Rating: PG-13 (if that) Warnings/background: This is a crossover between X-Files and Alias with the slash pairing of Mulder/Vaughn or "Vulder." Vaughn is a hermaphrodite. He and Mulder have been living together in Virginia for about sixteen years and have four kids: Sarah, William and twin girls Lilly and Elizabeth. **************** I had been sure Christmas would cease being fun once the kids stopped believing in Santa, but hearing Sarah's squeal of delight upon opening the new cell phone Vaughn and I had gotten her was forcing me to reconsider. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she gushed, hugging us enthusiastically in turn. "Open ours next," Lizzie exclaimed, holding a book shaped package out to me. "Lilly and I made it." "Made it huh," I said weighing the box in my hands and making an exaggeratedly thoughtful face. "Hmm...is it a paper mache tie? No, wait, I know...it's an ashtray!" Lilly groaned. "Just open it, Dad." Vaughn snorted and covered his mouth with one hand, holding in a chuckle. "You used to think I was funny," I mourned, tearing into the wrapping paper. "That was before you started getting so predictable," Will piped in. "Last year you predicted a bottle of aftershave was a bottle of rum. *After* you opened it." "I was hoping for an excuse to spike your mother's eggnog and have my wicked way with him." Vaughn swatted my arm, Will rolled his eyes and the girls all chimed in with "ew", "yuck" and "I totally didn't need to hear that." "Hey, how do you think you all got here," I said as I drew a small photo album from the wrapping. On the cover was the family photo we had taken for last year's Christmas card. "It's a scrapbook," Lizzie explained. "Mom helped us pick out the pictures," Lilly added, scooting over beside her sister to watch as I flipped through the book. It was full of pictures of myself, Vaughn and any combination of the kids, framed by stickers, glitter and captions written in the twins' almost identical handwriting. "It's beautiful, thank you!" I reached over to pull them both into a hug, kissing each of their cheeks and squeezing them until Lilly squeaked and Lizzie giggled. I let go and they returned to their former spots on the floor, poring over the instructions to the new game we had gotten them. "Could somebody hand me that little box over there," I asked, pointing to the small gold present under the tree. Will grabbed it, placed it on the floor between himself and the couch Vaughn and I sat on and gave it a push, sending it scooting across the carpet. "I don't know where you get your laziness," I muttered as I bent to pick it up. "You," Will shot back without missing a beat. I gave him a mock glare and set the scrapbook down on the coffee table before turning to Vaughn. "Here you go, baby," I announced, presenting him with his gift. Vaughn raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "It's not going to explode, is it?" I sighed. "I give you Worms in a Can once and you never let me forget. You'll like this one, I promise." Vaughn accepted the gift hesitantly and pulled back the large, shiny gold bow. He opened the box and froze, staring at the gold ring with diamond inlay nested in the mound of cotton inside. I gently pried one of his hands from the box and folded it between my own, slipping from the couch to kneel in front of him. "Michael Vaughn, will you marry me?" The room fell silent. Even Sarah looked up from programming her new phone to see what was happening. Vaughn looked at me for an eternal minute, his eyes shining. Then he dropped the box into his lap and slipped the hand not held in mine behind my neck, pulling me into a fierce kiss. "Of course I will," he murmured against my lips. I smiled and let go of his hand, reaching both hands to cradle his head, deepening the kiss. His hands framed my face and he leaned into me. "Can I be the best man," Will asked. "Or...one of them?" "Ooo, I want to be the maid of honor," Lizzie announced. "No fair, I want to be the maid of honor," Lilly whined. Vaughn pulled away from the kiss with a laugh. "You'll all be best men or maids of honor or whatever you want to be," he said, putting an end to the argument. "I want a white dress with purple flowers on it," Lilly announced to the room in general. "You can't wear white," Sarah scolded. "Only the bride can wear white." "This isn't going to be a traditional wedding," Will argued. "Mom will be wearing a tux just like Dad." "They make those in white, doofus," Sarah fired back. "How about a purple dress with white flowers," Lizzie asked. I let the kids' argument fade into the background as I turned my attention to my soon-to-be husband. I lifted the ring from the box and gently slid it on his finger. "I love you," I whispered. Vaughn smiled and kissed me again. "I love you." That night, after I put the kids to bed, I found Vaughn curled on the couch with a glass of wine, watching the way the lights from the Christmas tree reflected off of his ring. "The twins are really excited about the wedding," I said, sinking into the cushions beside him. Vaughn smiled and shifted until he was plastered to my side. I wrapped my arm around his shoulders and pressed a kiss to his head. "Can I ask you something?" "Nope. Fresh out of answers. Sorry," I teased. He swatted my chest lightly. "I'm serious." I coaxed his glass of wine from him and took a sip. "I know." Vaughn looked up at me as I returned the glass to him. "Why now?" I stroked my fingers along his cheek, feeling the rasp of his five 'o' clock shadow. "I guess I just got tired of waiting. The kids are old enough now that we don't have to feel guilty for dumping them on Doggett and Scully for a week while we take a honeymoon. Sarah and Will can mostly take care of themselves." "But why at Christmas?" I smiled. "Because I wanted to surprise you. I wanted to see the look on your face when you opened that box." A slow smile spread across his face. "Was it worth it?" I bent my head to brush my lips against his, tasting faint traces of alcohol. "Absolutely." Vaughn sighed and snuggled back down against me, resting his head on my shoulder. "How does a honeymoon in Santa Barbara sound?" I knew it wasn't really a question open to debate. "It sounds great." He sighed contentedly and wove the fingers of his free hand through mine. "I love you." I squeezed his hand. "I love you too, baby."