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randomfoggytiger · 2 years

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X-Files Collector’s Edition: Mulder’s Early or Late Birthdays (Angst)

What are birthdays without angst, especially in the X-Files universe? These birthday fics seem to be a magnet for mixed emotions-- like the rest of Mulder’s life-- and it’s fun to explore the lows he weathers with his supportive loved ones.

I’m grouping these by author in a verrry loose chronological order (but it’s there.)

(**Edit: Added in scully-loves-ruthie’s Fictober Day 13 entry.**)

*cracks knuckles* Here we go!

greycoupon’s Happy Birthday

““Fox Mulder hadn’t wanted a party for his 13th birthday. Sam was gone and his family was a mess. There didn’t seem to be much to celebrate. But his mother had actually come out of her room, where she spent all her time now “resting”, to suggest it. She seemed the most alive he’d seen her since it had happened when she was making plans. She was smiling and even though she was still doped up with tranquilizers, as she was constantly these days, for a minute Mulder could see his old mom. So he said okay. That was a mistake.””

Mulder had a truly horrific 13th birthday and has avoided celebrating since. Scully and TLG are able to throw him a good one at last.

@syntax6’s (Gossamer, FFN, Omniscribe) Collection of Mulder’s birthdays

Post Shadows Mulder is surprised by Scully’s birthday card and friendship. And also disappointed by how tiny the Liberty Bell is.

Pre-One Breath Mulder is surprised from his mourning by Tena’s call. She answers questions about his birth; but carelessly leaves him with a final sting.

Redux ii Scully is desperately trying not to die on Mulder’s birthday while setting up her death and burial preparations.

Post Unruhe Mulder invites Scully to his birthday bash at TLG’s. She is still skittish, but the group are inclusive and kindly overlook any strange behavior.

These are all amazingly excellent. I pulled this quote because it touches on an aspect that all these stories explore--

““She stretched until she could reach her watch from the nightstand. It read eleven-twenty on October thirteenth. Satisfied, Scully returned the watch to its resting place and drew her hands back under the blankets.

She had one mission left: don't die today.

"Mom? Can you do me a favor?" Her mother came to stroke her hair.

"Anything, baby."

"Could you please go to the gift shop and pick out a birthday card? It's Mulder's birthday today.”"

@lokisgame’s (Ao3) 33

““We've got time," she replied calmly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.””

Pre- One Breath Mulder’s happy birthday dream is dashed when he wakes to a world without Scully.

Jennifer Maurer’s There’s Still Nobody Home

““Once he snuck upstairs to her office and put a post-it note on the picture of her sister on her desk, then waited for hours in the parking garage.

You never know, that might be the magic charm to bring her back.””

Pre- One Breath Mulder is slowly deteriorating: he fails to keep his plants alive, fails to keep himself from sobbing on Frohike’s shoulder, fails to connect to Maggie-- all while blindly failing himself.

Juliett’s

All I Want for Christmas

““He had done everything he knew to do and now he pled.

And October 13th had come and gone with nothing, nothing for him. At least, nothing that he wanted.””

Pre- One Breath Mulder is having a ROUGH birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Pleas and hands of mercy cannot give him what he wants or allow others to pull him from gloom.

Mulder’s Birthday

““Fox Mulder glanced at his watch and sighed. Almost time. Any minute now his partner would be giving him the look that said it was time to go home.

But he didn't want to go home.

After all, who wanted to spend a birthday alone?””

Post Paper Clip Scully surprises Mulder with a birthday dinner and mini sculpture. Maggie gifts him Melissa’s pendant.

Erin M. Blair’s

You Can’t Change History

““I would have been doing exactly what Bill's trying to do to me. He's sizing me up before getting the chance to know me. I know it's not fair, but I can understand him.”"

Season 2 Bill tries to intercept Scully from celebrating Mulder’s birthday with him. Mulder resignedly understands; but is happy Scully won’t leave.

Anonymous/RebeccaRusnak’s (Mulders Creek) Lament

(**note: I THINK Anonymous is Rebecca Rusnak, but who knows? I just have to trust my past-self’s judgment.**)

““Fox."

Mulder stirred as the honey-smooth voice washed over him. He started as the velvety-soft hand touched his shoulder. He opened his eyes and stared, astonished, at his mother.

"Mom," he croaked...””

Post Herrenvolk Mulder is alone for his birthday. He trudges back to Quonacatog to seep in his dark memories... until Tena (called Margaret here) shows up, and the two actually have a heartfelt bonding session, marshmallows included.

@aloysiavirgata’s (Ao3, Gossamer, WayBackMachine, LiveJournal, Alt.)

Unnamed Post Unruhe

““It’s been two days since she was with Schnauz.

Two days since the howlers in him tried to claim her.

Two days since Mulder had killed a man.

Post Unruhe Scully had called his cell, his apartment, and the Gunmen before chancing a visit to the basketball court near his apartment. He was there, trash-talking and dribbling in the crisp October air.””

Mulder leaves his birthday bball game to offer comfort to a rattled Scully.

By Falling In and In 5/5

““He used to wear horrible ties," Scully tells her son. "Really awful ones. So if he ever gets a job where he has to wear them, you and I are going to pick them out." "My ties were not that bad," Mulder says. "They were refreshing. And besides, this is coming from the Queen of Shoulder Pads?" Scully hits him with a pillow and William shakes his head. "You guys are so weird.””

Mulder’s birthday-- a clock from Will and elated dancing with Scully-- is halted by CSM and his rescue mission to save them from Colonization.

@crescentmoon223′s The Realm of Extreme Possibility

““He never should have brought her out here today. He’d truly thought—for once—it would be a nice trip to the forest, a fun hike as they tracked the Goatman.

A piercing shriek split the night, and Scully went rigid in his arms. It sounded like a woman screaming in terror. That grave looked like it had been here for years, but what if…””

Post Redux ii Mulder’s birthday trip to the forest-- to hunt the Goatman-- is derailed when Scully gets “deja vu” (her denial-word for visions) about visiting these woods before... and they find a corpse with an identical necklace to hers.

Summer’s Conspiracy Not Included

““We've been swarmed by pre-historic bugs, attacked by genetic mutants, and tied up by Satanic schoolteachers, Mulder. It was only a matter of time before we got a flat tire." Scully slammed the trunk shut, draping the sweatshirt from her overnight bag over her head.

"Yeah, but you'd think with all those big catastrophes, the odds would be on our side for little things like flats."

"You call a five-mile walk in this rain a little thing?" Scully fumed.

Her partner regarded her with a mixture of affection and fear.””

S2 Scully’s secret plans for Mulder’s birthday are almost derailed by his many misshaps while trying to drive them back to airport. Not so much angst as shooting himself in the foot.

Pattie’s Enhanced

““Mulder, what happened to your scalp? There's... there's a shaved spot with what look to be sutures. Mulder?"

"What?" He passed his fingers over his head. He felt his cool fingertips on the back of his head, left side, about three inches from the crown.””

S6 Mulder, TLG, and a Harvard doctor do something incredibly stupid. And, of course, he forgot what.

Folieadeux’s Love Obsessional

““Throwing herself into the shadow of the building, she realizes she doesn't know how long she's been attacking Fox's car. She looks at her watch and is stunned to see that it has only been 15 minutes. It feels like a lifetime.””

S6 or S7 Mulder has a stalker in time for his birthday. Her worsening behavior almost stops when served with a restraining order... until her jealousy of Scully overcomes her remaining bits of reason.

Avalon’s Celebration

“"Well, what's the big deal?" I ask, starting to get a little exasperated. I just don't see why she should be so concerned. "Maybe it's somebody's birthday, and someone in the bullpen brought it down here for you. You weren't here, so they left it. End of story."

She looks at me, the brow above her right eye arching in that definitive Scully look that she gets right before she pins you, squirming, to the wall. "Did they pull out Mulder's case file for me and leave it there, too?"“

Doggett is frustrated that Scully is fixated on a mysterious cupcake and an opened file. When he understands, he formulates an out-there explanation that honors Scully’s skepticism and Mulder’s memory.

**The below fics take place after Existence, which is where I usually end in my own headcanon. HOWEVER, these fics can’t help their lineage, so I’ve decided not to hold that over their innocent heads.**

XSketch’s Birthday Arrival

““...but days like this seemed to emulate his low resolve so closely that it made everything that much more painful; days like this brought back so many memories of standing beside her under an umbrella on some case or another that the ache to be home where he belonged only deepened that much more.

...Those things, and the fact that today was October 13th...””

S9 Mulder gets a birthday email from Scully while in New Mexico. However, it takes a surprise gift to finally banish his depressed mood.

@greekowl87’s Friday the 13th

““It worked. They made it work.

But still, there was always a nagging feeling in the back of his mind.””

IWTB-era Mulder and Scully have settled into life at the Unremarkable House; but Mulder sinks into despair when she leaves early without a word.

Lolabeegood’s (Mulder’s Creek) Laundry Day

““Banana Republic" he muttered to himself and shook his head.

Scully was at it again. Ordering clothes online for a man who never went anywhere.””

Pre-IWTB Mulder’s leisurely day is halted by the arrival of a FedEx truck. Hints of his developing depression seep through when Scully has to remind him of his own birthday.

@scully-loves-ruthie‘s Unnamed Fictober Day 13

““I could make a cake,” She offered wrapping her arms around his waist from behind.

“I don’t want you to do that Scully. It’s just another day.” He shimmies out of her embrace headed toward the office, his pajama pants dragging on the hardwood offering a stark contrast to her work heels.””

Mulder considers his birthday just another day-- which isn’t a bad thing.

Ahhhh, a job well done. Well, well-- that’s all for now!

Enjoy!

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randomfoggytiger · 1 year

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X-Files Collector's Fic: Cleaning Out the Vineyard House (Poll Results 2nd)

This list was inspired by this poll-- 1st part here~.

(**Note**: I'll edit out errors later when no one's looking.)

Loose chronological order below~

raspberrycoffeecake's Vineyard-Haven

""But he turns back toward the sea, retracts his arms, and wraps them around his knees, closing in on himself.

“I came out here once the year after Samantha disappeared,” he says in an even tone. He’s still looking out at the waves, and she wonders if he’s talking to her or to himself. “It was just a normal summer morning. My father was upstairs in his office, writing letters, making phone calls, ignoring us like he always did. My mother made me a sandwich to take with me to the baseball field, as if there had always been just one child to make sandwiches for. As if Sam was just a dream I had, as if she had never existed. And I finally decided that I couldn’t stand the denial. I couldn’t keep pretending anymore.""

Post Paper Hearts Mulder whisks Scully to Martha's Vineyard. She supports him as he processes his memories; and insists they start a relationship when it won't be based in trauma.

@syntax6's (Gossamer, FFN, Omni) Mulder 1998

""He opened his eyes and looked at her over the flames. "They say the ocean has no memory."

She licked her thumb and scanned the paltry breaking surf. "I guess I can see that. The tide comes in, sweeps everything away and washes out again, only to reappear a few hours later. It makes the ocean seem immutable, as though no outside force can change it."

"And change equals memory?"

"Sure. Every memory changes you.""

Pre-Triangle Mulder sells his father's Vineyard house because of the expenses wracked up during FTF. He and Scully share their beach disappointments; and they compare his height to the former scratches on his childhood wall.

Chimerical1975's Regular People

""Grocery shopping with Mulder was something of an experience. It turned out that he was a creature of immense habit with definite likes and dislikes. Since she'd barged in on him, she offered to cook whatever he liked and he put up surprisingly little resistance to the offer. In fact, he revealed that macaroni and cheese was his favorite thing in the world. But only homemade--he had to be close to starving to eat the stuff that came in the blue box. She was amused that such simple comfort food was something he craved, not to mention greatly relieved because it was something that she actually knew how to make. If he'd wanted ratatouille, she would have been in big trouble.""

AU-- TGTSC Scully's California flight was canceled; so she surprises Mulder at the Vineyard where he is cleaning out his father's house. They whack down yard weeds, move each other with respect and admissions on both their parts-- romantically and not living a normal life together-- and conclude their unresolved romantic tensions.

Folieadeux's Cyclone

""Closing the door behind him, he slid off his jacket and laid it on the hall bench.He'd promised himself that he would not take too much time doing this,that he would be quick and efficient, without unnecessary emotions. Just like she'd do it, like she had done it when it had been her turn.

// He sat in the hallway, his back propped against the wall, watching her. It was late spring and the yearly housecleaning was in full force. The scene was misleading in its normalcy. A woman in an apron and a freshly washed house dress ripping sheets from a little girl's twin bed, shaking puffs of dust in the air that floated in the sunshine before disappearing to wherever those particles went. Her jaw was set tight and her face was determined. Only twin paths of tears betrayed her calm exterior.

He kept silent, a skill he was beginning to hone as the weeks wore on and his sister didn't return. Every day the house grew more and more silent while they all pretended. What they were pretending was something he had yet to figure out. //""

Post Closure Mulder somberly packs up the Vineyard, apologizing to the house while battling morbid memories. He always felt he had to protect his mother: the woman who kept travel books but never traveled.

LuvTheBeez’s (mulderscreek) Packing

""Every object, every possession left in the house had been carefully wrapped and packed away only to spend the rest of its days in a dank storage room somewhere. These boxes contained once precious objects that no longer mattered to anyone, all of them things he'd looked at a million times but had never really seen. Things that had been carefully maintained, fastidiously dusted and polished, each holding a memory that was solely hers, that he could not share.""

Post Closure Mulder packs up Tena's house, frustrated that there were no more answers to be found. Scully drops in with comfort food; and both are glad she hadn't listened to his earlier denials and mild mandates.

OKayVal's 155 Words - Santa Claus, North Pole

""Dear Santa, I have been good. Please bring me a talking Crissy doll. And please bring my brother Fox a model rocket so he will be too busy to tease me. Thank you. Love Samantha Mulder.""

Post Closure Mulder soldiers on, cleaning out Tena's house. Samantha's "Dear Santa" letter guts him with guilt.

xraelynn’s (Gossamer) Illumination

""It’s good to see you, Mulder,” she said softly, taking a sip of her coffee. The smile in his eyes dimmed as he looked away.

“I, uh...I didn’t mean to run out of town on you,” he said quietly, his eyes fixed down on his coffee. “I just thought I...needed some time.”

Mulder’s face was smooth and calm now, but for days she hadn’t stopped seeing his expression of devastation and betrayal whenever she looked at him.

It turned out that she had needed some time too.""

Post Closure Mulder invites Scully out to the Vineyard, needing her company while he processes his losses and revelations.

@bohoartist's (Ao3) Unnamed Prompt

""Let me see!” she pleads, reaching for it, but he extends his arm just out of her reach.

“Oh not at all, Scully, this is way too incriminating.”

She sits back and pouts, sticking out her plump bottom lip and looking up at him through her lashes before quickly changing tactics and lunging at him.""

Post Closure Scully rescues a picture of little toddler Mulder before her partner can destroy all of his family mementos.

Pattie's Sailor Spooky

""Besides, I wouldn't want to spoil your free time away from me."

His heart sank. He sat on the couch. After a long pause he told her the truth. "I just don't want to be alone, okay?"

Scully stopped filling the coffee maker and approached her partner.""

Post Closure Mulder doesn't want to be alone. Scully assures him he doesn't have to prove anything-- including making himself seasick by trying to bond with her.

@o6666666's (Ao3)

Untitled

""Martha’s Vineyard, he’d said, this weekend, and she’s already teased him that he ever thought it might be a hard sell. His Scully is made for the beach. Not least because her body is pink and freckled and cut from stone, but mostly because the ocean recognizes her at once—a Scully, one of its own—and she opens her heart to it like she does to her mother and small children, allowing her wild laugh and squeaky voice and a sort of space-taking that seems fundamentally opposite to the space-taking she does at work, with clipped tones, and where the littler she speaks, the more powerful she seems.

(By contrast: When he woke up this morning she had all the covers, and her arms were spread out like wings across the whole bed. “You cozy?” he’d whispered, sidling closer. She’d tucked him right in with her with a kiss to his nose. And doing the breakfast dishes together, he’d heard it—this dry little fart. She’d turned to him with wide, guilty eyes and he’d rat-tailed her, lightly, with the dish towel and whistled: “Scul-ly!”)""

Post Closure? Mulder takes Scully on a boating trip to the Vineyard-- and she boats, happily, like a crazy person.

Untitled

""Mulder, I can’t sail.”

He grinned. “Sure you can.” He was sure Scully knew the methodology of sailing. Perhaps Scully could sail like she could drive. When she was a little girl she could sail, and when she was six she accidentally hit Captain Scully in the head with the boom.

AU-- S9 Mulder bought Scully a boat for her 40th. The two go sailing while Maggie watches their son.

@scapegrace74-blog/scapegrace74's Pandora's Box

""He’s been at loose ends since his mother passed away, and she draws an invisible line around him, daring anyone else to cross it and touch his tender heart. There are a million daily reminders of loss: calls from the family attorney, paperwork to sign, a father’s voice rising from a tour group outside the Hoover Building, “don’t wander too far away, Sam!”

So when he asks her to run this simple errand, she leaps at the chance to help.""

Post Closure Scully finds an engagement ring in Mulder's things; and the two realize their weaknesses-- fear to take it to the next step for fear of guilt-tripping the other-- pale in comparison to their strengths.

@alienbaby-babymama/ABBM515‘s Potential

""Even though it had only been a few weeks since their partnership became an “official” partnership, Dana Scully would never have to be asked twice to spend a weekend by the water.

Mulder had mentioned in passing that he wanted to get his mother’s house prepared for sale. The place was big, required maintenance, and the memories engrained in the walls and floorboards of the house was not something he wanted to deal with. The property deserved love again. He just wasn’t sure he was the one to give it.""

Mulder and Scully-- still not dating post Closure-- sort out how to use Martha's Vineyard: a rental property so they can subsidize their IVF treatments.

@gabby-msr/ScullytoyourMulder/scullytoyourmulder993's

A Love Captured

""That night was special. In high school, I was the kid whose sister had gone missing. I guess it was some kind of curse. I was a bit of a pariah. Even on the baseball team,” he said, and he saw her frown in disapprobation.

“But that night, it didn’t matter. We stayed on the diamond celebrating well into the night, the team and other people, too. Some people drank. I didn’t, I still had to drive myself home. People congratulated me.”

"I’m glad,” she told him, squeezing his hand. “I’m glad baseball brought you some happiness.”

“It did,” he said, but there was something sad about the way he said it.

“What is it?”

“My parents - they’ve never seen me play,” he admitted.""

S8 Monica is trying to understand the late Agent Mulder. While snooping through his office, she finds memorabilia from his and Scully's vacation to the Vineyard post-Je Souhaite. Their trip was about him rediscovering and reinvigorating his past-- all of it: Samantha, his parents, Diana, and everything else-- with a newer, fresher start.

FatCat's Scully Pride

""Where's the car your mom rented? What did she get us, a convertible?" I grinned.

"Uh, no, it's not a convertible. It's over there." Scully pointed up the street toward a Toyota Corolla.

"Scully? A Corolla? I can't fit into a car that small comfortably."

"Uh, no, Mulder. Not the Corolla, the... erm... one in front of it."

I looked again and whistled. "A Cadillac Escalade? Your mom rented a Escalade for us?"

"She said something about it being handy to have with so many guests around." She couldn't meet my eyes. I knew she was embarrassed.

"Scully," I leaned down to force her to look at me. "Your mom told me about your Aunt Maeve. It's okay. I had some relatives just like her so I do understand.""

AU-- Mulder offers the Vineyard to Maggie's snobby relatives, good-naturedly hosting their get-together. The love bomb and a proposal is dropped; and Charlie fights Scully over her initial refusal.

WordsSpillFromMyOpenVeins_89's Weekend At Martha's Vineyard

""Less then ten minutes later, William was fast asleep on the floor and snoring with Ishy next to him.

Mulder pat the back of William's head, ran his hand down is back, feeling the rise and fall of his tiny chest.

"Oof. Don't know how much longer I'll be able to do this, bud. You're growing up", Mulder whispered against his floppy auburn hair.

Mulder reached out his right arm, to brace against the wall before taking the last two steps up to the second level of the Hamptons Style Bungalow.

Mulder carried William up to his bedroom, unlaced his converse sneakers and placed them on the floor, at the foot of the bed. Carefully covering William with the Van Gogh Starry Starry Night bedspread and tucking the edges under him, to keep him warm.""

AU-- S9 Mulder, Scully, Will, and their dog all vacation at Martha's Vineyard. While there, Mulder proposes; and all is chummy and famfic-y.

Enjoy!

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