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Title: Happily Ever After Summary: Mulder and Scully have reclaimed William, no longer work for the FBI, and are about to embark upon a normal life. Alien colonization has been permanently averted. "Unh ... oh!" Mulder took his gaze from the road stretching before them just long enough to see the love of his life awaken with a jerk. She seemed surprised to find herself in the front passenger's seat of an automobile speeding toward a destination he had yet to identify for her. "Have a nice nap ... mom?" Scully glanced into the back seat, where their 10-month-old son, William was strapped securely into his car seat. Even asleep, he still clutched his beloved, drool-stained, blue plush bunny by one bedraggled ear. "Yeah, just great." She groped for a bottle of water, chugging about half of it before pausing to ask, "Are we there yet?" "Soon." She glanced out the window, noting that they were on the outskirts of town. "I missed the 'Welcome to ... ' sign, didn't I?" "Yup." "Still not going to tell me where 'there' is, besides California, are you?" "Nope. All you need to know right now is that our destination is about as far away from the FBI and the X-Files as it's possible to get without leaving the continental U.S." Scully sighed. He knew she disliked surprises nearly as much as he enjoyed giving them to her. Except for William, he thought. And her rings. He glanced at the two rings adorning the third finger of Scully's left hand. The engagement ring with its modest but flawless single carat diamond in an old-fashioned green-gold setting, and the slender green-gold wedding band had belonged to Mulder's maternal grandmother. "Mulder, please tell me your taste in houses is better than your taste in motels." The corner of his mouth twitched. "I guarantee you will like this house, Scully, even if it does lack the requisite white picket fence." "Two story Arts-and-Crafts house with four bedrooms, two-pointfive baths, living and dining," she recited. "Modern kitchen, spacious backyard -- Mulder, is there a pool? I don't remember if you said there was a pool." "No pool, Scully. But we'll sign William up for one of those baby swimming classes just to be safe." He glanced into the rear view mirror and smiled at his son, imagining him on his high school swimming team. Too bad I have to wait a couple of years before teaching him how to shoot hoops or hit a baseball, he thought. "And there's still most of the unpacking to do. I got our bed and William's crib set up, and our computers, in the spare bedroom, before flying back to DC to get you and the little guy." It had been Mulder's idea for them to drive back to California in a leisurely fashion, so he could become reacquainted with his family after his recent, enforced, absence. The baby had been an ideal traveling companion, content to stare out the window at the passing countryside from the security of his car seat or, alternately, to sleep. He made no fuss at all unless he was hungry or wanted his diaper changed. Scully, never at her best traveling long distances by automobile, had been less than excited by Mulder's unilateral decision to drive to the West Coast but went along with his plan after insisting on doing half the driving. Except for having William along, it was almost like old times, when they were investigating odd-ball cases for the FBI. Of course, they were staying in a better class of motel now, too, although Mulder, after their first night on the road as a family, had been renting two adjoining rooms instead of a single. On their first night on the road, they had been making love, perhaps too enthusiastically, when Mulder had noticed that the baby was standing up in his collapsible travel crib, watching wide-eyed as his parents made the beast with two backs. I hope we didn't traumatize the kid too much, Mulder thought, not for the first, or even the 100th time. He also wondered if perhaps his own now-dormant interest in adult movies had come about after catching his own parents in the act as a toddler, and if William, in turn, now would share dear old dad's proclivity for adult entertainment. They were entering a residential area. Mulder slowed the car and made a right turn, then a left onto a pleasant street flanked by neatly kept homes. "Looks like a nice, quiet neighborhood," remarked Scully. "Do we need to worry about contracts, covenants and restrictions here, Mulder?" "Nary a garbage monster in sight, Scully. I got my basketball hoop up as soon as it came off the truck." "So tell me more about this place." "It's a small city, first settled by the Spanish. There's a nice mall with a Starbucks and a multi-plex, a branch of the state university, and a pristine beach. I'm thinking about taking up surfing, Scully." "Do I get to call you Fish Boy?" "Okay, forget surfing. There are bus and train stations, an airport, a zoo, a museum--" "Sounds almost too good to be true." "--Forty-three churches and twelve cemeteries." "Twelve cemeteries in a town this size, Mulder?" "I told you it was an old city. Maybe they just start a new one when the old one fills up. The school system is reputed to be very good. And," he added with a kind of vocal flourish, "A brand-spankin'-new high school." "What happened to the old one?" He shrugged. "Blew up a couple of years ago. Gas main explosion, I heard." "And that's where you'll be working, starting tomorrow, at this new high school." "Teaching psychology and coaching the swimming, baseball and basketball teams." "Since when do high schools offer psychology?" "It's a college prep course with a limited enrollment." "So it won't take away from the more important work of coaching." He grinned. "Scully, you know me so well." He brought their car to a stop in front of a comfortable-looking older house with a flower garden and a pine tree and a couple of deciduous trees growing in front of it. "Is this it?" asked Scully. She sounded ... surprised. "Yeah," said Mulder, killing the engine and leaning over to look out the window with her. "What do you think?" She turned to find his face hovering inches from hers. A moment passed as they gazed at one another in unspoken communication. Broad smiles spread across both their faces. In the back seat, William awoke and made smacking noises. "It feels like home, Mulder." "That's what it felt like to me, too. So," he waggled his eyebrows lasciviously, "do I get a reward?" Scully pecked him on the lips. "Here's my marker. Claim the rest of your reward later." "Deal. Now, how about a quick tour of Casa Mulder before we settle in for the night?" A sleepy William was unstrapped from his car seat and settled on Scully's hip. Mulder, going a little ahead of them, unlocked the front door and threw it open. Scully paused. "What?" Mulder asked. Enlightenment arrived a nanosecond later. Clamping his hands around his bride's waist, he carefully hoisted her and their son over the threshold and set them down again on the other side. "Honey, we're home," he announced as he shut the door. "Yes, we are," murmured Scully, gazing about. A tear slipped from the corner of her eye and rolled down her cheek. "I know it seems overwhelming," Mulder said, thinking that the sight of the boxes and cartons that seemed to be stacked everywhere had affected his otherwise levelheaded partner. "But I'm gonna help. And there's no timetable. We'll get it all done eventually. Within two years, three at the most. Tops. I promise." She shook her head, stifling a laugh. "I was just thinking that this is first time in my life that I'm not going to be living in an apartment or base lodging. This is ours and we can paint the walls purple and hang all the pictures we want." "You mean like royal purple?" asked Mulder, who chose to misunderstand her. "Or bird poop purple? 'Cause I don't want to see heliotrope, or mauve, on these walls, woman. Understand?" "Birds don't poop purple, Mulder." "They do when they've been eating mulberries." She rolled her eyes as the now fully awake William emitted a string of "bubububuhs" and swung Bunny around by its ear. "He wants to know why we're standing around when there's so much new ground to explore," Scully interpreted for Mulder, and then, to William, she said, "I'm sorry, but our tour guide would rather discuss color schemes." William made a noise that, with time and practice, would develop into a hearty raspberry. "I can take a hint," said Mulder, indicating that Scully should precede him up the stairs. They spent the better part of an hour wandering from room to room, until at last they were back where they started. Energized by his nap and the tour, William demanded to get down and, once on the floor, began crawling among the detritus of a household-to-be, checking out interesting nooks and crannies among the boxes. For the time being, Bunny lay forgotten on the floor. The two former FBI agents, his arm over her shoulders, her arm around his waist, watched him. "So, this is what getting out of the car feels like," said Mulder. "Yeah," Scully agreed. "We're just ordinary people now. Mulder, do we have anything to eat?" "We could order a pizza." "Mulder, I may be someone's mother now, but I can still hurt you." "I'll run to the grocery store if you'll give me a list of what we need," said Mulder, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Just something for dinner tonight, and breakfast. We'll do a real grocery run tomorrow." "You guys want to come with me now?" He fished his keys out of the pocket of his jeans. From somewhere among the boxes there was a fretful whimper. "No, I've had enough of riding around in cars for a while, and William has, too, I think. Maybe I'll call mom while you're gone and let her know where we've fetched up." She paused in the act of writing her list. "Mulder, where have we fetched up? Besides in California?" "It's called Sunnydale. The Board of Tourism and Commerce brochure says 'Come for a visit, stay for a lifetime.'" Scully handed him the grocery list. "And does our personal slice of paradise have an actual address, just in case someone wants to send us a Christmas card come December?" Mulder had the door open again and was looking up and down the street from his vantage point. He smiled the self-satisfied smile of a man who has achieved the ultimate goal. All was serene in his world. "Hellooooo, normal!" he said aloud, to no one in particular. "Mulder, address?" He turned back to her, still smiling. "What? Oh, 1629 Revello Drive," he told her, and set out on his errand.
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