Title: Everything Matters Author: Erin M. Blair E-Mail: eblair@sonic.net Classification: SRA--Story, Romance, Angst Content: Mulder/Scully Married. Alternate Universe. Time Span/Spoilers: Closure. all things. Rating: PG Distribution/Archive Statement: OK to Gossamer, Xemplary, FanficX, Basement Office Archives, Fanfic for Shippers, and Legacy: A Fanfic Shippers' Database. Other archivists - ask me first. Disclaimer: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully-Mulder and Samantha Mulder belong to Chris Carter. Elizabeth Mulder and Stephanie Mulder belong to me. Summary: What would happen if Samantha's alive and has a daughter? Would her daughter finally be the one to reunite her and her brother, Fox? ------------------------------------ EVERYTHING MATTERS Written by: Erin M. Blair ------------------------------------ Stephanie Mulder walked into the living room and noticed her mother writing a letter. "Mom, why don't you call him?" Samantha sighed as she looked at her long, straight, dark brown haired, hazel eyed daughter. She looked so much like herself when she was fourteen years old. "I wish I could, Stephanie, but your Uncle Fox has a problem with..." "Knowing if it's really you," replied Stephanie. "Mom, he saw me. He thinks you're dead. Why don't you tell him you're not? It would be nice to get to know my uncle, you know." Samantha put down her pen and nodded. "I'll tell you what, sweetie. I'll call him." "Can I call him, Mommy?" Samantha shrugged. "I don't think it's such a good idea, Stephanie." Samantha watched Stephanie throw her a puppy dog expression which she knew her daughter had inherited from her. Then Samantha relented. "All right, Stephanie, you can call your Uncle Fox." "Yay!" exclaimed Stephanie with her fourteen year old exuberance. *** Elizabeth Mulder listened to the telephone ring and she answered it. "Hello." "Is Uncle Fox there?" asked Stephanie. "This is Stephanie Mulder." "My dad's name's Fox too. I'm Elizabeth Mulder," replied Elizabeth. "Are you my cousin?" "Yep!" exclaimed Stephanie. "Elizabeth, I'm your Aunt Samantha's daughter." "Really? Daddy said she's dead." "I'm living proof she's not," said Stephanie. "How old are you?" "Fourteen." "Same here!" exclaimed Stephanie. "Can I talk to your dad?" "I don't see why not," said Elizabeth. She paused as she watched her father walks in with her mother. "Daddy, phone." "Who is on the phone?" asked Mulder. "A cousin," said Elizabeth. "Stephanie Mulder." "Stephanie Mulder. I don't know a Stephanie in the family," replied Mulder. He looked at Scully. "What should I do?" "Why don't you talk to Stephanie to find out?" suggested Scully. She watched her daughter grin as Mulder took the phone. "Stephanie?" inquired Mulder. "Hi Uncle Fox," said Stephanie. "I'm Stephanie Mulder - your sister's daughter. My mother's name is Samantha Ann Mulder." "I thought Samantha's dead," inquired Mulder. There was a brief break and an older woman's voice took over. "I can assure you - I'm not dead. Where did you receive that idea?" inquired Samantha. "Walk-ins," replied Mulder. "A woman saw you disappear when you were fourteen. Then I saw you at the park." "Fox, you saw Stephanie. You thought she was me?" "That was Stephanie?" "Yes, Fox. I told Mom about her and how I wanted to locate you. So I thought maybe if you saw Stephie - maybe you would realize that there's no way a clone could give birth to a daughter." Mulder laughed. "I guess you're really alive then, Samantha." "I should say so," replied Samantha. "I would like to see you and so would Stephanie." Mulder couldn't believe this. "You really want to see me?" "Of course I want to see you! I've been looking for you for a long time!" "I'm sorry, Samantha. I should have know you would be looking for me too." "You know what they say, Fox? 'When you stop looking for someone, you might find it.' I think that's what happened to you, Fox." Mulder sighed and mouthed to Scully. "Samantha." He watched Scully come a little closer to him to hear Samantha's voice. "I just can't believe you're really here, Sam." "I'm really alive. I understand you have a daughter and I'm sure you're married. I would like to meet them." "That's a good idea," replied Mulder. "Why don't you come by with Stephanie today?" "Tell me where." Mulder give her the address and then said his goodbye. He looked at Scully and gave her a hug. "Samantha's alive!" "I guess you're getting some new closure," replied Scully. "And I'll get to meet Stephanie," said Elizabeth with a smile. "Daddy, I'm really happy for you." "I'd never thought I would see her ever again, Liz." Mulder pulled his wife and daughter close to him. He felt a mixture of feelings within him. A part of him felt excited about seeing his sister again, but then, there's a part of him who felt very wary. He'd been hurt so many times over the past several years: what happens if he's hurt again? All of these feelings mattered to Mulder; he wanted to protect himself against the hurt. Samantha's abduction set him on a course for the better - if it weren't for Samantha, maybe he'd never met Scully and consequently they would never had Elizabeth? Mulder realized he owed a lot to both Samantha for bringing Scully into his life. He never really thought about it - hardly ever - if Samantha's abduction introduced him to the paranormal, he would never been interested in the X-Files, and consequently, he would never have met Scully. "Mulder?" "I was thinking about what you said about taking the path..." "The path not taken," said Mulder. "If it weren't for Samantha, I would never met you." "You don't know that for sure." "I do. Every choice we've made has it's own distinct path." "You know something, Mulder? I was thinking of this too. There are right paths and there are wrong paths, but there are reminders for us to be on the right path. Everything happens for a reason, Mulder." "Like how everything we do or say matters." Scully nodded. "Everything in the state of being matters. From our family to the little choices we've made." * * * The meeting took place on a Sunday when the day is usally observed from watching a science fiction television show on FOX as they were casual fans of the "X-Files" - starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. It was the show which Mulder sold the rights to a surfer dude named Chris Carter and they're awfully upset what Chris Carter had done with their lives on screen. Scully and Mulder were home with their daughter, Elizabeth. when they heard a doorbell ring. Mulder quickly got out to the foyer to open the front door - it was Samantha and Stephanie. "Samantha! I thought I would never see you again!" Samantha pulled her brother into a deep hug. She wanted to feel his body close to her own. "I thought you were gone from my life, Fox. Let me look at you." Her arms went down as she looked up at her big brother to see him. "You've gotten taller and you totally live up to your name. You are a fox." She gave him a good natured "Mulderesque" type of smile and then laughed. "Fox -- " "I call myself 'Mulder' these days." "Yeah, I heard. But I'm entitled to call you, 'Fox.' Anyway, this is my daughter, Stephanie Mulder." She nodded at her daughter. "Stephanie, this is your Uncle Fox." "Hi Uncle Fox," said Stephanie. "It's nice to finally meet you. Mom talks about you all the time." "She did?" "Yup!" Mulder nodded at Scully and Elizabeth. "And this is my wife, Dana Scully-Mulder, and our daughter, Elizabeth." Samantha's lips turned up as she said warmly, "It's nice to finally meet you, Scully and Elizabeth. Stephanie was so excited to find out she has a cousin near her age." "Why don't you come in?" suggested Scully. "Sure." "It's not everyday when you finally reunite with the brother you keep hoping to find after all of these years," said Samantha, wryly. This story's still being written and edited. Feedback: Much appreciated. Send to: eblair@sonic.net Author's Notes: When I watched 'Closure', it really wasn't my idea of what happened to Samantha. I thought it would be interesting if Mulder actually saw Samantha's daughter instead of Samantha. I also used the theory of when you stop looking for someone or something, you usually find it. =) I'm sure it's true in Samantha's case. Like Jeffrey Spender's death, I *refuse* to believe Samantha's dead.