From: ephemeral@ephemeralfic.org
Date: 28 Jun 2004 01:39:27 -0000
Subject: A Day in the Life, The Progress Report, Part 29 by Girlie_girl74
Source: direct

Reply To: girlie_girl74@yahoo.com


Title: A Day in the Life, Pt 29, The Progress Report
Author: Girlie_girl7
Email: Girlie_girl74@yahoo.com
Date: 06-24-04
Category: Family Fic
Spoilers: Existence then AU
Rating: PG
Archive: Anywhere
Disclaimer: Fox owns 'em.
Summary: Someone in the family has a vivid
imagination.





                       ~ The Progress Report ~


"Mulder would you stop fidgeting.  It's only a review
on behavior, attitude and cooperation."

"I know Scully, but this is serious it could determine
the future."

"I think you're making too big of a deal out of this,
calm down."

"I am calm," Mulder replies as his knee jiggles.

"You are not, if you were any more jittery I'd have to
sedate you."

"But what if we get bad news?"

"Then William and Katherine won't be allowed to
continue in the day care program."

--

Scully wheels her Grand Cherokee into the parking lot
of the Catholic Church were her son and daughter
attend the Time Out Day Care Program.  She had earlier
picked up Mulder at work so that they can both attend
the meeting to discuss William and Katherine's
progress in the group.

Scully turns the SUV off and looks over at her
partner.  "I'm sure they'll do just fine.  He's an
intelligent, sweet, little boy and Katherine's a
charming, good baby."

"And they're both Mulder's," Mulder grins then frowns,
"they are both Mulder's, aren't they Scully?"

Scully glares at him. "Of course they're both Mulder's
but don't forget they're Scully's too," she smugly
says.

They exit the SUV, enter the church and they soon
locate the office they have been instructed to look
for.  Mulder raps lightly on the frosted glass window
and receives a soft, "Come in," in reply.

They enter the small room and are greeted by a woman
who appears to be a few years older than Mrs. Scully. 
She moves from behind a large desk and offers each
agent a seat.  She then returns to her own chair and
begins, "Mr. and Mrs. Mulder, it's nice to meet you. 
I'm sorry I wasn't here to greet you when you enrolled
William and Katherine but I spend two months a year
with my sister in Florida."

Both agents smile politely at the woman.

"Oh, where are my manners," she says throwing her
hands to her chest.  "I'm Alice Evans, Program
Director."

"Nice to meet you," both agents mumble.

"Now," Mrs. Evans begins as she taps down a stack of
papers then places them on her desk and folds her
hands on top of them, "where to begin?"

Suddenly Scully feels as jittery as Mulder does.

"As you may know we like to speak to every parent of
the children attending our program, and William and
Katherine are no exception."  The woman smiles at both
parents.

Mulder clears his throat and nervously strums his
fingers on the arm of his chair.

"Katherine is here only occasionally but she is a joy
to have around.  I understand she was starting to walk
when her foot was broken."

"Yes, that's right," Scully replies.

"She seems to have recovered nicely and toddles all
over the infants room."

Mulder speaks up, "Scully spent a lot of time teaching
her how to walk again."

"Scully?" Mrs. Evans questions.

"Yes," Scully looks up and answers.

"Who is Scully?" Mrs. Evans asks.

"That's her," Mulder replies pointing to his partner.

Scully can already tell Mulder is going to be a
handful during this interview.  "Scully is my maiden
name and the one that Mulder calls me."  She hesitates
and looks down, "Just as I call him... Mulder." 

"I see," Mrs. Evans responds. "Katherine is alert and
attentive. She is a little behind in her speech but
don't worry babies all talk at their own pace."

"Maybe she doesn't have anything to say," Mulder
comments.

Scully nervously looks up and runs her tongue over her
bottom lip.  "You were saying?"

Mrs. Evans looks down at her paper once again. 
"Katherine gets along well with others but is
perfectly content to play by her self."


"She's used to being alone since William attends the
program more often than she does."

"May I ask why that is?" Mrs. Evan says leaning across
the desk on her elbows.

"Katherine attends only when I have to work but we
felt William should attend so that he could be with
other children his own age."

"Besides he was driving us nuts," Mulder interjects
from his slumped position in his chair.

Scully nervously laughs trying to add some levity to
the room when she would really like to throttle
Mulder.

"Mrs. Mulder."

"Please call me Dana," Scully replies breaking the
tension in the room.

"Dana, now we move to William who is three years old."

"Yes, he just turned three in May."

The director pulls out one of the papers that she has
stacked in front of her. "But he is already reading at
an advanced level."

"Yes he is, I work with him," Scully proudly smiles.

"And he can write not only his full name but many of
his classmates as well."

Even Scully is amazed by the discovery.

"He seems to have no problem with number
identification and is in fact doing basic math
problems."

"We tried teaching him calculus but he just couldn't
grasp it," Mulder deadpans but his joke falls flat
with Scully and Mrs. Evans.

"Right," Mrs. Evans says staring at Mulder.  He has
remarkable writing, reading and math skills but his
language skills are in need of some development."

"He's only three," Scully softly defends.

"Yes and I'm sure he'll catch up soon."

"Yeah," Mulder jokes, "we have very few agents at the
bureau who still say, "Ah haffa go pot-ie."  This time
Scully nudges him with her foot.

"Right," Mrs. Evans unsteadily replies.  "We of course
do no intelligence testing but my guess is William
would test highest of all the children attending the
program."

Mulder's ears perk up at this last remark.  "But he's
one of the youngest children here."

"I'm aware of that and I'm including the seven year
olds that come here after parochial school."

Scully glances over at Mulder taken back by what she's
hearing.

"While William is highly intelligent, he doesn't seem
to be bored by the day to day events going on in the
program, in fact he is interested in everything going
on around him."

"He's nosy just like his mother," Molder smiles while
Scully does a slow burn.

Mrs. Evans smiles not fully understanding Mulder's
sense of humor.  "Anyway, we now come to his
behavioral evaluation."

Molder loses the smirk that has covered his face while
Scully merely looks stoic.

Mrs. Evans shoves her glasses farther up on the bridge
of her nose.  "He is well liked and has made fast
friends, Petie Brown in particular.  He gets along
well with the other children but there have been
incidents," she says looking over the top of her
glasses.

"Such as?" Scully softly asks.

"He was one of the instigators of a fight that
resulted in his suspension..."

"For swearing," Mulder interjects from his slumped
down position with his chin resting on his bent arm.

"and another students dismissal."

"Mary-Katherine," Mulder adds.

"That's right, Mr. Mulder."

"Well, you can hardly blame him for that, she was a
bully," Mulder says defending his son.

"Bully or not, he swore at her," Mrs. Evans coldly
says.

"Dumbass," Mulder mumbles.

"I beg your pardon Mr. Mulder."

"Will called Mary-Katherine a dumbass."

"Oh I see," Mrs. Evans says as she regains her
composure.

By now Scully is glaring at Mulder.  He looks over
then slinks a little farther down in his chair.

"We also have the most recent incident when he and
Petie ran away."

Mulder straightens up in his chair and points a finger
into the air.  "Technically they did not run away,
they went in search of a better playground, which was
recently purchased for the children so I don't think
you will be having any more problems keeping him in
the fence."

Now both women are staring at Mulder.

Scully moves foreword in her chair.  "Is there
anything else we should know, Mrs. Evans?"

"William does seem to have a very vivid imagination."

A small but audible moan can be heard coming from both
parents.

"He apparently told a group of children that when you
are stung by a bee they put you in the snow, naked."

Mulder starts to laugh but thinks better of it and
covers his mouth with his hand while Scully runs her
tongue over her bottom lip and looks directly at him.
"Well, you know how children are, they love to tell a
good story."
"There's more," Mrs. Evans coldly replies.

"There's more?"  Scully softly asks as a putrid look
crosses her face.

"Yes, it seems you had a dog that was eaten by a
crocodile..."

"Alligator," Mulder corrects.

"What was that Mr. Mulder?"

"Her dog was eaten by an alligator."

"I see," Mrs. Evans says as she looks down at the
paper she is holding in her shaking hands.  "He also
told the other children that you took a cruise that
made you real old, and your shoes were once eaten by
green Jello."

"Now technically that's wrong, it was green but it was
not 
Jello," Mulder affirms.

By now Mrs. Evans is getting a little edgy.  "He also
said you chased a vampire, and a man who had a monkey
tail.  Mrs. Evans folds her hands together and stares
at Mulder.  "Tell me Mr. Mulder, why do you think
William says these things?"

Mulder looks straight at the woman. "Because they're
true."

Scully jumps in, "Mrs. Evans, we work at the FBI"

"I'm aware of that."

Scully squirms in her chair.  "And we are assigned
the, the, out of the ordinary cases and maybe William
overheard us discussing some past cases and he got
things a little jumbled."

"That's right," Mulder adds, "and she was not naked in
Antarctica, I gave her my snowsuit."

Scully glares at her partner.

"Getting back to William," Mrs. Evans says as Scully
continues to stare at Mulder.

"He also says he plays with a, oh where did I put that
page?"  Mrs. Evans digs through her pile of papers as
Mulder and Scully begin to visibly sweat.

"Ah, here it is.  His playmates are a Byers, Frocky,
and the third name I would only be guessing at but he
says these three boys play video games with him and
drive a car.  I can only assume by William's
description of them that none them are out of their
early teens.  I only mention this to let you know they
are driving and you may want to check this out."

"I'll get right on it," Mulder says as he slumps down
once again in the chair while Scully looks glum.

"He is well behaved and listens to orders, never cries
unless he's injured."

"When has he been injured?" Scully inquires as her
maternal instincts take over.

"Well, I don't exactly recall," Mrs. Evans, says as
she thumbs through her papers.  "Here it is.  He was
injured when his cast was broken by Mary-Katherine."

"The dumbass," Mulder adds.

"Mulder!"  Scully hisses then returns to Mrs. Evans. 
"Was that the only time he was hurt?"

"Yes, that appears to be the only case.  He did have
the stomach flu but you know that, you were the one
who picked him up."

"That's right," Scully agrees.

"We also had a bit of an embarrassing situation one
afternoon.  All the children were gathered in a circle
and were asked some familiar questions.  We do this
routinely so that if they are ever lost or wander
away, as William and Petie did, they can tell someone
who they are and where they live.  Anyway, William was
asked what his fathers first name was."  At this point
Mrs. Evans begins to blush.  "William blurted out a
word that all of our volunteers thought for sure was a
swear word until his grandmother came to his rescue
and informed everyone he was trying to say 'Fox'."


"Oh no," Mulder laughs as he closes his eyes and
throws back his head.  By now Scully is so numb she
just rests her chin on her fisted hand and smiles. 

"His eating habits are fine but we did have to stop
Petie from eating the crust off his sandwiches."

"He has an aversion to crust," Mulder explains.

"Yes, we gathered as much, so now we cut the crust off
for him.  He usually eats everything on his plate but
like all children he has things he won't touch."

"He's very easy to please at home," Scully says.

"The kid eats all the time," Mulder interjects.  "I
suspect he has a tapeworm."

"Mulder!"  Scully admonishes.  "William does not have
a tapeworm!"

"I was only kidding, Scully," Mulder contritely says
as he plays with his tie.

"So I've noticed."  Now Scully has built up a head of
steam.  "You have spent this entire time joking and
making smart remarks while you should be listening to
what Mrs. Evans is saying about William and Katherine.
 If you didn't want to pay attention you should have
stayed at the bureau and told your students about
brain eating mutants, boys who control lightning, and
virus carrying bees!"  Scully suddenly becomes aware
that Mrs. Evans is staring at her.  She too slumps
back into her chair and mumbles, "Sorry."  

Mulder is smiling at his partner.  "You'll have to
excuse my wife, she gets like this when I'm being a
smart ass."

Scully drops her head to her chest.  Mrs. Evans begins
to nervously stammer.  "Well, ah, well, I think that's
about all for today.  I, um, I'm sure if you have any
further questions a member of the staff will be more
than hap, happy to answer them for you."  She hastily
gathers up her papers and clutches them to her chest
as she steps past Mulder and Scully and slips out the
door then pauses.  "Now if you'll excuse me I am
needed in the kitchen."  With that statement she flees
from the room.

Mulder turns in his chair and watches the door slowly
close.  "She never did tell us how well he preformed
on potty breaks."

Scully lifts her head and scowls. "Mulder, shut up."

--

Scully pulls the SUV into the light afternoon traffic
while Mulder sits quietly in the passenger seat.  He
starts to reach for the radio dial but Scully swats
his hand away.  He glumly looks out the side window
and sighs, "Do you think they'll ever let us back in
that church?"

"I'm not even sure they will let William and Katherine
back in," Scully snaps as she takes a corner just a
little too tight and squeals the tires.

Mulder taps his fingers on his knees then turns to
Scully.  "She did say Katherine was a joy to have
around."

"Yes, she did," Scully agrees.  "And she gets along
well with others."

"That's right and William is the brightest kid there."

Scully smiles.  "Even smarter than the seven year
olds."

Mulder sits up straight in his seat.  "And he's
reading and writing already, she did seem impressed by
that."

"He writes the other kids names, can you believe that
Mulder!"  Scully excitedly says.

Mulder nods in agreement.  "He is smart."

"And he gets along well with others."

"Except for Mary-Katherine," Mulder adds.

"Well, she couldn't get along with anyone and that
fight was her fault," Scully says as she slows for the
traffic.

"That's right!" Mulder excitedly agrees.  "Why should
that incident even be on Will's record?  We should
request that it be expunged."

"I'm not sure I would go that far but it does seem odd
that it is on his record."

"And where does she come off telling us who William
should be playing with at home!"  Mulder has built up
his own head of steam.  "And that woman is pushy!"

Scully shrugs.  "I'm sure she was just doing her job
but I would say she is nosy, not pushy."

"Got that right!"  Mulder says pointing his finger at
Scully.  "And how dare her say Katherine and William
are behind in their language skills.  Will can look up
in the night sky and name the Big Dipper, the moon,
and Venus."

"Well, yes Mulder," Scully laughs, "But he does say
'Benus' not 'Venus'."

Mulder shrugs.  "That's just a slip of the tongue,
Scully."

Mulder looks out the side window then turns back
toward his partner.  "You know Scully, I don't think
this day care program is good enough for William and
Katherine."

"Mulder!" Scully laughs.  "We went from feeling like
our kids would never be welcomed back to deciding this
day care program isn't good enough for them."

Mulder grins at her.  "You're right."  He lays his
head back and looks out the side window once more.

Scully maneuvers the Grand Cherokee through the
steadily increasing city traffic.  "Want to grab a cup
of coffee?  Mom won't mind watching the kids for a few
more minutes."

"If you're buying," Mulder teases.

Scully smiles back at him.

"Scully, raising kids isn't easy is it?"  Mulder asks
as they pull up to their favorite coffee shop.

"Sometimes the most rewarding things in life are the
hardest to do."

"Yeah," Mulder agrees as they get out of the SUV.  He
takes Scully by the hand then drapes his arm over her
shoulder.  "I've decided they can stay in day care."

"Good, I'm glad," Scully smiles up at her partner.

He holds the door open for her and as she is stepping
under his arm he adds, "But I still don't like that
Mrs. Evans."



                          ~ The End ~