So this is my headcanon about Mulder's fish. I've been meaning to write this for a while. It's set in early season 1.

Don't own, don't sue etc. Enjoy xx

"But Mulder, what do you do with your spare time when you're not chasing aliens or the Knicks?" Scully was leaned against the door and up until now, had been examining one of Mulder's magazines with a headline about the Okoboji river. "And of course," she added, "those videos that, uh, aren't yours."

"You know, Scully, I've been pondering that myself," Mulder answered. "And I've decided that I need a pet."

Scully raised an eyebrow. "A pet? Like a dog or something? I can't see you with a dog, Mulder. I'd be forced to call Animal Rescue on you."

Mulder laughed. "I'm not getting a dog Scully."

"So you're a cat person?" She thought it over for a moment. "I can see you with a cat, maybe."

"I'm not getting a cat, Scully. I want a fish."

"A fish? I thought the aim of this was to find a pet that would keep you occupied?" She came and sat opposite him at the desk.

"Scully, you're missing the wonders of fish. They need no walking, no petting, no nothing. You jsut leave them to swim around in the tank. They're amazing."

A smile flickered across Scully's face as she played with her pen. "So you're looking for a pet that does nothing and keeps you occupied? I thought that's what the little green men were doing."

He laughed. "Yeah, but at least you can't tell my a fish doesn't exist."

Scully knocked on the door of the apartment. She'd come to show Mulder an article she thought might interest him, but she was starting to suspect he wasn't in.

"Come in." He finally showed up at the door and opened it further as he saw her to let her in.

"I just came to drop this off, I thought it was your kind of thing. A woman in Ohio claims to have seen - what the hell is that?"

She passed Mulder to gaze at the large glass tank containing several tropical, bright, gaudy fish.

"These are my fish. See, this little guy here, his name is Nicky."

"Nicky?"

"As in the Knicks. And look here, Billy and Joel."

"Billy and Joel?"

"Yeah, and there's Molly. Nicky, Billy, Joel, Molly and, uh, Scully."

"Scully?" Scully the fish was small, and red, too red to be a goldfish. The red looked very much like Scully's own hair, and it made her smile.

"Scully, yeah. As in -"

"Mulder, I'm familiar with Scully." Their eyes met and they laughed.

"Well, I thought I'd let you name this little guy." A small black and white striped fish swam passed and Mulder tapped the window to attract Scully's attention to him. He grinned widely and she did not resist its contagion with a grin of her own.

"Ok, I'll, uh, I'll play along," she said. "Mulder. Call him Mulder. As in -"

"No, no, I get it. Nicky, Molly, Billy, Joel, Mulder and Scully."

"Mulder and Scully," she echoed. She sat back on the sofa and smiled up at him. "Come on, Mulder, Coffee's not gonna make itself."