Chapter Text
Having time off from work, Scully makes sure to have all her affairs straightened out. Just as she finishes paying her car note, the woman hears her phone ring.
"Hello?" Scully asks answering her phone. Hearing the words on the other line, the woman quickly gets in her car and drives to Chloe's school. Running into the school, the woman presses down her outfit before entering the office.
"Ms. Scully?" The principal stands holding out his hand.
"Yes, sir," Scully answers feeling a lot like her younger self when first assigned to in her partner's words, "The FBI's Most Unwanted". Schooling her features to keep from smiling, the woman sits down beside her daughter who glares at the man in front of them. Looking at the girl, Scully sees the the same expression Mulder has when in Skinner's office. Putting her hand on the girl's, Scully questions, "You said Chloe was in trouble?"
The man nods to the twelve year old and asks, "Would you like to tell her, or should I?"
Sighing, Chloe mumbles, "I accidentally pushed a girl for telling me I didn't have a mom."
Eyes wide, Scully asks, "You what?"
Looking back at the principal, the red head asks, "Why did you not call her father?"
With a calm demeanor the man replies, "We tried, Ms. Scully, but it seems he was unavailable."
The woman nods knowing the man is probably sitting in his office throwing pencils at the ceiling with his cell off and the office phone off its hook. Breathing in, Scully smiles saying, "Thank- you. Her father and I will have a talk with her tonight."
Heading toward the car, Scully asks the girl, "What were you thinking? You cannot simply fight with people like this!"
"She started a rumor that you died! Kids were saying sorry to me in the hallway!" Chloe exclaims. Standing at the hood of her car and pinching the bridge of her nose, Scully does the same she does with her partner by asking, "Are you sure that's actually how it happened?"
"Yes! Rebecca Campbell started a rumor that you died! Then, she dismissively stated that you aren't my real mother!"
Biting her lip, Scully thinks about personally strangling Pheobe. Instead, she says, "Get in the car."
As they leave the school lot, Scully drums her hands on the steering wheel before driving toward the highway.
"This isn't the way home," Chloe states. Looking straight ahead, Scully replies, "I know."
Nodding to her phone, the red head says, "Call your dad and tell him about what happened."
Doing as she is told, the twelve year old finally gets a hold of her father. After explaining her predicament to her father, she hands the phone to Scully saying, "He wants to talk to you."
Putting the phone to her ear, Scully hears Mulder ask, "What actually happened?"
"Your daughter decided to defend me and herself by pushing a girl at school," The woman states before giving the twelve year old a pointed look. Focusing back on the phone Scully says, "I have her, but we should be gone until tonight. I'll bring her back home before nine."
"Okay, just be careful," Mulder replies wondering how his daughter will deal with Scully's temper.
"We'll be fine," Scully reassures before hanging up. Putting her phone back in the console, the woman tells her ward, "Do your homework. The drive should take somewhat over an hour."
"Where are you ta- -"
"Homework," The red head demands. Chloe nods and digs into her back pack to find her notebook.
An hour and a half later, Chloe looks up from her math homework when the car stops. Seeing the beach, the brunette gives her guardian a questioning look. Unbuckling her seat belt, Scully says calmly, "Let's go for a walk."
Nodding, the twelve year old puts her book down and unbuckles her seat belt before following in step with the red head.
"This is where we scattered my Dad's ashes," The red head begins. Confused, Chloe replies with an elongated, "Okay."
Preparing herself for what she wants to say, the mother and daughter walk in silence before she says, "This is where I would've wanted my ashes to go."
"With your Dad?" Chloe questions wondering where the woman is going with her conversation. Nodding, Scully asks, "You know why?"
The preteen shakes her head as the woman replies, "When I was little, my brother Bill would terrorize me."
She laughs a second before adding, "He was awful! I still can't look at eggs the same way again. Anyway, when I was around five or six, my dad was on a five month stint and only had a few weeks shore leave. While he was gone, Bill decided to push me in the pool to teach me how to swim. Thankfully it was a public pool, so someone saw me and helped me out. I was coughing and all I could think was that I wanted my dad. He was never one to coddle us, but he'd yell and Bill. Dad got home a few days later and decided to teach me and Charlie how to swim since we were NAVY brats. When I wouldn't get in, he asked what was wrong and immediately I told him what Bill did. Nodding, my Dad didn't say anything. I don't know what he said to Bill, but I do know Bill thought he was in charge of the house while Dad was gone. When dad left again, he told me before he left not to listen to my brother. Then, he gave me the copy of Moby Dick that he'd read to me. That's how I knew he was always with me."
Still not understanding what her mother says, Chloe asks, "What does that have to do with me and Rebecca?"
"Whatever happens, remember that I am always with you. I don't have anything to give you, Chlo, but whatever happens I will always be your mother," Scully replies before hugging her daughter closer to her and kissing her head adding, "I love you."
"Love you, too," Chloe replies feeling only a small bit better. After a moment, the preteen asks, can we pick some sea shells or something while we're here?"
"Sure," The woman replies letting the twelve year old lead this time.
Half an hour later, the woman and girl walk back to the car and stay silent for most of the car ride back. Coming up to her partner's apartment complex at eight- thirty that night, Scully shuts off the engine before waking Chloe up. The twelve year old looks at the woman and smiles. Grabbing her bag, Chloe heads to the main door of the building with Scully behind her.
"She's pretty quiet," Mulder states noticing his daughter's subdued nature once his partner and daughter enter the apartment.
"So are you when you get yelled at," Scully answers as the preteen heads to her room. Wondering if the woman does yell at his daughter, Mulder begins to voice the question when Scully explains, "I took her to the sea. I needed to explain things to her. She got really defensive of me when a girl started a rumor that I died and that I'm not her real mother. She hasn't acted like that in a couple years."
Mulder almost responds when his partner continues, "Part of me wonders if it has to do with my cancer. She didn't say much in the hospital. She was really strong when you were gone, Mulder."
"Yeah, I know. Do you think she should see Doctor Gillovny again?" The father questions eager to help his daughter. Shaking her head, Scully says, "I don't know. We can ask her. Not tonight, though. Let her sleep."
"You're soft on her Scully," The man answers with a small smile. Rolling her eyes, his partner answers, "You didn't see me earlier."
"About earlier, Scully. I'm sorry I couldn't answer the phone. I was in a meeting with Skinner. He thinks it's a good idea after everything that's happened between us in the last year to go to a team seminar," Mulder states dryly. Raising an eyebrow, Scully parrots, "A team seminar?"
"It's a bureau thing for partners. I tried to talk him out of it, but he already got the paperwork filled out sans the signatures."
Biting her lip, Scully mulls over the announcement before saying, "It may actually be a good idea."
Staring at the woman in disbelief, Mulder states, "Scully, we've be relegated to a basement. There's no such thing as team building for us."
Sighing, Scully asks, "When is it?"
Looking disgusted, Mulder replies "A week after you come back."
Three weeks later, Scully and Mulder sit in the back seat with two other agents who continually gush over the seminar. For her part, Scully tries not to laugh out loud at Mulder's constant side comments. When they stop at a check- point on the way, both Mulder and Scully are secretly excited when they start to work on a case to help find a missing man. However, singing to her partner is not how the red head envisions spending her night. Being haunted by the song, she finds, is even worse.
On the way home from the Bureau a day and a half later, Scully sits in the passenger seat as she listens to her partner hum.
"Mulder," The woman warns. Seeing the grin creeping to his lips, the red head groans as Mulder audibly sings, "Singin' joy to the world! All the boys and girls!"
"Mulder!" She practically yells trying to drown out the sound of her partner's voice. Sighing in relief, the woman thinks the torture is over just as her partner says, "Come on Scully, you know you want to sing along!"
"No, I really don't," Scully responds as her partner shouts rather than sings, "If I were the king of the world! I'd tell you what I'd do!"
The rest of the ride to her mother's the red head plays the license plate game to drown out her partner.
Exiting the car fifteen minutes later, Scully dashes quickly up her mother's front steps to escape Mulder. Knocking on the door, Scully waits for her mother as she hears her partner continue to hum the song she sings to him in the woods. She almost succeeds in ignoring him when he whispers in her ear, "Make sweet love to you."
"Mulder," She hisses just as her mother opens the door.
"Hi! Come in!" Maggie greets letting the adults inside.
"How was the seminar?" Chloe questions when her father and guardian come into the house. Rolling their eyes, the adults say, "We never went."
"Why?" The girl asks adding, "Did you really have a case?"
Shaking his head, Mulder mumbles, "No, we really were going to a seminar."
Rolling her eyes, Scully replies, "We ended up helping out on an investigation."
Satisfied with the answer, Chloe thanks Maggie for grabbing her things. With Chloe out of earshot, Maggie asks her daughter, "Do you want to go to San Diego this Christmas?"
"Mom," Scully replies not in the mood to talk about her brother. Seeing the look on her daughter's face, the older Scully placates, "He really wants to see you after everything at the hospital and apologize. Besides, Tara's due around that time and I wanted to be there for her and she really wants to see you too."
Sighing, the red head cannot deny wanting to see her sister- in- law. Seeing Chloe come into the living room, the red head looks over at her partner. Nodding, Mulder replies, "Go. Chloe and I are going to visit my mom this year for a change."
"Sure, Mom," Scully replies before telling her mother to call her later with the details of their trip.
As they leave her mother's house, Scully relishes the songless ride until she hears her partner mumble the words to himself as he sits on the interstate.
Noticing her father humming, Chloe asks what the man is singing. He replies with the song title before adding, "She sang it to me while we were in the woods."
"Mom, why were you singing to Dad in the woods?" The twelve year old questions. Shaking her head, the red head answers, "We had to camp there for the night."
"And?" The brunette asks wondering what exactly camping has to do with singing to her father. Not wanting to get into detail about the investigation, Scully replies, "It's complicated."
"Okay," Chloe replies before soon humming the song herself. That night, Scully spends the rest of the ride to her apartment listening to her partner and daughter sing the Three Dog Night classic at the top of their lungs.
With Chloe asleep in the back seat when he pulls up to his partner's apartment, the red head asks, "Are you sure you're okay with me going to Bill's for Christmas?"
"Positive. You don't owe us anything, Scul. Besides, you may have a little niece or nephew to see when you get there," Mulder adds. A small smile on her face, Scully thinks back on Mulder's quoting "Joy to the World" to her. Noticing her daughter is still asleep, the red head asks, "Mulder, did you mean what you whispered to me at my mom's?"
"Going from babies to jumping me, Scully. You got something you want to tell me?" The man teases. Shaking her head, Scully replies a little sadly, "No. I was just curious."
Seeing the hurt look in her eyes, Mulder asks, "You okay?"
"Yeah," The woman lies adding, "Fine. I should go upstairs. I'll see you at work."
"Yeah," Her partner replies as he watches his partner make it inside the building alright.