#emmbright

Post 3 Mulder is so guilt-ridden that he accepts Tena’s “please”s to join her for Thanksgiving. On his way over he finds Scully’s French language tapes and listens to them emptily. His misery only continues with Maggie’s next call.  

Juliettt’s 

All I Want for Christmas 

“Sometimes he would pick up the phone after hearing the caller identify him- or herself.  Usually he did so when it was Margaret Scully on the other end of the line.  Funny -- he would have thought she would be the one person with whom he would be afraid to speak, but it hadn't been like that at all.  The Lone Gunmen tired him with their overly enthusiastic theories and vain attempts to cheer him.  Mrs. Scully never tried to cheer him.  She would call him when she felt particularly blue or had an idea he might be.  She was usually right.  And he would answer and sometimes they would just sit there listening to one another breathe because there was nothing to say.” 

Pre-One Breath Mulder’s birthday wish-- for Scully’s return-- turns into a Thanksgiving wish turns into a Christmas wish as he dodges invites from Maggie and mires himself in guilt. A tombstone and a phone call end his cycle. 

Lullaby 

“If he found us awake he would sing old ballads to us.  Melissa was usually asleep." 

Mulder looked at her.  "But you stayed awake," he said softly. 

Scully nodded.  "It was the one time I had him all to myself.   I grew to miss that -- even years later when we had grown apart a little.  Even after we fought about my joining the FBI.  He couldn't understand -- I don't know if he ever really understood. 

AU Post Anasazi 1-- Mulder’s return from NM is rolled into a Thanksgiving celebration (incidentally, Melissa never died so no drama.) He overhears Scully singing lullaby, and she relates how her dad used to sing it to her. Mulder later hears it himself, but decides not to mention it.

(BONUS! i.e., Part 2 of the above fic:)

Marriage- Lullaby For a New Generation 

“No, Mulder showed his affections in rather more unique and creative ways.  Up until a few months ago he had routinely accompanied her in to work for early morning autopsy calls just so she would not have to go alone, and then he would slip out and buy her an extra large mocha and a croissant to be consumed after she was finished.  He'd make certain the car was always full of fuel when he knew she would need it.  Or he would sneak home during lunch when he knew she was going to be in meetings or the lab all afternoon and put a pot of spaghetti sauce or a casserole on to cook so that when they arrived home, hungry and exhausted, there would be a hot meal waiting.  And then, if she were especially tired, he would insist on doing all the dishes instead of simply drying them as he usually did, and maybe even run her a hot bath and leave her to soak the stress of the day away.  And then, too, he gave a mean backrub. . . . 

So what if he didn't give her flowers and candy and soft music?  He gave her his love and respect and time and gratefully accepted the same from her.”

AU Post Anasazi 2-- Mulder is happily married to Scully, and loves to sneak Will from the FBI nursery to his office as much as he can. Scully overhears him singing her father’s lullaby; and stuns him with her belief when he relates his past experience. 

httpspotter’s The Key to My Heart  

““Would you hand me the key for a second? I forgot something.”

She did, a bit confused. Was he mad at something now and regretted giving her the key? But Mulder just wrote his name on a piece of paper, glued on the key with duct tape and gave back to her. “There you go.”

“Thank you” she said, softly.

Scully knew that gesture meant how much he trusted her. Mulder was trying to say it was okay for her to go without him at his apartment, to pick up a file of a case they were investigating, or anything else. If he wasn’t home, she could still go and wait for him there. It meant a lot of things, and definitely it wasn’t about the fish.” 

Post One Breath Mulder is going to be out of town for a family Thanksgiving; and gives gives Scully a key to his apartment. She sees the motive under it all, and rewards his trust with mac and cheese. 

@sunsoakd/agenderleadingplayer’s up (where the world won’t let us down)

“he notices how no one says thanksgiving, wonders if it's a nebraska thing. she still hasn't said anything and he's almost worried until she takes a sip of her cocoa and the whipped cream gives her a white mustache and he laughs, and so does she, and he reaches out with his napkin to wipe it off and underneath it all she's smiling.”

S2-5? Mulder and Scully spend Thanksgiving in a diner, thankful for each other. 

@wexleresque/hllsteeth’s thankful  

““No, uh, it’s not cold,” He says. Scully raises an eyebrow at him but goes back to eating, looking perfectly content and unbothered. Mulder squints at his plate as if it’s done something to offend him before taking an experimental bite of the stuffing, drizzled with gravy. This bite is as bad as the last, oversalted and overpeppered. He didn’t even know it was possible to add too much pepper to gravy until this very moment.”

Post Redux ii Scully is deeply embarrassed by her recovering sense of smell and inedible Thanksgiving meal. Mulder is supportive, and the two strike a deal. 

@nowwhateinstein’s (Ao3) Don’t Know Much About History 

“But no amount of complaining would change Mother Nature’s mind. She’d be spending Thanksgiving alone and away from her family this year.

A knock at the door startled her out of her melancholy thoughts. Perhaps it was her building super, come to tell her to expect power outages due to the storm. She padded over to the door in stockinged feet and opened it. She was surprised to see Mulder standing there. He held two paper grocery bags, each full to bursting.” 

Gobble, gobble, Scully,” he said by way greeting, sidestepping his way into her apartment.” 

After Post Modern Prometheus, Mulder joins Scully for Thanksgiving after her flight is snowed out and she is left behind in DC. 

Pattie’s This is The Way Thanksgiving Should Be  

“A kitchen full of women. Why was that always the case? Scully reached for a small dish of chopped parsley. "Mom, how much of this do you want in the potatoes?"

"All of it, honey.  I measured it out." Margaret Scully smiled a knowing smiled at Tara.

"Navy wives, Dana!  Remember how you grew up? So many things timed just right and organized as good as a ship?" Scully felt a longing for that sort of arrangement. A family routine. "Yeah.  I do. It's been so long. But I do have my own routine down pat. Everything is to the letter as long as there are no surprises."

S5 Mulder pretends to have something better to do, but scoots over to the Scully Thanksgiving as a surprise.

@all-these-ghosts’s (Ao3) Thankful (Ao3) 

““I don’t think my mom has the wrong impression about anything,” Scully says slowly, and he has absolutely no idea how he’s supposed to interpret that, no sir, and then she continues, “She set up the air mattress for you.”

“Right,” he says, and finally puts his bag down. “Thanks for letting me…”

Her eyes are almost soft. “Of course.””

S6 Mulder somehow gets slotted into the Scully Thanksgiving; and further didn’t expect his “Truth or Dare” to be answered honestly, if mildly. 

@softnow’s (Ao3) thankful

“It has been twenty-five years since he celebrated Thanksgiving—really celebrated—and he’s never had one like this. There were so many people crammed into Maggie’s modest house, aunts and uncles and cousins he’d never even heard of. They hadn’t all fit at the dinner table; he’d eaten on the living room floor, styrofoam plate balanced on his knee, iced tea nearly knocked over more than once by one rambunctious kid or another.

He’d told Scully he was fine, she could sit at the table with her mother and brothers, but she’d refused to leave his side.”

It’s S6? Thanksgiving, and Mulder joins Scully for her giant family gathering. He’s surprised that she wants to eat with him on the floor, and even more surprised that she is happy to do so. 

@baronessblixen’s (Ao3)

Be Brave - Chapter 1

““Mom, we work together.”

“So? He’s your friend, isn’t he?” Maggie wonders if Dana realizes that she’s scrubbed the same plate for over two minutes. It’s clean. Carefully she takes the dish from her.

“It’s just not something we talk about.” But she wants to. Dana thinks she’s hard to read, difficult to understand. Not for Maggie. She glances through the window and sees Mulder and Charlie laughing together. Even Bill looks peaceful.”  

Maggie has decided enough is enough; and pushes Scully to make a move after their peaceful Thanksgiving dinner.

Unnamed Prompt 38

“This is exactly the kind of family gathering Mulder is used to. Yelled accusations. Past missteps. Oh yes, he knows this. Except it’s not his family. And no one, for once, is yelling at him. He’s outside on the porch, the sun trying to hide, too, disappearing quickly, going to sleep. Under him the wood creaks softly. No one but him hears it. They’re in the kitchen, Scully and her brother Bill. Mulder was in there with them moments ago. He doubts either of them even noticed when he slipped outside. Out here, their voices are muffled, but he can still hear them, word for word.”

Scully and Bill are at each other’s throats. Maggie finds Mulder disturbed outside; but convinces him to come in with pie after Scully drops the “boyfriend” word.

Rainy Thanksgiving Aren’t As Bad As They Seem

“He's sated, he's tired, but most of all, he's happy. There on the couch are Jackson and Katie, their two miracles, both pretending to watch TV, both struggling to stay awake. Mulder merely smiles at them and tiptoes out of the living room to find Scully in the kitchen drying the dishes.”

Post Revival-- It’s the first Thanksgiving as a knitted-together family; and Mulder and Scully soak it in as they miss Maggie and banter freely.  

@lotsoforangesoutside’s (Ao3, Alt. Tumblr) The Turkey Special (Ao3)

“One corner of her mouth perks up as she recalls that Bill was absent from the dinner table today; her Mother gushed over Mulder for the majority of the meal and packed Tupperware after Tupperware of food for Mulder and her to enjoy later.

Somehow, her mother knows with firm convictions that they have plans to spend the rest of the Thanksgiving weekend together.”

Mulder had always been a bum at his friends’ Thanksgivings. He is moved to finally belong at someone’s-- Scully’s.

@suitablyaggrieved/ScullyLovesQueequeg’s Avoidable Feast

““That—that is a large bird,” He says, and she glances over at him, to see what he means. He points in his leather gloves to the display of frozen turkeys that are stacked precariously for Thanksgiving, which is only in a couple of days. Scully feels a slight fluttering in her belly that she dismisses immediately, but there is no quelling the thoughts that she would soon vocalize:

“It’s going to be our first Thanksgiving together as a couple,” Scully says, brushing her fringe out of her eye.”

Both Mulder and Scully have a near-miscommunication over Thanksgiving plans; but assure each other they do, indeed, want to celebrate together.

@msrpolaroidproject’s Thanksgiving with Mulder and Scully 

““I had such a wonderful holiday, Mulder,” she murmurs, “Thank you.””

Scully had to skip out on Thanksgiving with her family to spend it with Mulder. It shocks him that grateful she is to do so. 

@msrafterdark's (Ao3) home for thanksgiving

“Dana is... Dana’s different now. She seems a little firmer, a little more stoic, and he’s sure from what little she’s told him about her current line of work thta is HAS to have an effect on her. The last several years have thrown so much at this family...agruably her most of all.” 

Charlies observes his sister; and is glad she is (finally) happy.  

@jinjoint/Jintian’s Seven Days 

““Maybe if you tell me what bothers you so much about visiting her.... Won't this be the first time you've seen each other since you were in the hospital?"

"Yes. But Scully, nothing bothers --" He stops. "Fine. Something bothers me. But I want to see how it goes before I say anything."

"I want to know how it goes, too, whatever it is," she says.

"I will tell you. Soon.””

Post Amor Fati Mulder is visiting his mother for a week. He calls Scully here and there to deal with Tena’s lack of warmth (and to mildly discuss their new relationship.) His worry for his paternity comes to a head over her birthday dinner, and leaves both with a fallout uncomfortable to both. 

Blueswirl’s The Simplest Explanation 

“She doesn't have to ask who he's talking about. She knew before the words even left his mouth. An ordinary boy, his sister gets abducted... 

"If you want to look at it that way," she says, gently. "But we both know it's more complicated than that." 

"Is it?" he wonders. "Maybe it's not. Maybe it's just that simple. And, just like with Weems, everyone who gets involved in his life becomes an integral part of his luck. It's just not much fun when it's all bad."

Post The Goldberg Variation, Scully finds Mulder in a dour mood over darker reflections on cause-and-effect and luck. She insists it doesn’t reflect back on his life; and struggles alongside him on a missing girl’s case. As the anniversary looms-- on Thanksgiving that year-- and the case has no conclusion, Mulder is able to answer some questions and find a measure of peace. 

@atths--twice‘s (Ao3, Alt. Ao3, FFN)

Thanksgiving on the Run 

““Hmm, yeah,” she hummed with a nod. “Though I think I would like to find a motel tonight. With a real bed? And a toilet we don’t have to drive to?”

“Yeah. I think we could do that,” he said with a smile, looking around and noticing the decorations adorning the walls. “Hey, Scully, is it… I think it might be Thanksgiving.” 

She too looked around and then let out a deep sigh. “I think you might be right,” she said quietly....

On the run, Mulder and Scully pause their mobile living in time to catch Thanksgiving. This spills over in a beautiful visit to the botanical gardens. 

A Thankful Morning  

““What time did you say Skinner would be here?” she quietly called to him.

“Uh.. he said three, I think. He’s bringing everything and he seemed pretty excited about it,” he answered, as he poured water in the coffee pot. He added the coffee and turned it on, walking back toward the couch and sitting next to her.

“It was nice of him to offer a home cooked Thanksgiving meal. I was set on cereal and toast,” she said, looking at him again.”

Post Revival-- Mulder and Scully, proud parents of their daughter, are enjoying a nice Thanksgiving with the company of Skinner.

@agentwhalesong/sadandangstyagent’s (Ao3) The Past is the Past 

“Bill saw him as soon as he entered the living room, the person who was the very reason why his sister had been away from home for so long. Mulder was helping Maggie with bringing food to the table, smiling and making her laugh as she ordered him around. He couldn’t believe how lenient his mother was with him, even after all the mess he had made not only in Dana’s life, but also in the lives of everyone else she had relations with. Maggie had been the one to suffer the most when she realized her daughter had simply vanished, leaving only a note in her wake that said she would be fine and that no one should go looking for her. Even if she didn’t say it, they all knew it was because of Mulder, so it didn’t make any sense to Bill that Maggie didn’t seem to hold any grudges against her daughter’s partner. Maybe she knew details about their story that Bill didn’t because, ultimately, he didn’t know a lot. He didn’t know anything, actually, if he was being honest.”

Post IWTB-- Bill is tired of picking fights, and finally, simply, OBSERVES. 

@this-is-surely-tru/your_truly’s Side-Effects May Include  

““How do you feel?”

He stroked his thumbs over the skin above his eyebrows. “Hung over. Like I told you I would.”

“You hadn’t slept more than three hours a night for almost a week, Mulder,” she said. “You needed to take the pill.”

Who could sleep when there was less than a month until the end of the world? Mulder couldn’t stop the spinning, no matter how desperately he wanted to get off the ride, and they both struggled with how alternately listless and manic he’d become in the past six months.”

Post IWTB Mulder is on the brink of depression; but Scully dutifully cares for him with sleeping pills and funny, lively nephews. 

@aloysiavirgata’s (Ao3, WBM, Gossamer, LJ, Alt. LJ) Unnamed (only link)

“The dishes are stowed away, leftovers marinating in their own juices and seasonings for the days ahead. Mulder has plans for turkey stock and a cranberry granita.” 

Mulder and Scully eat themselves into an over-stuffed stupor. 

2nd Anonymous’s Unnamed

“On this thanksgiving day Mulder falls asleep, his tummy full of sweet potato and Turkey on the couch cuddling with his equally full daughter.”

S11 Mulder and his daughter nap on the sofa; but still manage to lure Jackson and Scully to join them.

@fridaysat9′s (Ao3) Just a Thursday in November 

“Melissa smiled and placed her dish stack next to the sink. “Bill never changes, does he?”

Dana laughed a little and closed her eyes. No, he did not.

“I’m proud of you, Dana,” Melissa said. “Not everyone is brave enough to change careers. And beyond that, take a step off the beaten path and work in a department and with someone that others aren’t always fond of.”

“Mulder is a good partner,” she said, sensing her sister’s concern mixed in with her praise.

“I know he is,” Melissa said. “I can feel it.”” 

The Scully family’s full Thanksgivings slowly shrink as the years pass; but Scully still finds happiness as Mulder is added to her holiday. 

Canon-Divergent or AUs 

Sukie Tawdry’s The Way Things Are (2/2)

““You and your partner spend a lot of taxpayer money on wild goose chases.  How do your superiors justify that?"   Bill Mulder asked, voice sharpened to a fine edge.  

"We've solved some serious crimes, Mr. Mulder."  Scully knew she should keep out a family dispute but she couldn't bear to hear her partner's work denigrated.

"So far, our superiors are satisfied with our progress, Dad."   Scully detected an undercurrent of anguish beneath the calm determination in Mulder's tone.  Her partner placed his fork on his plate, perhaps having lost his appetite.

Was this a typical Mulder meal?  Tension hung in the air, as if a palpable presence.  Teena Mulder kept conversation moving, undoubtedly as she'd been taught to do as a proper hostess.”  

S1-- Mulder and Scully are in a committed relationship in consequence to a surprise pregnancy. They are happy, TLG are happy, her family is happy-- but Mulder’s job continues to brutalize him in his quest for answers, and his parents remain cold and indifferent. Scully sympathy and dry wit helps patch him back together and soldier on. And all ends happily (and hilariously) throughout. Thanksgiving is the big climax of the fic, so it counts!

Love this fic, and constantly return to it (while skipping part 1 entirely-- but that’s my preference.) Mount St. Scully is a downright hilarious terror.

@broadcastnews1987/inspl0tchess‘s (Ao3) At the Close of the Day  

“She’s cold and annoyed and shoeless and she is alive, alive, alive.

She balances on one foot on the log, still holding one of Mulder’s hands. “Well,” she says, her voice soft and even, “that settles it. I’m going to have to kill you.”

The snow is coming down harder around them. Mulder wipes his eyes, and she resists the urge to stomp her sock foot at him.

“I’m sorry.” He is not. “I’ll buy you new boots.” He’ll do no such thing. “Come here.” Because that went so well last time.” 

Scully is recovered from her cancer, and is happy to spend Thanksgiving on the road with Mulder, “slotting into place.” But she immediately stops him from pedestalizing her recovery; and makes moves to seal the deal. 

@cecilysass‘s (Ao3, Gossamer)  

How to Eat Pleasant Holiday Meals With Co-Workers (Ao3) 

“The last idea makes her stomach clench ominously, bringing to mind fears she’s been holding back. What if a baby does come between them, just as he worried? What if he feels trapped by the prospect of being the actual parent of a child? Kept from the work he’s always made clear is his top priority? What if she will eventually have to set him free to raise this child on her own?

She subtly tilts her head to look at her partner, watching goofy dancing reindeer on TV. His eyes are bright and amused by the spectacle. He looks like a boy himself.” 

IVF timeline-- Scully gets the stomach flu two days after transfer, and skip her family’s meal to watch the Macy’s Parade with Mulder. Scully spends all day worrying too much about burdening Mulder with obligation; Mulder, meanwhile, is being hit the reality of a possible successful transfer. His worry for both their health stuns Scully, finally and opens a conversation between them.   

How to Eat Holiday Meals With Co-Workers - Chapter 4 (Ao3)

““Mulder.” His voice sounds broken, like an old man’s.

It’s Lionel speaking. Lionel of Lionel and Reyna, who live in the farm house adjacent to their property. Lionel and Reyna, their nearest neighbors. Lionel and Reyna, his nearest neighbors.

Lionel seems to be asking him to dinner tomorrow. Turkey, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie.” 

Mulder is depressed, alone, after his breakup. Scully won’t call, and he knows she won’t answer his calls. He tries to preserve the last ounce of dignity he has left while avoiding his neighbor’s pity invite to a Thanksgiving meal.

How to Eat Holiday Meals With Co-Workers - Chapter 5 (Ao3) 

““What if Mick sees ghosts?”

In tandem they both turn back again to watch their small daughter. She has a stick and a leaf in each hand, and she is gesturing with them, making some kind of point to a group of unseen people.

“She could be surrounded by ghosts, Scully,” whispers Mulder. “So many ghosts.

“Oh Mulder, she thinks, turning back towards him and reaching out with her fingertips to trace his face. She’s not the only one.”

Mulder and Scully and their daughter Mick-- the nickname sticking until it wore Scully down-- are enjoying a peacefully reclusive Thanksgiving in their new home on the Vineyard until he sees her talking to imaginary friends and deduces they’re ghosts. When Mick says one of them is named Samantha, Scully has to pull him aside to prevent him from losing it. 

@catarinquar’s (Ao3, WBM) of saturdays secrets and maybe-babies (Ao3)

“Mulder bites his lip. “Maybe. Tell you what, though, your brother had us figured out.” At Thanksgiving, he had liked Charlie well enough, but he’s been a little—perplexed, since. Married with kids, but not bringing them for the holiday. Showed up for his father’s burial, but not for Melissa’s. Not when Scully lay dying. Still. “I didn’t know you were so close.”

She shrugs. “Just… younger sibling solidarity.”

“Yeah?” he says, thinks, absolutely not . ... “Scully, let me see you. Tell me about Charlie.”

It is minutes before she draws back far enough for eye contact.”

Early S7 IVF timeline-- It’s the Per Manum arc and a new relationship and Thanksgiving all rolled into one. Mulder is wrapped up in silent hopes and dreams before the transfer; but once the holiday is over and the process started, his questions about her family help elucidate his own role to Scully and their future to himself.

MD1016′s (FFN) The Sins of the Father (FFN)

“I glared at Mulder until he reluctantly looked my way, and then shrugged and offered up a lame, "What?"    

"Is this where you tell us Dana has developed some sort of eating disorder, or something?" I asked, ready to nail him with the blame the moment the words came out of his mouth.  He drove her crazy, that much was clear.  She easily could have developed all kinds of psychological disorders because of her associations with this guy.    

"She's not feeling well," he said slowly, carefully.  There was no way I could miss the extra flexing he did with his jaw.   Interesting.”

S7 IVF timeline-- Bill loved both his sisters; but as the years roll on, he found he could no longer understand them. After a huge uproar at Thanksgiving over Scully’s health, he finds out how much he truly didn’t know.

JET’s (Gossamer, mulderscreek) Small Lives Awake

““Scully," he said the night before.  He was turning a tea saucer over and over in his hands.  "Really, it's too much trouble.  I'm sure your brother didn't plan for extra company."

"Nonsense.  They as much as invited you anyway when they called a month ago."

She wrung out the rag and the wire scour while soapy water glugged down the drain.

He finished putting the pans in the drawer beneath the oven and sat down at his kitchen table.

"It's one week.  You need to get away, see your family."

"You're my family too," she said in a rushed breath, as though they were arguing.

He seemed slightly startled.”

S7-- Scully and Mulder aren’t dating (yet), but she wants him to come with her to Charlie’s. There she rediscovers pieces of herself, and even finds a little X-File for her and Mulder to preoccupy themselves with on their breaks from nephew chaos and migraines from the haunted curiosity shop. All is well, and moves are made.

(*Note: I personally think our duo began dating after The Unnatural; BUT, despite the timelines, it all shakes out to not be canon-divergent, or AU. Speaking of--*) 

1st Anonymous’s Unnamed

“William’s guilty eyes cross hers ; his fingers are sticky with yam topping.”

S9 AU-- 4 year old William wants ALL the food. 

Shoshana & salliejohn‘s

Empty Place Settings  

“I was happy to do anything they asked.  I wanted and needed to see my sister.  She's the closest thing to Mom I have right now, and I miss Mom desperately.  I miss her phone calls and her visits and her advice on child rearing.  I miss her care packages and long letters. I miss everything about her, even her curt responses to my snide remarks about Mulder. 

Of course, I'm not angry at Mulder anymore.  Just at the FBI.  The military, too, I guess.  They were in cahoots against him, permitting some hastily organized kangaroo court to sentence him to death.” 

A piece from a larger S9 AU-- Bill and his family reunite with Scully and Mulder for Thanksgiving. Both Scullys bond over the painful ache of their mother’s absence (she is in hiding with William), and even manage to bridge some gaps between Bill and Mulder. 

This is such a cool series-- it works up to Bill reuniting with Scully, beach-blonde Mulder, Scully’s new research job to (hopefully) work on a vaccine with the risk of getting caught, and deep emotional connections between all the characters. 

Girlie_girl7′s

Man to Man Talk 07 

“Will fussed on the way to grandma's house but at least he wasn't screaming like he had been 12 hours earlier.

"You okay Scully?" Mulder asks as he adjusts the rear view mirror so he can see her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine Mulder but you must be dead on your feet. You walked the floor most of the night."

"It's part of the job Scully and besides I don't take much sleep."

Post Existence Mulder, Scully, and Will are sleep-deprived and battling the baby’s infection; but Thanksgiving awaits, and it’s not too bad after all.

A 40 Day in the Life

““My foot is getting better," Scully tells her son as she usually does at least four times a day but she shows him her foot anyway.  It's still swollen and slightly purple but it does look much better than it did one week ago.  William seems satisfied and takes off out the bedroom door and down the stairs.

Next to annoy Scully is Mulder.  He comes in carrying their daughter.  Scully does admit he has the baby dressed cute.  She has on her black Mary Jane's with white socks and a blue velvet dress trimmed in white lace and somehow Mulder has been able to gather up enough of her 'brother cut' hair to put a barrette on top of her head.  "You sure you feel like going, Scully?  I mean if you're tired we can stay home," Mulder says trying to weasel out of this Scully tradition, 'Thanksgiving dinner at moms'.”

Mulder and Scully have (currently) two children, a busy career, and many, many close calls. Having recently recovered from flesh-eating disease on a case, Scully just wants a relaxing Thanksgiving without Bill ribbing her or any kiddo meltdowns. She gets neither. 

@blackcoffeeandteardrops‘s (Ao3) 

Mashed Potatoes 

“She thought about his comment regarding not remembering Maggie and nudged him in the side with her elbow. “You were a baby. Despite whatever circumstances that might have occurred to allow you to recall things from back then, it’s okay that you don’t remember her, let alone anything else from before,” she said, watching the way he tapped a finger against his leg, still staring at the floor rather than at her. “And Will?” she said, drawing in a deep breath, wanting what she said next to sink in. “It’s okay if you’re not okay today. I know that we...haven’t talked about it much, and I didn’t know if you really wanted to, but if you did, that would be okay.”

William shook his head, darting his tongue out to moisten his parched lips. They had talked about his life in Wyoming some, but it was always such a tricky situation. What had happened with his adoptive parents was his own experience, but given the lengths Scully had gone through to keep him safe, he felt a connection with her he wasn’t completely sure he understood.” 

AU My Struggle 2-- This is the last part in a longer series (1/ 2/ 3/)-- Will has been settled with Mulder and Scully in the aftermath of the world being saved from the deadly virus that, unfortunately, killed Will’s parents. Thanksgiving approaches; and, while Mulder recovers strength, Scully and Will bond over honoring their lost relatives while prepping for their Thanksgiving feast. 

This series is gold. Absolutely wonderful!