From: ephemeral@ephemeralfic.org
Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2001 19:18:44 -0600
Subject: Playing House (1/2) by mercury_999
Source: direct

Reply To: mercury_999@hotmail.com


Title:  Playing House
Author:  mercury_999
Rating:  PG
Spoilers:  none
Keywords: MSR, H
Disclaimer:  Not mine.  Most characters belong to Chris
Carter, 1013 Productions and FOX Broadcasting.  Although,
the twins are 
my creation.  
Distribution: Please ask first, but I'll always say yes. :)
Feedback: :) mercury_999@hotmail.com
Author's Notes: Thanks for editing Frohike!
XxXxX

Thursday, November 25, 1999
Mulder's Apartment

'Four days left.' Mulder thought as he bounced his basketball
on the floor of his apartment. He had taken the rest of the week
off.  'Why go to work to be cooped up in the basement without
a case to work on and no partner to work on it with?'  Scully
had taken two weeks off to visit a friend up in Vermont. She
was going to be back to work on Monday.  Mulder didn't want
to admit it to himself, but he missed her putting up with his
comments and lame jokes in their stuffy, basement office.

The phone rang, Mulder threw the basketball, leapt over the
coffee table and grabbed the phone in midair. He landed on his
ass in between the coffee table and the couch. "Mulder," he
groaned.

"Fox? Are you okay?" a voice asked.

"Yeah, Mrs. Scully, I'm fine," Mulder said, standing up.

He heard chuckling on the other end of the line. "Fox what are
you doing tonight?" she asked.

"It's Thanksgiving. I'm going to do what most other people are
doing," Mulder said.

"So you already have plans?" There was a hint of
disappointment in her voice.

"No, I don't have any plans..." Mulder said.

"Would you like to join us for supper?" Mrs. Scully asked.

Mulder paused before answering. "I don't want to interrupt
anything, thanks for the offer though."

"You're funny. How about six?" she asked.

"Six is fine. Do you want me to bring anything, Mrs. Scully?"
Mulder asked.

"No, Fox, please call me Maggie. After all, it's the least I can
do," Maggie replied.

"Wh-" Mulder started.

"See you at six, gotta go, bye." 

Mulder stood staring at the phone in wonder.
XxXxX

Scully Residence
5:50 p.m.

Mulder pressed the doorbell and dropped his hands to his sides.
A few seconds later, an unfamiliar man opened the door. He
had short brown hair and deep blue eyes. He reminded Mulder
of Byers, in some odd way. He was wearing a plaid shirt and
jeans. He had a bright smile.  Mulder glanced at the house to
make sure he wasn't knocking on Maggie's neighbours door. 
He wasn't.

"You must be Mulder. I've heard a lot about you. Come on in,
I'm Charles, Charles Scully," Charles extended his hand and
Mulder shook it.

"Fox Mulder. So you're the other brother? I'm pleased to meet
you," Mulder said, entering the living room.

"This is my wife, Andrea," Charles said. 

Andrea nodded to him. Her eyes were light brown and her hair
was long and blond with brown highlights.  She was wearing a
cream colored blouse that was untucked from her short black
skirt.

"Hi Mulder," she said casually. Suddenly two kids burst into
the room, and Mulder wondered if he was seeing double, as
two sandy blond boys, dressed identically in overalls and 
T-shirts surrounded him.

"Is this Uncie Moldy?" The one on Mulder's left asked his
mother.

"His name is Mulder, Daniel," Andrea said, "Sorry about that.
Ever since we mentioned Dana and you, they've called you
that."

"Dana and I?"  Mulder asked in confusion.  Andrea shrugged. 
"Don't worry, I've been called far worse."

"So?" Mulder asked Charles, "What do you do?"

"I am a lawyer and Andrea is a fashion designer," Charles said. 

"How long have you been with Dana?" Andrea asked.

"With? Uh, I've known her for six years..." Mulder trailed off
with a groan.

"So it was love at first sight?  I've heard of people do that, it's
very romantic." Andrea said dreamily. Mulder squirmed.

"I guess so..." he said.

The twins suddenly jumped up and ran around the living room,
screaming like crazy. They had little toy guns that were making
a hell of a racket.

"Fox? Could you come here, please?" Maggie said as she came
out of the kitchen.

"Excuse me," Mulder said to Andrea and Charles, then
followed Maggie into the kitchen. "Can I help you with
anything?"

"Actually, I was wondering if you could cut the turkey?"
Maggie asked.

"Sure," Mulder answered, as he took the silver carving knife
from Maggie's hand.
XxXxX

Scully dragged her suitcase out of the taxi and walked up to the
front door. She rang the doorbell because she was too tired to
dig her keys out of her purse. A few seconds later she heard
loud yelling from inside the house, then the door opened. 
Scully's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

"Charles?" Scully asked in disbelief. "Oh my god." She
dropped her suitcase and threw her arms around her brother.
She pulled apart and saw Andrea standing up to greet her.

"Dana darling, how have you been?" Andrea said, as she
hugged Scully.

"Great and you?" Scully asked, pulling away.

"Fabulous," Andrea replied, as Daniel and Peter ran into the
entry and each grabbed one of Scully's legs.

"Auntie Dana!" Daniel yelled and started jumping up and
down.

"Wow, you guys are big. I haven't seen you since you were
born, almost six years ago!" Scully exclaimed. The twins
pulled Scully into the living room, then disappeared upstairs.
Charles paused a moment before chasing after them. Andrea
picked up two candles from the living room to put on the
dining room table. Scully turned to go see her mother in the
kitchen and as Andrea was walking by, she accidentally
elbowed Scully in the side. Scully went tumbling around the
corner.
XxXxX

Mulder heard yelling from the living room and he went out to
see what the big fuss was. He was almost to the corner of the
living room, when Scully came falling around the corner.  He
was only a few feet away, he jumped forward and caught
Scully before she landed on the hardwood floor. He gently
lifted her up, with his hands around her waist. When she was
standing, Mulder pulled Scully into a tight hug.

"How was your vacation, Scully?" Mulder asked.

"Good," Scully mumbled in confusion.

"God Dana, I'm so sorry!" Andrea exclaimed.

"That's okay, it was an accident," Scully replied, then she
became aware that one of Mulders arms was still wrapped
around her waist and his hand rested on her hip.

Mulder felt Scully shiver at his touch.  She casually moved
Mulders arm from her waist and without looking Mulder in the
eye, excused herself from the dining room.

"Mom?" Scully asked.

"Hi honey, how was your flight?" Maggie asked.

"Good, uhhh mom? Why is Mulder here?" Scully asked
nervously.

"I thought you couldn't wait to see him?" Maggie answered,
picking up the turkey.

"You didn't tell him that did you?" Scully asked.

"Of course not," Maggie answered going into the dining room.
Scully leaned against the counter.

Scully heard her mother announce supper. She closed her eyes,
letting her mind wander. Her thoughts were interrupted by a
hand touching her arm. She jumped.

"Scully, are you okay?" Mulder said.

"I'm fine, just a little tired," Scully said, and smiled at Mulder.
"Let's go eat." She turned and walked into the dining room.
With a shrug Mulder followed her.

Everyone else was already seated at the table. There were
vacant chairs on either side of Maggie, who was sitting at the
head of the table. Mulder sat down and helped himself to the
potatoes and vegetables. He looked up and he saw Scully
staring at him, a dreamy expression in her eyes. It was a side of
her Mulder had never seen before. Her lips were slightly
parted. Maggie nudged her and she looked up sharply, her
cheeks flushed.

"Dana, I asked you to pass the butter," Maggie said, grinning at
her daughter.
"Sorry.  Here," Scully said as she passed her mother the butter.

The rest of the supper distracted Scully with some spills, and a
lot of conversation; it was basically a normal Thanksgiving
dinner. Scully caught herself being thankful that Mulder was
there many more times then she was ready to admit. 

After supper, Scully and Andrea started doing the dishes, while
Maggie, the men, and the twins were sitting in the living room.

"Dana, do you know of any good babysitters around here?"
Andrea asked.

"I was going to call a babysitter to come and look after the
twins this weekend, while your mother, Charles and I go to
New York City," Andrea said. 

"A babysitter?  Why don't I look after my nephews for the
weekend?  I don't go bakc to work until Monday." Scully
replied.

"You want to? Wow, I didn't think it would be this easy,"
Andrea said. "Are you sure you want to?"

"I really would love to do it, besides, I haven't seen them in so
long, it seems like they are completely different kids!" Scully
exclaimed, wiping her hands off on the dish towel.

"Oh, well thank you so much," Andrea said.

"When are you guys leaving?" Scully asked.

"The plane leaves at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow," Andrea replied.
"We'll be gone until Sunday."

"How about I come by at about 8 o'clock."

Scully and Andrea entered the living room. There was a warm
fire in the fire place. The adults were sitting in chairs, while
the kids were playing with Hot Wheels on the floor. Andrea sat
down on the couch with Charles and Scully hesitantly sat down
beside Mulder. 

After about another hour of talking and wine, Charles stood up.
"Well, it's 9:00 p.m., these guys are going to be a real handful
for you Dana, if they don't go to bed now," he said, picking one
of them up in each arm and heading for the stairs.

"Say good night," Charles told them.

"G'night Uncie Moldy. Hey, are you coming over tomorrow,
too?" Daniel asked.

"G'night, Dan. I don't think I'm coming over tomorrow,"
Mulder told him. Disappointment clouded the little boys face
for a second.
"G'night Mommy, Grammy and Auntie Dana," Daniel and
Peter said together, as Charles carried them the rest of the way
up the stairs.

"I should be going now. Scully if you're ready, I can give you a
ride," Mulder said.

"I'm ready," she told Mulder. "See you guys tomorrow
morning," she called to Andrea and Maggie.
XxXxX

Mulder turned the ignition as Scully got into the passenger seat
of the car. Mulder had already put her bags in the trunk.

"Your family is really nice, Scully," Mulder said, backing out
of the
driveway.

Scully then realized that this was the first time she was with
Mulder alone since he had caught her in the dining room. 

"Especially when they want a favor," Scully grinned. Mulder
turned onto the street. Then he watched her out of the corner of
his eye.  Her face was expressionless. He reached over and
placed his hand on top of hers.

Scully turned to look at Mulder, then she froze. "Mulder!" she
screamed.

He glanced at the road. Head lights were coming toward him at
full speed, in his lane.  Mulder swerved sharply onto someone's
front lawn.  The seat belt didn't help Scully much. She was
thrown across the front seat. One of her hands still clutched
Mulders, while the other was protecting her head. Mulder's
shoulder hit the door and he bit his lip trying to regain control
of the car that was heading toward the ditch.

They stopped inches before the steep decline into the muddy
water. Scully was lying with her head on Mulders lap her eyes
squeezed shut. 

Mulder sat up and touched her cheek gently. "Are you okay?"
he asked.

"I'm fine," Scully said, taking a deep breath and sitting back up
in her seat. She looked behind her. "That was close."

"Too close," Mulder said, then he restarted the car and they
drove in silence the rest of the way to Scully's apartment.

Once they got there, Mulder got out of the car and went around
to the trunk. He lifted out Scully's bag as if it weighed a ton.
"What have you got in there?" he asked suspiciously. "Rocks?"

"Guess again, pretty boy," Scully said, pressing the elevator
button.

"Well, its definitely more than you take on cases," Mulder
commented.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Scully asked, laughing. They
rode up to Scully's floor, while Mulder guessed halfheartedly at
the contents of the suitcase.

Scully unlocked the door. "Do you want to come in?" she
asked, pushing the door open and turning on the lights.

"No. Are you going to your mother's tomorrow morning?"
Mulder asked.

"Yeah, I'm going to look after the boys for a couple of days,"
Scully answered.

"Well, uh, do you want to have breakfast before you go? I
could drop you off there after," Mulder suggested. 

"Sure, I have to be at mom's at 8, though," Scully said.

"That's good, how about 7-ish?" Mulder asked.

"Great, see you then," Scully said as she started to close the
door. Mulder started to walk away, then he glanced behind
him. Their eyes met and he paused, then continued toward the
elevator.

Scully locked the door and walked toward the window. She
looked out of the window. Mulder was walking toward his car.
Scully made the slightest wave and jumped when Mulder
beeped the horn. 
XxXxX

Scully's Apartment
6:55 a.m. 

Mulder walked down the hallway of Scully's apartment
building. He stopped in front of the door and knocked.

"Mulder? Is that you?" Scully called from inside.

"Yeah, it's me," Mulder answered.  Scully opened the door as
she towel dried her hair. 

"I'll just be a minute," she said, then disappeared into her
bedroom.  A few minutes later, Scully reappeared in the
doorway. "Ready?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied, and he picked up her overnight bag from the
door. "Hey, this is more like it!" Mulder commented about the
weight of the bag. Scully shook her head as they walked down
the hall.
XxXxX

"How about this place?" Mulder asked, without waiting for an
answer, he pulled into the parking lot.

"The Breakfast Buffet," Scully mused at the name, "Sounds
convenient."

Mulder looked at her. "The food is actually really good here."

"Mulder, you think any food you don't have to make is good.
Have you actually eaten here before?" Scully asked, as she got
out of the car.

"Twice."

"Twice? Wow, a new world's record. Is the food really that
good?" she asked.

"Don't mock the man with the membership," Mulder replied, as
he held the door open for her.

Scully burst out laughing. "Sorry Mulder, but a membership at
a restaurant?" Mulder gave her an obvious fake hurt look. She
held up her hands in defense.

Mulder wrapped an arm tightly around her waist. Scully felt
her body stiffen as he brought her closer to him. "Actually, I
was kidding about the membership..."

They reached an empty table. "I don't know about you, but I'm
hungry," Scully said, walking towards the buffet set up against
one wall. Mulder watched her from behind until he realized he
was checking her out. He quickly joined her.

After they returned to the table, Scully looked Mulder in the
eye. "So what are you doing this weekend?"

"Nothing," he answered, with a mouthful of scrambled eggs.

Scully made a face at him. Then she took a deep breath and
jumped over the thin line that was rarely crossed between
them. "Do you want to look after the twins for a while with
me?"

"Scully-" he started. Amazingly enough, he was having a hard
time trying to say no. "I'm not good with kids." 

Scully looked at him. "Mulder! Those boys loved you. Did you
see Peter's face when you said you weren't coming?"

"I thought that was Daniel," Mulder said.

Scully blushed. "See? I can't even tell my own nephews apart."
"Is that because they are identical twins or for some other
reason?"

Scully gave him the look. "You know what? Never mind, I can
take care of them myself. I was just wanting a little company
for once and a favor, but you don't have to. It's completely up
to you."

"Hey," he reached across the table and touched her shoulder.
"Calm down, I never said I didn't want to come with you."

"Oh Mulder. Thank you so-" Scully started.

Mulder interrupted her "Only for today."

Scully knew not to argue with him, after all, Mulder always
gets everything his way.

"Okay, I guess," Scully said.

"I guess? Am I detecting a hint of disappointment here?"
Mulder asked.

"Ah, it's getting late, we better hurry up if we want to get there
on time," Scully said, picking up her coat. 
XxXxX

Maggie Scully Residence
8:06 a.m.

When they arrived at Maggie's house, they were surprised to
see that everyone was already to go and their bags were in the
trunk.

"Dana, their clothes are unpacked in the dresser in Melissa's
old room. That's where they can sleep," Andrea said, rushing
from the house. 

Maggie came out of the house. "Bye bye Peter and Daniel, see
you on Sunday." She kissed them and walked toward the car.

Charles knelt down. "You guys be good for Aunt Dana, okay?"

"Hey! Uncie Moldy is here too!" cried Peter in delight. Scully
poked Mulder in the ribs and gave him an I-told-you-so look.

"Hi guys!" Mulder exclaimed, as he walk towards them. 

"Boys, we have to go now, be on your best behavior for Aunt
Dana and Mulder," she leaned down and she gave them each a
hug and a kiss.

"We'll be good," Peter said.

Andrea waved as the car rolled out of the driveway. The horn
cut through the silence as Scully eyed Mulder.

The second the car was out of sight, the twins ran over to
Scully and Mulder and started asking for everything they could
think of.

"Auntie Dana, I'm hungry," Daniel said, pulling on her sleeve.

"I want to get a movie. Can we get a movie for tonight?" Peter
begged Mulder.

"I don't see why not, Scully?" Mulder asked.

"Please..." Daniel said, hunger forgotten.

"It's fine by me Mulder, they can watch it tonight before they
go to bed."

"Then it's settled, onward to Blockbuster!" Mulder said and
headed toward the car.

Scully covered her ears with a grin. So far the trip to
Blockbuster had been very eventful. Presently,at the tops of
their voices, the twins and Mulder were singing to "The song
that never ends...". Mulder reached over with one hand and
pulled one of her hands away from her head, then held onto it
tightly.

"It's the song that never ends-- yes it goes on and on my
friends. Some people started singing it not knowing what it
was-" Peter and Daniel shouted from the backseat. 

Mulder continued, completely off-key, "And they'll continue
singing it forever just because..."

Scully joined in and the whole car sang, "It's the song that
never ends..."  Scully felt a little hoarse by the time they 
finally reached the Blockbuster.  A bell jingled as they 
entered the store.

"Wow, this one is so much bigger than the one we have at
home," Daniel said in awe.

"How about you guys go find a movie while Mul-" Scully
looked behind her. Mulder was gone. "Mulder?" she called. No
answer. Scully sighed and headed towards the aisle she knew
he would be in. She glanced down the porno aisle. No Mulder.

"Scully, I didn't think you liked these kinds of movies." Mulder
taunted from behind her. Scully whirled around, her face
flushed. Mulder grabbed a movie from the shelf. "How about
this one?" he asked with a smirk. 

"Mulder, I was looking for you," Scully said sweetly, trying to
swallow her embarassment. " I thought you would be in here." 
"Oh, that hurt Scully," Mulder said, replacing the video.

Mulder wrapped his arm around Scully's waist, taking her by
surprise. He quickly escorted her to another aisle. "Seriously,
how about this one?" Mulder handed it to Scully.

"C.H.U.D.? Mulder!!" 

"What?" he said, looking innocent.

"C.H.U.D., Do I even want to know what it stands for?" Scully
tossed the movie at the shelf. Mulder caught it.

"Read the back, please?" Mulder pleaded.

Scully rolled her eyes, but started to read anyway.
"Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers. Very
entertaining," she resumed her reading in silence. "Basically it
must be an X-File." Mulder remained silent. "It is about the
evils of improper disposal of toxic waste... it was dumped into
a subway system in New York and it turned the subway bums
into C.H.U.D.'s..."

Mulder noticed that she wasn't taking him seriously at all.
"Okay, then you pick the movie." He watched as Scully
squirmed out of his grasp and waltzed out of the aisle.

A few minutes later Scully said, "Oh, Muldeeer!"

He found her without difficulty, in the romance/drama section.
It was Mulders turn to roll his eyes.

"This one," she said handing him a movie.

"Oh, The English Patient," Mulder said, lacking enthusiasm.

"Read the back," Scully urged.

Mulder turned the case around dramatically and cleared his
throat. Scully suppressed a laugh. "The English Patient is an
epic film of adventure, intrigue, betrayal and love about four
strangers whose diverse lives become inextricably connected.
This story is told largely through the eyes of an unknown
English patient, the sole survivor of a plane that was shot down
at the beginning of World War II, his mind awash with a life's
worth of secrets and passions. As tales of the past and present
unfold, the characters reveal themselves to one another and
two love stories emerge. Their dangerous journeys from Cairo
through the Sahara desert take them toward an unforgettable
conclusion in an abandoned Italian monastery at the close of
war." Mulder gasped, out of breath. Then he continued to pant
loudly.

"Mulder?" Scully asked. He burst out laughing.

"You expect me to sit through that?" Scully looked at him, hurt
littered her face.

"How about we both decide on a movie?" Mulder said.

Several selections later, they finally decided on Sliding Doors.
Scully suddenly remembered why they were at the store.
"Daniel? Peter?" she called out, jogging towards the children
section.

"Oh my god-" Scully covered her mouth with her hand. Daniel
and Peter were sitting in the middle of the Disney section, with
every single movie from the shelves surrounding them on the
floor, forming a castle.

Mulder came up behind Scully. "Well, at least they are
artistic..." Scully glared at him and knelt down to replace the
movies on the shelves.
XxXxX

Ten Minutes Later...

"Gee I hope there wasn't a particular order for those movies,"
Mulder whispered in Scully's ear, as she headed to the cash
register. She smiled at him.

"Hey, guys," Mulder said, kneeling down. "See that gumball
machine over there? Here's a quarter." He gave them each a
quarter. 

"Thanks Uncie Moldy!!" they exclaimed and raced over to the
machine. Mulder followed them and waited for the twins to get
their gum. He then put in his own quarter and gave the knob a
hard twist. A gumball popped out of the machine and landed
on the floor. He bent down to pick it up and another came out
and landed on his head. "What the-" he said, as he got up and
gumballs poured out of the machine. The twins started
laughing hysterically.

Scully and the clerk rushed over, neither had amused
expressions on their faces. Mulder went to take a step, slipped
on the gumballs and landed flat on his ass. He looked up at
Scully sheepishly. 
XxXxX

"Boy that was a real waste of money," Mulder grumbled in the
car after the incident. "Hey Scully, do you want some gum?"

Scully laughed playfully at him. "No..."
XxXxX

"So what do you guys want to do now?" Scully asked.

They just looked at her.

"Hmm, how about we go to the carnival?" Mulder asked.

The boys started jumping up and down.

"Yeah!! Come on!" They raced back to the car.

Scully looked at Mulder. "I don't think-"

"Aww, come on Scully, don't spoil it for them... or me."

Scully smiled. "Well, if your'e going to be like that, I guess I'll
have to take you, but you have to remember to stay with me at
all times-" Mulder grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the
car.

30 minutes later...

"Here are your tickets. Which rides would you like to go on
first?" Scully asked.

"I want to go on that!" Peter said, pointing to the huge Sea
Dragon.

"You're not big enough," Mulder said, towering over him.

"We are if you guys come too," Daniel said. "Mommy and
Daddy always come on with us."

"Yeah right," Scully said.

"I'm game," Mulder replied. "Are you sure you don't want to
come on with us, Scully?" He reached over and took some
tickets from her hand.

"Wait, I think I just might," she closed her hand to prevent
Mulder from getting the tickets. 

"Well, okay then!" Mulder said, leading the boys to the gate.

Scully took a deep breath before sitting next to Mulder. Both
Daniel and Peter insisted on sitting on the sides.

The ride started slowly, in a back and forth motion. Scully
thought to herself, then she realized how close to the back of
the ride they were sitting, and how high they were actually
going. She sucked in a breath.

Mulder glanced at Scully, while encouraging the kids to put
their hands high in the air. Her knuckles were white, she
clearly wasn't enjoying the ride. "I'm sorry Scully," Mulder said
to her softly. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "I've
got you, it's okay."

"I just don't like to go back-" She gasped, "and forth really
fast." She loosened her grip on the hand bar, and put one of her
hands on Mulder's leg, then closed her eyes for the remainder
of the
ride. 

When they got off, Scully's legs felt like jelly, Mulder moved
his arm from her shoulders to her waist. 

"Let's go on the roller coaster!" Daniel exclaimed, pointing to
the three level ride.

"No! I want to go on the Octopus!" Peter yelled.

"I want to go on the Scrambler!" Mulder yelled.

"Yeah!" the boys exclaimed, heading towards it.

"Oh, this ride looks safe, 'largest person to be seated on the
outside'," Scully said, as she read the caution sign on the
Scrambler."This oughta be fun," she added under her breath.

"I heard that," Mulder said, as the ride got more intense. Now it
wasn't as bad as the previous ride, but Scully was glad she
hadn't just ate. Each sharp turn pushed Scully closer to Mulder,
but he wasn't acting like he minded.  The ride slowed down
and they got off. Walking straight became a problem.

"Well, who wants lunch?" Mulder said.

"You're lucky that you've got a stomach for rides. How could
you even think about eating?" Scully asked.

"Auntie Dana, you pick what we do now," Peter said.

"Hmm, well how about the Ferris wheel?"

"Good choice! Race ya!" and the two were off.

"I knew we shouldn't have given them their own tickets..."
Mulder said, as the kids got on their own car.

Mulder and Scully managed to get on the wheel, two cars after
the twins. Around and around it went, very relaxing.
Eventually they stopped to let passengers off. Scully and
Mulder were on top.

"Shouldn't we have started by now?" Scully asked, looking
down uneasily.

Mulder followed her gaze. "I dunno."

A few minutes of silence passed. Suddenly an explosion of
sparks burst from the control box. "COOL!" Daniel shouted
from below them. Scully inched closer to Mulder.

"Are you afraid of heights?" Mulder asked, gently putting an
arm around her shoulders.
"No, I just thought we'd be here a while and I wanted to get
comfortable...." she said, before laying her head on his
shoulder.

Hey, look at that ride!" Mulder said anxiously, pointing to one
of the larger rides. 

Scully followed his gaze. "Niagara Falls?" Scully asked. 

"Come on Scully, don't be so uptight.  Let's have some fun!" 

"Mulder, we are stranded on top of a Ferris wheel-" she was cut
off by a huge boom, and the wheel turned sharply, dropping
them down a couple of levels. 

"Oh! Let's do that again!" Peter shouted to the control man. 
Scully buried her face in Mulder's chest in embarassment. 

"Hey!" Daniel shouted up to them. "Are you kissing?" 

"EWWWW, yuck!" Peter said, as they started to giggle like
crazy. 

Mulder looked down at them. "No, we are not kissing..." Scully
started to laugh. Mulder covered her mouth with his hand.
"Shhh, I want to play with their heads," he whispered in her
ear. Scully thought. The hair on the back of her neck was
standing up. Her knees felt weak.  She smirked at him,
wondering what he had planned.

"So, what kind of mind games?" She whispered, in a sexy
voice. 

"The kind that-" the wheel dropped again. This time continuing
to turn like it was supposed to. 

"Yeah!" People all over the wheel cheered. 

When they finally got on the ground, Scully looked expectantly
at Mulder. 

"Who wants to go on Niagara Falls with me?" Mulder asked. 

"Me, me!" the boys shouted. 

"Let's go as a group this time," Scully said, grabbing Daniel's
hand.  Mulder took the hint and got Peter. Then he slyly
grabbed Scully's hand.  It was huge, almost like a roller coaster
on water, but simple. It had a car that looked like a log. The
ride went up, turned, went down into a pool of water, went up
twice the height of the first one and back down again. Scully
had to admit, it did look fun. 

Daniel sat down first followed by Peter and Scully. Mulder sat
on the bench at the back. 

"Where do we put our hands?" Scully asked. 

"I dunno," Mulder said, as the log started to move. The first
part went fast. As they were doing their steep incline, Scully
felt Mulder's hands touch her hips slightly. She glanced at him.
He didn't seem to know he was doing it. The ride pitched
downward. When they got off, they were amazed that they
were all still dry. 

"Come on, it's my turn to go first," Peter said, as they joined
the line again. They got on in the same fashion. As soon as the
ride started, she felt Mulder's hand go down to her hips. She
turned to look at him. He smiled at her. She broke into a smile
as the car went down the first hill. Up they went, Scully was
still locked in her gaze with Mulder. She leaned her head
closer to him. She felt like either she was going to kiss him, or
he was going to kiss her. They moved closer, their lips parted
slightly. Scully's eyes fluttered shut. They plunged down again.
Mulder's hands wrapped around her waist, she leaned back
against him. 

When they got out everything was back to normal. 

"I want to go on the Octopus now," Daniel said. "Please Uncie
Moldy?" 

Mulder looked at Scully. "What can I say?" he asked her.
"Sure," he told Daniel. 

"C'mon Pete!" Daniel shouted, as he raced towards it. 

"That's it," Scully told Mulder. "After this ride, I am taking
away their tickets." 

"Oh Scully, have a heart. They are having the time of their
lives and so am I," Mulder 
said. 

Scully smiled at him. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."   The
Octopus didn't look that bad. It was black, with eight 'legs'. On
the end of the 'legs' there were three cars. The twins were
already sitting in one. 

"After you," Mulder drawled. When everyone was seated, the
ride began to slowly turn in a circle. The legs began to lift up
one at a time, then they went down, as the speed increased.
They started spinning; Scully looked at the boys beside them,
who were hardly moving at all. Scully and Mulder on the other
hand were flying around. 

They spun faster, then finally went back to the ground. Mulder
jumped out of the car, somewhat unsteadily. He held out a
hand to Scully. She took it and slid towards him. Together all
four of them walked out.  

"Are you okay?" Mulder asked her, as they stopped at a picnic
table. Scully looked a little green. 

"I'm fin-" she stopped. "Okay." She smiled. 

"Maybe we should take a break from rides...." Mulder
suggested. 

"Good idea, what time is it?" Scully asked. Mulder's stomach
growled. Laughter erupted from the boys. 

"Time for lunch, hmm, quarter to two." Mulder answered. 

"What have we been doing all day?" she asked in disbelief.
"Who's hungry?" 

"I am!" Peter shouted. 

"Me too, I'm starving," Daniel announced. 

"I'm more hungry," Peter argued. 

"Are not," Daniel protested. 

"Am too," Peter replied. 

"Are n-" Daniel started. 

"Hold on!" Mulder interrupted. "Are we going to sit and fight,
or get some lunch?" Scully had to hand it to him, he was really
good with kids. But then again he could really act like one
sometimes.... 

"Can I have some cotton candy?" Daniel asked. 

"After lunch," Scully said. "What do you want to eat?" 

"A hot dog." 

"Peter? What about you?" 

"Me too!" Peter said. 

"Okay, Mulder what do you want?" Scully asked. 

"I'll get it, what do you want Scully?" Mulder asked. 

"Just get me some sort of salad. I'm not really hungry. I'll take
the boys to the bathroom." 
Mulder headed towards the canteen. Scully directed her
attention back to the boys. 

"Peter and Daniel, how about we go get cleaned up?" Scully
asked them. 

"We don't have a choice, do we?" Daniel asked. 

"Nope." She took both of their hands and walked towards the
bathrooms.
XxXxX

"Come here," Scully coaxed. "There is no one in here..." 

"No. We aren't going into the girls bathroom," Daniel said,
crossing his arms. 

"Me neither." Peter said. 

Scully looked around, then sighed. "Okay, just go to the
bathroom and then come right back out." She waited for them
to enter the bathroom before going into the ladies room. 

"Hey, Pete, don't you have to go to the bathroom?" Daniel
asked, entering a stall. 

"Nope," Peter said. He grabbed a bunch of paper towels and
ran water over them. Daniel came out of the stall. Peter threw
the wet towel at him. 

"HEY!" Daniel screamed before he was soaked. "I'll get you,"
he threw it back. 

Scully hurried out of the bathroom. 'What are they doing now?'  
"Daniel? Peter?" She asked. The laughter and screams
immediately stopped. 

"Don't make me go in there..." Scully warned them. 

"Would you?" Peter asked slyly. Scully looked around again.
Determined that the coast was clear, she entered the men's
bathroom. 

She was bombarded with wet paper towels, the second she
turned the corner. The twins ran past her and out the door. She
glanced at herself in the mirror. 

The twins ran over to the picnic table where Mulder was
sitting. He eyed their wet clothes suspiciously. "Did you guys
take a shower or do I want to know what happened to 
you?" Mulder asked, picking up a french fry. "Where's Scully?" 

"You don't," Peter said. 

"She's going to kill us," Daniel said. 

"I don't think she would go to such lengths..." he stopped and
dropped the fry. She was 
coming towards them with her hands innocently behind her
back. The twins squealed and 
hid underneath the table. Mulder realized that Scully wasn't
going to 'kill' them for getting wet, but maybe for getting her
wet. Her shirt was soaked, and clinging to her. He stood up as
she reached the table. His gaze dropped from her face. "Do you
want my jacket?" He asked, taking it off. 

She opened her mouth to refuse, but she looked out of the
corner of her eye at the kids who were peeking out from under
the table. He draped it over her shoulders. She stood up on her
toes and closed her eyes. She let her lips touch Mulder's, gently
closing them over his. 

It was almost spoiled when the twins started screaming.
Mulder started to pull away, but Scully pressed closer to him.
Scully wondered when the twins would be too hoarse to talk. 

"EWWW, yuck!!!" Peter exclaimed covering his eyes. 

"I can't watch. Cooties!!!" Daniel continued. 

Scully slowly pulled away from Mulder. His eyes remained
closed. She turned to look at the twins who were crawling out
from underneath the table. She pulled her hands out from
underneath Mulder's jacket and threw wet paper towel balls at
the twins as they were getting up. 

"Yikes! She fights dirty," Daniel shouted, jumping up.  Peter
grabbed the ball that hit him, and threw it back. His throw was
a little off and it hit Mulder in the chest. Mulder grabbed Peter
and lifted him high over his head. 

"Hey!" she exclaimed, right before he kissed her on the cheek. 

"Not while we're eating!" Peter shouted, covering his eyes
again. 

"I'm gonna barf!" Daniel said, covering his mouth. 

"Okay..." Mulder said. He stopped kissing her. "So what are we
going to do now?"

"We're done," Daniel announced. 

"I want some cotton candy now," Peter added.   Mulder
reluctantly released Scully. 
XxXxX

30 minutes later.... 

"Let's go on some more rides, Uncie Moldy!" Daniel said,
tugging them away from the midway where they had just spent
the last half-hour. 

"Which ones do you want to go on?" Mulder asked the boys. 

"I want to go on Tilt-a-Whirl!!" Peter exclaimed. 

"Yeah!!" Daniel said, as he tried to make a run for the ride. 

"Not so fast," Mulder said grabbing the hood on Daniel's
jacket. 

"We're not allowed to go on the ride?" Peter asked,
disappointment covered his face. 

"No, we can go, you guys have to go at the same time as we
do," Mulder pointed to Scully. 

"You guys walk to slow," Daniel said. 

"Race ya!" Mulder exclaimed, as he took off towards 
the Tilt-a-Whirl. 

"No fair!" Peter said. 

"Cheater!" Daniel added, as they chased him.  Scully watched
the twins chase Mulder around, finally splitting up and
jumping on him. Mulder walked back to Scully, who couldn't
hide her grin. Each twin had a leg and they were panting, as
Mulder dragged them over to Scully. 

"Well I tired them out..." Mulder announce, as they walked to
the ride. 

"Good work Spooky," Scully said, laughing. 

"You better take that back," Mulder said, grinning at her. 

Scully stuck out her tongue, "Never!!" 

They got on the ride without further hassles. Scully sat beside
Mulder and the twins sat on the sides around the table. 

"Oh, I love this ride! I think it's my favorite!" Peter said,
practically jumping up and down. 

It slowly started spinning around in circles, then the whole ride
began to move. Around and around they went, faster and faster.
Mulder glanced at Scully. "Scully are you okay? You look a
little green?" Mulder asked. 

"I'm ok-" Scully started. 

She was interrupted by a loud vomiting noise. Mulder's eyes
widened.  "Yuck," was all he could say, as he looked down on
his chest to see lunch and cotton candy.  They got off; and
Scully sat Peter down at a picnic table. 

"I thought you said this was your favourite ride?" Mulder asked
Peter as he stripped off his t-shirt. 

Scully was kneeling in front of Peter and had seen Mulder out
of the corner of her eye. Her head snapped towards him, as he
tossed his shirt in the garbage can. Her eyes were glued to his
chest. 'Breath Dana, you've seen him like this before...... oh
God.' 

"I want to go home," Peter said, breaking her train of thought. 
Scully tore her eyes from Mulder's chest, blush creeping to her
cheeks. "Sure thing, hun."  They walked towards the parking
lot, lots of people staring at them. 

"Now what do we do?" Daniel asked them. 

"Go home," Scully said, looking up at the sky. It was getting
overcast. 

"Yeah, from the castle of movies and a day at the fair you guys
should asleep by now," Mulder commented. 

"I'm not tired at all!" Daniel said, as Mulder drove towards
Maggie's house. 

"Me neither," Peter said. "I want to do some more fun stuff!" 

"Wait until we get home, there is not a single thing that we can
do in the car that is even remotely fu-" Mulder started. 

"I spy with my little eye something that is green!" Daniel cried. 

"Green eh?" Mulder asked, looking in the rear view mirror.
"How about your shirt?" 

"Nope," Daniel said. 

"The clock?" Scully asked. 

"Nope."   They continued guessing things that were green, until
they pulled into the driveway. 

"We give up," Mulder said, shutting off the car. 

"What was it?" Scully asked, getting out. 

"A sign we passed a long time ago," Daniel said. 

"Cheater!" Peter said, trying to punch his brother. 

Mulder and Scully walked towards the house, "Why don't you
try to clobber each other inside?" he asked. Both kids jumped
out of the car and raced towards the house. 

"Mulder!" Scully said, hitting his arm. 

"Ouch, stop picking on me Scully!!!" Mulder said, as she
unlocked the door.   The kids went inside and took off their
coats and shoes. Mulder walked into the living room. 

"Scully, can I have a shirt?" Mulder asked. 

"I think Charles must have one around here somewhere,"
Scully said heading, up the stairs. After a few moments, "Nope,
he must not have unpacked before he left." She reappeared
holding what looked like a black t-shirt. 

"You found one?" he asked. She tossed it at him. 

"It's mine," she said, laughing. 

"Yours? Do you think it will fit me?" he asked, putting it on. 

"You can wear it like a belly shirt," she cracked up. 

"Hey! It does fit!" Mulder exclaimed. Scully tried to hide her
disappointment. It *was* a little tight.

"Let's have a party!" Mulder shouted. Turning the radio on full
blast.  Classical music 
rang in everyone's ears. 
"My ears!" Peter cried, covering them. 

"Turn it off!" Daniel yelled.  

The music died. "Now I know where you get your tastes in
music, Scully," Mulder said making a face. 

"Oh shut up Mulder," Scully said, heading towards the kitchen. 

"But Scully? Don't you want to party?" he said grabbing her
arm and hauling her over towards him. He turned the dial on
the radio and started dancing wildly. Scully looked at him. The
kids laughed and started doing the same thing as Mulder. 

"Come on Scully?" Mulder coaxed. Scully started to laugh.
Mulder grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him. "Dance
with me," he whispered in her ear.   She couldn't look at him,
her knees were doing that thing again. He spun her around,
trying to keep her moving. Scully wiggled out of his grasp and
ran towards the kitchen.  "Get her!" Mulder yelled, while he
lounged at Scully. She dodged him and went down the hall. 

"Split up!" Peter said.  Scully tip-toed through the kitchen and
opened the fridge. She took out a bottle of whipped cream and
peeked into the living room. Mulder was standing in the room,
being absolutely quiet. 

Scully walked up behind him.  'one.... two.... three!' She
jumped onto his back and sprayed the back of his neck with
whipped cream. 

"Argh!" Mulder said, jumping around. Scully laughed and kept
on spraying him, he ran backwards into the couch. Then
twisted himself from Scully's legs and pinned her down on the
couch, the bottle still in one of her hands. 

"You asked for it! he said, reaching for the can. She laughed
and sprayed his hand. He grabbed the bottle and pointed it at
her. 

"We heard screami- ARGH!" Peter said. Mulder pressed the
little button. Nothing happened. 

"Awww shit," Mulder said. He wiped the cream on his hand on
Scully's face then got off her. 

"I'm going to take a shower," Mulder announced as he headed
up the stairs. "Prepare for revenge, Agent Scully." 

"Daniel, Peter, come here," Scully said, sitting up. 

They walked over giggling. Scully wiped her face off with her
hand. "Do you guys want to play the game with Mulder and
me?" 

"Okay!" Peter and Daniel said together. 

"I'll make a snack and you guys go torment Mulder," Scully
said. 

"Okay!" and they were off. Scully wondered what they would
do. 



Playing House (2/2) by mercury_999


5 minutes later.... 

Scully heard them running down the stairs. "What did you-" 

"Nothing," Daniel grinned, while Peter nodded. 

"Hmm, I see," said Scully. 

"Where's our snack?" Peter asked. 

"We're going to have supper soon," Scully said. 

"You said we were going to have a snack!" Daniel said. 

"Yes, but it is 5:30, so we are going to have supper," Scully said. 

"Eeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkk!" screamed Daniel and Peter and they ran
out of the room. Scully 
turned around and Mulder was right behind her, grinning evilly.  
He was wearing only a towel, suddenly Scully knew what the boys
had done to Mulder, er, his clothes anyway. 

"So Scully, where'd you put them?" Mulder asked, walking closer
to her. 

"I didn't take them!" Scully said. 

"Are you sure?" Mulder asked. 

"Yes I'm sure, the twins must have..." Scully said. 

"Likely story," Mulder said coming closer still.  Scully backed
against a wall.  He started 
to tickle her. 

"Mulder!" Scully protested; he had her trapped. 

"Where are they?" he grinned at her. 

"I really don't know," she burst out laughing. 

"Look at that!" Daniel said. 

"What?" Mulder looked up. 

"Snow!" Peter said.   Mulder and Scully both looked out the large
windows. Huge snowflakes were falling to the ground; the ground
was already blanketed in white. 
They all watched in silence for a few minutes.  

"Well, I'm going to find some more clothes," Mulder announced,
as he headed for the stairs. 

"And I'm going to find something to make for supper," Scully said.
"Would you boys like 
to watch your movie now?" 

"Ok!" they said. 

"What movie did you get anyway?" Scully asked. 

"Tarzan," Peter said. 

Scully started the movie and went out to the kitchen. She opened
cupboards and sighed.  'Looks like we will have to go with
leftovers from last night,' she thought.  She got out the leftovers
and put some of the turkey in the microwave. 

"AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-ouff, shit" Scully heard
from the stairway. She walked out the hall. Mulder was lying on
the ground muttering something and twisting. As soon as he saw
Scully, he stopped moving.  Scully threw a dishtowel at him. 

"Scully- I think I hurt my back," Mulder muttered. 

"Oh no, the poor baby hurt his back, let Dr. Scully take a look, roll
over," Scully said, grinning. Mulder started to roll over, but caught
himself, and collasped again. 

"I can't. Can you help me up Scully?" Mulder asked. 

"You shouldn't move with a back injury," Scully said, as she turned
and walked back into the kitchen. 

"Scully-" he cried pathetically.  His mind whirled.  'Why did she
kiss me today?  She wouldn't do that just for the twins; she's not
like that.' He kept himself from moving for a half an hour; only
getting up once to sneak outside and return to his spot on the
carpet.  He heard Scully serving the kids supper in front of the TV,
then footsteps approaching the hall. 

"Nice clothes," she said, pointing to the sweat pants and T-shirt he
was wearing. 

"You think Bill will mind?" Mulder asked with a grin.

"Come on Mulder, your supper is getting cold," she told him. 

"Can you help me up?" Mulder asked. Scully grinned and moved
over to her partner. She held out her hand to him. He took it, and
started to lift himself up, then he pulled Scully down on the floor
with him. 

He moved quickly and pinned her underneath his body. Then he
brought his hands into his pockets and came out with snowballs.
Scully's eyes widened. 

"Don't you dare," she said. 

"I do recall already being in this situation tonight, your turn,
Scully!" Mulder said, as held her arms down with one hand and
rubbed the snow in her face and hair.  He had another snowball.
He put it on her neck, then on her shirt. By the time the show had
melted the upper half of Scully was soaked. Mulder jumped off
Scully and ran up the stairs. Scully was right behind him. 

She caught up to him, knowing the house inside-out did have it's
advantages. She tackled 
him in the doorway to her bedroom. 

"I give up!" Mulder said, before she could do anything to him. 

"Really?" Scully whispered in a sexy voice, standing up. 

"Yes," Mulder said in a small voice, cowering in front of her. 

"Okay, get out of my way so I can change..." she said, stepping
over him.  When she came out of her bedroom wearing a dry
T-shirt Mulder was nowhere to be found. She walked down the
stairs and into the kitchen. She saw that their plates were still on
the counter, stone cold now. She put them both into the
microwave. 

"Hey Mulder, are you hungry?" she asked. 

He came into the kitchen. "I'm starved"  Scully handed him a plate
and they walked out to the dining room in silence.  After they
finished their meal, they joined the boys in the living room. It was
torn apart. Cushions had been taken off of the sofa, loveseat and
chair to make something that resembled a house on the middle of
the floor. Blankets were draped over tables, and pillows were
everywhere. Scully just shook her head. Together, Scully and
Mulder wrestled the boys from their 'cave' and put the living room
back together. By the time they were finished the movie was over. 

"I want a snack," Daniel announced. 

"Can we have some cookies?" Peter asked. 

"I'll check." Scully went to the kitchen and came back with a
handful of cookies. 

"It's time for you guys to go to bed," Scully spoke to the twins. 

"Noooooooooooooooooooo!" they screamed. 

"Come on guys, put on your pajamas and Mulder will read you a
story," Scully said. 
Mulder glared at her. 

"Yeah! Let's go pick it out Pete!" Daniel said and they ran for their
room. 

"Those guys are really energetic," Scully said. 

"Hyperactive is a better word," Mulder replied. 

"Come on Mulder, we don't know what they are up to," Scully said
climbing the stairs. Mulder followed her.  Scully got to Melissa's
room and knocked on the door. 

"Don't come in!" Daniel said from inside. 

"Boys only," Peter said. Scully opened the door, shoved Mulder in,
then closed it again and went to her bedroom and found her book.
She laid on her bed reading until her door swung open. 

"They're both out cold," Mulder said. "If I had to read another page
of that book..." 

Scully smiled at him, "Thanks Mulder, where would I be without
you?" 

"I don't know, do you want to watch our movie now?" Mulder
asked. 

"'K," she said, rolling out of her bed. "I'll get some popcorn." 
Mulder got the movie ready and Scully came into the living room
holding a bowl of popcorn and two bottles of beer. 

"Are you trying to get me drunk?" Mulder asked gesturing at the
bottles.  Scully shrugged and sat down. Mulder turned off the
lights and sat beside her. The movie started.  The previews didn't
look too interesting. Scully reached her hand into the popcorn
bowl. 

"Mulder!" she said. "The previews aren't even over." Half the
popcorn was gone. 

"Sorry," he said, his mouth full of popcorn. 

The popcorn disappeared fast.  'The movie is kind of boring,'
Scully thought. Mulder seemed to be getting closer to her. Five
minutes passed and Scully peeked at Mulder. His gaze was fixed
on her face. 

"Scully, I-" he started. Then he leaned over and kissed her gently.
Scully recovered from the shock and started to kiss him back.  He
pushed her down onto her back gently, then slid on top of her. Her
arms were wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer. Mulder's
arms were wrapped around her waist and his hands were under her
T-shirt. 

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The lights turned on
and then a scream forced 
Mulder and Scully to separation. 

"My eyes!" Daniel cried.  Scully blushed as Mulder hastily pulled
his hands out from Scully's shirt and himself off her. 

"I want a drink," Daniel said. 

Scully got up and went into the kitchen and came back with a glass
of water for Daniel. He drank it and gave the cup back to her.
Scully took him upstairs.   When she came back, Mulder was still
sitting in the middle of the couch. She sat down beside him again.
They continued watching the movie in silence. Mulder put an arm
around Scully's shoulders. 

Scully felt herself drifting asleep. 
XxXxX

6:47 a.m.
The next day 

Scully woke up with Mulder's arms around her. She was lying on
the couch beside him. She looked around at what had woken her
up. 

The twins were standing in front of the window in their pajamas
pointing and jumping up and down. Scully squirmed out of
Mulder's arms and put a blanket on top of him. 

"Shh," she said, "We don't want to wake Mulder." 

"Can we play outside?" Daniel asked. 

"Only if you go get dressed first, then wait for me," Scully said, as
they all headed 
upstairs. 

She pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweater. She was just coming
out of her room as the boys came out of Melissa's room, wearing
identical outfits. Black sweat pants and blue sweatshirts. 

Scully didn't say anything about their outfits as she helped them
into their snowsuits. Then she opened the door and gasped. There
was two feet of snow on the ground. The roads were unplowed and
and everything was silent. Icicles hung from trees and the roof.
Mulder's car was practically buried. The kids jumped into the snow
and immediately started to build a snow fort. Scully stood in the
doorway, wearing her jacket, mittens and boots. 

Suddenly, she was flying through the air and landed in the soft
snow. She turned to the door and saw Mulder waving at her. She
clenched her fists on the snow and flung it at Mulder.  He dodged
the poorly-made snowball that splattered inside the house. She
continued throwing snow at him until he closed the door. 

Scully walked over to the boys snow fort that they were making.
The snow was wet and packed easily. She started to make a
snowman. 

"Auntie Dana can you help us make the tunnel to go in?" Daniel
asked her. 

"Sure," she said walking closer to the fort. When she got three feet
away from them, they covered her in snowballs. Scully chased
them around the yard; she tackled one of them. 

"Let him go... this is between you and me," Mulder said, towering
over her, grinning. 
She released Peter and stood next to Mulder. They stood staring at
each other, until snowballs hit them both. 

Scully picked up some snow and threw it at the twins. Mulder did
the same.
XxXxX

After an hour everyone was soaked and collapsed on the wet
ground. "I'm hungry," Peter said, too tired to get up. 

"Okay, everyone inside before we all catch colds!" Scully said,
standing up.  Somehow she managed to get everyone inside and
out of their snowsuits.  "Okay boys, you go get changed then come
down for breakfast."  They twins ran upstairs, and Scully followed
them. 

Mulder beat her to the door of the bathroom. He stopped and put
his arm across the doorway. Scully gave him a sexy smile. 

"What?" he asked. 

"Nothing, I was just thinking about.... never mind," she shrugged. 

"No...what is it?" he asked.  Scully leaned up and gave him a
lingering kiss. When he opened his eyes she darted under his arm. 
"What the Hell-" he turned around as Scully started the water. "I'm
not leaving."  Scully raised an eyebrow at him.  Their passion
overtook them once again. With a growl Mulder wrapped his arms
around her and pressed her up against the shower doors.  He pulled
his lips away from hers.

"Mmmm, you should get out of those clothes or you might catch a
cold," Mulder suggested with a gleam in his eyes, his lips not
moving far from her mouth.

She murmured something as he kissed her neck.

Suddenly the door swung open, and one of the twins was standing
there. "What are you doing?!  I need to go pee!" he squealed.

Scully and Mulder exchanged glances as they left the bathroom. 
Scully went into her old bedroom and Mulder went to Bill's to find
some more clothes.

Mulder changed into another pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt. He
headed downstairs to the kitchen. Once he got there he began to
open and close doors until he found which ones had the coffee in
them. He went to turn on the coffee maker and realized that the
kitchen was strangely quiet. The refrigerator wasn't humming and
no clocks were ticking. He flicked the light switch. No power.

"Ahh, Scully? I think we have a problem." Mulder yelled from the
kitchen.

"What is it?" she called, as she came down the stairs followed by
the
twins, dressed identically again.

"We don't have power," Mulder said, flicking the switch again.

Scully sighed. "Who wants cereal?"

"Okay, what kind?" Daniel asked.

"Hmm, we have Cheerios and Count Chocula," Scully said, after
peering into the cupboards.

"Count Chocula!" the twins said, "I love that cereal!"

"I can imagine," Scully said. Scully looked at Mulder when he
poured himself a bowl of Count Chocula.

"I'm a growing boy and I need my energy," Mulder said, winking at
her.

"I'll bet you are," she replied, getting out the Cheerio's.

They sat at the table, the twins were too busy eating to engage in
the conversation.

"What time is it?" Scully asked Mulder, the only one who was
wearing a watch.

"It's 8:57," Mulder said.

"What are we going to do today?" Peter asked.

"What do you want to do?" Scully asked.

"Go sliding!" Peter said.

"We can do that after lunch," Scully said. "We just came in from
the snow."

"We normally watch Saturday morning cartoons..." Daniel said, "I
know! We can play cops and robbers!"

"Yeah! I want to be a robber!" Peter said.

"Well, I want to be a cop," Daniel said.

"I'll be a robber, too," Mulder said, "Try to figure out what's going
on in my mind, Scully."

"Then I guess I'll have to be a cop," Scully said.

"I'll be right back," Peter said as he ran upstairs. He reappeared
with four plastic guns, a sack that had a dollar sign on it, ski
masks, two plastic badges and two pairs of handcuffs.

"Wow. Do you like this game?" Mulder asked them.

"Yes! Put this on." He handed Mulder a mask. Mulder put in on a
grinned at Scully, "How do I look?"

"Adorable," Scully said.

The twins passed out the toys and assigned positions.

"Okay, me and Auntie Dana have to stay here and make our jail,
you guys go make a hideout," Daniel said pointing to the masked
robbers. They left.

"What do we make a jail out of?" Scully asked.

"Cushions!!" Daniel exclaimed. Scully couldn't believe that she
was helping turn her mothe'rs dining room into a disaster. She
cleared the table and put the cereal away. When she came back
into the dining room, the chairs were all on one side, a blanket was
over the table, and an entrance made, to get into the jail cell.

"I guess you're all done," Scully said, "What about the robbers?
How do we know when they finish?"

"They have a time limit, 12 more minutes," Daniel said. Scully
nodded.

"So if we get one of them and bring them back here, they have to
stay here for the rest of the game?" Scully asked.

"Sort of. If you get one and bring them back, they have to stay
unless the other one tags them, then they are both free," Daniel
explained.

"Okay," she sat down. "How did you guys think up this anyway?"

"We saw it on TV and added things," he said. "We're almost ready,
you'll hear a cap gun go off when they are finished." As soon as he
spoke the gun went off. "Let's go get them!"

Scully went upstairs, while Daniel searched downstairs. All the
doors were closed in the upstairs hall. She reached her mom's
room and opened the door. She walked in and turned around. Peter
ran out of the room. Scully chased him down the hall.

He ran towards Bill Jr's old room, flung the door open and entered.
Scully followed. As soon as she entered the room, which was
obviously their hideout, another masked person grabbed her. He
held her around the waist.

Scully looked at Mulder; he still looked adorable. Then Mulder
reached into her back pocket and pulled out her handcuffs and
gun. "Go find Daniel," Mulder told Peter. Peter got out his gun and
went downstairs.

Mulder dragged Scully inside the hideout made of blankets and
pillows. Then he cuffed her with her handcuffs.

"I was going to gag you, but..." Mulder said.

"But what?" Scully asked. Mulder kissed her. Scully pulled away.
Mulder looked hurt.

"What?" he asked.

"Can you take off that mask?" Scully batted her eyelashes at him.
He laughed and pulled it off, then resumed kissing her. He leaned
her back against the wall of the hideout; it collapsed on top of
them.
XxXxX

"AH HA! I got you!" Daniel said as he handcuffed his brother's
hands together in the living room, then led him towards the jail. 
"Where is your hideout?"  He demanded, putting Peter in the jail.  

"I'm not going to tell you," Peter said.  Daniel ran upstairs and 
into Bill's room. There was the hideout, collapsed on the floor.
"Uncie Moldy?" Daniel asked.

Lots of movement from under the blankets. Mulder stuck his head
out, "Peter, I thought you were going to get Daniel," Mulder said.

"I couldn't find him," Daniel lied. "Can you help me?"

Mulder found his way out of the blankets and then helped Scully
through; she was still handcuffed. "Auntie Dana? What are you
doing in there?" Daniel asked.  He took out his gun and badge then
pointed it at Mulder. "Let her go!"

Mulder pulled his gun out of his pocket, "Never!" Scully ducked
out of Mulder's arms and Daniel shot his cap gun at Mulder.

"ARRGHH!" Mulder cried, throwing himself on the ground. Scully
let Daniel uncuff her. Then she grinned and wrapped a sheet
around Mulder. He said something under the blanket.

"What are you doing Auntie Dana?" Daniel asked.

"This is what I do," Scully said, dragging Mulder in the sheet
towards the door.

"You wrap dead people up in blankets?" Daniel asked.

"You could put it that way," Scully said, "Now what are we going
to do about the stairs?" Mulder said something again.

Scully pulled Mulder, feet first down the stairs, then into the
dining room.

"What happened to him?" Peter asked from inside the jail.

"He died," Scully grinned. "Is the game over?"

"Yes," Mulder said from the blanket. "It's really hot in here!"

"Dead people don't talk."  Scully unwrapped him. "Now we have to
clean up this big mess." Mulder groaned.

Together they cleaned the rooms they had torn apart for the
morning's fun. They all collapsed the living room.

"I'm hungry," Daniel said.

Scully went to get up, but Mulder jumped up first. "I'll make
lunch," he said.

Scully looked at him. "Mulder... I don't think so!"

"Awe come on Scully, the power is out, so I won't be able to use
the oven, or the microwave..." Mulder coaxed.

"Okay then, be careful Mulder, don't blow up my mother's
kitchen," Scully said.

"Scout's honor," Mulder said, heading for the kitchen.

"Were you even in Boy Scouts?" Scully called after him.
XxXxX

20 minutes later....

'What is taking him so long?' Scully asked herself.  She returned
her gaze to the floor where the twins were playing their version of
Monopoly.

"HA! You landed on my property, time to go to jail!" Peter
announced, picking up the playing piece that looked like a shoe
and putting it with most of the others; in jail.

"Yes, but I switched pieces with you, remember? For the shoe, you
took my thimble," Daniel argued.
"Well, what do we do now?" Peter asked.

"Lunch is ready!" Mulder exclaimed coming into the living room.
He was wearing his jacket, mittens and a hat that had a tassel.

"What's that smell?" Scully asked.

"Ah, what smell?" Mulder answered.

"Smoke. Mulder why do I smell smoke?" Scully asked.

"Because lunch is ready," Mulder said. "Get your jackets."

Scully looked at him, "Are we eating out?"

"No," Mulder looked hurt.

They went out to the back yard where Mulder had built a fire.
"Who wants hot dogs?"

"Couldn't we have done this in the living room?" Scully asked.

"No." He got out several sticks and passed out hot dogs.

"We've never done this before!" Peter said, torching his hot dog.

They toasted hot dogs and then had marshmallows for desert. 
Scully leaned against Mulder, while he cooked her marshmallow.

"When do we get to go sledding?" Daniel asked.

"Whenever you guys are done," Scully said.

"I'm done!" they announced.

"Go see if we even have any sleds in the garage," Scully said,
standing up. The kids ran towards the garage.

"Where do you think you're going?" Mulder asked, grabbing her
hand and pulling her on to his lap.

"Nowhere," Scully said, before she started to kiss him.

"Look what we found!" Peter said from around the corner of the
house.

"Argh!!" Daniel said, seeing Scully on Mulder's lap, kissing him.
"Cooties!!" Peter said, then he threw a snowball at them. Scully
broke the kiss, ignoring the snowball.

"Let's go!" she said.

There was a park with a big hill about a block away. They decided
it there was no use shoveling the driveway when they could walk.
The snowplows were just starting to make their rounds. The twins
had insisted on being pulled on their sleds, so Mulder and Scully
were walking side by side.

"Onward!" Peter yelled to Mulder. He moved a little faster, still
walking.

They reached the park about five minutes later. There were at least
30 other kids already sliding down the hill. Parents were sitting
around a huge bonfire, talking and watching their children. Scully
and Mulder walked over to the fire and joined them. The boys
were climbing the huge hill.

"Are you cold?" Mulder asked, wrapping an arm around her
shoulders. She pulled Mulder's hat over his eyes.

"Not anymore," she replied. "There they go."

The twins flew down the hill over and over. Then after about two
hours of sledding, they dragged their sleds over to Scully and
Mulder.

"You guys look tired," Scully said.

"Ready to go?" Mulder asked. "I've been sitting in a puddle for the
last hour."

The twins laughed. "I'm to tired to walk," Peter said.

"We can pull you again, its only a short walk," Scully told them.
They walked back slowly.

"I wonder what they are going to want to do when we get to your
mother's," Mulder said.

"We'll know soon enough," Scully said. Then she stared at him.

"What?" he asked. "I should shovel out my car."

"You're going?" Scully asked, with a worried tone.

"Of course not. Your brother said they would be back on Sunday
morning and it is Saturday afternoon. We want to be able to leave
don't we?" Mulder asked. He got out a shovel from the garage.
Scully put the sleds away and got one too. The twins resumed
working on their fort.

After they were done shoveling Scully looked at him then said,
"You have a snowflake on your nose."  She leaned up and kissed it.

They went inside the house. Mulder watched Scully take off her
jacket and mittens then disappear.

"Where are you going?" he asked, as she headed up the stairs.

"To get changed," Scully said, smiling.

Mulder sat down in the living room with the kids.

"What do you want to do?" he asked.

"Hmm, I think I want to make play dough," Daniel said.

"How do you make that?" Mulder asked.

"You mix some salt and flour together and water," Peter said.

They mixed play dough. It made quite a mess in the kitchen.
Mulder put wax paper on the table so the kids could play with it.  'I
wonder where Scully is' he thought. He went upstairs in search of
her.

She opened the door of her bedroom, just as Mulder was about to
knock.

"Mulder!" Scully said, she was wearing a sweater and jeans.

"Ah ha!" he said, "I guess I know where you snuck off to!"

Scully smiled.

"I'm going to take a shower, the kids are playing with play dough,"
Mulder said, as he entered the bathroom.

"Where'd they get that?" Scully asked.

"I made it."

"You made them play dough?" Scully couldn't believe it. She
wondered about the mess in the kitchen, as she went into the living
room.

"It's cold in here," Scully said. She knelt down in front of the
fireplace.

"Auntie Dana?" Peter asked, from the dining room.
"I'm starting a fire," she called.

They both appeared in the living room. "Are you going to burn the
house down?" Daniel asked.

"Of course not, I'm trying to warm it up," Scully laughed.

"I'm bored," Daniel said, after the fire roared to life.

"Bored? What about the play dough?" Scully asked.

"It's kind of sticky and lumpy," Peter said.

"Mulder will be devastated," Scully laughed. "Didn't you guys
bring some toys with you?"

"Oh yeah!" Daniel said.

"Go bring them down and show them to me," Scully said. The
twins went to go get their toys. Moments later they came back with
their arms full of action figures.

"What did you do? Bring your whole toy box?" Scully asked.

"No, just our favorites," Peter said, dropping his toys on the 
floor.  The boys started to play with them, setting them up
throughout the living room.

Mulder sat down next to her. "Oh toys! Can I play too?"

"Sure Uncie Moldy, Auntie Dana do you want to play too?" Daniel
asked.

"No, I think I will just watch you guys," Scully said, stretching out
in front of the fireplace.

Mulder resisted the urge to curl up with her. "Let's play. Who am
I?"

"You can be Superman," Peter said.

"Who are the bad guys?" Mulder asked.

"The rest of the figures," Daniel said.

"So it's like 3 against 100?" Mulder asked.

"Yep."

"Okay then, let's play!"

They started playing moving around the living room. Mulder
looked at Scully. She was sleeping in front of the fireplace.

"I'm going to take a break, okay?" he asked.

"Sure, we'll fight the rest of the bad guys," Peter said.

Mulder and Superman walked over to Scully. He put the toy on her
stomach and made it walk up towards her face.

Scully opened her eyes and as the plastic figure walked over her
breasts.  She looked at it, then at Mulder, then back to Superman. 
Then she shrugged and closed her eyes again.  Mulder was brushed
his fingers over her face, as she rolled onto her side.  "What 
time is it?" Scully asked.

"Five after five," Mulder said.

"Already? Wow this day really flew by," Scully said, standing up.
It was getting dark in the house. "I'm going to find some candles. 
She returned in a moment with candles and matches.
She put one on a table. "Don't any of you touch these... Mulder?"

"I heard you," Mulder grumbled.

She put some more in the kitchen and began to look for something
to make for supper.   'Leftovers again, a cold turkey sandwich
sounds just about right,' she thought.

She made the sandwiches, then brought them out to the living
room.

"Food!" Mulder cried, jumping up.

Scully passed out sandwiches and the boys continued to play while
they ate. Mulder sat beside Scully on the couch.

"You're a good cook, Scully," Mulder said with a mouthful of
turkey.

"Flattery will get you everywhere," she grinned at him.

"Who wants something to drink?" Mulder asked, standing up.

"I want some milk," Daniel said.

"Can I have some orange juice?" Peter asked.

"Okay," Mulder went into the kitchen.

He came back with a glass of milk, orange juice and two bottles of
beer.

"Look who's-" Scully started. Mulder kissed her briefly.

"None of that, Agent Scully!" Mulder said.

The kids continued to play while Scully and Mulder sat on the
couch, talking.

Mulder glanced at his watch. "Scully can you believe it is already
7:30?"

She looked up at him, she was settled in his arms. "I guess we can
put them to bed, huh?"

"You bet," he smiled. They looked at the twins. They were laying
on the floor, still playing, but not as hyper as before.

"Okay you guys, lets take your toys upstairs and get you ready for
bed," Scully said.

They didn't argue; but Scully didn't care. She picked up the candle
and they walked upstairs and the twins got changed. They picked
out another book to be read to them.

"Jan and Stan's Adventure, wow there must be 30 pages here,"
Mulder said, opening the book the twins had picked for him to
read.

The twins and Mulder sat on the bed, while Scully had the rocking
chair all to herself. The twins were on either side of Mulder,
looking at the pictures, as he read out loud.

'They adore him' she thought.  'I don't blame them, where would I
be without him?' The flame of the candle flickered. She watched
them again.  'He's so good with children.' 

"Scully, I think they are both asleep!" Mulder whispered.  Their
eyes were closed, smiles on their faces. She picked up Daniel and
put him under the blankets. Mulder placed Peter beside him.
Scully picked up the candle and Mulder escorted her out of the
room. 

They went downstairs in silence, then settled beside the dying fire. 
Mulder put another log in itand sparks erupted.  He wrapped his
arms around Scully once again, this time she was facing him. She
put her arms around his neck and drew herself closer. The flames
cast a romantic shadow throughout the room. She pushed Mulder
down and started to kiss him passionately. 

He stopped abruptly. He looked at her. Scully recognized the
gleam in his eyes. Still in embrace, he whispered,"I love you,
Scully." 

She broke into a grin, then kissed him softly. "I love you, too."
With that he lifted her up and carried her upstairs. He laid her
down on the bed. She pulled his face back up to hers.
XxXxX

1:19 a.m.
Melissa's Room 

"Pete? You awake?" Daniel whispered. 

"Yep." 

"I can't sleep," Daniel said. 

"Me neither," Peter said. Daniel stood up and started to jump on
the bed. Peter did the 
same.
XxXxX

Scully woke up. "Mulder? I think I heard something." 

Mulder didn't move. "Mulder!" She kicked his leg. 

"Whas-" he grumbled, pulling Scully closer to him and caressing
her body.

"Mulder!" Scully said again. 

"What?" he asked, sitting up. The air was cold and he would have
much rather be curled up with Scully. 

"I heard something," Scully said. The noise came from the other
room again. 

"Those kids," Mulder said, untangling his legs from Scully's and
pulled on a pair of sweat 
pants. "I'll be right back."  Scully laid back down. 

"AHHHHHHHHHHH," there was a scream from the other room,
then loud crying. 
Scully jumped out of bed and threw on Mulder's T-shirt that went
down to her knees. She went to Melissa's room. Daniel was sitting
on the floor crying. She rushed up to him. 

"What happened?" she asked. 

"My arm," Daniel sobbed.  It was obviously broken. Mulder picked
Daniel up and carried him downstairs. Scully went into her room
and threw on some more clothes and brought Mulder another
T-shirt. When she came out of her room she almost knocked over
Peter who was in tears. 

"Is he going to die?" Peter asked. 

"Oh honey, of course not!" Scully said, wiping his tears away.
"He's just going to the hospital for a few hours." 

"Okay," he said. They went down the stairs and put on their shoes
and jackets. Then they got in the car where Mulder and Daniel
were waiting for them. 

No one spoke much on the drive to the hospital. They got to the
ER doors and Scully carried Daniel in, while Mulder and Peter
parked the car. 

"Ahh, a broken arm at this hour?" the doctor asked Daniel. 

"I was jumping on my bed," Daniel said, proud of himself. 

"We can set his arm, then let you go back home," the doctor told
Scully. She nodded.  It didn't take long to set his arm; Daniel was
wide awake and asking questions the whole time. 

"Not much activity here, for 2:30," Scully said to the doctor, who
just finished with Daniel. 

"No, I'm surprised. I guess with the storm people just stayed
inside," the doctor said. 
Scully carried Daniel back to the waiting room.  Mulder was
sitting with Peter sprawled across his lap. When Mulder saw them,
he stood up, picking Peter up at the same time, and walked
towards Scully.   She was done thanking the doctor and they all
headed out to the car. They all got in and Mulder started it. Scully
rested her head on Mulder's shoulder. 

When they got back to Maggie's house, Scully and Mulder carried
the boys inside and put them back in bed. Scully was exhausted.
She leaned against Mulder as he guided her back to her bedroom.
They practically fell into bed. The last thing Scully felt was
Mulder pulling her closer to him.
XxXxX

7:26 a.m.
Maggie's House 

"Wake up!" Peter yelled at Scully and Mulder. Mulder pulled the
blankets up, as two bodies jumped on to the bed. 

"Do you do this to your parents?" Mulder asked. 

"Of course, well, only if there is nothing on TV," Daniel said. 

"I'll bet they're thrilled," Scully said. 

"Come on, people are hungry here!" Peter exclaimed, trying to pull
Mulder out of the bed.  The twin size bed wasn't made for two
people, so he fell out and onto the floor. 

"Brr, its cold out here Scully," Mulder said, yanking the blankets
away from her. "Warm 
me up." 

Scully gave him a hug. "Is that better?" she asked. Mulder was
about to shake his head, thought the better of it and nodded. 

"Good, who wants breakfast?" Scully asked.   They headed
downstairs. Scully flicked the switch in the kitchen and the lights
came on. "Go watch cartoons," she urged the twins. She was not
surprised when Mulder went with them. 

She decided to make pancakes, Mulder had told her once that he
liked them. She mixed up the batter. She was glad that the arm
wasn't bothering Daniel.  Mulder was sitting on the couch,
watching TV with the kids.  The door opened.

"Mommy!" the twins yelled. Racing for the door. 

"Hi guys- my goodness, what happened Daniel?" Andrea asked
him, as she hugged them. 

"I broke my arm!" he sounded pleased. Mulder and Scully joined
the twins at the entry. 

"Good morning Dana and Fox," Andrea said, taking her shoes off. 

"Hi Andrea," Scully said. 

"Good morning, how was your flight?" Mulder asked. 

"Just fine, I can't believe how much snow you got!" she said.  
Charles and Maggie came inside the house. "Hi boys! Were you
good?" 

They nodded. "Danny, what happened to your arm?" Charles
asked. 

"I fell off my bed and broke it!" Daniel said. 

"So were they good?" Charles asked Scully and Mulder. 

"Really good," Scully replied. "Who wants breakfast? I have
pancakes that are almost ready." 

"That sounds wonderful, I'll help you in the kitchen Dana," Andrea
said, taking off her coat. 
XxXxX

"I can't thank you enough for what you did," Andrea said, mixing
up more batter. 

"I had a really great time," Scully said, flipping the pancakes. 

"You know we have a summer house at Long Beach, California.
You and Mulder should come and join us there this summer,"
Andrea said, pouring new pancakes on to the frying pan. 

"That would be great," Scully said, "I would really like that." 
Scully took a tray of pancakes and set the table. Andrea came out
in a few minutes with another tray. 

"Do you think we'll need more?" Andrea asked, looking at the piles
of pancakes. 

"I don't think so," Scully said, sitting down.  Everyone else joined
them.  After the big breakfast, Scully and Mulder got up. "It's been
fun," she said. 

"You're going already?" Andrea asked. 

"Sweetie, they've been here all weekend," Charles stood up. He
hugged Scully. "I'll see you this summer?" 

"You bet, I wouldn't give up an offer like that!" Scully said. 
Charles shook Mulder's hand and Andrea hugged Scully. 

"When are you flying out?" Scully asked. 

"Tonight," Andrea said. "I'll call you from home." 

"Bye, Fox," Andrea said, giving him a hug. Mulder blushed. "Oh
sorry, Mulder!" 

"It's fine," Mulder said. "I hope I see you again." 

"Wait!!" the twins jumped up. 

"Don't go!" they cried, clinging to Mulder and Scully. 

"Honey, we will see them again this summer," Andrea said.
Mulder looked at Scully. 

"Bye bye, Auntie Dana and Uncie Moldy," Peter said. 

"Bye," Daniel said. 

"Bye mom, I'll see you later," Scully said. 

"See you Dana, bye Fox," Maggie said.  Scully and Mulder went
outside and got in Mulder's car. 

"See?" Andrea poked Charles, "I was right!" 

"Okay, so both of them are coming?" Charles asked. 

"I guess so!" Andrea said.
XxXxX

FINIS 

XxXxX