Disclaimer: Not mine. Not yours. They are just orphans.

Spoilers: Eh. Series. Except not season 9. From the last scene in Existence, everything happened differently. And William is not named William.

A/N: I just wanted to see what would happen if I wrote this. The story will explain itself as it goes on, so be patient.

"Morning in the swamp," Dana Scully announced, nudging both of her kids with her socked foot. They grunted and buried themselves deeper in their sleeping bags. She had allowed them to stay up late watching movies and they had crashed on the floor around midnight. She knew 7:30 was a little early to wake them up, but she didn't want to disrupt their sleep patterns too much.

"Come on, monkeys, out of bed."

"Ug, mom," Joshua complained, his hand reaching out of his sleeping bag to smack her foot. "It's too early. I'm tired."

"Yeah," Hannah agreed, peering up at her mother. "Weekends are for resting, that's what you said."

"I did say that. But we also agreed that if I let you stay up, you would help me clean the house today. I held up my end of the bargain, so hurry up. Your rooms are disaster areas."

Her child-lumps didn't move.

"I'm going to bring in the tickle brigade," she warned, sitting down on the couch.

Joshua jumped up and raked a hand through his brown hair.

"Mom, I'm 7. I'm way too old for the tickle brigade."

Her eyes glinted with mischief and he took off running.

"'Fraidy cat!" Hannah called as she sat up.

Scully grabbed her daughter and tickled her mercilessly.

"Okay mommy, okay! Joshy, help!"

Joshua came to the rescue of his 5 year old sister and the three of them tumbled to the ground in a ball of limbs and laughter.

"It's time to get dressed," Scully announced finally catching her breath. She wasn't as young as she used to be. Having her first child at 37 didn't exactly leave her as energized as her younger counterparts. Raising two kids alone didn't help the situation much either.

The kids went into their bedrooms and she headed for the kitchen to make breakfast. Scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, and toast were on the menu. It never failed.

After a few minutes she heard scuffling from the bathroom and the sound of a slap.

"Joshua! It's your sister's turn for the radio."

"Aw mom!"

"You had your turn yesterday and we all had to listen to it."

"I hate country music and that's what she always picks."

"You don't hate it, you just like to make a fuss. Now hurry up, breakfast is almost ready."

The kids came to the table soon after, inhaling their food like they had been starving for weeks.

"Mommy?" Hannah questioned between bites. "How come you still wear your ring?"

Scully looked down at the wedding ring on her finger and contemplated it for a moment.

"Because it's mine," she answered finally.

"But you're not married anymore, are you?"

"Yes, I'm still married."

"But daddy doesn't live with us."

"No, he doesn't."

Hannah opened her mouth again, but Joshua shot a warning look in her direction. He could tell when his mom was uncomfortable or sad, and right this minute, she was both.

By 1 in the afternoon, the house had been cleaned, the car had been washed, and all of the laundry from the last week was cleaned, folded, and put away. The music was on again, and all three were dancing around the living room. The Four Topps were singing Sugar Pie Honey Bunch when Joshua grabbed his sister and spun her around in a circle. Laughing and dizzy, she did some move akin to a gorilla doing a pirouette and fell to the ground in a fit of giggles. Joshua decided to move on to a more stable dance partner and grabbed his mom's hand, singing the song as he led her around the room. Once the song ended she picked him up and kissed his cheek.

"Ew, mom!"

"Hey, you said it was okay as long as I didn't do it in front of your friends."

He just rolled his eyes as someone knocked on the door.

"I'll get it!" both kids shouted, navigating the furniture to reach the door first. They pulled it open and a rush of Indian-summer air flooded the house.

"How many times have I told you not to open the door unless you know who's on the other... side." Her admonishment trailed off as she looked up at their guest- a man she hadn't seen or heard from in three years.

"Mulder."

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