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It was late, or maybe early, their sleeping patterns messed up with a newborn who kept to his own schedule.
“I swear, it was so much easier when he was inside of me,” Scully said as she sighed, Mulder walking the floor with William in his arms. “I’ve already fed him, and you changed him. I can’t imagine what else he could need.” She yawned as she sat down on the couch, more tired than she had ever been.
Mulder hummed quietly as he shifted William, his soft grunts and cries not bothering him. Yes he was tired, though not like Scully was he knew, but he loved the sounds William made as his little body squirmed and he moaned.
“He’s just… I would say he’s a night owl, but he was like this the other morning too…” He rocked him and looked over at Scully, her eyes closed and eyebrows raised. She nodded and he smiled as he joined her on the couch.
She opened her eyes and leaned her head against his shoulder with a sigh. He adjusted William on his chest, his little face turned toward Scully, as Mulder rubbed his back, his fingers moving in gentle circles.
“What is it, love? Don’t you know that your mommy and daddy are tired? Especially your mommy.” She stroked his face with the backs of her fingers and he closed his eyes with a contented sigh, his eyebrows raised. She smiled and stroked again, his eyes opening and focusing on her. “Hello sweet boy.”
He scrunched up his face, turning his head as he began to cry. Mulder sighed and stood up, pacing the floor again as he bounced him very gently, making shushing sounds in his ear. Scully watched them until her eyes grew heavy and she let them close, listening to Mulder humming an unrecognizable tune.
Mulder paused and watched the fish swimming around as he walked, the light from the tank one of the few on in the room. He liked seeing his fish tank in Scully’s apartment.
Well, he thought as he kissed the top of William’s head and smiled. Their apartment now. He lived with her now and he would not have had it any other way.
William cried out and Mulder continued his pacing, humming softly as he did. He patted William’s diapered bottom and breathed in his sweet baby scent, still not quite believing they had a son.
A son.
William cried again and Mulder heard Scully sigh. He turned around and saw she was moving on the couch, unbuttoning her top and then raising her eyes to his.
“Bring him over. Maybe he’s still hungry.” With a nod, Mulder walked over and carefully handed William to her.
As she situated him and shushed him softly, Mulder picked up the remote and turned on the television, keeping the volume low. A baseball game was playing, the score tied in the bottom of the seventh inning. He looked at Scully, smiling as he watched her nursing William and speaking to him in a low voice.
“Be right back,” he whispered and she nodded without looking at him.
He went into the kitchen and filled two glasses with ice water. As he turned to walk back to the living room, he spied the digital camera Scully had bought before William was born. He grabbed it and slid it into his pocket. Picking up the glasses of water, he set them on the coffee table as he joined Scully on the couch.
“Maybe he didn’t get enough to eat earlier,” she said quietly, the sounds of William nursing hitting his ears. “I thought he had but…”
“Hmm, maybe he had, but the comfort of a feeding, as well as a bit more food can’t hurt.” She nodded and smiled, turning her head to look at him.
“He’s so beautiful. I sometimes can’t stop staring at him.” He chuckled with a nod, touching William’s little socked foot, running his thumb across his impossibly tiny toes.
“He is. Though his lack of hair still makes me wonder about his lineage,” he teased.
“Really?” she asked, rubbing William’s back as she grinned at Mulder. “You can question that after the new millennium? After us being on Cops? After Jade Blue Afterglow, Mulder? You question, even in jest, the possibility of him being anyone’s but yours?
“Oh, you hated her.”
“Not her, but how you acted around her,” she said with raised eyebrows and he nodded with a smile.
“I know. You’ve told me before,” he responded and she hummed.
“Good, then that discussion is settled and I won’t hear anymore about it. Capiche?” she said with a teasing smile and he laughed softly. She moved William from her breast and brought him to her shoulder, patting his back to get him to burp.
“You want me to take him?”
“No. I want to see if he’ll eat on the other side. He just needs to… oh, there we go.” He burped a couple of times and they both laughed. Rubbing his back a few more times, she then moved him to her other breast, opening her nursing bra to feed him.
Mulder bent to kiss his soft head, rubbing it with his thumb as Scully sighed quietly. Breathing in his scent again, he raised his head and looked into her eyes, surprised to find them wet with tears.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked as he frowned and cupped her cheek. She shook her head and leaned into his palm.
“Nothing. Nothing is wrong. I’m happy. So incredibly happy.” She smiled at him, a tear falling down her face. “Tired, so insanely tired, but happier than I have been in a very long time.” He smiled and leaned forward to kiss her softly on the lips.
“Me too. To all of it.” She hummed and he kissed her again, before dropping another kiss on William’s soft head.
As he moved, he felt the camera in his pocket and he pulled it out. Turning it on, he took a picture of William nursing, his eyes closed and a hand resting against Scully’s breast. He smiled as he looked at it and then showed it to her. Turning the camera on her though, she protested.
“I’m a mess, Mulder,” she said, shaking her head and putting up a hand.
“You’re beautiful,” he insisted and she gave him a skeptical look. “It’s true.”
“Well, just let me at least get covered.” She took William from her breast and covered up, pulling her shirt closed and laying William on her chest, rubbing and patting his back. “Okay. Now you can take a picture.”
“Oh, yes ma’am,” he teased as he lifted the camera and she smiled. He pressed the button and the beauty of her smile was captured forever. Looking at it, he shook his head. “A mess… pfft. Look how beautiful you are.” Turning the camera toward her, she hummed as William burped and stretched with a groan.
“I wouldn’t go that far, but I do see it.”
“See what?”
“That happiness I was talking about. Tired too, that’s more than evident, but I mostly see happiness.”
“I see your happiness,” he agreed with a nod. “But mostly I see a beautiful woman.”
“You’re biased,” she whispered with a smile and then a yawn, resting her cheek on William’s head.
“I’m not biased. You’re beautiful.”
“Thank you,” she breathed, her eyes closing with a sigh, William grunting and moving against her chest.
Mulder snapped a few more pictures, focusing on the beauty of Scully’s hands as she held William. He took some of the two of them, their eyes closed and breathing falling in sync. Smiling, he set the camera down and kissed William’s head. He grunted again and Mulder knew he was not asleep yet.
“Hey,” he whispered to Scully and she hummed, her eyes remaining closed. “Let me take him, you go on to bed.”
“No. I’m okay.”
“Scully…” He took William from her and kissed his cheek, Scully leaning against him as he picked up one of William’s blankets from the side of the couch, covering him and rubbing his back.
He smiled as Scully turned, curling into him further and he raised his arm, wrapping it around her. William cried softly and she moaned with a whine.
“I got this, Scully. He’s okay.” She nodded, her arm wrapping around them both and he smiled.
He patted and rubbed William’s back, listening to Scully’s soft breathing and the sound of a ball being hit deep into center field, the crowd cheering wildly. William grunted again and then sighed deeply, the weight of his body changing as he fell asleep.
“Just five minutes, okay?” Scully whispered and he closed his eyes with a smile, rubbing his cheek softly against William’s head.
“Five minutes,” he agreed softly, kissing the top of her head and rubbing her arm as he heard the announcer of the game excitedly recapping the recent home run.
He sighed happily as he held them both, his family, his whole world. Opening his eyes, he looked down at them and smiled. He knew if he sat there too long, they would all end up sleeping on the couch and Scully needed better than that.
Moving her arm, he stood up carefully but she did not wake, only moving to curl up in his spot. Taking William to the bedroom, he wrapped him snugly in his blanket and placed him in the bassinet. He slept on thankfully, and Mulder turned down the covers on the bed, leaving the room to wake Scully.
Turning off the television, and most of the lights, he woke her, stroking her hair and kissing her temple.
“Mmm,” she moaned and he smiled.
“Come on, Scully. The five minutes are up.”
“Mm okay.”
He helped her up and led her stumbling sleepily to the bedroom. She laid down and he covered her up, as she sighed and burrowed into the pillows. With a smile, he went to get her water, knowing she was thirsty in the middle of the night.
He double checked the locks and turned off the rest of the lights before coming back into the bedroom. Setting her glass down on the nightstand beside her, he walked toward the other side of the bed, looking in on William as he did. He smiled as he watched him sleeping with his mouth open. He was so beautiful.
Yawning, he walked to the bed, pulled the covers back and laid down. Turning onto his right side, he moved closer to Scully and wrapped an arm around her, closing his eyes with a sigh.
“I love you,” he whispered into her hair, kissing her head softly.
“Hmm… love… you too,” she breathed and he smiled.
Holding her closer, he yawned again, so very tired, but also unbelievably happy. As he heard Scully’s breathing even out, William grunted and Mulder’s eyes flew open and he held his breath, ready to jump up and see to him, allowing Scully to sleep. When all that could be heard was his soft breathing, Mulder sighed and closed his eyes, following them both to dreamland.