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Title: Sarah Companion: Stephanie and Josh Summary: A companion piece to the Sarah series; Further insight to Stephanie, the middle child, Sarah's younger sister and the youngest child Josh. A part of growing up. Thanks to everyone who has responded to my stories, it is GREATLY appreciated and very encouarging. I am having a lot of fun with these and couldn't do it without your support.I hope you enjoy this. Author's note: Thanks to Carol Gritton and Eleanore for the delightful character of Sarah, this wonderful series and for the opportunity to be a part of it. She stood in front of the full length mirror staring at herself. Stephanie was only twelve, but she was developing faster than Sarah did or any of her school friends and it made her very uncomfortable. She felt like everyone stared at her and more and more of the boys were paying her attention. It was awkward, they were only interested in her for the way she looked and that didn't sit right with her. Steph had always been quiet, shy and when she made a friend, male or female, it was because of their common interests, their personalities. She'd resorted to wearing loose fitting clothes to hide her ever growing curves. But Sarah had bought her this dress and urged her to wear it tonight. On family dinner night. Every Friday was family night. They all sat down to dinner together no matter what. Actually they ate dinner together usually four nights of the seven. The other days, Scully fed the kids early because Mulder worked late, or she had hospital calls, then sometimes the kids wanted to watch television. Well, tonight Mulder wanted to take everyone out. Sarah was in town doing research and an interview for her thesis so it would be everyone together again. Stephanie sighed and chewed on her lower lip. Sarah would be disappointed in her if she didn't wear the dress. It was a summer dress that came to just above her knee, with a full skirt, a tight bodice, a square neck and thin straps that tied in bows on the shoulder. She sighed again as she heard her mother calling. It was now or never. Stephanie closed her eyes, said a silent prayer and headed out of the bedroom. Sarah met her in the hallway. "You look wonderful, Steph!" Stephanie blushed, as she would for the rest of the evening, she guessed. "Do you think so? It's not too small is it?" She was tugging at the skirt while pulling up the neck line at the same time. "It's perfect, stop messing with it." Sarah brushed away her hands. "Come on." Scully eyed her as they emerged from the hall and smiled. Her baby was growing up. They'd had to shop for a training bra several months ago and it looked like they'd have to go back again real soon. Mulder was in the car with Josh as the women came out of the house. He was occupied with his son and first noticed the girls when Scully opened the car door. Sarah and Steph got in the back with Josh as Scully sat next to Mulder. "Are we ready?" "Let's go." Scully answered. Steph sat nervously as she felt Josh's eyes lingering on her. He was as tall as she was even though he was two years younger. She sat directly behind her father with Josh in the middle. "What?!" She finally yelled at him. "What do you want?" Josh smiled mischievously. He could get a lot of mileage out of this if he played his cards right. "Nothing." Mulder glanced in the rear view mirror at Josh. He could easily see his son grinning, but he couldn't see Steph without leaning forward. "Leave your sister alone, Josh. This is going to be a nice, peaceful dinner, no funny business, young man." "Ok, Dad." The grin didn't disappear. Stephanie's face became even more red and she felt like crawling into herself. Josh was determined to embarrass her tonight, she just knew it. Scully turned her head and winked at her. She knew her daughter was having trouble, she'd gone through the same thing at her age. The only thing she could do was help her through it. They pulled into the seafood restaurant about fifteen minutes later and Mulder got out of the car. He opened the back door for Stephanie as he closed his. From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of her foot. It was in a low heel sandal. His eye followed upward from there as she walked away from the car and toward the restaurant. He was stunned. Was this his daughter? His little Steph? Good God, she was becoming a woman! A stunningly beautiful young woman. Sarah was a classic beauty, with great bone structure, tall like a model. But Steph was going to be like her mother, a understated beauty with a femininity that was hard to resist. No, it was too soon, it wasn't supposed to happen yet, not yet. He'd just recently lost Sarah to a life of her own, it wasn't time to lose Stephanie yet. Scully looked back and saw Mulder standing stock still, his mouth agape, his face flushed. She motioned to Sarah to take the other two in and went back a few steps to grab Mulder's arm. Her voice was a low whisper. "Mulder, don't saying anything, we'll talk about it later, don't embarrass her." Putting her arm in the crook of his, she pulled him to the door. "But Scully ..." "Later, Mulder, let's just have a nice dinner." She smiled knowingly at him. The kids were waiting when they entered and Mulder gave his name for the reservations. They were led to a table and seated only a couple of minutes later. Mulder held Scully's chair, while the rather young looking waiter held Stephanie's then Sarah's. Mulder noticed. Mulder had trouble keeping his mind on the conversation. He always enjoyed the discussions with Sarah, but tonight, it seemed she and Scully did most of the talking. Going into the medical field as Sarah was, she kept Scully busy with a lot of questions. Mulder tried to keep from staring at Stephanie, but it was hard. It was a blow to him, a shock. He knew this time would come, but he hadn't figured on it for at least two or three years. To top it off, this one waiter seemed to be flirting with her and he had a hard time just to keep from strangling the boy. Stephanie was quiet all evening, spoke only when asked something, gave very short, direct answers and seemed very ill at ease. She did, however, notice the cute waiter. He was tall with dark hair and soft brown eyes. He couldn't have been more than seventeen and he was by her side more often than anyone could count. All she had to do was take a sip of water and he was right there, filling her glass again. She'd smile demurely and whisper a thank you each time. When Mulder wanted more tea, if was a different story. He could die of thirst and the waiter wouldn't notice. He spoke in a sharp tongue the next time the boy neared the table and he didn't leave a very big tip. The drive home was as quiet as the dinner and the looks Scully kept giving him were warming up his mood. He was slowly resigning to the fact that nature was being cruel to him. It occurred to him that it was going to be more difficult with Stephanie. Sarah was a strong individual with a goal. She knew exactly what she wanted and nothing was going to stand in her way. She made a lot of friends growing up and was very popular. She dated some but wasn't serious about any one in particular and didn't want to settle down before she finished her education and became a psychologist. Stephanie on the other hand was a very loving individual. She wasn't as popular because of her shyness and made few friends, though they were very good friends. Her demureness and shy femininity mixed with her soft beauty would have the boys hanging around all the time. He feared he would lose her to love and marriage before Sarah. "When did this happen, Scully?" Everyone had gone to bed and Mulder lay next to Scully, thinking about his daughter. "It's been happening for several months, Mulder. You just haven't noticed." "How could I have missed this, Scully? It's so ... noticeable!" He was at a loss for the right word. Scully laughed out loud. "Time goes on, they grow up before you know it." "I don't think I'm ready for this." "You did fine with Sarah, Mulder, you'll do fine with Stephanie." "But it's different, Scully. They are two totally different individuals and I ..... " He hesitated. "God help me, somehow, I don't know Stephanie like I do Sarah. I'm going to do the wrong thing and she'll end up hating me for the rest of her life. Did you see that punk waiter? I wanted to wring his scrawny little neck!" "Mulder! Don't be ridiculous. It's just that this is sudden for you. " "She's only twelve, she's way too young to be getting that kind of attention. My God, tonight she looked eighteen!" "Well, yeah, she did at that. But we can't stop mother nature, Mulder. She's going through a hard time right now. Stephanie's going through physiological changes and it's scaring her too. She's embarrassed by this, you haven't noticed because she's been hiding her body for the past few months. Wearing clothes that are way too big for her. Her friends aren't developing yet, she's going through this alone. I went through the same thing at her age." "You did?" Mulder asked. "Well, that's comforting." "What does that mean?" "Well, look how you turned out." "I won't go there, Mulder, you don't want to know the things I did in my teen years." She smiled. Mulder grinned and leaned over her, touching her cheek with the back of his fingers. "What did you do in your teens? And do you want to do it now?" Stephanie was having a bowl of cereal the next morning when Mulder walked in the kitchen. An uncomfortable moment of silence passed before Mulder spoke. "Morning, Steph." "Good morning, Daddy." 'Daddy', not Dad, not Pop or Father. He was 'Daddy' to her. "What are you going to do today, baby?" "I've got a science paper due on Monday, and a book report for English." "You're going to work all weekend?" He smiled. "You want to do something this afternoon? I promise not to take all your time." "Well, I'd like to go to the book store, so you think you could take me?" Her voice was so soft, he had to strain to hear. "Yeah, sure, how about two?" That afternoon, Mulder drove to the book store a few miles from their home. Stephanie was her usual quiet self. She was dressed completely different from the night before in a pair of shorts and an oversized button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Her long brown hair was in a french braid halfway down her back. Even in this attire, he saw her in a new light. She was definitely going to be a heart breaker and he felt sure his would be the first one broken. Holding the door open for her, they entered the store. It was crowded for a weekend, a lot of school kids lingering among the aisles. "What are you looking for? Anything specific?" "I'd like to see what they have on the space shuttle and if they have any pictorials of space and the earth from space." Steph was fascinated with space travel. Mulder had taken her to see the shuttle take off last year and it had been one of the most influential moments of her life. They went down the aisle and picked up four or five huge 'coffee table' books. Mulder carried them to a viewing table for Steph and she sat to go through them, picking which ones she wanted. "I'm going to get a cup of coffee, I'll be right back." She nodded at him and he headed for the Starbucks at one corner of the book store. He was only gone ten minutes and on his return, he saw a boy sitting next to Steph talking to her. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end as his breath caught in his throat. He was an older boy and he got the impression she wasn't thrilled with his presence. First of all, the boy was sitting entirely too close, invading her personal space. Second, her posture was one of withdrawal, her arms folded across her chest, hugging herself and her face was flush, she kept trying to lean away from the boy. As he neared, he heard her voice. "Leave me alone!" She barked at him. The boy grinned, but didn't noticed Mulder eyeing him. Mulder spoke angrily. "Hey!" The boy's head jerked up. "Is there something you want?" His brow furrowed as his stare bore a hole into the boy. "Uh, no, no." The boy practically ran away. "Are you all right, baby?" He noticed her face was beet red and tears were welling in her eyes. She was shaking slightly and he could tell she was holding her breath, trying to regain her composure. A shaky voice answered. "I want to go home." He left the books and the coffee on the table and put his arm around her, holding her close, as he walked her out of the book store. Mulder drove around in circles for a little while, trying to think of something to say, waiting for her to calm down. He looked over at her when she sighed deeply. It was a shuddering sigh, but it seemed she was not as upset. "Steph, did he do something to you?" "No." Short and sweet. Mulder pulled into the shopping center and parked near the ice cream parlor. This had been a favorite place of theirs when Steph was younger. "Let's get an ice cream." She didn't order her usual float, instead a frozen yogurt, chocolate. Even her tastes were changing. Mulder tried again, the place was practically deserted, so he thought she might talk to him. "What happened back there, Steph?" Her face fell and she shrugged her shoulders. "Oh, you know." She took a lick of her cone. "The same thing that happens everywhere." Well, that was vague enough. "What did he say to you?" It was like pulling teeth with Stephanie. "Daddy, please, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." She pleaded with him. "Baby, you didn't upset me! I was worried and if someone is bothering you, you need to tell me. Has this boy bothered you before? Does he go to your school? I want you to talk to me." He just couldn't understand why she wouldn't talk about it. "It was just the usual .... nasty stuff that boys talk about, Daddy. That's all, I shouldn't let it bother me. He goes to the high school, his sister goes to my school. I've seen him pick her up after classes." She lowered her head, her face turning red again. He was right, his heart just broke. Why did his daughter have to go through this? Why did any child have to put up with such poor upbringing as this boy obviously had? How could he make his little girl know just how special she was? Why did she have to grow up so quickly? Why was the world so different now? "Stephanie, you looked beautiful last night. You always look beautiful and I'm not making excuses for that boy, but at their age their interest differs from girls. Ignore them, stay away from them. Not all of them are like that and the ones that are, aren't worth getting upset over. But if any one does something or says something that makes you uncomfortable, you have to tell someone. A teacher, your mother, or me. We're here for you. I don't want to see you hurt." A tear trickled down her cheek as she nodded to him. It was obvious she wanted to say something so he gave her a minute. "How do you ignore it?" She asked as her lower lip trembled. "Well, it's not easy, sometimes you can't. You're going through ... changes right now, both physical and emotional and it's bringing attention to yourself. You've never been one for attracting attention, so that's going to make it harder." He smiled at her. "But we're here for you." He was silent for a moment. "You know, Steph, when I was a boy, I was teased mercilessly. I was so tall and skinny, they called me a beanpole with clothes." He smiled as she chuckled. "Everyone at this age is insecure about something but I promise you, it won't be like this for long. You'll continue to grow and change, things will get better." As they finished their ice cream, Stephanie talked about classes, avoiding the subject they had touched on. Then they left the shop. "Daddy, can we go back and get that book?" She asked, wringing her hands, ashamed that she hadn't had the courage to stay the first time. Mulder smiled a broad grin. "Sure." The store wasn't as crowded as before and Mulder stayed with Stephanie but kept an eye out for that boy, he kind of wanted to see him again. In fact, he wished for it. Over the next week, it seemed Stephanie was a bit more confident. Talking more, laughing, and dressing to suit her figure, not as many oversized blouses. Scully was surprised and pleased. Mulder told her about the incident at the book store and she too had a talk with Stephanie. It was important to her that her daughter knew she'd done nothing to encourage the hormone induced actions of the boys that were bothering her. And that she should come to them whenever she felt the need. Today was special, Stephanie was turning thirteen. Finally, the 'teen' after the age meant trouble. They'd gone through it with Sarah and they would survive it with Steph. She didn't want a party, just a nice dinner at home with her brother and her parents. She'd insisted. And to be honest, Scully and Mulder didn't mind. They really didn't want to cater to a group of teens and preteens. School was like any other day, Stephanie stopped by her locker to drop off a couple of books and replace them with ones she needed for homework. One of her parents were going to pick her and Josh up today. This was her last year of junior high, next year, she'd be a freshman in high school and that thought scared her a little. A new school, new teachers, new classmates. She didn't like change, but knew it was inevitable. A hand came up from behind and suddenly slammed the locker door shut. Stephanie turned sharply and came face to face with the same boy from the book store. His name was Gene and he was a sophomore in the high school. He was a good head taller than Steph and very intimidating. "Hey!" She shouted. He kept his hand on the door of the locker, above Steph's head and leaned into her, pressing his body against hers. Grinning, continuously grinning. She hated that grin. It was evil. Steph put her hand on his chest and tried to shove him back. "Get away from me." Her voice was low and tense. "You know, you'll be going to my school next year. You play nice and you'll be a popular girl." He placed his hand on her face. She jerked it away and tried to shove him away again. "I said, get away from me." Her voice was louder this time. "Hey!" A deeper voice came from down the hall. Both looked up and saw Josh coming toward them. Josh was at least 5 years younger than Gene and a few pounds lighter, but was just a tall as the older boy and Mulder had taught him self-defense, the boy could take on more than it looked. "Come on Steph." "Go away, kid. She'll be with you in a minute," Gene said with a stern look. Josh was in no way intimidated. He moved closer to the other boy. "I don't think so." Gene turned and grabbed Josh by the front of his tee shirt and started to speak. But Josh didn't let him finish. With a swift movement, he reached out with his foot and pulled Gene's feet out from under him. The boy went crashing to the floor, pulling Josh with him. He pushed Josh away, knocking him into the lockers, scratching his chin along the metal. A trickle of blood oozed out, but it wasn't serious. Stephanie let out a sharp yelp as Josh kicked out at the once again standing Gene, dropping him to the ground once more. Josh grabbed Steph and they headed down the hall. "You ok, sis?" He asked. Josh had heard all the talk about his sister's 'development' and left most of it alone. Several times, he'd gotten into heated disagreements and a few scuffles with guys he'd once considered friends. But no one hurt his family, he saw to that. Just as they neared the corner, he heard Gene coming up from behind. Josh turned suddenly and raised his foot to give the boy a strong kick in the stomach just as Gene was throwing himself at Josh. It knocked the wind out of him and kept him down on the ground this time. Hand in hand they rushed out of the double doors to the front where a car was to be waiting. "Josh, you're bleeding." Stephanie was about to panic, as there was no one waiting, when she saw her mother's car pulling into the drive. Scully saw them waiting and cursed herself for being late. She hated to see them standing alone. As she neared, she saw the cut on Josh's chin. "What happened?" She asked as they got into the car. Steph started to speak, but Josh cut her off. "Nothing, really, I just fell against the locker." Scully wasn't buying it. Stephanie was obviously upset and both had looked rather nervous when she pulled up. "I'm not moving until you tell me what's going on." "Mom, this guy was bothering me and Josh, well, he helped me." Steph spoke first, her face as red as it could get. "What do you mean, bothering you, Stephanie?" Now her face was becoming red. "It was nothing, Mom, I took care of it." Josh said. "Besides, did you see that kick, Steph? It works pretty good, doesn't it?" He actually seemed pleased with himself. "You were fighting?" Scully's voice rose with her fear and anger. Stephanie sat back in her seat, her head down as tears began to flow. She was so embarrassed. Not by what Josh had done, she was grateful that he'd come along, it was just humiliating being in that situation and it also scared the hell out of her. Scully headed for home, they wouldn't talk about it now, she saw how upset Steph was, but when Mulder got home, the four would have a nice little chat. She would get to the bottom of this. When they arrived home, Stephanie went straight to her room and stayed there with the door closed. Scully grabbed Josh and sat him at the kitchen table. "I want to know what happened, and I want to know now, young man!" She'd gotten a wet cloth and was cleaning off his chin, inspecting the cut. Josh spilled the beans, telling her about the boy and his version of what had happened. Scully couldn't believe what her two children had to go through at their age. "All right, we'll talk again later about this. Go do your homework." He went off to his room and Scully sat wondering how to handle this. Should she wait for Mulder and talk to Steph with him or should she handle this herself? Standing at Stephanie's door, she hesitated a moment, then knocked. "Stephanie? " Stephanie had immediately changed her clothes when she got home, putting on a baggy tee shirt and sweat pants. She opened her door for her mother without saying anything and went back to sit at her desk. Scully noticed Steph's brand new dress in her garbage can and a little piece of her hated the outside world. She sat on the bed across from her daughter. "Stephanie, you didn't do anything wrong. This is not your fault." The girl looked up surprised at her mother. How did she know what was going through her mind? Her face turned red with embarrassment. "Yes it is." "No Steph, it's not. Not every boy is like Gene, it's his fault. And it's called sexual harassment, Stephanie and you don't have to put up with it. I won't let you put up with it. If anyone ever threatens you or says something to you like that again, you go straight to a teacher, or go to the office and have me paged." Her anger was beginning to come through and she had to take a breath and calm down. Scully didn't want to upset Stephanie any more than she already was. "Why are they like that, Mom? What did I do to make him do that? I just want to be left alone." She began crying. Scully reached out and pulled her daughter to sit next to her on the bed. Wrapping her arms around her, she soothed Stephanie. "Oh, honey, I'm so sorry you have to go through this. You didn't do anything wrong. Kids can be cruel and very unkind. We can only hope they can grow and learn to be better adults. We can try to help them to change. But you have to know that it is their problem, not yours. You're a beautiful girl, growing into a beautiful young woman, maybe a little sooner than any of the other girls." She smiled. "Maybe a little sooner than either of us are ready for too, but we can't stop mother nature." Stephanie dried her tears and took a deep sigh. "Ok." She tried to look like she was doing better, but it didn't fool Scully.'"I will have a talk with this boy's parents, Steph." "Mom! No. You can't do that, it'll just make things worse." "Stephanie, I have to. I don't trust this kid. He could hurt you and I won't stand by and see that happen." She pleaded with her to understand, she didn't want to scare her, but it had to be done. Sighing almost in resignation, she said, "All right, I'll talk to your father and see what he says." "No! You can't tell daddy, he'll be so mad, Mom. Please!" Steph began crying again, wringing her hands. "Stephanie, he's your father, he'll be angrier if we don't tell him. He loves you, baby, he only wants the best for you. He wants you to be safe and happy. Let him help you too. He really wants to be there for you." Scully pulled her daughter toward her again and hugged her. "I love you Stephanie Louise and your father loves you and we're going to see you through this. It'll be all right." Steph sighed again and calmed down. Nodding her head, she replied. "Ok, Mom." "Come on, let's fix dinner." Scully didn't want to leave her alone to relive the incident and to dwell on the next move. Mulder walked through the door a couple of hours later to find Steph and Scully setting the table. "Something smells good." He smiled and gave Scully a kiss, then hugged Stephanie. "Happy birthday! How are two of my favorite girls today?" Scully answered for both of them. "Just fine, how about you?" "Pretty good, it was quiet today." Dinner was unusually quiet. Even Josh didn't say much. Mulder waited patiently, he knew Scully would tell him what was wrong when the time was right. It surprised him at how patient he'd grown since they'd had kids. But he began to worry when both kids went straight to their room after dinner without saying much at all. "What's up, Scully? What happened today?" Scully sighed as she washed the dishes and Mulder dried. "Well, first of all, you did a damn fine job on teaching Josh self-defense. " "He was in a fight? With who, about what?" That's what that mark on his chin was, he thought. "It was ...... it was about Stephanie. An older boy was .. bothering her and Josh, well, he took control of the situation." She wasn't facing him at first, but then turned when he didn't respond. This was one of his greatest fears. For some reason, he didn't fear this with Sarah, maybe because Sarah was such a strong individual, most boys were afraid to get near her. But Stephanie was shy and quiet and radiated a vulnerability. But again, he didn't think he'd have to worry about this for a couple of years. When his eyes met Scully's he saw the concern in her face as well. "What did he do to her?" His voice was low and threatening, he was angry and upset and scared. "He didn't do anything, but he made insinuations and was rather intimidating. I think he scared her more than anything. But damn it, Mulder, Josh says that a lot of the kids are giving her a hard time. I hate this stage, I went through the same thing. I hate that my daughter has to go through it too." When she looked at Mulder again, his face was scrunched into an angry, painful expression. "She's going to be fine, Mulder." "Don't say that, Scully." His voice raised. "Every time something is wrong, it's 'I'm fine', well, it's not fine and I don't want to be coddled into believing it is." He tossed the towel down and stepped away, running a hand through his hair. "All right Mulder, it's not fine. What do you want me to say? I want to go kick the crap out of this kid, but your son did that already." A slight grin crossed Mulder's face. "He did? What did he do?" "He knocked the kid down a couple of times and knocked the breath out of him. Kept him down long enough for them to run." "Run?! They had to run, Scully? So what do you think will happen when they go back. Scully there are kids who carry guns to school. They have a lot more to worry about than when we were in school. Drugs, guns, gangs. I want to know who this kid is? I want this little punk!" "All I know is that he's a boy from the high school, his name is Gene. " "It's the kid from the book store isn't it." "Yes, I think so." "I think he needs a little lecture, don't you." "Now, Mulder, I promised her we wouldn't make a big deal out of this. " "Scully, he threatened our daughter! I'm not standing by and letting this go." "I'm not suggesting you do, I'm suggesting you do it in such a way that our kids don't suffer the consequences. I want you to teach Steph the same things you taught Josh. And I'll teach her a few tricks of my own." She replied grinning. Mulder nodded. "I can do that. But this isn't over, Scully." "Would you bring in the packages from the garage, and I'll set out the cake. We're going to make this a happy birthday for her." "Yea, listen, I got her something else. I want to give it to her later, alone. Do you mind? It's a gold cross like you wear. I saw it and it just reminded me of you and her." "Oh, Mulder that's sweet. Of course I don't mind. I love it. I love you." She placed her arms around him and pulled him down to kiss him. They held each other for a few minutes tightly. Parenting never ended and was never easy, every time they thought they had it mastered, a new problem came up. Mulder brought in the wrapped gifts and Scully set the table for the small party, then gathered Steph and Josh. Everyone was feeling better and Stephanie was even giggling as she blew out the candles. They'd gotten her several books that she'd asked for and a few computer programs to help her with school and whatever she needed. Sarah had sent her a couple of new outfits and even Josh had gotten her some music sheets for her guitar. Stephanie loved everything and gave everyone a hug for the gifts. Bedtime rolled around and Scully came in to tell her good night. She knew Steph had been waiting for her Daddy to say something about that afternoon and he never did. "I spoke with him and he's going to teach you some of the same self-defense techniques that he taught Josh. We decided that you need to be able to feel safe. We should've done it before." Then she smiled. "And I have a few things to teach you too. But you have to promise me that you'll get a teacher next time anything happens. And if you see Gene in that school again, you go get someone." "I promise, thanks, Mom." Stephanie seemed so relieved. She hugged her mother and pulled the sheets up around her. A knock came from behind her as Mulder stuck his head in. "Can I join in?" a pitiful plea emerged. "I'm going to tuck Josh in." Scully kissed Steph's cheek and left her to Mulder. He sat down on the bed beside her as Steph sat up, placing his hand aside her face. His thumb caressing her cheek. "You're my baby girl and you're growing up too fast, Steph." His smile didn't match the concern in his eyes. "Before I know it, you're going to be going off to school like Sarah. Leaving your Mom and me alone with Josh." His smile widened. "That's a horrifying thought." Steph grinned too. "I got something else for you for your birthday." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny box. "It's something that has always reminded me of your mother and you are just like your mother. It's only fitting that you have one too." She opened the tiny box to reveal a small gold cross hanging from a gold chain. Her eyes grew wide. "It's beautiful." She'd always admired her mother's. Scully wore very little jewelry. Normally, the cross and her wedding rings were it. Stephanie had always admired the simple necklace. "Thank you." Her arms flew around his neck and hugged him. He held her tightly, closing his eyes, wanting to talk to her without facing her. "I love you, Stephanie. I don't want to ever see you hurt. Things will work out, I promise you. I won't let anyone hurt you." He felt her kiss his cheek and he did the same. She laid down and he tucked the sheets around her, placing the necklace and the box on her night stand for her. "Sleep tight, princess." Mulder crawled in next to Scully, grinning. "What's so funny, Mulder? " she asked. He put his arm around her and pulled her to him. "I was just thinking about Josh, fighting that older boy. He's a good kid, Scully, to stand up for his sister like that." "Yes, he is, Mulder. You did a good job with him." "You did too, Scully." Mulder remembered the incidents that led up to the reasons for teaching Josh self-defense. Previously "Daddy!" Stephanie came running to her father. They'd been outside all afternoon. It was a beautiful Sunday and Mulder was mowing the lawn, clipping the trees and shrubbery and generally maintaining the yard. It was sunny and hot and the kids were getting on each other's nerves. "Daddy! Josh is putting ice down the back of my shirt!" She was miffed. "Joshua William Mulder! Get over here!" He called out to him. Mulder, at that moment, was kneeling in the flower bed, pulling weeds. Josh came up to him, nervous, he knew he was in trouble. "Are you putting ice cubes down your sister's back?" Josh nervously kicked the dirt with the toe of his shoe. "Umm." Mulder grinned a wry grin. "Well, could you put one down my back, it's hot out here." "Daddy!" Stephanie cried out as a wide grin crossed Josh's face. Mulder pulled Josh toward him, arm wrapped around his head in a playful head lock. "Stop teasing your sister. You hear me?" Then he patted Josh on the backside and released him. "Go play nice!" Josh ran off to the swing set. "Thanks, Daddy." Stephanie ran off after Josh. Scully stood just inside the patio door, listening to the confrontation and grinned. He had such a way with those kids. Stephanie was two years older than Josh, but the two years difference made them even more prone to tease each other. But Stephanie was so good natured, she rarely teased Josh and he took advantage of every opportunity to get her goat. A particular incident came to mind, all of a sudden it was a year ago. Josh came to Scully one afternoon while she was cooking. "Mom, do you remember that episode of the Brady Bunch were Peter builds a volcano on the patio? You know, they show it all the time. Where the volcano blows up and the mud goes flying all over his sister, it's really funny. Would it be Ok if I did something like that?" "Let me get this straight, you want to build a volcano to hurl mud at your sister? Is that it?" Scully placed her hands on her hips, doing all she could to keep from grinning. "Well," Josh stammered, "I was planning on skipping the volcano part." "What's in the bucket, Josh?" Scully asked as she looked into the bucket full of mud. He looked up, grinning the same wry grin his father wore from time to time. They sat down and had a long discussion about the love between family members and how he shouldn't pick on his sister. Scully turned away from the patio door and continued her part of the house cleaning. Once a year, she went from one room to the next, spring cleaning. While Mulder took care of the yard. A thorough cleaning, pruning, trimming. The kids had their chores, their duties that they performed. When it was done, they all went out to a nice dinner. Dressed in their Sunday best. The two siblings really loved each other, it was obvious. They always stood up for each other when one was threatened. Josh was protective of his older sister as any brother would be. No one else could tease Stephanie, he saw to that. He considered it his job to give her grief, no one else's. Now Sarah was a different story. Josh worshipped her. Maybe it was the number of years between them, maybe it was the way she reminded everyone of her father. Whatever it was, he'd follow her like a lost puppy. The following morning Scully came out of the kitchen with a coffee mug in her hand. Mulder was heading for her when she spoke. "Don't drink the coffee, Mulder." "Why not, what's wrong." He was puzzled. "I'll let you know in a minute. Josh!" She called to her son. He came racing from the bedroom, dressed, ready for school. "Yea Mom? " "Josh, what did you do with the worms you dug up yesterday?" From the corner of her eye, she could see Mulder turn his head away. "I put them in dirt." He looked so innocent. "Where did you put the dirt?" She was patiently asking him. "In a can." "What kind of can?" Now Scully was becoming a bit impatient. "A coffee can, I think." Mulder was almost bent over to keep from laughing out loud. "Mystery solved." Scully said as she passed him, heading back to the kitchen. Mulder followed behind. "What did you do?" He couldn't help but laugh now. "You better stop laughing Mulder or you're going to be sleeping on the couch tonight." Scully pulled the filter out and dumped the contents into the trash, worms and all. "What are you going to do with your son?" She took the can from the cupboard and was peeling off a label to place on it. "My son?" "You're the one who thinks this is funny, who do you think he inherited this behavior from?" She marked the can 'worms' and set it just outside the back door. As Scully came back toward him, he could see the twinkle in her eye. "I'll have a talk with him tonight. OK?" He pulled her to him and kissed her. "Besides, a little dirt won't kill anyone." "Yeah, yeah, yeah." She grinned and kissed him back. "Seriously, Mulder. Some of his antics are getting out of hand." "He's just all boy, honey. Give him time. He hasn't done all that much." "Oh no? Remember last Christmas? He put glow in the dark skeletons all over the Christmas tree. And the time he dressed up like the ghost of Marley from A Christmas Carol, poured a whole bag of flour over himself to authenticate the illusion because he wanted a raise in his allowance. He kept putting fake spiders in the eggnog." She looked up at him. "You better wipe that grin off your face, Mulder. " "Scully, he's a brilliant child that's bored. Nothing challenges him. He was up at 4 am on the first day of school this year. Maybe we need to see about advancing him a grade." Then Mulder laughed out loud. "I'm sorry, I think it's funny. " "You would, he's a Mulder all right. What about last Halloween, he and his friend went trick or treating in tee shirts that said IRS Auditor. And then he hung plastic bats on the hot water heater with a staple gun. You didn't think it was so funny with a flooded basement, did you?" Scully stood at the sink, her arms crossed in front of her, waiting for a fresh pot of coffee to brew. "I really hate to advance him in school, kids grow up too fast these days as it is. What are you laughing at?" "I was remembering the time we flew the kids up to visit Mom. Sarah had the headphones on and Josh was pressing buttons, wanting to know what they were for. Almost busted Sarah's eardrums turning up the volume control." "You see, he's going to do something where someone will end up getting hurt." Scully's hands went into the air. "You forget the time he erased all of our tax returns on the computer to make room for a new game. Thank God, you had back ups." Mulder was still grinning, thinking about the incidents. "I remember when he raided the mini bar at that expensive hotel when we took them to Disney World last year. Cost us over $300.00. But do you remember two years ago, when his gift for me for Father's Day was to mow the lawn? And he couldn't budge the mower? He's something else, isn't he?" "Our kids are creative if nothing else, Mulder. Remember when Stephanie had enough of his shenanigans and dropped nickels leading to the closet, then locked Josh in there as he was picking them up? Josh didn't even mind, he thought he'd hit the jackpot." "I remember, then he traded Steph's $200.00 bicycle for a baseball card. How did we get through this last year?" He paused, then suddenly Mulder chuckled. "What?" "I was just remembering the all day shopping trips to the mall with Sarah. God, once we spent all day and left with one sweater and a skirt that she took back the following week." By this time, they were in each other's arms, laughing, tears rolling down their faces. Josh came through the door followed by Stephanie. "Dad, Mom? What's wrong?" They separated, trying to regain straight faces. "Nothing's wrong, sweetie. Are you both ready for school?" Scully asked, staring down at the two most perfect angels in the world. Mulder saw the pride on her face and felt it just as strong himself. They were the greatest kids. A week later Mulder was changing his tune. They'd been called into the principal's office. A note had been sent home and the appointment was set for two the next afternoon. Mulder picked Sully up at her office and they rode together. "What do you suppose he's done, Mulder?" "We'll find out soon enough, I'm sure." Mulder was grinning. Before long, they were seated in the principal's office waiting for Mr. Parker to return. "Oooh, this brings back memories." Mulder said cringing. "I bet it does." Scully rolled her eyes at him. "Mr. and Mrs. Mulder? I'm Jonathon Parker, I'm glad you could come. I don't see enough parent participation and I'm happy to see you take an interest in your son's education." "Well, we certainly are interested as to why we are here." Mulder shook the man's hand. "First, I'd like to say that we are very pleased to have such a good student as Josh. He's highly intelligent and is one of the best academic students we have." "And ..." Scully prompted. "Well, he's also very creative and while we like to encourage creativeness, Josh goes a tad too far." He pulled out a piece of paper filled with complaints. "There are several incidents involving the lab frogs and the cafeteria jello, an incident with a substitute teacher and a whoopee cushion, itching powder in the girls gyms, well you can read the list yourself." Scully took the paper and read through a few other items, Mulder leaned over her shoulder and fought the urge to grin, let alone laugh out loud. They both looked up when Mr. Parker continued. "I understand that sometimes a boy needs an outlet and I feel that Josh is not challenged enough. He finishes his work long before everyone else and is simply bored. We'd like to put him into a few advanced classes. He wouldn't really skip a grade, but the advanced classes would give him more to concentrate on and less time for 'creativeness'." Scully spoke for both of them. "Thank you, Mr. Parker, we will discuss this and get back to you tomorrow. At first glance, I think you may have a good solution, but it's something I want to discuss with Josh and my husband. At any rate, we will also discuss this list with Josh." They stood to leave. "Thank you again, for coming in. I'm sure we can agree that we all want the best for Josh." The drive home was quiet at first, then Mulder just couldn't help laughing. "Mulder, I know you think this if funny and to be honest, I had a hard time keeping a straight face too, but some of these things could have gotten people hurt. You didn't finish reading the list. He 'set free' the ant farm. Some of the children could've been allergic to the ant bites. Or could've gotten very ill at best. Now, he's gone too far and we have to do something other than laugh and encourage him." "I don't encourage him, Scully." "You do every time you laugh." She tried to get him to understand. "All right, let's get him in the advance classes. And I want to teach him some self-defense techniques. Maybe direct that energy somewhere else." "That's a good idea and it'll give you some quality time with him." Present Mulder fell asleep with a smile on his face. Stephanie lay awake in her room. Everything had happened so fast today. She wondered what she would have done if Josh had not come along. She'd like to believe that she could've handled it, but it was so surprising that Josh had actually fought someone to save her. After all the grief he'd given her over the past few years, she suddenly realized that he really did care about her. Quietly, she got out of bed and opened her door. Crossing over to Josh's room, she opened his door. "Josh? Are you asleep?" She whispered. "No, what's up, Steph?" Josh sat up in bed. Steph closed the door so her parents wouldn't hear them. "Thanks for today, Josh, I just wanted to say that and I'm glad you're my brother. " Josh smiled. "Sure, sis. It's my job to tease you, no one else's. I'll help you learn those kicks if you want." "Good night, Josh." Stephanie opened the door. "Night, Steph." The End
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