From: ephemeral@ephemeralfic.org
Date: Sat,  2 Aug 2008 10:55:13 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: Fatherly Duty by Twilight
Source: direct

Reply To: jchew82@hotmail.com


Title: Fatherly Duty
Author: Twilight
E-Mail: jchew82@hotmail.com 
Distribution: Anywhere but please let me know
Rating: G / K
Categories: Story
Keywords: Mulder/Other Friendship
Spoilers: None
Summary: She is always going to be daddy's little girl 
because a father's work is never done.
Disclaimer: The characters in this story are the property 
of Chris Carter and Fox. No copyright infringement 
intended. 
Feedback: Please, this is something a little different so I 
would love to hear your thoughts. 

~x~

Fatherly Duty
By Twilight

You know, they say a woman can never really change a man. 
Well, I stand here today declaring that that simply isn't 
true. I mean, I'm sure my wife never intentionally set out 
to change me, but change me she did.

Perhaps I am being a little unfair. It wasn't just her 
doing, after all it does take two, and the change didn't 
really occur until that wonderful day when I heard those 
magical words. "You're a daddy."

Suddenly there was this little person staring up at me, 
completely dependent on me for their every need. There is 
nothing else in this world more humbling than that moment. 
Then as time passed and the babies kept coming, the sense 
of duty and over protectiveness became stronger and 
stronger.

This, you understand, is how I find myself standing here 
today, in an over priced coffee shop, Starbucks. That makes 
me smile, how appropriate. 

The time is now approximately 6am. I was loath to leave my 
wife this morning, on one of my precious free and 
unscheduled days, but I knew I still had my duty to 
perform. She stirred as I slipped from the bed. "Where are 
you going?" She asked in her salutary lethargic voice." I 
smiled and replied honestly, as many years of marriage has 
taught me. "Out to get a coffee." She simply smiled up at 
me in understanding, that wife of mine knows me all too 
well.    

So, here I stand at 6am looking at a menu of coffee's that 
I can barely read let alone pronounce. What in God's name 
is a Macchiato anyway? Thankfully there is a queue in front 
of me so I have time to weigh up my decision as I scan the 
crowd looking for a man I have never met, and never even 
seen.

I eye the hordes and imagine half the people here never 
actually went home to bed last night, I disregard them and 
continue my search. My wife told me last night that she has 
seen a picture of our daughter's new 'partner'. She told me 
that he was attractive and had a very distinguished 
profile. Now, knowing my wife as well as I do I can 
interpret that to mean he has a honking big nose.

I spy a smart looking man sitting on his own over in the 
corner. His tie has been loosened, his jacket is draped 
over one of the chairs next to him and his shirtsleeves are 
rolled up. He doesn't have that big a nose but I think 
distinguished covers his profile. He seems to be reading 
over a file; you know I think this just might be the man 
I'm looking for. 

I see him reach for something in his pocket and I pray it 
isn't his keys. Thankfully it appears to be a snack that he 
pops into his mouth then discards something into an empty 
cup on the table. Oh, a sunflower seed shell. This is 
definitely the man I am looking for. My daughter let slip 
to me the other day that although hers and her partners 
personalities are completely different the only thing they 
ever fight about are sunflower seed hulls. Apparently he 
leaves them everywhere, my daughter was always raised to 
keep things ship shape so she finds this character trait of 
his rather infuriating.

"What can I get you, Sir?"

My eyes widen. Damn, I had been so enraptured by my 
intended target that I completely forgot about the menu. 

"Ummm, a coffee?" 

The girl behind the counter looks at me with sympathy. "Do 
you like black or white coffees, Sir?"

"Black."

"Okay, and would you like a Tall, Grande or Venti?" She 
smiles at my blank look. "Small, medium or large?"

"Oh, small." I hand over the extortionate amount of money 
that is displayed on the cash register.

"Tall Americano." She calls out to her colleague before she 
turns back to me and smiles. "Your order will be at the end 
of the bar momentarily, Sir."

I express my thanks before heading to the end of the bar 
and refocusing my attention on the plan in hand. There are 
still a couple of tables free and I wonder how best to 
approach my target.

The door jingles making me turn as a young family walk in, 
that could have been us back in the day but now all our 
children have grown and flown the coop. The parents direct 
the children to the last two tables making me smile. 
Someone must be watching out for me, probably my old mom, 
she never could mind her own business, must be where I get 
it from.

I like to tell myself that it is fate that leads to any 
given situation and that fate always takes a helping hand. 
Take for example today's events. How did I know that my 
daughter's partner would be here today? Well, it was my 
daughter herself that gave fate that helping hand. She told 
me only yesterday that a few days ago she had bumped into 
her partner at this very spot on her way to work. A few 
well placed questions on time and exact location were all 
it took to conspire with fate herself. 

She had been so engrossed in her story that she hadn't even 
noticed my questions. She was telling me how amused she had 
been that rumours had been fuelled after her and her 
partner had arrived at work together at 7am. When I asked 
why that would fuel rumours she actually blushed. There are 
certain things that you don't talk with your daddy about. I 
know my daughter is not as innocent as I would like her to 
be, but to me she will always be my innocent little girl.

I accept my coffee from the young Latino behind the bar 
before I approach the young man. I realise just how intent 
he is on his work, it seems almost a shame to interrupt 
him... almost.

"Excuse me son, is this seat taken?" He looks up at me 
blankly. "All the tables are full." He seems to take a 
moment to realise where he is and that I am addressing him.

"Sorry, Sir. No, it's not taken. Please..." He indicates  
the free chair as he shuffles his paperwork into more 
orderly piles. I can see why this might irritate my little 
girl.

"I don't mean to interrupt your work, son." He smiles at 
that, maybe he knows I'm lying.

"It's okay, Sir. I'm about due a break." Sir again. Shows 
he knows to respect his elders. I think I like him already.

"Are you with the bureau?" I ask casting my eyes to the 
official looking seal on the front of one of his folders. 

He seems to stiffen slightly before following my gaze. "Oh, 
yes, Sir."

I nod absently. I don't think this is going to be as easy 
as I thought. My daughter told me her partner was paranoid 
but even in a coffee shop? Admittedly, I have intentionally 
met him in order to interrogate him but he doesn't know 
that. Maybe he just has good instincts. Come to think about 
it, I think she said something along those lines too. 

"My little girl has just joined you guys." I state, hoping 
that by offering some of myself up he might open up to me.

"Your little girl?" He asks confused.

"Okay, I guess she isn't a little girl any more." I smile 
and he does the same.

"In what capacity?" He asks leaning back in his chair and 
crossing his legs at his ankles appearing to have relaxed a 
little.

"A special agent, an active field agent." He smiles at me 
knowingly. "I can't say I'm too happy about it."

"You should be proud. It takes a certain kind of person to 
reach field agent status." He's not passing judgement on 
me, merely stating his opinion. 

"I am proud. Very proud. It's just... she's still my little 
girl, you know?" Deep down I know I shouldn't worry but I 
can't help it. 

He's smirking at me. I should have known better. My 
daughter told me he's a psychologist, a behavioural 
profiler. I bet he's analysing me right now.

"I understand." He assures me. "It's natural to worry."

"Even though she's all grown up?"

He nods, God bless him, I think he understands.  "I don't 
think a parent should ever stop worrying about their child. 
In my opinion it's a sign of a good parent, a truly devoted 
one. It should be in the job description."

He's suddenly looking awfully perturbed and downcast. His 
eyes appear almost haunted. I get the feeling there's a lot 
more to this man then I realised.

"I get the feeling you never experienced that kind of 
childhood."

He starts fiddling with the files in front of him making me 
worry momentarily that he's going to bolt before he digs 
into his pocket and extracts some more sunflower seeds. I 
guess it must be a nervous habit.

"I guess you could say I had an atypical dysfunctional 
family life as a child."

"I'm sorry son. I didn't mean to pry." I can't help but 
feel sorry for the poor lad. I know from what I've seen in 
front of me and what my daughter has told me that this is 
one intelligent man. I bet he was always striving to get 
his parents attention.

"It was a long time ago." He murmurs waving for the sales 
assistant's attention. She appears almost instantly with a 
jug of coffee.

"I didn't know you do table service?" I ask. My wife has 
dragged me here and places like this plenty of times before 
and they have never done table service. I know because 
guess who normally has to queue. 

"We don't but we have a few exceptions." She smiles almost 
flirtatiously at the lad but he doesn't respond to her 
advances.

"I helped her open up this morning." He smiles but it's a 
smile that doesn't reach his eyes.  

"Almost every morning." She adds as he fishes out his 
wallet.

"No, this one is on the house. In fact, the rest of this 
week's coffee is on the house, a little thank you for 
helping me with Gerry this morning." She backs away from 
the table hesitantly looking at the lad in kind regard. 

Being as nosy as I am as she walks away I have to ask him. 
"Who's Gerry?"

"Her ex." He grins at my intrigue. "He was giving her some 
hassle so I had a word. Being a federal agent does have 
some perks." 

I get the feeling this isn't the first time he has helped a 
damsel in distress like this and I don't think it will be 
the last. He's a good lad.

His wallet lies open on the table and I see him absently, 
probably unconsciously, run his thumb over a picture of a 
young girl. My daughter never told me he has children.

"Is she yours?" I ask wondering if we are in fact one 
father talking to another.

"Huh?" He asks confused before following my gaze. "Oh, no. 
She's my sister."

Sister? Okay, now I'm confused. It takes a strange kind of 
man to carry a picture of his sister in his wallet. 
Admittedly, both my boys carry pictures of their sisters in 
their wallets but that's only because they're away from 
home so much. I suppose that could be the reason here but I 
sense there maybe more to this tale.

"Your sister? She's a pretty little thing."

"She is... she was." He looks sad; there shouldn't be so 
much sadness in one so young. "She went... we lost her. Not 
long after this photo was taken actually."

"I'm sorry son. It's hard to lose someone so close to you." 
This poor lad wears his heart on his sleeve for everyone to 
see. It's plain to me he desperately needs healing. He 
takes a sip of his coffee reminding me of my own now tepid 
brew. I take a hesitant sip of mine noting that its not a 
bad cup of java, shouldn't be either for the price I paid. 
"Do you have any children yourself?"

"Me?" He looks surprised as if there might be someone else 
I am directing my question at. "No, Sir. Not yet anyway. 
I'm not even married yet." 

He has a certain twinkle in his eye that leads me to ask my 
next question. "Anyone in mind?"

He's smiling broadly at just the thought, what a 
transformation. She must be one special lady to invoke such 
a response from such a seemingly solemn individual. 

"Someone, but I don't think I could ever be that lucky."

"You will son, you will. We all catch a break at some point 
and before you know it you'll be pumping out the ubers. 
Then you'll find yourself in my position worrying about a 
daughter who is old enough to take care of herself." 

He smiles realising my need to discuss my daughter's career 
path. "I don't think you need to worry too much, Sir. We 
train our cadets to their highest possible potential. Your 
daughter must be a very competent young woman to have made 
it to field agent status." 

He's a smart one alright. Mind you, I guess that's what 
most fathers like to hear about their daughters. Come to 
think of it, I'm not so sure I am at all happy about my 
daughter working with this man if he knows all the right 
things to say. Especially seeing as they ended up banged up 
in quarantine together. I don't even want to think about 
the parked cars while on stakeouts. I merely nod in 
agreement at his statement.

"What you need to remember is that all field agents are 
assigned partners. We look out for each other. It's what we 
do." 

It's incredible when you think about it, how open someone 
can be with a complete outsider. It's almost as though you 
know you can completely open up to a stranger, whether it 
be a lady on a bus or an old man in a coffee shop. It's as 
though your subconscious knows that in all likelihood you 
will never see this person again. 

"Take my new partner for example. I never wanted her. Never 
asked for her but in the past six months she has been in 
peril at least five times and I've been there to bail her 
out every time."

I feel sick. "My daughter has been in danger that many 
times, potentially I mean?"

"Possibly, though my partner and I do work in a very 
precarious department. What department is your daughter 
in?"

"I'm..." Oh crap. "I don't recall the name. It's all 
gobbledegook to me." I hedge.

"Well, I bet it's not as volatile as our work. But that's 
the beauty in having partners you see, even though she has 
been in danger a lot, so have I. She watches my back and I 
watch hers. I wouldn't be without her now. I couldn't be. 
Her life is paramount to my own."

He looks almost... my God, I wonder if it's my little girl 
that he thinks he's not lucky enough to have. Well, this 
certainly has been a fact finding-mission.

"So, you think I should have faith in her partner?" I ask 
concerned that this same partner is the man across the 
table from me and has yet to figure out my motives.

"I do but have faith in her too. My partner, well... she 
could kick my ass but good. As for target practice... well, 
lets just say that I'm surprised SWAT hasn't snapped her 
up. To look at her she's the tiniest thing but my God she's 
fiery." 

I have to smile at that. My little girl probably could take 
this lad down, I trained her to defend herself and defend 
herself she will. "What would you do in my situation son?"

"Honestly? I don't know. Maybe invite the partner round, 
get to know them to help ease my mind." Dang he's good. I 
definitely feel a little better knowing he's there for my 
girl. Thinking of which, I better get out of here just in 
case she decides to drop in for a morning coffee.  

"Thanks son." I say before swigging back the dregs of my 
coffee. "I better fetch my good lady a coffee before 
heading on home. She's evil before her morning coffee."

"I know someone just like that." He smiles as I stand 
before following suit and extending his hand to me. "Rest 
assured, I will protect Dana's life with my own Captain 
Scully, Sir."

I'm slightly taken aback. I guess all my experience on 
under cover ops didn't hold fast on this one. "What gave me 
away son?"

"Honestly? It was the look of pride that crossed your face 
when I said your daughter could kick my ass. No amount of 
schooling can hide the look of a proud and loving father."

What can I say? "I am proud. She's an amazing young woman." 
I smile, pleased that I can drop my deception. "You won't 
tell her about this little chat will you? She's very proud 
herself."

"Not if you don't want me to, Sir." He smiles 
understandingly. I really like this lad; my little Starbuck 
could do a lot worse.
  
I can still feel the longing for acceptance coming off him 
in waves. So I offer it in the best way I know how. "Just 
for the record son, I think you'll make a great father. 
You've got all the right instincts."

His smile is huge as he pumps my hand once more. "Thank 
you, Sir. That means a lot coming from you."

"I'll get Maggie to arrange that dinner date." I state as I 
turn for the door.

"I wasn't... I hadn't realised then." He stutters like a 
schoolboy.

"I know." I head to the door with a bounce in my step. I 
know my daughter can look after herself but now I also know 
that her partner will always have her back too. I feel at 
ease now knowing I have no need to worry... but I still 
will. 

After all, she's still my little girl.

Author's notes -

It always bothered me that Captain Scully never got to meet 
Mulder... so I fixed it. Isn't fan fiction great :)

I wrote this fan fiction back in April 2008 but am only 
just getting around to posting it. It seems only right that 
I should devote this story to the actor who played Captain 
William Scully, Don Davis, who passed away in June 2008. He 
was a good man and an amazing actor who will be greatly 
missed.

I hope you enjoyed reading this fan fiction. Please let me 
know.