Usual disclaimer. The characters don't belong to me, but to Chris 
Carter and Fox, I just like playing with them and occasionally making them cry 
(one of them anyway!) I don't make anything financial out of them either. My 
interest in them is entirely intellectual...

This one is part of that strange universe of the firm but fair Mrs Scully. As 
such it is dedicated to DiAnn who invented this universe and Brown Eyed Girl who 
recently visited it too. I just felt it was my turn…

A PERFECT WEEKEND
BY XANTHE

"Fox, is that you?" Maggie Scully appeared at the top of the stairs, wrapping 
her robe around herself. What was it about this woman? Mulder sighed to himself. 
He'd swear she could hear a pin drop a hundred miles away.
"Yes, Mrs Scully," he mumbled apologetically, shutting the front door softly 
behind him and hastily hiding the video tape in his jacket pocket.
"Teenagers!" Mrs Scully smiled at him. 
"What?" He looked around. Teenagers where? Mrs Scully laughed and waved a hand 
at him.
"I've lived in a house with 4 teenagers in my time and I'm afraid it gives me 
extra sensory perception as far as nocturnal comings and goings are concerned! 
And it is pretty late, Fox."
"Yes. I know." He sighed again and examined his shoes. 
"But I'm sure you have a good explanation." She folded her arms and looked and 
him and he felt like one of those teenagers she had just mentioned.
"Yes. My fish." He improvised hastily. "I just remembered that they hadn't been 
fed for a couple of days. So I went over to my apartment."
"At 1 o clock in the morning?" She exclaimed, frowning.
"Well I was worried they'd die," he lied unconvincingly. She gave him a look of 
disbelief and he could feel himself blushing. How had Scully grown up sane in 
this household he wondered? And why was she to all intents and purposes 
seemingly saner than he was when he'd been more or less allowed to run wild and 
do what he liked? He couldn't remember his mother caring much what hours he 
kept, or maybe he just hadn't taken any notice of her feeble remonstrations. His 
father was a different matter, he'd kept well out of his way. Bill Mulder had 
always had an unpredictable temper and it wasn't wise to upset him. However Bill 
Mulder would have been unlikely to notice if he'd stayed out all night. He 
wasn't there all that often for a start. He'd been far more likely to notice if 
his only son's grades had dropped. Then he'd come roaring home from some far 
away destination in a total temper and prowl around the house for days on end 
shouting. 
"Now, Fox, I've told you my rules and when under my roof you'll do as I say," 
Mrs Scully said. "And that means that I want to know when you go out and I 
expect you to come and say hello to me when you get back. It's only polite. And 
if there were a fire I wouldn't want to worry about you being trapped in the 
house if in fact you're off out somewhere." A fire? Mulder shook his head. What 
sort of mad planet was she living on? Did she really expect the house to go up 
in flames? Probably if it did she'd blame him, say he was smoking under the 
bedclothes or something. "And I really don't approve of comings and goings after 
midnight. All good folk should be tucked up in bed and safely asleep by then." 
Mrs Scully finished, shooting him a reproving look.
"Yes, Ma'am," he muttered sullenly. Honestly, anybody would think it was she who 
was doing him a favor by letting him stay here when in fact it was the other way 
around. Mrs Scully had received a series of alarming anonymous letters 
threatening her life and she hadn't been happy staying in her house on her own. 
Dana and Fox had both volunteered to take turns guarding her until they worked 
out who was threatening her. Talk of the devil. At that moment Dana emerged from 
her bedroom, her red hair tousled and her blue eyes bleary.
"What's going on?" She asked, looking at her mother and then taking in the sight 
of a dishevelled Fox standing by the front door. "Been out?" She queried.
"I went to feed my fish," he sighed. Honestly, one little innocent trip out, 
okay, not so innocent, but still, they didn't know that, and now he was being 
subjected to some sort of interrogation.
"Uh-oh!" Dana shot a look at her mother. "You're in trouble now then, Mulder. 
Mom hates it when we sneak around at night. She gets all twitchy." She grinned 
at her mother. Mrs Scully frowned reprovingly.
"Nonsense, Dana. I just like good manners that's all," she said firmly. "And 
creeping around when everyone else is asleep is not good manners. I have high 
standards and even though you two probably think I'm an old fashioned stick in 
the mud, I believe we all need rules to live by. Just because you're all grown 
up doesn't mean I should accept less than your best behavior. And whilst you're 
staying with me, you'll abide by my rules. I'm sure you understand that, don’t 
you, Fox?"
"Yes, Ma'am." Mulder exchanged a wry look with Scully who shook her head.
"Mom's strict but fair, Mulder," she told him. "Just don't get on her wrong side 
or you won't forget it in a hurry believe you me! And going "fishing" in the 
middle of the night is definitely not top on the list of things she approves 
of!"
"I'll remember that. Now, can I get to bed?" he asked, his face flushing.
"I think that would be a good idea. Folks need a good 8 hours sleep at night or 
they can't do their best during the day. And in my book, there's no excuse for 
doing less than your best." Mrs Scully shot him a meaningful look. "So off to 
bed with you, young man."
"Yes, Ma'am." He hurried up the stairs and trotted past the two women as quickly 
as he could, cursing himself for agreeing to this protection assignment in the 
first place. If only Scully hadn't given him that blue-eyed "my poor family" 
look. If only he didn't still feel guilty about Melissa's death. If only he 
didn't like Mrs Scully so much. She really was very nice. Nicer than his own mom 
and she made such delicious meals! He'd swear he'd piled on 7 pounds in the 3 
days he'd been staying here. Then of course there was the fact that Skinner had 
insisted as well…all in all he really hadn't had any choice in the matter.
Mulder undressed to his boxers and laid down on his perfectly made bed, waiting 
until the house fell quiet. Then he got up and went downstairs, tiptoeing into 
the lounge and throwing himself down on the couch, pulling his blanket over him 
with a sigh. Ah, this was better. He hated beds. He toyed with the idea of 
getting the video and watching it, especially as he had gone to so much trouble 
to get it. But it was late and he was tired so he decided to go straight off to 
sleep. He could savor the video tomorrow. 
They spent the following day looking into leads on the case, but didn't get very 
far. Mulder was actually enjoying himself lounging around the house, eating lots 
of wonderful food, staring at Dana's beautiful body encased in casual clothing 
and wishing he was sleeping in her room. God forbid! Her mother would probably 
have a fit if he so much as lurked outside Dana's door in the middle of the 
night. But Dana did look so nice in jeans and cowboy boots. Or a big chunky blue 
sweater (hand knitted by Mrs S) over a pair of black ski pants with suede ankle 
boots on her tiny feet. And both women made him feel so normal, sort of taken 
care of and at home. If only this were his home, if only he was sharing Dana's 
bedroom at night, if only he were leading a regular life, watching TV in the 
evening, talking, laughing, goofing around in the kitchen, chopping endless 
piles of vegetables, stirring casseroles. Mulder sighed wondering just what it 
was about washing up with Mrs S and Dana that was so much fun. There was a knock 
at the door and Mrs S went to answer it.
Mulder grinned at Dana, picked up the wet dishcloth and flicked it in her 
direction, showering her with droplets of water. She squealed and retaliated, 
aiming for his butt with a wet sieve. He laughed and dropped the dishcloth back 
in the water until it was soaked and then chased after her with it, grabbing her 
by the doorway and squeezing the water from the cloth down her neck. She 
shrieked and gasped, sliding out from his grasp, running into the hallway and 
ducking behind someone for protection. Someone huge. Mulder pulled up short, the 
dishcloth still raised menacingly in his hand.
"Oh, hello, sir."
"Agent Mulder. Agent Scully." Skinner peered back over his own shoulder and 
Scully edged out, looking  silly. "I see you're taking this assignment very 
seriously," he murmured.
"We were…yeah. Well. Washing up. You know…" Mulder muttered. Mrs Scully started 
to shake her head and he realised he was dropping water all over the floor so he 
disappeared back into the kitchen to dispose of the cloth.
"Walter dropped by to see how things were going." Mrs Scully told them, ushering 
Skinner into the living room. 
"Do you have any leads on this case, Agent Mulder?" Skinner asked, frowning his 
usual terse frown.
"Not really, sir. We were kind of hoping another letter would come whilst we 
were here," Mulder said, throwing himself down on the couch with a sigh. "Then 
we might get more of an idea of who this guy is."
"Well I want him caught. I can't have Mag…Mrs Scully bothered in this way." 
Skinner frowned even more and looked anxiously at Mrs Scully. Mulder stared at 
him in alarm. Was there something going on here that he should know about?
"Nobody is going to hurt Mrs S. Trust me. I wouldn't let it happen." Mulder said 
firmly.
"Good. Because if anything does…" Skinner told him ominously.
"It won't."
"I expect a proper guard, Mulder," Skinner said. "And no sneaking off in the 
middle of the night again, leaving Mrs Scully on her own."
"Dana was here!" Mulder protested. Did everybody know about last night? "And I 
was only gone for an hour."
"You left your post, Mulder." Skinner rapped out. "And I'm not happy about it." 
"I'm sorry." Mulder bit his lip. How many more times were they going to make him 
apologise?
"Now, Walter." Mrs Scully smiled. "I've already told the boy off so there's no 
need to go over that again. Why don't you give me your coat and then we can all 
play a game."

A game? Ugh. Mulder watched in alarmed disbelief as his boss divested himself of 
his coat and Mrs Scully fetched cookies and coffee and he and Dana were 
inveigled into playing Trivial Pursuit. It really was like being a teenager 
again he thought, staring mournfully at the door, longing to escape. Dana seemed 
to be enjoying herself, laughing and joking and answering all the science 
questions that nobody else had a clue about. Why don't they have a paranormal 
section? He wondered to himself as he started to lag behind, and why was Skinner 
such an expert on geography? It wasn't normal. 
"Concentrate, Mulder!" Skinner told him. "I don't believe you haven't known the 
answers to the past 3 questions. You're just not trying."
"And there's not excuse for not trying." Mrs S put in. Mulder sighed. God, 
Skinner was like everyone's worst nightmare dad and Mrs S was some hideous 
parody of a no-nonsense mom. This couldn't be happening to him.
"No, Ma'am, yes, Sir," he sighed. They were right of course. He wasn't trying. 
If he was he could probably have won hands down. But he just couldn't 
concentrate. Something about all this cosy homeliness was getting to him. Dana 
was lucky, he thought sourly. All this normality had passed him by. Was this 
what it was like growing up in a regular family? And why was he getting a taste 
of it now, 20 years too late?
"You win, Walter." Mrs S smiled fondly and bestowed a kiss on Skinner's cheek. A 
kiss? Mulder could feel himself blushing. Were these two having an affair or 
something? Ugh. It was like imagining your parents having sex, totally 
revolting. 
"I was a close second!" Dana protested.
"Don't be a sore loser, Dana." Mrs S told her daughter. "Walter won fair and 
square. You're always so competitive!"
"I just like to win." Dana sighed and yawned. "Well I'm off to bed. Night mom, 
night Mulder, night sir." Dana kissed her mother on the cheek then absently 
pressed her lips to Skinner's head. He looked up in surprise. "Oh, sorry. It's 
just my dad was bald as well and us all playing here together like this reminded 
me…never mind." Dana sighed. "I just miss him I suppose."
"That's alright, Dana." Skinner smiled. "Your father was a fine man. I'm honored 
by the comparison." And he got up and bestowed a firm kiss on Dana's cheek. Dana 
smiled and took herself off to bed.
Well he's not kissing me, Mulder thought to himself, getting up and yawning 
extravagantly although he wasn't in the slightest bit tired. He looked at his 
watch. 10.30? Shit, what sort of abnormal hours did these people keep?
"I'll turn in too," he said, shooting a longing look at Dana's departing back 
and wishing he could follow her into her room.
"Good night, son." Mrs S kissed his cheek and he managed to scramble past 
Skinner with a hurried "g'night." 
He waited. And he waited. And he waited and waited but he didn't hear Skinner 
leave. Finally there was the sound of doors shutting and Mrs S talking to 
Skinner in the hallway. Then they both came up the stairs, still chatting. 
Mulder realised with a start that Skinner was staying the night! A horrifying 
mental image of Mrs S and Skinner lying naked in each other's arms rose unbidden 
into his mind and he groaned and bit his lip, burying his face in his pillow. 
No, no, no! It was disgusting. Finally the house went quiet and he tiptoed down 
the stairs and threw himself onto the couch, turning on the television and 
slipping the video into the machine, keeping the sound well down. At last! Nice, 
familiar porn and a hard couch to serve as an antidote to the cosy family scene 
he had been forced to participate in. Mulder allowed the panting sounds of 
people making love to wash over him and soothe him and finally he fell asleep.
He woke up at dawn, sure that he had heard something. He got up, pulled on his 
shoes and a tee shirt and went to the front door. There, on the mat, was a 
letter. He immediately yanked open the front door and chased off down the 
street. He saw a man on a mountain bike and ran after him, shouting. The man 
pedalled away furiously and Mulder ran to keep up, jogging fast, grateful that 
he was fit. He must have run after that man for miles. The man cycled through 
woods, across streets, down alleyways and Mulder fell over twice, grazing his 
knee and bruising his shins but finally he lost him and turned back with a 
groan, looking at his watch. It was 8am. Then he looked around. He was 
thoroughly lost. It was 8am, he was dressed only in his boxer shorts and a tee 
shirt and he didn't even have any money to make a phone call. With a sigh he 
started to walk.
It was past 11 before he found his way back. He walked wearily up the driveway 
and the door swung open. Dana ran out of the house and down the steps and threw 
herself into his arms.
"Mulder, we were so worried about you! Oh god, Mulder. You are in such trouble!" 
His heart sank as she led him back into the house. Skinner was standing in the 
kitchen, pacing. Mrs S was sitting, looking pale and wan. As he walked in they 
both let out sighs of relief and Mrs S got up and hugged him close.
"We were so, so worried. Oh, Fox. You'll be the death of me!" she sighed. "Sit 
down. I'd better see to those grazes." He opened his mouth to protest but one 
look from Skinner shut him up.
"You'd better have a good explanation for this, Mulder." Skinner said tersely. 
"I do." Mulder said.
"Not yet." Mrs S exchanged a look with Skinner. "First I get the boy cleaned up, 
then he takes a shower and gets dressed. We don't go in for that sort of 
informal dress around here," she told Mulder firmly, looking at his boxers and 
tee shirt. "Then he can come back down here and give an account of himself." 
Mulder gulped. Give an account of himself? And why was Skinner looking so 
furious? Mrs S bathed his knee, picking out some bits of grit, rubbing some gel 
into it and then packing him off upstairs to get showered and dressed. He pulled 
on his jeans and a sweater in some trepidation, suddenly feeling very worried 
about what he was about to face.
"In the study, Mulder." Dana said, when he finally arrived back downstairs.
"The study?" He repeated.
"Yes. Dad's old study." Dana looked worried. "They are really angry, Mulder. You 
are in huge trouble."
"I can explain everything." Fox told her, grinning. 
"Maybe not quite everything." Dana gave him a cool look. "There's something that 
you'll have big trouble explaining. Mom's not pleased and Skinner is hopping 
mad. He's quite protective of mom and he's really got himself worked up." 
Mulder chewed on his lip and shook his head. How bad could it be? All the same 
he was filled with trepidation as he walked along the hallway to the study and 
knocked.
Mrs S was standing by the window looking out. Skinner was seated in a chair 
behind the desk, frowning as usual. Mulder's heart skipped a beat. On the desk, 
in front of Skinner, was a video tape. Shit. That video tape he had been 
watching last night, the one with the people…oh shit!
"I'd like an explanation." Skinner said. "In fact I'd like several. Such as why 
you left your post last night, why you were missing for so long without telling 
us, putting Dana and her mother through such worry! And why this was in Mrs 
Scully's video recorder!" He held up the tape and Mulder winced.
"I can explain it. All of it. Well nearly all," he said, wryly. He told them 
about the letter and the man. 
"What letter?" Skinner frowned. "There was no letter."
"There was." Mulder protested.
"Oh you mean the leaflet? Advertising the new restaurant?" Mrs Scully told him. 
"That was all there was on the mat this morning."
"Oh shit," he said, not noticing Mrs Scully's frown at his choice of word. He 
hadn't even checked that the letter was from the anonymous stalker. "Why did 
that man run away from me then?" He asked out loud.
"Wouldn't you if a man dressed in his boxer shorts accosted you at 6 in the 
morning?" Skinner asked.
"I suppose. Oh shit."
"Fox!" Mrs Scully shook her head. "I won't have that sort of language in my 
house. Now you're in enough trouble as it is, young man."
"I'm sorry." He hung his head.
"And you haven't explained about this!" Skinner pointed at the tape. "It's 
filthy, disgusting. Mrs Scully turned it on by mistake and she was appalled. To 
be subjected to such filth in her own house! I presume it is yours?"
"Yes, sir." He muttered, embarrassed.
"And you couldn't have waited until this assignment was over before watching 
such disgusting images in the safety of your own apartment? What's the matter 
with you? No self control?"
"I just…it helps me sleep." Mulder told him resentfully.
"I'm appalled."
"I can't think why." Mulder felt suddenly angry at being treated like a kid. "I 
mean it's not like either of you two can occupy the moral high ground after what 
you got up to last night."
Mrs Scully took a sharp intake of breath and Skinner looked more angry than 
Mulder had ever seen him in his life before.
"What exactly does that mean?" Skinner asked in a quiet, threatening tone.
"It means that I know that you spent the night with her." Mulder glared at Mrs 
Scully. "The two of you, cozying up to each other…"
"That's enough!" Mrs Scully looked shocked. "I asked Walter to spend the night 
in the spare room." Mrs Scully told him in a tone of stern displeasure. "It was 
late and he was tired. Walter is a good friend. There is nothing improper 
between us and I am disappointed in you for thinking any such thing. You know, 
I'm very fond of you, Fox, but I think you've been allowed to run wild for too 
long. I blame your mother and I'm afraid that Walter hasn't been strict enough 
with you either. I'm sorry, Walter, but it's true. This boy needs teaching a 
lesson. I won't stand by and see such a fine, promising young man go off the 
rails in this way. Watching such videos, talking back like that! I would never 
have allowed my own children to get away with such behavior and the truth is 
that I've come to regard you as another of my sons, Fox. As such, I think I will 
have to treat you the same way. Walter, you might like to watch this and take 
some notes." And so saying, Mrs Scully opened the desk drawer and pulled out a 
paddle. Mulder stared at her in disbelief.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm going to punish you, dear," she said kindly. "You don't have to agree. If 
you don't then please go and pack your belongings and leave now."
"But I can't…that is, I'm on an assignment." Mulder looked despairingly at 
Skinner. "Can I go, sir?" He asked. Skinner shook his head.
"Certainly not. You'll stay here until the job is done, Mulder," he said firmly. 
"And anyway, I think Mrs Scully is quite right. While you're in her house you 
must live by her rules and accept any punishments that she wishes to administer. 
Besides," he paused and gave Mulder a stern frown. "You deserve it. In fact, 
when Mrs Scully has finished with you I'm tempted to take a turn myself." And so 
saying he leaned back in his chair, folded his arms and watched as Mrs Scully 
advanced on the hapless young agent. Mulder gulped, unsure what to do.
"Trousers down, Fox." Mrs Scully told him firmly. "And bend over the chair." She 
pointed to an old armchair. Mulder took a deep breath. This was so humiliating! 
And in front of his boss too! But there just didn't seem to be any way out. With 
a red face he undid his jeans, pulled them down and leaned over the chair. He 
gasped as he felt Mrs Scully's hands on his boxer shorts. She tugged them down a 
very little way, just enough to expose his buttocks and he could feel himself 
whimpering before the punishment had even begun. "I will give you 8 strokes, 
Fox." Mrs Scully told him softly. "Which is less than I think you deserve but 
hard enough for a first time." And so saying she raised the paddle. 
There was silence for a moment and then a rustle of sound and a cool breeze 
followed by a terrible pain in his backside. He struggled for breath and fought 
to keep his composure. Had Dana been punished like this? No wonder she was so 
well behaved. Another silence, another rush of coolness and then more fire 
across his buttocks. He let out a little moan. "6 more." Mrs Scully told him 
softly. "And I want you to think about your behavior and how you might like to 
apologise to me and to Walter."
"Yes, Ma'am," he muttered.
Another stroke and he felt a tear squeeze out of the side of his eye. This 
little woman wasn't going to drive him to this, she wasn't! But she intended to. 
By the eighth stroke he was a sobbing wreck. Mrs S pulled his boxers gently back 
over his sore, red buttocks and helped him pull his jeans up. 
"Now, Fox." She took his face between her hands and kissed his forehead gently, 
wiping away his tears with her fingers. "Remember that we all love you. Dana, me 
and Walter does too although he tries to hide it. He was very worried about you. 
You go running off getting into trouble, getting all sorts of mad ideas in your 
head. We thought you might be lying in the gutter somewhere, hurt, maybe even 
dead. It upset us all very much. A boy only gets punished for behaving very 
thoughtlessly and for being so insolent. I'm sure that now you know how much it 
hurts you'll take care to behave less selfishly in future won't you?"
"Yes, Ma'am." He sobbed, nodding.
"Good boy. Now what would you like to say?"
"I'm sorry, Ma'am," he muttered, gazing at the carpet.
"And there's someone else you should apologise to. Someone else you were very 
rude to just now," she told him firmly.
"Sorry, sir," he mumbled, hardly daring to meet Skinner's stern, dark eyes.
"Good. Now, Walter, was there anything you'd like to say to him before we let 
him go?" Mrs S asked. Skinner cleared his throat. 
"I think he's been punished enough," he murmured, looking rather satisfied by 
Mulder's red face and tear-stained cheeks. "I think you've taught us both a 
lesson here today, Mrs Scully. It's a lesson I will remember in my future 
dealings with Agent Mulder. Perhaps you would be so kind as to let me know where 
I can purchase a paddle like this?" He picked the paddle up and examined it with 
some interest. Mulder flinched.
"Certainly." Mrs Scully nodded. Mulder's heart sank. Mrs Scully was tiny and it 
had hurt more than he could bear. Skinner was huge - how much more would a 
spanking from him hurt? All the same, he felt curiously comforted by their 
concern. His own mom and dad had never seemed to notice him, let alone care when 
he ran off and got into trouble. There was something rather nice about someone 
caring enough about his behavior to take him to task over it, even if it did 
mean enduring such torture.
"Normally I'd send a boy off to bed without any supper," Mrs Scully said. "But 
as this was the first time, Fox, I'll make an exception. Remember it in future 
though. An empty tummy and a sore backside are not a combination I would 
recommend."
"No, Ma'am."
"Run along then. I expect Dana's waiting for you." Mrs Scully nodded at him and 
he walked towards the door. "Oh, and Fox?" He turned, enquiringly. "I won't have 
this sort of thing in the house." Mrs Scully picked up the video tape between 
her thumb and forefinger and dropped it into the bin. Mulder gulped and nodded, 
hurrying out through the door.
Mulder crept gingerly along the corridor, still sobbing softly to himself. That 
had been awful. Humiliating. And it still hurt so much! Dana came running out to 
meet him.
"Oh, Mulder." She took him in her arms. "Did mom…she used the paddle didn't she? 
I knew she would!" Dana sighed. "I told you how strict she is, Mulder." 
"It was my fault. She was right. She's great." Mulder sobbed into Scully's 
shoulder. It was worth a spanking to be here, nuzzled up to this wonderful woman 
he loved so much, he thought to himself. "Skinner says next time he'll do the 
same…oh god Scully, I'm not safe any more…" he mumbled.
"Your butt certainly isn't!" Scully told him with a grin, pushing him away and 
kissing his cheek. "Never mind, Mulder. You'll be fine. It only hurts really bad 
for a couple of days and then it wears off. You'll have to be careful when you 
sit down though. God, that really hurts. And…"
"This is supposed to be making me feel better?" He asked between sniffs.
"Just letting you know how it is!" Scully grinned. "You'd better get used to it, 
Mulder. With Mom and Skinner after your ass and with your ability for getting 
into mischief, well I reckon you're in for a pretty permanent sore butt from now 
on!"

Mrs Scully reappeared a few minutes later with Skinner in tow. 
"Lunch I think." She smiled at them all. "Then a few rounds of cards. After that 
perhaps a nice game of tennis in the garden? It's such a lovely day." 
"Sounds wonderful." Skinner smiled. "A perfect weekend, Maggie."
Mulder exchanged a glance with Scully. Really, this was like some strange 1950's 
sitcom. People like this didn't exist in the real world, did they? 
"Dana if you'd lay the table. Fox you can help me in the kitchen and perhaps you 
could open the wine and do the carving, Walter?" Mrs Scully asked and they all 
bustled around doing as they were told. 
Mrs Scully surveyed the scene with a pleased smile on her face. This was how 
family life should be run. A firm hand at the rudder, a little kindness and 
consideration. She was glad she had finally got a chance to take the troublesome 
young Fox Mulder in hand. It had not taken her long to realise just what this 
young man meant to her daughter and she fully envisaged welcoming him into the 
family some day. It was only fair that she made sure he was properly behaved 
before that happened. Actually she felt sorry for him. Obviously nobody had 
cared enough about him to take him in hand before. Well that had changed now. 
"Sit down there and start shelling the peas for me, dear," she told him. He 
grimaced.
"Couldn't I stand, Mrs S?" He asked.
"Fox, dear." She gave him a kind but firm smile. "In our family we take our 
punishments without making a fuss and afterwards we don't draw attention to 
ourselves. It's not wise. I don't like to get my paddle out often but when I do 
I make sure it's put to good use. Now if your backside hurts for the next couple 
of days that's all to the good. Hopefully it will remind you of what you did 
wrong and how you can improve." Mulder nodded and sat himself down pretty 
quickly, biting down the yelp of discomfort as his sore buttocks touched against 
the chair. It was best not to antagonise Mrs Scully in any way, shape or form. 
She was a formidable lady, just like her adorable daughter. 
Mulder had never enjoyed a lunch so much in his life. Okay, so his backside hurt 
but there was something so nice about eating a regular meal as part of a family. 
He kept accidentally touching Dana's legs with his foot under the table, making 
them both giggle and Skinner kept them in fits of laughter with anecdotes from 
his marine days. Skinner carved and Mrs Scully passed round the plates, the food 
was delicious and it was all just so…so perfect!
It's just like the old days, Mrs Scully thought to herself, glad she had come up 
with that ruse about the anonymous letters. Four lonely people in separate 
houses all by themselves when really what they all needed was some good home 
cooking, a few games and a taste of loving discipline to help them all feel 
special and loved. Mrs Scully sighed. Walter was right. It was going to be a 
perfect weekend.

The End.
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