Title: The Great Pumpkin
Author: Lovesfox
E-mail: lovesfox@rogers.com
Website: www.geocities.com/fanficcorner 
Category: Story, MSR
Rating: R
Summary: William's first Halloween. 

Disclaimer: Mulder, Scully, William and all within do not belong to
 me. I just borrowed them. They belong to CC and 
 1013 Productions.

Note: This short story belongs in the Eyes of a Child 
 universe, which you do not have to read to enjoy this 
 one. Just know that Mulder and Scully are a couple, 
 William is their son, and Mulder no longer works for 
 the FBI.



The Great Pumpkin
by Lovesfox


Scully/Mulder Residence
October 31, 2001
7:40 am


Scully smiled as she brought the spoonful of squash up to William's 
mouth. His cheeks were liberally smeared and stained with the orange-
colored mashed vegetable, as were his hands from grabbing the utensil 
every time it came near him. 

True to form he successfully wrapped his pudgy fingers around this one 
and attempted to cram it into his mouth, sideways, splattering squash 
on himself and the high chair tray.

"If you keep that up, William," she said, "We won't need that enormous 
pumpkin your father bought. We can sit you on Grandma's porch 
instead."

William chortled, and smacked his lips, his big blue eyes tracking the 
spoon with a ferocious eagerness that made her smile widen. He had 
definitely inherited Mulder's appetite.

"What's that about my pumpkin?" a husky, sleep-filled voice said then, 
startling her. She hadn't heard Mulder enter the kitchen.

Turning her head to one side, she watched his shuffling approach 
towards her and William. Her appreciative eyes raked him over from 
head to toe, pausing briefly in the middle. He was wearing only a pair 
of plaid pajama pants, falling low on his lean hips. They were top on 
her list of favorite attire for him, after absolutely nothing at all. 
His hair was adorably, sexily spiked in every direction, and his 
morning stubble darkened his cheeks. It was difficult to tear her eyes 
away and resume feeding their son, who was grunting his dissatisfaction 
that the food train had stalled.

"I was just telling William he could substitute for a pumpkin with his 
orange face here," she said, bringing the last of the squash up for 
William. 

Mulder's warm belly pressed against the back of her head in his usual 
morning greeting for when she was busy feeding William his breakfast. 
He then wiggled slightly from side to side for a minute, rubbing 
something else against her as well. "He's sure got the cheeks for 
it," he rumbled after he backed away, his hands descending to rest on 
her blouse-clad shoulders, squeezing gently. "You want me to take 
over?"

"We're just...about...done," she said slowly, as she wiped their son's 
face with a cloth, chasing the dear little face that was trying to 
avoid being cleaned up. "He ate all his cereal and his mashed bananas 
already." His hands were next, and then she swiped at the tray, though 
it would need to be washed. "You could take these, though," she said, 
and turning a bit when his hands left her shoulders, handed him the 
dirty cloth and the sectioned baby dish and spoon. 

A few minutes later she was holding the now bib-less, and relatively 
clean William in her arms, a large towel folded over her shoulder to 
protect her blouse, just in case. Although he was long past the 
spitting up stage, the odd time a burp caught her by surprise, and her 
clothes were the victims. Her time in the morning with him was 
precious now that she was back to work, and she didn't want to waste 
any of it having to go get changed. She got up half an hour earlier 
now on workdays, to shower and dry her hair before he even awoke. 

She strolled over to the front window, body automatically settling into 
that near-unconscious, swaying baby walk, listening to William's 
babbles while behind her the water ran as Mulder washed the tray and 
highchair seat.

A few moments later he joined them, coming up behind her to wrap his 
arms around her waist, snuggling her against his body. His lips 
brushed over her ear before pressing a kiss on the top of William's 
head.

"Ba ba ba!" William exuberantly thanked his father with his favorite, 
and only, sound thus far, and a smacking pat to the nose.

Mulder laughed. "Easy there, big guy. This nose is already big 
enough." He then partially released her, bringing one hand up to rub 
along her upper arm. "Time to go?" he asked, his voice softer.

Scully sighed. "Unfortunately, yes," she replied and turned as 
Mulder's other arm slid from her waist. She then held William out for 
his waiting hands.

Once he was safely ensconced in his father's hold, she pressed her own 
lips to William's head, pausing briefly to inhale his sweet scent, then 
headed back to the bedroom to retrieve her jacket and her weapon from 
the night table drawer. As she adjusted the holster she thought to 
herself that once William was more active, they would have to make 
other plans for the storage of their guns.

Mulder trailed behind her with William, carrying on a running 
commentary of everything they saw. At the bedroom, he leaned his free 
shoulder against the doorjamb and watched her slip into her jacket, 
adjusting her blouse and smoothing the wrinkles from her skirt.

"Look at your mommy, William, " Mulder said. "Isn't she...tasty?"

"Mulder!" Scully scolded, sending him a look as she moved to stand 
before the dresser mirror.

"Hey, both the kid and I have first hand knowledge of that fact," he 
replied unrepentantly.

Scully watched her reflection blush scarlet to her hairline, feeling 
the heat on her cheeks. Clearing her throat deliberately, and 
carefully not looking at Mulder, she queried in an effort to change the 
topic, "So what plans do my two boys have for today?"

"Uh..." she heard Mulder mumble, followed by low murmuring to William. 
She flicked a glance over one shoulder at them, to see that Mulder 
appeared to be studiously avoiding her eyes. He was up to something, 
but she had not yet been able to determine exactly what it could be. 
Hushed telephone calls that ended abruptly if she walked in the room...

Mulder interrupted her musings. "Well, we'll probably have a shower, 
then breakfast -"

"No cereal for him, Mulder!" she said quickly.

"One cheerio, Scully. One time." He grinned at her, lifting one of 
William's hands up to pump in the air. "Besides, before he started 
choking, I think he really liked it." After nuzzling and raspberrying 
William's cheek he added, "Just guy stuff, Scully."

Guy stuff. Mm-hmmm. Catching sight of her alarm clock as she turned 
to face Mulder, she realized she had better get going. She'd find out 
what Mulder had planned soon enough, she knew.

William and Mulder walked her to the front door, Mulder again holding 
up one of their son's hands, this time moving it in a pseudo-wave.

~~~

"Your mother's one smart lady, William," Mulder told their son after 
closing and locking the door behind Scully. They set off towards the 
kitchen, their plans changed. He had fully intended to shower with 
William, as he had told Scully, but he had then remembered how messy he 
and William usually got during unsupervised meals.

"She knows we've got plans, buddy," he continued. "She's suspicious, 
but I don't think she has us figured out yet." If Scully had pressed 
him, he would have told her, but thankfully she had not. He really 
wanted to surprise her.

William ba-ba-ba'ed happily in agreement, bouncing excitedly in 
Mulder's arm as they walked over and opened the fridge.

Mulder immediately zeroed in on the half-empty jar of baby bananas on 
the top shelf. It was his absolute favorite. All the fruits were 
good, but the banana puree was...well, he had no other words for it.

He had also taken a liking to William's cereals - with brown sugar or 
other sweet things, of course - but Scully tended to notice when the 
cereals disappeared quickly. So he limited to only eating the rice 
cereal once in a while, it was William's least favorite anyway.

Breakfast was fun, as usual, though Mulder refrained from giving 
William any Cheerios. He told his son they would try them again soon, 
getting an agreeable babble in return. William sat in his Exersaucer - 
a fantastic invention that had been a gift from the Gunmen - banging 
some blocks, while Mulder cleaned the table, the floor and the 
highchair.

Dishes done too, Mulder scooped William up and jiggled him down the 
hallway to the bathroom, for their shower. Sometimes the two of them 
had a bath - Mulder readily admitted he looked forward to tub-time with 
William, and probably enjoyed it as much as, if not more, than William 
did.

He eyed the bathtub fondly. Baths with William weren't the only things 
he enjoyed. Scully and he had spent many a memorable time in the deep 
porcelain tub. But they didn't have time for a tub today.

Plunking William down on the thick, padded bathmat, he crouched beside 
his son and stripped the baby to his diaper. That particular item was 
always last, for William had caught him on several occasions - from 
both ends.

Once the water in the shower was at a comfortable, William-safe 
temperature, Mulder hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his pajama 
pants and yanked them off. William watched with an admiring eye, 
Mulder would swear to it, as he executed a beautiful hook shot with 
balled-up pants landing directly into the hamper several feet away.

Cupping his hand around the back of William's head, he guided his son 
backwards until the baby was lying down. Little legs kicked, and 
Mulder captured a flying foot in one hand. He slowly leaned in while 
saying, "Yum, yum" - a guaranteed William pleaser. After a raspberry 
to the sole of his foot, and one to his chubby belly, Mulder said, 
"Okay, buddy. Let's check the diaper."

A quick peek via a leg hole of the latest in Huggie's wear revealed he 
had the all-clear, so he pulled the tabs at the sides and started to 
lower the front. The moment cool air touched his privates, William let 
loose. Mulder had stopped being a victim of impromptu showers by the 
third month, and was prepared, clapping the diaper closed again to 
contain the leak.

In the shower stall, he settled William in his tub ring, another handy 
invention that attached to the floor of the shower with suction. 
William had been sitting up for a couple weeks without support, so 
Scully had deemed the tub seat safe for them to use. It was a hell of 
a lot easier than trying to shampoo his own hair while holding William. 

The best way to shower or bathe William was of course when Scully 
joined them, but that only happened on the weekends.

Mulder made a quick job of his hair and body, and then crouched once 
more to lift William out of the seat to hold him under the gentle 
stream of water. He loved the surprised look that always flowed across 
William's face when the drops hit his head or body. He had been trying 
to teach him to stick his tongue out to catch the water, but so far 
William was not interested.

They only washed William's hair a couple times a week with baby 
shampoo, to avoid dry scalp. Not to mention the fact that right now 
the little guy was still kind of sparse in that department. 

Fortunately Scully had at some point restocked the supply of big, soft, 
plush towels in the little cupboard, because he had forgotten to do 
that after using the last two the day before. Taking the one on top, 
he wrapped it around his son, covering him completely, one edge hanging 
rakishly over William's eye. 

Setting William down on the floor again for a moment, he quickly 
toweled his hair dry, and then swiped the terry cloth over his body. 
Swooping him up with the requisite accompanying airplane sound, the two 
of them flew out of the bathroom to William's room.

Unconcerned with his nakedness, although if Scully were there, she'd be 
squawking at him, he laid William down on the floor yet again. It was 
so much easier than standing hunched over to use the change table. 
After drying him carefully, he expertly diapered his son, then 
manhandled the wiggling toes into socks. A diaper shirt was next, the 
kind where the cloth went under the diaper and snapped at both sides of 
the waist.

Scully had thoughtfully laid out clothes, so he grabbed the white 
OshKosh b'Gosh turtleneck and train engineer overalls and managed to 
get them on with only minor difficulty. Apparently babies got 
squirmier as they got older. Little white leather Nikes with blue 
swooshes were next, a gift from Uncle Walter, or the Skinman he told 
William when Skinner was not around.

One down, one to go. 

Ten minutes later he was dressed in khaki pants and a pullover sweater, 
and they were ready to go visit Grandma Scully for their top-secret 
project. Code-named Operation Alien.

Whistling a jaunty tune, Mulder toted a jean jacket-clad and Yankees 
baseball-capped William, a bulging diaper bag, also thoughtfully 
prepared and laid out by Scully, and an overnight bag, out to their 
black Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. No mini-vans for him, uh-uh. 

Buckling William into his car seat in the middle seat of the second 
row, he adjusted the straps carefully over his son's chest, and then 
handed him what he called William's favorite toy, a rubber Alien. 
Scully was equally convinced William was partial to his rubber Winnie 
the Pooh, a gift from her mother. Mulder had stuffed it in his jacket 
pocket on the way out, just in case.

His own seatbelt buckled, soft tunes on the radio, and they were on 
their way.

~~~

J. Edgar Hoover Building
October 31, 2001
3:30 pm

Scully listened to the steady clack of her own heels as she walked 
calmly down the hallway to Skinner's office. Inside she was nervous, 
wondering why she and she alone had been called up to speak to the 
Assistant Director. Kimberley had been of little help when queried as 
to the reason for the visit, her voice sounding odd. As if the woman 
had been suppressing laughter.

Remembering that, Scully decided it couldn't be that bad.

Entering through the secretary's office door, she spied a familiar 
looking diaper bag on the couch to the left of Kimberley's desk.

Ah ha. This must have been what Mulder had been planning. Though why 
he had been so secretive was beyond her. He and William had visited 
her at work twice before already - once as a planned date, and once 
just to surprise her.

Then again, they hadn't actually entered the building, just met her in 
the front lobby.

Kimberley was not at her desk, but Scully could hear the secretary 
cooing at someone in Skinner's office. Hopefully William, though she 
had seen the woman eyeing the AD a time or two.

She moved over and hovered in the doorway, peering inside. Her eyes 
found Mulder immediately, leaning against the far corner of Skinner's 
desk. His arms were crossed casually over his chest, and he was 
smiling indulgently at...

A large gray blob sitting on Skinner's lap.

"Ba, ba, ba," the blob said, and then a chubby little hand waved in the 
air before grabbing Skinner's expensive-looking silk tie and yanking 
with surprising strength, causing the AD to grunt loudly.

She would recognize that 'ba' anywhere. But what was he wearing...what 
had Mulder done to their son?

As she stepped fully into the office, Mulder turned his head towards 
her. "Hey, Scully," he said in his 'what can I do?' voice. 
"Surprise!" His expression became slightly rueful as he shrugged his 
shoulders and mouthed the word 'later'.

Kimberley, who had been crouched beside Skinner, reached out and 
apparently chucked William on the cheek with a girlish giggle, which 
made him chortle back. She then rose to her feet slowly, a big smile 
on her face. "Hello Agent Scully," she said excitedly. "This is such 
a cute costume. William looks adorable!"

Scully felt a funny little twinge - she had yet to see the full 
costume, and had not even been aware there was a costume. Until about 
one minute ago. But she smiled gamely and nodded. "Hello, Kimberley, 
and thank-you." Skinner had turned his head awkwardly to look at her, 
his face an interesting shade of red, most likely because William was 
now semi-standing in his lap, and patting his balding pate quite 
exuberantly with both hands. "Hello, Sir," she added. "I'm going to 
assume this is why I was called up here?"

"Uh...yes, Agent Scully," Skinner replied. "I'm sorry for the 
subterfuge. Kimberley thought it would be...cute...to surprise you." 
He looked and sounded uncomfortable as he said that, as if he might 
have been against the idea. "Strong grip he's got," he said then, 
trying unsuccessfully to free his tie, which William had resumed 
yanking on. The AD gave up, and instead got to his feet, one arm 
wrapped securely around William, and walked around the desk.

Scully was finally presented with a full view of her son's costume.

William was an alien. A gray alien. One of Mulder's gray aliens.

<Actually, Reticulans are gray> She remembered Mulder's dead-pan 
delivery of that line to Tom Colton years ago, when the younger agent 
had mocked Mulder's search for little green men.

She was a little surprised at the choice of the costume, given Mulder's 
not-so-distant abduction experience, but let none of her thoughts 
reflect on her face. 

Instead she concentrated on the costume itself.

It appeared to be made of Lycra, with the 'alien's' head being somewhat 
like a hat over William's own head, so that his face peeked out of a 
circular cutout in what would approximately be the alien's neck or 
upper chest. Large, almond-shaped black eyes had been sewn onto the 
alien face, along with tiny dark holes for the nose, and a line for the 
lips.

Mulder came to stand next to her, their bodies a hair's-breadth apart. 
"Your mom made it. Isn't it great?"

Actually it was quite good. "She made costumes for us when we were 
kids, " she said quietly, nostalgically. 

He leaned into her so that his shoulder nudged her arm, jostling her 
slightly. "I know. She showed me pictures." His voice was gleeful, 
amused.

"Oh, God," she whispered.

"That cheerleader one in grade eight was really cute, Scully," he 
teased.

William had started to fuss, angling his body away from Skinner, 
towards either her or Mulder, it was hard to tell. Which meant she was 
saved from replying, though her hot cheeks were probably answer enough. 
Grade eight had been a...gawky year for her.

The AD brought him over and Scully held her arms out to take him, 
laughing as she took in the alien's feet, long skinny-toed feet that 
fit over William's sneakers.

Once the exchange had been safely made, with William ba ba-ing happily, 
the AD held his hand out to Mulder. "Good seeing you again, Mulder," 
he said. "Don't be such a stranger." He looked from Mulder to Scully, 
who was turned slightly away, bouncing William up and down, although 
she kept an eye and ear tuned. "Perhaps we could meet, discuss the 
possibility of you doing a little consultation work on some cases."

Scully smiled at the eagerness she heard in Mulder's voice as he 
replied in the affirmative to his old boss, then turned back when 
Skinner said her name. "Yes, Sir?"

"Scully, why don't you sneak out of here early?" he said then, and 
surprised her by winking. "I've cleared it with your boss."

"Thank-you, Sir," she replied, smiling. "You'll let John and Monica 
know?" She was a little surprised that her two partners had not come 
upstairs - Monica had not yet met Mulder or William.

"I'll have Kimberley inform them, don't worry," the AD said.

William bounced and leaned towards Skinner then, once again saying, "Ba 
ba ba!"

The AD chucked William under the chin, saying, "Bye-bye, William."

He was more at ease with them, with William, when there was no one else 
around, Scully and Mulder had noted some time ago. It was somewhat 
discerning, while also charming, to see one's boss, and former boss, 
playing on the floor with one's child. 

"Skinner," Mulder said, when the man had straightened again, and shook 
hands once more.

On the way through Kimberley's office, they had to wait while she cooed 
at William again, and bussed his cheek. She watched smilingly as 
Scully arranged him in his stroller, sitting up so he could watch the 
world as it went by, and waved as they exited the office.

It was still early enough in the afternoon that there were many 
personnel and agents wandering the halls, and Scully was extremely 
aware that the three of them were the focus of attention.

She found herself straightening up, entering into her unflappable 
Special Agent Scully mode. Her hand had been on the stroller's handle 
as they had walked, with Mulder pushing, and she was about to release 
it when Mulder's hand lifted from its own perch on the handle to lay on 
top of hers, keeping it in place.

It brought him closer to her as well, their hips bumping companionably 
as they walked, as she was in her heels. A quick glance at him 
revealed that he was smiling pleasantly, nodding at the occasional 
passer-by.

She realized he was absolutely loving every moment of their walk down 
the hallway. That it was his way at thumbing his nose at his former 
colleagues, and at 'them'.

And she relaxed.

The glances at both their bare, ring-less hands rolled over her like 
water on a duck's back, as did the surprised faces and shocked 
whispers. She smiled, she nodded, she said hello.

She walked with pride. As did Mulder.

~~~

Margaret Scully's Residence
October 31, 2001
9:00 pm


Mulder smiled as he looked over at William, sound asleep on the floor 
with Mrs. Scully drowsing beside him.

Scully was putting away the Halloween shell-out bowls in the kitchen, 
probably sneaking the last few Caramilk bars into William's diaper bag. 
His woman was a closet chocoholic.

Quiet footfalls announced her return, and then he felt her hands slide 
around his waist as she curled herself around him from behind. "Hey," 
she said softly, rising on tiptoe to reach his ear.

"Hey back," he said, voice equally low. Although it wasn't really 
necessary to speak that way - William could sleep through a freight 
train in his room.

"You ready to go?" she asked then, her hands rubbing tiny circles over 
his belly.

"Well, actually," he began, bringing his own hands up to cover hers. 
"William's costume was only part of my surprise." Taking hold of her 
fingers, he lifted her arms and spun around, so that she was now in his 
arms, facing him chest-to-belly. He then began walking them backwards, 
away from Mrs. Scully and William.

"Oh, really?" she murmured, smiling up at him.

"Mm-hmmm," he mumbled, leaning down to nuzzle his nose against her 
cheek, sliding towards her ear. "You and I have somewhere to go 
still."

"Oh, really?" she repeated in that slightly snooty tone that always 
made him hot. She was giggling and attempting to evade his mouth on 
her ear. She gasped as she nearly stumbled in the process.

"I've got you," he whispered, and backed her against the wall. After 
insinuating one of his legs between hers, he nipped her ear and then 
sucked on the abused lobe for a second, before he leaned back and gave 
her nose an Eskimo kiss. "Yes, really," he told her.

"And where might this place be?" she asked, still snootily.

His woman was fully aware of the effect her voice had on him and 
certain parts of his anatomy. One part of which was getting verrrrrry 
interested. "Wellllll," he drawled. "Since you asked so nicely," he 
punctuated the word 'nicely' with a little rolling thrust of his hips, 
"I'll tell you."

She murmured breathily, "Oh, please do."

"I have to tell you a little story first, Scully, give you a little 
background for our destination," he said. Her eyes rolled, but she was 
smiling. Clearing his throat, he began.

"Each year on Halloween night, The Great Pumpkin rises out of the 
pumpkin patch that he thinks is the most sincere, and flies through the 
air with his pack of toys for all the good little children of the 
world."

Scully's smile had widened as soon as she heard The Great Pumpkin, and 
she was laughing by the end. "So, Linus, what are you trying to tell 
me here?"

"I thought we could go out for a late-night stroll, *Sally*," he 
replied. "And maybe I could play in your pumpkin patch," he added with 
a waggle of his eyebrows and another thrust of his hips.

"Linus!" she exclaimed, the reddening of her cheeks obvious even in the 
dim lighting of the hallway. As was the interested glint in her eyes.

"I'll even show you my Great Pumpkin," he promised.

THE END

Feedback gratefully accepted at lovesfox@rogers.com