TITLE: William's Fifth Birthday AUTHOR: Erin M. Blair E-MAIL: eblair@sonic.net / erinmblair@gmail.com FEEDBACK: Yes, please. DISTRIBUTION: OK to Gossamer, Ephemeral, The Nursery Files, and MSR Fanfic Cheerleaders Archive. RATING: PG CATEGORIES: SRA -- Story, Romance, Angst. KEYWORDS: Mulder/Scully Married. SPOILERS: Existence then AU. DISCLAIMER: Mulder, Scully, William Scully-Mulder, Emily Sim (now Mulder) and Maggie Scully belong to Chris Carter. Melissa, Katherine, Elizabeth, David and Megan Mulder belong to me. SUMMARY: William turns five years old; Mulder and Scully's twins are born on May 20, 2006. NOTES: This story is for "William's Fifth Birthday Challenge" at the Nursery Files. Elements at the end of the story. I would like to thank Sally Bahnson for beta reading my story. This story is a sequel to "Happy Birthday William" when he turned three. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Mommy, Daddy - are you going to wake up!" William tapped his parents, trying to get them to wake up. He saw his mother stirring, moaning softly from his incessant attempts. "It's my birthday!" Scully opened her eyes and focused on her son. "I know, William. You're five years old today." She looked at Mulder and noticed that he was still asleep. It didn't look like he was going to wake up anytime soon. She got up and put on her robe. She walked out to the hallway with William, hoping to get the excited boy back in his room. Unfortunately, there was no stopping the birthday boy. All he wanted was to stay up as long as he wanted. He was looking at his beautifully wrapped presents, especially the weirdly shaped one that he couldn't guess. "Can we open the presents now?" "Not yet, William. Your father and sisters haven't woken up yet." "Mommy, come on! Let's wake up Daddy, Emily, Melissa, Katherine, and Elizabeth!" She laughed at his persistence. Just like Mulder, she thought with a smile. "You remind me so much of your Daddy." "Really?" She nodded while gently rubbing her pregnant stomach. She was about to say something when her oldest daughter was standing in the hallway. Scully and Mulder was blessed with another miracle their daughter, Emily Christine Mulder, who used to go by Emily Sim. Shortly after William was born, Scully found out that Emily was alive. And she found out comparing Mulder's PCR & DNA tests with little Emily's that she was also his daughter. "Did Will wake you, Emily?" Twelve-year-old Emily nodded and frowned at her brother. "Yes, he did." "I did not!" Emily sighed. "William, you woke me up with your screaming, it's my birthday!'throughout the house." "You can go back to sleep. It's still too early for breakfast. You can wait for a while." "Mommy, I'm not tired. I want to stay up. Since Daddy, Melissa Katherine, and Elizabeth are still sleeping, maybe you can tell us about when you first met Daddy?" "Mommy, I want to hear it again," William murmured excitedly. Scully smiled. The kids always wanted to hear about the time when she first was assigned to Mulder on the X-Files. "All right." She paused briefly, looking at the faces of her children and then at her pregnant stomach. She was still amazed, after all these years, at how lucky she was. "I met your father when I was assigned to debunk his work on the X-Files. I think you know this, right? Well, that was our official' version - all of our friends know that, but the fact is that we'd always seen each other before. We had brief meetings over coffee a few times. Until the day that I was assigned to him as his partner on the X- Files, our relationship deepened." "Did these coffee meetings equal dates, Mom?" Emily wondered. William groaned. "Mommy, did you and Daddy kiss a lot?" Scully laughed. "I think you're getting ahead of yourself, Will. The meetings at the coffeehouse didn't exactly equal dates, Emily. We just happened to be there at the right time to get our coffees but it did blossom into something more." Emily mumbled. "Mom, back to the official version..." "OK, Emily. Our first case took place in Bellefleur, Oregon. A group of high school graduates was disappearing by an unknown force - your Daddy thought they were being abducted by aliens and I thought that it could be explained away by scientific facts. Let's just say that it turned out that your father was right." "Mommy, was this the same case that you reopened when you discovered I was in your tummy?" "Yes, William. Years later, one of the graduates Billy Miles called us to report a string of disappearances by some locals. Many locals were being abducted. Your Daddy felt that they wouldn't return no matter how hard we tried to search for them." Mulder walked into the hallway and hugged his wife. They walked down to the living room. He sat down on the sofa with Scully sitting beside him. William ran over to stare with his big hazel eyes looking at the huge present. Mulder grinned at their kids. "Are you telling them an X-File, Scully?" "Mulder, I thought you were sleeping." "I finally woke up when I didn't see you on our bed," Mulder said. Finally tearing away from looking at the big present, William smiled at his father. "Daddy, I woke up Mommy and Emily! Today's my birthday!" "I know, Will. You're the big five years old today!" Mulder tousled his son's hair. "And you're going to receive two big surprises today." "Two surprises, Daddy?" Mulder nodded. He looked at Scully. "You didn't tell him, did you?" "Mulder, you know that I can keep secrets very well." "What is he getting?" Emily asked. "Your little brother or sister is due today," Scully said, smiling. "But we're not going to say what we got him." Emily looked at her almost-hyper brother and moaned. "But Mom, he'll find out anyway... " Mulder gave a knowing glance at Scully as they both knew that Emily was right. "He's a smart kid, Scully." "I know. We can't tell Emily with Will looking at his presents. And my mom is coming over today for the party." "Grandma's coming over to my birthday party?" William asked. "Yay!" "Yes, she's coming over, Will." "Yay!" * * * After they got the kids to go back to bed for a couple of hours, Scully snuggled with Mulder in their bed. "Mulder, what are you thinking?" "How lucky we are, Scully. I heard what you told Emily and William." "Oh." Mulder fingered Scully's pregnant stomach. "I wish I was there for you when you found out about William." He paused. "Sometimes, I keep wondering what our life would have been like if I hadn't gone back to Oregon with Skinner." Scully was starting to feel pain in her lower back. "Mulder, I know you feel like you've missed out, but you were there for us when it mattered the most." "I wasn't there when you gave birth to him. Monica was there." "I know. You were there to bring us to safety and everything afterwards." She paused. "When you came back to me, you were so lost and so unsure what your place was in my life. After William was born, I noticed how your eyes sparkled." "Scully, that's when I realized where I was needed. With you and William. We married and had twins. Then Emily came back into our lives and then we had Elizabeth. And now we're expecting again." "Can you believe the baby will be born the same day as William?" "And I'll be there every step of the way when you give birth to him or her." "I know, Mulder." She paused, feeling the sudden dampness on the sheets. She knew full well what that means. "I think..." She trailed off and she saw her husband nod. "I think..I'm going into labor, Mulder." She moaned. "We're having a baby. Now." Mulder nodded again. "I'll call the hospital." He gave her a wry grin. "I guess this means that William will have to celebrate his birthday later in the day." She moaned again. "Mulder..." * * * "Grandma!" William ran to Maggie Scully. She was carrying a birthday present for him, who entered the house to babysit the children. William noticed his father carrying the suitcase and he vaguely remembered a time when he was three when they did the same thing. "Mommy's having the baby now!" "I know. There is another reason why I'm here," Maggie said, smiling. "Yes, for my birthday!" Maggie nodded. "Yes, William." She looked over at Mulder and Scully. "I'll take care of the kids while you two have the baby." "Thanks, Mom." She hugged her mother. "We'll call you once the baby's born." * * * Maggie got the call four hours later and she was smiling at her grandchildren. Emily and William were watching "Sesame Street," Melissa and Katherine were playing dolls with little Elizabeth. The children gave her an expectant smile as they all knew what she was going to tell him. "Did Mom have the baby?" Emily asked. "Well?" "Grandma, do I have a new sister or a brother?" "I hope it's a new sister!" Melissa exclaimed. Maggie smiled. "You have both." The children were all talking at the same time. They looked at each other and knew. Emily was the first to speak up. She did simple addition in her head. "Grandma, does this mean that Mommy and Daddy will bring home two babies?" "That's correct." "Did they name them?" William asked. "Can we go see them?" "Your parents didn't name them yet. I am going to take you all to see them and they'll name the babies then. William, I know you're supposed to have a birthday party but the plans have changed." "I won't get to open my presents?" "It means that we have to do it at the hospital, but you'll still have a birthday party." * * * Mulder tenderly kissed Scully on the mouth. He knew they had an audience now with the babies they were holding, but he didn't care. Nothing could stop the feelings of love that he had for her. "I love you, Scully. We have two new babies to love, including Emily, William, Melissa, Katherine and Elizabeth. What are we going to name our new son and daughter?" "I don't know, Mulder. We thought we were having just one baby - not fraternal twins. Let's wait until Mom and the kids arrive. OK?" Mulder nodded. He gently put down their new son in the hospital's bassinet. "He's so..." Scully's smile deepened, remembering the day five hears ago when she gave birth to William. "I know. He looks like William when he was a baby this age." An hour later, Maggie took the children to see Mulder and Scully at the hospital. The kids were all smiles with giddy with excitement. Even William, who was still slightly upset that he wouldn't get a real birthday party this year, was happy to come to see his new siblings. When they got there, the children saw their parents holding the babies. Emily wanted to hold her baby sister, who had the same strawberry blonde hair like her. "She's so pretty. Mommy and Daddy." "What's her name?" Katherine asked, curious. "And what's his name?" William asked, looking at his little brother. Scully softly smiled at her children and then looked at Mulder and her mother. "Their names are David and Megan." "Those names are perfect, Scully." Scully sighed. "I know. What were you going to pick?" "I thought I would let you pick the names," Mulder replied. He tousled William's hair. "William, these babies were born on your birthday." "Daddy, Mommy, are David and Megan my presents?" William asked, playfully. His hazel eyes sparkled with happiness and love for his parents, siblings, and grandmother. Scully looked into the eyes of her older son and smiled at him. "I know this isn't what you had in mind for your birthday, but these babies are a gift. Just like you, William. Always remember that." "I will, Mommy," William answered. He smiled at his family. "The babies are a wonderful gift." He hugged his parents. "Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Emily, Katherine, Melissa, Elizabeth, and now little David and Megan thank you for giving me a great birthday!" Mulder picked his son up in his arms. All he could think of was when he first held his son and tears welled in his eyes. "William, you are our gift. Our miracle. When I held you in my arms when you were a baby just like David and Megan, all I wanted for you was to be happy." "I'm happy, Daddy." ~*~* The End Elements for "William's Fifth Birthday Challenge:" Challenge Elements: - Set your fic on May 20th, 2006 - William receives a very special gift. (which doesn't have to be an object. It could be alive or intangible) What is it? - Someone William is very excited to see visits on his birthday. Who is it? - An adult tells William as little or as much as you like about the X-File of your choice.