Title: San Francisco - Lonely and Dreaming of the West Coast Author: Hummbugg E-Mail: hummbug@hummbugg.com Website: www.hummbugg.com Rated: NC-17 Notes: Why does everyone always think Mrs. Scully is a saint? I know if I had a daughter who ran off with a man on a mad quest and got herself subjected to various forms of medical torture I wouldn't be too pleased. This chapter is about healing and acceptance. Feedback is always a pleasure and it only takes 1 minute. X With my big black boots and an old suitcase I do believe I'll find myself a new place I dont want to be the bad guy I dont want to do your sleepwalk dance anymore I just want to see some palm trees Go and try and shake away this disease Everclear X Charlie was almost running late. If she didn't leave the house in under five minutes there was no way she would make her first class of the day. "Michael!" She called out to her husband as she teetered around trying to slip into her left shoe and zip up her skirt. The damn thing was stuck. "Michael!" She yanked on it hard. "Damn piece of shit.. MICHAEL!!" "WHAT!?" "Can you tear yourself away from your computer for three seconds to help me out!?" Tears of frustration sprung to her furious blue eyes as she tugged violently at her wayward zipper. "Motherfu- Can't say that one. C'mon you asshole!" Michael had sauntered over to the kitchen to watch his wife stumble around in full morning panic swing. "Michael! Jasin splattered food all over me. I had to change my skirt and now the damn thing is stuck, the twins need a ride to school and I'm going to be late for my lecture." Charlie wasn't always like her level headed doppelganger. Small things irritated her easily and she didn't hold back from letting everyone else know about it. "Charlie stop for one second." She stopped yanking at her skirt and stood with her arms akimbo. Her cheeks were flushed a highly strung shade of red and her eyes positively glittered. His wife was one pissed off lady today. "I will take the twins to school and I'll pick Mark up this afternoon when he gets back from his soccer trip. Oh don't forget to call Dana and let her know about John's plans for this afternoon. Now give me a look at your skirt." He took a brief moment to idly caress the lovely warm flesh beneath the gaping material of her unclosed zipper. "Don't even think about it." His gentle fingers toyed with the small metal tab and he successfully slid it up. "There now get that ass to work woman." He gave her butt a firm swat and swooped down for a last minute kiss before she was snatching up her purse, keys and notes and heading out the door.He grinned at the "Love You" tossed over her shoulder as the door slammed shut behind her. Just another morning in the Moore household. X Summer 1984 It wasn't right that the birds were singing and the sun was shining when the most important person in the world lay dying in a sterile hospital room surrounded by monitors. The Doctors had estimated she had a week or possibly two left to live. Michael was beside himself. He tried so hard to keep it together in front of her. Every day was a constant battle waged against the bereft remaining half of his soul that wanted to join its other half in death. He couldn't do that to her. He could not allow her to die knowing that he had killed himself because life without her wasn't any kind of life he wanted to be a part of. If and only if she passed on he would follow through with the inevitable. Lots of pills and a razor would sufficiently do the job. He wondered how much time would pass before someone found his lifeless corpse. He snapped out of his all consuming morbidity and stared at the slumbering figure in the hospital bed before him. It was heartbreaking to see the once brightly shining star fading and falling surely toward death. She was too thin, her body was almost unrecognizable. Her once sweet youthful face was now a pale yellow, dark brown smudges circled her now dull eyes. He almost couldn't reconcile his memories of the beautiful young woman the smart ass little girl had become with the image of her that now presented itself to him. He couldn't bear to witness the affects her mighty struggle for life had on her now feeble body. Twin pools of pale blue stared weakly at him from the too white pillow. "Mike? Why aren't you at work?" "I wanted to see you." She sighed, even that small effort was an exertion. "You're going to lose your job if you keep taking so much time off." "Shh Charlie, don't worry about that. Just get some rest, you need your strength." "For what? I don't need any strength to die." He hung his head. She watched as he bit his lip and struggled to maintain his composure. "Michael you know it's going to happen soon. We need to talk about it." "No we don't." "Yes we do. You just don't want to. Michael you can't deny what's going to happen. We need to prepare ourselves for the inevitable." "Prepare ourselves? How the fuck do you expect me to prepare myself for something like this? You need to stop being so damn calm about it! Of all the things on earth you could choose to be rational about this is it?" "Death is the only certainty in this life. I'm as angry as all hell that my time had to come before it was meant to but there's no point moaning about it because it's real and it's happening." "No I refuse to let you believe that. Something good has got to happen to us eventually and this is as good a time as any. We can't have suffered all this time in our lives just to die without ever really knowing what it's like to be happy and successful and to have a family and to go sky diving or bungee jumping or to be able to afford the finer things in life. We said we were going to live our lives together. I can't give up on that. It's the only thing I have to believe in." "I love you Michael more than you'll ever really know but holding on to a life we dreamed up in our crappy apartment just isn't healthy. I am going to die. You are going to live. I don't ever want to hold you back from doing all the things we talked about. I want you to eventually meet someone else. I want you to buy that big house we talked about, I want you to marry a beautiful woman and have a wonderful family. I want you to be successful in your career. I want all the happiness in the world for you. Promise me that you'll do that for me?" "None of that means anything if it's not with you. I can't make a promise like that. I'm sorry." "In the greater scheme of things I mean absolutely nothing. I'm just one small brush stroke on a very large canvas. The only person or thing my death means anything to is you. The world is going to keep on revolving. Time isn't going to stop you have to continue along with it." "I refuse to give up hope. I will not give up on our dream. You can be as skeptical as you want. I am going to believe for the two us." X "Dana it's Charlie I know you're there pick up. C'mon Dana I don't care if you're in the middle of THE world's most earth shattering org-." "Charlie." Pant. Pant. "What's up?" "Mulder by the sounds of it." "Charlie! I was in the shower I had to run to get the phone." "Likely story." A voice floated through the phone from the background. "Scully hurry up would you?" Charlie was laughing gleefully. "He even calls you Scully in bed!? That's so cute it's disgusting!" "There better be a point to this phone call." More laughter. "There is. John asked me to escort you to the San Francisco Offices for your security inductions. I'm not meant to tell you this but they're planning on offering you Jeremiah's services. All members must be free of implants and other consortium tracking devices. They want your permission to remove the chip and have Jeremiah heal you. You wont develop another tumor, he'll rid you of that. They're also going to offer you his services for your infertility. There are many things they want to talk to you about. Should you decide to have children they can ensure immunity from the alien virus through gene therapy. You know all this already. You guys also have to get your vaccination shots. I know you've both been exposed to the vaccine already but a top up can't hurt right?" "What time do you want us there?" "Not until two o'clock this afternoon. I'm free at one thirty meet me on campus and we'll go from there." "Okay see you then." "Later." She placed the phone back on its base. "Oh Scully. Guess what I've got?" His voice floated happily from the bedroom. Her grin was slow and warm and spread like melted butter across her glowing face. Regular sex had improved both of their dispositions enormously. "Mmmm let's see.. Is it food?" "See that's why you're such a good little Agent." She began making her way toward his voice when the phone rang again. "Do you smell a conspiracy?" He appeared in the doorway with a lazy smile and a bare chest. His sweats clung low to his hips revealing the rippling of his lower abdomen as he leant a shoulder against the frame. The phone continued its annoying jingle. "You gonna get that?" "Yes but I don't want to." "Hello?" "Dana it's Mom." "Hi Mom." "Hey baby how are you?" "I'm fine. How are you?" "Oh I'm fine. Actually I wanted to let you know that I'm going to San Diego to visit Bill and Tara in a couple of weeks.. I thought since I was in the state maybe I could-." "I'd love to have you. I can't wait to see you. I've missed you." Her mother chuckled. "No you haven't. You've been busy." She wasn't being malicious, her tone was fond. She knew her daughter was trying to rebuild her life. It was about time the girl got her head screwed on straight. It was odd to have those kinds of thoughts about her youngest daughter. Dana had always been the level headed one. The nonsense had all started when she was assigned to The X-Files. There was something about Fox Mulder that made her daughter lose sight of her better judgment. Oh sure Fox was a nice enough young man. His affection for Dana had been obvious from the first time she had met him all those years ago when Dana had been taken. She firmly believed that people had to make their own choices in life, she had no business meddling in her daughter's affairs and that is why she kept her mouth shut and didn't give away too much. Dana had obviously been in love with the man from quite early on in their partnership. Maggie simply couldn't think of any other reason for why her daughter would stay. She understood they had been uncovering lies perpetrated by the United States Government. For all it had gotten them maybe some secrets were better off remaining secret. One day her daughter had been living that all consuming black hole of a life and the next she was a married woman living on the west coast. What the hell happened? They just suddenly decided to give up and go make the best of the time they had left on this earth? Maggie didn't yet know about the organization they had joined or the new family her daughter had discovered. All she knew was that Fox and Dana had decided to make a life together as man and wife. She had often wondered if Fox was really in love with her daughter or if he simply needed her around because he had no one else. He was a damaged man; God only knew what his motivations were. She hoped he at least made her happy. She'd find out soon enough. "Yeah I have been busy. I've got three weeks left until I go back to work so I'm free for a week if you come here before you go to Bill and Tara's." "Just for a couple of days I wouldn't want to impose." "Mom you stay at Bill's for weeks on end. What's the difference?" "Well you haven't been married for long and you don't have children I remember what the early days were like. The last thing you want is your mother hanging around cramping your style." "Great you too." "What?" "Nothing. Never mind. Call me when you know your arrival time and date. I'll pick you up at the airport. We have a beautiful guest room with a King Size bed I know you'll love it. The view is incredible too. Oh Mom it's so wonderful to live here again." "You were always fond of San Francisco." "I still am." "I'll call you soon with the information Dana. I need to get organized." "Okay Mom speak to you soon." "Bye Dana." "Bye." She hung up the phone and gave it a firm glance. She was tempted to toss it out the window. "So I guess your mother is coming?" "Yes." "When?" "Not for another two weeks." "Oh." Scully got the vague impression that Mulder was relieved. "So was I right?" "Huh?" "Is it food?" The grin was back on his face. "Croissants and coffee." "Mulder I'm afraid this isn't going to work out. I need to get my own place before I wind up looking like the Titanic." "See this is the best part; after we eat the croissants I have a rigorous exercise routine lined up to work it all off." "Why do I have the sneaking suspicion that you're not talking about going for a run?" "You're so sexy when you get all paranoid on me G-Woman." X They were driving back over the Golden Gate in Scully's black Feroza. He had managed to talk her in to that one. She looked so cute zipping around in the damn thing it brought him more pleasure than it did her. Charlie was in the back. They were returning from the organization labs. Jeremiah had laid his hands on Scully and within in a matter of seconds she was healed. She was completely free of the chip, the threat of cancer, her infertility and she had definite immunity from the alien virus. He wanted to stand at the very top of the bridge and scream for all of San Francisco to hear how very happy he was. Charlie leaned forward and her face hovered between them. She turned her face toward Mulder and shot him a teasing smile. "So looks like you'll be too busy making babies for anymore swingers parties." She couldn't help herself. The urge to tease them about that night in New York City was irresistible. She loved watching them squirm. "Michael was just telling me the other day about how much he'd like to spin by your place pretending to be Mulder." "He what!?" Charlie was laughing gleefully. "Can you blame him? Your wife is a total babe." "Yeah and so is his so you tell him the next time he gets any ideas-." "Oh calm yourself Mulder. I was only joking." She patted him playfully on the shoulder and reclined back against her seat to chuckle at the red faced Dana she saw in the rear mirror. "You know Dana.. Michael might be in the market for a threesome for his birthday." She giggled incorrigibly at the chorus of voices from the front seats. "Charlie!" "You never know Mulder might be in the market for one too." "You already had your shot at Mulder. Don't be greedy." Mulder was shocked by Scully's quick transition from embarrassment to playfulness. "Oh come on Dana surely we can share. Maybe we can set up a visitation rights schedule. You know maybe once a fortnight you swing by my place and I'll swing by yours." "Sorry Charlie. I waited a lot longer than you did so take a ticket and get your ass in line." "You are so selfish." "C'mon guys no cat fights allowed while we're driving. Why don't you save it for when we get home. I'm sure we can fill the tub with jello. There's plenty of Mulder to go around." There was a brief silence and then an echo of similar voices. "In your dreams Mulder." "That's what I thought." X We're at the top of the world, you and I. We've got alot of time and it sure feels right. Cause you reached in your pocket And pulled out a pass, says you can take me anywhere. The Juliana Theory X The organization also had deep connections within government and politics just like the consortium. Some organization members were required to attend society dinners and mingle with people in power. Basically they were there to squeeze as much information out of them as they could. John felt Mulder and Scully had a special talent for that kind of thing so he sent them along with Michael and Charlie on their first 'assignment'. They were both oddly unsurprised to discover that Charlie and Michael carried weapons when on assignment. It didn't matter that they were there simply to attend the dinner, no one quite knew who would make an appearance at these things. Mulder was thoroughly enjoying perving on two 'Scully's' One wore a tight knee length strapless black dress with a long slit running up the backs of her thighs. It stopped at the point of risque. Indecent wasn't really a style either woman went for. The other wore an equally snug white dress which ended at mid calf. The slit on her dress was at the side of her leg. Earlier in the car Mulder had gotten a brief glance of a suspender clad thigh before a gentle fabric readjustment hid it from view. If the F.B.I had sent him on more assignments like this he may have been tempted to stay. Earlier in the evening when they had been getting ready he had entered their bedroom, starting on the buttons of his shirt and not really paying attention to what was in front of him. When he finally looked up it was to see Scully sliding her little feet into a pair of killer black stilettos. She was 'adjusting' herself in front of the mirror. He watched as she gently tugged at the fabric of her strapless bra, then the front of the little black number clinging beautifully to her petite hourglass frame. When she was finally content with the image in the mirror she turned to face him. She was all too familiar with the expression on his face. He looked like someone had just parked a U.F.O in their bedroom. "Don't even think about it Mulder. You are not going to ruin this dress before we even get there." "So take it off." "Mulder I just put it on!" "Okay so keep it on." His smile was downright predatory as he made his way toward her. She knew just as well as he did that he was going to get exactly what he wanted. His excitement fed her own and she couldn't refuse him, not when he obviously appreciated what was right in front of his eyes. She had wanted him to look at her that way for so long; even back when Phoebe had made an appearance. When she had stumbled upon Mulder dancing with the woman she was surprised to feel an ache that could only be associated with raw jealousy. Would Mulder ever look at herself with such desire? Could he find her attractive? Of course during the years of their partnership she had never asked and he had never revealed. Their newfound intimacy was providing her with fairly conclusive evidence that he did in fact find her desirable. She had worried for a time that Mulder only wanted her for the obvious reasons; he had no one else, she was his only companion and the only woman he was in synch enough with to be able to build a life. The final nail in that old coffin of insecurity was finally driven home. She couldn't doubt how much he wanted her when he was staring at her like a greedy caveman. "Okay.. but go easy on the dress." Before she had even agreed he had sat himself on the edge of the bed and pulled her around to face him. Now that he had her full cooperation he peeled the lower half of the dress up to her hips to reveal the black thigh highs beneath. Jesus Christ. Thigh highs and killer fuck me stilettos and a tiny scrap of a silky excuse for black panties. Needless to say Mulder had been a very happy man. Currently he was leading her around the extravagant ballroom with the ease of someone who had been in this type of situation many times before. It always slipped her mind that Mulder's family had been 'high society' thanks to Bill Mulder's powerful position and connections. Despite the professional and powerful people that were in attendance this was purely a social gathering. Mulder had switched accordingly from 'I'm Fox Mulder this is my partner Dana Scully' to 'I'm Fox Mulder this is my wife Dana.' She found she quite enjoyed her new title. However being called Mrs. Mulder just freaked her out. It always conjured up images of Mulder's mother. She didn't really want to be associated with that woman. "Have I told you how hot that dress is?" His voice was low in her ear as he reached for a glass of champagne from the offered tray. He took two and handed her one as the waiter moved on to the next lot of people. "Not in the last five minutes." She took a dainty sip and scanned the room for Michael and Charlie. She spotted them across the room. Michael was in deep conversation with a man she didn't recognize and Charlie was working her charms on one of the senators. Scully had never held much respect for women who used their feminine wiles to get what they wanted. It was different with Charlie for some reason. Showing a little cleavage and batting her eye lashes was just a part of Charlie's job. The woman didn't take herself seriously and she managed to get great results and useful information out of the mildly tanked stuffed shirts. Scully wasn't sure if she was willing to go so far to get her own information but her curiosity urged her to give it a try some time. Maybe she could use those tactics on Mulder. She knew he wouldn't feel cheap and nasty if she used him as her play thing. "You know Mulder if you're really good and get me a pistachio sundae after we blow this joint I just might let you play with my dress a little more." Scully wanted to parry did she? He liked playful Scully she was much more fun than 'Agent Scully'. "What if the dress isn't the only thing I want to play with?" "We'll see how generous I'm feeling at the time." "Don't play it that way with me *Dana* we all know you're just a little pussy cat." An odd sense of deja vu overcame her. "So how come I can have you begging for it in under two seconds? Don't you dare say 'because I let you'." He laughed and took a sip of his own champagne. "You're the one who can't say no Scully. Don't take your frustration out on me." "Oh really? Okay then.. No." His eyebrow raised in amusement. "No?" "No." "You're going to be sorry you said that." "Oh? Why is that?" "You'll see." X "Talk about an easy assignment eh? I thought they would have had us breaking in to a top secret military research base for sure." Mulder kicked off his shoes and sprawled out on the bed. "Aaaaah so nice to be home." "Mulder that's the only thing resembling work we have done since we've been here don't act so put upon. What happened to Fox Mulder the man who could never sit still?" "You wear me out these days." "I wear you out? Yeah right." "You do. I can't keep up with you. You're insatiable." She scoffed and came to stand at the foot of the bed. "Well then it's obvious that you can't say no either." She was referring to their earlier conversation. He grinned knowing it had been on her mind the entire time they were at that ridiculous social event. "Oh I can say no." "I've yet to see that." "Okay then. No." "No?" "No." "So we have both agreed that in order to prove that we can say no to each other, we are not going to have sex tonight?" "That's correct." "Okay." "Okay." "Well uh.. do you want to go to bed? It's pretty late and I have to be up early I've got some last minute cleaning and shopping to do before Mom arrives." "Sure. I'm going to put the TV on for awhile okay?" "That's fine." He reached for the remote as she turned her back to him to face the built in wardrobe. He watched as she curved an arm behind her to reach the little tab of her zipper. It released and she drew it down a little slower than usual. He knew that was for his benefit. The little wench wanted to tease him into breaking his vow of temporary celibacy. How he loved this occasional smart ass of a woman. He was learning new things about her with every day that passed. Scully hid away in herself the inner shit stirrer that Charlie freely and gleefully expressed. She slid the black material off her body and hung it neatly over the back of a chair. She turned suddenly to face him as if she had thought of something. "Do you think my mother could be thinking of moving west now that there's no one left back east?" He tossed on lazy look up and down her body before turning his eyes toward the television. "Maybe, it's only natural that she might want to be closer to her family." Although his glance had been casual the brief glimpse of her luscious curves encased in black matching lingerie, black thigh highs and black stilettos only made him want to look again and again and then again for good measure. Her lingerie wasn't lacy. It was plain, simple and extremely skimpy. The over all effect was more powerful than frills and lace. He wasn't going to break his vow. If anyone was going to be caving it would be her. Scully wasn't stupid. She knew exactly what she was doing. Despite her arousal begging her to cave in and just jump the stubborn mule her competitiveness was far too great to allow her that weakness. She would get what she wanted without having to break her vow first. Mulder was going down in more ways than one. He watched through his lashes as she perched on the edge of the bed to remove her shoes and roll her stockings off her defined calves. "Do you think it's selfish of me to hope that if she decides to move it will be to San Diego near Bill and Tara?" He was surprised by that question. He could actually look at her now without having to be obvious about it. "Why do you hope for that?" "I just.. I love my mother don't get me wrong. This life we live, the things that we strive for.. they're just not meant for her involvement. I don't think she will ever really understand the life that we live." "You're feeling protective of this?" He gestured to the space between them. "You're feeling protective of us aren't you? She represents something of the old life and you don't want that to affect our new life." Scully seemed to have forgotten her arousal just as Mulder had. "I feel horrible for thinking like that. On the other hand she's my mother. If it weren't for her D.N.A Charlie wouldn't be who she is. Mom deserves to know what is going on. She deserves to meet her new family if that's what she wants. But I just can't help but feel like she's not going to be accepting of this, of us, of all of it. I'm a thirty seven year old woman and it feels stupid to be worrying about what my mother will think." "It's not stupid at all. She's your mother, you love her and respect her. She also loves and respects you. She's always allowed you to make your own decisions without judgement. Why would that change now?" He paused as a dark thought popped into his head. "It's because of me isn't it? You're afraid she wont accept our marriage if she knows it was based on one of my latest crack pot ideas." Scully had never managed to successfully lie to him without raising his suspicions. She had learned over time to just stop trying. He was a perceptive man and saw past most people's bullshit. "Something like that." "Okay then.. Worst case scenario time; she completely hits the roof, screams and shouts, tries to drag you by your hair back to D.C.-." "Mulder my mother would never do that." "Okay but you get my point. If she is one hundred percent against this once she learns the truth what are you going to do?" "In the end I'm going to do what my heart always tells me to do." "And what is that?" "Stay with you." "Scully you can't choose me over your mother." "You chose me over your sister." She was referring to the night he had swapped what he thought was his sister for Scully. That had been so long ago. It almost felt like it didn't exist. "I honestly think you're worried for nothing. Come to bed." He opened his arms in invitation. She unclasped her bra, switched off the light and crawled into bed to be wrapped in his arms. With her face resting against his chest they watched TV in silence simply enjoying their last night alone before her mother arrived. All earlier thoughts of taunting each other were long put to rest. Mulder was content to just sail the warm waters of satisfaction he always felt when she was in his arms. X "Dana this is completely insane." "Mom-." "I thought this was all over. I thought the madness had stopped." "It has mostly. Mom we're content, we're so happy; happier than we've ever been. We're working toward the greater good. I can become a mother when I choose to. We've gained a family. Charlie is incredible I know you'll like her." "Dana this is impossible. This can't be happening. Do you know how crazy you sound right now?" "I don't care how crazy I sound. I'm telling the truth. You need to have an open mind when it comes to the reality of what is really going on behind the scenes of every day life. Nothing is as it seems." "So it appears." "Mom-." "Look Dana it's your life. If you want to continue putting yourself at risk to whatever it is that these 'men' do then that's your decision. Just consider thinking about the people that love you once in awhile." "Mom you are not going to put me through a guilt trip over this. I know what an honorable woman you are Margaret Scully and I expect no less from you. You are going to reserve your judgment on this entire situation until you see with your own eyes how happy and relatively safe we are. You are going to meet Charlie and Michael and their children. Then and only then do I want to hear about what you think of my life." "Fine. That sounds fair. Dana I just worry about you that's all. I'm your mother, you're my only daughter." "Hopefully not for much longer." "How could you say such a thing? You want me to replace your sister with.. with.. a.. damnit.. a clone!?" "I never said that. No one could ever replace Missy. Charlie is just like me. It's almost like you had an identical twin daughter that you didn't know about. Charlie was brought up in foster homes and orphanages. She never had a mother. I know she's looking forward to meeting you. She's dying to see who she shares her D.N.A with. She's a beautiful person Mom. You can't deny her the right to see where she comes from." Margaret sighed heavily. She should have expected some kind of insanity. X Friday night, it was late, I was walking you home We got down to the gate and I was dreaming of the night Would it turn out right How to tell you girl I wanna build my world around you Tell you that it's true I wanna make you understand I'm talkin' about a lifetime plan The Little River Band X It was Dani who answered the door when they knocked. "Keep that damn thing in your pocket Dani. We're not shapeshifters." "Dude! I am so kicking your butt tonight! We got the lastest Mortal Kombat and I know all the fatality moves!" Dani punched him in the arm, ever the charming tomboy. "Yeah I bet you downloaded all the cheats." "Nah I just e-mailed the Gunmen instead. Langly was happy to help. He told me you suck at Mortal Kombat." "How many times have I told you not to listen to the three stooges?" To Margaret's untrained ears this all sounded like code talk. Obviously her daughter knew what was going on because she was watching the exchange with an affectionate smile. The young girl's twin sister had come to the door also and elbowed Dani in the ribs. "Don't be so rude." She then held out a hand for Margaret to shake. "I'm Dana this is my sister Dani." The twins could certainly pass as Maggie Scully's grand daughters. The three of them shared the same dark hair and blue eyes. No one could mistake that pretty Scully smile currently five women shared it and they were all under the same roof at that very moment. Michael walked into the foyer with Jasin perched on his hip. Maggie's eyes widened. Dana really hadn't been joking, this man could certainly be Fox Mulder. Upon seeing Scully the two year old reached his arms out to her all the while chanting her name in that sweet baby voice of his. "Day-Nah! Day-Nah! Day-Nah! Day-Nah!" Michael laughed and deposited his son into Scully's outstretched arms. "I think he's taken a liking to you Dana. You should be honored he doesn't go to many people." Scully planted a kiss on Jasin's cheek before settling him onto her hip. Margaret was surprised by the exchange. Bill's two year old Matthew didn't reach for Dana like this child. Then again Matty wasn't really all that familiar with Aunt Dana. He hardly ever saw her. Things were a little strained between Bill and Dana. No matter how much she pleaded with both of them they were so damn stubborn. Scully knew her brother blamed her for everything. Her anger and guilt prevented her from trying to reach out to her brother. Just as his anger prevented him from reaching out to her. When they did see each other they barely managed to exchange pleasantries before Bill was down her throat and up her ass about whatever topic he felt like bitching about at the time. All the topics had something to do with different aspects of her life. They all lead back to one thing; Mulder. Bill hated him plain and simple. Maggie was afraid Dana would eventually begin to hate Bill. Her son could be a mule at times but even she could see that he pushed it too far with his sister. "You must be Mrs. Scully. I'm Michael it's good to finally meet you." He held out his hand for her to shake. Michael could see the obvious resemblances between this woman and Charlie and Dana. Now he knew where his wife got her big blue eyes and short stature from. The woman had a kind face. He hoped she also had a kind heart for Charlie's sake. "It's nice to meet you too. Dana has told me a lot about you." His eyes cut to Scully's. "Good things I hope." Scully saw that same mock leer on his face that Mulder frequently sent her way. She knew right away what he was getting at. 'Did you tell mother dear about how I spent the better part of half an hour with my face between your legs?' He was just like his wife, he couldn't resist teasing her. "Where is Charlie?" "Last time I saw her she was swearing at something in the oven." Michael led them to the kitchen to join the rest of the family. When Maggie's eyes landed on Charlie she had to blink back tears. It was like watching her own daughter in a house full of kids. She wore her blonde hair in a pony tail and minimal make up adorned her pretty face. Her smile was genuine and it reached her sweet blue eyes. She was in the middle of playfully smacking her eldest son's shoulder with a new fly swat. "Ow! Mom! You're meant to swat flies with that!" "It's for swatting pests. You're being a pest! Stop singing that stupid song!" "But you LOVE that song." "No I don't! I don't know why you kids have to torture me with it." "The three of us remember seeing you dancing around the coffee table to this song. I was seven and the twins were five." "Lies. All lies." "Are you denying it was you mother?" His hands shot out to tickle his mother's ribs and she jumped back with a squeal. "Marcus Kurt Moore. Do I need to remind you of rule ten of the Moore family rules? Thou shalt not use tickling as a form of torture upon thy siblings, parents or offspring. We all agreed on that way back in nineteen ninety four. Your father doesn't get away with it and neither do you." "What are you talking about O'Neil? I always get away with it." Michael descended on her and father and son soon had her howling for mercy between fits of breathless giggles, squirming and harmless punch throwing. "Stop! Okay it was me dancing around the table to that stupid song! Leave me alone!" Their hands dropped to their sides and her two boys grinned wickedly at each other. She threw them both a sour look then turned to face Maggie. "You'll have to excuse them. They got left behind when the rest of us evolved from apes." She held out her hand to shake Maggie's and watched as similar blue eyes smiled back at her. So this was Dana's mother. This was the woman that conceived her original. If it wasn't for her Charlie wouldn't exist. "Thank You for coming Mrs. Scully. I'm Charlie; it's a pleasure to finally get to meet you." "Thank You for inviting me Charlie and please call me Maggie." X She couldn't deny it they were a charming family. She could see why her daughter was so fond of them. Charlie represented all the hopes and dreams Maggie had for Dana. Could Fox Mulder give her all of this? Could he give her this kind of life? She turned to watch her daughter across the table. She was laughing delicately into her glass of wine as Mulder made animated gestures with his hands to illustrate what he was talking about. They really did look happy. Maybe the man really was in love with her after all. Dana rolled her eyes at something he said and Maggie caught the affectionate warmth in his gaze as he smiled at her daughter. "Oh Maggie Dana told me you make a pretty awesome brownie. Maybe we can whip up a batch later and you can share your secret ingredient." "Oh only if you're lucky." Dani was making karate chop motions across the table from Mulder. She was keen to get into their Mortal Kombat death match. Scully had looked on affectionately as he spent most of the time leading up to dinner ribbing her about it. The girl was wound up and ready to unleash the fury. Young Dana was giggling with her brother over a story he was relaying to her about his soccer trip. Little Jasin was in his high chair swinging his legs happily and stuffing mashed potatoes into his greedy mouth. They really did create the image of a happy family as they all sat down together to break bread and drink wine. They were good people, her kind of people, warm and inviting and generous to a fault. Dana had told her a little of their history. For two people who had never felt the love of a parent they were certainly teaming with love for their own offspring. Michael and Charlie as youngsters had vowed when they had their own family everyone would be welcome. Strays needed love too. Quite a few of their children's friends didn't come from ideal homes and backgrounds. Charlie was a natural nurturer and she always welcomed people into her home and heart. They had school kids occasionally asking them for advice on topics they could never discuss with their own parents. They had two stray dogs and four stray cats that were now a part of the family. The dogs lived out back and the cats were allowed inside and out. Mark and the twins were responsible for feeding the animals and taking out the trash. They were fortunate enough to earn enough money to have a maid come in a couple of times a week to do the laundry and clean the bathrooms and other various activities. They had dragged themselves up from nothing to become a happy fully functional financially secure family. Maggie snapped out of her thoughts as she heard the scraping of chairs being pushed back. Dani was dragging Mulder by the sleeve to the living room yapping excitedly about how she had been practicing for thirteen hours straight to perfect a particularly difficult fatality move. Young Dana had stood to help Charlie and Dana clear the table. Michael cleaned Jasin and removed his bib. He took him out to the living room to join Dani and Mulder. Mark trailed along behind him. Maggie stood also to help clear the table. Charlie took a plate from her daughter's hand and pressed an affectionate kiss to her cheek. "It's okay honey we'll take care of it why don't you go and see if you can't whip Mulder's scrawny butt too." Dana laughed. "Okay Mom." She left the kitchen to join the rest of the family huddled around the television and surrounding couches. Margaret watched as the two women each took their positions at the sink. She had a feeling they must have done this together many times. Charlie was washing and Dana was drying. They stood shoulder to shoulder and Scully picked up a tea towel. "So do you think your Mom will give me the secret ingredient or are the Scully brownies some kind of sacred family legacy?" Charlie tossed a cheeky smile in Maggie's direction even though the question was meant for Scully. "Oh I think we can make an exception for you. What do you say Mom? "Welcome to the family Charlie." It looked like Charlie might finally receive that family she had fervently wished for during her younger years after all. THE END PART 4 COMING SOON.