Fox Mulder sank down on his couch, exhausted. He wondered how anyone ever managed the parenting thing, let alone the single parenting thing. Sarah came into the room with an orange juice and sat down next to her father.
"Daddy?" she asked, leaning her head on his arm.
"Hmm?"
"What are we having for dinner?"
"Hon, I can't think about that right now."
"But I'm hungry."
He wrapped an arm around her and cuddled her close. "I know. Me too. Just give me a few minutes, OK?"
The phone rang, and Mulder cursed under his breath as he reached for it. "Mulder."
"Mr. Mulder? Hi, it'b Debby." The girl's voice was thick and nasal, barely recognizable.
"Debby? Are you OK?"
"I'b really sorry, Mr. Mulder. I can't sit for Sarah tomorrow. I hab da flu."
"That's OK. You get better. We'll think of something." He responded automatically and put the phone down. It took a few moments for it to sink in. "Oh, HELL."
Sarah patted his hand. "Daddy?"
"Debby's sick. Come on, we'll have soup and sandwiches and then take you shopping."
"Shopping?"
"For a dress. You have to come with me to a party tomorrow."
"You said it was a grown-up party."
"It is. That's why you need a different dress from your regular party dress." He stood up and headed for the kitchen, carefully avoiding the minefield of Barbies and puzzle pieces on the floor.
* * *
Sarah clung to his hand very tightly as they entered the ballroom. "You look fine, hon," he said to her, but she didn't answer and moved closer to him, hiding her face against his hip. He scanned the room and saw a number of spouses in attendance, but no other children. Not that unusual, though there were almost always two or three others at such gatherings. Sarah whimpered softly and he squeezed her hand.
"Sweetheart, it's OK. They're all nice people."
"Mulder!" He looked up and saw Scully headed for him, full-tilt.
"See? It's Miss Scully, Sarah. She's your friend." Sarah turned her head and looked at Scully, who seemed more than a little dumbfounded, but bent slightly to talk to the little girl.
"Hi, Sarah. Your dad didn't tell me you were coming--why don't I go find you a snack, OK?" She straightened and looked at Mulder. "I need to talk to you--later--about that case. And a friend of ours is talking to Kersh by the big punchbowl. I think you'll want to be in on that." She turned and faded into the crowd.
Mulder sighed. "A friend of ours" meant Skinner, and if Skinner was talking to Kersh...
He headed for the punchbowl, never letting go of Sarah's hand.
The expression on Kersh's face when Mulder came up, smiling and hand-in-hand with a young girl was priceless. Skinner was a bit quicker on the uptake--but then Mulder had his suspicions about Skinner's source of information, and its initials were D.K.S.
"So, is this your daughter?"
"Yes, sir. Sarah, this is Mr. Skinner. He used to be my boss. And this is Mr. Kersh. He's my boss now."
Sarah blushed and looked away, but Skinner held out his hand. "Hello, Miss Mulder. Nice to meet you." After a moment, she shook the offered hand and smiled. When Kersh offered his hand, she shook it without hesitation.
"So," Skinner said, "A.D. Kersh tells me that you've settled down in the past few months."
"I'm afraid you'll have to credit that to Sarah's capable management, sir. She has me well in hand."
"I see. Perhaps the F.B.I. should get some pointers from her."
"I believe they already have such information in place, sir. Married men are more stable and thus get promoted more rapidly. Married men with children even more so, if I'm correct. The stabilizing influence of responsibility for another human being should not be discounted, but I believe that the F.B.I. sacrifices many of its members by not allowing them the time for a proper personal life, thereby destabilizing them."
Skinner grinned. Kersh frowned, and when he spoke, his voice was tinged with sarcasm. "What would you suggest, Agent Mulder?"
"Better assignment rotation, for one thing. Employee counseling. Expanded leave for personal issues--I myself was denied personal leave not long ago when I had to travel to Britain to pick up Sarah."
"You were what?" Skinner spoke sharply, and his shoulders tensed. He turned to Kersh, his mouth set.
"I was unaware of the circumstances at the time, Agent--"
"And you did not care to learn the circumstances, sir." He looked down and saw Sarah hiding again. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Sarah and I are going to go hunt down a snack for her."
He and Sarah retreated to a corner of the room. After a few minutes, Scully found them. "Our friend is furious with Kersh, Mulder. He'll take it up with the other A.D.'s. Good work." She handed Sarah a plate of chocolate cookies. "And good work to you, too. You helped your daddy in his job, did you know that?"
Sarah looked at her steadily. "Of course I knew, Miss Scully. I'm Spooky's girl." Scully jerked her head up and looked at Mulder. "What the hell?"
"Didn't you hear her, Scully?" He stared her down, knowing his eyes were matched by those of his daughter. Waiting.
Just as Scully blinked, Sarah spoke again. "Mr. Kersh doesn't like Daddy, so he treats both of you badly. You're friends with Mr. Skinner, so you needed to let him know about Mr. Kersh so he can fix it."
"Did your daddy tell you that, Sarah?"
"No. He didn't have to. *I* told *you*. I'm Spooky's girl."
"Some things, Scully, your science does explain. Genetics. The laws of inheritance. The ability to see things in certain ways." He smiled down at his daughter. "'Spooky' was originally...complimentary. I can *see* things, Scully, that no one else could see. My little girl here can see them too."
Scully stared at him blankly. After a few seconds, Sarah reached out and patted her hand. "It's OK. We take a little getting used to."
"I," Scully said, "need a drink." She wandered off in the direction of the punchbowl.
Sarah looked up at her father and frowned. "Daddy, you *really* should tell her."
"It's funnier this way, hon. Trust me."
"Trust no one, Daddy."
"Right you are, baby, right you are. May I have this dance?"
---
The End.
