Title: Happily Ever After: Babysitting Author: XfileySR Category: MSR Series Summary: It's Bill's idea, yes BILL'S that Mulder and Scully baby-sit their nephew. Fun times, right? Of course!! It has all that you could possibly want, Animal Crackers, cute 4- year-old talk, and a sappy ending! Disclaimer: I really don't mean to use your characters, I promise...well...okay, so I do mean to use them, just not unlawfully, you know? Please don't sue me though, cause that would seriously blow the big one. Since I can't pay, I'll end up in Jail...My cell mates' name is gonna be Large Marge, and she's gonna read a lot of Gertrude Stein. (Can you tell I watched Bad Blood tonight?? Hehe)...no harm intended!!! Feedback: Thanks to all those who've e-mailed me. I really appreciate that! I'm having loads of fun writing this series, cause it's my first one. I just don't ever want it to end!!! Hopefully it won't. The X-files fairytale will live on and on forever, as long as y'all keep e-mailing me and telling me that you like it!!! In the Series So Far: Happily Ever After: Never Give Up on a Miracle Happily Ever After: Prince Charming Happily Ever After: Mr. and Mrs. Spooky SCULLY'S APARTMENT "Mulder, come on!" "Hold on Scully, I'm coming. If you hadn't tackled me that last time, we wouldn't be nearly late, now would we." "Don't go blaming this on me Mulder, it takes two to tango." I hear him mutter something about it still being my fault and made the realization that I would not be just babysitting my four-year-old nephew today, but my fiancee as well. ***** "So what are we going to do with the little guy today?" "Well, I was thinking that Matthew could have some 'Uncie Mulda' bonding time while I go to the grocery store." "Why can't we take him to the grocery store... it won't take as long, and I'll be able to sneak cookies into the cart while you're not looking." "Mulder, have you ever taken a four year old to the grocery store before?" "No, but we ARE trained FBI agents Scully, how hard can it be?" "Just allow me the privilege of saying I told you so ten minutes into the trip, okay?" "You won't need to, but if you insist on that condition, then so be it." We were finally pulling up to the driveway, and I see Bill come out first, with Tara right behind him, holding a screaming Matthew. When I opened the door, I understood why he was screaming... "UNCIE MULDA UNCIE MULDA UNCIE MULDA!!!!!!" "Hey little guy!!! Come here!!!!" I don't think that he even touched the ground as he flew into Mulder's arms. After watching Mulder twirl my nephew around in the air, I turned to my oldest brother who was holding a duffle bag filled with much more stuff than we need. "Is he staying the year?" "What?" "We're only watching him for a day Bill, we don't need all that stuff..." "Oh... I thought that since we'd probably be pretty late tonight, that Matty could stay with you guys, and we could come pick him up in the morning." My eyes grew wide at the prospect of this being Bill's idea. I'm going to have to check the back of his neck, because this is most definitely not my brother standing here, willingly handing his child over to me and a man that he despises for the night. "YOU thought?" "Well, yeah... Um...If you guys would rather-" "NO way, we'd love to watch him for the night!" Mulder chimes in, walking up to us with Matthew. "Well, okay then, I'll call you guys in the morning." Bill picks Matthew out of Mulder's arms, and proceeds to say his goodbyes and then hand him over to Tara. The words out of my brother's mouth next shocked the living daylights out of me. "Okay Matty, you have fun with Auntie Dana and Uncle Mulder, okay?" "UNCIE MULDA!!!" "Yup, you're going to play with Uncle Mulder all day!" A quick glance at Mulder showed an expression mirroring my own. Shock. Awe. And I think I saw him glance at Bill's neck a couple times too. Handing Matthew over to me this time, Tara and Bill got into the minivan and drove off. As me and Matty wove goodbye to Bill and Tara, Mulder stood in awe for a few minutes. It was then that we heard the front door open, and saw my mother come bounding out. "Hey you two!!" "Hey mom!" "Fox? Fox... What's wrong?" "Huh? Oh... nothing." "Mom, what's wrong with Billy?" "Nothing dear, why do you say that." "He does know that me AND Mulder are going to be babysitting all day long" "Yes?" "And he does still remember that Mulder and I are going to be married." "Yes? Dana, honey, what do you mean?" "He didn't say a word to us about that." "OH! I see what you mean." Now fully understanding the suspicion, my mother passed it off and remained quiet for a few moments. "MOM!" "Well, all that I have to say is that he's over it." "What do you mean he's over it, what did you say to him?" "It's not something that I said..." "Tara?" "No." "Then who???" "Fox." A look to Mulder showed an even more confused expression on his face. "Mulder, what did you say to my brother?" "I didn't-" "No, Dana, he didn't say anything TO Bill, but he said something that caught Bill's ear." "And what was that?" "He said 'I love you'" "We've only seen Bill once since this relationship even started, when-" "The day Fox proposed, you both fell asleep on my couch downstairs. I woke Fox to tell him where the two of you could sleep. He carried you up the stairs and after taking your shoes and socks off, he kissed you and whispered 'I love you.' In your ear." "And Bill saw all that?" "Yes, he did. That made him realize how much you two mean to each other, and let him see how much Fox really does love you." "So, now what?" "What do you mean?" "Bill doesn't have a problem with me marrying Mulder?" "As far as I know, you have his blessings." Completely in awe, I turned to Mulder who had the biggest smile on his face. "Mulder, what are you thinking?" "I'm thinking that I finally know how to get your brother to like me." "And how's that?" "Every time I screw up, I'll just say I love you loud enough for him to hear!" "Oh Mulder, be quiet." I say as I playfully swat at his arm. "We should probably get going if we want to beat the rush at the grocery store." "Dana, you're taking Matty with you to the grocery store?" "Yeah, Mulder insists that it can be done." "Has he ever taken a four year old to the grocery store before." "Nope, he hasn't." She laughs and then goes to retrieve Matthew's booster seat from her car, and finally, after Matthew is buckled in, we navigate our way to the grocery store. ***** After getting Matthew into the seat in front of the cart, the adventure began in the produce section. While Mulder went to grab oranges, I went to grab onions. The second Mulder left our site, Matthew began to scream. "UNCIE MULDA UNCIE MULDA UNCIE MULDA!!!" "Matty, Uncle Mulder will be right back honey." "UNCIE MULDA UNCIE MULDA!!!!!!" As Mulder came running around the corner, Matthew giggled and clapped his hands. Uncle Mulder to the rescue. "Hey buddy, why don't you stay with me while Auntie Dana picks stuff out, okay?" "O K!" "In fact, why don't we go get some animal crackers for later! We can take the to the park with us today!" "Ammall crackers!!!!!" "That's right, Animal Crackers!" Turning to me with a big grin on his face he tells me that he'll catch up with me after getting a couple packages of animal crackers. ***** When I find my future husband, he is sitting in the middle of the cookie aisle with an open carton of animal crackers with Matthew asking him about every animal that comes out of the package. I roll my cart up next to him and kneel down to their level. "Are you guys having fun?" "Ammall crackers!!" "Yeah, Animal crackers!" "Matthew is learning all about different animals. Right Matty?" "Wight!" "Where is the tiger?" "Zoo!!!" "Hey, you know Mulder, that's not a bad idea... why don't we take Matthew to the zoo today? It's fresh air, and if he naps while we put away the groceries, he'll be Mr. energy for the zoo. And...the zoo will tire him out enough to help him fall asleep better tonight." "I think it's a good idea, what about you Matty?" "Zoo!!" "That's right, we're goin' to the zoo!" As Matthew continues to clap about going to the zoo, I feel a tap on my shoulder. Turning around, I am met with the kind, smiling eyes of an older woman. "Excuse me miss, but how old is your son?" "Oh, he's-" "He's four" Mulder interrupts. "What a precious angel he is! I could never take my grandson to the grocery store without a big fuss. It's a rule in my family that you should never take a child under 5 to a grocery store." "You know, someone told me the same thing once. I was bound and determined to prove them wrong." Ruffling his hair, the woman smiles and walks away. "Mulder, why-" "I liked the idea Scully. It's fun to pretend sometimes, ya know?" "yeah... it is." With Matthew being surprisingly good, we were able to get all of our shopping done, with three other woman coming up to us, commenting on how good "our son" was and pinching his cheeks. With all paid for, we were off to the zoo for the day. ***** I don't think that I will ever see a more beautiful sight. After our very long zoo trip, Matthew grew quite tired, and now, as I'm fitting my key into the lock of my apartment, I look over to see Mulder carrying Matty down the hallway. "Man, this little guy is gone!" "Well, we had a long day." "Long, but definitely good. Matty is a really good kid." "Yes, he is. That's why I always offer to baby-sit him when Bill and Tara come into town." With a smile on my face because of the sight before my eyes, I open the door and tell Mulder to put the sleeping one in the guest bedroom. While I was changing, Mulder's duty was to get Matty into his PJs and put him into bed. After realizing that Mulder wasn't in the bedroom when I got out of the bathroom, I went to find out what was keeping him. Before I reached the door, I could hear a tiny voice interrogating Mulder about anything he could think of. "Uncie Mulda?" "Yeah buddy?" "You wuv Antie Dayna?" "Yes, I do. Very much." "You wuv me?" "You bet'cha little buddy." Growing weary, Matthew's questions grew farther and farther apart. Looking in, I saw Mulder kneeling next to the bed smiling at his sleeping form. "Mulder?" I whispered to him as to not wake our guest. "Yeah Scully?" "What are you doing?" "I'm watching him sleep." As I walk in to the bedroom to lean down beside him, I remember his love of this specific hobby. "You seem to like doing that Mulder." "I can't help it. Children are so beautiful when they sleep. They don't know about all the horrible things we know about, so their sleep is completely innocent. Now, if you're also referring to the few times that you've caught me gazing at you while you were passed out, then that's different." "Enlighten me Mulder..." "You're just beautiful all the time Scully, and when you're asleep, I get to stare completely uninterrupted." "I see... so are we going to stay here and stare at our sleeping nephew all night, or are we going to bed to grab some well deserved sleep?" "Both are quite tempting, but only one involves you and me in a bed, so I'm going to go with the latter one." "Come on Mulder, let's go." He helps me up and we get into bed, spooning as always. "Mulder?" "Yeah?" "I'm thinking that when we take OUR kids to the zoo, we'll have a stroller, and we'll also wait until they're out of their "why" and "what" phase." With a chuckle, he replies, "That sounds okay to me Scully." I know, however, that the meaning behind what I told him was not lost. I may not be ready right now to discuss what we can do about kids, but it's not out of the realm of possibility for the future.