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Emily shifted back and forth on her feet, clutching her mother’s hand and trying to peer through the sea of travelers surging out of the baggage claim. She looked up at her mom, who wore a serene smile on her face as she texted someone with her cell phone in one hand, and squeezed Emily’s hand gently with her other one.
“What is it, Em?“ Scully asked, feeling her daughter’s eyes on her. She glanced sideways at Emily, tilting her head down to peer into Emily’s cherubic face.
"How will I recognize Auntie Missy and Auntie Monica when they’ve been gone for so long? What if they changed their hair?”
Scully smiled and knelt down next to her daughter, careful to remain balanced on the balls of her feet with the added weight of her pregnant belly. “When was the last time you remember seeing Auntie Missy and Auntie Monica?"
"At their wedding.”
“Right. And when was that? How many months ago? Do you remember?”
“Ummmm…four?” Emily’s little face scrunched up, and a familiar furrow appeared between her pale blonde eyebrows as she calculated backwards in her head.
“Close. It was five months ago. It was July, remember? Right after you and me and Daddy watched the fireworks for the 4th of July, right?”
Emily nodded. “And I got to stay up late two nights in a row!”
Scully smiled again. “That’s right. You got to stay up late to go to the wedding.”
“And I got to dance with Daddy! And throw flower petals!”
“And you did a great job throwing those petals, Em,” a low male voice said from behind them before a tall, brown-haired man swept Emily up and threw her on top of his shoulders. Emily giggled and wrapped her hands around her father’s head, almost completely covering his eyes with her small fingers.
“Mulder, please be careful,” Scully murmured in a tone that was meant to be disapproving but was failing miserably as she bit back a smile.
“She’s fine…and now she can see better, can’t you, Em?” Mulder grinned, carefully peeling his daughter’s hands away from his eyes and placing them on his forehead. “Sorry it took me so long, Scully, parking was a bitch.”
“Mulder.”
He winced dramatically. “Sorry. A pain. Don’t say the ‘b’ word, Em, Daddy shouldn’t have said that.”
But Emily was no longer paying attention to her parents. Instead, her big blue eyes were drawn to two women who were making their way through the crowd. The taller brunette woman in a plaid shirt and fitted black pants was pushing a luggage cart loaded down with suitcases with one hand, the other arm snaked protectively around the waist of an only slightly smaller redheaded woman in a flowing burgundy peasant dress. Emily squealed, alerting her parents that she recognized her aunties.
“Auntie M and M’s!” Emily shouted, almost toppling her dad in her haste to clamor down Mulder’s lanky frame and run towards her aunts.
“Hey, Squirt! How’s my favorite flower girl?” Monica Reyes said, abandoning the luggage and running ahead of her wife to bend down and scoop up her niece. Melissa Scully-Reyes raised an auburn eyebrow and shook her head indulgently as she circled back to grab the cart before it banged into anyone. Emily planted sloppy kisses on Monica’s cheek before squirming down and running over to Melissa, who smiled and picked up the girl to place a quick smooch on her niece’s lips and set her atop of the precariously stacked suitcases.
“Hey! How was the flight?” Mulder asked as he gave Monica a peck on the cheek and jogged over to take the cart from Melissa.
“Ugh, Dana please give me a prescription for something stronger next time. Dramamine did not do the trick,” Melissa groaned, cringing at her younger sister.
“The layover in Istanbul was a little rough,” Monica explained quietly as she gave Scully a quick hug. “I don’t think Missy’s stomach could handle all the dolma.”
“The dolma was fine, I think it was that last restaurant in Nairobi, Mon. I swear that last dish had actual zebra in it,” Melissa said, then quickly covered her mouth and glanced furtively at Emily, who thankfully hadn’t been paying attention because Mulder was pushing the cart in wide circles around the three women while Emily giggled and urged him to go faster. Melissa’s eyes widened as she glanced down at Scully’s midsection. “Oh my God, Dana…you’re huge! Are you sure there’s only one in there?”
“Yes, there’s only one, Missy,” Scully sighed, and lifted her still-slender arms around her sister’s neck in a tight hug. “And believe me, whenever he wants to make his appearance, I will be thrilled to have him out. So, how was the trip? Did you love it?”
“Did you see lions and elephants and giraffes?” Emily asked excitedly.
“We did! And hippos and cheetahs and even a jaguar!” Monica replied.
Emily’s small face grew serious and she shook her head. “No, Auntie Monica, jaguars only live in South America. You went to Africa. You saw a leopard,” Emily stated matter-of-factly. All the adults exchanged glances.
“She’s been watching a lot of Discovery Channel,” Mulder said, by way of explanation.
“Daddy, you told me that jaguars protect people from evil spirits.”
Mulder pursed his lips and squinted at his daughter, ignoring Scully as she raised an eyebrow at him. “Emily, remember when I told you that sometimes when I tell you things, it’s supposed to be just between you and me? Because Mommy doesn’t want me to expose you to Mesoamerican cultural iconography and mythology, because she thinks you’re too little?”
Emily understood only a few of the words her daddy said, but definitely knew she wasn’t too little. “Mommy, I’m almost six. I know evil spirits aren’t really real. And even if they were, we could always call an exercise person to come and get rid of them.”
Mulder stifled a laugh. "Exorcist, Emily. Not exercise.“
”Mulder!“
+++
Later that evening, Emily was being put to bed with another chapter of a Scully-approved, age-appropriate story about Charlotte the spider and a pig named Wilbur. Scully sat in her living room in a comfortably plush La-Z-Boy recliner Mulder had insisted on buying after they’d found out she was pregnant. ("It’s not just for you, Scully. It’s exhausting being around you when you’re so hormonal. It’s really more for me,” Mulder had said one night, before taking a pillow to the face.) Monica and Melissa were curled up together on the leather couch, with Missy’s head resting on Monica’s shoulder. Melissa was dozing already, her face serene and beautiful in the warm glow of the firelight and the softly twinkling Christmas tree lights. It appeared the Scully women shared a unique ability to fall asleep anywhere, anytime. Monica stroked her wife’s auburn hair with the hand that was wrapped securely around her. The other was holding a glass of wine.
“I still can’t quite believe we’re back already. Five months just flew by,“ Monica sighed, a faraway look in her amber eyes. "And it’s Christmastime already.”
Scully smiled softly, and her heart swelled as her sister cuddled closer to Monica, shifting into a more comfortable position in her sleep. Her sister, she knew, had never been happier. “The wedding seems like so long ago from where I’m sitting. These last five months have been miserable,” Scully groaned, and she looked up as Mulder entered the room, softly closing the hallway door behind him.
“Out like a light,” he confirmed at the question silently asked by her raised eyebrows. “She refuses to let go of that Masai doll you brought back, Mon. So I hope you bought two for when she eventually loses this one.”
“She’ll be careful with it,“ Scully said, and closed her eyes contentedly as Mulder came up behind the recliner and pressed his thumbs into her neck, working the knots out of her tired muscles. "The baby has been kicking like crazy the last hour.”
Mulder’s eyes traveled from Scully’s face to her giant middle, a smile curling the ends of his lips gently upward. “My future Olympic swimmer doing froggy kicks again?”
Scully cracked an eye open. “Mulder, when is this child going to have time to go to school between all the extracurricular activities you have him doing already? Baseball, basketball, now swimming, I think you mentioned Indian Guides at one point…”
Mulder kept kneading Scully’s shoulders, eliciting a satisfied purr from her. “I was thinking we might add guitar lessons to the list, Scully. You know how the girls love those rock'n'roll boys.”
“Mmm…you know, piano lessons have been shown to increase a child’s proclivity for mathematics and spatial intelligence,” Scully countered drowsily, her eyes still closed but a smile played on her full lips.
“Piano, Scully? Really?” Mulder’s voice was just this side of whining. "Emily can take piano lessons, she already said she wants to. If Fido takes guitar lessons, I’ll learn to play the drums, and I’m sure you can probably shake a tambourine. We’ll finally have that Mulder family band I’ve been wanting my whole life.“
"Mulder, for the last time, we are not naming our son Fido.”
“Well, Scully, if you let Emily and me get that dog she’s been begging for, then maybe we can discuss names more suited for a homo sapien.”
Monica watched them and grinned dreamily, her eyes glazing over slightly as she remembered the first time she’d ever met Mulder and Scully.
+++
New Orleans Field Office
Three Years Earlier
“Mulder, for God’s sake, you cannot possibly believe that. This is obviously the work of some rabid canine, or even a pack of wild dogs.”
“Scully, the bodies of our latest deceased victims were partially cremated and surrounded by powder commonly used by voodoo priestesses to poison or harm their enemies. I’ll bet you ten to one the lab comes back telling us that powder is derived from the figuier maudit tree, which is known to be the main component in-“
“In the Ouanga charms used in voodoo ceremonies.” An exasperated sigh. “I know, Mulder. But you need to get your myths squared away. Are we dealing with a voodoo priestess or are we dealing with the legend of the Rougarou, because honestly, Mulder, I’m starting to get whiplash from how fast you’re changing back and forth between your theories.”
Monica Reyes hesitated at the closed door to her office, leaning in closer to hear the exchange between the two D.C. agents. She knew from the stories she’d heard that the two agents who had come to help in her investigation of a series of murders with possible ties to a local voodoo tourist shop in the French Quarter were somewhat unorthodox. The more unorthodox the better, as far as Monica was concerned. But as she listened, she couldn’t help but smile to herself. Agents Mulder and Scully definitely knew their stuff.
“Bear with me, Scully. What if what we’re dealing with is a voodoo priestess who cursed the very first victim, who is still missing, I might add, with the Rougarou curse?”
Monica finally opened her office door to find the male and female agents facing one another. Dana Scully, a diminutive redhead, had her arms crossed and was staring up at her partner Fox Mulder, who was looking down at her with his hands loosely on his hips, shirtsleeves rolled up. Both agents turned as Monica walked in.
“I appreciate the enthusiasm, Agent Mulder, but none of the victims have shown any evidence of bite marks consistent with a canine.” Monica stuck her hand out. “Monica Reyes. Thank you so much for coming all the way down here. Sorry I wasn’t here earlier. Smoke break.”
Mulder shook her hand. “It’s really no trouble, Agent Reyes. And it’s no wonder you didn’t find bite marks consistent with a canine. We’d be dealing with something more human than that. I doubt Fido would have the strength or the ability to take down two grown men at once.”
Monica glanced at Agent Scully, who rolled her eyes slightly and sighed again before launching into a more detailed account of what she’d found after reviewing the autopsy notes on the two victims, fielding questions and barbs from her partner with a long-suffering but good-natured attitude. Monica watched the two spar verbally, her eyes pingponging back and forth from one to the other, interjecting when she had something to add or supplement to their debate. Monica immediately liked the two, realizing as an unexpected sense of relief washed over her that their fresh eyes, enthusiasm and unique perspective on this case might be just what she needed to crack it. She was also intrigued by the two, detecting that underneath the surface discussion of the case details something was simmering between them. There was something in the way the two of them kept glancing down at one another’s mouths to watch the other speak, the way their eyes seemed to hold one another’s gaze a second or two past what would be considered proper, especially between male and female agents. They bickered like an old married couple, but the banter between the two was almost…sexual. Monica’s read on their body language was that these two were flirting like they were on a third date but hadn’t seen each other naked yet. Both were ridiculously attractive, and well-matched in terms of wit and temperament.
“Well, Agents,” Monica interjected when they finally stopped talking long enough to allow her to interrupt, “shall we take a look at the crime scene?”
“Yes, Agent Reyes, let’s head out while we still have some daylight. I’d also like to take a look at the bodies myself if you don’t mind,” Scully said, turning to head out into the hallway.
Monica noted that Mulder’s hand had settled low on the small of his partner’s back as he followed her, his thumb casually swiping back and forth a few times. “Hey, Scully, you know one of my ex-girlfriends was nicknamed The Big Easy?”
“Mulder, I’ve met a few of your ex-girlfriends. Are you sure that moniker applies to only one of them?”
“You’re sassy today, Doc.” There was a smile in his voice that belied his amusement.
Monica shook her head, pulled on her jacket, and closed the door on their way out.
+++
Present-Day
Monica gazed down at Melissa’s face, slackened and peaceful in repose. Only half-hearing Mulder and Scully bicker with one another over their unborn child’s activities and whether Emily was old enough to be responsible for the pit-mix Mulder had fallen in love with during an impromptu visit to the pound. She bent down and placed a chaste kiss on Missy’s wine-stained lips. Missy mumbled and blinked her dark blue eyes, slowly rousing herself from the couch. She stretched lazily, grumbling about jetlag and giving out hasty goodnight pecks to everyone before making her way slowly to the guest room.
“You’re probably exhausted, too, Monica. Why don’t you head for bed? Mulder will make everyone brunch in the morning,” Scully said, watching her sister close the door. “Won’t you, Hon?”
“Mhm, yes, Boss,” Mulder affirmed, rolling his eyes at Monica in mock consternation and throwing a crooked grin her direction as he grabbed Scully’s hands and pulled her gently to her swollen feet. “Come on, bedtime for my favorite beluga whale.”
Monica chuckled as she heard Scully’s “Fuck you, Mulder, you did this to me” echo from down the hall.