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randomfoggytiger · 4 months

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"Mr. Mulder, I Know Something About You"

(Dedicated to @baronessblixen for her fascinating idea: Bill Scully giving Tom Colton and Ethan Minette binders bulging with dirt on one Fox Mulder. This took a slightly different path, though.)

*****

The first time Bill heard the name Fox Mulder was the day after his sister and her partner were sucked almost dry and hospitalized in Washington State for nearly two weeks. One fuzzy, panicked call from Tara and one fuzzier, harried call from his mom sketched in the slim details: Dana was on the mend, she’d been investigating a missing loggers’ case with her partner--

“What 'partner'? She’s in the field?”

She had been, for months. He’d forgotten to ask at their father’s funeral, convinced that her height and lack of experience had kept her teaching at Quantico.

“Dana's mentioned him once before, I think. You know how tight-lipped she is about her life.”

“Mom, do I need to come home? Is she….”

“No, Bill-- but I’ll call you if she takes a turn for the worse.”

So, Bill stayed on board; and Dana got better, and Tara celebrated over the phone, and Maggie remembered the name: Fox Mulder.

*****

The second time Bill heard the name Fox Mulder were the days following his sister’s abduction.

His mother talked of little else-- with Dana’s captor dead, any possible leads had died with him. There was nothing now but faith and hope.

“But I believe Fox will call as soon as he finds her.”

Fox. His sister, Tara had told him, still called him Mulder. Then again, Tara’s attention was currently wrapped up in calendars and planners and endless negatives. For that matter, his was, too; and what little time he had to think of family he thought of her, alone, counting the rising costs of their countless tries, alone, while he worked as often as he could to forget to cover those costs and forget his own loneliness. And his sister, somewhere, alone; and his mother back in Maryland, alone.

Dana and her former partner’s professional relationship wasn’t a top priority, or even a distant concern.

****

The third time Bill heard the name Fox Mulder was after promising his eldest sister that Tara would try her fertility herbs. His wife was curled up on one side, quiet, and Melissa stuck her toes in his other side, slyly smiling.

“Now that that’s out of the way,” she concluded, setting aside the herb pouch and pinning him with her eyes, “why haven’t you given Dana a call? She hasn’t said it, but she’s been expecting one.”

“Don’t start, Missy.” He’d have disengaged, too, but Tara’s head was pressing into his shoulder, a sure sign she was falling asleep. And sleep was precious these days, what with the hormone shots and regular appointments and never-ending stress. He’d promised to shoulder her stresses for nine more weeks; and whether this was a test or not, Bill Scully had and would never back down from his word.

Melissa, opportunistic woman that she was, had banked on it, waiting for her sister-in-law’s “dozing” tea to kick in before launching the subject. “Billy, you know you want to talk to her. What’s the problem? I mean, she almost… we almost lost her. Why can’t you let whatever you’re holding onto--”

“Miss--” he stopped, his voice startling them temporarily.

“You owe it to her, Bill. You two haven’t talked in months; and you both say it’s because of your work but really it’s because of your pride. You’re both so like Dad; but at least Dad was blind to what it did to us."

“And what about Dana? She's back on her feet and running right back to her autopsies and late nights. You can’t point a finger at me without three pointing right back at her. At least I try to be there for my family.”

“You weren’t there when she was gone.”

He swallowed, stung and angry. “And who was, Melissa? You?”

Her toes gripped his hip, guilty. “Fox.”

*****

The fourth time Bill heard Fox Mulder’s name was during his sister’s not-so-secret battle with cancer. His mother called often to vent and cry, unable to share her worries and pain with her only living daughter and unwilling to burden Tara with more stress.

Fox had become a footnote of late, so consumed was he and Dana in their work.

“Mom, how can you let Dana run herself down like that? She should be resting or looking into treatments-- anything rather than chasing after rag magazine cases half across the country!”

“Bill, you know perfectly well not everyone can run to sea to escape their problems. Not even you.”

*****

The fifth time Bill heard Fox Mulder’s name was after he’d met the man, watched him fill Dana’s head with insane theories about chips and government conspiracies, and backed off, awed, when Dana’s cancer miraculously went into remission.

He was roaming the halls, searching for coffee to wash down the remainder of his rage at Fox Mulder’s red eyes and dazed expression when he noticed another government type walk stiffly towards the nurse’s desk, brusquely flash a badge, straighten his stiff spine and stiffer tie, and promptly demand to see “Fox Mulder.”

“I know where he is,” Bill cut in, saving the nurse the hassle but still getting a glare for his trouble. “Bill Scully. How can I help you?”

“Yes-- I was sent to bring him back for questioning; and we’re expected in,” he looked significantly at his watch, “forty minutes. If you would take me to him--”

“Take Mulder where?” Bill snapped around to see Walter Skinner, A.D., striding over, eyebrows drawn and face grim.

“Yes, Sir. Agent Mulder is being called in for--”

“The committee’s been disbanded until further notice, Agent Colton; and until I have those further orders, my agents are not to be bothered or contacted while they are in this hospital. Is that understood?”

Bill watched the other man’s jaw lock, grind, and shift as it worked its stubborn way around, “Understood, Sir.” Then Agent Colton turned tail and fled, heels thudding down the tile on their thunderous path to the elevator.

A.D. Skinner wasn’t done yet. “My apologies, Mr. Scully. That agent was out of line; and I'll see to it that your family isn't bothered again.”

It was best to nod and let the A.D. think he was frustrated with the intrusion.

Mulder could have been mid-conversation or on his way out by now. Instead, he would still be on that bench long after the family had left for the night.

He seemed the type.

*****

The sixth time Bill heard Fox Mulder’s name was over another phone call, mere months before the birth of his child.

“Bill Scully? You might not remember me, but my name’s Ethan, Ethan Minette, and Dana and I used to date back when, well rather, right after she was recruited by the FBI. She ever mention me? Yes? No? Anyway, not important. Calling about information you might possibly have on, lemme check… Fox? Mulder, yep, Fox Mulder. Dana’s partner? There was a case she was involved in recently, really gruesome, real Frankenstein abomination stuff; and Colton, Tom Colton? You know him? Dana’s friend? Anyway, we keep in touch, we’re related somewhat, you know? And he named you as a hot tip and I was wondering if you…. Yeah, yeah, I can wait.”

He and Tara fought afterward: Tara, as big as a house, was ready to cave the roof in.

“Dana’s coming for the holidays, Bill! And you two will spend the week in stony silence avoiding each other and, and Maggie and I will have to try to keep the peace instead of celebrating our first Christmas as a growing family, and-- and how could you do that, Bill? After all Fox Mulder did for our family?”

Bill was lacking even to his ears; and, after cooler heads prevailed, he dialed Ethan back up and insisted his name be kept out of the article. Ethan talked doubly fast, banging a pen up and down every other word for emphasis as he cajoled and steamed about losing necessary credibility; but, inevitably, gave in.

“I’ll only do this because you’re Dana’s brother and she was a real sweetheart. But if I need to call you in future…?”

“I don’t have any more information.”

Dana skipped most of Christmas, anyway.

*****

The seventh time Bill heard Fox Mulder’s name was when he flew in for Emily Sim’s hearing.

“I need him as a witness if I’m to have any chance getting custody of Emily,” Dana had stated carefully, meticulously avoiding eye contact as much as possible. Bill still caught her bewilderment and fear… and joy.

“When’ll he get here?”

“Tonight, tomorrow… he didn’t say when, just that he’d be here.” He caught her smile, too.

“Dana…” Her head snapped up, and he paused. “We’ll be there.”

“Bill, you don’t have to--”

“We’ll be there, Dana.”

And they were.

And so was Fox Mulder.

Bill left with Tara, tired and emotional, and Maggie, displaced and confused, after exchanging silent, cursory greetings with his sister’s partner. While he slowly walked away, both women in tow, he heard a curt “Dana Scully and Fox Mulder” echo behind him.

And, in spite of everything, he sent up a prayer for both.

*****

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

Tagging @today-in-fic

#txf #fic #mine #Mr. Mulder I Know Something About You"#Bill Scully POV #Part I #Bill Scully #Tom Colton #Ethan Minette #Tara Scully #Maggie Scully #Melissa Scully #Scully #Mulder #xfiles #x-files #the x files #randomfoggytiger's fic

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searchingforserendipity25 · 7 months

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cannot believe it's early november already and my pile of tbr (totally being read books, not to be mistaken by to be reads) (most of them not have not actually been read in some months) is still nowhere to being finished.

quick! write the title of the book you want to finish before the end of the year and a book you want to read next year in the tags

#totally being read: herberto helder's steps of life. this one at least i want to finish this month and i Will #just need to defeat this extra surrealist chapter about a bull & a man being murdered in his house (because of the bull) (there's bull pov)#tbr next year: the marriage portrait by maggie o'farrel

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pretendygood · 6 months

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I started writing something I'll probably never post that was supposed to be a pretty simple s3 scenario. Not even a good one. Just had to get it out of my system you know?

Somehow all plot flew out the window immediately. It turned into "Crowley accidentally stumbles into a support system" and honestly? Thank you brain. I needed that.

#jay's nonsense #it was like 50% crowley chatting with nina maggie and/or muriel (getting support while doing his best not to turn them into therapy friends)#30% shorter minisode-style flashbacks #and 20% actually advancing the plot #only 2 of the 5.5 chapters i made it through had non-flashback aziraphale and not for the whole chapter #this says something about how i'm doing lately probably #also shout out to the aziraphale pov i considered adding where he's alone in heaven solely for the narrative contrast

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wander-wren · 9 months

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wrt to the “adam shouldve been a visionary” dreamer trilogy/greywaren post i’ve seen a few times (possibly reblogged?)….well, maybe, but also no.

it’s not that i don’t have my own gripes with tdt (namely, yes, not enough adam), but i just…i can’t get behind visionary adam. not canon visionary, anyway.

like. you’re telling me ronan “the choice was death or hurting adam, which wasnt a choice at all” lynch would have handled it with ANY amount of grace if adam “i will be your hands. i will be your eyes” parrish was given the ultimatum “hurt others every time you have a vision and live, or turn the visions inward and quickly die horribly”??? no!!

and maybe in this alternate version of tdt that’s the whole point, yknow. if that’s what you want, ABSOLUTELY go ahead, dream on about it, write the fic, send it to me i’d love to see. etc etc etc

but the point of the dreamer trilogy is that it’s about ronan. so if we’re keeping with that vision (ha), and with the basic premise of the series, then no, i don’t think visionary adam is a good idea.

which begs the question…what WOULD i have adam do?

[disclaimer i read each book as they came out and havent done full rereads since so my memory is spotty, pls correct anything i get wrong]

in all honesty i would keep call down the hawk essentially as it is bc i think it was good. it takes place during november, no? so potentially add in/exchange a shorter adam moment for thanksgiving break. he can help scry and figure out psychic things and be distrustful of bryde.

have winter break be during part of mister impossible. seriously where are adam’s school breaks lmao. adam is relentlessly practical and cares about ronan and he should be here to sow doubt and try to curb some of ronan’s more ecoterrorist tendencies. ronan can sneak around and hide from him and there can be tension and worry and anger. but also a lot of good pynch feelings still, ofc, bc its Them.

but don’t worry! they can still have a big fight/falling out over the ley lines/bryde/the ecoterrorism before adam leaves for school again. as silly as it is that ronan freaked out over an unread text when adam was literally napping, maybe this time it’s deliberate. or maybe adam really was napping again, or driving, or whatever. the rest of mister impossible can play out from there, or a condensed/reshuffled version of it to accommodate adam being there for a while.

greywaren can start the same, but for the love of god let ronan get out faster it is HIS BOOK. i do like henessey helping him do that i think its an important part of her character, and adam’s part in all that was very good and angsty so i wouldnt change it, but i would have it happen in the first half. ronan and adam make up and go off to do whatever was happening by the end of greywaren tbh i got confused. or something totally different! who knows.

also i just want to see adam interact with the actual visionaries and with carmen and henessey more and with bryde i think it would be very cool. very fun.

i also think gansey/blue/henry shouldve shown up literally ever at all but idk how they fit in so shh

#wren wrambles #the raven cycle #the dreamer trilogy #greywaren #call down the hawk #mister impossible #ronan lynch #adam parrish #pynch #i love maggie and i think she does Lots Of POVs And Happenings well ie in the raven king #but like #greywaren just felt like too much to me a little bit #i feel like there were too many things where i was like ‘wait why is this here did we Need another plot thread mstief’#or ‘wait can we. can we explain/explore/elaborate on that? no? oh. okay then’#but i digress #i do appreciate that this is ronan’s story and it’s important to his arc that he make mistakes and figure shit out on his own #or with henessey #something something its a metaphor. barely. its fairly literal #yknow when you grow up and go to college or a job or whatever and you dont have your hs friends around 24/7 #and you have to figure out who you are without them #for better or for worse. and you still love them but. theyre not There. you have to find new people and a new You #right? right #adam is important and should be there more bc hes Dating Ronan but i am also perfectly fine with them being separate a fair amount #i feel like you could do even more with this but tbh its almost 5am and i havent slept bc i was going to #but i had to write this down #so its not exactly perfectly thought out

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lover-of-mine · 1 month

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Hi baby hope you're having a good day 🩷

I had a thought that really isn't plausible but ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

If we only get the bachelor party through flashbacks, seeing it from different povs would be Interesting. How Buck interprets the events and how Eddie does could be very different and very Loud. Especially with the possibility of an almost™ and who remembers what about it. I know they won't have the time for that but it would be interesting.

(p.s. I think I sent you an ask with an idea I had about the pink, but with the new promo and the drag queen in pink, it doesn't make sense anymore).

Hi baby 🩷 Yk there's actually a chance of some scenes in different povs maybe? Or like, since it seems to be them telling what happened you can have like *voice over* "no that's when this was happening" and the scene alters slightly? Does that make sense? Because you can even add a moment that would go like "wait what happened after that" and the other just hesitating and the scene changing? There's definitely a way to play with pov there for SURE that's not all that time consuming. You do the switch by having them having trouble remembering what happened and handing the pov over. I can totally see that happening. Don't know if they would do it, but yeah, I can see it. You just have to do slight movements on the scene to show that change, you can play with lighting, where they're sitting, stuff like that. And I kinda love that actually kspkapakapakaoa

Also, yeah, you did send an ask about the pink thing but I had a really weird weekend and I didn't have my computer most of yesterday so I was waiting to check the pink scenes to give you my thoughts, then the promo dropped and I just got more confused? I will still go back to your theory, I promise, I just hadn't had the energy to look into it to give you something more thought-out, because maybe there's something there even with the drag queen, because something I noticed about the promo is there they seem to have put bi colors everywhere, and it seems to be in people's clothing too, so that particular instance could be adding to the scenery since the pink is being used a lot with love interest and stuff and that's not the case there, even more with the way it all seems to be flashbacks. But I have to think about it more. I will still give you my thoughts on that, I just need a bit more time.

#but i hadn't considered the switching pov possibility but i love it actually #and sometimes a color is just a color for other intentions of the scene #i just have to look into it more seriously #i will definitely give you thoughts on that #maggie 💜#911 #911 speculation #i really need a tag for asks

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superbeans89 · 6 months

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POV: It’s a cold winter night, so you and Maggie are playing Pokemon.

#shitpost #pov picture #cats #gaming #pokemon #catblr #her name is Maggie

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moregraceful · 6 months

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Please imagine the look on my face when I got a prompt response notification on AO3 that was a) animal transformation, b) featured DEL legend Pat Sieloff. I think I just died for 15 minutes.

#no wait set the scene:#me: writing a long email to mitch about the signed sieloff hockey stick i am sending to him and how the proshop gave me 15%#hit send. gmail app goes back to inbox. oh boy an email from ao3 that someone responded to one of prompts!#nuked from ORBIT #and can you imagine this all started with maddy saying ''STOP SHOWING ME PICTURES OF PAT SIELOFF''#and maggie and becs being like pat sieloff is still playing?????#thereby guaranteeing i would double down??#pov: it is a beautiful fall day in california and you are a deranged kasper #fresno oilers.txt #btw can someone please nail me to the cross and make me do laundry tonight i am COMPLETELY out of socks

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deathsweetblossoms · 1 year

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Her hair is sleek and wet, fanning out around her where it meets the sea. Right now, she strikes him as entirely otherworldy. A siren--or one of the aos sí liable to drag him to a watery grave. Fey magic as ancient and wild as the hala, wearing a girl's skin. (A Far Wilder Magic)

I went into this with zero expectations and it really served me well. I knew I was promised "a magical secret, a mythical hunt, and a tender love" and I was very much delivered all of those things and more. I laughed, cried, yelled, swooned. So, if you're curious about this book and want to remain unspoiled, skip this post.

Friends, listen to me when I say this: A Far Wilder Magic is like Darlingstern meets Jurdan fanfiction set in a magical realist 1920s parallel universe. Maggie, described here as a siren (in a very Darlington-Sees-Alex type of way), grows up love-starved but fierce and weapon-wielding. Wes hides behind a layer of charming foolishness, but beneath it he is gentle, kind, and full of so much love. Already the Jurdan dynamic is there, but take away the cruelty of The Cruel Prince and keep the Suspicious-Yet-Reluctant-Friends dynamic of Alex and Darlington when they meet in Ninth House. Additionally, there's a lot of similarities (not in an obvious way where the author intentionally copied things, but in a way where I can just see the similarity of connection between two relationships) in the type of soul-entwined connection that Alex/Darlington have and Maggie/Wes have. It's really something.

There's just so many quotes that took my breath away:

Wes wonders what the two of them would boil down to--what he would boil down to--if alchemy could go deep enough. ... The pieces of them crumble into each other, becoming one...

And then we see this repeated imagery of alchemy and entwining for the rest of the book, and if THAT doesn't cater to my very specific interests...just, wow. Five stars from me.

(Also, the fact that Maggie holds a weapon to Wes and all it does is make him fall more in love? JURDAN CODED.)

#a far wilder magic #bookworm stuff #a far wilder magic spoilers #seriously dont read my tags if you dont want spoilers --#the ONE complaint i really had was annette - not as a character but in how long it was dragged out #i knew early on what the “twist” was and narratively WHY we needed that to happen as late into the story as it did #(because of the consequences and then what was born out of those consequences between wes/maggie)#but he really should have just..stopped talking to her...like..the night he really ripped into her #then when he kept enabling it I really started getting pissed #(and quite frankly this might just be me getting triggered and speaks to my own trauma and other people might not mind as much #it actually felt..uncomfortable hearing his POV and his very real feelings for Maggie vs how much he was lusting after Annette?? Blegh!#but it was really pissing me off)#im happy she was redeemed and we got the payoff we did from all of it but damnnn

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livesincerely · 11 months

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….I might need someone (or maybe two someones) to proof read/beta something for me soon, if anyone’s interested

#it’s a take a shot something if that helps #not sure if I’ll get a lot/any of takers but in case I do it’ll be a first come first serve volunteer thing #it’s really more of a vibe check than a beta read #would love a second opinion on my Maggie pov chapter #*editor's note #take a shot fic #send help 😅

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mikodrawnnarratives · 1 month

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"Their one mistake, was giving up me..." (i misspelled on the image) (and I wrote down the lyric wrong)

Well I promised and I'll deliver (from this poll)

sum real angst compacted in this lyric comic I got in the works hehe

#this is just maggie's pov btw #hence nova doesn't look like nova #she still doesn't remember but for how I have her in the comic and my headcanons #she has a false idea of her sister leaving and never coming back #despite her epilogue saying she recognizes her sister may have been kidnapped this perspective fits too well with the song haha #tw blood #wip #nova artino #evie artino #maggie white #renegades trilogy #renegades fandom #renegades marissa meyer #marissa meyer #renegades fanart #MDN art tag #my art

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smallcowplant · 2 years

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Gleaming, twinkling,

Eyes like sinking ships on waters

So inviting, I almost jump in.

#this. this is 100% their song.#from maggie's pov....simon's is 100% is shut up and dance w/me by walk the moon #I love them ur honor #back on my disenchanted bullshit? v likely yes #disenchanted extras #ts4 edit

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randomfoggytiger · 4 months

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"You're Not Here, Dana-- You're a Million Miles Away"

Part IV of the Bill Scully POV mini-series (Part I, Part II, Part III~.)

Bill's POV during A Christmas Carol.

*****

He didn’t know what had gone wrong.

At the airport, Dana had been fine. She'd been chatting, laughing even, fresh off the plane, debating some feminine topic with their mother as the two wheeled their luggage closer and closer to the exit. Catching his eye, she’d lit up-- like a firecracker, as Melissa used to say-- and even quickened her pace to soak up “a Big Brother Bill hug”-- something else Melissa used to say but which had rubbed off on the rest of the family.

Maggie had deferred the passenger side seat; and the three of them chit chatted and caught up on the drive to the base. They’d asked spirited questions about Tara; and Bill, per his wife’s specific instructions, had refused to give away any hints about how big she’d gotten.

“He’s a dad already,” smirked Dana; and the teasing and good-natured snipes had trailed after them until they turned the last corner.

Everyone had been delighted with each other, Tara had had her fun surprising her guests, and no one had seemed bothered about the sleeping arrangements.

It was the phone call that did it, he realized: Dana had come charging up the stairs, tense and distraught, insisting that Bill drive her someplace that he knew she’d never been before. Somewhere he’d never been before, either.

“I heard her-- I heard Melissa’s voice-- and I have to know what is going on. And the only answers I’ll have is if we go, right now, and find out who was on the other line.”

He'd taken her, of course-- he’d taken her despite how crazy her story sounded, waited outside the crime scene until Dana finished poking around, then driven her home. She’d remained tight-lipped about what had happened; but that was to be expected-- nothing had come from their detour other than a sense of confused embarrassment-- and they’d both silently moved on from it as soon as possible.

It was after the phone call that she'd begun to withdraw.

*****

Tara went to bed early: up at four and likely tidying and cleaning until their guests arrived after noon, the day had caught up with her-- so Bill supposed-- after the last of her luxurious dessert disappeared from the plate. That, and Dana sat quietly through the meal, seeming bruised rather than pleased during his wife’s happy monologue at dinner.

“Bill, is everything okay with Dana?” she’d sighed as he helped maneuver her around the temporarily cramped room. “She’s been awful quiet since you two returned from the crime scene.”

“I think she’ll be okay. Dana’s probably processing.”

“So I didn’t offend her?”

Bill stopped pulling the quilt back, turning to see how badly Tara’s feelings had been hurt. “It’s the case, Honey, don’t worry about it. You know how I get about work sometimes--”

“But Bill, this seems different. Maybe she was hurt, somehow, by what I was saying about a family or becoming a mom; or she feels guilty because Melissa’s not here.”

“If it’s more than just the case, Mom’ll get it out of her; and if it’s about us, Mom'll let us know. I don't think there's cause for worry, Sweetheart.”

Tara sighed, sat down on the bed, and reluctantly smiled as he bent to take off her comfortable house shoes. “You’re so good to me, Bill. I just want this Christmas to be perfect-- it’s the first since… well, a few firsts since.”

“The past few holidays have been hard on us Scullys; however, I’m convinced we’re due a really, really good one.”

“Baby here included?”

“I thought he was a New Year's baby.”

“You’d better hope it’s a boy then, Bill Jr., because the Scully women seem to have a mind of their own.”

He nodded, grabbing her empty glass to refill downstairs. “Still thinking of Melissa for the name?”

She smiled, reaching out to catch his arm and pull him closer. “As long as we’re still thinking of Matthew for a boy.”

*****

Melissa was an inescapable topic this Christmas. She lingered like a benevolent ghost, lounging on the sofa from the corner of his eye or twinkling companionably from the photographs displayed around the house.

The creaking floorboard, however, was a reminder that Dana, not Melissa, was up and wandering. It was after midnight at least, but she was probably still on East Coast time, Bill assumed; or, of course, she was taking a private call and would be flying out when it was light. Try as he might, the thought that his remaining sister would be called back to work with Mulder-- away from her family, over the holidays, after a miraculous cancer remission-- made his blood boil.

He waited up after the Jeep drove off, arguing himself out of calling Ethan Minette back to retract his retraction.

Dana had never been good at sneaking out; and he listened to her tiptoe back in before sunrise, settle in the dining room, and stay there as the minutes then hours ticked by.

The morning newspaper thudded against the front door, the sun began to rise, Bill slid down before his military wife or mother could wake and start the day.

“Dana?”

*****

He knew disappointment should be second-nature by now with Dana and promises she couldn’t keep. Likely, the sting was keener because Melissa, for as flaky as she’d been, had never pretended or promised to be someone she wasn’t: she wandered in and out of their lives whenever the mood struck but always with a tenderness to their fixed positions. Even Charlie didn’t hide who he was or what he’d decided behind a false front. Meanwhile, Dana passed herself off as stalwart and dependable before jerking left and ditching medical school, the FBI mainstream, and familial obligations.

“Alright,” he’d agreed. “Lunch!” And she hadn’t agreed; and left.

Although this was her work and her business, it was quickly becoming the family's problem: Tara, puzzled by this impossible situation, did her best to distract Maggie by hostessing her around; and Maggie, tight lipped whenever Dana’s name came up, tried to talk over ruffled feelings and assure everyone Dana would be there for the Christmas party, of course, so nice to meet friends of Tara’s, they were such nice people, reminded me of the Stotes family we knew in ‘75, remember them, Bill?

It was the Scullys' first Christmas after so much grief and miraculous second chances-- his and Tara’s as much as Dana’s-- and still, Dana flaked.

“It’s work, Honey. You know how that is,” Tara reassured, taking on the previous night's role of comforter. “God and country come first in your jobs.”

It wasn’t country Dana was putting first. Or God.

Bill kept these thoughts to himself, letting Tara pull back the covers for him tonight. He even smiled when she promised to refill his empty glass of water after New Year’s.

“After New Year’s,” he agreed.

*****

Dana left with Detective Kresge before Bill finished an insignificant morning errand.

“She didn’t even say hello to you or Tara, just left? I thought she wanted this vacation, Mom.”

“Dana does, Bill. She’s just… going through a hard time right now.”

“And she doesn’t want to share that with us? Just wants to sleep here most nights and leave in the morning before I can even say ‘hello’ or ‘goodbye’?”

And it had come tumbling out. Dana and Maggie, huddled at the table mere hours ago, denying and insisting about PCR tests and a long-lost Scully daughter.

“I know Melissa, Bill-- she would’ve never had a child without telling me. Dana is using a 60% possibility to justify her denial because she sees this little girl as a chance that… a chance that was taken away from her. And,” she paused, gripping her arms and steeling her voice, “and I know my babies. I know myself. There were so many small things after your father passed… sometimes, I’d see him from the corner of my eye, smiling at me; or I’d hear his voice late at night, announcing his sudden arrival back from deployment.”

“But, Mom--”

“Yes, I know they weren’t real; but there are things that feel real, and your sister is struggling with them right now. This Christmas has been hard, Bill, as much as we do our best to make it a beautiful time for you and Tara and the baby. Dana has more than the loss of her father and her sister to wrestle with.”

*****

The day passed in preparation for the evening’s party, more decorations and more food and more people filling up the space before Bill could take a moment to relax. An innocent remark about his late father flew completely over his sister’s head; and, tired of walking on eggshells, he asked her to help him in the kitchen.

Careful Billy, you meddler, Melissa used to tease. Perhaps that was her version of wisdom; and perhaps he should have remembered it before his directness came across as accusation, slipping from one point of irritation to the next without tact or grace.

You know Dana hates how direct we are, Billy: it shoves her into a corner that she can’t escape from.

It’s never stopped you, he'd said.

Yeah, well, why do you think she doesn’t ask me for advice very often? she'd replied, poking him companionably.

Bill mumbled their back and forth, alone, with somber fondness.

*****

He’d been given the picture shortly after Melissa became a more permanent fixture in their lives.

“It’s a good one, isn’t it? Had it taken before… you know.”

They’d been sitting in his rattrap apartment listening to Tara prattle to one of her girlfriends about how happy she was to unpack the last of their things-- relaxed and hearty and if not happy then something close to it. Their little sister’s abduction and return had unsettled them, unsettled him; and her quick recovery and dogged insistence on going back to work soon, too soon, had rankled him. But Bill had finally given in and called up Dana at Melissa’s insistence-- the wound, though it remained, was healing.

“I never understood why you left for so long without at least calling more than once in a while.”

“Bill, I just… I needed to resettle after Dad died. You all were there for Mom, even Charlie; but I….” She shrugged, changing the topic by pointing at the photograph. “My friend took that right before I had to jump in the car to go. She said, ‘Think of a beautiful memory and I’ll capture it forever’; and the most beautiful thing I thought of in that moment was the smile you flashed me after I threw an orange right between Harry Pinklewhit’s eyes.”

He’d laughed in spite of her non-answer; and their conversation drew Tara in, who’d also laughed at nine-year-old Melissa’s incredible throwing arm.

Bill didn’t feel like smiling when he’d handed over that photograph to Dana, the question of Melissa's legacy laid to rest in the replica of his sisters' girlhood bedroom. He and Tara, his mother, and Melissa had been where Dana now stood; and, despite some necessary pain, the facts would give her an opportunity to accept and grieve her loss.

Standing in the doorway while Dana, rebellion and determination in her eyes, slid past him with the social worker, Bill wondered when-- or if-- that acceptance would begin.

*****

The three had resolved not to question Dana further. If she was pursuing adoption, then a decision would be finalized either way; and in the end, it was just the four of them.

“Five”, Bill amended; and Tara had teared up and given him a big hug.

Determined to have a good time on Christmas morning, even if the youngest Scully might get up and walk out on a moment’s notice, they’d flocked in, woken Dana, and pounced on the presents before she’d completely defogged-- a strategy unintentionally spearheaded by Tara. Seizing an opportunity, Bill swept along beside her, kneeling down to hand over the biggest present she'd been drooling over for the past month. His mother gravitated to Dana, snuggling up next to her on the couch; and teamwork or group effort or separate but uniting plots seemed to successfully keep his sister from bolting.

Until he’d gleefully stumbled to the door and inadvertently shepherded in Dana’s latest twist in the case.

“According to this… I… am Emily’s mother.”

And what could anyone say to that?

*****

Thank you for reading~

Enjoy!

Tagging @today-in-fic!

#txf #fic #Bill Scully POV #Part IV #You're Not Here Dana-- You're a Million Miles Away"#Bill Scully #Scully #Maggie Scully #Tara Scully #Melissa Scully #xf fanfic #x-files #xfiles #the x files #mine #randomfoggytiger's fic

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