#also fun fact this is my 50th work posted to AO3

[mytardisisparked]

I wrote a lil something X-Files flavored for Mother's Day. @singeart and I were talking about Maggie and Mulder and their dynamic and here's the result :)

Read on AO3

Other Mothers; Other Sons

The second her mother’s door was open, Scully felt herself being engulfed in a tight hug. She smiled and did her best to return it with equal vigor, even with her arms pinned to her side.

“Hi Mom. Happy Mother’s Day.”

Maggie Scully pulled back, still holding her daughter by the shoulders. “Thank you Dana.” The genuine joy and gratitude in her eyes was almost overwhelming. After a moment, she released Scully and took a step back towards the door. “I’m almost ready to go, do you mind waiting just a moment while I finish up?”

Scully shook her head and they went inside. 

“Don’t get too comfortable!” Maggie threw over her shoulder as she breezed towards the bathroom. “I’ll be 2 seconds!”

“Okay.” Scully smiled after her. She lingered in the kitchen, looking at a couple of new pictures of Charlie’s sons on the fridge - he must have sent them in a card. The two boys were grinning wildly at the camera in that way that children do, with no regard for how much is too much. It made Scully smile wider herself. 

She turned to the rest of the kitchen and her eyes landed on a large bouquet of lilies and baby’s breath on the table. Those must be from Bill. Or, more likely, his wife, she thought. She stepped forward and, in a moment of petty, sibling-like curiosity, plucked the little card from the flowers to see who’s handwriting was on it.

She froze. The handwriting was familiar. Very familiar. It was not, however, Bill or Tara’s handwriting.

Written in the same loopy cursive that was at the bottom of all their case reports to Skinner were the words: Happy Mother’s Day!  - Fox.

The confusion evaporated as quickly as it developed; her mother had mentioned several times what a comfort Mulder was while Scully was missing, and Mulder had made a few comments himself about how much he liked Maggie. Scully also knew that Mulder’s relationship with his own mother was fraught - she never told him, but the emotional abandonment Teena inflicted on him has always been a steady, hot fuel for rage in the pit of her stomach. 

She knew he went to visit Teena for the holiday. A phone call to him that evening would probably be a good idea.

“He dropped those off this morning.” Maggie’s voice made Scully jump. She turned to find her mother leaning in the doorway, all dressed up in her Sunday best for brunch. “He’s a sweet boy.” She smiled.

Scully nodded. “I-” She swallowed, unsure of what to say. “Yeah.”

Maggie gave her an all-too-knowing look before walking over to touch one of the lily petals. “He said he was on his way to visit his mother today.”

“Um, yeah.” Scully took a breath. “He’s taking her to lunch, I think.”

They were both quiet for a moment, and Scully wondered how much her mother knew about Teena. Eventually, they looked at each other in sync; Scully saw the same knowledge that burned in her own gut burning behind Maggie’s eyes.

Scully looked away. “Did, um, did Bill call?”

“No.” Maggie turned to grab her coat. “I’m sure he will later. He’s probably not out of church yet.”

As Maggie moved to the door, Scully bit her tongue against the frustration cresting in her chest. She looked one last time at the pictures from Charlie and the bouquet from Mulder, and then followed her mother outside. 

#the x files #fanfiction #usually I just post a link but this one was short lol #anyway I think the mulder and maggie dynamic is super cool and we should have seen more of it #fox mulder #dana scully #maggie scully #mother's day #also fun fact this is my 50th work posted to AO3 #which feel cray to me #doesn't feel like i've written that many fics #i think it's because a lot of my early fics were Not Great lol and my brain forgets they exist for my own sanity

[lettalady]

rereading LJH for like..... the 50th time. at this point I should just print it out and hand bind it into a book. and somehow it ruins me everytime I read it. I love you

I've kept this in my inbox for a little while because it brings me such joy to read, but also because I feel guilty over the fact that I took another off week regarding posting and didn't really get much done in terms of progress on the story. I mean to remedy that today. Playlist. Snacks. Drinks. I will get something done today.

I've only really looked at potentially binding Lakeside at some point in the future, but the idea of someone taking the time to print out the story to be able to read it offline is an amazing thing. I get sidetracked when it comes to photosets and covers and moodboards and playlists. Oh so sidetracked, but that's half the fun, right? As much as I love the original photoset in use here and on AO3, I do love the cover that I ended up working and reworking to what we have currently on Wattpad. Aaand here I am getting sidetracked again. Ha. Long way around saying I'm thrilled that you enjoy the story so much that you'd be willing to have it bound and available offline (for all the suffering that way, too?). ILY too, darling!

#wherein the writer needs to stop avoiding writing #reply: the long journey home #ask me anything #sorry that I just kept rereading this rather than replying quicker like I usually do