Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter 1:

October 31st, 2011, 4PM - Farrs Corner, Virginia

“No.” Three-year-old Molly gulped, trying to pretend there was no fear in her voice. “I told you, you can’t come.” She said as sternly as a little girl possibly could.
“Molly!!!” Scully called, her joy-filled voice floating up the stairs and to her daughter’s waiting ears like a soothing melody. “Were almost ready to go!”
The little red-head paused, her look alike sister staring back, but not really there. Miss Mulder furrowed her brow, staring down the ghost as she strapped her ballet shoes to her feet, her gaze adorable rather than cold.
“No funny business.” The little girl advised.
The ghost sister crossed her arms, deeply unsatisfied. It’d been just six months since Emily had first appeared to her youngest sister. It’d started in dreams, and spiraled into reality where Molly could swear she heard her laugh, or that she pushed the ball back to her… Or that the ghost girl could read and share her thoughts.
It wasn’t until Halloween time, when daddy began to read them stories about ghosts and ghouls that the three-year-old started to realize: this girl was a ghost. Molly would’ve bragged about the unusual relationship, only she felt too unsettled by it to do so. Besides, mommy and daddy thought it was cute… Believing she had an imaginary friend, they had no idea she saw this girl… Or who she really was.
“Come on squirt.” Eight-year-old Maggie poked her head in their shared room. “Mommy says we’ll be late.”
Molly turned around, her mouth partially agape.
“Bringing your friend?” Maggie questioned, teasing a just a bit.
The third grader was just old enough to find her little sister’s imaginary friend kick very funny but was kind enough not to tease too much.
“No, no she can’t come!” Molly insisted, almost frantically, turning back to Emily.
The older girl furrowed her brow, humored. ‘Wow.’ The third-grader considered, kind of impressed. ‘She’s really committed to this pretend friend thing…’
“Come on, I’m sure she won’t cause too much trouble.” Maggie promised, taking her little sister’s hand.
Molly looked back, concerned, almost dragging her feet.
“I hope not… And don’t call me squirt!” She demanded, looking up at Maggie.
…….
“Mulder, your costume’s not funny.” Scully rolled her eyes, trying to hide that she was ever so slightly humored when she should not have been.
He gazed upward, eyeing the headband he wore, little green alien antennas popping up from the top of it.
“Oh come on Mrs. Spooky, you love it.” He grinned, inching in closer to her.
She made a face, trying to keep from laughing and stood on her tiptoes, as if standing under mistletoe. He leaned in to kiss her.
“Hmmmm.” She giggled, smiling into his lips. “No Mulder I… don’t love it.” She said as he lovingly adjusted her witches’ hat. “But I do love being Mrs. Spooky.”
He beamed, leaning down to kiss her again.
Scully actually was having the time of her life. The FBI was a thing of their past now, and with the exception of the pain from the loss of their son, she was happy and grateful. She was a working MD again, Mulder was pursing a career as an expert in the paranormal, and staying home with their little girls.
Looking back she couldn’t believe how things had turned out and gave thanks every single day.
“Okay mommy, I finally got her.” Maggie said, pulling Molly down the stairs behind her, none of them noticed the little girl look back, concerned.
Mulder beamed as the girls came down the stairs in their costumes: Molly was a fairy, and Maggie a little witch.
“You guys excited?” He asked, his tone like that of a child.
They lived too rurally to trick-or-treat, and so some years they made the trek to Alexandria, to Scully’s mother, or to Georgetown. But this year they were starting a new tradition and going to the grade school’s giant Halloween carnival. Scully thought this was perfect, as both girls were finally going there. Maybe they’d get to meet some more people, maybe it would be be a new shade of normal. Meanwhile, Mulder was excited about their makeshift haunted house and the rides.
‘It won’t be scary.’ He’d told Scully. ‘But I can always see what the kids are into these days…’
“Come on Molly Olly.” Mulder said, picking her up once Maggie and Scully started to venture outside.
He paused, noting she just looked up the staircase, blinking, as if thinking intently.
“You want your friend to follow us?” He asked, humoring her.
“No daddy!” She cried, alarmed.
He blinked, surprised at the intensity of her exclamation.
“Oh…okay.” He raised a brow, starting to think more deeply about this…
……
The X-Files office - Washington, D.C., The Same Time

Monica Reyes-Doggett sighed, her head aching as she poured over the files on her desk. She was overwhelmed with work, but couldn’t help tuning into the ‘conversation’ being had by her little boys just feet away.
“Bwother.” Five-year-old Adam paused pushing his toy train around, smiling at the baby at his side. Little Ethan slobbered and kicked his feet, rocking his own carseat by accident. “Bwother we can do it together now. We can have Halloween like mommy pwomised.”
Monica raised a brow, surprised Adam had remembered the promise she’d made a full year earlier while six-months pregnant. She paused, watching her son a beat as she looked up from her paperwork.
‘Wow.’ She thought. ‘This must be really special to him…’
A year earlier, Adam had begged her to wear matching costumes with his baby brother, the only issue being he was not born yet, so she’d promised, ‘next year.’
She flipped open her day planner realizing… It was Halloween. It was next year.
“Ugh.” She mumbled, putting her face in her hands, wondering if she were the world’s worst mother.
It’d been a tough month. October was usually a busy time at the FBI, and especially busy time for X-Files. This year was no exception. In fact, she and John were so overloaded with case files that they’d made a gamble and brought their sniffly little boy and fussy infant into the office that morning. With a sick child, and a sicker nanny what else were they supposed to do?
Still, Monica felt terrible she’d simply forgotten Halloween. There were no costumes, no plans… Worse yet, Adam would return to preschool in a few days and discover he’d been left out of the school party.
‘You can’t blame yourself…’ She tried to reason. ‘It’s been a hard month… The boys are sick… And John’s no help.’
Monica was still head over heals in love, but her husband’s overprotectiveness over the boys was becoming too much for her. He, for example, was afraid to take them trick-or-treating even after it’d gone well last year.
“Mommy. Mommy?” Adam asked.
“What my baby?” She shook her head, turning to him, trying to clear her mind of guilt.
She gulped as he ran up to her, knowing she could not promise her son the Halloween he so desired. She looked down into his little eyes, lifting him into her embrace, desperate not to break his little heart.
“Mommy, can we be bat bwothers?”
“Bat brothers?” She asked, holding him close. “You want to be bats for Halloween?”
“Yeah.” He giggled.
“Well… Honey…” She looked at the clock, it was late.
Well by late, about the time tiny kids went trick-or-treating and they were still here at the office. Worse… She had no idea where John even was.
“Baby…”
“Mommy you’re a kitty again?” He asked, she blinked.
“Er….Mommy forgot her ears.” She realized.
She picked up her phone, quickly texting her husband: 911 Halloween emergency!
…..
Georgetown, The Same Time

“I hope you’re not too disappointed.” Diana said, holding her daughter’s hand as they walked.
The two strolled hand-in-hand, amid a swarm of parents and kids, crisp, freshly fallen leaves at their feet. The two were dressed all in black, nothing crazy: just skinny jeans and sweaters, with matching witches hats atop their heads. If the former henchwoman and her daughter were anything, they were tres chic.
Eight-year-old Amanda stayed quiet, but shook her head ‘no’ in reply.
“I really thought you would want to spend Halloween with your brother and the girls…” She inquired, nervously.
“No mommy, it’s good. I want to spend Halloween with you.” Amanda said, side-hugging her as they came to a crosswalk.
Diana, yes that Diana, smiled, kissing the top of the girl’s head, relieved.
Agent Fowley was alive and living in Georgetown with her own little girl. She’d had a long road in getting here, having escaped the night she’d clued Scully in on how to save Mulder so many years before. She’d snuck off, faking her death, laying low until one day when fate had brought her back to her old life, and into the Smoking Man’s possessive clutches… This time largely against her will, as his right hand man, then somehow… His mistress.
She couldn’t say she regretted that entirely though now, despite having changed her ways and her heart… Her more recent ties to CBG Spender having left her not with scars, but with one precious little gift she’d never thought she’d have.
But that is a longer story for another day.
Diana kissed the top of her daughter’s head again, pleased with the development at hand. She wasn’t sure how Amanda would react to her decision that they should spend Halloween alone together. Diana had been a single mom since the very beginning, having fled the Smoking Man in the very early stages of her pregnancy. She was all alone, living in secret until the day she, Mulder and their toddlers ran into each other, all on pure fate.
Since that time, Amanda spent a lot of time with Fox and the girls, her brother and nieces. For her, this was most days after school, on holidays like this.… She and Maggie, being the exact same age, were the best of friends, and of course, Fox couldn’t resist doting on Amanda, having never dreamed he’d get the chance to have another little sister especially via his ex-girlfriend.
Diana was glad for the support, but that hadn’t meant she didn’t want time alone just to be a mother, just to try and be normal. To try and forget….
……
Molly sighed, comforted to be atop her dad’s shoulders. The tiny girl was still not used to school, or being around a lot of people, having only started a month before, and was a bit overwhelmed by the crowd. That said, daddy’s shoulders were the best place she could hope to be. She squinted, looking down, clutching his jacket with tiny fingers, watching as her mother, father and sister excitedly compete in a ring toss game. She didn’t totally get it, and remained silent, observing their fun, noting (with a twinge of excitement) that there were prizes to be won.
‘Ooooh.’ She marveled, brightening at the sight of a row of teddy bears, understanding right away that you could win one. Her eyes locked with this particular one right away: she was brown with a big pink bow around her neck. Molly beamed, its little smile warming her already sweet heart, telling her it wanted to be friends.
“Daddy, daddy could we win one though?” She asked, unable to stop the smile that spread across her face.
“I’ll sure try Molly Olly.” Fox said, tossing another ring.
But it was a hard game, one that was probably rigged, like those claw machines, and despite his best efforts, Mulder did not win the bear, nor did Scully and Maggie.
“Awe.” Scully and her older daughter said at once, only slightly disappointed.
Mulder felt Molly’s immediate sadness, judging it by the way she weaved her fingers into his collar, holding on tight. Her little stomach churned, tears springing to her eyes, but not just over the loss of her friend-to-be.
“Ha!’ She cried, doing a double take.
There Emily was, right beside them, bear in hand.
“Hey you can’t have that!” She cried, the ghost girl darting a way.
“Hey, did somebody take a bear?” The stand’s attendee, another dad from the school noticed.
“That’s funny I didn’t see anything.” Scully said.
“I did mommy, Emily took it!” She cried as they walked away.
Scully sighed, exchanging pained glances with Mulder, hating it when Molly called her imaginary friend this: where did she get these things?
“Er Molly I don’t think so. We didn’t see anybody.” Mulder said gently as Molly pouted.
“Sweetie there was nobody there.” Scully said.
“Mommy can we have her head examined?” Maggie asked.
“Shuuuu.” Scully stressed, wondering if it weren’t time to act.
“But mommy it’s real.” Molly said, almost crying.
Mulder blinked, considering it carefully…. His X-Files coded brain struggling to build a theory...

Chapter Text

Chapter 2 -

“Oh no is it Halloween??? You’re kiddin’!” John cried, panicked by his wife’s text.
He sighed, closing his eyes, letting his head fall back against the seat of the car.
As a man who was paranoid about stranger danger and his kids, Halloween wasn’t exactly his favorite holiday: far from it. Nonetheless, his heart strained at the thought that they’d forgotten it entirely. Adam had been so looking forward to it, and even though he didn’t know the difference, it was Ethan’s very first Halloween… How could they forget that???
“How in the hell…” He considered, putting his car into gear.
‘Well.’ He thought. ‘In the very least, this’ll get me outta this.…’
He’d had a rough day investigating dead end leads on a case without the aid of his wife. And he was super over it.
‘Just bring candy, bring it now!’ Monica’s last text had read.
“Alright…. I’m on it.” He said to himself.
And so John sped off, in search of last minute Halloween treasures.
……
“Hmmmm…” Monica looked around the office, frantically trying to figure out how to transform her two little boys into bats at the very last minute.
She sat on her knees, rocking Ethan’s carseat as the overtired baby started to fuss.
“Shuuuuu, shuuu my baby don’t cry.” She shushed, near tears herself.
She picked up the baby, placing him on her shoulder, frantically trying to quiet him as her eyes darted around the space, searching for anything she might use as a cape.
Her heart dropped, thinking she might have to tell Adam the awful truth when…
‘Ah-ha!’ She cried, seeing it.
They had all these documents, documents they were going to shred, sitting in a pile.
‘I could tape them together, and cut little pieces out, making bat wings…No oh my god that’s crazy…’ She thought.
She paused, looking down into one little boy’s sad eyes, the other one sniffling and wailing in her ear.
‘It’s crazy… But it has to work.’
……
Maggie could barely believe that there was a carousel at the school, just for Halloween.
‘Wow.’ She thought as they all got on. ‘They really went out for all of this.’
‘Good up there baby?” Scully whispered, kissing Molly’s cheek as she put her on one of the horses.
Molly just simply nodded. “Yes mommy.”
Scully smiled, brushing her daughter’s chubby cheek lovingly. The redhead couldn’t say how happy her heart was tonight. Days like this, with Mulder and the girls were, for her, a thing of dreams even though they’d become reality. She gazed over at Mulder, his eyes sparkling as they caught hers. He giggled with Maggie, having just lifted her onto the horse behind them.
Suddenly the ride began with a little screeching sound, the carnival-esq music picking up pace. Molly giggled excitedly, unable to help it despite her angst. She beamed, soothed as her mother kissed her forehead.
“Ha!” Molly gasped, her little eyes widening, seeing Emily again just as soon as her mother pulled away.
The ghost girl sat on a horse too… Riding just a couple of rows up. She turned around, eyeing Molly in a manner that was almost sinister. The little girl gulped, cuddling up to her mother, afraid.
“Hey what is it?” Scully soothed, noticing the toddler’s angst right away. “Hey mama’s here. Mama’s got you, its alright.”
Molly blinked saying nothing, watching Emily who stared back at her. In that moment, for some reason, Molly noticed Emily, unlike all the other children, wasn’t attended to by a parent and for some reason that was kind of sad. Molly pouted, turning and placing her head on her mother’s shoulder.
“Honey what is it? You wanna tell me?” Scully asked.
Molly shook her head no, Scully feeling the sensation of ‘no’ against her person. She turned back to Mulder, the two now sharing concerned glances.
Molly didn’t need to see Emily to know what she was thinking. ‘That’s not nice.’ The other little girl thought. ‘You took my mommy…’
……
“Mommy when are we going home?” Adam questioned, tilting his head as he watched his mother.
Monica sat on her knees, ripping masking tape with her teeth as she worked quickly to fashion makeshift wings out of paper, her infant wailing in his carrier in front of her. She paused, taking a minute to rock him, still wondering if she should just give up and tell her son the truth.
“Baby, can you rock him a minute, please?”
“Okay.” He said, coming to her side, beginning to rock the baby’s carseat with both hands.
“It’s okay my bat bwother.” He soothed, leaning down and kissing the baby’s forehead.
“Adam don’t…” Monica sighed, done when the baby sneezed in her little boy’s face. Adam simply giggled, not disgusted at all. “Ughhh now you’re both sick anyway.”
“He’s a baby, he can’t help it.” Adam explained.
“Yeah ugh I know…” She squinted, holding up the makeshift wing she’d finished… it looked like trash but it was the best she could do.
“Mommy is that my wing?”
“Yeah um…. Baby do you mind being office bat?”
“Who’s he?”
“Well he…” Monica made it up as she went. “He’s a bat who works in an office, like this one and when he comes out at night he grows his wings, like these and they’re … Made of paper.”
Only Monica or Mr. Spooky Mulder himself could’ve possibly made this up. Adam just stared at her a beat and for a moment, she expected him to cry. But then he burst into giggles.
“Mommy that’s funny!”
“Yeah?” She smiled, encouraged, taping a rubber band to the wing so she could put it on his back. She grabbed him, starting to place the wings on his back.
She was elated: this was a shot in the dark, and it was working.
“Yeah mommy, he’s the bat whose gonna save everyone from being bored.”
……
Amanda was excited. Her mom was unconventional in that she often treated her like she was older and more sophisticated than her few years. They did fun, cool things together, not just stuff that suited kids her age. That’s why they’d cut the trick-or-treating a tad short, gone out for sushi, and headed to a showing of the vintage horror classic, Vertigo.
The little girl squirmed in her seat with excitement, feeling so grown up. First she’d turned eight, just a few days before, and now this. She was on top of the world. Diana had been excited too… That was until they entered the theatre. Now she almost sunk in her seat, wishing the earth would open up and swallow her whole. She could’ve died when she turned around briefly and saw him sitting there, several rows behind them.
Diana wrapped her arm around her little girl, not daring to ruin the child’s joy even though she wished she could just run away. Amanda sat there with a big bucket of popcorn in her lap, excited beyond measure. Diana seethed, angered his presence had stolen her peace. It wasn’t like he wasn’t around, like this visit were a surprise, in fact he did this all of the time.
Diana had been kidnapped once found, and taken back into the Smoking Man’s fold.
She’d acquiesced to a “romantic” relationship with him in part because she thought it might soften the blow over her previous betrayal and eventually secure her freedom. It wasn’t something he’d insisted on or something she’d pressed… It just happened, and she’d thought it was a way to keep herself safe in a bad situation… She’d never expected in a million years to become pregnant.
She’d fled early on, paranoid, remembering everything he’d been willing to do to his own sons…Believing her baby would be no different. She didn’t want her child to become a pawn, or henchman, or worse, an experiment.
Unlucky for her, CSM had discovered them. Years after that fact, the two had reached an odd stalemate, resulting in his having some limited visitation and her having some modicum of peace about his presence. He brought gifts, he watched from afar, the threat low. This child, made the good old fashioned way, was of little use to him in truth, but he found he couldn’t stay away. He found that he… Cared.
Still, Diana sometimes felt threatened by how he lingered. She, a woman who battled her own demons and had many regrets, hated this. She detested when he’d just show up unannounced, on the street, in a theatre, at a parent-teacher conference… In her house.
But it was her penance. And she knew that.
‘Ugh… I knew we should’ve gone with Fox…’ She said to herself.
Her stomach flipped. She knew the CSM wouldn’t do anything, but Fox’s presence often kept him at bay, another reason she so often sought it. Diana turned around, narrowing her gaze, her eyes locking with Spender’s. He sat three rows back, almost lounging, still in his usual attire, a cigarette in hand despite it being a movie theatre where of course, you couldn’t smoke.
‘What are you doing here?’ She mouthed, annoyed, knowing he could see her.
He shook his head, shrugging pretending to not know what she was talking about.
‘Carl. Leave now!’ She commanded, again, mouthing it to him.
He simply chuckled, ignoring her, turning his attention back to the film. Or at least, pretending to.
“Mommy what is it?” Amanda asked, whispering.
“Oh, no nothing honey it’s nothing.” She replied nervously, massaging the girl’s scalp as she turned back to the movie, which happened to be an old favorite of hers.
It was Amanda’s first time seeing a Hitchcock classic, and although she was a bit young for it, the little girl was enthralled immediately. Diana’s stomach flipped, not remembering this part, the part where Jimmy Stewart followed Kim Novak to her great-grandmother’s grave. The great-grandmother, Carlotta, had committed suicide, having been the mistress of a wealthy man and borne his child. He’d kept the child, casting her aside…
Diana gulped, the parallel making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. She managed to keep Amanda mostly because Spender couldn’t hope to protect her given all the people who were after him. But that didn’t keep him from pursuing her, from teasing her… From initiating contact with the little girl they’d made when she was his mistress. He did so when and how he liked, and she acquiesced just to try to keep the peace, to keep him happy and her baby safe.
It was a delicate, horrible dance. She knew that if he could, he’d cast her aside and run off with their daughter.
She turned around, her eyes filled with tears, drilling into him, her pain sending a message. ‘You will not Carlotta me, Spender.’
He shrugged, smiling mischievously.
…..
Molly’s stomach turned. Part of her wanted to head home, but even at such a young age she knew that would do no good: this little girl seemed to follow her everywhere. She sucked her thumb, frantically viewing the carnival around her, wondering if there was a place she could ditch her, that maybe there was a way Emily could get lost and not come home with them.
‘But she’s a ghost.’ The child thought. ‘What did she mean when she said I took her mommy?’
Molly was smart, but not smart enough to realize this ghost was her sister.
“Bumper cars sound fun, don’t they?” Her father asked her as they waited in line.
“What’s bump car daddy?” She asked.
“Bumper cars.” Maggie began. “They’re fake cars you get in and they have rubber around them and you hit each other, bam!” She cried, excited, causing Molly to shiver in fear a bit.
“Daddy no!”
Mulder giggled, holding her close. “Hey it’s gonna be alright. It’s just a ride, no one’ll get hurt….”
But that’s what he thought. A few minutes later, the family boarded two separate bumper cars. Maggie went with daddy and again, Molly found herself with mommy. The little girl wasn’t sure what to expect, but found she was terrified as the cars spun around and hit each other.
Her little eyes darted back and forth and she couldn’t, for the life of her, understand why everyone else was laughing and having a great time, her mother included. Molly buried her head in her mother’s side not wanting to watch… But she looked up, gasping in terror when she heard an adult scream. She panicked, covering her eyes with her hands.
“Scully, move over there!” Mulder called, all the adults panicking.
One of the cars, you see, was moving on its own. Contrary to what you might think, unmanned bumper cars just kind of follow along, hitting other cars, not making their own movements… And this one had gone rogue.
Molly looked up, moving two of her fingers, peaking through her hands. There she was: Emily steering the car madly, hitting the other cars with force. Fury in her eyes.
“Mommy look!” She cried, Scully steering away from the rogue car, but it kept going after her.
“Mulder help!”
“Mommy it’s her it’s Emily!” Molly cried panicked. Scully looked down at her daughter in horror.
Their two cars hitting each other over and over.
Scully’s heart sped, her eyes growing wide, her subconscious understanding, but she refused to believe.
…..
“Mulder I simply refuse to believe it!” Scully cried, the two arguing a little bit now. “It’s a ride it… It must be programed be on some kind of track it was just…
“Scully it was blatantly going after you!”
She huffed, her hands on her hips, not wanting to do this. After more than fifteen years, nothing had changed for Mr. Spooky and his skeptic partner. They’d sent the girls off, just for a few minutes with the mother of one of Maggie’s classmates so they could talk. They (and others around them) were very rattled by what’d happened.
“It must be on some kind of track, or maybe someone was controlling with drone technology. It’s not logical to just assume its…”
She stopped, swallowing hard, overwhelmed, the loud carnival continuing to go on around them.
“I know…” He offered.
“No. I’m not having this. It’s not a ghost… And it’s not my Emily…” She choked, almost starting to cry.
He reached pulled her into a hug, when suddenly the music changed and Ghostbusters started to play and Scully actually started to cry.
……
“Hey there’s my guys!!!!” John cried, rushing into the office bogged down with stuff. “What in the….” He stopped when he saw the boy’s costumes.
Monica put her finger in front her lips, quickly quieting him.
“Daddy, mommy made me office bat.” Adam said, total confidence in the choice.
“Oh, yar office bat.” He chuckled, putting everything down on the desk. “Isn’t mommy awfully creative?”
The little boy nodded soundly, as his father lifted him into his arms.
“Adam. I know you’d wanted ta go trick-or-treatin’ at home… But yar sick and we had ta stay late, but daddy has an idea.”
‘Oh?!’ Monica thought, brightening.
“It won’t be far another hour or more that most people here at the FBI head home so, we’re gonna go to people’s offices. See what they might have far office bat.’
Adam looked up at his dad, just beaming.
……
“John… Will this even work…” Monica asked nervously, whispering to her husband.
“Somebody’ll have candy, or they’ll have pens, or stamps or somethin’.”
“But… It’ll crush him.”
“Look, we’re doin’ the best we can. He looks kinda like a bat now. It’s better than nothin’ and besides, daddy bought plenty of candy. And somethin’ far mommy.”
“Oh?” She smiled, delighted. “Ha John!”
“I couldn’t resist, mama kitten.” He smiled, kissing her forehead.
He’d gone to Target and run through the store like a suburban mom on Supermarket Sweep, quickly loading up on candy, bat ears for the boys, and of course, cat ears for his beloved, knowing she’d left them at home.
Monica, you see, was a cat every year and had been the whole time they’d been parents together. She beamed, near tears as he placed the ears on her head.
“Daddy you saved the day.” She gushed.
“No mommy you did, look at office bat, aren’t ya proud?” He considered and the two giggled.
“Baby… what are you?” She asked.
“FBI agent, as always, Mrs. Doggett.” He said, putting on a stereotypical pair of reflective sunglasses.
She laughed, almost snorting.
“Okay come on.” John leaned down, taking Adam in his arms, lifting him high as if he were flying and walking out of the room. “It’s a bird, it’s a plane, its office bat!”
Monica chuckled, happy, picking up her youngest and kissing his nearly bald head before following her husband into the hall. “Okay, come on my baby bat, lets see if we can find some treats.…”

Chapter Text

Chapter 3 -

Kersh raised a brow, his eyes darting back and forth.
“There must be a lot of paranormal activity this month John.” He accused, eyeing the two agents and their little boys in their makeshift costumes, slightly disturbed they’d clearly not had time to do anything for the children on Halloween. “Here you go, son.”
Adam looked down curiously as Kersh deposited two sticks of gum and a business card inside his Halloween pail along with the assortment of other goodies his father had predicted he might receive: stamps, pens, random granola bars, a stress ball that looked like the planet Earth …
“Oh I almost forgot…” Kersh continued, placing a several page long document inside the bucket.
The boy looked down, confused, but his parents sunk into the floor in understanding. “What is it?” He asked, hoping for a story.
“It’s your father’s last report.” Kersh looked up at John. “You can use it if you need anymore bat wings.” He said, exchanging intense glances with John.
…….
“Hey, I was wondering when you guys were coming by!” Skinner smiled, his attention on his surrogate nephews, rather than their parents.
Adam giggled, running up to his ‘Uncle’ Walter.
“A-are we bad parents?” Monica blinked, paranoid, whispering to her husband, surprised that Skinner had treats for each boy, a box of animal crackers for Adam, a package of those Gerber puff snacks Ethan had just started eating.
John looked to her, panicked a moment by the pain in her eyes, and moved to quickly explain it away.
“Er… No. No he… He’s not as overwhelmed as us and he could plan.” John was convinced. Or maybe he convinced himself. “ Probably had his secretary get it anyway and we don’t have a secretary.”
Yes. That was it, they didn’t have a secretary.
“Yeah that’s it.” She tried to convince herself. “That’s… Definitely it.”
……
Mulder, Scully and the girls made their way home not long after the bumper car incident.
‘We’ll shift gears.’ Mulder suggested. ‘We’ll make some popcorn, watch a movie, forget it happened.’
“Mulder how can we forget when that girl is something she constantly brings up?” Scully said, getting the popcorn bowl out of a higher part of the kitchen cabinet, standing on her tiptoes. “I’m getting really worried.”
“It’s harmless.”
“Clearly its not. Mulder… Should we take her to see a psychiatrist?”
“Why would we do that?”
“Well she thinks she sees this girl!”
Scully couldn’t reason herself out of it anymore: she was panicked and with good reason. She knew, subconsciously, that this ‘imaginary friend’ was not just in her daughter’s mind: she’d seen it with her own eyes, it must be real.
It was an X-File
He put his head down, wanting to say their daughter had more use for exorcist than for a psychiatrist. “I, er… Look.”
“Where’s this coming from?” She asked hopelessly.
‘Tell me again, tell me it isn’t my Emily.’ Her heart pled, but she couldn’t bare to ask him, knowing he couldn’t make that promise. ‘If it’s her it means my baby’s not at peace…’ Her heart sunk. ‘It means I didn’t do enough for her.. That I should’ve done more.
He smiled sadly, dropping the package of popcorn kernels on the counter and walking over to her. He wrapped his arms around her lower back, holding her close and kissing her forehead, cradling her, reading every thought.
“You don’t have to worry.” He promised.
“Yes I do!”
Mulder had some experiences in cases like this, he thought he knew what was happening and had some idea of how he might get it to stop
“No… Molly’s a normal girl. She’s no experiment, she has no alien DNA, but I do think she’s spiritually gifted. She’s got a great big heart, she’s an empath, she can sense things.”
Scully blinked, considering this. Knowing in her heart it was true.
“It’s okay, mommy.” Mulder whispered.
“No.” She shook her head, biting her lip.
Mulder gazed down at her kindly, lifting her chin to meet his gaze. “Honey.”
He never called her that.
“I think if it is a ghost, Molly might’ve been sent to help out that little girl, to help her heart get to a better place…. And I’m gonna help her do that.”
……
“Hey honey, you going to come and watch the movie with us?” Mulder asked.
Molly shook her head sadly, very seriously. “No daddy, there’s gonna be more trouble.”
“More trouble, huh?” He asked, bending down to her level. “Like the halloween pumpkins are gonna come alive trouble, or…”
She shook her head, pouting, taking this seriously, upset he was not.
“Hey look, daddy’s going to fix it.”
Molly blinked, sad, the ghost girl sat across from her on her sister’s bed, staring where her father could not see.
“How?” She thought this impossible.
“Well first. I don’t want you to talk to mommy about Emily anymore.”
“Why?”
Mulder blinked, not sure how to explain that it hurt Scully without scaring her or opening up the door to too many questions.
“I think mommy… Has a harder time with the idea of imaginary friends… And ghosts.”
“Ha! You think she’s a ghost daddy?”
“Umm…” He stumbled, afraid he’d scared her.
“Good, cause I do too!”
Mulder looked up at her in surprise. “You know what Molly, sometimes there are just things in the world we can’t explain. Sometimes that does have to do with ghosts… Sometimes its more complicated than even that. But you know what?”
“What?” She asked.
“I think, if she is a ghost and she’s a girl like you she just needs a friend. Has she been acting up just the past few days, when you got annoyed with her?”
Mulder recalled his youngest being done with her pretend friend a week or so before, there’d been no outbursts from the being before then, not that he could see.
“Ooooh.” Molly blinked, realizing.
Emily came over to them, putting her hand softly on Mulder’s arm, nodding as if to say, ‘Yes, that’s it!’
Molly blinked, her eyes growing wide and Mulder turned to his side, studying someone who wasn’t there. But the thing is, he felt she was. Mulder would’ve never talked about a ghost this way but he knew this was Emily and she met no harm, or in the least, it was his empath daughter’s way of sensing Emily. It was heartbreakingly bittersweet.
“I think she chose you.” Mulder said. “To help her find peace. Just be her friend and she’ll go back where she came from. You hurt her when you wanted her to go away. Can you say your sorry? I’m sorry too, Emily.” He said, tears in his eyes, knowing the ghost would know what he really met if she was there.
“I’m sorry!” Molly squeaked.
“Here, we can all hug.” Mulder said, hugging Molly, but leaving room for Emily who, unbeknownst to him did get in on the embrace, her soul soothed.
Molly closed her eyes, feeling peace at hugging them both. But when she opened them again, Emily had gone.
…..
Diana sighed, happy to have not seen the Smoking man when they came out of the theatre. She ran her fingers through her daughter’s hair as they walked, her peace finally returning a bit. It was cold and it was late, but it was just a short walk home for them. Amanda didn’t look up as they walked, excitedly shuffling through her trick-or-treat pail.
“Mommy can we go for ice cream?”
“No.” Diana laughed. “That’s way too much sugar and junk for one week, especially after all that birthday cake …”
Diana looked up, sensing someone walk up right in front of them in the dark.
“Ah! Oh, God!” She cried. Wrapping her arms around Amanda who turned to her, hugging her in fear. Diana sighed after a beat, realizing it was CSM, appearing out of nowhere. “Oh, God, don’t scare us like that!”
“Nothing to be afraid of, its only me.” Spender smiled, total calm in his tone.
“What are you doing here?” She asked, catching her breath.
He furrowed his brow, eyeing his cigarette, smiling down at his daughter.
“I’m just a concerned father.” He said and Diana rolled her eyes. “There’s no telling the kinds of ghouls and weirdos that prowl around on Halloween night and so since I happened by you, I wanted to make sure my girls got home safe.”
He did care. Somewhere inside, despite all the pain he’d caused everyone Diana knew that: he cared for her and her daughter more legitimately than his previous children and their mothers, but she tried not to honor that emotion. She tried everything she could given their confining arrangement, to punish him.
“Hmmm.” Amanda said, fishing through her jack-o-lantern pail.
She didn’t notice both of her parents peering inside the bucket at all that junk, both of them agreeing on one thing, and one thing only: they wanted to toss it all. Neither knew what kept them from doing so right then.
Finally, Amanda pulled out a packet of gum, eyeing it with disgust. “Someone gave me gum. Here daddy, its for you.”
He raised a brow, confused.
“Maybe you’ll smoke a little less.” She said, walking ahead of her parents just a bit.
“What’s she mean smoke less?” He asked, truly concerned.
Diana sighed. Amanda had always tried to take her dad’s cigarettes away from him from the time she was very little, something that had only gotten worse when she’d gone to school and learned smoking was bad for you.
“She thinks every gum is a nicotine gum, Carl.”
He blinked, confounded.
“I see…”
“She likes you… You should listen to her.”
He paused in consideration as Diana went ahead, catching up with Amanda. He pocketed the gum, and followed them from a distance like a ghost, considering the gesture, his cold heart a little warmed.
……
“You did a great job this year, daddy.” Monica said, wrapping her arms around his neck.
John beamed holding her close. Both were tired… And now not feeling well either. The baby was finally asleep and Adam lay on the floor with some toys, getting ready to watch a Halloween movie with mom and dad before going to bed.
“No.” John smiled, trying to hide that he was a little congested. “I think mommy did the better job, who else woulda come up with office bat?”
He moved in to kiss her, the two paused, considering that. She giggled, her nose obviously stuffy. “John we’re both sick now, so nothing should stop you.”
“Well I think I have ta anyway.” He smiled, pointing up.
“Ha!” She gasped in surprise, looking up to see mistletoe hanging in the doorway to their living room.
“They already had the Christmas stuff out when I went to get the candy.”
She giggled, biting her lip as he leaned down, kissing her deeply.
……
Rural Virginia - Late Halloween Night

Jeffrey put his head down, smiling sadly as he closed his front door, saying goodbye to the last trick-or-treater of the year. Several years after being shot by his own father, things had improved for him a bit. He’d had several more surgeries and was beginning to look something like the man he once was. He lived remotely now, in this small little town deep in the heart of Virginia. Away from DC, and his family and the troubles of his former life.
He was largely alone now. Not that he hadn’t been before. Every once in a while he’d hear from Dana, and more rarely, from Fox. The two had gotten somewhat closer as brothers, whatever that met. He got an invitation out to Farrs Corner several times a year, usually for Thanksgiving and had the opportunity to see his nieces and his surprise little sister when he did so.
Still, nothing took away the pain or aggravation he lived with, or the loneliness in his heart. As his appearance changed he’d gotten braver, and started to be more active in this small town where, surprisingly people were starting to accept him. He put down the mostly empty bowl of candy when suddenly there was a knock at the door.
He looked up, surprised and answered it.
“Samuel?” He questioned.
There stood Sam Kutcher, a local boy just a hair older than Maggie and Amanda. His mother, Melanie worked at the library… And he couldn’t admit to himself that he kind of liked her.
“Mom wanted me to give you… I mean… Here, we brought you cookies!” He cried, giving him a tin full of baked goods.
Jeffrey opened it, smiling a beat when he was what was inside: a dozen or so little jack-o-lantern cookies.
“Oh… Thank your mother so much for me.” He was kind of stunned.
“Kay, see you at the town meeting tomorrow?”
Spender blinked. He’d not planned on it, but he knew the boy was asking for his mother.
“I-I’ll see you there.”
…….
It took a while, but Molly finally fell asleep, the magical, Halloween night fading into the first of November. She snored deep, nestled in bed, her big sister a mirror image on the other side of the room. Molly smiled, sighing when someone tucked a teddy bear in bed with her. She hugged it tight, in love even in her dreams.
She didn’t see Emily smile down at her, her eyes now filled with kindness. That was all she’d needed, simple kindness from the baby sister she would’ve adored in a life that’d been stolen from them both.
Emily leaned down, sweetly kissing Molly’s cheek and then vanished into thin air a final time. Scully would be forever triggered by that bear and where it’d come from, but Mulder knew different; it was a gift one they’d never fully be able to explain.