From: ephemeral@ephemeralfic.org
Date: 24 Jan 2004 02:42:25 -0000
Subject: A Day in the Life, Sharing Cake, Part 16 by Girlie_girl74
Source: direct

Reply To: girlie_girl74@yahoo.com


Title: A Day in the Life, Part 15: Sharing Cake
Author: Girlie_girl7
Email: Girlie_girl74@yahoo.com
Category: Family Fic
Spoilers: Existence then AU
Date: 01-14-04
Archive: Anywhere
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Fox owns 'em
Summary: It's been a rough day around the Mulder
household.




                          ~ Sharing Cake ~


A red haired woman plops down on a couch, exhausted
and frazzled.  Her hair is mussed while her face is
flushed.  She is wearing a stained sweatshirt and a
pair of dirty-kneed sweatpants.  She holds one arm
across her brow and sighs.

"Here, drink this," Fox Mulder says as he hands Scully
a hot mug of coffee.  He looks no better than she
does.  His hair looks as if a riot has taken place
among his follicles; his gray T-shirt is covered in
something green and smelly.  He's barefooted and just
as shagged out as Scully.  He joins her on the couch,
props his long legs up on the coffee table, where they
now sit in silence sipping their coffee.

"This has been the worst day yet," Scully finally
sighs.

"What has gotten into those two?" Mulder frowns.

"I don't know, but this is by far more exhausting than
chasing Krycek's ass all over the country."  Scully
protectively holds her coffee mug and rolls her head
to loosen the tension in her neck.

"Did Will finally go to sleep?" Mulder asks over the
rim of his mug.

"Yeah, he fought it but he dropped off about ten
minutes ago."

Mulder leans back into the couch.  "Scully, why do
they fight like that?"

Scully swallows, "Well they are brother and sister and
at times they will fight."

"But four times in one day!  I've never heard so much
screaming and crying and that was from me!"

Scully wearily takes a drink of her coffee. 
"Katherine has finally gotten old enough to fight
back.  I swear if William would just stop trying to
see her new baby teeth this kind of behavior would
never happen but he always starts it."

"Is it any wonder that after Katherine learned to say
'mama' her next word was 'no'."

This brings a smile to Scully's lips then she looks
over at Mulder and frowns, "What's that green stain?"

Mulder looks down and pulls his shirt away from his
chest.  "I've been wondering about that, it's either
cough syrup, pea soup, or something equally disgusting
that I don't care to even think about."

"Take it off and I'll wash it," Scully says as she
leans her head back and shuts her eyes.

Mulder rolls his head to look over at her.  "Scully,
any other time I would say something suggestive and
totally inappropriate but I'm just too damn tired."

Scully looks at Mulder with a puzzled look on her
face.  "Did you ever figure out how Will got Katherine
out of the playpen?"

"I've been thinking about that too and all I can come
up with is he used a lock-pick."

"Mulder," Scully laughs, "he's only two and a half!"

"Your point being?"

Scully simply glares at him.

Mulder takes another sip from his mug.  "We did find
out one thing today, Katherine has learned how to slap
her brother but good."

"Well, he pesters her something awful, can you blame
her?"

"Yeah, she's not as easy going as Will is.  She takes
after..."  "You," both partners say.  Both look
surprised and say, "Me?"

Scully stares at Mulder, "Me?  Mulder sometimes you
growl around here like a bear with a thorn in its paw.
 If you're feeling down, you can sulk for days."

"Me?  Look Scully I've been on the receiving end of
some of your worst days and it isn't pretty."

Scully glares at her partner then sighs and shakes her
head.  "What are we doing, Mulder?"

"Yeah, we need to stick together."

"Right," Scully nods.

"If they divide us, they win."

"True, but Mulder, their combined age is barely three
years!"

"That's when they're the trickiest, the difference
being we can't reason with them.  All William says is
'why'.  I told him he couldn't wear his boots to bed,
he said 'why'.  How the hell am I suppose to answer
that?  Because it's one of the rules adults have, or
it's a breech of Martha Stewart etiquette." 

"It's like when I put a spoon in Katherine's hand and
help her eat her cereal, the minute I turn my back she
plasters the wall with it, but never when I'm watching
her.  They're sneaky like that."

"I was never like that," Mulder says, shaking his
head.

"Me neither," Scully agrees.

Mulder raises his arm from off the back of the couch
and sifts through Scully's hair.  "Did you get all the
jelly out?"

"Yeah," Scully sighs, "but the next time Will wants to
love on me, I hope its before he eats a Strawberry
jelly sandwich."

"It did go well with your hair," Mulder teases Scully.

Scully takes a long drink from her mug.  "William will
take Katherine's doll just to get a rise out of her."

Mulder laughs, "But she did get even, she tossed the
remote control to his car behind the couch."

"Even or not, she wasn't the one who had to move this
heavy thing when Will got stuck back there and
screamed at the top of his lungs."

"I'm sure Katherine took great pleasure in that." 
Mulder grins then takes another sip of his coffee.

Scully twists around to look at her partner.  "Mulder,
do you ever remember taking off your shoes and
throwing them like Katherine does?"

"Not me, I kept my shoes to myself."
"I put her shoes on her and two minutes later she has
them off," Scully says, hitting her leg with her open
hand.

"Maybe she uses them as weapons, as a form of
protection."

Scully glares at him. "I'm not threatening her when I
dress her."

Mulder shrugs, "Maybe she will grown up to be a
nudist."

Scully sighs then puts her open hand into the air and
grows still.  "Wait, is that a noise?"

Mulder turns his head.  "I don't hear anything."

Scully settles back into the couch.  "Thank goodness,
I thought one of them was awake."

Mulder slumps down into the couch a little farther. 
"Lunch was a disaster."

"The spoon banging I could tolerate, but throwing peas
at one another was too much."

"I agree, but when you yelled at them they both
bawled."

"I know," Scully says holding her head in her hands. 
"I felt bad about that but I was at the end of my rope
with those two."

Mulder laces his fingers through hers.  "I don't know
how you do it sometimes."

Scully squeezes his hand back.  "It's usually not too
bad.  They are, basically, good kids."

"Will is protective of his sister, remember at the
photographers when that pudgy, four-year-old took
Katherine's toy from her?"

Scully snickers, "I wonder if he was still bawling
when they took his picture?"

"I was like that when it came to my sister, I could
drive her nuts but no one else had better try it or
they had me to answer to."

Scully runs her thumb over Mulder's hand.  "I'm sure
you were the best brother any girl could have."

Mulder smiles and looks down at the coffee mug he's
clutching.  "How about Bill?  Was he a good older
brother?"

Scully ponders the question for a moment; "I guess so.
 He had to be the man of the house when dad was out to
sea, so he had to be stern and strict but he was only
trying to fill my dads shoes."

"Did he?"

"Did he what?"

"Did he fill his shoes?"

Scully shakes her head and gets a far away look on her
face.  "No. Never.  No one could ever replace my
father."

"So you two were close?"

"Yeah," Scully sighs, "when he was out to sea I would
get this ache in my chest, I missed him terribly.  I
know the others thought I was my dads favorite but
really I just loved being with him, just like
Katherine loves being with you."  She looks up to see
a wide smile crossing Mulder's face.

"We do seem to have a simpatico relationship, that and
I'm not the one who has to do all the bad things to
her, like correcting her and cleaning her up, and
trying to get her to eat all her veggies like you do
24-7.  Scully smiles and lets out a little chuckle. 
He takes his hand from hers and tucks an unruly strand
of hair behind her ear.  "You and William seem to be
on the same page."

Scully gets excited, "Oh! I forgot to tell you what
Will said yesterday.  He asked me what I do at work. 
I wasn't sure what to tell him, so I told him I worked
at the Bureau in the morgue.  He asked me what that
was and I told him that's where they take people who
have been injured and died.  He thought for a moment
then said, 'so you can kiss it and make it all
better'."

Mulder tosses back his head and laughs; "We need to
talk to that boy."

Scully snuggles in next to her partner and he
reciprocates by drawing her closer to him.  "Scully,
have you noticed how gently Will treats Katherine's
dolls?"

"Yeah, when he isn't throwing them across the room to
make her mad."

"No, I mean when he's playing alone with them.  He's
very caring and tender."

"That's how we have always treated him."

"Except when you screamed at them at lunch," Mulder
teases. 

"I couldn't help it Mulder, it was either scream or
sit down and cry."

"Then Katherine would have cried and Will would have
cried because Katherine was crying."

Scully shakes her head slightly.  "Do you think
William will ever stop crying every time his sister
cries?"

"I'm sure he will."

Scully sloshes the last of her coffee around in her
cup.  "He is a complex child."

"Well, look who his parents are."

Scully has to laugh.  "Will came in yesterday and told
me Katherine was hungry.  I asked him how he knew and
he said because she was eating dirt out of the plant."

"Was she?"

"Yes, I think she inherited your eating habits."

"The last time I took her to the Bureau, everyone
oo'ed and ah'ed
over her."

Scully smiles and looks up at Mulder, "She is a
beautiful, little girl, with those dark eyes and that
dark hair."

"She reminds me so much of my sister," Mulder softly
says.

"I'm glad.  You had a very pretty sister."

Mulder draws in a deep breath and exhales; "I can't
wait to watch her grow up.  She'll attend ballet
classes."

"Or kick boxing."

"She'll learn to speak French."

"Or swear like a trooper."

"She'll be a doctor or a lawyer someday."

"Or she'll drive a garbage truck."

Mulder smiles down at Scully. "Do I sense a pattern
here?"

"No, all I'm saying is don't pigeon-hole her.  She'll
do and be what she wants to."

"When do you think she'll start walking?" Mulder asks.


"I look for her to try anytime now."

Mulder laughs, "Wanna bet her first steps will be away
from her brother."

Scully lets a small smile cross her face, "I wouldn't
doubt it."

"Will told me the other day he likes ice cream because
it's not hot."

Scully laughs and takes another drink of her coffee. 
"He asked me why he couldn't drink the bath water?"

"I'm sure you gave him a sound scientific answer."

Scully smirks, "I told him, he couldn't drink the bath
water because it was icky."

Mulder nearly chokes on him coffee.  "Very scientific,
Scully."

"Well you try reasoning with a two year old."

"I have.  I thought it was pretty funny when he
brought out Katherine's bath tub baby to show your mom
its butt."

"Oh," Scully whines and puts her hand to her face, at
least Father McQue wasn't with her."

"I'm sure he'll do a lot more that embarrasses us
before he's eighteen."

"The other day I was carrying Katherine over my
shoulder in the grocery store and I stopped to pick up
some grapes.  When I started to leave I couldn't move.
 I looked back to see her clutching the beard of some
burly, tattooed biker!"

"No shit!" Mulder laughs.  "What did he do?"

"I pried her hand loose and apologized.  He laughed
and rubbed her head.  I'm telling you Mulder, I was so
embarrassed."

"I can just picture you, all red-faced and wanting to
just melt into the floor."

"I do know one thing about being a parent, you lose a
lot of dignity."

"Remember, after Skinner babysat with William when he
was about fifteen months old and the following week we
took him to the photographers and he yelled, 'shit'
right in the middle of the room."

Scully turns to face Mulder, draping her arm across
the back of the couch.  "I know he got that from
Skinner, because when we came home that night it was
the first word out of his mouth."

Mulder stiffly crawls off the couch, "Here give me
your cup and I'll get us a refill."

"Hey grab the cookies while you're up," Scully yells
toward the kitchen.

Mulder peeks his head around the corner.  "You mean
the ones Will sneezed all over?"

"Oh, I forgot about that.  Hell, bring 'em anyway,
he's done worse to me."

Mulder returns with two more mugs of coffee and two
pieces of coffee cake."

Scully sits up, her attention drawn to the cinnamon
delicacy setting before her.  "Where did you get
that?"

"While you were upstairs rinsing the jelly out of your
hair, your mom dropped this off.  I hid it so we could
have it later."

"You are a smart man, Fox Mulder," Scully says as she
bites into the delicate cake.  "Guess where I found
Will sleeping?" She says around a mouth full of coffee
cake.

"Scully, you are going to have to narrow it down a
bit.  Okay, where?"

"Under your desk."

"Do you think he'll ever go to sleep in his bed?" 
Mulder asks as he swallows a large chunk of the cake.

"His father never did," Scully teases.

"Yes I did," Mulder says, "as soon as a certain copper
haired, beauty decided to share it with me."

Scully blushes. "I really intended to just tell you I
was going home but..."

"You were drawn to the Fox Mulder love magnet," Mulder
interjects.

"Yeah, something like that," Scully smiles up at him.

Mulder drops his arm across her shoulder and draws her
over to kiss her head.  "I'm glad you did," he softly
says, "it lead us to where we are now."

Scully turns her head and Mulder gently kisses her
lips.  She glances over and draws back.  "Mulder, we
are not alone," she says as she nods toward the entry
to the family room.  Mulder turns his head to see his
son standing there in his footie pajamas, twisting his
fingers together.  He lets a full grin covers his face
as he hunches his shoulders and says, "Ah not tiored."

Mulder and Scully smile at one another then Scully
puts out her arms.  "Come here, sweetie."

William runs and jumps into his mother's arms. 
"Ooph!" Scully groans.  "You're getting big."  She
pats down her sons unruly hair as he lays his head on
against her chest and grins up at his father.

"Hey buddy, all done with your nap?"

"Yup," Will yawns then says, "Ah hun-gee."

"Of course you are," Scully laughs.

"What do you want to eat?" Mulder asks as he tugs at
his son's fleecy covered toes.

"Swabewwy yelly san'ich," Will softly says.

"Oh," Scully groans, "I sense another shampooing
coming my way."

Mulder stands up and takes Will from Scully.  He
carries his son into the kitchen and sets him on his
booster seat.  "How about a piece of coffee cake?"

Will hunches his back and squishes up his face, "Ah
don' yike coffee."

Mulder smiles as he places a thin slice of cake on a
small plate.  "No Will, its not made out of coffee,
it's made with cinnamon, just like mom puts on your
toast."

"Better cut another piece," Scully says, carrying
Katherine into the kitchen.

Mulder reaches out to cup the baby's soft, curly,
brown head.  Katherine puts out both arms and lunges
for her father.  He scoops her up and kisses her cheek
while she chews on one tiny finger.

Scully puts a bib on her and pulls out the tray on her
high chair.  William has wolfed down his cake and is
trying to break another piece off the cake.  "Wait
Will, let me help you," Scully says as Mulder places
Katherine in her high chair.

Scully cuts Will another piece of cake and turns to
get him a glass of milk to drink.

Will breaks off a small piece of his cake and places
it on Katherine's tray.  "Hewe Kat-run, eat dis, it
don' tase yike coffee!" Will exclaims.

The baby grabs up the offered piece of cake and crams
it into her mouth.  She chews it up and grins at her
brother.  He giggles and shares more of his cake with
her.

Mulder leans against the counter, coffee mug in hand
and smiles at the gentle interaction between his
children.

Scully bustles around, making sure everyone has cake
and milk.  She finally takes a seat across from her
kids where Mulder joins her and they finish the
afternoon laughing, giggling, and sharing cake.




                  ~ The End ~