Christmas Tree Farm
December 22, 2001
9:00 am

Their boots made crunching noises in the snow that remained from the 
previous night's surprise snowfall, reminding Scully of winters with 
her siblings.  Tromping through huge drifts of snow with their 
toboggans trailing behind them to get to the Hill, making snow angels 
with Missy, having snowball fights with Bill and Charlie, determined 
not to surrender to her brothers, no matter the cost.

She hadn't realized she had come to a stop in the middle of the path 
they were walking upon in their search for the perfect tree until she 
felt a gentle nudge.

"Whatcha thinkin' about, Scully?" Mulder leaned over to say into her 
ear.  He was holding a well-bundled William in his bucket car seat 
easily in one hand.  The motion of leaning over caused the extra long 
tail of Mulder's stocking cap, complete with little ball of wool at the 
end, to flop forward and start a gentle swinging motion.  It made her 
smile.

William, whose two hands were smothered in mittens called Hot Paws, was 
also drawn to the hypnotic motion of the hat's tail.  He watched the 
alluring object that was beyond his grasp with avid eyes.  Yet he 
voiced no complaint, happy enough to be outside in the world.  He was, 
and thus far in his seven months of life had been, a remarkably content 
baby.

"Snowball fights and toboggan rides," she answered finally, a little 
wistfully.  

"I could push you in that snow bank over there," was Mulder's helpful 
comment, accompanied by another nudge and a teasing grin.

It had to be a big brother thing.  She briefly mourned for Mulder's 
lost chance to continue being a big brother, and wondered if William 
would ever have that chance at all.  But she didn't want to slip into 
melancholy, so she tucked those thoughts away.  For now.

"I'll pass, thank-you," she retorted, and brought her hand up to bat at 
the tail of his hat, sending it flying over his shoulder.

"Well then get moving, woman!" he mock-ordered.  "We have a tree to 
find!"

With that, Mulder trudged off with exaggerated stomping steps, making 
both she and William laugh, the mingled sounds high and sweet in the 
crisp, still, morning air.

They wandered for over forty-five minutes before finding the perfect 
tree, sometimes in companionable silence, other times playfully 
fighting/discussing the merits or detractors of one tree or another.

It started to snow as they stood contemplating the tree that Scully was 
certain was the one.  Big, fat, fluffy flakes easily the size of half-
dollars.  William watched with absolute and utter intense 
concentration, his blue eyes enormous, barely blinking.  Until one such 
snowflake landed on his nose because he had tilted his head back to see 
what was falling from the sky.

The surprised expression on his face had both she and Mulder laughing 
loudly, had her wishing she had brought her camera.  

Once they had calmed their mirth, Mulder handed the bucket over to her, 
and walked around the tree several times - starting out in a wide 
circle and finally ending up as close to it as he could get.  Scully 
watched him sniff the branches, shake them, inspect the tree from the 
bottom up - or as far up as he could anyway, it was at least a foot 
taller than Mulder himself.

What exactly he was looking or checking for, she did not know.  She 
suspected he did not as well.

He backed up a few steps, still eyeballing the tree, then looked at her 
at last, his face impassive.  "I don't know, Scully," he remarked, 
drawing his words out slowly, bringing one hand up to tap at his chin, 
as if he were in the midst of a great debate.  "There's something..." 
his voice trailed off.

If her hands hadn't been full of William, Mulder would be getting a 
face-full of snow right about now.  There was absolutely nothing wrong 
with the tree - it was perfect.  So instead, she futilely kicked a 
snowdrift in his direction, hoping to get at least some on him.  No 
such luck.

"Oh, Scully," he sighed, with that 'tsk tsk' tone, smirking at her.  
"Is that the best you can do?"  He shook his head sadly.  "You're such 
a girl."

"Them's fighting words, Mulder," she told him, even as she was already 
turning to one side and bending to put William's bucket seat down 
beside an out of the way pile of snow.  With his snowsuit and the 
layers of clothing he wore, not to mention the knitted blanket tucked 
around his legs, he was well insulated, and she wouldn't be that long 
anyway.  

Just long enough to give Mulder his comeuppance.

While Mulder was still assimilating the fact that she was no longer 
holding their son, she dove at him, tucking her shoulder in and aiming 
for his middle.  Her momentum carried them both forward, into a 
conveniently located snow bank, Mulder sprawled on his back, legs 
akimbo, arms wrapped around her shoulders instinctively.

Which placed her squarely between his legs.  She planted her mittened 
hands on either side of him and tried to get up.  Only succeeding in 
thrusting her lower body more firmly against his lower body.

And Mulder didn't seem to mind in the least.

"Is that an icicle in your pocket, Mulder, or are you just glad to see 
me?" she quipped, smiling down at his red-cheeked face.

"Very glad," he husked, and a moment later Scully felt her world spin.  
For Mulder had flipped them until their positions were reversed and she 
was the one laying in the cold snow, with his weight comfortably over 
hers.  His 'icicle' was pressing quite insistently into her lower 
belly.  He wiggled slightly and then bent to whisper in her ear, "Wanna 
melt it, baby?"

"Mmmmm," she purred and bucked her hips up.  "I do."  She bucked again, 
adding a little grind.  "If we were alone, Mulder, I'd already be 
tearing your clothes off!"

He laughed and reared back to stare into her eyes, his dark with 
passion and a hint of surprise.  "Why, Scully, I never pegged you for 
an all-weather kind of girl."

Of course he didn't mean it innocently - she knew that.  

"Mulder, the things you can do to me," she said with all honesty, her 
voice husky, "I'm willing to do anything."  It was true; he brought out 
every wild fiber in her body, including some she hadn't known she had.

An expression of wonder and reverence spread over his face.  "I love 
you, Scully," he whispered, and leaned in to kiss her.

Cold lips grew warm with the prolonged contact, and they just might 
have done more than make angels in the snow if it hadn't been for a 
little voice calling out with imperious demand.  

"DA!"

They broke apart, identical smiles slowly wreathing their faces, and 
then Mulder extricated himself off of her, standing and extending a 
hand to help her up.  Just as she regained her feet, but not her 
balance, he let go.

She fell back into the snow with a loud 'oomph' to the accompaniment of 
Mulder's laughter as he went to fetch their indignant son.

Struggling out of the snow bank, she brushed the wet, slightly melting 
snow from her rear end and the backs of her legs before meeting 
Mulder's very amused eyes.  "Just you remember, Mister.  Payback's a-"

He cut her off.  "Whoa there, little lady.  Not in front of the peanut 
gallery here."

She narrowed her eyes at him and instead said, "You've been warned."

"Duly noted," he replied with a quick nod.  Then he gestured at her 
tree.  "Let's say we get ourselves a tree, huh?"

"It's about time," she muttered, and dug the bright red tag out of her 
pocket.  Marching over to the tree, she affixed it carefully, making 
certain it was clearly visible, the name MULDER in black marker block 
letters.

That done, she gave it one last look then tromped through the snow to 
where Mulder stood waiting with William's carrier easily held in one 
hand.  He held out his other one, into which she slipped her hand, and 
they headed back to the tree station where they would inform an 
attendant, amusingly attired in an elf's costume, of their choice of 
tree.

The proprietress of the farm, a middle-aged woman who introduced 
herself Anne Tyler, offered them hot chocolate as they waited, which 
they accepted with gratitude.  While it wasn't exactly freezing, there 
was a definite chill in the air.

Perhaps fifteen minutes after that, their elf came along, with an elf 
assistant, the now neatly bundled tree over the two young men's 
shoulders.  After paying for the tree and thanking Anne, Mulder led the 
way to their SUV, with Scully in the middle toting William.

The drive home was fun-filled.  They popped in a CD of children's 
Christmas songs, and Mulder demonstrated his sing-a-long skills with 
fine form.

~*~*~

Mulder/Scully Residence
December 22, 2001
11:30 am

Scully's commands were muffled, what with him being surrounded by 
several feet of real pine tree, but he was able to make them out, and 
attempt to obey.  The key word was 'attempt'.

"No, no.  I said to the left just a little bit," she said then.

Mulder dutifully shuffled with baby steps to *her* left - also known as 
*his* right he found out after the first mess-up - and imagined a giant 
tree shimmying its way across the floor, grinning to himself.  A shower 
of pine needles answered his every movement.

He didn't worry about them - Scully had cleanup duty.  She insisted on 
it, and who was he to argue?

"Stop!"  she called out then.

He stopped, and waited.  Sensing that she was checking the tree from 
every conceivable angle.  He found it amusing how into this tree 
decorating business she was - how into the entire Christmas experience 
actually.  But he had to admit he had gotten caught up in her 
excitement.  It was infectious.

If one did not count drinking heavily spiked egg nog with three other 
lonely guys, the Gunmen, or the year he and Scully had shot each other 
while ghostbusting on Christmas Eve, the holidays were usually 
something he would avoid by hiding in his office looking for an X-File 
to investigate. 

For the first time in a very long time, that was not the case.  For the 
first time in a very long time, he was looking forward to Christmas.  
Looking forward to seeing it through Scully's eyes, and in a way, 
through William's eyes.

"Okay, Mulder, just come forward a tiny bit," she said next, and when 
he had moved forward infinitesimally, she called out with more 
excitement, "Oh yeah, right there, STOP!"

Did it make him a pig because he thought her words were vaguely sexual?

"That's perfect, Mulder," Scully said, interrupting his wayward train 
of thought.  "Come on out."

With some difficulty he extracted himself from the large tree, stopping 
just before her to brush pines needles from his chest and belly.  It 
was then that he realized his hands were filthy, and sticky with tree 
sap.

Scully leaned in to kiss him, but halted in mid-pucker, having 
apparently noted his appearance.  "Hmmm...I'll hold that thought," she 
murmured, lightly tracing his lips with her index finger instead.  "Why 
don't you have a shower while I string the lights?  We can decorate the 
tree together after."

He couldn't resist the opportunities she continually fed him.  "Or..." 
he drawled, putting a leer on his face.  "We could shower together and 
you could string *my* lights."

Not a flicker on her face.  Then a slow smile curved her lips, one he 
might describe as sexily evil.  "You sure your light bulb isn't burnt 
out, Mulder?" she queried, one eyebrow arching delicately.

Damn!  She was quick.  Well, she'd learned from the Master.  Who 
currently wanted nothing more than to grab her and toss her over his 
shoulder, haul her off to his cave…bed…whatever.  But not with his sap-
slimed hands - she was wearing a pretty sweater he knew better than to 
touch.  Still, he had his glib tongue.  "Oh, baby," he crooned back to 
her.  "Don't you worry about my light bulb.  It's got an extended life.  
Just for you."

With lips pressed firmly together, she pointed in the direction of 
their bathroom.  Yet there was laughter lurking in her eyes, he could 
see them sparkling with her contained mirth.  

And if he was not mistaken, a glimmer of interest.  But sadly she did 
not act upon it, instead saying, "Shower, Mulder."  It was as he was 
walking away that she called after him, "I'll put that light bulb to 
good use later."

Oh, yeah, baby.  

Mulder stopped in his tracks, about to turn around, when the other baby 
in his life made his presence known through the baby monitor, babbling 
happily away to himself.  "Shower, Mulder," he repeated soulfully, and 
trudged onward.

Behind him, Scully giggled.

By the time he had re-showered, and gotten dressed in a clean pair of 
jeans and tee shirt, and returned to the family room, Scully had the 
lights on the tree, twinkling merrily.  William sat in his Exersaucer 
about two feet from the tree, watching the proceedings with extreme 
interest, the rounded base of the play seat rocking with each excited 
motion he made.  Several blocks and rattles adorned the circular tray, 
and the floor around him.

Mulder bent and kissed William on the top of the head, then moved to 
stand beside and slightly behind Scully, one hand curving around her 
waist, drawing her back against his body.  He kissed the side of her 
neck after nosing her hair aside, and smiled when she shivered.  "Looks 
good," he mumbled into her skin.

"I'm pretty pleased with the tree myself," she replied, squirming a 
little.

"Talking 'bout you, Scully, talking 'bout you," he crooned into her 
skin, wondering if she would remember a long-ago, late-night batting 
session in a park.

When she shifted to push her rear into his groin and shimmied a little, 
he was pretty sure she had remembered.  Her words confirmed it.  "Nice 
piece of ash, Mulder," she retorted, giggling.

He had decided in the last few months of blissful togetherness, that 
Scully's giggle and William's laugh were the two most incredible sounds 
in the world.  Well, those and the swoosh of a basketball sinking into 
a net.

"Love you," he murmured into her neck, and heard her happy sigh.

She spun around, her arms coming up to wrap around his shoulders, and 
pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tightly.  "I love you, Mulder."

They rocked in place for long seconds, wrapped in each other's arms, 
before Mulder reluctantly released her.  "Guess we should get this tree 
decorated, huh?" he asked her.  "The boss," he jerked his thumb at 
William, who was currently and unsuccessfully attempting to cram a 
large block in his mouth, "will want his lunch soon, won't he?"

"He will," she nodded, and stretching on tiptoes, pressed a quick kiss 
on his lips before releasing him.  Stepping back she nodded towards 
several boxes on the floor a foot or so away from them.  "The 
decorations are there," she told him, and then looked like she was 
thinking about something.  "Oh!" she said a moment later.  "I bought 
some small red velvet bows yesterday to tie on the ends of the 
branches, I think the bag is in the bedroom.  I'll be right back."  
With that, she hurried from the room.

Mulder smiled at their son, drooling contentedly on his blocks.  
"Daddy's going to make Mommy laugh again," he told William, in a loud 
whisper.  "You watch and see."

William gave him a big gummy smile, and continued his quest to eat 
blocks.

Scully came back a few minutes later, a box of red velvet ribbons in 
one hand.  "Found the bows for the branches," she announced, waggling 
the box a little.

"I found something too," Mulder told her, reaching into his back jeans 
pocket, where he had stuffed the red bow that he had tied around 
himself the other day.  He pulled it out and brought it around, letting 
it unroll from his hand and dangle. Delighting at the way Scully's eyes 
immediately dropped to his groin area, and her cheeks tinged pink.  
"The bow for my...big branch," he leered.

And laugh she did.

Much later that night, she paid homage to his big branch, his extended 
life light bulb, his Yule Log...

~*~*~

End Part Two