Part Two

Disclaimer and other info in Prologue

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The Thirteen Days Of Christmas-December 25: Christmas Day

     Scully turned over in the big bed piled high 
with pillows and down comforters and burrowed her 
face into Mulder's shoulder.  She was so nice and 
warm and was loathe to get up.  From behind her she 
could hear Rhiannon on the baby monitor, already wide 
awake and playing around in her crib.  She sighed and 
felt Mulder's arm wrap around her waist.  "Morning," 
he mumbled.

     "G'morning," she said back.  "What time is it?" 
Scully asked, running a hand over his chest.

     Mulder lifted his head and looked over at the 
nighttable.  "9:30," he said as he flopped back down 
on the bed.

     "That's late for Christmas morning,"  Scully 
said.  "Don't get used to this, by the time she's 
three she'll be waking us up at five to get to her 
presents."

     "But you're not going to mind, are you?" Mulder 
said, knowing that Scully would treasure every moment, 
even the ones that had her up at five in the morning.

     "No, I don't think I will."  Scully sat up and 
tossed the covers off her.  "I guess we might as well 
get up," she said as she reached for her bathrobe.

     "Yeah, as long as you make breakfast," Mulder said.

     "Gladly, I've seen your cooking," Scully grinned 
at him as she walked out of the bedroom.  She walked 
into Rhiannon's room to find her banging a stuffed 
animal against the bars of the crib.  When she saw 
Scully she lifted her arms up, saying that she wanted 
out and wanted out now.  Soon Scully knew she'd be 
sneaking out of the crib and that it was time to get 
one with higher bars, or possibly even a real bed.  
"Merry Christmas, little one," Scully said as she 
picked her up.

     As Scully brought her over to the changing 
table she got her first glance out the window.  The 
sidewalks were piled with snow, and everything was 
frosted with a crisp whiteness.  The street had 
already been plowed, trapping the cars on the side 
under snow.  She smiled and set Rhiannon down on the 
table.  "It looks like you're going to get a chance 
to play in the snow this year," she said.  She changed 
Rhiannon and put her sleeper back on, then she carried 
her out to the living room where Mulder was waiting 
with two cups of coffee.  Scully thought he looked 
especially good wearing just a pair of plaid pajama 
bottoms.  "Thanks," she said as he put the cups down 
on the table.

     She set Rhiannon down on the floor and sat down 
herself, knowing she was going to be heading directly 
for the gifts.  True to form, she immediately began 
crawling towards the tree and Mulder once more scooped 
her up and sat down on the floor next to Scully with 
her in his lap.  "So where should we begin?" Mulder 
asked, looking at the presents under the tree that 
seemed like more than enough for the three people 
in there.

     "Hmmm..." Scully mused, then reached for a soft, 
lumpy package and handed it to Rhiannon.  "I think 
the youngest should get the first present."  Rhiannon 
tore the paper with her tiny hands until she uncovered 
the silky grey seal there.  She bent down and rubbed her 
face against the back of the stuffed animal.

     "I think she likes it," Mulder smiled at Scully.  
He reached under the tree and pulled out a little box.  
"And this is for you," he said as he handed the box 
to Scully.

     Scully looked at him with a little smile and began 
to meticulously peel the wrapping paper back.  She 
opened up the flat box and gasped.  "Oh Mulder..."  
Inside the box was a lovely watch with a black leather 
band and a polished face that gleamed.

     "I remembered you saying something about how your 
watch hadn't been running right since you got back from 
Africa, so I just wanted to get you a new one," Mulder 
said bashfully, looking down at Rhiannon's head.

     She lifted his chin up with her and to look him 
in the eye.  "It's perfect Mulder," she said.  "Thank 
you," and she leaned over and pressed her lips to 
his.  "Now it's your turn," Scully said, and reached 
far back behind the tree to retrieve a well hidden 
present.

     Mulder got a look of childlike delight on his 
face.  He tore the paper off and came up with an 
old book.  "Wow, I have been looking for this for 
a long time.  Where did you find it?"

     "Thank God for E-Bay.  You can find almost 
anything on there, although I practically started 
a bidding war trying to get it," Scully grinned.

     "Thank you so much," Mulder grinned at her, and 
pulled her into his arms in a lopsided hug blocked by 
Rhiannon trying to hug each of them at the same time.  
"There's still more," Mulder said, and reached for the 
tree again.


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     Soon the gifts were unwrapped, and the three of 
them were gathered around the table eating breakfast.  
Scully sighed and looked out the window.  "I'm going 
to have to go to my mother's sometime today," she said.

     "What are you planning to do?" Mulder asked.

     She shrugged.  "I figure show up for a couple of 
hours, give everyone their gifts, make some small talk 
and then leave.  I figure they think that I have 
trouble with Christmas now because of everything 
that's happened, so they won't put up a fuss if I 
leave too soon.  They think I can't handle it anymore," 
she said sourly, but then her face changed to a smile.  
"Besides, I'd much rather spend my Christmas with the 
two of you," she grinned.

     Mulder smiled.  "Okay, just come home as soon 
as you can."

     Scully smirked.  "I'll try, I can already see 
how the day's going to go.  First, my nephews are 
going to hound me for gifts, then my mom will begin 
fussing over me making sure I'm eating enough and 
sleeping okay, then we'll sit down for an early 
dinner, and then Bill will begin on his anti-Mulder 
speech and try to set me up with a friend of his who 
lives in the area.  I figure I'll make my exit right 
before that."

     "It's nice to know I'm so highly regarded," 
Mulder said.

     "I better go get dressed," Scully said as she 
got up from the table and strolled back into the 
bedroom.  Fifteen minutes later she was back, during 
which time Mulder cleaned up the remains from breakfast 
and was back on the couch with Rhiannon stretched out 
on his legs.  "How do I look?" she asked.

     Scully had on a tight fitting navy blue sweater, 
a slim black calf length skirt and a pair of black 
boots.  Her red hair flowed loosely around her face.  
"You look incredible," Mulder said.

     She smiled brightly.  "Thanks."  She leaned over 
and kissed him.  "I'll be back in a couple of hours."  
Next she turned to Rhiannon and kissed her on the 
forehead.  "Bye, Sweetie," she said, and walked out 
the door.

     Mulder lifted Rhiannon off of his legs and set 
her down on his chest.  "It looks like it's just you 
and me, kid," he said.  Rhiannon giggled and grabbed 
onto his nose.

     "No, Dada," she said, not really meaning the 
'no' part.

     Mulder's eyes moved to look out the window, 
getting an idea.  "Tell you what, let's take a 
little walk in the snow."  First he bundled Rhiannon 
up, wrapping her so warmly that she looked like a little 
purple and blue marshmallow.  Next he got himself ready, 
taking less time to get into jeans, sweater, and jacket 
than it did to get the squirming little girl into her 
snow suit.  He grabbed a pair of gloves and slid them 
on.  He picked up Rhiannon and balanced her on his hip; 
she was so small he could easily do that.

     In the hallway in front of their apartment Mulder 
almost ran into one of the people who lived in the 
apartment across from them.  "Hi, Nora," he said to 
the woman who was bending down to pick up the paper.  
Scully was become friends with Nora soon after they 
moved in, and eventually became Rhiannon's baby-sitter 
as a sort of extension of the day care center she ran 
in the apartment below hers.  Their original nanny 
couldn't be around for some of the hours Mulder and 
Scully kept, but Nora had offered and they kept 
taking her up on it.

     Nora knew an abbreviated version of their story, 
told to her by Scully: that they worked for the 
government and got called away a lot for the job.  
She had assumed they were married, and they weren't 
going to tell her different.  Mulder felt glad that 
Scully had found someone to talk to, there were some 
things he just didn't need to hear, like Scully 
complaining of stomach cramps every month.

     "Hey, Mulder," Nora said, straightening up.  
"Where are you two headed?"

     "We're just going to take a walk outside," 
Mulder said.  "It's the first time we've had a big 
snowstorm since she's been born."

     There was a loud crash coming from inside her 
apartment and Nora whipped around and groaned.  
"You'd think he could handle them," Nora said, 
referring to her husband who was a family psychologist, 
and to her own kids, who were a rambunctious crowd.  
"Merry Christmas, Mulder," she said, and disappeared 
into the apartment.

     Mulder and Rhiannon headed for the elevator and 
pressed the down button.  Once in there he had to work 
to keep Rhiannon from pressing all the buttons on the 
panel.  Soon they made their way out of the building.  
Outside it was still snowing, big fluffy white flakes 
that quickly turned Mulder's hair white.

     Rhiannon turned her face up to the sky and 
squinted, the snow falling on her face.  Mulder 
reached up and gently brushed the flakes off her 
cheeks, which were turning a slight red color from 
the cold.  Mulder walked her around the side of the 
apartment building to the path that led them down to 
the small strip of beach on the Chesapeake Bay which 
belonged to the apartment building.  Up close, the 
water looked questionable, but as a view it was good 
and the beach was clean.

     He stepped from the path onto the snow covered 
sand and felt the ground shift slightly under him.  
He made his way over to a low, flat boulder, dusted 
the snow off of it and sat down.  He placed Rhiannon 
on the other part of the boulder which still had snow 
on it so she could explore a little and he could keep 
an eye on her.  Her movement was a little hampered 
though from the puffy snowsuit.

     Mulder smiled as he watched Rhiannon play around.  
He'd never thought that'd he ever be in this position, 
to be a father.  With any of the women he'd dated before 
the X-Files children had never crossed his mind.  But 
then he met Scully, the woman who came into his life 
and proceeded to turn it around and give it validity.  
When she'd first been diagnosed with cancer he panicked, 
thinking that their time was almost over and they really 
never got the chance to explore what they had.  Then 
came remission, when they both decided to hell with 
rules and that it was time to live.  A series of ups 
and downs followed, with a few blindingly happy days 
sprinkled in between.  

     Like the day Rhiannon was born.  He and Scully 
were already stuck on a real horrible assignment, so 
they figured if they took a few weeks off no one would 
miss them.  They were there when the surrogate went 
into labor, and Scully was the first one to hold her 
daughter.  Then it was Mulder's turn, and he knew that 
at the moment she was first put into his arms that this 
was right, the way things should be.

     There was some lingering guilt about not telling 
people about Rhiannon, but they knew that for safety 
reasons, it couldn't happen just yet.  It wasn't like 
his mother would care anyway.  After her actions while 
he was in the hospital, he had to wonder what exactly 
she was thinking.  Maybe it would be better for Rhiannon 
if they never met anyway.

     Mulder was pulled out of his thoughts by Rhiannon 
dumping a small pile of snow on his lap.  He yelped and 
jumped back slightly, landing in another patch of snow.  
He scooped her up as she laughed at his movements and 
took her into a bear hug.  "You did that, didn't you?" 
he asked jokingly as Rhiannon laughed again and said 
'ya!', her approximation of 'yes'. 

     Suddenly Rhiannon let out a little sneeze, 
burying her face into her hood.  Mulder gently 
lifted up her face.  "Sounds like we better get 
you back inside before you get sick," he said.  
He pushed back his sleeve to check the time, and 
was surprised to see that half an hour had passed.  
He picked up Rhiannon and stood up, brushing the snow 
off his damp jeans.

     Shortly they were back in the warm apartment and 
Mulder busied himself getting Rhiannon out of the wet 
snowsuit and changing her into warm and dry clothes.  
Then he got rid of his own wet jeans and tossed them 
into the sink in their bathroom, knowing that Scully 
would really be mad if he just left them lying around 
the bedroom.  He pulled on a fresh pair of jeans and 
walked back into the living room, scooping up Rhiannon 
on the way.

     Sitting down on the couch, Mulder noticed that 
Rhiannon was yawning sleepily and decided that now was 
as good a time as ever to put her down for a nap.  Come 
to think of it, a nap didn't sound too bad to him 
either.  Soon the two were asleep on the couch, 
Mulder's arms locked securely around Rhiannon and 
some version of 'A Christmas Carol' playing on the 
television in the background.


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     Scully sighed to herself as the elevator took her 
up to the fifth floor.  Christmas Day at her mother's 
was a little strained, just as she'd anticipated.  
Right now, all she wanted was to get back to her two 
touchstones, Mulder and Rhiannon.

     The elevator door opened and she found herself 
walking faster and faster down the hall just to get 
home.  She opened the door and was prepared to call 
out a hello when she saw the large pair of feet 
hanging over the arm of the couch.  She walked around 
the couch and felt her heart melt into a great big pile 
of mush at one of the sweetest sights she'd ever seen.

     Mulder was lying flat on his back on the couch, 
sound asleep.  Rhiannon was spread out over his chest, 
also asleep, with Mulder's arms locked tightly around 
her to prevent her moving anywhere without him knowing 
about it.  Scully knelt down by Mulder's head just to 
get a good look at his face, so relaxed and peaceful 
in sleep.

     Suddenly Mulder moved slightly and turned his 
head towards her, as if he knew she was there.  His 
eyes opened slowly and Scully smiled at him.  "Hi 
sleepyhead," she said playfully and kissed him.

     "Hey," Mulder said, smiling through the sleep 
fogginess.

     Scully ran a hand gently over Rhiannon's back.  
"Wow, she's really out," she said.  "What did you 
guys do?"

     "We went for a little walk outside, and she 
spent a little time playing around in the snow," 
he said.

     "Did she like it?" Scully asked.

     "Enough to dump some snow on my jeans," Mulder 
smirked.  "How was your mom's?"

     Scully's face twisted into a sort of grimace.  
"Just as I'd guessed it would be actually.  Bill was 
a jerk, although he saved it for when it was just me 
and Mom in the room, for some unknown reason playing 
it all nice and good when anyone else walked in.  
Then Mom was worried that I was getting too skinny 
and not eating enough.  She'd change her mind though 
if she knew I had this little one running around," she 
said, stroking Rhiannon's head.  "I've been eating more 
than ever and I just keep working it off trying to keep 
up with her."

     "My mom said the same thing about me once, I 
think," Mulder said.

     "So did mine," Scully grinned.  "Anyway, Bill, 
Tara, Mom, Charles and his wife were all pretty much 
tip-toeing around me, knowing how past Christmases 
have been for me so I was able to get out of there 
sooner than I thought."

     Rhiannon stirred on Mulder's sweater covered 
chest and opened her eyes, looking up at Scully.  
"Mama," she said sleepily.

     "Hey Sweetie," Scully said, stroking her hair 
out of her face.

     "'Tory," Rhiannon mumbled.

     "Hmm?" Scully asked.

     Rhiannon crawled down Mulder's legs over to 
the nighttable and picked up the book that Scully 
was reading the night before, and crawled back up.  
"'Tory," she said again.

     "Ah, I get you," Scully smiled, and swatted at 
Mulder's shoulder.  "Make some room."  Mulder chuckled 
and sat up, balancing Rhiannon on his legs.  Scully 
settled in next to him, tucking her legs up under her, 
and began to read.


          'Francis came to call on Christmas morning 
           after Aunt Rachel and the uncles had come 
           and gone.  Prudence ran downstairs to let 
           him in.

             "Merry Christmas, Pru."

             "Merry Christmas, Francis."  Prudence 
           stared at the great bundle in his arms.  
           "Whatever's that?"

             "It's a surprise.  For Annaple.  I do 
           hope she'll like it."  He looked hopefully 
           at Prudence.  "I tried to remember 
           everything you said."

             "Everything?" Prudence said, startled.  
           She thought of some of the presents 
           Christopher and James had suggested.  
           Francis was always wholehearted.  "What
           is it?"

             "Wait and see...."


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End Part Two-December 25: Christmas Day