"Byers' Dreamworld"
By: Angela W.
Category: Alternate universe/Mulder & Scully married
Rated: G
Summary: Remember the dream Byers had at the
beginning of "3 of a Kind"? This expands on it. A lot.
Alternate universe.
Disclaimer: None of the characters mentioned in this
story belong to me. They are the property of Chris
Carter and 1013 Productions.
Archive: Feel free to archive anywhere!

John Fitzgerald Byers tugged off his tie as he
started up the steps to his charming, Cape Cod style
home. TGIF! he thought. It was the beginning of a
three day weekend, Suzanne and the girls were waiting
for him, and they were hosting a party for all their
friends to celebrate Memorial Day!
"Daddy, Daddy!" screamed Jill and Jackie as they ran
out to meet him. Byers swooped his younger daughter up
in his arms and enfolded the older one's hand in his.
They wandered out into the backyard, where Suzanne was
putting the finishing touches on the decorations for
the party. He slid his daughter down to the ground and
held open his arms to his wife. As always, she smiled
and kissed him.
After he'd changed and gone back outside, little Jill
ran up to him again. "Who's coming to the party,
Daddy?"
"Let's see. Suzanne, is everybody coming?"
"Unless somebody's kid has come down with something
in the last 24 hours - always a possibility when
you're dealing with this many little ones - everybody
will be here."
"Okay," Byers said to his daughter. "The Mulders are
coming. And the Langleys. And the Pendrells. And the
Skinners. And Mr. Frohike."
"How come Mr. Frohike doesn't have a Mommy?"
"A. . . oh, you mean a wife? Like Mommy is Daddy's
wife?"
"Yes."
"He just doesn't, honey. God's plan is different for
everyone. Most people do get married, but not
everyone."
"Could he get married someday?"
Personally, Byers doubted that his over-40,
never-married friend would ever tie the knot, but he
supposed stranger things had happened. "Well, yes, I
guess maybe he could, but I don't know if he ever
will."

"Mulders are here!" Jackie yelled as a car pulled
into the driveway.
Suzanne smiled as Emily Mulder ran out to join Jill
and Jackie on the swingset. Fox and Dana followed. The
two women liked each other a lot and had a lot in
common. Both had medical backgrounds, but both had
chosen to work only part-time during the years their
children were small.
"How are you feeling, Dana?" Suzanne asked.
"Better. I'm finally over all the morning sickness.
But, I swear, I'm as big at four months with this baby
as I was at six with Emily!"
"You always show more and sooner with the second
one," Suzanne agreed.
"Want some iced tea, sweetheart?" Fox asked his wife.
"That would be great!" she responded with a smile.
A few moments later, Fox returned with two large
glasses of tea. He handed one to Dana and she thanked
him with a quick kiss. "You need to sit down, Dana,"
he said.
"I'm fine, Fox," she said, rolling her eyes just a
little at his overprotectiveness. Actually, she
enjoyed having such an attentive husband, but he
tended to go a bit overboard when she was pregnant.
"I'll bet you've been on your feet almost all day out
at Quantico."
Realizing that her husband would soon have means to
independently verify her duties at work that day, Dana
muttered, "I'll sit."
Fox grinned. She stuck her tongue out at him.

The next couple to arrive were Sharon and Walter
Skinner. Walter had been Fox and Dana's boss when they
had worked as F.B.I. partners in the days before their
marriage. Now he wasn't the direct supervisor of
either of the Mulders, so socializing with them wasn't
a problem.
"Where's Mitch?" Suzanne asked. The Skinners had only
one child, a teen-age son. Unlike most of the couples
at the party, both Sharon and Walter had always worked
full-time at demanding jobs.
"He's spending the night at a friend's house," Sharon
replied. "A party where everybody but him is either
under the age of eight or over the age of 30 just
isn't his idea of fun nowadays."
"I understand," Suzanne said.

John smiled as the next guest arrived. It was true
that Mervyn Frohike didn't have a "Mommy" of his own,
but the man had been a good friend to all the couples
there for many years. Frohike soon joined the Walter
in what he laughingly referred to as the "middle-aged
corner' of the party.

"Mommy, Mommy!" hollered Emily, running up to where
Dana, Suzanne and Sharon were sitting. "Aunt Melissa
and Uncle Sean are here! And Baby Kathleen!"
Suzanne had to admit that the Pendrells were a bit of
a contrast to each other. Sean was shy and quiet in
social situations, quite different from the lively,
free-spirited Melissa. They had the only completely
traditional marriage of the guests, Melissa having
quit her job to become a stay-at-home Mommy when
Kathleen was born almost a year ago. Having her at
home full-time has certainly been a blessing to me and
Dana, Suzanne thought with a smile, since Melissa was
always willing to help out if something went askew
with the usual childcare arrangements in the Mulder or
Byers families.
"Hi, Dana. Long time, no see," Pendrell commented
dryly.
Dana giggled. It was a family joke, because she and
her brother-in-law worked just down the hall from each
other at Quantico and saw each other virtually every
day that Dana worked.
"Hey! My favorite sister-in-law and my favorite
niece," Fox said as he came up to kiss Melissa and
Kathleen.
"You know, Fox," Melissa said, "eventually she's
going to be old enough to understand that I'm you're
ONLY sister-in-law and she's your ONLY niece."
"Well, you'll always be my only sister-in-law. I
guess the niece thing is subject to change, but that
depends on you, and Samantha, and Bill, and Charles."

The last guests to arrive were the Langleys. If there
was a bit of a contrast between Melissa Pendrell and
her husband, it was as nothing compared to the
contrast between Samantha Mulder Langley and HER
husband. These two didn't look like they'd be
comfortable sharing the same neighborhood, much less
the same bed!
If the Pendrell's marriage was completely
traditional, the Langleys was anything but! Samantha
worked full-time as a lawyer for the state department.
Her husband worked out of their home part-time, as a
freelance computer troubleshooter, and was also a
stay-at-home Daddy to William, their toddler son. The
couple obviously adored each other, though, so Suzanne
supposed it was a case of "opposites attract". At
least Samantha had improved on Langley's appearance
somewhat since their marriage. He still had long hair,
but he generally wore it pulled back in a neat
ponytail nowadays, and she'd made him exchange his
thick-framed black "dork" glasses for trendy wire
rims.
After exchanging greetings with the rest of group,
Langley looked at his son and said, "You are SERIOUSLY
outnumbered here, dude! I think somebody - here he
paused and glanced at Dana - "needs to have a baby boy
to try to even things out a bit. Geez! Four little
girls and you!"
"Hey, give him about ten years!" Fox said. "Then, if
he takes after his Uncle Fox , he'll be QUITE happy to
be surrounded by all these pretty girls."
"Hit him for me, will you, Samantha?" Dana called out
to her sister-in-law. "I don't feel like getting up to
do it."
Samantha playfully bopped her big brother on the arm,
then grabbed her son from his father and went over to
sit near the other women.

Byers surveyed the backyard from his position at the
grill. The three little girls were laughing as they
played on the swingset, the two babies were sitting on
a blanket near the women and the men were talking and
drinking beer. What a wonderful life, he thought!

Author's e-mail address: tapw63@yahoo.com.