All Is Bright
by Namarie

Spoilers: Pre-IWTB
Category: VR
Keywords: MSR, post-series.
Rating: PG
Summary: Preparations for Christmas at a certain unremarkable house.
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.
Feedback: Would be as lovely as a hot cup of apple cider on a cold
winter's night!  
Email:  pomme_noire@hotmail.com
Archive: Sure, but please ask me first.

Author's Note: I decided I wanted some pure holiday fluff, post-
series style. Hope it brings some cheer to you as well!
Thanks go out to Dasha, for her comments and thoughts.

~~~~~~
December 3, 2004

Scully took a deep breath of the crisp late evening air before
closing the car door behind her. She exhaled slowly as she walked
toward the front door. It had been a long day at work (when weren't
they long?), and she was looking forward to a chance to simply relax,
to not have to think for a while. She noticed that the porch light
was on, and mentally thanked Mulder for remembering this time.

Mulder came out of his office as she pushed open the door. As usual,
he looked like he might just as easily have gotten out of bed an hour
ago as some time that morning, Scully saw with a mixture of affection
and faint annoyance. But the annoyance faded as she dropped her bag
and coat on a chair and was enfolded in his embrace.

"Miss me?" she asked after a few seconds, muffled against him.

"Always," he replied.

"Missed you, too."

"How was work?" He loosened his grip slightly, but she made no move
to break their embrace.

"It was all right, I guess. Just tiring."

"Well, come sit down then, Scully. I'll bring you dinner." They broke
apart, and Scully followed him toward the table.


After they ate, they retired to the living room to sit in front of
the fireplace. Scully leaned her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped
one arm around her. They sat in comfortable silence.

Mulder spoke suddenly, startling Scully out of near-slumber. "Scully,
do you want to get a Christmas tree?"

She looked up at his face, blinking. He was staring at the fire, but
he glanced down at her expectantly.

"A Christmas tree?" Scully repeated. She took a look around the
living room, imagining a tall, tastefully-decorated fir tree near the
window. "Why do you ask?"

He shrugged. "I just thought... now that we've been here for a year,
it might be nice to have a tree. You know, decorate. Get in the
holiday spirit."

Scully laid her head back down against him. Last Christmas, they had
exchanged gifts and worked together to prepare a holiday feast for
two, and that had been the extent of their celebration. She had still
been so busy re-qualifying and establishing herself at Our Lady of
Sorrows. "I think I like that idea, Mulder." She reached for his
hand. "Do you want a fake tree or a real one?"

"I don't know," he answered. "What did you usually have, growing up?"

"A real one," Scully told him. "It always smelled so good-- even
though my dad always made us take it down right after Christmas. He
didn't want pine needles all over the house."

Mulder squeezed her hand. "We'll get a real one, then. When do you
want to go get it?"

"How about this weekend?" she suggested. She was already thinking
about the best tree lot to go to, one far enough away from work that
no one from there would see them together.

"Sounds good," Mulder said. "You know my calendar's open."

Scully nodded. "We'll need ornaments, too, Mulder."

"And plenty of mistletoe," he added, kissing the top of her head.

She chuckled, and then yawned. "Mulder, you know you don't need
mistletoe to get me to kiss you."

"I know," he said, gently disentangling his hand from hers and using
it to tilt her face up. "But it's all part of the holiday tradition,
Scully."

She closed her eyes as their lips met. Perhaps she wasn't as tired as
she had thought.

~~~
December 5

"How about this one?"

Scully walked over to where he was standing with some trepidation.
Her sense of foreboding turned out to be well-founded: he was looking
speculatively at a gigantic, bushy Douglas fir that probably wouldn't
even fit through their back door, let alone the front. At least this
one was symmetrical, unlike the last one he had shown an interest in.

"You don't think that would be a little hard to fit on the roof of
our car, Mulder?" Scully asked wryly, raising her eyebrow.

He looked at it again, then looked rueful. "I guess you're right."

"It's a nice tree," Scully conceded, "but I prefer Noble firs,
anyway. Come on."

"Those are more expensive, you know, Scully," he remarked, walking
with her toward the other end of the lot.

"Yes," Scully said. She smiled up at him, then reached to make sure
his scarf was secure around his neck. "But we're worth it."

He returned the smile. "Can't disagree with that."

~~~
December 6

Scully hurried out to her car, shivering against the icy-cold wind.
The skies were gray and heavy; it looked like it might start snowing
at any moment. She hoped there was enough firewood to keep the
fireplace lit for a while tonight.

By the time she made it home, it had been snowing for a good half
hour. In the time it took to open the gate, she was covered in snow,
and the drive up the rest of the driveway only served to melt it all
over her.

Feeling miserably wet and cold, Scully parked the car and dashed
inside. Her self-pity increased when Mulder did not come out to greet
her. The door to his office was open slightly, and the light was on.
He was probably absorbed in working on whatever the latest idea he'd
had to fight against the future, she thought. As usual, that whole
issue only sunk her further into gloom.

She began to move toward the coat rack, and finally noticed the tree.
Not only had Mulder set it up in the tree stand, but he had even
managed the task of putting on the lights-- something that Scully
knew from personal experience to be an especially frustrating job.
They were not plugged in at the moment, and they looked to be a
little less than perfectly symmetrical in their positioning, but they
were not tangled, and they covered the whole tree. With a small
smile, Scully found the plug and put it in the nearest outlet.

She heard the sound of his office door opening. "Hey, Scully, I'm
sorry, I was just reading-- oh, you saw already." He came to stand
next to her, appearing slightly anxious. "Does it look all right?"

In answer, Scully dropped her bag and very wet gloves on the floor,
turned to face him, and kissed him, with feeling. His surprise only
lasted a second before he responded in kind.

Finally, she pulled away enough to whisper, "Thank you."

He cleared his throat. "You're welcome, Scully." Then he grinned.
"What would you have done if I'd put the ornaments on, too?"

Laughing, Scully took off her coat and hung it up. "Too bad you won't
be finding that out this year."

Mulder looked comically disappointed, but then smiled again. "I'll
just keep it in mind for next year, then."

"Might be a smart idea." She rejoined him in front of the tree,
putting her arm around him. The soft glow of the lights made the
whole room already seem warm.

~~~
December 24

Scully woke up abruptly, and turned to look at the clock. It was
earlier than she would have preferred on her day off, but it was
still more sleep than she normally got on a work day. Mulder, of
course, was still solidly asleep, one arm draped across her body.
But her mind was completely awake now, so there was no use staying in
bed.

Carefully, she pulled herself out of the bed, making sure she didn't
disturb Mulder. He stirred briefly, but remained asleep.

Scully wrapped her robe around herself, pulled on some socks, and
went downstairs. Now was as good a time as any to start the
preparations for the day. And maybe this way, she thought with an
indulgent smile, most of the cookie dough would make it to the oven,
as opposed to being eaten before it got the chance to be baked.

About twenty minutes later, when she was just putting the first batch
into the fridge for later, Mulder shuffled into the doorway. His hair
was standing up in all directions, and he looked more than half-
asleep. "Do you want any help?" he asked in a raspy voice, after a
moment of just staring at her.

Smiling, Scully shook her head. "No, thank you, Mulder. You can go
back to bed if you want."

He yawned. "Maybe I'll go lie down on the couch. In case you change
your mind."

"Okay."

He shuffled out of the room.

Scully finished the cookies in peace, and the roast was prepared and
put in the oven. There had not been a peep from Mulder, so she went
out to check on him. He was fast asleep on the couch, mouth slightly
open.

"Mulder," she said.

He jerked awake. "Oh... hey, Scully. Did you need some help in
there?"

"No, everything's just about ready." She smiled. "You slept through
it all."

"Oh." He blinked. "Well, it's the thought that counts, right?"

She sat down on the edge of the couch, next to him. "Sure, Mulder."

Through the small chinks in the closed blinds on the front window,
Scully could see the brightness that heralded sunrise on freshly-
fallen snow. It was still dark enough inside, though, that their
tree's lights provided the main source of illumination. The light
reflected off the wrapping paper on the four gifts under the tree:
two for each of them.

Scully looked down at Mulder, who still looked sleepy but also
thoughtful. She thought about where they had been in Christmases
past, and where they were now. All things considered, and even with
all they had lost over the years, she was fairly certain this would
be their best one yet. At least, she reflected with a wry grin, there
would not be any sadistic ghosts attempting to make them shoot each
other. Probably.

"What are you thinking about, Scully?" Mulder asked her, shifting
onto his side so that he was facing her more.

She chuckled lightly, reaching out a hand to run her fingers through
his hair and down the side of his face. "I was just thinking of a
Christmas Eve some years ago when a couple of ghosts tried to get us
to kill each other."

Mulder grinned. "Now that's the Christmas spirit, right there." He
caught her hand and kissed it.

"It's some kind of spirit, all right," Scully said. She leaned back
and settled herself against him. They really had nothing else to do
for a while today. She wondered if she might not be able to get a
little more sleep.

Behind her, Mulder took a deep breath, and then sighed contentedly.
"I know it's a little early, but Merry Christmas, Scully."

"Merry Christmas, Mulder."

~~~