Sarah's Christmas by Carol Gritton 4/4
Lisa Reeves
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See Part 1 for disclaimers etc.
Sarah's Christmas 4/4
by Carol Gritton (jim...@dircon.co.uk)
They left the table as it was, too full to be bothered to clear it right
away. It was times like this that Fox wished he had a dishwasher. Still,
it wouldn't take long if he and Scully shared the washing up later. Mulder
and Scully settled themselves on his battered old couch, and it was all he
could do to stop his eyelids from drooping. There would no chance of him
sleeping, not with Sarah hopping from one foot to the other in front of
him.
"Daddy? Can we open the other presents now?" she asked, her small hands
resting on his knee.
"Ooh - Sarah Elizabeth, Little Miss Impatient!" he replied, making big eyes
at her.
"I wonder where she gets that from?" commented Scully drily, as Sarah
giggled at her father. He reached out, tickling her behind the ears.
"Stop it, Daddy - it tickles!" she squealed, hunching her shoulders. He
drew Sarah towards him and held her loosely. He loved her so much - all he
wanted to do was to make her happy.
"Come on, then - let's open the presents," said Mulder at last. He
regarded his daughter fondly - apart from the scene at the table, she had
been very good and very patient. He rose and set himself down beside the
tree again so that he could dispense the remaining gifts.
Scully's eyes caught Mulder's and he passed her a small package, which she
handed to the child. "Sarah, this is from me," she said softly.
"Thank you," replied the child solemnly, examining the carefully wrapped
gift. "Can I open it now?"
Scully grinned. "Of course!"
Sarah tore at the paper to reveal a small box. She opened it, finding a
small gold cross on a chain.
"Look Daddy!" cried the child. "Put it on for me!" Sarah handed him the
box and he carefully removed the delicate necklace.
"I know you don't believe, Mulder," said Scully softly, "but I didn't think
it would hurt her to have one."
"No - it's lovely, Scully," replied Mulder as he fastened the chain around
Sarah's neck. "There - go and take a look." The child scampered off to
admire herself in the mirror.
"You didn't have to get her anything, Scully," said Mulder. "You spent
enough on her dress and everything."
"I wanted to - I'm very fond of Sarah," replied Scully. Her eyes shone as
she said, "She's part of you - how could I not be?"
Mulder was just about to reply when Sarah ran back into the room and stood
shyly in front of Scully. In a completely spontaneous gesture, the little
girl climbed up beside her and gave her a hug. Scully's eyes filled with
tears at Sarah's acceptance of her and she responded by hugging the child
back, caressing her thick hair and inhaling her fragrance. It was so good
to feel that warm and soft body in her arms, to feel Sarah's cheek against
hers. She hadn't had such intimate contact with Sarah since the night
Mulder had turned up on the doorstep with her and placed her in Scully's
arms.
No-one was happier than Mulder at Sarah's acceptance of Scully. He was
glad he had not tried to force the issue, instead bowing to Scully's advice
to let Sarah decide when the time was ready for a closer relationship with
her. Now, Scully's patience had been rewarded, and in the nicest way.
They were down to the last few presents now. Scully handed one large gift
and one smaller one to Mulder.
"Are these both for me?" he asked, and Scully nodded. "You can't have one
without the other. You have to open the big one first."
Mulder was already ripping off the paper, revealing a brand new Knicks
sweatshirt. He grinned.
"Thanks Scully," he said.
"My pleasure. I was fed up with seeing you in that poor excuse for a
sweatshirt that you're always wearing!"
"Can I open this one now?"
"Go ahead," Scully replied, watching with anticipation. Mulder opened the
paper carefully to find an envelope. He opened the envelope and inside was
a pair of Knicks tickets, complete with bench passes. Mulder's mouth fell
open - he didn't know what to say. He looked at her - this was a very
special gift.
"Scully..." Words failed him momentarily. "Scully, these are almost
impossible to get! How..."
She gave him one of her wonderful smiles. "I have *my* connections too,
Mulder." She took his hand and squeezed it. It had been worth the effort
just to see his face.
"Just make sure you keep them in a safe place!" said Scully.
"I won't let them out of my sight!" he grinned.
"What is it, Daddy?" asked Sarah, coming to stand in front of him.
"Some tickets for a basketball match. *Very special* tickets."
"Why are they special?" Sarah's little face was full of inquisitiveness,
just the way her father's sometimes was.
"Well, these are bench passes, and that means that I can sit with the
players," explained Mulder, all of which meant absolutely nothing to Sarah,
who wasn't impressed in the least.
Sarah was getting impatient again. "When are you going to give Dana her
present, Daddy?" she asked, toying with the gold cross at her neck.
"Right now," answered Fox, handing Scully a package. She could feel that
it was something in a box. Scully removed the paper, and it was indeed a
box - the sort that lingerie was usually presented in. She slowly removed
the lid, wondering what she was going to find inside. Scully folded back
the tissue paper and saw something in deep green silk. She lifted it out -
it was a kimono style wrap.
"Mulder, it's lovely. Thank you," said Scully. He smiled at her.
"I'm glad you like it, Scully," he replied. He smacked the palms of his
hands on his knees. "Well, now that that's finished, shall we have some
coffee?"
"Is that all the presents, Daddy?" asked Sarah.
"That's all, sweetheart," he replied. "There'll be no more presents now
until your birthday."
Not strictly true - Fox had saved his main gift to his daughter for later.
"Now, who's for a drink?"
Mulder and Scully drank coffee while Sarah played happily with some of the
things she had been given for Christmas. She had agreed to her father's
suggestion that they look at the computer games the next day, when they
would have more time to read the instructions properly. Another hour
passed while she played and the two adults chatted. No-one wanted anything
else to eat - they were all still full from dinner.
"Maybe later," said Mulder.
He decided it was time to present Sarah with her last gift. He pretended
to be looking for something.
"What are you doing, Daddy?" asked the child.
"I've lost something, Sarah," he replied. "Something important. Can you
help me find it?"
"Where should I look?"
"You look in the bedroom, and I'll look in here." With that, she trotted
off to the bedroom.
"What are you up to, Mulder?" asked Scully.
He grinned at her. "Wait and see," he replied. Then, he took the small
gift and called out, "Sarah - look what I found!"
Sarah came running in from the other room. "What did you find, Daddy?" she
asked, and he handed her the gift.
"Another present! You said you didn't have any more! Is it for me?" Her
little face was so excited.
"Yes, it's from me, and it really is the very last one," answered Fox.
He'd been having second thoughts about the item he'd just given her ever
since he'd gone ahead with the idea. But it was too late - the paper was
off, revealing yet another jewellery box. Sarah's nimble fingers opened
the lid and inside lay a small oval gold locket. A little heart was
engraved on the front of it.
"Another necklace!" she cried cheerfully.
"This is a very special necklace, Sarah," said her father softly. "It's
called a locket and you can open it."
"Open it for me, Daddy - I want to see inside." Sarah handed the item to
him and stood there, her small hands clasped together in anticipation.
Mulder opened the locket carefully, then handed it back to Sarah. Her eyes
were drawn to the picture inside. It was a miniature portrait of her
mother.
"It's Mommy," she said, her voice quavering a little. Mulder reached out
and gathered the child into his arms.
"That's right," he said softly. "And there's a space for you to put
another picture, look. And look at the back..." He turned the locket
around. "...it has your initials written on it."
"Can I see?" asked Scully, and Mulder handed her the locket, still open.
She studied it - it was a beautiful and thoughtful gift. "It's lovely,
Mulder. What made you think of it?"
He shrugged. "I wanted something special, and I have a friend who does
these miniature portraits. I wanted Sarah to have something that would
remind her of her mother and that she could always treasure." He glanced
at Sarah, who had clambered up onto his lap and snuggled against him. "I
was worried that it might upset her," he said softly, caressing her hair
with one hand while the other held her close. "Sweetheart, you okay?"
Sarah nodded. "I just miss Mommy," she replied quietly.
"I know you do, baby. Would you like me to put the locket on for you?"
"Yes please," answered the child, and he moved her lustrous hair out of the
way, slipped the locket around her neck, making sure not to tangle it with
the cross, and fastened the catch. Sarah made no effort to move from her
comfortable position in her father's arms.
"Don't you want to go and look?" he asked, and Sarah shook her head, her
thumb having crept into her mouth.
"Okay, you don't have to now. Maybe later." Mulder looked across at the
dining table. "Well, I guess I'd better clear up, then we can have some
more coffee."
Scully put her hand on his arm. "I'll do it, Mulder - you stay with Sarah
for a while."
"Are you sure, Scully?"
Scully nodded. "She needs you right now," answered Scully softly. "I can
manage."
She bustled around, clearing the dessert plates and other bits and pieces
from the table. Once that had been done, she carried all of Sarah's gifts
into the bedroom, depositing them on the bed to be put away later. She
smiled when she saw the orderly arrangement of Disney videos on the low
bookshelf that Mulder had put in there. At least Sarah's video collection
was a lot more wholesome than her father's! Her fingers lingered over the
small Fair Isle style sweater, with its snowflake design and matching hat
that had come from another of Sarah's relatives. Mulder had been right -
she was a very much loved child, and no-one loved her more than her father.
Scully went back into the living room, to find Sarah asleep in her father's
arms. She gave Mulder a quizzical look.
"I think all the excitement tired her out," he said quietly. "I'm going to
put her to bed." Scully knew he'd have a job and a half trying to get her
into her night things without waking her.
"Here - I'll help you," she replied. She went ahead of him and removed all
the things she had put on the bed, transferring them to Sarah's small desk.
Mulder sat down with Sarah on his lap, and proceeded to undress her.
"I'll do it, Mulder," offered Scully, seeing he was having trouble.
"Are you sure?" he asked, and Scully nodded.
"Why don't you go and see to the coffee?" she suggested.
"Okay. Call me if you need me."
Scully soon had Sarah in her night things and tucked up in bed. She sat on
the edge of the bed and just watched the child as she settled down to
sleep. Once Sarah mumbled "Daddy," but Scully quieted her with a "Sshh -
go to sleep." She caressed the child's face, glad at last of the
opportunity to do so freely. She hadn't realised how big a space in her
heart Sarah had come to occupy. Her thoughts were interrupted by Mulder
calling her.
"I'm coming," Scully called back softly, then she leaned over and dropped a
kiss on Sarah's brow - the first since the night Mulder had brought the
child to her, hoping that Scully would take her into her heart and love her
as he did. Scully took one last look before she tore herself away from
that small, sleeping form and said softly, "Sweet dreams, Sarah, and God
bless."
Mulder looked up as Scully came back into the living room. "Is she
asleep?"
Scully nodded, and took a sip of her coffee.
"Thanks for helping me there - I still haven't quite got the hang of
undressing her without waking her."
"You're welcome, Mulder," answered Scully. She watched as he reached down
beside him. He handed her a small package. Scully gave him her "what the
hell is this?" look.
"Mulder..."
"Don't say anything, Scully. Just open it," he said softly. Her fingers
trembled as she held the gift. Scully carefully peeled off the paper,
uncovering a small black velvet box. She recognised it as a jewellery box.
Scully looked up at Fox, who was watching her with eager anticipation.
Scully paused momentarily, then opened the hinged lid. A small gold heart,
surrounded by diamonds, nestled against the white silk lining of the box.
The pendant came complete with a fine gold chain.
"Mulder, I don't know what to say," said Scully, overcome. This was such a
personal gift, the meaning of which she could only guess at.
"It's called a "Captive Heart," he explained, his eyes on hers. He said no
more than that, but his eyes spoke volumes.
"Don't you want to put it on?" asked Fox. There was no reason why she
shouldn't - Scully wasn't, for once, wearing her cross. He was looking at
her with such an air of anticipation - how could she not wear it? Scully
lifted the pendant out of its box and handed it to him. He undid the
catch, passing the necklace around in front of her. As he fastened it, his
fingers brushed the nape of her neck, pausing just a little longer than was
necessary.
"There," he said softly. "Go take a look."
Scully did as he said, taking herself off to the bathroom to examine the
lovely gift. It looked good resting against the emerald coloured fabric of
her dress and the chain would be long enough to enable her to wear it
inside her blouse, where it could nestle against her own heart.
Scully came back, and sat beside him. "Mulder, I really don't know what to
say." She hadn't expected anything else from him, least of all something
like this.
"Then don't say anything," he replied softly. "Just accept it in the
spirit in which it was given."
"Thank you," said Scully. "It's beautiful, and I'll treasure it always."
Mulder nodded, satisfied with that.
After a while spent in contemplative silence, Mulder said, "If we leave
that washing up long enough, do you think it'll go away?"
"I doubt it!" laughed Scully. "Come on, let's get it over and done with."
Mulder stood, and gave her his hand, pulling her up. He slipped his arm
around her small waist as they made their way to the kitchen.
"Do you want to wash or dry?" asked Mulder.
"Wash," replied Scully.
"I thought you might say that," he answered wryly.
"Did your Mom mind you spending your Christmas with us?" asked Fox,
stretching above her head to put a plate back in the cupboard.
"Of course not," replied Scully. "She thought it was a great idea. She
was going to suggest that you and Sarah came to us, but I thought that
you'd prefer to spend your Christmas together quietly as it's the first
one."
Mulder nodded at that, drying another plate. "Thanks, Scully. I don't
know if Sarah could have coped with a lot of people that she didn't know."
He reached out and took her soapy hand. "Have you enjoyed today? Would
you do it again?"
"Is that an invitation, Mulder?" asked Scully.
"Who knows?" he replied, with a devilish look on his face. "This may
become a regular thing. Maybe one day I'll make you an offer you can't
refuse!"
Scully grinned, and patted his hand. "Merry Christmas, Mulder," she said.
He returned her smile with a dazzling one of his own - a smile that was
full of promise.
"Merry Christmas, Scully," he replied softly.
The End
Lisa Reeves @-->--->--- | ad...@detroit.freenet.org
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