TITLE: Mulder's Birthday Present AUTHOR: Erin M. Blair E-MAIL: eblair@sonic.net CLASSIFICATION/CATEGORY: SRA--Story, Romance, Angst CONTENT: Mulder/Scully Romance. RATING: PG DISTRIBUTION/ARCHIVE STATEMENT: OK to Gossamer, Ephemeral, EMXC, The Cutting Room Floor, After the Fact. Others: please ask me first. SPOILERS: The Truth, William. Small spoilers from all episodes from Season One to Season Nine. SETTING: Post-The Truth then AU. DATE: First draft: October 8, 2003. Final draft: October 13, 2003. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Thanks to Jen for beta reading. DISCLAIMER: Mulder, Scully, and William belong to Chris Carter. SUMMARY: What would Scully give Mulder for his birthday present? ------------------------------------ Mulder's Birthday Present Written by: Erin M. Blair ------------------------------------ Mulder's Apartment Apartment 42, 2630 Hegal Place Alexandria, VA October 13, 2003 I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock and my eyes were having trouble adjusting to the morning light. I knew what today is - my birthday. I turned 42 years old today and I don't think I will be doing anything special to celebrate it. I haven't felt like celebrating lately -- not since I came back from the dead for the the third time. Every single year brings more hardships for Scully and myself. I can't bear to see Scully hurting from the loss of our child. I told Scully there's a way for William to be returned to us, that we can put a stop to the adoption proceedings since I wasn't told about it. I didn't sign the papers. I know I still have rights. My attorney told me that I could get the child from the Van de Kamps. I'm glad that I had been looking for him. It has become my holy grail since I found out that Samantha's dead. Dead. I could write a book about dying. I know how it feels to be dead. I feel so morose today. I can't help feeling this way. Turning 42 means that I'm one year older than I was before. Yesterday, I was just 41 years old. It means one more year of not having my family. I wanted so much to return to my life with Scully and William. When Scully told me how she gave up our son, I understand why she did it. Still, I knew we could protect our child better than any family who doesn't know about the danger he faces. We can protect William better than any family because we were trained as federal agents in the FBI. There would still be danger, of course, but I know we could protect him with the strength of our love. If I receive any birthday present, I'd like it to be a reunion with our son. I want our son, damn it! I want us to be complete. A part of me seems to be incomplete without him. I know Scully feels the same way as I do. I know she's trying to do everything she could to make everything up to me because she simply lost faith in herself. I closed my eyes, remembering the pain in her eyes when she told me she gave our son up. I was in the military brig at the time. She came to me, saddened, her heart was on the loose string. Her beautiful blue eyes, once radiant, became an empty sea. She didn't have to tell me about William; I already knew what sacrifices and trauma she must have gone through without me. I knew what kind of danger she was in with William while I was away. I shouldn't have left them -- that has to be the stupidest mistake that I had ever made. They have divided and conquered us, using our paranoia and our fear to their advantage. I fell for it -- hook, line, and sinker. I fell for it. Big time. And now I'm paying the price: the loss of our baby boy. I had no idea that Scully felt the same way. *** The phone rang. I picked up the phone and answered it dully. "Mulder." "Mulder, it's me. I want you to come to our apartment. I have a surprise for you," said Scully. "All right," I replied. "What's the surprise?" "You'll see," said Scully rather mysteriously. I still kept my apartment when I wanted to be alone, to think about everything. I was lucky that Scully kept paying rent for my apartment when I came back. *** After I got dressed, I went to our house in Falls Church. We moved there after Scully became pregnant with our second child. This time, we're not going to give up our baby. We learned that we could take care of our child. So far, there are no signs that our child would be as special as William was. Giving up William was a huge mistake. It's a mistake that we're not going to make again with our second child. I knew Scully was trying to get William back with us but there were a few roadblocks to conquer. Something told me she had a surprise for me. I wondered what it could be. My mind began racing with ideas but there was one that I knew I wanted. I want our son back. It's been my dream ever since I was told about the adoption, for which I had no say in the matter. There's no reason for us to run away, hidden away, from ourselves and our lives. Last year, we had beat the Super Soldiers and the aliens by creating a magnetite compound which eradicated aliens for good. The President granted us our old jobs. He wants us to head up the X-Files Department under the Department of Homeland Security. "Scully?" "I'm in the bedroom with your surprise," said Scully. "Scully, are you talking dirty with me?" "Wouldn't you like to find out, G-man?" asked Scully, teasingly. I walked into the bedroom where Scully was sitting on the bed with...William! "How did you...?" "I had help from Skinner. He convinced the Van de Kamps to give him up, told them that the adoption was coerced, that I wasn't of mind when I gave him up and how you didn't know. Luckily, they decided to return him to us." Finally, I understood all those hours she was on the phone. "Oh my...." I didn't know what to say. For the' first time, I was rendered speechless. "I...Scully..." "You don't have to say anything, G-man," said Scully. "William's so beautiful," I said as I fingered my son's baby fine dark auburn hair. "He has your coloring." "I know," said Scully. "I thought this would never happen but I'm glad we have him back. Getting back William in time for your birthday was the one thing I could give you. I knew it was what I wanted, too." I looked into Scully's beautiful, clear blue eyes as they finally sparkled with happiness and contentment. I put my arms around her, thrilled with joy, and I leaned in for a kiss. My lips parted for the most wonderous kiss I had ever been given. I could feel her warm, moist lips onto mine. "We have to put Willam to bed," she said, as she realized that our child was between us. "Will -- I have to show you to your bedroom." The child looked up to us, his hazel eyes widened at both of us. He gave us a small smile, looking happy to be with us, at last. I watched Scully tucking in our son in his toddler bed. "Scully?" Scully turned around to face me. "What?" My eyes were filled with tears of happiness. "Thank you for making this a special day for me." I paused. "I didn't think my birthday would be a good one. It hasn't been for the past couple of years." "I promise you that I will do anything to make every single birthday to be very special for you," said Scully as she stood on tiptoe to give me a kiss. "And I know I will, Mulder." I clasp my hands around her waist. "I'm looking forward to spend every birthday with you, William, and our new baby. Of course, this is barring any abductions." "I remember you telling me how the Mulder family pass genetic muster," said Scully. Her lips turned upward in a smile. This truly has been the best birthday that I had ever had. Sure, I had some memorable birthdays but this one takes the cake. For the first time in the past few years, I feel content and happy. We're both happy because our family is now complete. I'm glad that we're both smiling after everything that we've been through together. End of Story Feedback: I love feedback. MulderClones will be sent to every respondent. :) Send to: eblair@sonic.net Dedications: I would like to thank my family and my readers for their support. I would like to thank everyone at Haven for their support as well. I want to dedicate this story to my nephew who is one week old today. :) This story is also dedicated to Jen who has always been there for me. Author's Notes: This is my first Muldermas (Mulder's birthday) story that I had ever written. I couldn't believe that I never written one before now. I knew I did Scully's birthday stories so many times --- I just never did a birthday story for Mulder. I've got a few more Muldermas stories to write. Hopefully, I can get them done in time for Halloween. I hope you will enjoy this story as I had fun writing it.