#frogsmulder

Chibiness87's Transient Following a suspect into a tattoo parlour dressed as she is may appear a little unwise, but she is intrigued despite herself. The design of the ouroboros calls to her; a direct contrast to what she claimed in the office the previous day about life. Here the snake is constantly reborn, life continues on forevermore, a constant loop.

A symbol of infinity.

Of permanence.

She likes it immediately.

Never Again Scully wonders if she has cancer.

Clementinewoolysocks369's The Problem - Chapter 1 Maybe she just wants to take a normal risk for once. Maybe she just wants to reassure herself she’s alive. It’s a side effect of being one of the few people her age who has had the privilege of seeing her own gravestone. “Dana Scully. Loving daughter and friend.” Her life summed up in a few words.

Post-Leonard Betts Scully feels disconnected from life.

@bakedbakermom/lonegunga1's Ouroboros (Ao3) It was the first place Mulder ever really touched her, on that first case in his dark Oregon motel room with rain sheeting down outside, as Scully stood trembling in the candlelight and the tiny flame flickered in the warm cloud of his breath. She had trusted him enough, even then, to bare her body, and he in turn trusted her enough to bare his soul.

It is still the place he touches her the most, the place she has come to think of as “his.” 

Never Again Scully inks her rebellion.

@illaisland/manos_de_piedra's Pierce (Ao3) Viper's fang injecting slick scarlet.

She gasps, flinching. 

Never Again Scully soaks in her sensations.

MystPhile's

Never-Ever--Again This is a moment of truth. Another, and so soon after the last. My life is crowded with them these days. I stand outside our office, ready to enter for the first time since returning from Philadelphia.

All the delicious heat I'd felt when I was close to Ed Jerse was, it seems, a mere precursor to his nearly incinerating me, then toasting his own arm.

Never Again Scully ruminates on her avenging anger.

After For the tenth time, she wondered what they were doing here. It wasn't as if blood was allegedly pouring from human flesh, and she doubted that Skinner had assigned the case. Where was the *crime*? Had Mulder brought her to Philadelphia to watch her squirm? Had he chosen this bogus- looking religious case purely to poke fun at her faith? Was he really that cruel, and were they that far gone? She tried to shake off the depression this thought spread over her like a pall.

Pre-Never Again Mulder and Scully fell into bed, never talked about it, and are now grappling with her Philadelphia weekend-- in resentful silence, on a case.

@syntax6's (Gossamer, FFN, omniscribe) 20 - Chapter 4 Snow is falling again when he picks her up from the hospital. Tiny little flakes drift from the silent sky, illuminated briefly by the yellow street lamps before settling softly on the cold white world around them. Scully shivers insider her coat as she waits for him to open the locked car. Snow catches on her black shoulders and dull, burnished hair, and he barely recognizes her. The red seems muted to him now in the wake of all those pictures - her body and Jerse's, catalogued as evidence.

Never Again Scully, injured, asks for help.

defnotmeyo's It's My

And it’s the with who that driving you particularly crazy, right?  Because you kind of think that maybe if Ed Jerse wasn’t completely off his rocker, he might be a little bit better than you.  He was certainly more stable, outwardly, despite the failed marriage. He was certainly suaver, getting her to open up to him.  He was certainly at least as good looking as you, a little more ripped, a little bulkier.

That goads you, doesn’t it?

Never Again Mulder can't finish his sentence.

@mldrgrl's (Ao3) Seeing Red “Get out, Mulder,” she mumbles, trying not to move her lips too much. Blood seeps into her mouth anyway and she grimaces at the coppery tang on her tongue.

“Keep your head back,” he answers, as though he didn’t hear her. He turns the faucet on and turns to the paper towel dispenser.

“I said get out!” she says again, and the force of her voice causes the blood on her lips to splatter on the sink and mirror.

Mulder freezes with a paper towel fluttering in his hand. 

Post-Never Again Scully has a nosebleed (in front of her partner.)

@thursdayinspace's (Ao3) fic: five times Mulder doesn't ask Scully out on a date (and one time he does) (Ao3) She’s right to be mad at him. He deserves it. He’s mad at himself. He doesn’t know if he’s ever been angrier.

Amongst other opportunities thoroughly fumbled, Mulder misses a glaring one during Never Again.

@incidental-ao3/incidental's

Febuwhump 2023: The Truth is Out There (And the Fic is In Here) - Chapter 8 But eventually, the yawn came, unbidden, and he reached for the remote.

“You don’t have to do that,” she said hurriedly. He had already flipped it off.

“Nah, you need your beauty sleep,” he joked. He turned his lamp off, but she hesitated.

“Uh, Mulder, can I… can I confide something in you?” she asked, setting her book aside. He propped himself up on his elbow, brow crinkled.

Post-Never Again Scully is plagued by night terrors.

Nothing Else Matters “You… are all that I care about, Scully. All. Nothing else matters without you.”

“Oh,” was all she could manage to say in response. It was disarming, how quickly the energy between them had changed.

AU-- Post-Never Again Mulder and Scully yell out their anger (and finally, finally communicate.)

Diana Alexander's The Vain Shadow of the Past He walked over to Scully's desk, and she looked up at him as he spoke softly. "I'm sorry, Scully."

Post-Never Again Mulder reflects on their complicated relationship.

@frogsmulder/Brynstein's Love Me Tender The shadow of Phoebe Green was his ghost. He had collected others since, they always seemed to follow him, stitched to his heel. But Phoebe had been his first. In every sense of the word. When they had been together she had completely and utterly shattered him. In a way that was both exhilarating and terrifying, but now it was just terrifying. Or so he tried to tell himself.

Post-Never Again Scully realizes Mulder is afraid.

@jessahmewren's (Ao3) Mulder & Scully, #15 Scully watched he scenery slide by in green/blue flashes. They’d been driving for ages. Her tattoo itched, but she couldn’t discreetly scratch it without Mulder noticing, and it was still a sore spot for him.

Ed Jerse was a sore spot for him.

Post-Never Again Scully is ready for a fight.

@suitablyaggrieved/ScullyLovesQueequeg's #4 Come Here, Let Me Fix It For You “Thank you,” She said that lowly, as if forbidden, and that’s when Mulder noticed it. Her cross was not on her neck.

“Scully, what happened to your necklace?” He asked.

“It broke. After all these years, and you wearing it some, it finally broke."

Post-Never Again Mulder does his best to fix things (literally.)

@just-a-donut-who-reads/just_a_donut_who_reads's Unnamed Pacing done, she stands on her toes, arms above her head, stretching her shoulders and mid-section and twists at the waist, allowing the tension to seep out of her body. The action makes her cropped sweatshirt ride up, and from the corner of her eye, she can see Mulder's eyes following its hemline. Suddenly, he looks away, and his hands tighten almost imperceptibly on the cushion he's holding. Scully lowers her arms and turns to him.

"What?" She asks, examining her abdomen. He shakes his head but she continues, lifting up the back of the sweatshirt and twisting to look at her back. 

Oh.

Post-Never Again Mulder glimpses his partner's tattoo.

@scullysexual/PostApocolypticAlien's

30 Ways To Say "I Love You" (1/30)/How It Was Before. - Chapter 1 You return from the little café down the road and venture over to her area.

“It was two sugars, right?” you ask.

Startled, she glances up at you and the coffee cup in your hand.

Post-Never Again Mulder apologizes.

A Ghost Inbetween It's a tiny dab of red. You could of easily missed it, would of if you were anyone but yourself yet, either way, you wouldn't miss anything when it relates to her, especially recently. Recently something had been very off with her if the last case was anything to go by.

Post-Never Again Mulder sees blood on Scully's shirt.

Michelle Kiefer's The Bar Scene - Race the Wind When she raised her eyes, Mulder's smug look had been replaced with concern and perhaps a little guilt.

Post-Never Again Scully and Mulder aggravate each other on their next case.

@aloysiavirgata's Snow Carefully Everywhere Descending (LJ) Mulder eyes her sidelong; her height requires her to shimmy to the edge of the tall stool and hop down in an undignified fashion. He watches her stride through the room - linoleum the color of old computers, of old bones - and resents the pairs of eyes that follow her dark, trim figure. They have no idea about her, he thinks. They can’t possibly begin to imagine her, the complexity of the brain cloistered behind that bruised and lovely face. They cannot fathom the things her sea-deep eyes have watched unfold.

Post-Never Again Mulder and Scully, prickly still, begin to slowly open up.

@h0ldthiscat's (Ao3) 7 (things you said while we were driving)  She shoves the sunshade back up and clears her throat. “Can we go?”

He notices for the first time that her eyes are wet, that her chin is quivering despite her best attempts to control it. Remorse and guilt wash over him as he remembers an offhand comment from earlier in the week that explains her makeup, her nicer-than-usual suit, the set of her jaw."

Post-Never Again Mulder realizes Scully feels used.

AUs

@seepunkrun/Punk/runpunkrun's (site, Gossamer) Across a Desk (Ao3) She waited to see what he would do. It occurred to her that he wasn't going to say anything on his own. She had to decide if it would be worth it to flush him out of his hole.

Foxhole.

Something in her appreciated how much that remark could hurt him. She held that power inside of her: She could hurt Mulder.

AU-- Post-Never Again Scully's tattoo can talk.

@writingwell/RocketMan's (site) I Hurt "Scully, did you hear me?"

I shake my head no. I hurt, I hurt, I hurt, I hurt

"Scully, would you like to have dinner with me tonight?" he asks.

AU-- Post-Never Again Scully, still saddened from the Tunguska-Terma fiasco, is shocked by Mulder's question.

Brandon D. Ray's (Gossamer, xffics) No Place Like Home (Gossamer) "Tell you what, Scully," her partner said as the chuckles finally died down. "You ever decide you DO want a tattoo, give me a holler and we'll go get one together, okay? We need to spend more time social time together relaxing, anyway -- the stress is getting to both of us."

AU-- Never Again was all a dream.

@swinging-stars-from-satellites/bravest_person_in_Wonderland's even more of exactly the same (Ao3) It might hurt too much to acknowledge that she walked away from her best friend of four years over a stupid fight, a pointless desk and the point of a needle dripping ink into her skin. A part of her misses him, the part that wakes up panicking and praying she won't find blood on her pillowcase, but another part is still angry.

He has no claim on her. She has no claim on him. That makes her sad.

AU-- Post-Never Again Scully leaves without a goodbye... and calls again after her diagnosis.

BONUS

@kateyes224's Mulder’s real panic face. Whatever you do, do not think about how Mulder had answered Scully’s phone call early that morning with one of his usual pithy Mulderisms, eager to regain a tenuous balance with her after she had reduced him to ashes and unfinished sentences in the wake of the Ed Jerse case.  Don’t think about how Mulder’s face fell as the words “Can you meet me at the oncology ward?” slowly floated into his ears, his smile fading, as it took his brain several long moments to play catch-up before the words actually made sense.

Post-Never Again Mulder is given bad news.

Meredith's Backhand Her life was his as much as his was hers. And she was waiting to tell him until after she was dead.

Two and a half days of nonstop searching and five hours in a variety of uncomfortable chairs had brought him to his knees. He had been moving so fast for so long that the reality of the situation hadn't sunk in; his brain had been processing the facts nonstop since Scully's call back in D.C., but his heart hadn't been able to keep up.

Memento Mori Mulder understands Scully's Philadelphia excursion.

@cecilysass's We’re Not Here To Get Involved in Personal Problems - Chapter 6 “Blood-related sexual activity!” Scully finds herself getting belatedly frightened and angry. “Mulder, did HIV/AIDS cross your mind?”

“I guess I probably forgot to review the pamphlets that night. Hey, maybe you can tell me for the future, Dr. Scully, how safe are kinky contaminated tattoo needles?”

Scully notes by the bright quality in his eyes that he is a little angry, too, and she questions if Mulder’s fear monster theory is right after all. 

Post-X-Cops Mulder and Scully walk the neighborhood, eat mangoes, and delicately discuss past trysts.

@leiascully's tattoo He grazed the snake on her back with one fingertip. She could hear the question in his quiet.

Hearts now open to each other, Mulder and Scully discuss her tattoo.

CONCLUSION

Thanks for reading~

And now...and now, she sits at the empty breakfast table on a bleak Saturday morning, nursing an empty coffee cup and watching him emerge from his office for the first time in what must be three days and not even look at her as he mounted the stairs, unable to remember the last time he touched her.

She wonders idly how much of it is her fault as she stares at the blank page before her and rolls the heavy weight of her fountain pen between her fingers. He gave it to her, a ‘congratulations on completing your residency’ gift, and it’s spent the best part of the last five years in her breast pocket, close to her heart. Maybe she’d not spent enough time checking in on him, maybe she’d not noticed the early signs of him slipping away. Maybe she’d pulled away too, her own way of keeping herself safe and sound, her own way of protecting herself from thoughts of the darkness, thoughts of their past and...and thoughts of William. Maybe she’d not been there for him enough, noticed he’d been struggling and rationalised his pain as warranted, as justified, for his part in their loss.

His name scrawls in her ink, a name she’s written thousands of times on the bottom of case reports and throughout her diaries, and her heart screams at her, tells her to stop, to reconsider. But her bags were packed and by the door, and he hadn’t even noticed.

She tells him that it’s neither of their faults, that some part of her will always love him, but that she just can’t live in his silence anymore. She lists the names and numbers of a couple of doctors he might suit. Tells him to call if he needs anything. Signs her name with a kiss.

Her bags were packed and by the door, and he hadn’t even noticed.

Tagging @today-in-fic

Perchance to Dream

Like a cat, he scooted over until he found a patch of sun and turned his face toward the brightness, closing his eyes with a little smile of pure pleasure. She almost expected to hear him purr.

"Call if you need anything."

"Mmm hmm," he replied, already half-asleep. As she pulled the door partway closed, she marveled that this was the same man who had previously existed on two hours of rest a night.

But he wasn't the same man. No matter how desperately she wanted him to be, his experience had profoundly changed him physically and she would no doubt see other, more subtle changes in his personality as he recovered.

AU-- Post-Deadalive Mulder doesn't want to be hovered over (especially after burial nightmares.)

Duet

I put my hand over the gentle mound of my stomach.

He hasn't asked me about it yet, but he knows. I've seen the questions in his eyes, questions he is too afraid to ask, so he tells me knock-knock jokes instead.

AU-- Post Deadalive Mulder is crackin' jokes and coppin' feels.

Impasse (txt)

Mulder had always been obsessed with his search, single-minded and occasionally downright rude to anyone who dared question him or get in his way. But since he had come back to her, after those hazy hours in the hospital when he'd done little more than smile at her whenever he was awake, he'd been driven beyond reason. He was suspicious, paranoid, and seemed to care very little that he'd been given a second chance at life.

Or maybe he cared too much.

Three Words Scully and Mulder have a necessary conversation after the DOD raid.

2:00 A.M.

"I can't sleep. I've been asleep for three months. I don't want to lose any more time."

"Mulder, not that I'm not fascinated by what happened to you, and grateful you're back...but why aren't you talking to Scully about this?"

"I can't talk to Scully."

Post Three Words Frohike gets Mulder's head in the game.

Out of the Shadows

The siren screams through his restless sleep and he jerks upright like a puppet yanked by invisible strings, his own scream ripped from his throat in a human echo of the sound. For a moment he doesn't know where he is or who he is, lost in the suffocating cloak of darkness, still tangled in the suffocating folds of the nightmare. The sound of his own breathing rasps in his ears, uneven, half-sobbing as his lungs beg for air, more air, there's not enough air...Somehow he staggers to the window and throws it open, shivering as the early spring breeze dries the sweat on his skin.

His heart pounds against his chest as if trying to escape his body. His arms and legs tingle with the rush of adrenalin, his muscles trembling like a racehorse's just before the gate opens, awaiting the brain's command to run, to fight.

Post Three Words Mulder finally calls Dr. Karen Kosseff.

In the End

In the end, there wasn't a lot to show for all the years of hard work.

Post Vienen Mulder packs up his office, weary.

Opening Doors 02

"Mulder, what are you doing?"

"I'm looking for that alien head mug I gave you a couple of Christmases ago."

"Any particular reason? I have a lot of other mugs, if you want coffee."

"No, I just wanted to see if it was still here."

Alone Mulder and Scully discuss the keychain (and other domestic matters.)

ML’s (xffics)

Do You Know?

My body still feels like it's not quite my own to command. It's like a block of stone, or ice. When you touched me, I wanted to touch you back, but I couldn't summon the strength. I could barely move my fingers to let you know I was aware of your presence. My eyes felt weighted shut somehow, until I heard the sudden intake of your breath and I had to see your face, make sure this wasn't a dream. I had to make sure you knew you weren't dreaming, too, so of course the first words out of my mouth were a joke. Whatever They took from me, they left me my sick sense of humor. I would like to say something reassuring to you, but all I can muster is a small smile. I want to keep my eyes open and look at you, a sight I've been deprived of for far too long.

Post-Deadalive Scully tells Mulder in the hospital.

Found Faith and Lost Time

I give her a big smile as she catches my eye. "Hi, Mom," I greet her.

She looks a little crestfallen. "You KNOW? Did you know last night?" she asks me.

Skinner answers first. "I let it slip. I thought he already knew," he explains. "I'm sorry, Dana." He takes the box out of her hands.

He's calling her "Dana"? I'm no longer sorry I called him Walter.

AU-- Post-Deadalive Skinner breaks the news to a giddy Mulder.

Far Away, So Close

At first, he thinks it's stuff reclaimed from when his apartment was searched. He wonders how Scully got hold of it so fast. He hopes she didn't do what he would have done, such as swiping it out of evidence storage.

Upon closer inspection, though, he sees that all the dates are from after his abduction. He sifts through the piles, picking up an article about the Presidential election he missed, and a videotape entitled, "Subway Series, vol. 1." It looks to him like Scully has done her best to give him back his missing time.

Three Words Mulder begins to struggle post-resurrection after overhearing the doctors discussing his "death."

155 Words - Dermatology

It took only moments. The blemish was small. The scrapings went into a specimen case. I dabbed the small amount of blood welling at the site.

"All done?" he asked.

"Yes. I'll have the results back in a few days, but I can say with confidence that finding any abnormalities will be highly unlikely."

Post Three Words Mulder gets his mole scraped.

Betwixt and Between

"Scully?" he says again after several heartbeats.

"I'm here, Mulder," she whispers, as if speaking aloud might scare him away.

Several more heartbeats.

"I'm sorry I bothered you," she hears him say. His voice sounds rusty, unused to speaking.

"Mulder, it's okay," she says quickly. Don't hang up, she thinks. Please don't hang up.

"I just. I just wanted to hear your voice," he says.

Post Three Words Scully and Mulder are both afraid.

The Tease

I was still working, though Mulder and everyone else kept telling me it was time to stay home. But until I could see Mulder completely reinstated, I felt I couldn't go. Mulder was going in to work, checking out leads, and generally making a nuisance of himself in ways that couldn't possibly help him get the X-Files back. In other words, he was behaving pretty normally.

Except that his heart didn't really seem to be in it. He investigated promising leads, and tried to hector Agent Doggett into following up on them, but he didn't seem as keen on going out in the field as he once was.

Post-Empedocles Scully gives Mulder to slip back into her life, at his own pace.

Pattie's When You Call for Me in Your Sleep

The tests must have been excruciating. I can only see the scars that still linger from their procedures. My efforts to prevent the further damage that was growing inside you have left scars. But what are marks on the epidermis compared to the horrible memories etched into your mind and soul? Mere badges you have earned. Symbols that you did not join the deceivers.

Post-Deadalive Mulder and Scully struggle along.

@alldolleduppink-blog's Reditum

When he was exhumed and she saw evidence of his chest rising, he was dependent on breathing apparatus and there was no clear sign of when or that he would wake up at all. Perhaps, this is such a vivid dream it's convincing enough for her to believe that he's conscious and speaking. She's had those kinds of dreams before only to be tormented by the reality that he wasn't even there. He was lost and then dead. He was missing for months. The state of decomposition to his body indicated several days of exposure to the elements when he was found and he was discarded like trash in that desolate field.

Post Deadalive-Three Words Scully scrambles to unlock Mulder's "normal" side after his PTSD kicks in. 

@settle-down-frohike/settledownfrohike's

Sensory Integration (Tumblr)

He hasn’t told her this for fear she’d have kept him incarcerated, but he’s still fighting waves of nausea induced by the sensation of free fall every few minutes. His stomach rolls end over end, as if on the downslope of a rollercoaster. His feet still don’t feel as if they’ve touched ground, which is ironic for a man who was 6 feet under its surface not 36 hours ago. He feels suspended above this world, tethered only by the clinical tone of her voice as she catalogues his condition. It is the only thing that feels like home right now, and God, he wants to be home, he does, but he’s an apparition, a ghost of himself, floating along a tour of his own life like Ebenezer Scrooge.

Only people don’t talk directly to ghosts about their scars and miraculous healing and their perfect health. 

Three Words Mulder is a man puppeted by shredded adrenaline and automatic impulses.

Magneticus

“Mulder, aren’t we supposed to have a wedding ring for this?” And the unintended double meaning isn’t lost on him. He can tell Scully is regretting the phrase immediately by the fact that she’s now holding her breath.

“You can use a needle too, Scully. Hold still.” Her eyes follow his hand warily as it stretches towards her cheek. “OW!!” He comes away with a single amber stand and carefully threads the eye, double loops it and dangles above her swollen middle. They wait. She sighs heavily.

“Mulder…”

“You know this practice isn’t without scientific theory Scully.” His voice has taken on that nasal quality it tends to when he’s talking mostly to himself.

Post-Empedocles Mulder discovers the sex of his son.

Prompts (Short Reads) - Chapter 3

She can't bring herself to look at him.

….because she knows he’ll hate the answer. A fitful, heavy-breathing nightmare has him probing and she knows he’ll never let up. 

Post-The Truth Scully wakes from a nightmare.

FabulousMonster's It's Been Awhile

It's getting worse.

Any touch, any incidental contact overpowers me. I don't tell anyone. The only fear greater than my phobia is remaining in the hospital. I am desperate to reclaim my life, to plant my feet in the real world once again.

I tell myself that the X-Files and Scully need me.

The truth is *I* need to be needed again.

Post-Deadalive through post-Existence Mulder and Scully work through their traumas individually and together, alongside their allies and friends.

Innisfree's

Flicker

What does it take to break a man? How many times do you have to beat him before his spirit finally dies? How many days and nights can you treat him as an object before he begins to see himself as less than human? How many things can you take from him before what's left ceases to be enough?

He is considering, trying to fix upon the exact moment when he gave up.

Three Words Mulder is disgusted at his "ugliness."

Falter

"You're not gonna fit on this couch, Scully. So if you're planning on staying the night, you'd better take the bed."

He lifts his head to find her standing perfectly still by the television. She appears to him like a statue, every muscle that is visible in the dim light rigid and still. There is a glint in her eye, but he can't be sure if it's just a reflection, or if it's something more.

"They almost killed you tonight."

AU-- Post-Three Words Scully insists on having it out.

@scapegrace74-blog/scapegrace74's The Ocean Breathes Salty

The ocean breathes salty, Scully.

It sighs and gasps on these dark rocks until my face is painted with its tears and it’s the closest thing to grief that I’ve felt since my return from six feet under.   There’s a gritty layer of rust inside me as well; in my head, my heart, my soul. None of them work as they should.  The ancient Inca embalmed their dead with salt, you know.

Three Words Mulder feels like he's failed.

@frogsmulder/Brynstein's The Anchor that Floats

As soon as the door clicked closed behind Scully, his apartment suddenly felt simultaneously very big and very small. Like the walls were closing in around him, but the room felt empty, too large for only his presence, and he could feel the walls reel away from him, swamping him in his insignificance. The push and the pull of the walls battled with every inhale and exhale he made, like reality was warping. The reality he knew was different. Things had changed without him and still they continued to change, leaving him behind in the dirt. He blinked, and as soon as he did, he knew it was a mistake. The world turned to black like drowning in a deep sea. And then he was back there again, on the ship bright light and drilling instruments his only company. And then he was back in the room but not really. And then he blinked. And then the darkness.

AU-- Three Words Mulder runs after Scully into the hallway, panic attack in full swing.

Lolabeegood's (mulderscreek) The Silent Spaces

"Scully, I want you to expect more of me." He said as he leaned toward her.

"Mulder, you can want that until the cows come home but, you need to back up that desire with action and...and I don't think you're willing to do that."

"This baby is mine, yes?" He asked as he softly placed a hand on her belly.

"Yes," she said quietly.

Three Words Mulder feels safe enough to take his feelings out on Scully.

Shoshana's After Dinner

Leftovers had been refrigerated or disposed of as the case might dictate; all eating utensils, stemware, tableware either washed and put away or were being processed at that very moment. A comfortable silence had ruled for the last few minutes as she dunked and scrubbed and he dried and polished.

He could have left well enough alone. He could have waited, could have allowed her to tell all tomorrow, perhaps the next day. He couldn't.

Three Words Mulder and Scully share a bubble of domesticity.

David Stoddard-Hunt's

Zombies in a Newer Age

So, my working hypothesis is "zombie."

If so, all my prior notions about zombies are being shot to hell. I'm not hungry, even though I'm under doctors' orders to eat high protein to gain weight. I can't drink until I'm off the current course of anti-virals but, even then, I'm not really sure that I'll touch a drop. Dancing? Only to the real Elvis. And I'm not even going near the next part. On that score, my options seem to have been reduced from one to none during my absence.

Maybe I'm a zombie who doesn't have a lighter, gentler side.

Three Words Mulder realizes Scully never gave up on him.

No, but . . .

Yo, Nurse. Right over here. I'm the not-in-the-widely-understood-sense-of-husband husband. Scully and I have been together for eight years, minus small amounts of missing time, a couple of months off each for alien abductions, oh, and the recent period I've already mentioned in which I was severely life-force impaired. Well, and some estrangement through that whole Diana mess a couple of years ago, but we worked through that.

Empedocles Mulder navigates the hospital in his own way.

secondsflat/whithersoever's Samsara

As a kid, he used to have this cheap plastic camera with a viewfinder, and it made all the pictures he took look washed-out and off by an inch. That’s how his apartment looks now, he thinks. Like one of those poorly composed photographs. Or maybe it’s more like an elaborate Egyptian tomb, with all of the things he loved in his life Before arranged carefully and artfully around him, but by other people. A monument to his death. They’d re-created Martin Luther King’s hotel room in a museum after he died, too, right down to his breakfast, half-eaten on a tray. He'd always thought that was kind of weird.

Scully stands very still against the wall. They don't let you touch things in museums.

Three Words Mulder and Scully both feel guilty.

zulu’s Musings of a Knocked-Up FBI Agent

When his eyes had opened, it was as though the shutters on a window to a different life had been opened. Something had been there--something so far removed from their work, from his ceaseless quest, that it was almost alien. But with his first words, it had disappeared, as though some ghost had twitched a curtain back into place. They had fallen into the superficial patterns of partnership.

Three Words Scully and Mulder struggle through his anger and her loneliness.

@sixhours/6hoursgirl's (FFN) We Aren't Meant to Sleep Alone (Ao3)

“They’ll take you back at VCU. Skinner said as much…you have to apply, go through recertification, but—”

He winces. “I’m not interested.”

“The X-Files isn’t the only way to help people, Mulder. Your experience as a profiler is invaluable—”

He shakes his head. “No. The X-Files were my work, my life,” he says. “They can’t take that away and expect me to come crawling back to beg for table scraps.”

“Ours,” she says, feeling a twinge of anger at his stubborn insistence. “It was our work, our life. And I’m sorry that’s no longer the case, but Mulder, things change. People change.”

“Some of us didn’t have a choice,” he says, his eyes cold.

“You said it yourself,” she says, hating the rise in her voice. “The personal costs were too high.”

AU-- Three Words Mulder and Scully struggle through the FBI's refusal to reinstate, Mulder's (accurate) suspicion that Scully didn't want him reinstated, and her (righteous) frustrated floundering to get him to reconnect and stay.

Cathey Scully's It's been Awhile

Bits and pieces of his memory were missing. Mostly memories from right before he went missing, but somewhere in there, he'd try to think of the past and would come up blank. There was one thing he knew could never in a million years forget, the feel of Scully in his arms.

Mulder sat down heavily on his couch, his hand scraping roughly over the tender spots on his face. He barely felt the pain. It hurt more than anything to think about Scully. He felt deep blinding pain thinking about her.

Post-Three Words Mulder knows he has a place in Scully's life, but can't bring himself to accept it (yet.)

@lokisgame/Lokisgame's

Thumbelina And The Nocturnal Flower - Chapter 4

“What am I, Scully?” His voice was low, the blunt honesty took her by surprise, cutting straight to the core of her fear....

Three Words Mulder is terrified he's not himself.

A Buzzing Sound

Scully kept her chant, forcing the fear and memories away. She knew the feeling well, she couldn’t stand even a thought of visiting the dentist for over a year after being returned from her abduction and she still jumped slightly when she heard the drill start. She had to constantly remind herself that she’s present and in control, that it’s just a filling and there’s nothing sinister about it.

“You’ll have to do it” he mumbled into the small space he was getting used to sharing with her growing baby belly.

“Mulder” she said slowly, trying to spread out the sting of denial.

“Please Scully, you’re the only one I can trust right now” he was trying to move closer, as if the baby would somehow back him up.

Post-Three Words Scully (via Maggie) helps Mulder trim his hair.

@peacenik0's (Ao3) Where I Belong

He feels how expectant she is around him, but also how she holds back because she doesn’t want to overwhelm him. Her uncertainty hangs heavy on her shoulders. Mulder wants to reassure her, but how can he, when he so unsure himself? “I hope you’re hungry.”

He is in this strange state of feeling absolutely ravenous for anything he can get his hands on. And alternately sick to his stomach over the shambles he finds his life in.

Post-Three Words Mulder and Scully reconnect over burgers.

muldersboyishenthousiasm's Foundation Powder

‘What are you doing...?’ she asked. But she already knew what he was trying to achieve.

He held her gaze from where he was standing in front of the mirror. He was bent over the sink, holding her foundation powder in one hand and a damp tissue in the other. His expressive hazel eyes told her all she needed to know. She observed him while he put down the makeup material and turned to face her.

Post-Three Words Mulder tries to cover up his scars.

Dawn's (Ao3, Gossamer) Harbor (Ao3)

"You were my safe place, Scully. My one reason to hang on when all I wanted to do was let go."

I struggle to speak around the boulder in my throat, tightening my embrace when the words simply won't come.

"I'd imagine I was here with you, in this bed. The feel of your skin against mine. The smell of your hair..." Mulder's fingers falter and when he resumes speaking his voice is rough with unshed tears.

"After a while...it got harder and harder to remember. Your name was all I had left, and I was so afraid they'd take that, too."

Post-Three Words Mulder and Scully, nightmares and universal invariants.

@mctaminy/McTaminy's Scars

Mulder ran four fingertips up the length of her spine, feeling each notch of her vertebrae. She stirred awake, letting out a sleepy hum, but didn’t roll over. Her hair was longer and thicker than when he’d left, and he brushed it gently aside, hoping to touch and count the twin scars at the nape of her neck, one from the chip’s removal, the other from its replacement. But his caresses stopped. Just below her cervical notch was a longitudinal cicatrix. It lay straight along her spine and was at least 4 inches in length, edged with smaller pinpoint scars, stitch marks. He touched it lightly then withdrew his hand, an ache building behind his Adam’s apple.

Post-Three Words Mulder discovers Scully's new Roadrunner scar.

@starwalker42's (Ao3) febuwhump day 20: knife wound

It’s strange, having Mulder back. She’d always known once he returned that it wouldn’t go back to how they were before; she knew, now, what he’d been hiding from her all of last year, and they had a baby (they had a baby) on the way, and he was still processing how much time he’d lost. The first few weeks were rough, but they’re through those now and… well, even if it’s not back to normal, it’s good. Strange, but good.

Post-Three Words Mulder soaks in being "home"-- until he sees Scully's Roadrunner war wound.

Hang a Shining Star (Ao3)

Thanks to my admittedly rusty tree-decorating skills, it took me nearly an hour to get the lights just the way I want them. One good yank from that pint-sized fist and I'll be back to square one. I harden my heart to soulful wet eyes and hiccuping sobs, pulling out every toy in Will's considerable arsenal as a futile attempt at distraction. Ten minutes later rattles and stuffed animals are scattered across the floor like land mines but his sweaty, flushed face and increasing decibel level indicate he's not yet begun to fight. Despite that angelic face, Will possesses the tenacity of a pit bull when he wants something.

I think he gets it from Scully.

I eventually go for the big guns and heat a bottle. 

AU-- S9 Mulder is a new father and Christmas enjoyer... and not sure if he's entitled to a happy ending.

Beduini/beduini's Legitimate

Scully exhales, the sound barely audible but the delivery enough to warrant a quick sidelong glance over at her. Under his scrutiny, her hand rests on the swell of her abdomen and her brow is slightly furrowed in thought. Lips pursed, her eyes focus inward.

Quarters at Hotel Scully are getting tight.

He is leaning forward, elbows resting on his knees. His hands form a steeple in front of his lips, tapping, and he glances up at the institutional clock mounted on the wall. Ten minutes have passed.

AU-- Post-Vienen Mulder and Scully hit up the courthouse, flashing back-and-forth between her past sorrow and his present anxiety.

Lorri's Your Father's Child (mulderscreek)

Mulder has been back for exactly 32 days, 4 hours and 51 seconds. I am 4 days from my due date and we are making each other crazy. I know, I didn't think it would be possible either. I thought I'd be so elated to have him back that I'd never complain about him again. That lasted exactly 11 days, 9 hours and 22 minutes. At that moment he asked me for the 1,000th time if it was time to go to the hospital. He has had my bag packed and ready to go for three weeks. Last night I had to break into it to get a clean bra. He immediately re-packed everything and set it just exactly in the same spot, right near the door.

Part 3 of the "Wait Until Your Father Gets Home" series: S8 Scully is driven to distraction by Mulder's attentiveness as her due date approaches. 

xraelynn/Rachel Nobel's Clearing

Wordlessly, I reached into my wallet and pulled out the photo I'd been carrying for weeks. I didn't need to look at it to know exactly what he would see: Liam with his wispy red hair, so like Scully's. A grin that exposed his front teeth. The New York Yankees overalls Scully had purchased for him. Mulder's face was impossible to read as I passed it to him, but as soon as he looked at it his face seemed to crumple. Two fingers absently stroked the glossy surface of his son's face.

"He looks like her," he breathed despite himself.

"Scully always insisted he looked like you."

Mulder looked up at me, his eyes somehow hooded and wild. "Is he..."

"Agent Mulder, I know this is hard for you," I interjected. Agent Mulder. The words slipped out before I could help myself -- before I remembered that the man sitting in front of me was not Agent Mulder but the shell of him.

Mulder shook his head fiercely. "No, it's not hard," he said brusquely. "It's not hard, it's impossible."

AU-- Post-Requiem Mulder is returned years later: father to a son, widow to his partner.

Jenna Tooms/misslucyjane’s (mulderscreek) An Acceptable Level of Happiness

I lay Malcolm in his crib, trying to think of something to say. I stay at the crib, holding Malcolm's hand and watching him sleep. I say softly, "Someday we're going to have to explain to him why his daddy won't go swimming with him or why he wears long sleeves at the beach."

Mulder doesn't say anything for a moment, then he shoves the bureau so hard a bottle of lotion tumbles off, the mirror wavers and my jewelry box falls over. "We'll tell him his daddy's too ugly," he says shortly.

AU-- Post Existence Scully and Mulder (and baby Malcolm) sift and sort a life together as their first Christmas approaches.

maybe_amanda's (LJ) Under Construction (xffic)

Hers was the only story that made sense, of course - we had defeated the Supes; she had found the vaccine; I was holding a Bob the Builder backpack, so William clearly hadn't gone anywhere. Frohike had only lifted an eyebrow and told me to quit weirding him out the day he showed up at the front door and I poked him in the shoulder four or five times trying to determine whether or not he was a ghost. And as far as I could ascertain from speaking to Gibson, to Skinner, to Doggett and Reyes, the threat of alien colonization - from without and within - had really and truly been laid to rest.

We'd saved the world. And the FBI was still paying my salary.

Fox Mulder, this is your happy ending.

Try telling my brain that, though. It stubbornly refused to listen.

AU-- The world is saved sometime during the events of Season 9; and Mulder is returned, riddled with PTSD and hallucinations. He, Scully, and William stumble progressively forward, miscommunication and handsome men with trucks cluttering up their happily ever after.

Thanks for reading~

AweburnPhoenix's Every Monday

"Two large, thank you," Scully ordered once they reached the end of the line. "Oh, make one decaf," she added. 

Mulder smiled for a second. It would be hard for her to adjust, that was for sure. Probably even more difficult for him. Cranky, no-caffeine, morning Scully was not something he was looking forward to. But they would manage. It was for a good cause."

Post Monday Mulder is certain that the IVF took, not letting Scully's nerves dimmer their hope. Pam's legacy lives on.

@crossedbeams/CrossedBeams's Pink (Ao3)

"Look inside.’

Mulder had forgotten about the bag, and in the minute he’s been holding it has managed to reduce to top to a sweaty, balled-up mess. It takes him thirty seconds to open it and another thirty to process what’s inside. As he fumbles, Scully’s agitation grows. He can feel her gaze boring into him as he reaches into the paper sack and pulls out the contents.

‘Well?!’ Scully’s voice is as crumpled as the paper. ‘What does it say?’

Mulder looks down at the three pregnancy tests in his hands. He’d thought she was going to the doctors on Monday. He’d been dreading it. The last judgement on a last chance.

Scully bangs her way into Mulder's apartment, hyperventilating on his floor and begging him to look at the test results for her.

@frogsmulder/Brynstein's The Day That Never Came (Ao3)

He bursts through the door, and sees Scully on her knees, leaning against the bath. She looks pale, frightfully so, and although she is staring down, he can see the tears streaking down her face. It's obvious she collapsed in that position and his immediate thought is that the cancer has returned. Kneeling down beside her, Mulder cautiously raises her chin with his finger, ready to catch the blood dripping from her nose with his thumb.

But her nose is clean and she looks up at him with shock and wonder in her eyes, a smile poking through like sunshine through cloud cover.

Scully terrifies Mulder by yelling for him from the next room.

@atths–twice‘s (Ao3, Alt. Ao3, FFN) Successful Undertakings

Pacing the room, he waited for her to return, rubbing his hand across his face. Finally, he heard the door open and she walked over to him.

“This is it,” she said quietly and he saw tears in her eyes. “Whatever happens, Mulder, thank you. Thank you for…”

“My contribution?’ he joked, clenching his jaw.

“Yes,” she said seriously, touching his arm. “There is no one else I would have even considered asking.”

“Not even Skinner?” He tried another joke needing to break the heavy seriousness.

“Mulder,” she whispered, shaking her head and wrapping her arms around him, burying into his chest. She sighed as he held her tightly, his eyes closed. “A baby with Skinner would have always been bald."

Mulder and Scully are a bundle of nerves at this their last chance; and are both elated when the nurse tells them the good new.

@sisterspooky1013/SisterSpooky1013/Sister Spooky's Everything

"I love you” he whispered so quietly she wasn’t sure if she’d imagined it. She tucked her face back into his chest to conceal a yawn.

“Am I boring you?” He joked, and she chuckled, facing him again while she shook her head.

“I’m just suddenly exhausted” she remarked. How much had her life changed in the past couple hours? It’s was a lot to absorb.

“Wanna take a nap?!” He proposed with the same level of excitement he might normally ask “wanna go to Kentucky?!” Except this time, what he was offering actually sounded good.

Scully is awed at Mulder's reactions each step of their IVF journey: being struck dumb at her request, scooping her up and comforting her when he thinks the IVF has failed, and alternating between tenderness at her "go big or go home" confession and keen interest in their baby's development. She leaves no doubts regarding "them."

@baronessblixen​‘s (Ao3) 

Against the Odds (Ao3)

"It didn’t take, did it?”

Mulder has spent hours trying to come up with the right words for each outcome. He walked through her kitchen as if taking inventory. As if the fact that she owned three sizes of coffee cups meant anything at all, made any kind of difference. The last hour he spent here, on her couch. A familiar spot. The lumps and indentions fitting his body perfectly as if he belonged there. So he stayed. Stayed and let his thoughts run wild. There were only two outcomes. Two. It’s either one or the other; success or failure. Whatever news she carried with her, though, he knew he needed to be prepared. He fell asleep halfway through thinking up his speech for when it didn’t take. He didn’t even get the chance to consider the idea that it might have worked.

Mulder is so overjoyed at the news that he shifts their relationship immediately; and further surprises Scully with a celebratory alien onesie.

Five Minutes

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

He’s been hovering, lately. In a case of worst timing ever, Scully started having morning sickness right after their first tentative step towards a more intimate relationship on New Year’s Eve. When he walked into his bathroom hours later, hair sticking into every direction, his eyes wide as saucers, she could see in his face that he blamed himself for her sitting there on the cold tiles, hunched over his toilet. As if his shy, careful kiss had caused this. Only her Mulder could conclude something as inane as that. But since that night, he’s become a shadow at her side, making sure she’s fine. Most of the time, she is.

The morning sickness has since passed and has been replaced by this giddiness. Scully glances at Mulder again. Perfectly still, like a statue. Not a peep out of him about how he wants to go home, why this is taking so long and isn’t there a way to speed this up? All these questions run through her mind, though. It’s as though this particular trait of his has been transferred to her, along with a good chunk of his genetic material, currently growing a baby inside of her.

Scully can't wait, buying a pregnancy test early; and, as if reading her mind, Mulder drops in just in time to read the results. She ruminates on this new restlessness of hers after The Goldberg Variation, baffled that their normal rates of patience have swapped; but this is all resolved when she finally, finally, spells out what she wants for their relationship. (One of my all-time favorite IVF pieces is Chapter 2. Can't rave about it enough.)

@ghostbustermelanieking/skuls’s

Successful IVF miniseries

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

The Christmas tree is unplugged, dark, and she can see Mulder on his side on the couch bed. She isn’t sure that he’s even awake until she draws close to the edge of the cot, and Mulder immediately turns over. “Scully, hey,” he says, his voice somewhere between sweet and worried. “Are you okay? Is it morning sickness?”

Scully chuckles quietly, sitting down on the bed gingerly, one leg folded under her. “Oh, no, Mulder. That’s still a few weeks away, fortunately.”

“Oh.” He extracts an arm out from under the blanket and reaches up to cup her cheek. “What’s up?”

“Oh...” She is suddenly embarrassed.... “I dunno,” she says quietly. “I guess I just got...”

“Cold?” Mulder tugs the sleeve of her sweatshirt between two fingers. 

She nods gratefully. "Cold."

My all-time favorite IVF success series. Mulder and Scully become a thing the MINUTE that they get their successful news. Slowly, he nudges his way into her apartment, true; but they're an undoubted fixture in each other's life throughout the whole experience. (Part 2 is my all-time favorite IVF fic: it can never be topped, and it was what started my XF fic cataloguing and filing journey. My love for it is boundless; and it is perfection.) [**Note**:I love every. single. line. from Part 2. The best part, to me, was too long to pull out one single quote (the section about holding Matthew and almost getting caught by Bill), so I made do.]

under the star (Ao3)

"Scully, I want this, he says. I wouldn’t have said yes if I didn’t.

She smiles again, eyes welling up, and buries her head in his shoulder.

AUs where Mulder and Scully might have been happy-- IVF success is one of them. (Love these little vignettes~.)

effywho's Astra Inclinant

He doesn't know what that means. She removes her jacket, and he peers at her, trying to make out her expression as nonchalantly as he manage. Happy, heartbroken? She is indecipherable. Mulder tries to still his bouncing leg and bites his nails into his palms in an effort to keep them to himself, though they want her magnetically.

"Hey?" he whispers. Scully is almost upon him, her blue eyes are swimming with tears. He touches her cheek softly, afraid to break this spell, afraid to know. "Is it...is it bad news?" Scully blinks, and a fat tear falls down her face that has inexplicably broken into a dizzying smile. She clutches his biceps, hanging onto him as though she might fall. "No," she chokes out the word.

The breath is knocked swiftly from his lungs, he gapes at her in shock. "No?"

Mulder is speechless with delight at the IVF success; and follows it up with an "I love you." Scully, of course, takes the reigns.

amorfati3215/Amorfati32’s (FFN)

AU headcanons: the IVF works (Alt. link, alt. link)

"Aha, you said “he!” You know it’s a boy!”

“I have no idea Mulder, it’s too early to tell. We can findout the sex next time if we want to.”

Mulder likes the sound of “we”. They’re not a couple, but they’re already embracing co-parenting. He has no idea how it’s going to work when the baby’s born but they have six months to figure it out."

Mulder is overjoyed when Scully tells him their successful news; and, all told, they have a conversation about everything at least in the first trimester. Bill even cools down enough to let them be happy.

Donna’s (Gossamer, mulderscreek) 

Per Manum Interruptus (Site)

He thought he had this whole thing thought out. He'd certainly told himself he had. He hadn't just agreed to something like this blind . . . had he?

They hadn't discussed anything in reality. No logistics at all.

"I know I'm babbling, Mulder. There're just so many things going through my mind."

He was able to nod at that.

The IVF is successful... and Mulder immediately panics. His inner near-hysteria coupled with Scully's serene happiness is a beautiful conversation. Their relationship is a whirlwind before the baby is born... but it all melts away in a washed-up dream (or doesn't if you skip the ending.) The humor in this is spectacular.

Destiny (Site)

He started to speak when they both heard Katy scream.

He was on his feet and racing for her before Scully had time to process the sound. Katy had gotten herself caught behind the toy basket and didn't have the concept of backing out firmly in her head. Her tears dried magically in his arms.

He turned to look at Scully, still a little shaky. "Am I good to her?"

AU-- Mulder is shot into a future where he and Scully married, the IVF worked, and they have a daughter. He spends the day acclimating, falling in love with this life, and shaking up his own life to help achieve that future.

@blackcoffeeandteardrops's (Ao3) An AU where the IVF works?

"I like it better than the dandelion. I don’t want something too yellow,” she muses. “Which do you like?”

“The green is good,” he says, resting a hand at the small of her back.. She ropes an arm around his waist and it nearly makes him jump, but he quickly settles into it. There’s an invigorated feeling about being close to her, an energy brought forward by the new physical closeness of their relationship, that makes him nearly giddy, “It’s good for a girl or a boy, you know.”

“We don’t need to find out,” she replies, shaking her head, knowing he was trying to goad her into telling him her suspicions.

This fic covers a little of everything: elation at their success, nervousness while getting ready to tell Maggie, tense anticipation at the "next step" talk, banter over wall swatch colors, and a rewarding little ten-finger-and-toed baby at the end.

@sigritandtheelves/DarlaBlack's Unnamed

He didn’t come with her because they weren’t… well, they weren’t doing this kind of thing together yet. They were Figuring Things Out, and he’d touched her belly several times (still mostly flat but for bloating, though she let herself pretend it was the swell of life already) and he’d kissed just the corner of her mouth, and his eyes had looked so needy. But. He was buying no “Proud Dad” sweatshirts, nor was he asking her for daily updates or buying onesies. Watching, though. He was always watching her.

And he did seem proud. He’d have come if she’d asked.

Scully breaks the successful IVF news to Maggie, who immediately reads between the lines.

@sixhours/6hoursgirl's (FFN)

A Boy and His Fox (FFN)

He squints, tilts his head again. “What I don’t get is how you can look at twenty photos of genuine paranormal phenomena and dub them fakes, then present me with a picture that looks like it was taken by a drunk with a broken camera and claim it’s a baby.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Chronic morning sickness isn’t proof enough?”

“I’m just saying, how do we know this isn’t an elaborate hoax perpetuated by government officials who don’t want the public to know the truth?”

“The truth about what?” she asks, folding her arms over her chest in mock skepticism.

“The scam that is the medical ultrasound industry. Seriously, Scully,” he says, gesturing to the photo. “I saw something like this during a Rorschach test once."

Mulder is a detached but interested party to Scully's successful IVF journey; and is even swept in as Maggie's replacement when it's go-time. [Sidenote: This is a slow, slooooooow burn into an actual relationship. (I love to pause just after the baby is born; but I reread fics patchily.)]

Lucidity (FFN)

"Kids?” he asks, pressing his eyes shut against the inevitable answer.

She softens, stroking the baby’s cheek with the back of her fingers as he coos and wiggles against her. “Emma and Will.”

Good names, he thinks, fixating on the ring around his finger. He slips it off, passing it from one hand to the other.

“You’re saying you don’t remember anything. Not even our children.”

“It’s like I’ve stepped into another life.”

She makes a disapproving sound in the back of her throat. The expression on her face reminds him of a much younger version of his partner—one who stood in the rain and laughed at his theories, who followed him as he chased lights in the sky.

AU-- Post Triangle? Mulder is stressing out over Scully's IVF request; but bigger problems come his way when he dreams himself into an alternate universe as a family man: baby son, suspicious older daughter, disbelieving wife, and doting boss-father-in-law in tow.

TeaGirl42's Born to Be My Baby

"We want you to understand that if it were anyone else, I mean if you were anyone else we wouldn't even be having this conversation," Mulder said cryptically.

"Well no..." Skinner replied dryly. "If I were anyone else we wouldn't be..."

Scully rolled her eyes and smiled at their boss patiently, "We're asking you to keep this confidential…for now at least."

"Is this…?" Skinner started to say and looked cautiously around the room signalling to the possibility that someone could be listening in.

"No, nothing like that," Scully assured. "This is all available to anyone who has access to my medical records…this isn't business, this is personal."

The IVF works; and Mulder and Scully are launched into a soft famfic: admitting their love, telling Skinner (because), first dates at planetariums, having a daughter, getting married, and all the et cetera's of a happier life.

FatCat's Eggnog

Scully is tired and sore from all the work of labor, but nothing is bothering her too much. I once again have feeling in my fingers on my left hand. I am drowsy, happy, and ready to join my family in sleep when I hear Scully muttering.

"What? Scully? What did you say?"

" ... didn't get any."

"What, Baby? What didn't you get?"

"Eggnog. I still didn't get any Eggnog. What's a New Year's Eve without eggnog?" she mumbles.

Mulder and Scully are stuck in a stickup at the end of her third trimester; but it gives them time to ruminate on their glaring lack of communication. Both decide that Scully tearing her brothers to bits in Mulder's defense (and dropping the "love" word) is enough to, at least, open the conversation. Their relationship is thwarted, however, just as it begins-- but in a good way.

WildwingSuz/Suzanne Feld's Fruition (Ao3)

"Mulder…” I half-whimpered, not sure who I was angrier with more, the annoyingly cheerful doctor or the man who’d done this to me. So I had asked my partner to be the father, but that was beside the point at the moment....

I gathered my flagging strength as much as I could, feeling Mulder tense behind me. “This is it, Kate, one good push and it’s over,” Dr. Towhees said in that all-too-cheerful voice. “Let’s get this over with; you’re almost done.”

I swore I would strangle him when this was over.

Post Millennium Mulder and Scully have to go into hiding after their IVF is successful; but both don't care as long as they're together with their son. In non-communicative fashion, they only say these things after he's born, of course.

@foxanddanapetrie​‘s (Ao3) Don’t Let Her Get Hurt This Time 

““She has a daughter. Mulder has envisioned just about every scenario of their life together.  Scully and him dating, them getting married, them having kids - a daughter, a son maybe.  Adopting a kid they might have stumbled across on a case. He’s imagined them buying a house - in the city or in the country.  He thinks about what they’d decorate their house with. He’s decided that he’ll let her decorate. Probably with some things from her mother’s house.  He’s imagined her as a mom, him as a dad watching their kids open Christmas presents while she holds a mug of tea to keep her hands warm. But he never imagined this.

He’s driving 20 over the speed limit in the 1992 rental car he snagged for cheap on his way out of the airport.  He doesn’t care if anything happens to it.””

Mulder speeds to Scully and Emily, making wild plans of their future together. His hopes and anxieties only increase after he meets her.

@kateyes224‘s (Ao3) 

Things You Said - Chapter 2 

It took three days, but she finally stopped hanging up as soon as she heard my voice.  Something was wrong, I could hear it in the crushing silence on the other end of the line before a =click= signaled that the call was dead and I was left staring at the receiver, dumbfounded, growing angrier by the second at the interminable drone of the dial tone....

When had she ever not had words for me?

Mulder’s hurt and dread builds after Scully’s aborted call; but it vanishes when she finally loops him into the tragedy unfolding in California. 

Unnamed  

Scully thought, not for the first time, how gravely serious her daughter was.  How little she smiled.  Emily lifted a small hand to Scully’s face.  “It’s okay, I’ve been to the hospital before.  My mommy used to tell me secrets on the way.  Tell me a secret.” Scully swallowed hard, closing her eyes before meeting Mulder’s gaze again in the rear view mirror.  She tried to smile at Emily, brushing the girl’s damp hair back from her face.  “Okay…well, you know my friend, Mulder?” 

Emily nodded silently.  “He doesn’t like anybody to know this, but his real name is Fox.”

Emily’s forehead scrunched.  “Fox?  Like Robin Hood?” This time, Scully’s smile was genuine as she heard Mulder chuff a laugh from the front seat.

Emily wakes in the car on the way to the hospital; and Scully bonds with her while very aware of Mulder’s quiet vigilance. 

Donna’s (Gossamer, mulderscreek) 

I’m On My Way (Gossamer) 

She was definitely not okay. "An X-file?" He tried to make his tone light, but knew, at least with this woman, he had failed.

"Apparently so."

That stopped him again. For her to admit something like that . . . his stomach hurt.

Mulder’s fairly relaxing Christmas is turned upside down by Scully’s tearful call. 

His Emily Thoughts (Gossamer) 

Emily was a special needs child.  He'd done his research.  The child would never be well, would probably not live to a ripe old age.  And Scully would be hurt again.  The question was should she endure the hurt now or later.  Either way, it was inevitable and that thought was devastating to him.

And he would not be there to help her.  Oh, he'd be there as much as she allowed, but this was Scully.  She would want to take on this burden and not admit she needed any help.  His help.

Mulder’s stomach is in knots as he sits on the Scully couch-- feeling ominous about the future and hurt thinking he’d be shut out either way. 

Feeling Safe (Gossamer) 

Safe.  A strange word, especially now, but it seemed to be the correct description for what she was feeling.  She was watching his hands gripping the steering wheel - so strong, his fingers lean and tanned.  He wasn't looking at her, concentrating instead on the road, but she knew he was totally aware of her.  He was trying to give her the space he thought she wanted.  For that she was grateful, much more solicitousness and she would explode.

That was why she has chosen to ride with him.

Mulder is driving her home, and Scully feels safe-- so much so that she plans to fall apart with him once she arrives back at her place. 

After Emily (Gossamer) 

He took the stairs down to the basement, ignoring the elevator.  He was in a hurry.  The door was open and the light on.  That startled him and he slowed.  Who would be here this late?  For sure they didn't belong.

Mulder is pulled up short by the sight of Scully crying in the office after closing hours. He understands, and assures her she is not alone. 

XP1′s Still Waters 

“I’m not expressing...myself...correctly. Or very well. Or even…” He sighed and brought his hands to her biceps, stepped a bit closer. He whispered to her so closely his words stirred what loose strands of hair she had at her crown. “I...I need you to know that there’s...meaning...behind this, what I’m saying, or, asking...that this isn’t…”

She put a hand to his chest and patted once, then rubbed. He wasn’t sure who the touch was meant to console. He couldn’t watch a child die, he thought, and ... he could not watch her do the same. He bit his lip to still some of the depths of his feelings. His breathing was ragged, but she moved closer, rubbed the tension he was putting on his jaw.

“I know.” she told him, tipping her head up. The tip of her nose brushed his chin. “I know you. I know.” His jaw clenched and the lids of his eyes were hot with the promise of tears.

“Relax”. She asked of him. He tried, took a breath. “Relax.” she repeated, and so he was, after a moment.

Mulder is brimming with anger and stress in the wake of his custody testimony; and desperation for solutions leads him to propose to Scully. He is appalled that she rejects: not at her rejection so much as his perception of her defeat. In a beautiful moment of absolute honesty, Scully lays out for him the sad realities of Emily’s impending demise, using her pain to save all three of them.

The characterization and dialogue in this piece is next-level. Mulder’s speech is phrased exactly how he’s acted on-screen; and Scully’s gentle honesty, while hard for her to admit, saves her and Mulder and Emily from more pain. 

Highly recommend reading! 

Fialka‘s Soliloquy 01 - Bill Scully 

You took one of my sisters, then you almost took the other. Now she's sitting on the couch, crying her heart out, and what do you do? You just sit there, talking about nothing. Oh, you say, but she's not crying. That's what I mean. You don't know her. Dana doesn't cry with tears. She cries with silence. Mom knows that. Lookat her over there, fixing coffee for all of us. She's waiting.

Bill internally directs his hatred at Mulder, darkly reminiscing about all the times he’d taken up for his sister. He settles into simmering resentment that she shuts all but her partner out.

stellar_dust’s (Ao3) Family (Ao3) 

“Wait!  I need to  need to take a sample, we've got to get this analyzed ..." her voice trailed off as she searched frantically in her pockets for a vial.

"Scully, no."  Mulder reached out and grasped her hand, stilling it. "Don't do this to yourself ... let her go."  

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, heaved it out, swallowing.  He was right.  "All right."  She nodded.  "Give me give me one more second.”

Mulder stops Scully from taking a sand sample from the coffin, kindly affirming her choices and reflecting more deeply on the ones that his parents had made.

@baronessblixen​​‘s (Ao3) 

Unnamed Prompt #24 

“She's had to say goodbye to Emily before she had the chance to properly say hello. Baby Matthew might never know he had a cousin named Emily, once.

"I should go inside," she says, opening her eyes and biting her bottom lip. Inside, they'll look at her, pity her, watch her with curious eyes when she holds her nephew. She is not ready. What will she see once she turns to Mulder? Is that how he’s going to look at her, too?” 

Scully is in the throws of grief after Emily’s death, and dreads walking back inside seeing everyone’s pity and sadness. Mulder understands and knows how to support. 

Unnamed Prompt for cuddle fic  

“I’m sorry, Mulder. I didn’t mean to-” Scully’s voice is dull, is teary, is too much. Mulder listens with his ear close to the answering machine. Another click – the message is over. He rewinds the message again and again. Something is wrong. The lights still off, Mulder grabs his coat again. The food on the table is forgotten, as are the files. His only thought is Scully.”

Mulder receives a morbid, unfinished call from Scully on New Years, and rushes over. She just wanted company for the first holiday after her daughter’s death. 

Dashing Through the Snow 

“Scully, look." Maybe it's because his voice is full of wonderment that she does follow the direction of his finger. The park across the street looks like a tiny winter wonderland with its snow-touched trees and meadows. That's not what Mulder means to show her, though. Scully watches as children of all ages sled down a small hill and she'll blame the cold wind for it, her eyes start watering.

"We need to get back to work, Mulder." She doesn't want to see this. 

Mulder helps Scully navigate her complicated pain around children; and the two end up borrowing one of the park kiddies’ sleds.

@frogsmulder​​/Brynstein‘s “I’m right where I belong” (Ao3) 

In unison, they make their way to her couch, like they’ve always done it like this: him entertaining a little three year old whilst her mother cooks up a feast of spaghetti bolognaise fit for kings; telling her stories of mothman and bigfoot whilst she drew her interpretations with the crayon in her chubby toddler hand. And of course the Mr Potato head impressions that had her in fits of giggles and rolling around on the floor much to her mother’s delight. Like he didn’t play the part of domestic husband, washing the plates and dishes and cleaning up the crayons, whilst Scully had bathed her daughter and put her to bed.

A happier reality with Emily alive and love blossoming is followed up immediately by the harsh reality of Scully’s loss and their mutual pain.

Piper’s Pajamas 

I stand against the wall, silently bearing witness to this ritual of closure.  I don't respond to her statement - somehow I don't think that she expected me to.  There's really no reason for me to be here.  As experienced as I am in self-torture, today Scully is beating me by a mile.  All I do is keep vigil as she stubbornly insists on boxing up the clothing that she bought in such blind hope for Emily, now about to be worn by some Goodwill kid who doesn't know even know how lucky she is to be alive.

Mulder silently witnesses Scully’s grief as she packs up Emily’s clothes for donation, both knowing that her death crushed both of their dreams.

Alanna’s Fortress 

We're on a freeway, heading somewhere.  Driving around in circles, mimicking our souls.   Cars zip around us but I barely notice the road.  I need to touch her, to make sure she is still there inside her shell -- that she hasn't slipped away from me altogether.  So I reach my right hand over and lay it gently on the back of her hand, painfully contracting my arm muscles so that I might not hurt or startle her.  She turns toward me and the traffic is sparse so I hazard a quick glance at her, my eyes meeting hers. 

And then her hand moves under mine and her palm meets my own, her fingers twining into mine.

Shattered Mulder decides to keep driving so he and Scully can have time to bind up their compounding wounds. He is relieved he opens up on their Tijuana detour, heartbreakingly honest though it may be.

@greekowl87​/@darkesttimelinestuff​ ‘s (Ao3) Drabbles Collection - Chapter 2 

He hugged her tightly, ignorant of the potential older brother danger as she cried harder. He closed his eyes, wishing and willing to take all of her pain away.

“I just wanted a chance, Mulder.”

A case keeps Scully longer in San Diego; and finally she breaks. Mulder comforts her in her purgatory.

@the-spooky-alien​ ‘s Day 10 of Fictober  “Sometimes I think it would be better if you stayed away from me.''

It sounds weak in the air between them. Every words shake under the weight of his guilt. His eyes never leave the road.

She wishes he would look at her.

Scully insists Mulder pull over so that she can instantly squash his self-loathing; however, she still can’t fully admit why she chose him.

Diana Alexander‘s Introspections 

After my cancer was cured, I had to get used to actually *living* again.  I was so prepared to meet Death with stubborn will blazing in my eyes, and a straight spine that I hadn't really prepared myself for the chance that there would be a cure that would keep me in this world a little while longer. I was lost for a long time afterwards, and now, at Christmas, I get the biggest blow since I discovered the cancer that was lodged in my head.

Scully had been prepared to lose the fight to cancer; but can’t seem to recover from the painful loss of her daughter. She retreats internally to lick her wounds.

@starbuck09256​‘s (Ao3) Hope  

Everytime she closes her eyes she sees a scared little face begging her to stop the tests. She sees Mulder clutching yellow flowers too tightly as his own sorrow for her pours from his eyes. He knows what this tiny child was to her. He knows that she wanted another life another path, not because of him or their quest. But because fate had chosen her to live on, she had been returned survived the incurable and yet her destiny wasn’t to find the joys that she had forsaken it was as if she was being punished for fighting.

Mulder barges into Scully’s apartment, refusing to let her shut him out. His comfort and common sense make all the difference.

Sheryl Martin’s

Tradition 

Dropping the suitcase by the stairs, she walked into the kitchen and put the kettle on; making a mental note to call Dana in a few hours and see how she was feeling. She had looked pretty rough in the car. Hadn't slept a wink on the flight, although she had put her head down on Mulder's shoulder for most of the time. He hadn't said a word, just put his hand atop hers and looked quickly over for approval. A smile was all he needed, and a slight nod of her head. He'd take care of her as best he could. And she had faith in him.

Maggie adds Emily to the family Bible because she was her granddaughter no matter what.

A Mother’s Thoughts 

Whatever the mystery behind her existence, she was still my grandchild - maybe the one I'll miss the most. But no matter how much I talk to the priest; how many candles I light and prayers I say for all of them, I still don't understand why. Specifically, why me. Why Dana. Why Fox.

Maggie’s pain over their combined familial loss in Emily’s death bleeds into her doubts and constant questions to God. It’s a hard road trying to trust in His plan. 

Gillian Leigh‘s (mulderscreek) Sleepless Roads  

Stepping into the living room, she stopped short of saying her daughter's name a third time when she found her sitting on the couch, sound asleep with her laptop open on her lap. There was a large postal manila envelope on the couch beside her marked with the words "Films Included: Do Not X-Ray". A quick glance at the screen of the laptop showed her that her daughter had been researching adoption. Puzzled, she gently shook Scully's shoulder to wake her.

Maggie is the quiet glue keeping Scully together; but she makes time to drop in on Mulder and make sure he’s getting some sleep. She convinces her daughter not to shut him out; but isn’t privy to the bigger bombshell that Scully reveals to Mulder later.

@i-gaze-at-scully‘s (Ao3) 

Chapter One: Protect  

On a plane to California, Mulder considers briefly if the ova he carries in his pocket should be allowed past airport security. He’s a federal agent, so no one really ever asks, but he wonders. He turns the cylinder over in his pocket, the smooth surface spinning, spinning under his fingertips. She has no idea. Tens of thousands of feet in the air and he knows he’s about to drop the biggest bomb on the person he cares most about in this world. He hopes it is the right decision.

Mulder’s developing thoughts throughout the episode crescendo in love and happiness when he finds a cure for little Emily. He assures Scully she won’t be raising her alone. 

All I Want for Christmas (Ao3) 

Scully is not a last minute shopper. She has all her gifts purchased, wrapped, and packed by 9 AM, December 24. She’ll drive to Annapolis on Christmas morning, early to beat the traffic, and spend the day accepting her mother’s well-intentioned pity. Dana, could you help me in the kitchen? Dana, would you ask Tara to grab your brother? I want to take a picture of you two. Maggie knows. 

Mulder, Mulder knows too.

Scully is so grateful that Mulder distracted her from the painful reminder of last Christmas that she gets him an extra special gift. 

Mystic‘s Beautiful Release

Her eyes stung as she wiped at them and looked back to the window, not able to sleep without dreaming about Emily.

She sometimes wondered just why the girl had affected her so much. How she'd been able to become attached so quickly to her.  

She tried to stop herself from thinking her name, but it didn't work.  It had etched into her mind as had countless other moments and names in her life.  She could only make Emily go away by thinking of Mulder and that brought her pain too.

Mulder and Scully finally make that next step when a case stirs up a painful Emily reminder. 

AUs 

Jennifer Brady’s December 

Scully brought my world down in the simple words she spoke. "Mulder, I need you," Maybe those were'nt her *exact* words, but that's what I heard. You know me, when Scully needs anything that I can provide, I'm all over it. So here I am, out the front door, heading to my partner's side. 

I really would'nt have it any other way.

The devastation of Emily’s death pushes Mulder and Scully closer together. 

Maidenjedi’s Would That I Could Travel Both

She went to California a single lady in her thirties. Hard not to think about her age and her marital status in one sentence like that; she'd been thinking too much about families and love and her place in the world. And then Bill and Tara were standing outside the terminal waiting for Dana and Maggie, Tara as big as a house and a year younger than her sister-in-law. It was a lot to take.

Amidst many assorted AUs, Scully leaves the FBI to become Emily’s mom, much to Mulder’s resigned and pained disappointment.

@leiascully​‘s (Ao3) Unnamed

Under observation, they spend several days with Emily.  Mulder promises to take her to Disneyland in the summer.  Her face lights up.  The social worker smiles and makes notes on her clipboard.

Mulder and Scully rush into marriage to adopt Emily and quit the FBI. Fortunately for them, Mulder is independently wealthy and ready to re-prioritize his life.

@scapegrace74-blog​​‘s (Ao3) Wraith

Perplexed and perhaps a bit put off by the fact that Scully was entertaining a guest in her pajamas with no make-up, he made his way cautiously to the kitchen.   An empty cereal bowl and a half-drunk glass of orange juice were laid out on the table, but there was no other sign of occupation.

Scully stood by the doorway, her bloodshot eyes shining brightly, and gestured toward the empty kitchen chair.

“Mulder, I’d like you to meet Lily.”

Scully is gradually descending into madness-- or Mulder thinks so, until he arrives barely in time to see a wraith drowning her.

Donna’s (Gossamer, mulderscreek)

Trick or Treat (Gossamer)

This wasn't happening.  He wasn't having a conversation with Emily, Scully's Emily.  Even if . . . if Emily had lived, she'd be older.  And she hadn't lived.  Okay, the body had been stolen, but she had been dead.  He'd been there.

"For Halloween."

"Oh."  This was not happening.  Who was this little girl, and where were her parents?

Mulder is shocked to see Emily’s spirit within eyesight everytime he tries to meet up with Diana. The little girl has some sage advice for him and his relationship with Scully. 

jeri‘s (mulderscreek) Ersatz Matriarch 

Scully studied the paper carefully. "Do you think it's really over? Could we possibly lead normal lives?"

"Only one way to find out." He dropped the sheet and held her hands tightly in his own. "Marry me, Scully. I mean, like next week. Before the boys are born."

Scully blinked. "What?”

Mulder and Scully decide to use their downtime under Kersh to pursue IVF-- after faking a marriage at the clinic and failing at their first round, they scrounge up a successful surrogate and begin the rocky road to parenthood (while being deluged with weird X-File info about the pregnancy from Marita, congratulating a newly-married Byers, and avoiding Bill’s newest tantrum.) Skinner even manages to make their New Years the best yet.

sohmer‘s discrete edges 

i'm not unhappy, she thinks suddenly. mulder coughs beside her and she blinks several times in rapid succession in an attempt to refocus her vision. her surroundings click into place.

the thought comes again, louder. it hurts her like vertigo, like ice on naked skin. not unhappy, she tells herself. discomfort comes to mind, or perhaps loneliness. i hadn’t felt lonely with emily.

Scully’s repressed pain over Emily builds and builds after a trip to Skinner’s Christmas Party. Mulder bides his time, slowly peeling the words out of her. 

@ghostbustermelanieking​/skuls‘s (Alt. Ao3) 

Christmas Ficlets - Chapter 2 

She's felt sick on and off these past weeks, growing dizzy and nauseous and eventually having to lean over the sink the night before, but she never expected this. Never thought she'd actually faint at work.

One minute, she's standing by a festoon of Christmas decorations in the hallway (the FBI has Christmas decorations?) and arguing the authenticity of Mulder's toxic slime theory, and the next, her vision is spotted and her legs are weak, the room spinning as she falls and darkness falling like a curtain.

Requiem--Scully faints at the office; but the panic that gripped her and Mulder melts with their shocking pregnancy news. They barely contain themselves before telling Emily back home. 

where the love light gleams  

William wants to know about their mother. “Did you ever know her?” he asks Emily one day, shoving away the copy of Peter Pan. He’s been asking questions tiredly for the past couple of weeks, and she’s been avoiding them, doesn’t want to let him down.

She thinks she had parents, a long time ago, but they can’t be William’s parents because they died. She remembers that. And her mother always told her she was adopted, so that must mean she has a different mother somewhere. She thinks she remembers someone who sat with her on the floor and colored, who whispered things about how they might live together someday. She thinks that the woman had bright hair like her, eyes and freckles like hers and William’s.

In an alternate universe, Emily was shuffled off to a compound run by the CSM; soon to be joined by a captured William. Following the few and vague memories she has to rely on, the two are able to escape and try to find a way to West Virginia (with help from an unnamed woman who seems to recognize them.) 

Lapsed_Scholar’s Family Stories

“It’s Picture Day next week,” explains Emily, still serious. “Mrs. Martin gave us forms. I want to be pretty for the picture, so I need a pretty dress.”

“You look pretty every day, sweetheart. You don’t need a special dress for that.” She’s trying to reassure, but Emily looks up at her, small face conveying disapproval, so she hurries to clarify, “But picture day is a special occasion, and a special occasion does deserve a special dress.”

She’s still fairly new to this—parenting. She wonders if parents who have more experience are more prepared for these conversations, or if it’s something that you always just sort of fumble through.

This series deals with Mulder and Scully navigating the uncharted waters of parenting Emily-- as new parents, then as parents on the run with their children, then as parents of a teen girl with a rambunctious little brother. But they wouldn’t trade it for the world. 

Wheeeeeew! That’s over! Hope you all have a merry feast of angsty fics~.