Title: Clyde 6: Family Man Author: Susan E-mail: touchstone98@tx.rr.com Classification: sixth story in a series Keyword: MSR Rating: PG Spoilers: In order to understand this, you really need to read the other five Clyde stories first. This story begins right after Clyde 5 and has nothing to do with season nine and beyond. Archive: No archive without permission. Disclaimer: Mulder, Scully, and William don't belong to me, although I sure wish they did. However, Elsie, Jo, and the other citizens of Clyde are all mine.:) You can find all six Clyde stories at my site here: http://possibilities.bravehost.com/Clyde.html Author's notes at the end. Summary: It was all so strange and awkward, and yet he felt more at ease now than he had in months. ************************************************************ Clyde 6: Family Man by Susan ~~~~ It all seemed so surreal to him. Being married. Being a father. Watching Scully be a mother. And having William. A son. He had a son and a wife and a new identity and new friends in a new town. It was all so strange and awkward, and yet he felt more at ease now than he had in months. Scully and William were with him, and the three of them were safely tucked away in Clyde, and right now he couldn't think of anything better than that. "So, are you just going to stand there in the doorway or what?" asked Scully, her soft voice disrupting his ruminations. "Maybe," he replied, walking over to her and William. He bent down and kissed her forehead, then his son's. "I didn't want to interrupt you." She looked down at their son greedily suckling at her breast. "I don't think anything's going to bother him right now. He's pretty oblivious to anything other than eating." "I can see that." He crouched down beside the two of them, cupped his hand around William's head. "You already told me he ate a lot, but does he always eat with such gusto?" "Not always, but he's usually hungrier when he first wakes up in the morning." she answered, taking note of his damp hair and shirt. "I see you went out running already." "Yeah, but I think I overdid it a bit," he said, slowly standing back up again and making his way over to the bed. He sat down and rubbed his aching knees a moment, then raised his head and dryly said, "This may come as a shock to you, Scully, but I'm not as young as I used to be." She looked over at the man crouched down beside her, her husband now, and remarked, "That may be true, but you're still the sexiest guy I know." "Tell me more," he said, suddenly feeling anything but old. "Okay, you're also the smelliest," she laughed, crinkling her nose as she reached over and tugged on his sweaty shirt. Pulling the shirt up and over his head, he wadded it up in his hands and smelled it, then dropped it on the floor. "Yeah, I guess I am a bit ripe." "Only a bit?" she teased, wiping William's mouth and positioning him over her shoulder, then patting his back. He smiled at the woman sitting in front of him, his wife now, and started walking towards the bathroom. "I'll be in the shower if you need me for anything, unless maybe you want to join me," he suggested hopefully. Just then William let out a loud burp followed by a big expulsion of regurgitated breast milk, the sour smelling liquid not only covering the burp rag but the back of her robe as well. "It's okay, William," she said calmly. The milk still dribbling from the corners of his mouth, William's eyes widened as she quickly lifted him off her shoulder and held him out to Mulder. "What am I supposed to do with him?" he asked, scrunching up his nose at the smell and awkwardly taking the messy baby into his arms. She smiled. "Well, you could clean off his face for starters," she replied as she took off her robe and started to wipe the spit-up from the back of it. He'd never held William without a shirt on before and the sensation of his son's soft smooth skin pressed against his chest felt wonderful, despite the fact that his own skin was now covered with sour-smelling baby drool. "I guess you spit up with gusto too, huh, buddy?" he remarked, bending down and scooping up the sweaty shirt he'd recently tossed on the floor. Wiping off William's face with it, then his own chest, he wadded it back up again and threw it through the open bathroom door, narrowly missing the pile of dirty clothes he'd already accumulated in there. "Mulder, what do you think you're doing?" "Cleaning up my son," he answered, proud of his quick thinking and resourcefulness. "You just used your shirt as a spit-up rag." He repositioned William in his left arm. "Yeah, what's wrong with that?" She bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Nothing, if you want to wear a t-shirt that smells like regurgitated breast milk," she said, sitting down on the bed. "So I'll wash it." "Have you ever washed anything with spit-up on it before?" she asked, knowing full well he hadn't. Carrying William over to the bed, he sat down beside her. "No, but I'm an expert at getting out bile stains and other digestive fluids," he replied, remembering the vinegar, bleach, and detergent treatment he had to give his white dress shirt after his run-in with Tooms. She playfully nudged his hip, turned and kissed his bare shoulder. "Yes, I guess that's true, but dealing with baby stains is a whole new ball game, isn't it, little one?" she said, leaning over and nuzzling William's bare shoulder too. Being here with her now, joking around like this, his son contentedly curled up in his arms, he suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of joy wash over him, and before he could stop them, tears began to well up in his eyes. Noticing the sudden change in his demeanor, she put her arm around him, leaned in closer. "What's wrong, Mulder?" she asked, her happy expression from a moment ago now one of concern. "Nothing," he said quietly, turning his head away from her and trying to compose himself. "Everything's fine." He blew out a puff of air, then continued, "I guess I'd better go take that shower now." Not wanting her to see his eyes, he handed William back to her and stood up from the bed. "Mulder, wait," she said, grabbing his hand before he could walk away. "What's going on? You were fine just a minute ago, and now you're not." He closed his eyes, thought for a moment. "It's okay, Scully. I'm fine," he whispered, slowly opening his eyes again. "This...us...it's just that I nev..." She looked up at him and gently squeezed his hand, stopping him before he could finish. "I know. I feel the same way." Searching her eyes, understanding the implications of her words, he felt even more overwhelmed than before. And happy. Yes, he'd had to leave his old life behind, but he had a new life now with a family to take care of, and although he knew it'd be difficult, he also knew that it would be the most important job he'd ever have. "Have I told you lately how glad I am to have you and William here with me?" he asked, squeezing her hand back. She brought his hand down to her lips, kissed his knuckles, then pulled both their hands down low enough so they were resting on their son's chest. "You just did," she said quietly. The corners of his eyes still damp, he held their hands still for a moment, savoring the steady beat of William's tiny heart beneath his fingers. "It'll only take me a few minutes to shower. Don't go anywhere, okay?" "Okay." She smiled up at him then and watched as he turned around and headed into the bathroom. "We'll be here," she called out, gently brushing away some milk on William's chin with her thumb. Closing the door behind him, he bent over, picked up the wet shirt he'd thrown in there before, and carefully laid it on top of the laundry pile. And then he smiled too, knowing that when he was finished, his family would be right outside the door waiting for him. ~end~ *It's been six months since I took a trip to Clyde, and boy, have I missed this place! <g> It gave me great pleasure to go back there again and see what Mulder and Scully were up to, and I have every intention of visiting them again sometime as well as checking in on Elsie and Jo and what they're up to.:) Thanks for taking the time to read my story. I hope you enjoyed it. possibilities http://possibilities.bravehost.com/ Originally posted April 2004.