Title:    Perfect Happiness (Part 2/4) 
Author:   Abigail 
E-MAIL:   littlemiss_spookymulder@hotmail.com 
Rating:   PG-13 
Category: MSR
Classification:  MSW-F
Keywords: Angst, Secondary Character Deaths
DISCLAIMER:  All characters from the X-Files belong 
the Chris 
Carter, Ten Thirteen Productions and Fox 
Broadcasting.


Summary: After breaking the news to Bill, Scully's having bad 
dreams…and they start coming true. 

XXXXXXX

~~~Bill turned dark eyes to his sister and her fiancé, holding an 
object in his large hand. "I told you you'd regret this, Dana. Now 
you will both pay."

Scully looked at Mulder, standing next to her. A bright red cut ran 
down the side of his face, oozing red blood. She felt a need to help 
him, but knew she couldn't.

Mulder stood his ground, pulling Scully behind him a little. She 
knew instinctively that he had recognized the object.

It was her gun.

Bill held out the gun, pointing it straight at Mulder, right between 
the eyes. "I told you this was a big mistake. I can't let you ruin my 
sister's happiness."

Scully peeked out from behind Mulder's favourite grey t-shirt. 
"Bill, if you hurt him, you will be ruining my happiness. Bill..."

Bill suddenly snapped, shaking the gun. "SHUT UP DANA!"

Then Bill pulled the trigger. The bullet seemed to turn, seemed to 
move in slow motion, moving towards them. Scully screamed, 
throwing herself in front of Mulder.

In the path of the bullet.

Suddenly, everything went black, and she could hear voices, 
vaguely in her mind. The darkness became a swirl of every color 
of the rainbow, and she thought she heard Mulder's voice 
whispering her name.

Softly at first, and then so loudly that she had to open her eyes.

"Scully, wake up. Scully..." ~~~

She opened her eyes slowly to find herself in a sweat-soaked bed, 
hers she guessed, next to Mulder, him spooned around her, holding 
her waist, whispering her name.

"Mulder! No, Mulder, please no!"

She began thrashing around, but he held her in place with his 
strong arms. "Scully, it's okay. I'm okay. You had a bad dream. 
Everything's going to be okay."

Scully stopped moving and turned a little. She reached up and with 
her ivory fingers touched the side of his face where the cuts had 
been. She wanted to know he was okay.

"Scully," Mulder whispered. "You okay?"

She just looked at him, tears filling her eyes. She leaned her head 
up against his chest and sobbed quietly. Mulder just held her and 
combed her hair with his fingers.

After a few minutes, she spoke in hiccuping leaps. "Mulder...he 
was...going...to kill you."

"Scully, no one's going to kill me. I'm fine, and so are you." She 
just sighed a little and leaned against him.

"Just hold me please," she whispered, clinging to him as if he 
would go away and leave her.

And he just held her.

XXXXXXX

The Next Morning...

Scully rolled over and looked at the alarm clock on the night table. 
9:45. She was late for work. Really late, like by a couple hours.

She looked at Mulder laying next to her, his breathing even and 
long. She watched his chest rise and fall, and with a shudder, she 
remembered the night before, the dream. She wanted to put her 
hand on his chest to see if he was all right. But she had to get up. 
As she went to check on William, she decided to call in sick. It 
wasn't worth going anyway.

After she had called, she went back to the bedroom, intent on 
sleeping for a few more hours. But she arrived to an empty bed. 
She heard the shower running in the bathroom, and decided to just 
get up and make breakfast.

XXXXXXX

Meanwhile...

Mulder was in the shower, once again thinking about his young 
next-door neighbor, and what he heard about his sister. Maybe...

He mentally shook his head. No, it couldn't be. There was just no 
way.

No way.

There was just no way that Meredith was Samantha's daughter. But 
somehow, he wasn't reassured by his doubts.

XXXXXXX

"Scully? I need to talk to you about something that happened the 
other day." Mulder said as he came out of the bedroom, fully 
dressed, but with his hair still slightly damp.

Scully stood at the kitchen counter, making eggs and toast for 
them. She turned around with an expectant smile on her face. 
"Yes?"

"Um," he started as she moved towards the kitchen table with two 
plates. He followed the scent of the food and sat down. "Someone 
came to visit me the other day. They said some stuff about 
Samantha."

"Um hum..." Scully mumbled as she tried to reach the high shelf 
for two glasses. She failed miserably. "Mulder? Help please?"

Mulder continued as he came up behind her and easily took down 
two glasses and set them on the counter. "He said that Samantha's 
ova were taken and used to create a child about 12 years ago..."

"And?" she asked as she filled the cups with milk and took them to 
the table. She sat down and began eating. He followed her.

"Scully? Are you listening?"

"Hm? Ya, Mulder. Go ahead." She turned her full attention to him, 
but found it hard considering that her mind kept straying to his wet 
hair and adorable face.

"Scully, this man who came, he told me that she was close to me. 
And lately, I've been seeing a resemblance between our neighbor 
and Samantha, and William. I think Meredith may be Samantha's 
daughter."

"What??" Scully almost choked on a drink of milk. "You think..."

"Yeah, Scully. I think she could be Samantha's daughter."

"Well," she said. "I guess it's not entirely impossible. I mean, her 
mom did mention something to me about her being adopted once. 
So, I guess it could be possible."

"Wow," he said, taking a bite of toast. "You actually agreed with 
me."

She got up from her place at the table and went to sit next to him. 
"Mulder, I've been agreeing with you for a long time. I just never 
said anything."

Mulder smiled boyishly at her. "Really?"

"Yeah."

He changed the subject. "You know what? I forgot to tell you this, 
but I think Will said da-da."

Scully smiled at him. "Really?"

"Yeah."

XXXXXXX

Bill sat on the couch in Maggie's living room, contemplating his 
sister's decision to wed Fox Mulder.

Fox. What kind of a name was that?

Dana was stupid. Stupid to even think that Mulder could bring her 
happiness. After all, all the bad things in her life since 1993 had 
been his fault.

The anger kept building up inside of him, threatening to spill over 
and cover them. It kept burning inside his chest until he had to do 
something about it, or die trying.

XXXXXXX

That night...

~~~She heard voices. Everything was black, but she could hear 
them. It took her a minute, but she realized it was Mulder.

"Is she going to be all right?" he asked.

Another voice answered. "I don't know, but I have some bad 
news..."

She lost the rest of the conversation and became aware of a hand 
on her own limp one. Distantly she heard his voice.

"Scully, wake up. Please, Scully. I love you. You have to come 
back to me."

She wanted to scream out to him that she was there, she wanted to 
come back. The only problem was she didn't know where she 
was.~~~

She woke up in a cold sweat to see Mulder leaning over her. Her 
hand grasped his so tightly, it looked like circulation was being cut 
off.

"Scully. You okay?"

Another bad dream. That was all it was.

She just nodded and let go of his hand. "I'm okay, Mulder."

"You sure? You don't look so good and you've been sweating a 
lot."

She looked around at the damp sheets. "Sorry, Mulder."

He smiled down at her. How like her to think of him over herself. 
"It's okay. You wanna go sleep on the floor?"

He picked up his pillow and blanket, tossing them to the floor. She 
complied and minutes later, they had made a comfortable bed for 
themselves.

Mulder laid down next to her and gently rubbed her shoulders. "So, 
what was it about?"

She sighed. "I was in the dark and I could hear you talking to 
someone. They told you bad news, and I couldn't hear it. Then you 
started talking to me but I couldn't talk back. You sounded so 
scared Mulder, that it scared me. It seemed so real."

"It's okay, Scully. It was just a dream." He pulled her close to him 
and put his arms around her stomach. "Go back to sleep."

It was then that she heard the fatigue in his voice. How long had 
she kept him up? She instantly felt shame in herself for keeping 
him awake all night. But her shame was calmed when she heard 
him drop off, his even breathing hot on her neck.

She closed her eyes and tried not to think of his scared voice. After 
all, they had a wedding to plan, and they'd have to be awake to 
plan it.

XXXXXXX

The Next Morning...The Brown Residence, 7:22 am…

Lela Brown listened to her daughter's even breathing through the 
thin wall that separated her room from Meredith's. With each 
breath, she began to remember back to the adoption...

~~~Lela and Jack Brown stood in the office, waiting for the arrival 
of their new daughter. When she had finally arrived, a wisp of 
blonde hair covering her forehead, the couple ooed and ahhed over 
the beautiful baby.

As Lela took hold of her, she asked, "Who was her mother? I 
would like to write her and thank her for our little Meredith."

The social worker shook her head slightly. "I'm sorry, but there is 
no available information on her mother. You new daughter was 
created through two anonymous egg and sperm donations. The 
mother's was made in 1979 and kept in cold storage until the need 
arose. The father's was made in '86."

Lela had just thanked God in her mind as she cuddled her 
child.~~~

She remembered the day before...the resemblance she noticed 
between her child and Fox Mulder.

Could it be? Could she be his child? It didn't make sense. It just 
didn't. But...she could never tell.

She needed to have a talk with Mr. Mulder...

XXXXXXX

The next morning in Scully's apartment...9:30 am…

Mulder woke up on the floor first. His arms were still around 
Scully and her auburn hair was splayed across his face.

He rubbed his sore hand from where she had gripped it last night. 
Geez, this Bill thing must have really gotten to her.

Scully stirred a little. She rolled over to face him. "Hey," she 
simply said.

Mulder traced the lines of her face as he replied, "Morning."

She smiled at him. "Mulder...I'm really sorry about last night..."

He put a finger to her lips, silencing her. "Scully, it's okay. 
Someday I'll have a bad dream and you'll have to help me. It's 
okay."

She smiled again and sat up. They immediately missed the other's 
body heat. "You know what we're going to do today?"

He yawned. "What?"

"Wedding planning!"

XXXXXXX

A little later...at Maggie's house...

"Mum, don't you think this one is perfect?" Scully asked as she 
bent over a bridal magazine.

Maggie pointed to another one. "Oh, Dana, I like this one too. 
They're all so perfect looking."

Scully looked down at the bottom of the page. "Well, obviously, 
the prices aren't!" She giggled.

"Oh, Dana, don't worry about that stuff. We can get whatever you 
want!"

Mulder stood a good distance away from the women, holding Will 
and not wanting to interfere with their picking of the dress. And 
the scary part was, Bill was right across the room from him, just 
glaring.

Yikes. It was like hell and heaven on earth. At the same damn 
time.

Mulder watched Bill as he watched his sister, a fuming look on his 
face. But at least he wasn't yelling or anything.

Although his face was turning a lovely shade of red.

Suddenly, all he could see was a bridal magazine in his face. "Oh, 
Mulder what do you think of this one?" Scully asked, eager as a 
child waiting for Christmas.

"Um..." He looked closely at it. It was a nice dress, hell they all 
were. He just didn't under stand the facts about wedding dresses. "I 
like it!"

Maggie reached out and touched Scully's arm. "Dana, he doesn't 
get the wedding dress stuff. Just leave it to us, Fox, we'll do it 
right."

Mulder beamed widely at Maggie. Must not have been the "right 
one." The women soon forgot about him and once again pored 
over the thick magazine, crossing out and circling pictures.

Across the room, Bill looked like his face was about to explode...

Scully took a moment from looking at bridal magazines to take a 
peek at her brother. His face was bright red, and he looked very 
pissed.

Not that she cared or anything. But, every time she saw Bill, she 
couldn't help but think of her nightmare. The angry face in the 
dream looked a lot like the one he was sporting now. And that 
scared her a little.

"Dana," came a soft voice. "Dana, honey, how about this one?"

She looked back to the page, where her mum was back to pointing 
to dresses, not taking time to wait for approval. Rather, she 
disproved most of them herself. Scully smiled inwardly. Her 
mother must have felt that nothing was good enough for her.

Mulder, too, was watching Bill get madder by the minute. He 
looked down at Will and tried to think of a good excuse to leave.

"Ahem," he cleared his throat loudly until Scully and Maggie 
looked up at him expectantly.

"Hey, Scully, um, how about since you guys are looking at dresses, 
I could take Will and look at tuxes?"

Scully smiled on the outside, laughed on the inside. He wanted to 
get away from Bill. She nodded a little. "Okay, Mulder. Call me 
sometime. I'll be here, okay?"

"Okay, Scully." And with that, he was out the door faster than a 
rocket.

Bill excused himself to go to the bathroom, but not before he shot 
his sister a look that, had Mulder been around, would have made 
big trouble.

When he was gone Scully looked up at her mom. "Mum, why does 
Bill hate Mulder so much?"

Maggie sighed. "Oh, Dana. He just thinks he's protecting you. He 
feels that somehow some bad things in your life are his fault. I 
know they're not, be he just can't seem to grasp the fact that you're 
happy and safe with him."

"But Mum, can't he just leave?"

"Dana, I'm surprised. No matter what Bill says or does, he is still a 
part of our family and I still love him. I'm not saying that he's right, 
but I still love him." Maggie reprimanded gently.

Scully smiled. "I'm sorry Mum. But he just seems so weird lately. 
He threatened me the other night at the restaurant, Mum. I'm just 
tired of him trying to rule my life."

Maggie smiled back. "I know Dana."

Bill came from the bathroom, the mean, angry look still on his 
face.

Scully turned to Maggie. "Mum, I'm going to go out for some fresh 
air, okay?"

"Okay."

And with that she was out of there faster than a rocket, Bill's dark 
eyes following her every move.

Probably going to go talk to HIM...Bill thought as he watched his 
sister leave. What is wrong with her? I can't believe I'm sitting 
here, they're picking out fricking wedding dresses!

A plan started to form in his mind. She didn't know what was best 
for her. But he was going to help her find out...

XXXXXXX

One Week Later...

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEE...

Scully rolled over and slammed her hand down on the alarm clock. 
Then she rolled back over and smacked her other hand on Mulder.

"Mulder, get up."

Her request was met with a moan of protest.

"Mulder! Now! We have to get up and go. Mom and Hurricane 
Bill are meeting us for breakfast, Mulder!"

Another moan.

She sat up and grinned wickedly. "Oh, Mulder, you've forced 
me..." She reached out and smacked him hard on the backside.

That got him up. He immediately jumped up and held his butt. 
"Ow, Dana, don't do that!"

"Sorry...Foxy," she emphasized the word. "We have to be at 
Mom's in an hour and neither of us has even showered this 
morning!"

Mulder raised an eyebrow. "Well, we could always shower 
together..."

Scully gave him an exasperated look. "Mulder, we don't have time. 
If we do that we'll spend two days in the shower! Besides," she 
whispered, moving to sit closer to him, "Wasn't last night enough 
for now?"

Mulder joked, "It's never enough, honey!"

Scully got up and playfully tried to haul Mulder out of bed. 
"Come...on...Mulder...get up!" He finally got up, but only after she 
left him alone.

He called to her as she got in the shower. "Oh, and Scully? If Bill 
gives either one of us a bad look, I'll kill him! I swear!"

XXXXXXX

At Maggie's House about an hour later...

"Mm, Maggie, this is great," Mulder said as he ate.

Scully smiled at him and rolled her eyes a little. "So, mom, how 
soon until we go dress shopping? I want to look especially 
*good*."

Maggie smiled inwardly. She was so excited. She sounded like she 
had at Christmas when she was a little girl, barely containing her 
excitement to open the presents. "Well, Dana, I was thinking 
maybe in a couple of weeks when we figure out just what you'd 
like."

Scully smiled in return. She shifted William to the other side of her 
lap as he greedily drank from the bottle of formula in his mouth.

Mulder changed the subject. No more wedding dress talk right 
now. "So, Maggie, we've decided that we're going to be using my 
parent's old summer home in Quanacatog during the summer, if 
you'd ever like to come stay. I also hear that there's some great 
ones up there for sale and rent."

Maggie smiled at him and dabbed her mouth with a napkin. 
"Actually, Fox, I was thinking about renting a summer home 
sometime. If you could maybe find out for me if there's any for 
rent, just let me know."

"Sure," he answered back.

After that, talk turned back to the wedding, this time, who would 
be playing parts in it. Mulder had already decided on Skinner as a 
best man, and Scully wanted Meredith to be the flower girl.

Bill watched as his sister, mother and...*him* discussed more 
wedding plans. How could she be so stupid? She was making a 
huge mistake, marrying that man, Fox Mulder. He barely got the 
name into his head without throwing up. He had to tell her 
somehow, let her know that this was wrong. But how could he...

He tried to think of what was wrong with Mulder. He made a 
mental list in his head:

1.Dana, he's caused so much problems in your life. 2.He ran out on 
you and the baby. 3.He has a big nose.

Okay, so that last one probably wouldn't sway her. But he could 
think of others...

As Mulder and Maggie started to talk about the best man, Bill 
stood.

"Dana, can I talk to you outside for a minute?" He decided to play 
the sweet, innocent, hurting brother that he definitely was not.

Scully stood slowly. "Okay..." She handed Mulder the baby and 
walked outside with him...

Bill stopped just outside the front door. But before he could say 
anything, she stepped in. "Bill, I know what you're going to do. 
You're gonna try to show me that he's not the one. You're going to 
try to give me a million reasons why I should leave him and settle 
down with someone..."safe..." But Bill, I love him and I AM safe 
with him, more safe than I could ever be. He knows me inside and 
out, he is my touchstone and my ultimate protection." She started 
to continue, but Bill stopped her.

"Dana, don't you see? You talk of love and protection, but you're 
only seeing what you want to see. He's a self centered asshole and 
he doesn't deserve you. You deserve better than him, Dana. And 
I'm going to show you." With that he spun and went back inside, 
the rage beginning to build again.

Standing alone, Scully had a flashback of her dream, Bill standing 
there. His face looked very much like it had just a moment ago. 
She just couldn't shrug the feeling that something was wrong.

XXXXXXX

Later that night...

She started awake. She'd had another dream. Bill, in a bar, then 
driving somewhere. He was talking to himself the whole time 
about how he could've killed her.

But who was she?

This time she didn't cry out or wake Mulder. He was tired, and an 
earlier talk with Bill hadn't made matters better.

"You're nothing but a son of a bitch who doesn't deserve my 
sister!" Bill shouted.

Mulder just looked at him, anger clouding his dark eyes. "Why 
don't you just go away and die somewhere where no one will miss 
you? I'm getting sick of all this b.s. you're saying, Bill. You can't 
change us. So stop trying."'

Bill had stormed out of the room, leaving the other three.

Scully sighed a little. If only Bill wasn't around...

XXXXXXX

One week later...

There was a soft knock at the door.

Mulder walked to the door and opened it to see Meredith standing 
there with an overnight bag, and a pillow under one arm. In her 
other hand was a bottle of red wine.

"Thanks for letting me stay with you guys," She said, handing him 
the wine. At his puzzled look, she giggled and said, "I didn't steal it 
this time. Promise. My parents say thank you with wine." She 
walked in and set her stuff down. "So, where is everybody?"

He spoke from the kitchen. "Scully's at work and Will is sleeping. 
Want anything to drink?"

"Water, please." She went in search of William who had begun to 
cry.

He came into the living room, a glass in his hand. "His crib's in 
there." He pointed to the nursery.

"I know," she said from the bedroom. "I've been here plenty of 
times." She emerged with a now awake William, who giggled and 
cooed as she held him in her arms.

He watched her as she sat down playing with his son. He felt that 
connection again. Only this time he had an idea what it was.

XXXXXXX

Later...

"Scully, I need you to do something for me," Mulder said as he sat 
down at the kitchen table.

She was busy getting supper ready and wasn't really listening. 
"Hm...yeah, Mulder?" William's soft cries were heard in the baby 
monitor, then quieted as Meredith started singing softly to him.

~~~"Michael row the boat ashore…Hallelujah…"~~~

"Scully, I need you to get me anything you can find on Meredith's 
adoption, please? I have to know if she's Sam's daughter."

She stopped stirring the hamburger helper and turned to face him. 
"Mulder! I don't know if I can get to confidential juvenile birth 
records." At his puppy dog eyes, she smiled a little. "I'll try."

~~~"Michael row the boat ashore…Hallelujah…"~~~

XXXXXXX

Meredith watched William as he slept, making soft baby noises. 
Suddenly, he began to whimper, then cry.

She picked him up, and started to rock him a little as she sang 
softly.

"Michael row the boat ashore…Hallelujah…"

Then she heard their voices. They were talking just loud enough 
for her to hear him say, "I have to know if Meredith is Sam's 
daughter."

Who was Sam? Not her mom.

Then who could it be?

She walked into Scully's room, bouncing Will gently in her adept 
arms, and noticed a picture on the night table. It was a boy and a 
girl standing together by a tree.

She turned the picture over and saw the words:

Fox, 12. Sam, 8.

XXXXXXX

2 days later...

She slipped out of the apartment, unnoticed. She walked down the 
streets, trying to calm her mind. One word spoke itself over and 
over again in her head, begging to be said aloud.

Adopted.

Meredith Brown was adopted.

When she'd confronted her parents about her origin, they had 
admitted to adopting her, then quickly said that they meant to tell 
her, someday.

Someday. A someday that would never come. And after hearing 
Mulder's words two days ago, her mind reeled with possibilities. 
Was Samantha Mulder her birth mother?

It was just too weird. She walked around the complex a few times 
before going back into the building. As she got in the elevator, she 
tried to think of a way to talk to Mulder about it.

Hi, Mulder, I heard I'm Sam's daughter.

Nope.

Hi, Mulder, I'm your niece, nice to see ya.

Nooo.

Hi, Mulder, your sister got knocked up and guess what happened? 
Me.

Noooooo. No. Noooo.

She would be staying with them again the next weekend.

She 'd think of something by then.

XXXXXXX

That next weekend...

"Mulder?" Meredith said softly, as not to wake William.

"Yeah?" He answered as he took her arm and led her into the 
living room, away from the nursery.

They sat down together on the couch and Mulder turned on the 
TV. Meredith picked up a photo album and absentmindedly leafed 
through it.

"Have you ever...felt a special connection with someone?" she 
asked.

How did she know? Did she...no, it can't be, he thought. "What do 
you mean?"

She sighed a little and turned a page. "You know, like, you look at 
someone and you just...I don't know...feel something different with 
them than with other people."

Whoa. This was scary. She knew exactly how he felt when he saw 
her. She had to know about Samantha, she had to. Or else she 
wouldn't be doing this...

"Mulder," she continued. "You had a sister right? Samantha."

"Yeah."

At his look she giggled. "I didn't read your mind or anything, 
Scully told me all about her when I used to visit a lot. She told me 
the abduction story and about the tests and stuff. Mulder, I didn't 
mean to listen in, but the other day I heard you and Scully talking 
about me. You said something about Sam's ova, and how I could 
be her daughter..."

He nodded. "Someone told me that you were her daughter. I want 
to know if it's true. If a part of her is really in you."

She brightened. "What about a DNA test? Maybe that could tell 
you. I want to know as badly as you do, Mr. Mulder. I really do!"

He sighed again. "Okay..."

XXXXXXX

"Well," Scully said, holding up Meredith's DNA charts, compared 
to Samantha's, "I'd say that Meredith Brown is definitely 
Samantha's daughter. The DNA is nearly identical."

Mulder and Meredith, both sitting on a table across the x-ray room, 
gasped in unison.

Meredith swallowed. "So, I'm his niece?" She gave Mulder a look 
of mock disdain, then giggled softly.

Scully smiled. "Yeah, it seems like that."

"Wow," she breathed. "You know, Mulder, I've always felt that 
special connection with you, and with William. Now I know why."

He smiled at her, and she smiled back. "Welcome to the family."

XXXXXXX

Sometime in the next April...

"I still can't believe the FBI is giving you so much leave time," 
Maggie said as she started to hem the bottom of Scully's dress.

"Well, mom," she replied as her mom began to hem the dress for 
about the twelfth time. "They usually do give a lot of time off. I'm 
just hoping they don't want me gone for good. Mulder's even 
considering going back after the wedding. Skinner offered him a 
job again. But, you know mom, even if neither of us decides to go 
back, we have enough money saved up that we won't need to look 
for jobs for quite awhile. Mulder's family has left him a lot of 
money."

Maggie smiled as she pulled a pin from between her teeth. "I just 
hope it all works out for you. But, Dana, if you are going to settle 
down and have a family, both of you aren't going to want to work. 
Will you quit if you get pregnant again?"

"Yes," she answered. "But I really doubt that will happen."

Maggie worked in silence for a few minutes until Scully spoke up 
again.

"Mom," she changed the subject. "I don't know why I'm nervous 
about all of this. I mean, we have been living together for 5 
months."

Maggie pulled out another pin and stuck it in the dress. "Oh, 
sweetie, it's probably because this is a huge commitment for 
anyone to make. You know, your father and I lived together for 
awhile before we got married, and even though I already had the 
practice of living with him, I was nervous about how it would be 
after the wedding. Things change, Dana. It's not all a honeymoon. 
Five years down the road, it gets different."

"Thanks mom," she joked. "Now I really want to get married."

Then they both just laughed.

XXXXXXX

"Skinner, I don't know why I'm so nervous about this," Mulder 
groaned as he looked at himself in the mirror. He adjusted his 
black bow tie and sighed. "I mean we have been living together for 
awhile now. The wedding's tomorrow, and I feel like a virgin."

Skinner just laughed. "Don't be nervous, Mulder. I was nervous 
when I got married, even though my wife and I lived together for 
two years before we got married. It's just a big commitment to 
make, for anyone."

"Well, I'm just glad you're my best man. Then if I faint you can 
catch me."

"Or," Skinner smirked. "I could just let you fall on the floor and 
make an ass out of yourself."

They both just laughed.

Tomorrow was going to be a great day.

XXXXXXX

"Oh, Aunt Dana, your dress is beautiful," Eighteen year-old Anna 
Scully exclaimed softly as she put up her long red hair. "I'm so 
glad I was able to get away from dad long enough to come out 
here! It's just too bad that he shipped out and wasn't able to make 
it." She spoke of her father, Charlie Scully.

"I agree," Meredith added, smoothing the front of her white 
sleeveless dress. She adjusted the little flowered "headdress," as 
she liked to call it, and flipped the little dangling ribbons back.

Scully adjusted her dress. It was white, contrasting the color of her 
hair, with an empire waist, and skinny straps and a lace overlet. 
"Thank you. You both look beautiful too."

Meredith laughed. "I'm so excited. I'm gonna go see what Uncle 
Mulder is up to!" At that statement, she turned and ran from the 
room, carrying her flower basket and her little white gloves.

Kate Ledger came up behind Anna and sighed. "Dana, I'm so 
happy you're finally settling down."

Anna and Kate's dresses were made of light pink material, the 
same styled waist and straps, but without lace.

Scully pulled her niece and her best friend into her arms and 
hugged them tightly. "I'm just so happy. I'm happy that you both 
could make it for the wedding."

Kate and Anna exchanged a look. "We wouldn't miss it for the 
world," Kate said softly as she pulled her hand up to reveal a little 
sprig of baby's breath. "I thought these would look cute in our 
hair."

Anna laughed as Kate handed her and Scully two sprigs each. 
After they were in their hair, their turned and looked in the mirror, 
laughing at their appearance.

Maggie came in behind them and put her arms around all of them. 
"Well, girls, I would say it's about time to go out there."

XXXXXXX

Skinner adjusted his black bow tie. He and Mulder wore matching 
tuxes. Little Matthew Scully was wearing a little suit and a pillow 
for the rings. He smiled up at Mulder.

"Uncle Fox, when do I get cake?" He asked.

Mulder just reached down and ruffled his soon to be nephew's hair. 
"Soon, bud." He turned to the mirror. "How will Scully think I 
look?"

Suddenly Meredith appeared at his side. "She'll think you look hot, 
Uncle Mulder. Definitely." She raised an eyebrow.

 He started and turned to face her. "Hey, aren't you supposed to be 
with Scully?"

"Yeah," she said, "But I just had to see you!"

Mulder grinned down at her and touched her hair.

Suddenly Maggie appeared. "Five minutes guys. This is it."

Mulder's smile disappeared and he fumbled with his suit. "I'm okay 
right? I feel like I'm a virgin right before the first pass."

Skinner laughed. "Don't be nervous."

"I'm trying, but it becomes increasingly harder by the moment."

As they walked out, Matthew whispered to Meredith, "What's a 
birgin?"

XXXXXXX

Meredith held Matthew's hand and they walked down the aisle 
together. Meredith had to keep him from wandering into the aisles 
or dropping the rings, but somehow they managed to make it up to 
the front.

Anna and Kate were next, one on each side of Mulder, their arms 
linked with his. They walked with a perfect grace, Anna's red hair 
swaying a little and Kate's eyes glittering with happiness at the 
thought of her very best friend getting married. Mulder was sure 
his hands were sweating. He hoped he didn't get them all wet or 
anything, especially since he'd just learned their names a few hours 
earlier. No sense in making a bad impression on his new family.

Then the wedding march began to play softly. Everyone rose as 
Scully entered with Skinner. He was going to give her away since 
her father wasn't there to see her.

Mulder watched as Scully came down the aisle, slowly and 
gracefully. But the look on her face, it held nervousness. But not 
doubt. She smiled at him as she reached the front. Skinner kissed 
her cheek and left her in Mulder's adept hands.

Mulder took her hand and squeezed it lightly, offering her a 
reassuring smile. Then they turned to face the minister.

"We are gathered here today to witness the marriage of Fox 
William Mulder and Dana Katherine Scully, a bonding in holy 
matrimony. The couple has asked to recite their own vows."

Mulder turned to Scully and looked into her blue eyes. He smiled 
and said, "Scully, when I first met you nine years ago, I was 
skeptic as to whether or not you would be a real friend to me." He 
paused, cleared his throat nervously. "But, as time went on, I began 
to see you in a new light. Not one of partnership, or friendship. But 
of love. Scully, you have always been my other half, my 
touchstone, my life. Oh, Dana, I love you so much." He rubbed her 
hand. "And I can't wait to spend my life with you."

She smiled up at him, tears standing in her eyes.

Then she squeezed his hand and took her turn. "Mulder, we've 
been through so much together. Through it all it was you and me. I 
couldn't have done it myself. I love you. I always have, and I 
always will. I want to spend my life with you." She smiled again, 
her eyes beginning to sparkle.

The minister cleared his throat. "And now, the rings."

Skinner gently pushed Matthew forward, and he proudly displayed 
the rings.

Mulder took Scully's, and slipped it onto her wedding ring finger. 
"Dana, with this ring, I vow to stay with you forever. I will never 
leave you again. I will always be here for you, no matter what, 
when you need me."

She took his ring and slid it onto his finger. "Fox, with this ring, I 
pledge to never leave you, never run away. I will always be faithful 
to you, and to our family. I will love you with all my heart, for the 
rest of my life."

The minister continued the ceremony. "May God bless them as 
they continue on the journey of life together, that neither of them 
may stumble or fall. May God bestow his grace, love and 
protection on their home, that it may be built strong and with love 
and dedication. I know pronounce you husband and wife. You may 
kiss the bride."

Mulder leaned in and pressed his lips gently to hers. It ended all 
too soon though. He pulled away and when she silently protested, 
he whispered, "We'll save it for tonight."

She blushed, then beamed. As everyone cheered, they turned to 
walk away and the minister exclaimed, "I now present to you Mr. 
and Mrs. Fox and Dana Mulder!"

Meredith nearly jumped with excitement. She tossed her remaining 
rose petals at the couple and laughed. Kate hugged little Matthew 
to her, and Skinner beamed like a father watching his children 
from the verandah.

Scully couldn't help but notice that Bill was the only person not 
laughing and cheering. In fact, he looked pretty mad.

She tried to forget him and concentrate on the honeymoon, a two- 
week cruise to the Bahamas.

Meredith watched as Mulder kissed Scully again and the crowd 
laughed. They'd already picked out their new house, big enough 
for another addition to the family.

They'd all decided to work together to fix the place up, special for 
them. Everyone was helping. They'd even invited Tara and Bill, 
and although Tara had beamed at the suggestion, Bill had walked 
them away with a "we have to be going."

She hurried along behind the group as they went to take pictures 
before the reception, forgetting about Bill for the moment.

XXXXXXX

"Oh, Mulder! Look at this!" Scully exclaimed as she pulled out a 
set of china from Reyes and Doggett. "Isn't it beautiful?"

Mulder nodded politely. He was waiting for Skinner's gift, who'd 
said something about a present for that night.

As soon as everyone was done oo-ing and ah-ing over the china, 
Mulder picked up Skinner's gift. They opened it together, to reveal 
some lingerie and a book about marriage.

"Ah, Scully, this is my type of present," Mulder said as he gently 
laid it back in the box, winking at Skinner as he went.

Scully blushed profusely, and Tara and Bill's 3 year-old daughter, 
Erin, laughed at them. Tara smiled happily and picked Erin up so 
she could see the presents.

After awhile, they decided to leave, get ready for their trip that 
evening: flying to Florida so they could leave for their cruise.

After they got into the limousine, Mulder closed the driver- 
passenger divider and pulled Scully onto his lap and kissed her 
neck.

She laughed and pulled his lips up to hers. They kissed a few 
times, and then she settled back on his chest. "Ah, Mulder, we 
finally did it."

"Yeah," Mulder said. "I was nervous."

"Me too," she said. "But now, it's all over, and all we have to look 
forward to after the flight is…"

Mulder pulled one of the straps off her shoulder. "The first 
marriage pass."

"Mulder!" She said. "Right idea, wrong wording there."

"Oh, I think it's perfectly all right." He grinned at her and kissed 
her again while sliding her shoes off.

"Mulder, can't you wait?"

He looked her in the eyes. "I'm gonna keep going until we have to 
get out Skinner's gift. We'll save that part for tonight."

"Okay, Mulder," she laughed. "Okay."

XXXXXXX

The Next Morning…

"Goodbye, William," Scully cooed as she held him. "We'll see you 
in a couple of weeks, baby."

Meredith smiled as she took Will from her arms. "He'll be in good 
hands."

Mulder appeared next to Scully and took possession of her hands. 
They were all standing on the dock together: Mulder and Scully, 
Meredith, William, Matthew, Erin, Skinner, Maggie, Doggett, 
Reyes, Bill, Tara, Anna, and Kate. They'd all flown down to see 
them off. Bill only came because Tara made him.

The Florida day was, as usual, hot and sunny in April. It was the 
perfect day to start a cruise.

"We'd better go," he said softly. He reached out and hugged 
Meredith and his son. "See you guys soon."

William giggled and Meredith beamed.

He pulled Maggie into a hug and said, "See you later, Mom."

Maggie grinned at him and kissed him on the cheek. "Bye, Fox. 
Have fun."

He winked at her. "Oh, I will."

Scully hugged her mom, Anna, and Kate, one at a time with an I'll 
miss you so much and you'll have to come visit. She even tried to 
hug Bill, although it was strained.

They turned and walked up the ramp to the cruise ship, yelling 
good-byes over their shoulders.

XXXXXXX

They were immediately shown to their room, a honeymoon suite 
complete with everything. Mulder sat down on the king-sized bed 
and looked around. "This is great. Think we'll ever leave the room, 
Scully?"

She set her bags down in the corner, and then came and sat next to 
him. "Of course we will, Mulder. I want to get a tan."

"A tan? What's your swimming suit look like?" He raised his 
eyebrows.

She jumped up and started walking to the bathroom. On her way 
she grabbed a bag with her swim stuff in it. When she was all the 
way in the bathroom, she leaned back and stuck her head out, 
grinning slyly. "You'll just have to wait and see!"

"Ooh boy," he whispered to himself as he went to find his swim 
trunks somewhere among his stuff. After about a minute of 
searching, he found them. He stuck one leg in, and somehow ended 
up getting stuck in them. He fell to the floor, and finally he got 
them on, just as she came out, all wrapped up in a white beach 
towel so he couldn't see anything but her legs and her head.

She grinned. "Ready?"

He looked her up and down for a second. "But, don't I get to see 
what you're wearing?" "I want to surprise you," she laughed. 
"Come on, Fox Mulder, let's go!" She reached out of her towel and 
tossed him one for himself.

He caught it with ease and threw it over his shoulder. He followed 
her to the door, and when she reached her hand out to open the 
door, he snatched the towel away from her and put it over his other 
shoulder.

He gave a low whistle at the sight of her. "Ooo, Dana Mulder, 
what would your catholic sisters think of you?"

She was wearing a white bikini with a high cut bottom and a 
triangle top that tied in the middle. Around her hips was a little 
gold chain.

She sighed warily and grabbed her towel back. "Mulder, I knew 
you were going to do that. Let's go, come on!"

She seized his arm and he followed her out the door in a daze.

XXXXXXX

Scully stretched out on a white beach chair and sighed contentedly. 
Mulder came up and sat down next to her, handing her a glass of 
lemonade.

"Thanks, Mulder," she said, sitting up and taking a sip. "Mm."

They just lay around in their chairs, talking, until an unfamiliar 
face appeared above them.

"Hello, mates," the man said. "Enjoying your cruise so far?"

They sat up, Mulder peering through his sunglasses at the man, 
assumedly the captain. He didn't like the way his gaze lingered on 
Scully. "Just fine," he answered.

Scully lifted her sunglasses to her hair and smiled a little. "It's very 
peaceful."

The captain smiled. "We take pride in keeping our cruises as 
tranquil as possible for our customers."

Mulder added, "It's just perfect for our honeymoon. I'm glad we 
picked it." He stressed the word honeymoon, piercing the captain 
with shaded eyes.

The man's smile faded a little, but he nodded just the same. "A lot 
of couples pick our cruises for their honeymoons. Well, I'm glad 
you're enjoying it, and maybe I'll see you later." That part was 
directed to Scully, it was obvious since he looked her direction.

Mulder scowled at his back as he walked away. When he was out 
of sight, Scully asked, "What's wrong Mulder?"

He replied, "He was hitting on you, Scully."

"No he wasn't Mulder. He was just being friendly. It's their job."

"But still…"

She smiled and kissed him. "It's okay, Mulder. Hey, look. We're 
the only ones out here right now. You want to go take a dip?"

"Sure." They got up and walked to the edge of the pool. Scully 
slipped in easily, shuddering at first from the cool water. Mulder 
came in behind her and drew her to him until she was sitting 
between his legs. They stretched out together; she leaned up 
against his chest, and they just took in the sun.

She sighed happily. "Oh, Mulder, I'm so glad we got to get away 
and do this. It's been forever since we could be alone. I mean, 
really alone."

He slipped his arms around her hips. "It feels great just to be here 
with you, sitting in the pool, taking in the sun, and knowing that 
you're all mine."

She laughed and swam away from him. "Not for long!" She 
squealed and splashed water at him.

The water hit its target, getting him right in the face. With feigned 
anger, he jumped up and swam after her, his arms moving in 
graceful strokes across the clear water. She swam faster and faster, 
but ultimately he caught up with her and grabbed her arms.

"Oh, so you think you can get me wet and not get it back yourself? 
Give a little, get a little, Agent Scully!" With that he dunked her all 
the way under.

A few seconds later she emerged, coughing and sputtering for air, 
but laughing just the same. He looked at her, soaking wet and 
coughing hard, and he had to stifle a laugh.

Then she stopped. She just stared at him for a minute. She reached 
out as far as she could and made a little splash. When he looked 
away she jumped on him and pushed him under. He came up 
beneath her so she was straddling his legs.

"Got you!" She laughed triumphantly.

"Oh, Dana," he said. "You had to have known that I did that on 
purpose, letting you get me like that. I saw you splash the water."

"I had you big time," she whispered as she nibbled on his ear a 
little.

"Oo, Scully, you know we're outside, people are probably 
watching us," he joked.

"Let them watch," she smiled, kissing his cheek and swimming 
away again. "Oh and remember we're going to that dinner tonight. 
No dinner in our room today."

"Oh, darn. And I was hoping I could feed you grapes in bed." He 
got up and out of the pool.

As he helped her out, she muttered, "Tomorrow night sounds good, 
Fox Mulder."

"You're on, Dana Mulder."

XXXXXXX

The last night…

"Oh, Mulder, I can't believe we're leaving tomorrow," Scully said 
as they stood on the deck, watching the waves gently caress the 
sides of the cruise ship.

Mulder slid his arms around her stomach and rocked back and 
forth gently. "This has been the best two weeks of my life, Scully. 
And when we go back tomorrow, it'll be just as good."

She sighed, "I know. But I'm still going to miss this, just the two of 
us, no one around. It's heavenly."

"It is," he replied. "You know, Scully, I don't think I'm going to 
take that job offer from Skinner. We can sell my family's extra 
summer homes, we have a few in different places. If we put the 
money in the bank, plus the money from my parent's wills, we'll 
have enough to get on for awhile."

She turned in his arms and smiled up at him. "Really, Mulder? I 
think that's a good idea."

"Of course we'll keep the Quanacatog home. That one was always 
my favourite." He smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Well, 
we'd better be heading to bed. We've got a long trip ahead of us 
tomorrow." He reached down and picked her up.

"Mulder, what are you doing?" she laughed.

"Carrying you over the threshold. We haven't done that yet."

She just threw back her head and laughed as he carried his damsel 
across the threshold.

XXXXXXX

The Next Day…

1129 Armor Street Albridge, Maryland

They finally arrived at the house. Scully removed her sunglasses 
and brushed back a strand of hair as she climbed out of the car. 
Mulder was right behind her, taking both of their bags.

Meredith stared out the window as the newlyweds got out of the 
car, her small nose pressed against the pane. They looked different, 
with dark tans and an air of what it feels like to be married. He 
carried her bag along with his.

She couldn't help but gasp. They were back, but the work on the 
house wasn't done. They'd planned to fix up their new house, but 
the paint job wasn't quite finished.

She hurriedly picked up her bucket of ivory paint and her roller 
and got to work on the remaining wall of the living room as she 
called to Anna that they were home.

Anna Scully flicked back her red ponytail with one hand as she 
stood back to admire her job in the master bedroom. The light 
yellow paint on the walls gleamed with newness. The bed was 
made up in one area of the room, with brand new sheets and 
pillows that begged to be slept on. The ivory carpet was clean and 
spotless where it led to the master bathroom. She grinned to 
herself. Her aunt was going to love this.

Kate sighed as she tried to put together the pieces of the oak dining 
room table. She blew her brunette hair out of her eyes as she 
attached the final leg. Skinner entered the room and helped her turn 
the table over. She smiled at him gratefully. He smiled back, and 
went back to work fixing up the kitchen.

Kate started when she heard Meredith call out, "They're home!"

XXXXXXX

Mulder took out his key and started to unlock the door, but to his 
surprise it was already waiting to be opened. He pushed the door 
open a little and he and Scully walked in to see everyone working 
frantically on their new home.

Scully was shocked speechless when Meredith ran up, her eyes 
bright and excited. "So, how do you like it? We were going to have 
it all done before you came back, but it's taken longer than we 
thought."

She just nodded. "It's wonderful. Thank you so much!"

A little while later, the work was complete, with the exception of 
some drying paint. Everyone gathered in the living room, Maggie 
holding William, who was very happy to see his parents but would 
rather sit with his grandma.

Mulder noticed that for some reason, Bill was in presence. He 
almost laughed. Maggie must have made him come.

"So," Maggie started. "How was the honeymoon? We're dying to 
know!"

"Mom…" Scully said, but Mulder interrupted.

"It was wonderful. We spent every day by the pool, and every 
evening…" He nudged Scully with his elbow and winked to the 
group, which made them all laugh.

Scully rolled her eyes good-naturedly and smiled.

Suddenly, Bill stood up.

"I can't take this anymore!" he said, nearly yelling. "I just cannot 
sit by here and watch this shit!"

Anna surprised everyone by standing up too. "Bill, I am sick and 
tired of YOUR shit. Be happy for them, for god's sake! You 
always have had a problem with this, so tell me, why are you even 
around? We don't want you here if you're just going to be a ass!"


Bill's expression turned from anger, to shock, and back to anger 
again. He just shook his head and stormed out of the room.

Anna sat back down. "I'm sorry, Aunt Dana, I didn't mean to ruin 
the fun. I'm just tired of Bill. He's driving himself crazy over this! 
And me too!"

Mulder coughed. "It's okay, Anna. He deserves what he gets."

Anna laughed. "Glad you agree, Uncle Mulder." She too a little 
bow and sat back down as the conversation started up again, this 
time on the new home.

XXXXXXX

About a week later…

"Shut up!" Bill screamed.

When had it gotten this bad? Scully wondered as she stood by 
Mulder. Bill had come over to 'talk about the problems and get 
everything resolved,' or so he had said. Now they were yelling at 
each other, Mulder and Scully on one side of their glass coffee 
table and Bill on the other.

Bill took a swing at Mulder, but he dodged the fist and Bill fell 
onto the coffee table, shattering it into a zillion sparkling pieces. 
Some of the glass had flown into Mulder's face, cutting him on the 
cheek.

Bill stood, and Scully noticed his eyes. Not the eyes of her loving 
brother, who was at times overprotective. They were eyes of a 
madman.

Suddenly, Bill pulled out a dark object. Mulder instinctively 
jumped up and shielded Scully with his arms.

Scully tried pleading with him. "Bill, you don't have to do this."

"Yes," he said. "I do."

Bill turned dark eyes to his sister and her husband, holding the 
object in his large hand. "I told you you'd regret this, Dana. Now 
you will both pay."

Scully looked at Mulder, standing next to her. A bright red cut ran 
down the side of his face, oozing red blood. She felt a need to help 
him, but knew she couldn't.

Mulder stood his ground, pulling Scully behind him a little. She 
knew instinctively that he had recognized the object.

It was her gun.

Bill held out the gun, pointing it straight at Mulder, right between 
the eyes. "I told you this was a big mistake. I can't let you ruin my 
sister's happiness."

Scully peeked out from behind Mulder's favourite grey T-shirt. 
"Bill, if you hurt him, you will be ruining my happiness. Bill..."

Bill suddenly snapped, shaking the gun. "SHUT UP DANA!"

Then Bill pulled the trigger. The bullet seemed to turn, seemed to 
move in slow motion, moving towards them. Scully screamed, 
throwing herself in front of Mulder. In the path of the bullet.

Suddenly, everything went black, and she could hear voices, 
vaguely in her mind. She fought to hear them. The darkness 
became a swirl of every color of the rainbow, and she thought she 
heard Mulder's voice whispering her name.

But she wasn't sure, wasn't sure of anything but the pain. She heard 
Bill's gasp, heard Mulder screaming her name and calling 911 to 
come save his damsel in distress.

And she closed her eyes, not wanting to fight anymore.

END OF PART 2

XXXXXXX