From: Ten Date: Sat, 11 May 2002 00:20:58 +1000 Subject: "Dreams Fulfilled" (1/1) by Ten Source: xff TITLE: "Dreams Fulfilled" (1/1) BY: Ten E-MAIL ADDRESS: kristena@ocean.com.au CATEGORY: V; MSR RATING: R for fairly non-descriptive, consensual adult situations (half my beta readers said it was an R and half said it was PG-13, so I'm staying on the side of caution.) SUMMARY: Mother's Day celebrations for Dana in the Couch Universe as Fox and their sons give her a day to remember. TIMESPAN/SPOILER WARNING: This is set in Macspooky and my "Daniel/Couch" series. It can be read as a standalone: This series and universe diverted from the show after the events of "Emily" in the fifth season. Mulder and Scully have bred and wed, then bred some more. A few aspects of the following seasons are kept, but not many. Stories in this series have been set at various times, some even during the next seven years. The instalments of the series where Samantha Mulder re-enters Fox's life have not been written yet, but in this alternate universe the woman that CSM brought to Mulder in the diner in 'Redux' was the real Samantha. It is planned that Sam reappears sometime in or around 2000-2002 after CSM's death and the Consortium's defeat, so by the time of this Mother's Day story (2005), she and Fox are close siblings again. The usual sexual endurance disclaimer still applies here. Namely: The sexual endurance of this Mulder has been enhanced for the pleasure of Scully and the readers - and the writer. Don't expect this at home. We don't want to cause any unrealistic expectations re: males of around this age, but hey, it's nice to dream! And they're making up for lost time. ARCHIVE INFO: It goes to Gossamer through xff. Can be archived anywhere as long as my name, addy and disclaimer stay intact. FEEDBACK: Always great to know who's out there in the ether! THANKS TO: Mac, Gerry, Debbie, Suzanne and Judie - all for giving help repeatedly and swiftly, despite being busy. My website for all my X-Files fanfiction (including all the Couch series), thanks to the wonderful Arria, is at http://www.4gigs.com/~tenxffic/index2.html With a mirror site at: http://tenxffic.tripod.com DISCLAIMER: The X-Files, the episodes referred to, Mulder and Scully and all other characters from the show belong to Chris Carter, the writers of the episodes, Ten Thirteen Productions and Fox Broadcasting, and are used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended, no profit will be gained. Characters not recognised from the show are mine or Mac's. The X-Files: "Dreams Fulfilled" (1/1) By Ten, April/May 2002 xXx Mulder Townhouse Old Town Alexandria Second Sunday in May 2005 Main bedroom: Dana opened her eyes and slowly focused on the alarm clock. Dawn. Damn. She groaned and heard a chuckle close to her ear. Turning over, she burrowed closer to its source. Settling contentedly into her husband's embrace, she felt him kiss her on the forehead. "Get some more sleep," he whispered. "The boys and I won't be bringing you breakfast in bed just yet." That's right... She opened her eyes to Fox's smile. He continued, "Happy Mother's Day, love." Sleep was momentarily forgotten. "Thank you for making me one." "It was a literal pleasure," he said sincerely, exercising great control over his grin. "Each time." Sleep was discarded. She tapped his chest, studying his reactions in the weak, but adequate, morning light. "Sooooo, when do I get my presents?" That got an eyebrow raise. "I can give you one of them now if you like, but I thought you wanted to sleep some more." Her fingers stopped tapping and started trailing instead. "Let me guess... A re-creation of how I got to be a mother?" she asked. "Yeah, but not downstairs on the couch. That would be a little too risky." She felt him jump slightly as she hit a sensitive spot. "Two boys created on couches. One in bed. Yes, let us review the situations leading up to their conceptions..." "Talk or diagrams or..." She rolled him over onto his back and said firmly, "Actions." "Okay, but as I recall, the first time, I was on top..." "Mere detail. Oh, but THAT isn't..." xXx A few hours later: Her boys brought her breakfast in bed. Fox had made sure that most of it turned out edible, though Keir did insist on creating some toast that contained more butter and jam than it did bread. Dana made a mental note to change the sheets before tonight, otherwise there was the danger of her or Fox getting a rash from the crumbs, especially if they... She looked at her boys. Seven-year-old Danny, Brett, who would be five in July, and Keiran, who was almost four. From their excited expressions, they were bursting with a big surprise. So she ate as quickly as she dared. "That was lovely. But I'm so full now I don't think I can move!" "You have to!" Brett insisted. His face was worried. "We're giving you your presents downstairs, so you'd better get dressed and ready," Fox explained. Soon Dana was sitting on the couch in the living room. The boys had all thundered upstairs, after getting repeated promises out of her that she would not move or touch anything until they were ready. She could hear all four males moving around upstairs, in and out of rooms. There was talk, but she couldn't make out the words. What on earth were they up to? Trying to remember where they had hidden the presents? Still sitting, she looked around the living room for clues. The coffee table and various other pieces of furniture had been moved so there was a bare area in the middle of the room. The dog, Flukie, and the cats - Come Here and Underfoot - had been temporarily banished outdoors by her husband. Finally Danny called out from the top of the stairs, "Mom, are you ready? You haven't moved?" "Not an inch." Footsteps on the stairs. Excited whispering. Then a hand - Fox's - came just into sight in the doorframe, holding a remote control. Dana could tell from the size and shape that it was for the stereo unit. The remote was being pointed in the general direction of the stereo, which was on. A button was pushed. Dana waited expectantly. Nothing happened. The hand tried again. The stereo fired up with 'Jailhouse Rock'. And not one, not even two or three, but *four* Elvises sashayed into the room. Fox, Keir, Brett and Danny lined up across the living room in front of her. Each of them wore their hair slicked back and coiffured into various styles that the King had made famous. No fake sideburns were in evidence, but all four were wearing sequined silk shirts and bandanas. Fox had a fake microphone. Their sons were carrying tennis racquets as guitars. The Elvis ensemble launched into 'Jailhouse Rock', singing along with the real Elvis, complete with some choreography and instrument playing. The moves didn't always coordinate, however that was part of the charm. Their energy and enthusiasm was wonderful to watch. And the handles of the racquets doubled as microphones. Dana couldn't help but notice that there were no pelvic thrusts. That was fine, as their sons were too young for that and she knew that King Fox would give her a private performance of hip gyrating that night. After the first chorus of 'Jailhouse', the music changed. Dana realised that Fox must have made up a compilation of appropriate songs by the King, or got the Gunmen to do so. The next song was 'Love Me Tender'. Her husband stepped forward while the boys bopped on in the background, doing backup. Gazing into her eyes, Fox sang the lyrics without any pretence of a persona - one hundred percent himself, with one hundred percent honesty on his face. "Love me tender, love me sweet Never let me go You have made my life complete And I love you so. Love me tender, love me true All my dreams fulfil For my darling I love you And I always will." Brett leaned over to Danny, still 'playing' his guitar. "Mommy's crying." "That means she likes it!" their eldest replied confidently. "Don't you, Mom?" "I love it," she blurted out, nearly choking on her emotions. "Told you." Reassured, Brett continued on happily. Fox stepped back into line when 'Blue Suede Shoes' started. Each of their sons then came forward individually to sing a section. Fox and the Gunmen had either found an extended version or had spliced the song in twice seamlessly, because all three boys got a decent time in the spotlight. Danny was a born rocker and to a degree an exhibitionist like his father, twirling his 'guitar' with aplomb and even with some Hendrix style. Brett was a little hesitant when he first stepped out alone, but within a few lines was fine and threw himself into the lyrics with grand hand gestures - fortunately having put his tennis racquet down first. Keir sang his part faster than Elvis, so when the King was still singing, the unfazed youngster then on the spot made up a few additional and hysterical examples of what you could do as long as you laid off of those shoes. This concert was so far both one of the most touching and funny things that Dana had ever seen. Fox took the spotlight again to serenade Dana with: "Take my hand, take my whole life too - for I can't help falling in love with you." Both adults couldn't help chuckling at the "Wise men say only fools rush in" line. The concert ended with a rousing delivery of 'All Shook Up'. Dana gave them a standing ovation and cries for an encore as she rushed around hugging each Elvis. Within a few minutes, Fox said, "Okay, now for the presents!" He sat next to Dana while the boys stampeded excitedly out of the room. Within a minute they returned with their hands behind their backs. Brett came forward first. He was the middle child, but his parents did their best to ensure he didn't always have to be relegated to being second in events. From behind his back he produced a red rose which he gave to his mother along with a hug and kiss. A little package was dangling from the stem. Dana opened it to find a thin golden ring. The band had a sort of zigzag on one side at its widest part instead of being straight the whole way around, but was otherwise plain. "Thank you, honey." Dana went to put it on a finger of her right hand to see which one it best fitted. "Other way up," Fox said quickly and quietly. Dana privately wondered what difference it made, but she immediately turned it over and found it fit the ring finger of her right hand. The zigzag point was facing away from her. "It's beautiful, Brett." With it being so thin though, she would have to be careful or it could get damaged easily. "Did you choose it yourself?" Brett looked like he wanted to say something, but looked over at his father. Fox smiled at him, then Dana, and said, "You'll find out in a minute." Next was Keir's turn, which was just as well, as the youngster was showing signs of impatience, wanting to give Mommy her present *now*. Another red rose with a package, complete with hug and kiss and "Love you LOTS". The package had another of the rings in it. But as Dana examined the ring, she realised that it was slightly different from the one Brett had given her. Fox smiled and took it and put it on the same finger as the other one. And they fitted together. The pieces literally fell into place. "A puzzle ring!" "Yep! Here's the next piece!" Danny said eagerly, coming forward with another rose and package so fast that he nearly tripped and ended up in her lap. Then Fox added the final one and Dana was wearing four rings that together formed one, the 'zigzags' over-and- under-lapping to create a beautiful Celtic design. Dana thought about how a puzzle ring summed everything up perfectly: the X-Files, their family, their love. "I don't want to ever take it off," she told her sons and husband. "Good," Fox replied. "Because unless you memorise which piece goes where and which way up, it's a real b... pain," he corrected himself smoothly, "if you happen to get them mixed up." "We wrapped each up in different paper so we knew the order," Danny said proudly. And the look Fox gave her showed that he would also hate her to lose the puzzle ring in a corpse's innards or accidentally throw it down the laundry chute with her autopsy garb. Fox and the boys went back upstairs to retrieve more presents, and soon she got to unwrap a lovely cut crystal vase to put the four red roses in. Then came drawings and cards the boys had made especially for the event, complete with a framed photo of the four Elvises (signed, of course). These meant as much to Dana as the bought gifts. Just when she thought there were no more presents, Fox handed her a velvet box. She opened it to find a bracelet, beautifully worked in gold, set with three blue jasper stones. As she hugged her husband, she whispered in his ear, "You are going to get *so* lucky tonight..." "Already am, babe. Already am." When Maggie arrived there were presents for her too - including a special rendition of Bobby Darin's 'Splish Splash'. Fox and the boys also gave an encore performance of the Elvis concert. This time Dana videotaped it. Fox told Dana and Maggie that he had been worried the boys would blab and give away the surprises, but they hadn't. The concert had been rehearsed at Grandma's or at times that Dana was away from the house. Lunch was held in the park. Then the adults sat and watched the boys play. Dana turned to her mother, deciding to address something that she had been wondering about since Maggie had arrived. "Mom, is everything all right?" At that question Fox's attention returned to them. Maggie stared at her. "Yes. Why?" "I don't know. You just look like you want to tell us something, but don't know how to." Maggie hesitated, then nodded, her face colouring. Fox said, "Mom, if you want to talk to Dana alone -" "No. No, this is something I wanted to tell both of you. Nothing is wrong," she hastened to reassure them. "But I've just been worried how you'll react." At their looks of support and concern, she forged ahead in a rush. "I have a date." "Really? Who with? When?" Dana asked, caught off guard. "It's next week. It's not really a date, actually, more like a 'catching up'," Maggie clarified hurriedly. "Dana, did you ever hear your father or me mention Rob Harper?" Her daughter thought hard. "I don't think so." "He's someone I knew years ago in school. We stumbled across each other in a department store on Thursday and somehow recognition won out after all this time. He's a widower and is visiting from Oregon for the next few weeks, staying with his son and family. So Rob wants to take me out for dinner and catch up on what has happened over the years." Maggie smiled, a little nervously. "That's great!" Fox said, and Dana agreed. Dana noticed Maggie throwing her a worried look and knew that her mother was checking to see if she really was okay with her mother going out with a man. Maggie had been out on a few dates since Ahab died, but nothing had become of them. This seemed different. Dana knew she had stressed that it was only 'catching up' while this Rob was in town, but something in Maggie's voice made Dana wonder if they had been in love at some stage in the past. What if something blossomed between them again? No one could replace Ahab, but her mother deserved happiness if she did fall in love again. It occurred to Dana that perhaps Bill Junior had phoned Maggie today to wish her a happy Mother's Day, heard the news, and shot his mouth off without thinking, therefore giving her a complex... Dana had an intuitive feeling that something good would come out of this. Perhaps not immediately, but somewhere along the line. She reached over and squeezed her mother's hand. "If you want help with picking an outfit, just let me know." Her smile grew at the relief on Maggie's face. Dinner was at Samantha's place. Teena was there, so the boys got to give her presents and race around with their cousins. Dana felt her eyes tear up again as she watched. Once upon a time this scene would have been a longed-for fantasy: her and Fox married - and being able to *call* him Fox - having children, watching those children play in Samantha's backyard, everyone happy. That evening came bathtime and the rather enormous task of washing the boys' hair. Fox had used Vaseline to slick their hair down and had been rather liberal in his application... Dana was sure that any minute the strain would prove too much for the hot water system. After as much of her efforts as each individual boy would tolerate (in other words, not much, even with the more-patient Brett: "Mom, I've had enufffffffff!"), she gave up and reminded herself that there were worse things than a little grease. It had been worth it for their show. But the leftover Vaseline caused problems at bedtime. "My pillow's yucky!" Keir complained. So Dana had to break out towels to tuck over the pillows for the night. She knew she would probably have to do that for a week or so. Eventually all the boys were asleep. Fox went downstairs for something, and Dana went into the main bedroom. After several minutes of rummaging she picked a sexy nightie and went to the connecting master bathroom to get ready for bed herself. An early night was in order, because it was almost time to get Big Elvis to move that pelvis... And by the state of this bathroom, it had taken him quite a lot of effort to de-Vaseline himself. Or at least start to. Dana smiled at herself in the mirror as she applied perfume and adjusted the neckline - or rather 'bustline' - of her nightie. She touched her ring and bracelet. She was a very lucky, happy and content woman. Her reflection certainly showed that. And she was determined to give Fox a wonderful time when it was Father's Day. Plans were already forming in her mind... And a wonderful time tonight, of course. Definitely rock and roll. Exiting the bathroom, she saw that the bedroom door was now locked. Fox was lying on top of the bed, wearing only green silk pyjama bottoms. His hair was gloriously spiky. Fox looked over at her and put the book he was holding - but probably not reading - down on his nightstand and whistled at the sight in front of him. "Today is your day - but it looks like I'm the one getting the present!" He rolled over on his side and regarded her. "Did you enjoy your day?" "How could I not?" Dana replied as she came to stand next to the bed. "I loved it. Thank you so much." "Well, it isn't over yet..." he said cryptically. She raised an eyebrow. Fox sat up, moving with the grace that had always entranced her. It wasn't a feminine grace - far from it. More like 'sleek jungle cat'. Then he smoothly slid off the bed, down onto his knees. He took her hands in his, and kissed them. "Now, your final present..." His look was pure 'smoulder'. "Anything you want, any way you want it." A quirky grin touched his lips. "With due deference to my age and moral sensibilities, of course." "My day, my way?" "Exactly. Anything, anyhow-" "I want YOU!" she announced emphatically. Dana hauled him up off the floor and onto the bed in one strong motion. She climbed up after him, then onto him. "The rest of the details I'll work out along the way..." THE END. There will be a Father's Day sequel to this in June. The show coming to an end on TV *won't* stop me from writing fanfic . "All Shook Up" copyright Blackwell-Presley "Blue Suede Shoes" copyright Carl Perkins "Jailhouse Rock" copyright Lieber-Stoller Can't Help Falling In Love" copyright Peretti-Creatore- Weiss "Love Me Tender" copyright Presley-Matson "Splish Splash" copyright its respective writers Used without permission, but not for profit and with no infringement intended.