TITLE: Redeeming the Time, epilogue
AUTHOR: bellefleur
EMAIL ADDRESS: bellefleur1013@yahoo.com
RATING: PG-13
CLASSIFICATION: S, MSR
DISCLAIMER: Not mine; they belong to CC, FOX, etc.
SUMMARY: Sometimes, you have to love someone enough to let 
them go.

Previous parts in this series are available at Ephemeral or at 
http://bellefleur1013.tripod.com


* * * * *
* * * * *

*Five Years Later*


Mulder checked his watch as he waited for the email 
attachments to upload.  Anna's birthday party had officially 
started only fifteen minutes ago, but from the squeals and 
shouts emanating from downstairs, it sounded like the event 
was in full swing.  He was sure Scully would appreciate some 
backup, but she also understood that he needed to get this 
profile sent off first. 

Not for the first time, Mulder noted with appreciation how 
much easier modern technology had made a job like consulting.  
Occasionally it was necessary for him to travel across the 
country to a crime scene, but the quality of video and photos 
that could be sent to him by fax or computer often made the 
trip unnecessary.  Granted, his method of profiling had also 
changed.  He no longer followed the self-destructive model 
that Bill Patterson had taught him--to immerse oneself in the 
mind of the killer.  Now he used good old fashioned 
psychology, police work, and intuition to craft a profile.

Once the attachments were finished and the email was sent, 
Mulder powered down his computer and took a final look around 
his office to make sure none of the crime scene photos were 
lying around.  The kids weren't allowed to come in here 
without permission, but he knew that Scully felt better if 
there weren't any traumatic images sitting out that the kids 
could accidentally see.  Sometimes Mulder walked a fine line 
maintaining his work space within his home, but he had learned 
to keep his consulting work secondary and not let it consume 
him.  Family came first.

As he descended the stairs, he caught a glimpse of the mayhem 
awaiting him.  Anna had invited over only six friends for the 
afternoon party, but somehow the seven of them seemed to fill 
up the spacious family room.  Mulder peeked in to see that 
most of the girls were sitting on the floor around the coffee 
table; another girl appeared to be chasing Anna around the 
room, while their friends cheered them on.  At the edge of the 
room, watching with some trepidation and wonder, sat his 
three-year-old son, Isaac.

Mulder knelt down next to his son.  "Hey, buddy.  It's a 
little scary in here, don't you think?  Why don't I rescue 
you."

Isaac held onto his stuffed dinosaur while Mulder picked him 
up, and the two of them escaped to the kitchen.

Scully was closing the oven when they walked in.  She spotted 
them as she turned around to the island in the middle of the 
kitchen.

"Were you able to get the profile finished?" she asked.

"Yep.  It's all done and sent off." 

"I'm sorry about the noise," she said.  "I told Anna to keep 
it down because you had some work to do, but she's too wound 
up.  I figured I'd better get started on the food.  Once the 
pizzas are cooked, we can start the movie, and things should 
settle down." 

Isaac squirmed to get down, so Mulder lowered him to the 
floor.  "What exactly are they doing in there?"

Scully got out the pizza cutter and started to slice the 
cooked pizza sitting on the counter.  "Anna said they were 
playing a new board game."

"It looks to me more like Duck, Duck, Goose.  And here I 
thought boys were supposed to be the rowdy ones."  He looked 
over at Isaac, always the quiet antithesis of his talkative 
sister, now scribbling on his white board in the corner.  
"Whatever happened to 'sugar and spice and everything nice'?"

Scully gave him a look.  "She's *your* daughter."

He laughed.  "Says the tomboy.  You can't fool me, Scully.  I 
know you climbed your share of trees back in the day.  You 
didn't spend all of your time quietly dissecting frogs and 
playing with your pink science kit."

"Did you come in here to mock me, or to help?"

"Help, of course," he said, as innocently as possible.

She rolled her eyes.  "Good.  You can get Isaac's food ready.  
The first pizza is done, so he might as well start eating.  
The second pizza will be out in a few minutes."  

While Mulder was getting Isaac settled into his chair, a loud 
thud in the family room was followed by a round of cheers.

"Maybe we should have them play in the back yard," Mulder 
suggested.

Scully glanced up from sticking candles in the cake.  "Have 
you looked outside?  It's been pouring all day."

He came up behind her and purposely pulled her back against 
him to reach around her and grab a fork out the drawer.  "Hey, 
I'm not the one who decided to settle down in Seattle.  I can 
do my work from anywhere."  Rather than letting her go once 
the drawer was shut, he nuzzled the back of her neck, heading 
for that sensitive spot behind her ear.  "And I do my best 
work at home," he said in a low voice.

The buzz of the oven timer interrupted him.  Snickering at his 
antics, Scully nudged him and his roving hands out of her way.  
"Then you can work on getting the bag of ice out of the 
freezer."

"Party pooper," he said good-naturedly.

***

Half an hour later, the house was indeed quieter.  Scully 
finished cleaning up the pizza pans and finally left the 
kitchen, wondering where Mulder had gotten off to.

She found him leaning against the doorway to the family room, 
watching the party but not quite joining it.  She gently 
placed her hand on his back, and he lifted his arm to gather 
her close to his side.  They shared a contented smile and 
turned to watch on for a few minutes.

Scully took in the scene in the family room.  Colorful paper 
plates with various states of pizza crust dotted the room, 
along with half-empty cups and crumpled napkins that matched 
the plates.  The girls were sprawled out on the furniture and 
around the floor, attentively watching "Finding Nemo," which 
was Anna's latest favorite movie.  And curled up in his 
sister's lap was Isaac, with his beloved stuffed dinosaur firm 
in his grasp.

Scully looked up at Mulder and realized that he was watching 
Anna and Isaac rather than the movie. She said quietly, "You 
haven't said anything about it, but I know what this day means 
to you."

Mulder looked down at her, raising his eyebrows in question.

"Anna's ninth birthday," she explained.

He nodded and turned back to watch their children giggling at 
the movie.  "Samantha never made it to her ninth birthday--at 
least, not with us."

Scully squeezed him a little tighter and nestled her head 
against his chest.  She loved this man so dearly, but 
especially his tender heart and undying devotion.  Where 
others saw obsession, she saw loyalty and enduring hope.  She 
never wanted to lose that part of him.

It had been a long time since Mulder had chased down a lead 
relating to Samantha.  There were times when Scully doubted, 
wondering if he had given up or let go.  But she knew he still 
monitored the UFO websites.  And as the pictures of Anna and 
Isaac were changed out for new ones in the frames on Mulder's 
desk, another photo sat there always, of a little girl frozen 
in time. 

"Maybe she did have that birthday party, Mulder, just 
somewhere else."

"Maybe."  He rubbed Scully's shoulder, almost absent-mindedly.  
"And maybe she's given her own kids the ninth birthday party 
she never had."  He huffed out a small laugh.  "She'd be 
almost forty now.  Can you believe that?"

Scully leaned her head back to pin him with a look.  "You're 
not implying forty is old, are you?"  Her own fortieth 
birthday was only a week away.

"If it is, then I've passed 'old' and gone straight on to 
'ancient.'"

"Shhh!" Anna reprimanded them over the back of the couch.

Mulder and Scully shared a smirk.  "I guess we were talking 
too loud," he whispered.

Scully pulled away from his side.  "Go watch the movie with 
the kids.  I have to finish wrapping Anna's present, then I 
can come join you."

He gave her a quick kiss and then slipped into the room to 
join the party.  Anna scooted over a little on the couch to 
make room for him, so he squeezed in next to her and then 
shifted her and Isaac so they were both sitting on his lap.

Scully thought about getting out the camera to get a picture 
of the three of them but decided the flash would be too 
disruptive.  Maybe she would sneak in a shot as the movie 
ended.  She had a similar picture sitting on her desk at work, 
but it was over a year old.  She wouldn't mind replacing it 
with a newer one.

Scully thought back to the framed photos on Mulder's desk, 
including the one of his sister and one of Anna now about the 
same age.  The similarity between them wasn't as strong as it 
once was, but there was no denying which side of the family 
Anna most resembled.  The two pictures were a constant 
reminder that while loved ones are never forgotten, life must 
go on.

The hole that Samantha left in Mulder's heart would never be 
filled by anyone else, Scully knew.  But little by little they 
were healing old hurts by making new memories.  And with those 
new memories they made up for lost time, redeeming the days 
that had been squandered when Anna was young.  Looking at 
father and daughter cuddled together and smiling at the movie, 
Scully was reminded of how far they had all come.  It had been 
a long and bumpy road, but they were finally traveling it 
together as a family, and together they would face the journey 
that lay ahead.

* * * * *
* * * * *

Author's notes: That's all she wrote. Thanks for hanging in 
there. And thanks especially to those who sent me pokes and 
feedback to remind me that people were still interested. Pokes 
really do inspire writing!

Find my stories at: http://bellefleur1013.tripod.com

Send feedback to: bellefleur1013@yahoo.com