Hello again!

I'm just on a fic writing tangent these last few days! I hope no one is tiring of me yet XD

Anyway...I'm considering on making this a work in progress but I'm not 100 sure yet. Tell me what you guys think!

-Dru

:-:

Their small apartment was mellow and quiet and Scully absolutely could not believe it.

The laundry was warm on her arms as she reached into the basket on the floor and pulled out a small mound of clean clothes. The last flickering lights of day were just sinking away, crickets beginning to chirp outside the door. Scully let out a long, contented sigh before looking over at Mulder who was spread out across the sofa. His eyes were only half-heartedly alert as he attempted to rub a lingering headache away. He watched Scully carefully and even through his half-massed eyes Scully could feel his gaze upon her.

"Mulder," she said softly, gently bringing him out of his trance. She rested warm clothes on his chest. It was something she had done for a long time. When she was little, Scully used to dump loads of warm laundry atop her cat who used to purr up at her appreciatively. Mulder didn't exactly purr but she did it all the same and was often times rewarded for her efforts. Tonight, Mulder gave her a sleepy sort of smile, snaking his arm around her waist before pulling her closer to him. She knelt down so her face could be near his, nuzzling into his temple. She had the overwhelming urge to be physically close to him for the past month or so. Mulder attributed it to William. It had been 31 days since they had gotten him back.

It had been a long month. The three year old was unsure and anxious in his new surroundings, with these new people he had no recollection of. He screamed any time Mulder came near him and grew stiff when Scully tried to hold him. William and often times Scully would fall asleep only from exhaustion after excessive bouts of crying. It was the end of the month and today they had had a break through. Mulder had set the boy down in his bedroom to talk.

"No," the boy had said softly, pushing Mulder's hands away when he tried positioning them on his bed. Mulder stayed crouched in front of the boy, keeping his hands a fair distance away.

"I know you're scared," Mulder started gently. "I know it's scary to be in a new place with new people. I know how it feels to be scared."

William watched Mulder suspiciously, dark brown hair falling into his eyes. He had Scully's big beautiful eyes. He was small like Scully and the frustrated sighs that left his mouth even sounded eerily familiar.

"You look just like your mommy," Mulder whispered, more to himself then to the boy in front of him. He stood up and walked over to the other side of William's bedroom. Scully had been so excited to decorate it just the way she had always envisioned it. With trucks and trains and airplanes and of course, boats. As Mulder was debating whether or not to approach his son again, William tilted his head to the side.

"Mommy?" he questioned gently. Mulder was quiet for a minute, easing himself slowly and gently into conversation.

"Dana Scully," he answered, keeping his voice low and calm. "Dana Scully is your mommy."

"Mommy…," William repeated almost immediately after Mulder had stopped speaking. His eyes had softened somewhat. "Scully?" He got off of his bed and went to stand at the bottom of the small dresser that was positioned on the other side of the room. He pointed to a framed picture perched on top.

"Mommy?" William said again, pointing to the picture. Mulder was practically bursting with happiness. This was the longest he had been alone with William without falter. Without the little boy realizing where he was and beginning to cry. He lifted the picture off the dresser and looked at it. It was a picture of him and Scully from a few years ago. New Years, a holiday that held a lot of meaning for them. Scully's mother had taken the picture at Bill's house. They were sitting on the couch. Mulder was wearing that awful sweater Scully's mother had knitted him for Christmas. Scully was laughing, her face bright and forehead against Mulder's. He wished he could remember what was so funny. Mulder continued to keep his voice soft.

"Mommy," he said pointing to Scully. "And that…," he handed the boy the picture, pointing to himself. "Is your daddy." William's head snapped up to stare at Mulder, clutching the picture in his small hands. A look of shock was upon his face and Mulder braced himself for a meltdown. Instead, William turned back to the picture.

"Daddy?"

"Fox Mulder," Mulder said slowly. "Fox Mulder is your daddy. That's me."

Without acknowledging Mulder further, William took the picture with him back to his bed and laid down, falling asleep no more then 2 minutes later. Mulder crept over, stroking the boys head gently for a few minutes before going off to find Scully in the laundry room. He had felt something with his son.

He could barely move fast enough.

:-:

Scully had relived the moment over and over again as Mulder continued to bubble with a pride she had never seen before. It was incredible and she only wished she had been there to see it.

"He really said mommy?" Scully asked softly, near tears. Mulder wrapped his arms around Scully, pulling her close to him. Resting her head against Mulder she could feel a gentle rumble as he chuckled softly.

"Yes…yes he said mommy and he said daddy," Mulder said.

Night had fallen upon them and now Scully had her face against Mulder's. He had been sleeping on and off all afternoon. All three of them had gotten little sleep the past few weeks.

"Do you think I should wake him? I mean…he has to have dinner and maybe he'll let me give him a bath…," she was trying not to sound too hopeful and it broke Mulder's heart. He touched her cheek.

"I think we just need to go with the flow from now on," Mulder whispered. "We need to just listen and follow what he's doing…until he trusts us." Scully nodded and opened her mouth to say something but was silenced by a tiny whimper from behind her. Mulder sat up on the couch as Scully stood up from her crouching position, turning around to see a tear-streaked William. His face was flushed from crying and his little hands were clutched very tightly on either side of a small picture frame. Scully recognized it almost immediately. It was the picture of her and Mulder from New Years. The toddler was sobbing, alternating wiping at his inflamed and irritated eyes with his tiny fists. Every part of Scully was screaming at her to run to him but Mulder grabbed her wrist.

"Hey buddy…," Mulder started softly. He held his free hand out to him. William continued to cry, his wails only elevating at Mulder's gesture. But in only a few short moments he was quieting, still hiccupping and hyperventilating from crying so hard. His little body shook as he looked down at the picture.

"Da…Dad…Daddy," William choked. He looked up at Mulder and Scully. "Dah…Daddy." The small boy repeated it over and over with less difficulty each time. He finally set the picture down on the floor in front of him and held his arms out, turning his full attention to Scully now.

"Mommy," William said confidently. Tears were cooling on his overheated cheeks now. "Mommy."

Scully burst into tears, collapsing next to her son who pulled his tiny arms around her neck. The two sat in the middle of their living room and cried. Mulder slowly worked his way off the sofa, embracing his family in his arms. Scully had her face buried into William's neck, inhaling his scent and relishing in the feeling of the three year olds fingers playing in her hair.

Scully and Mulder didn't want to push their luck any farther with Will that night. The toddler was emotionally drained and exhausted. But it was Will who pushed them, letting Scully bathe him and put clean clothes on him. Letting her brush his hair out and giggling when Mulder nuzzled into his tiny chest. Falling asleep in Scully's arms as she rocked him in the corner of his bedroom, his hand closed tightly over her wrist.

"Mulder," Scully whispered, a sense of calm finally falling over the three of them. The lights were dimmed in William's room and the only sounds now came from Scully sniffling back tears. Mulder crouched next to Scully and William, stroking Will's head and staring up into Scully's eyes.

"Scully," Mulder countered in a small playful effort. Scully took her free hand and ran it through Mulder's hair. She looked down at the small boy asleep in her arms. Their son. The baby Mulder had given her.

"We have a long way to go."