Work Text:
February 23, 2024
8:45 p.m.
Scully smiled as she looked at the pictures held on Skinner and Rachel’s fridge by an assortment of magnets.
There were ones of only Rachel and Skinner, the twins together and separate, the whole family in different locations, and many with the twins and Faith as they cheesed for the camera or were taken in candid. There was even a more recent one with all of them from Halloween, held in a border Faith had made out of popsicle sticks and decorated with Halloween stickers.
Scully shook her head as she traced her finger over Faith’s face in her favorite picture. Jacob and Elizabeth were sitting on a bedding of straw, within the petting zoo they had visited last August, each holding a bunny on their laps. They were grinning from ear to ear and beside them was Faith, smiling at them.
When Rachel had shown Scully the picture, they had both proclaimed how cute it was and how grown up Faith looked as she looked on at her “babies.” Rachel had immediately sent it to Scully and she had made copies of them on her way home the next day, placing a framed picture in Faith’s room and one in her office, both at home and at work.
Since then many things had changed, but that picture, keeping them frozen in that moment, was and always would be one of her favorites.
“Hey,” Mulder said, pulling her from her thoughts.
“Hey,” she said back, smiling at him as she moved out of his way, allowing him to open the fridge and take out two beers.
“You ready for this?” he asked, picking up the bottle opener to open the beers.
“Yeah,” she laughed with a nod.
“I don’t know if I am. I feel like this could be bad. I’m not very good at it.”
“Oh, honey,” she said, wrapping her arms around his waist and smiling at him. “You are good at it.”
“Hmm,” he hummed, his arms going around her, the two beers still held in his hands. “I just don’t know. I want to do it right and I’m not sure I’ll do you justice.”
“Just take your time and do the best you can,” she said, tilting her head slightly. “What do you always say to Faith? Try and then try again?”
“And if all else fails, chuck the fucker out the window?” he suggested and she laughed.
“Don’t remember ever hearing that part.”
“Because it’s internal. But trust me, it’s always there.”
She laughed again and he smiled at her before he leaned his head down and kissed her.
“So you did get the beers,” Skinner said gruffly, interrupting them. “They just haven’t made their way to the table yet.”
“Sorry, man,” Mulder said, turning them so he could hand Skinner his beer. “I got distracted by this smoking hot woman.”
“God,” Skinner said, shaking his head and taking a drink of his beer.
“Are you going to deny that she’s smoking hot? Today of all days?” Mulder asked incredulously as Scully stepped back with a laugh. “Look at her.”
“Mulder, stop it,” she said, shaking her head.
“No. It’s impossible. You’re hot. It’s the truth.”
“Who’s hot?” Rachel asked as she came into the room, smiling at them and taking Skinner’s beer from him.
“Hey,” he protested and she winked as she took a sip.
“I was saying that my wife, who is celebrating her sixtieth rotation around the sun-”
“More like accepting it,” Scully said with a small sigh as Rachel smiled at her.
”Celebrating,” Mulder insisted, looking at her pointedly and she nodded, scrunching her chin as she put an arm around his waist. “As amazing as ever and definitely still smoking hot.”
“Hear! Hear!” Rachel agreed, raising the bottle in the air. Skinner looked at her and she looked back, her eyebrows raised. “Yeah, she’s hot. Deal with it.” Mulder and Scully laughed and Skinner gave Rachel a crooked smile, before kissing her softly.
“And so are you,” he said and Rachel pulled away.
“So you do think she’s hot?!” Rachel said, shaking her head and scoffing loudly as Scully laughed again.
“You… they…” Skinner stammered, looking around at each of them.
“Oh, you’re so cute when you get flustered,” Rachel laughed, putting the beer down and wrapping her arms around his neck. “I love you so much.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he said gruffly, even as he pulled her close. She smiled as she reached up to kiss him, then whispered something that made him laugh. “Yeah. Okay.”
Mulder glanced at Scully and she shrugged with a smile as she turned her attention back to Rachel and Skinner. He caught her eye and smiled.
“I’ve been given permission to state once a year that you are a…” he said, pausing when Rachel covered his ear and whispered something into it. “Babe...”
“That’s my wife you’re talking about!” Mulder stated in mock outrage. “How dare you!”
“I was talking to my wife,” Skinner said, as Rachel dissolved into laughter. “I didn’t mean-”
“Sure you didn’t,” Mulder said, shaking his head and sighing loudly.
“Jesus Christ,” Skinner murmured, picking up the beer and draining half the bottle. “Can we just…?”
“Move on?” Scully asked with a chuckle.
“Yes, please,” Skinner sighed with a nod. “I’ll grab another beer and meet you out there.”
“Okay,” Rachel said, winking at Scully as she turned to leave the kitchen. Scully caught up to her and put her arm around her waist.
“He’s so easy,” Scully said.
“Oh my God, babe. I know,” Rachel said and they both cackled as they walked out of the room.
They stopped at the long dining room table and Scully smiled at the items that had been set upon it.
“I’m really excited to do this,” Rachel said and Scully nodded, also feeling a sense of excitement.
Mulder and Skinner came into the room and they also stopped at the table.
“Okay, let’s take a seat,” Rachel said, clapping her hands and grinning at them. “Across from each other, so you’re facing your partner.”
Mulder hummed and brushed Scully’s back with his fingers as he passed her and went to sit on the side closest to the window. Skinner sat beside him and then Scully sat across from Mulder.
“Alright,” Rachel said. “So when I was younger, the birthday person always got to pick the activities for the day, what they wanted for dinner, and their cake. I’d say that aside from this particular activity, you’ve gotten all three today, Dana.” She smiled at Scully and she smiled back with a nod.
“Although,” Scully said, staring at the blank canvas on the small tabletop easel in front of her. “While it may not have been something I thought to do, I love the idea and I’m looking forward to it.”
“I’m so glad,” Rachel said, beaming as she looked at Scully. “I know I’ve sent you many videos of people doing this recently. Enjoying the company of your partner, while painting their portrait.” She gestured to the paints, paintbrushes, pencils, and pens on the table.
“Right,” Mulder agreed, staring at his own canvas, and then looking up at Scully as though studying her. She smiled and picked up a pencil, intent on sketching him first.
“Before we start, I have one request,” Rachel said, letting out a deep breath. “Take your time and make an effort. I really don’t think I need to tell the two of you.” She looked at Skinner and Mulder, smiling softly. “It’s just that… the mass amount of videos I’ve seen of people revealing their finished product, it seems like the women try harder or make more of an effort to make it good . Maybe the men have done their best, but sometimes it seems like they took it as an opportunity to paint their partner with comical features. Then, because of their actions, and the fact that it’s easier to join in on the laughter than be on the outside of it, their partner has to behave like it’s funnier than it is, while perhaps leaving them feeling… less than happy or not as loved.”
“Honey,” Skinner said quietly, shaking his head.
“I know, I know,” Rachel said, putting her hands up and shrugging. “I just…”
“Take our time,” Skinner said, smiling at her and she smiled back with a small nod.
Scully watched them, smiling when Rachel stepped closer and kissed him, before taking her place beside her.
“Okay,” Rachel said, turning on some music, though the volume stayed low, considering the sleeping children upstairs. Raising her glass of wine next to her easel, she exhaled with a smile. “Let’s do this.”
They all clinked their glasses or bottles and began to create a drawing of their partner, just like the videos Rachel had shown them over the past few days.
Two hours later, all of them slightly tipsy, it was time to reveal their paintings.
Scully had done as Rachel suggested and taken her time. Sketching Mulder, looking at him in a different light, she had focused on the varying shades of color in his hair, the close trim of his beard, his smile, and the lines around his eyes and on his forehead, especially when he concentrated.
Sometimes, especially recently, she caught him staring at those lines in the bathroom mirror. He would sigh as he touched them, no doubt feeling it made him appear older, but she loved every one of them. They were part of him and his journey in life, of which she had been an active and close participant, and she would not remove them even if she had the chance.
Adding a few final touches, she set down her paintbrush and looked at him with a smile. He was staring at his canvas closely and then pulling back with a frown and tilt of his head.
After doing this a few times, he glanced up and saw her looking at him. He raised his eyebrows at her, but she only smiled and shrugged her shoulders, not saying anything.
His foot then found hers under the table and he tapped against it once, a silent question. She tapped back three times, their code for I love you. When he tapped back four times, I love you too, she grinned as she remembered when the fourth tap or squeeze had been implemented.
“It should be four squeezes when you do it back,” Faith had said, squeezing both of their hands as they sat on the couch one night. “Because three is I love you, so four should be I love you… too!”
She had demonstrated it, squeezing their hands three times and then waiting for them to respond back with four squeezes. When they had, she grinned, as pleased as could be.
“Okay!” Rachel said, pausing the music and looking at Scully. “You’re the birthday… hottie-”
“Oh, now don’t start that again,” Skinner groaned and they all laughed.
“You go first, Dana,” Rachel said, winking at Skinner who rolled his eyes as he smiled at her.
“Okay,” Scully said, sitting up straight and letting out a breath. “Wow, this makes me feel slightly nervous. Okay, here we go.” She looked at Mulder and he grinned. “Close your eyes.”
He did as she asked as she picked up her canvas, turning it around for him to see.
“Huh,” Skinner said and then closed his mouth, glancing quickly at Scully in apology. She smiled as she shook her head, her heart beating faster as she wondered what that sound had meant.
“Can I open my eyes?” Mulder asked and Scully chuckled softly.
“Yes,” she whispered and he opened his eyes.
“Wow,” he said, leaning forward. “Wow, hon. You did an amazing job. That… wow.”
“Wow? That’s the best you got?” she teased and he laughed softly.
“It’s… can I hold it?”
She nodded and they both leaned forward, him taking the canvas and holding it as she leaned back, watching his face. He smiled as he looked over the whole thing, touching his beard and then his hair. His smile faded a bit as he ran his fingers over his forehead, touching the lines that lay there. He sighed and then looked up at her.
“It’s beautiful. You captured everything so perfectly. Lovingly.”
“That couldn’t possibly be because I love you now, could it?” she asked, smiling as she picked up her wine glass and took a sip.
“Possibly,” he agreed, looking down at the painting again.
“Can I see mine now?” she asked and he raised his head, worry in his eyes.
“I don’t think I did the same justice that you’ve done for me. I don’t know that…”
“Come on, man,” Skinner said, shaking his head and then gesturing to Mulder’s painting with his chin. “Show her.”
Mulder nodded and set her painting down before picking up his own.
“Close your eyes,” Mulder said and she did, swallowing hard, suddenly very nervous.
“Oh!” Rachel said, inhaling sharply.
“Open them.”
Scully opened her eyes and then gasped, her eyes lifting to his.
“Didn’t do me justice? Mulder, it’s so beautiful. Can I have it?”
“Yeah,” he said, grinning as he leaned forward and handed it to her.
He had painted a faint forest green background with small yellow dots near the top, symbolizing stars. Smiling back at her, he had captured her face nearly identical to how she had captured his.
There were lines etched within, where there had not been any when they first met. Her eyes were the exact shade as her own and she sighed as she stared into them. Her hair, lighter and longer than it had been when they had begun their journey together, lay across one shoulder with pieces of it coming loose onto the other side.
“It’s…” she said, shaking her head. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.” She looked up at him and he nodded with a smile.
“You’re welcome, love.”
He tapped her foot three times and as she tapped back four, he grinned and winked at her.
“It’s really good, Fox,” Rachel said, leaning toward Scully to look at it closer.
“Thank you,” he said, tapping a random pattern gently against Scully’s foot.
“Alright, who’s next?” Skinner asked gruffly. “You want to go first, honey?”
“Okay!” Rachel said, sitting up and smiling as she let out a breath. “You don’t need to close your eyes, though. I want to see your real time reaction.”
“Why does that make me nervous?” he asked and she laughed as she picked up her canvas and turned it around. “Oh, Rach… that’s…” He laughed and reached for it as Rachel smiled.
“Oh. That’s a big, bald, beautiful man,” Mulder said, looking at it and then Rachel. She and Scully laughed, both for different reasons, and Skinner shot him a look.
“Shut up,” he said and then turned his attention to Rachel. “It’s perfect. You did a really great job, honey.” He turned it around to show Scully, though she had already seen it as Rachel was working on it.
His face was painted against a dark blue background. The brown of his eyes and the salt and pepper of his beard had been captured to a T. He had a small smile and Scully smiled at the sight of it.
“It’s you. Perfectly you.” She smiled at Rachel and she bowed her head in thanks.
“I’m up,” Skinner said and Mulder tapped Scully’s foot. She looked at him and he widened his eyes.
Hmmm… what does that mean? she thought.
Skinner set Rachel’s drawing down and reached for his own. He looked at her and smiled as he picked it up and turned it around.
Both she and Scully gasped, Rachel’s hand going to her throat.
“Walter,” she breathed. “I… oh my God.” He handed it to her and Scully leaned closer, her mouth slightly agape.
It was stunning to say the least. He had drawn and then painted Rachel as well as any artist ever could. He captured the blue of her eyes, the light within them, and her smile so perfectly, it was like looking at a photograph.
“I can’t believe this,” Rachel said, shaking her head. “She’s so beautiful.”
“You’re so beautiful, honey,” Skinner said with a soft chuckle. “Don’t I always tell you that?”
“Yeah, but…” She shrugged and wiped her eyes as she shook her head again. Scully rubbed her back as Rachel drew in a deep breath.
“I think I’ve been ousted as the hottie. And on my birthday too,” Scully said and everyone laughed, Rachel’s ending on a small sob.
“I love this so much,” she said, looking at Skinner. “Thank you, sweetheart.”
“You’re more than welcome, honey,” Skinner said and Rachel nodded.
Mulder tapped Scully’s foot again and she nodded as she glanced at him.
“Who knew lying below that gruff exterior all these years, there lay the heart of such an artist?” Scully said, smiling at him. “It’s truly beautiful, Walter.”
“Thank you, Dana,” he said. “It’s hard for it not to be when such beauty is there to inspire me.”
“Okay, that’s enough flattery,” Rachel said, and Mulder and Scully both laughed. “But rest assured that anytime the twins need help with school art projects or to sculpt something out of clay, they’ll be heading your way.”
“I think I can handle that,” he said and they all laughed again.
They cleaned up, clearing away the paints and rinsing out the paintbrushes, laughing as they finished their drinks and each couple shared another slice of cake.
Rachel set the canvases on the stands on the table and took pictures of them, smiling as she then sent them in a text message.
“Thank you all for going along with this crazy idea.”
“Crazy? Nah,” Mulder said, putting his arm around her shoulders and squeezing. “It was a wonderful idea and turned out very well.”
“Thank you, Fox.”
Squeezing her shoulders again, he dropped his arm and walked over to Scully.
“A good ending to a good day?” he asked, taking her hands in his.
“Yes. Undoubtedly.”
“Good,” he said, leaning forward to kiss her softly. “Sixty looks good on you, babe.”
She wanted to protest, to make a flippant comment, but then her eyes fell on his painting of her and she saw what he saw. Smiling, she nodded and looked back at him.
“Yeah. I think it does.”
In the morning, when Faith and the twins saw the paintings on the table, they oohed and ahhed over them, claiming them beautiful and handsome.
“I want to paint a picture,” Faith said, looking at Skinner. “Can I paint Jacob and Liz Beth, Unco? And then they can paint me? If you help them, they can do it. I know they can.”
“God, you are just…” He kissed the top of her head and then whispered something in her ear. Her eyes lit up and she ran to Rachel and hugged her around the waist.
“Thank you, Raycho!” she shouted and then ran towards Rachel’s office, returning quickly with a wrapped package of blank canvases, though smaller than the ones they had used the previous evening.
“Always gotta be one step ahead of them,” Rachel said and Scully laughed in agreement.
Before the day was over, Faith had painted portraits of everyone, including Bella who had joined the sleepover, lying on her large bed that was placed beside her beloved Faith.
Jacob and Elizabeth painted for a bit, but then became bored and returned to their toys.
Skinner was asked to paint the picture of Faith, taking time to sketch her out before adding the paint.
“Unco,” Faith breathed when he showed her the final result. “It’s so beautiful. You did it so amazing. You’re a good drawing person.”
“Thank you, baby girl,” he said, laughing softly and kissing her forehead.
When they left, Faith held her portrait in her lap the whole way home, telling them about what she liked best about it.
Finding some nails and a hammer, they let Faith direct them on where the portraits she had painted should go, Scully hanging hers and Mulder’s side by side in her office.
The portrait Skinner had painted of Faith, did not get hung up. Not right away.
Instead, it lay on her pillow when she went to bed, joined her at the breakfast table, and was back in the bed at bedtime.
“He made it so good, Mama,” Faith said, yawning as she turned over to look at it. “I love it. Goodnight. I love you, Mama.”
“I love you too, love. Sweet dreams.” She kissed Faith’s sweet smelling hair and smiled at the painting.
Faith’s face was painted before a light lavender background. Her long brown hair was down and laying over her shoulders. Her blue eyes were alight with happiness and just a hint of mischief. She smiled with her perfect baby teeth showing. The little freckles that were beginning to appear had been added and Scully loved those most of all, as she had learned over the years to love her own many freckles.
Yes, she thought, looking at the painting once again and then smoothing Faith’s hair back to look at the aforementioned freckles. He captured her perfectly.
Kissing her once more, Scully turned out the bedside light and turned on the fox nightlight.
Closing the door softly behind her, she smiled at the gallery of pictures Faith had painted that hung on the wall by the stairs. Every one of them was there, and even the extra ones Faith had insisted she paint, of Grey and the fish, not wanting anyone to be left out.
Touching the portrait of her that Faith had painted, her love held within every stroke, Scully smiled.
“I think I’m going to like being sixty,” she whispered.
“Scully?” Mulder called and she nodded.
“Be there in a sec, hon,” she called back quietly before kissing her fingers and touching them to Faith’s painting.
Yeah, she thought as she continued down the stairs. I think sixty agrees with me.