Part Ten Disclaimer and archiving info in part one XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX The Thirteen Days Of Christmas-January 2: Dancing Day Scully walked around the apartment, making last minute preparations for the trip. First stop was the kitchen, checking if everything was unplugged, nothing in the fridge would go bad while they were away, and the lock on the window was securely in place. Next came the bedroom, seeing if they'd brought everything they'd needed, and once more checking if the window was locked. The same procedure was repeated in the bathroom, Rhiannon's room, and the spare bedroom. Last was the living room, pulling out the plugs on the television and stereo. The front door opened and Mulder walked back in. "Okay, the bags are in the trunk, I put the car seat in. Is everything set up here?" "Yeah," Scully said. "It's all locked up." She bent down and picked up Rhiannon's travel bag, the same old diaper bag, but this time it was filled with various snacks along with the previous supplies. Rhiannon hopped up excitedly. This was her first ever vacation, she was excited to be going someplace new. She ran over to Mulder, who grabbed onto her hand. "Let's get moving then," Scully said. They exited the apartment, locked up behind them, and headed onto the elevator. Once at the car Scully lifted Rhiannon into the car seat and safely buckled her in. Mulder slid into the driver's seat and started up the car. Scully arched an eyebrow at him as she slid into her own seat. "Are you sure you'll be able to drive with your arm?" Mulder flexed his right arm experimentally. "I'll be fine. It still stings a little, but I'll be able to drive." He gunned the engine and the car pulled out onto the road. Scully leaned over and pulled a map out of the glove compartment. She looked it over carefully and then spoke. "Going by this it should take us about five hours to get there," she said. "So accounting for traffic and bathroom breaks it'll take more like six and a half hours. We should be there by seven tonight," Mulder said, finding the entrance to the highway and steering the car onto it. Scully glanced over her shoulder to check on Rhiannon who was playing with some dolls stuck in her car seat, then turned back and settled in for the long drive. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX "Where exactly are we?" Mulder asked, peering out the rain soaked window. The further north they went, the worse the weather got and now they were driving through a steady rain. "I think," Scully said from behind the road map, "we're somewhere in central New Jersey." Mulder winced. "I think there's a rest stop coming up. I'll pull over and see where we are." "I could use something to eat too," Scully said. He pulled the car into the rest area lot and after unbuckling Rhiannon from her car seat made a mad dash through the rain for the doors. Once inside Scully brushed the rain off of her jacket and turned to Mulder. "You go find a table and I'll get us something to eat. Any requests?" she asked, handing him Rhiannon. "No salads?" he grinned at her with a helpful look on his face. Scully arched an eyebrow at him as she walked off into the food court. Mulder grinned again and hoisted Rhiannon a little higher with his good arm. They made their way over to the collection of tables and settled on an out of the way booth near the windows so Mulder could stare out them and hope the weather let up soon. He dragged one of the portable high chairs over and set Rhiannon in it, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to see over the table. Next, he took off her jacket and draped it over the back of the booth to dry off. Mulder'd thought that the table he'd chosen was in an out of the way area, but there must have been a door behind him because some new voices began to come onto the scene. "Why exactly are we stopping?" someone said, a girl, probably a teenager. Then a man spoke. "Because your mother needed to use the bathroom." A derisive snort, and then the teenager spoke again. "We're twenty minutes from home! If it was me or Missy, you'd tell us to hold it." Another girl's voice spoke. "She's got a point, Dad." Mulder heard a scuffling noise signifying that they'd sat down in another booth, maybe one or two behind them. He was tempted to look but he knew that they probably wouldn't want an audience listening to them. There was a surprised noise from behind him, and then the first girl spoke again. "I know! All that red wine she drank finally got to her." "Watch it," the father said. "Look, we'll be out of here soon, so calm down." "Just get me home by nine and I'll be happy," the first girl said. Mulder could hear a grin in her voice. The second girl groaned. "You are a sad, obsessed person," she said to her sister. "I'm not obsessed, I'm devoted. Besides, it's a new episode tonight," the first girl said. "Which I'm sure you already read the summary for online this morning," the sister sighed. "And it sounds like there's going to be some great shippy moments tonight. I can't miss that," the first girl retorted quickly. 'Shippy?' Mulder wondered. "So? You've probably had the tape set up to record since before we left," the sister said. "Eyh..." there was a pause. "Your point?" The sister groaned. "Mulder?" he heard Scully say. She was sliding onto the bench opposite him and pushed a hamburger his way. "Thanks," he said, unwrapping the paper and taking a bite. Scully cut some chicken nuggets into smaller pieces for Rhiannon and placed them in front of her. Then opened up her own chicken pita and unfolded the map, spreading it out on the remaining table. "I think we're....here," she said, pointing to a spot on the map. Mulder leaned over to get a better look. He traced a line with his finger. "So if we take this road up here, and then into the city I can find my way from there. It shouldn't take more than another hour and a half from here." Scully sighed and ran her hand over her face. "God, it feels like we've been on the road for longer than that." Mulder reached out and tugged at her hand. "Don't worry, soon we'll be there," he said with a reassuring smile. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Scully jolted out of her reverie when the car came to a stop. For the past half-hour she'd been in a light doze, the hours on the road all blending into one another. Rhiannon had similar thoughts, she'd been asleep for the past hour herself. Mulder ran the tip of his finger down her cheek. "We're here," he said. She looked out the window and practically gaped. The house was big, even for one in the middle of the city. It was the length of three brownstones, about five stories high, and was very well taken care of. "Mulder, you never told me that her house would be this big." To her surprise, Mulder blushed. "Well, I don't like to make a big deal out of it. Most of the money was inherited too, and my great-grandfather wasn't exactly legal with the way he earned most of it." Scully smiled and ran the back of her hand down his face. "It's okay, I'm just surprised, that's all. I mean, you had hinted at it, but you did tone it down a lot," Scully said. "Well, would you feel any different if you knew my family had money or not?" Mulder asked, a little bit nervously. "No," Scully grinned. "I didn't fall in love with your wallet, just you. Remember that," she said, tapping a knuckle against his cheek. "Yes ma'am," he smiled. "I'm going to head in first, give them a little warning first. I don't want to be the cause of my grandma's heart attack." "Okay," Scully said. "Just give me the word and I'll come in." Mulder exited the car and dashed up the sidewalk. It was still raining out, but now night had fallen too, not a fun combination. He ran up the stoop and pressed the doorbell, hoping that someone would answer soon. Shortly the door was pulled open by Penny Liu-Cooper. "Fox, get in here before you get sick!" she said. "Hi, Penny," he said as he moved into the foyer. He looked down at the smaller Asian woman. Penny had been working for his grandmother as a cook since she was 18 in 1971 and going through cooking school. Now she was married, had kids, and co-owned her own restaurant, but she still kept working for Vera Mulder, cooking and taking care of the house sometimes. Having rented out the apartment on the top floor of the brownstone house also helped because she was so close by. "How was the trip up here?" she asked. "Long," Mulder sighed, trying to brush some of the rain out of his hair. "You didn't fly up here?" Penny asked, puzzled. "Uh, no," Mulder said, trying not to look nervous. He guessed that Vera hadn't told her that he was bringing someone else with her. "It was easier this way." Penny shrugged. "Okay." Mulder looked around the foyer. "Hey, where's Gram?" he asked. "In the family room," Penny said. "Thanks," Mulder said, and headed down the hallway towards the back of the house. The part he was heading to was more casual than the rest of the house's old fashioned elegance. This was the part that actually looked lived in, rather than just a relic from an older time. He walked into the family room, a large room filled with comfortably worn couches, bookshelves filled with not just books but other curiosities the family had collected over the years. A fireplace crackled merrily, giving the room a warm glow along with the TV buzzing in the corner. His grandmother, who still looked the same after many years, long white hair braided down her back, and dressed in a long dress, sat on one of the couches talking to Penny's oldest daughter Amy, who had a history book open on the floor and a notebook propped up in her lap. Vera looked up when she heard Mulder walk in, and her face broke out into a smile. "Hello, Fox," she said, smiling. "Hi Gram," he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek. Amy looked up. "Hey, Mulder, long time no see," she said, sounding exactly like her mother. "Whatcha up to, Amy?" Mulder asked. "I've got a project for history due tomorrow, and she's helping me because she's actually lived through the stuff we're studying," Amy grinned. Mulder nodded. "Hey, is it okay if I have a few minutes with my Gram here?" he asked, sitting down on the couch. "Sure. I've got enough info here to B.S. something good," Amy said, and ran out of the room. Vera turned to Mulder after Amy left. "So, you said that you were bringing someone else with you. Where are they?" Mulder let out a light laugh and looked down at his shoes. "You always had a good memory. Actually she's waiting out in the car. I just didn't want to totally shock you by coming in all at once." "Well, bring her in!" Vera smiled. "Okay," Mulder said, standing up and walking back to the front door. From the car Scully saw him open the front door and saw him wave at her, giving the signal to come inside. She opened her own door and stepped out, carrying Rhiannon with her, having moved her from the car seat to her lap while Mulder was inside. She ran up to the front door and Mulder quickly shut it after her once she was inside. "You ready?" Mulder asked. Scully bit her lip and nodded, feeling the nervousness radiate through her stomach. Mulder placed his hand on her back and guided her through the house to the family room. By some twist of fate Penny and Amy had cleared out and Vera was alone in the room. "Gram?" Mulder said, and Vera looked up at him and Scully who had just appeared in the doorway, carrying a curiously clothed little bundle. "This is my partner, Special Agent Dana Scully." "Hello," Vera smiled. "I've actually heard quite a few very good things about you." Scully blushed slightly and stared at the floor. "Thank you," she said. "And who else is there?" Vera asked, peering curiously at the sleeping bundle in Scully's arms. Mulder and Scully stared at each other for an endless moment. It was now or never. "This is Scully's daughter, Rhiannon." He paused, and took a deep breath. "Actually, she's our daughter." Vera looked back and forth from Mulder to Scully to Rhiannon, and then she smiled knowingly. "A very special secret indeed," she said, remembering their earlier conversation. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Scully closed her eyes and leaned back in the bed. The day was overall a success. Vera had taken the news very well, delighted in the fact that her favorite grandchild had had a child of his own now. She could see what Mulder loved about his grandmother, she was a wise, caring, genuine person, who loved her family very much and would never let anything hurt them if she could. That was something she knew Mulder needed growing up. She re-opened her eyes and stared around the guest room her and Mulder had taken. It was bigger than their own bedroom at home, with walls furnished with a richly patterned wallpaper and a lovely canopy bed made from a dark mahogany wood. Vera had explained to her that her father had imported the bed from Russia after he had moved to New York. Mulder walked into the room from the bathroom and slid into the bed, mindful of Rhiannon who Scully had decided would sleep with them again tonight. The bed was big enough to hold all three of them comfortably. Mulder leaned over her and kissed Scully. "Today went better than I could have hoped," he said. "Definitely," Scully agreed. She looked down at Rhiannon who had woken up enough to demand a story, and was now holding the Christmas book in her hands. Rhiannon held the book up. "Wead, pwease," she said, putting the book on Scully's lap. Scully looked over at Mulder and they started laughing, for no reason other than they were happy, and Scully rested her forehead against his. "Okay," she said between laughs. She opened the book to the next chapter and started reading. 'The French hens woke up early and began squawking their hatred of England. The geese and the swans uncurled themselves and hissed. The partridges began to cluck. The songbirds chirruped and fluted. Soon after this, the Kitsons stirred and yawned, pulled pillows and blankets over their heads, and finally gave it up, opened their eyes, and stretched. "This isn't my idea of the dawn chorus," Annaple said crossly, as she sat up in bed and unplaited her hair. "Not romantic enough?" Prudence said. "Would you rather have a piper? Oh, how lovely, it's Dancing Day. I must find my red shoes." The crowd began gathering soon after eight o'clock. Christopher took out jugs of milk for them. "I don't care if the balance of trade tips right over," Annaple said as she poached the breakfast eggs in milk....' XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX End of Part Ten-January 2: Dancing Day