try to hide the smile that had broken out on her face. Mulder was at a loss for an answer. He watched Scully’s shoulders square as she turned back around.
“Danny? Remember the man at the airport who was looking at my bottom and you didn’t like it?”
Danny nodded.
“Well, men get looked at like that too sometimes.” She was struggling to keep a straight face and losing.
Danny looked at her for a long moment, “Mom, boys can’t be beautiful.”
She nodded, “Okay, what if I think your Dad is handsome?”
Danny nodded then. Mulder finally got his voice back, “Uh, why don’t you take this stuff in your room, Kiddo. I’ll come help you make your bed in a little bit.” Danny looked back and forth between them and sighed a little, then shook his head and left them alone.
“You think I’m beautiful?”
“I wouldn’t push it right now, Mulder.” Her eyebrow was high.
“I didn’t think she looked like Diana.”
“Mulder.” Her tone was warning, so he dropped a quick kiss on her forehead and left to help Danny.
Mulder was helping Scully in the kitchen a little later when Danny wandered in and looked around. “Is anyone else here?”
“No, Honey. Why?”
Danny’s brow was furrowed slightly, but he shrugged and returned to the living room to finish unpacking his books.
A few minutes later he was back again, looking carefully around the room.
“Danny, what is it?” Mulder came over to him.
“There’s a girl here.”
“Kiddo, we’re alone. I’ve been in all of the cabinets and - “
“But she’s here.” Danny insisted. He moved over to the sink, closer to Scully.
“Danny,” She bent down to look him in the eye. “I really don’t think anyone else is here. Could it be the next apartment?”
His brow was deeply furrowed now and he was obviously concentrating, listening carefully. Scully straightened up and pulled him to her, hugging him.
After a moment he drew back, looking at Scully strangely. Mulder moved forward instantly. “Kiddo? What’s going on?”
“She’s here. She’s . . . she’s inside Mommy.”
Scully stared blankly at the boy, but Mulder blinked, then took the boy’s hand. “Scully, could you be pregnant?”
“What?” Her head whipped up to look at him.
“Could you?”
“I . . . I, I’m a couple of days . . . oh my god.”
A smile started to grow on Danny’s face. “I’m gonna be a big brother?”
“Could be Kiddo. We need to check some stuff first, okay?”
“Okay. Mommy are you gonna get all fat?”
Scully looked down at him, and caressed his hair. “I’ll . . . if I’m having a baby, yes.” She looked up at Mulder.
“Danny . . . “
“I know, can I check out something in some other room.” He rolled his eyes and moved away from Scully.
“Thanks Kiddo.” Mulder ruffled his hair and was rewarded with a smile. Once he was out of the room, Mulder moved closer to Scully. “You okay?”
“Mulder, I’m not - “
“We both know you probably are. He’s not usually wrong. Look, why don’t I run get a test? We need some others things too, a couple of light bulbs, some toilet paper. Okay?”
“If . . . if I am, it’s too soon . . . “
“Those tests say they’re accurate if you’re one day late.”
“And you know this because?”
“I stayed home and watched a lot of TV when he was little.” Mulder grinned at her. “Anything else I need to pick up?”
“I . . . I can’t think. Just hurry back.”
“Always.” He leaned in and kissed her. “You know I love you?”
“Yeah.”
“You know, it’s almost time for Danny’s nap. Why don’t you lie down with him while I’m gone.”
“Mulder, I feel fine.”
“Do it anyway. It might make you both feel better.”
Scully looked up startled, but realized he was right. She glanced toward Danny’s room, and nodded. “Be careful.”
“Always. See you in a little while.”
When he returned home with the supplies, he checked in Danny’s room and found them both in the bed. Danny looked up at him and Mulder put his finger to his lips.
Danny nodded and carefully slipped out of the bed, leaving Scully asleep. He followed his Dad into the kitchen, where he watched Mulder put away the supplies. When Mulder turned to him, he finally spoke. “Do you want another baby?”
Mulder sat at the table and Danny joined him. “Yeah, we do. We just hadn’t planned for one so soon.”
“So you’re just surprised, not mad.”
“Right. It was a little different having you tell us about it too. Do you feel her?”
Danny thought about that for a minute. “I just knew she was there. When Mommy fell asleep I tried to talk to her, but she didn’t answer.”
“Well Kiddo, she’s only a couple of weeks old, we think. It’s enough that you know she is. And she might not be able to do what you do.”
Danny nodded seriously. “Don’t worry, I’ll look after her.”
The statement rocked Mulder and Danny took his hand, concerned. “Dad?”
“I’m okay. I was . . . you are not going to be responsible for your sister. That’s my job, mine and Mom’s. You’re just supposed to love her and play with her.”
“You still miss Samantha.”
“Yeah, I do.” Mulder pulled him into his lap, “but now I have you and that makes up for a lot.”
“Will you call the new baby Samantha?”
“I don’t think so, Honey. She deserves a name of her own, just like you.”
“Hey guys, we still don’t know for sure.” Both of her men looked up at Scully. They hadn’t realized she was standing at the door.
“Why don’t we take care of that now?” Mulder put Danny on his feet and pulled the test from the bag.
“I should probably wait until in the morning.”
“Go ahead, I got two.” Mulder grinned.
Scully chuckled and took the box he offered without another word. “You know you two are awfully high maintenance.”
“Yeah, that’s why you love us.” Mulder kissed her and sent her off.
Mulder glanced over at the clock and waited, trying not to pace.
“Why are you nervous?”
“Oh, uh because I’m gonna be a Dad again. That’s exciting. And I want to be here with you guys the whole time this time.”
Danny looked at him and finally nodded. Mulder looked over at the clock again. He jumped slightly when they heard the bathroom door open and he looked over at Danny to find him grinning at him. Before he could speak, Scully appeared in the door and handed him the stick. The end was bright pink.
“Well, Dad?” Scully looked at him.
“I need to ask for a raise.” But he was grinning from ear to ear. Danny relaxed and watched the two of them. For people who said they couldn’t read minds, they always seemed to know what the other was thinking.
Mulder insisted on cooking and made spaghetti with Danny’s help and Scully’s supervision.
It wasn’t until they were in bed that night, and Danny was asleep that she cuddled up to him and sighed. “Mulder, I can’t believe this.”
“Yeah, you give a whole new meaning to the word barren.”
She punched him lightly, “I guess we should have been more careful.”
“Yeah, I’m still a little unclear how this happened.” Her eyebrow rose. “You know what I mean.”
“Personally, I’m putting all the responsibility on that huge penis of yours.”
He gaped at her for an instant. “You’re never going to let that go, are you?”
“Probably not.” She tried not to smile.
“I don’t remember you complaining last night.”
“If you listen closely, you’ll hear that I’m not complaining now either.”
“You hussy - “
*****