Work Text:
October 31st, 1999
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Mulder woke up to a faint knock on the door to his apartment. It was late afternoon, but because he had nothing better to do on his weekend off, Mulder had spent his Sunday drifting in and out of consciousness to the background noise of scary movies on his television.
“Trick or treat!”
Mulder recognized the soft, squeaky voice he heard. Immediately snapping out of his sleepy haze, he hurried to the door.
“D.W.? What are you doing here?!” Mulder playfully asked the blonde girl dressed as D.W. from Arthur who was standing meekly outside his apartment door. A slight smile escaped the girl as she let out a giggle.
The girl was Emily. Almost two years had passed since Scully adopted her daughter; during that time, Mulder had been a huge support. Scully was technically a single mother, but she never felt like one. Mulder was always volunteering to cook, clean, babysit, and he offered to help out in any way he could. In the few months following the adoption, Mulder comforted Scully through all of Emily’s tests and hospital visits until she miraculously healed and the alien DNA disappeared without a trace. Mulder and Scully spent so much time together anyway that when Emily entered their lives, they became something of a family, not that either of them would admit it.
“Emily!” Scully’s call echoed through the apartment’s hallway as she caught up to the excited five-year-old. “Sorry, Mulder. We meant to pay you a surprise visit together, but someone got a bit excited,” Scully teased as she gently ruffled her daughter’s hair.
“I was wondering when you’d join us,” Mulder said as his eyes flickered from Emily to Scully, pleasantly surprised by the company. “What brings you here?”
“Well, it’s this little one’s first time trick-or-treating, and we were wondering if you’d like to join us,” Scully responded with an air of eagerness that was lighthearted and almost childlike.
“I would love to,” Mulder excitedly looked down and told Emily before he spoke to his partner. “Should I go as Mr. Read, or what?” He asked with a hint of sarcasm, suggesting to dress up as D.W.’s father.
Scully rolled her eyes, as she typically did at Mulder’s awful attempts at flirting. “I think the two of you have been watching too much Arthur. Go get dressed,” Scully teased.
Mulder cleared out of the doorway to invite the girls into his apartment. While he retreated to the bathroom to wash his face and throw on some proper clothes, Emily ran straight to Mulder’s fish tank.
Emily was learning all about fish in her kindergarten class, so as the curious child she was, she asked her mother all the pressing questions: “Mommy, do fish like Halloween too?” “What kind of candy do fishes like?” “Is there a thing that’s half human and half fish?” Scully answered her daughter’s silly curiosities to the best of her ability as she helped Emily feed Mulder’s fish.
After a few minutes, Mulder emerged from the bathroom as Scully shared a kid friendly version of the Flukeman incident with Emily. “Oh yes, that was quite something,” Mulder added. Emily giggled sweetly as Mulder approached her and Scully with his face covered in a neon green face mask that Scully had left behind a few weeks prior after spending the night. “I’m an alien, see?!” He exclaimed.
Noticing the mix of horror and humour on Scully’s face, Mulder continued, “Now you just need a costume, Scully!”
“No, Mul-“ Scully’s sentence was cut short.
“Come on, live a little!” Mulder pleaded enthusiastically. Scully’s eyes flickered back and forth between her eager partner and the thrilled five-year-old. “Besides, we have some extra face paint we wouldn’t want to waste,” Mulder added as he nodded to an old collection of face paint he had yet to clean up from an old activity with Emily. Scully gave in.
Mulder grabbed the palette of face paint and headed towards Scully who had taken a seat on the couch. “Should we make her look silly or spooky?” Mulder asked Emily, who responded with the latter. “Perfect, I’m good at spooky.”
With that, Mulder sat down in front of Scully and gently tucked her hair behind her ears. As he brought his hands back, Mulder’s touch lingered on Scully’s cheeks for just a moment longer than necessary. He took notice of Scully’s warm, soft skin. She was practically glowing, as if she had finally found true happiness and peace. Even after everything she had been through — they had been through together — Scully was just as full of life and of love as the day they met. In this moment, time seemed to slow down as a thought surfaced that Mulder usually pushed aside: they were practically raising a child together. A child that wasn’t supposed to be, who was a result of Scully’s abduction. Mulder realized how dedicated Scully was when it came to Emily and giving her the best life possible, all on top of her career and personal life. That’s true strength, Mulder thought. He gazed at Scully’s trusting face; her eyes closed in anticipation.
As a cold, damp, dollar store makeup brush painted Scully’s face, time seemed to slow down for her as well. Growing up, Scully never had a stable male figure in her life. She had conditioned herself to be independent and strong, or at least come across that way in order to cope. Over time, that conditioning had led Scully to mask her true emotions and dangerously overwork herself. However, Scully was able to drop the mask around Mulder after just a few cases together. Mulder had always been so gentle with Scully, so patient. He always respected and valued her, as a partner, but also a as person. In the seven years they had worked together, Mulder and Scully truly brought the best out of each other. Not only did they challenge each other professionally, but they had a much deeper bond that went beyond any definition. Maybe it was love. Mulder’s broad hand supported Scully’s cheek ever so softly as his other hand kept painting. Scully flinched as the brush tickled her face, causing Mulder to smudge some of the face paint. Laughter filled the tiny apartment.
After about fifteen minutes of laughing, flirting, touching, and some strong revelations, Scully’s face paint was finished. “All done,” Mulder stated proudly.
“Oh boy. How does it look, Sweetheart?” Scully asked Emily.
Emily giggled innocently before answering, “Good! You look like Dracula!” Emily told her mom to close her eyes so her makeup would be a surprise. Scully grabbed Emily’s miniature hand as Emily guided her to the bathroom. “Okay, now open!” Emily instructed.
Scully opened her eyes in front of the mirror, her reflection had slightly darkened eyelids, fangs, and fake blood painted on. She was a vampire.
“Tadaa! How’d I do?” Mulder said.
“Wow, very nice!” Scully remarked with a hint of sarcasm, masking how excited she really felt. “Are we all ready to go now?” Scully asked the other two.
“Yeah!” Emily exclaimed in her usual nature that was a mix of bubbly and bashful. She tugged on her mom’s arm while jumping up and down, ready to take on trick-or-treating.
Scully chuckled and flashed Mulder a warm smile. As they locked eyes, a mutual feeling of happiness and content ran through them. After everything the agents had been through, they’d earned this moment — this life.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Mulder beamed as he practically jumped out of his chair. He raced Emily to the door playfully. “Ladies first,” Mulder mockingly bowed his head to Scully and Emily before he followed them out of the apartment.
The three of them made their way outside and decided to take a taxi to a more residential area for the evening. It was a quiet drive, but laughter was shared, nonetheless.
About half an hour later, they arrived at a safe and welcoming neighbourhood that was bustling with families and children trick-or-treating. Every home had its lights on, with Halloween decorations on the lawn and bowls of candy at the door. Scully held Emily’s hand as they walked to the first house — it was a protective habit, but also Scully’s way of holding onto her little girl who was growing up so fast right before her eyes. Scully saw so much of Melissa in Emily which made her treasure each moment infinitely more.
As they approached the first house, Mulder and Scully stood back at the sidewalk and let Emily go up to the door by herself. “Trick or treat!” They heard Emily’s faint voice from afar. An old woman answered the door with a huge bowl of candy bags and full-size chocolate bars. “Awww! Aren’t you just the sweetest little thing,” the woman said with a slight accent, “Help yourself!” The old woman snuck some extra chocolate bars in Emily’s candy bag and whispered, “Don’t forget to share some with your mom and dad, okay?”
Mulder and Scully didn’t hear the woman’s last comment. Oblivious to how they were being perceived, they just wanted to enjoy the comfort of each other’s company.
“So, Scully, is this the ‘normal life’ you’ve always dreamed of?” Mulder asked.
“Not quite,” Scully replied. She used to think she wanted a normal life, a stable job as a doctor, a home, a family of her own. But as time progressed and she had been assigned to the X Files, met Mulder, and seen everything she’d seen, Scully realized what she really wanted was exactly what she had. A career she was passionate about where she could make a difference in the world, a humble apartment full of memories, and people she loved more than anything. Her life may not have been normal or what she had aimed for, but she had everything she needed. Her life felt harmonious for the first time since she was about Emily’s age. “But maybe that’s a good thing,” Scully continued.
Emily returned from the old woman’s house, giddy as can be. She walked slightly ahead of Mulder and Scully and skipped excitedly as she hit up all the houses.
“Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how everything fits together. How all of our choices and experiences lead us to one specific moment. Is it God? Fate? Or simply free will? I don’t know, that’s just been on my mind recently,” Scully confided. “What I’m trying to say is that whatever lead me here, I’m glad it did.”
“I’m glad it did too, Scully,” Mulder said softly, shifting his gaze to Scully’s face. He scanned her features in adoration as she kept talking.
Scully pretended not to notice, but she subtly shifted closer to Mulder and invited him to hold her hand. He accepted the invitation and traced tiny circles on Scully’s hand with his thumb.
“I’ve been really happy lately. It feels like for the first time in my life things are working out for me. Sorry, I don’t mean to get so sappy,” Scully scoffed lightheartedly at herself. “To answer your question,” she backtracked, “no, this isn’t the ‘normal life’ I used to want. But I wouldn’t change anything about it.”
Mulder listened thoughtfully; he was always grateful to get a glimpse into Scully’s mind. Though, he couldn’t pretend he hadn’t noticed the shift in her demeanour. Seeing Scully so carefree again after seven years together made Mulder unbelievably proud. “What defines a normal life anyways? Sounds like government propaganda to me,” Mulder teased as he nudged her arm.
“You tell me,” Scully chuckled sarcastically. “Though, I highly doubt any normal person would be seen in public with her coworker wearing her face mask,” she added and playfully shoved him to the edge of the sidewalk.
“Fair enough. But you’re the one who left it at my place,” Mulder said in a flirtatious tone,“Something really important must’ve made you forget it.”
Scully rolled her eyes naively, unable to defend herself. “You’re like a little kid, Mulder. We were almost late for work, I had bigger things to worry about.”
“That’s for sure.”
Scully flashed Mulder a look of disapproval before shaking her head to hide her blush.
Mulder always found it adorably amusing when Scully became bashful. It was rare because she was usually so confident and effortless. Sensing her shyness, Mulder lifted his free hand to Scully’s chin. He gently tilted her head up to meet her gaze. A warm orange glow from the surrounding lights and decorations reflected in Scully’s eyes. She smiled. Mulder tucked a strand of her pumpkin coloured hair behind her ear and said softly, “I love you, Scully. Do you know that?”
Scully was stunned, of course, but not scared. She hesitated for a moment before speaking. “I- I don’t know what to say, Mulder.”
“You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted you to know that,” Mulder replied. He didn’t feel rejected, though. Mulder already knew Scully reciprocated his feelings, but she had a harder time facing vulnerability.
“I love you too,” Scully confessed.
Mulder and Scully knew about their feelings prior to this moment, but they had never acknowledged them so openly before. They would go through hell for each other, tell each other their darkest secrets and fears, be as intimate as two people could possibly be, but verbally admitting their love was uncharted territory. But to their surprise, nothing had changed. The world kept spinning and they were the same two people as before — people who loved each other. Mulder and Scully had a difficult time expressing love, as their pasts had taught them both that any form of love would end up in trauma. But this was different. This was them. Emily entering their lives had only strengthened their love and partnership; raising her taught Scully that love could be gentle, and taught Mulder that love could be safe.
Mulder cupped Scully’s cheeks and leaned down to press his lips against her forehead. They continued walking again, picking up their pace to catch up to Emily.
“Hey, Scully?” Mulder asked.
“What?” Scully asked back.
“Why do skeletons hate parties?” When Scully chuckled and taunted him sarcastically, he persisted. “Come on, just answer!”
“I don’t know. Why?”
“Because they have no body to go with!”
A laugh escaped from Scully at the pure childishness of the joke, but she expected nothing less from Mulder. “Wow, hilarious,” she replied with more sarcasm. “What’s a vampire’s favourite candy?” Scully asked, continuing the bit.
“Hmmm,” Mulder thought for a moment. “I don’t know, what?”
“A sucker,” Scully revealed. She giggled because of the countless times she had accused Mulder of being a sucker when he was too quick to believe in things without any proof.
“Ahhh, good one,” Mulder praised.
The next hour or so consisted of classic Mulder-Scully banter while Emily happily enjoyed trick-or-treating. When Emily’s eyes grew tired and arms grew sore from lugging her candy bag, Scully called a taxi to pick them all up.
When the taxi arrived, Mulder, Scully, and Emily all squeezed in the backseat. Emily was quick to fall asleep, her head resting on her mother’s lap. The drive was mostly quiet, until they were about halfway to Scully’s apartment.
“It’s pretty late, and we have to go back to work tomorrow,” Scully started. “And I wouldn’t want you to ride home all by yourself…” She said with genuine care and concern.
Mulder could sense where this was headed, and he planned to agree.
“Do you just want to spend the night with us?” Scully offered.
“I would love to,” Mulder accepted with a soft smile.
The rest of the drive remained quiet until they reached the apartment. Once they got out of the taxi, Scully held Emily in her arms and carried her up to their entrance. Once inside, Scully got Emily ready for bed and tucked her in.
“Did you have fun tonight, Sweetie?” Scully asked Emily.
“Yeah! Everyone said I was cute and gave me extra candy!” Emily said excitedly in her soft voice. “I love Halloween!”
Scully laughed, not surprised by anything her daughter just said. Melissa loved Halloween too, it was her favourite holiday. “I bet! You can have some candy tomorrow. But now you need to get some sleep, Little One,” Scully spoke soothingly. “Goodnight, My Love,” Scully whispered as she kissed her daughter’s forehead.
“Goodnight, Mommy,” Emily barely let out a whisper before falling back asleep. The day’s excitement had worn the five-year-old out completely.
As Scully put Emily to sleep, Mulder found a nostalgic Halloween movie for them to watch. Scully emerged from Emily’s room and got comfortable on the couch; her knees were tucked against her chest and her head rested on Mulder’s shoulder. They spent the rest of the night laughing, binging movies, and sneaking handfuls of Emily’s candy.