Disclaimer: M, S and all other characters and X-Files related material are
not mine and officially belong to Chris Carter etc.
Chapter 1 - Musings
"Mulder…I know when you said to me that I made you a whole person, that I saved you, you were telling the truth. But I have still always felt that I have held you back, and now I realize that more than ever. I just want you to know that I have never, and will never, blame you for what has happened to me. What happened on that morning was not your fault. God, if we had left just one second earlier, just one second, none of this would have happened. It destroyed me, it destroyed you…your beautiful mind…"
1.1 3 Weeks Earlier
1.2 Mulder's apartment, 7:00pm
"Mulder, just when I think I know everything about you…that I've got you all figured out…you go and do something like…like…"
"Like what, Scully? How can anything I do surprise you?"
"Oh come off it, Mulder! Antenatal classes? You never fail to surprise me."
Scully kicked her shoes off and slowly sat down on the leather sofa, laughing softly. When she looked up, Mulder was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. "And which part of the session did you find the most amusing?"
Scully looked into his eyes and tried to contain the fit of giggles that was about to overcome her. "Well, I think it was the panting that did it for me," she confessed, trying hard to look serious, but the innocent look on Mulder's face made her dissolve.
Mulder looked at his partner, wriggling around on the sofa, and his mouth curled into a smile. "Well, I was just trying it out for myself! Childbirth is one gift I will not be blessed with in life. Anyway," he said, suddenly looking disappointed, "I thought I did pretty damn good…for a guy whose nickname is 'Spooky.'"
She looked up at him, and their eyes met in a gaze that only they could understand. "Thanks for doing this with me Mulder. Thanks for being here." He didn't say anything, but she knew what that meant.
"You hungry?" he said at last, breaking the atmosphere gradually building up in the apartment. "I don't have the same pizza man as you but-
"That's fine," she broke in. "Order what you want. You know me, I'll eat anything at the moment so long as it's got tomato and a whole lotta stringy cheese on it."
He smiled at her. "Gotcha," he said, heading for the phone.
********************
"See you tomorrow Mulder," she said peering through the thick glass in the car door. "Thanks again."
As the car drove off into the evening rain, Scully slowly made her way up the stairs into her apartment block. She stood in the hall for a while, contemplating whether it was best to take the elevator or the stairs. I'm never having pizza at Mulder's again, she thought as she pressed the call button for the elevator. I feel like a humpback whale. I hope the lift can hold my weight. She smiled as she realized she was beginning to sound like her partner – he was forever cracking jokes about how one day in the not-so- distant future she would break the car when she climbed into it, and it was a good job that his office was in the basement of the FBI building in case she fell through the floor (at which point she had thrown a file at him). "Mulder really knows how to compliment a girl, "she said to herself.
Riding up in the elevator (without a hitch) she retrieved her keys from the bottom of her bag and, noticing the key to Mulder's apartment, she smiled as she remembered the events of the evening. The lady who had been running the antenatal class, as nice as she was, had given her and Mulder the strangest look when she noticed Mulder's gun under his jacket (which he had 'forgotten' to take off). Scully had teased him on the way back to his apartment about how he could possibly find anything dangerous or threatening at an antenatal class full of 'fat women' (as he so subtly put it). He had slyly reminded her of a case that they worked on together two years ago where a pregnant woman was infact a devil, and her husband went around killing all the devil children he had. He had also commented how she had been acting rather strangely lately. 'Naturally I put it down to hormones,' he had said, driving along the freeway, 'but I'm starting to wonder if maybe I should have a word with that pizza man of yours.' After having had her pillow thrown at him, he had said no more.
She left the elevator, walked the few metres to her apartment and unlocked the door. She decided to have a warm bath before she went to bed and treat herself to the aromatherapy oils she had bought at the weekend. Turning the taps on, she stood and watched the running water as the light danced around on its surface like little specks of gold. Staring at her reflection, Dana thought suddenly of how her life was going to change in a short while, and little luxuries like a bath would be almost impossible without someone's help. Someone she could trust implicitly… Scully smiled as she pictured Mulder holding a screaming, red-faced baby whilst she enjoyed a nice relaxing bath. The thought was wiped from her brain by the shrill ring of the telephone in her bedroom.
"Scully."
"Hey Scully, it's me… Am I disturbing you?"
"No, no. Just running a bath. What's up, Mulder?"
"Nothing really, just checkin' if you and the little guy wanted a lift to work tomorrow."
"Mulder, how do you know it's a boy?"
"Well, you know me Scully. I may be full of useless information, but I'm always right."
"You wanna bet? Have you been walking around like this for 5 months? How do you know what the sex is? Anyway, I'm not going to have this conversation with you right now. A lift would be wonderful, though."
"Ok, I'll be around at say, 7:00?"
"Ok, thanks Mulder. Oh, and I have a proposition for you."
"Oooh, I'm intrigued. Lay it on me."
"Nah, I'll tell you in morning."
"Aw, come on Scully. You gotta tell me now."
"No."
"Scully!"
"See you tomorrow Mulder."
"Fine then. Sleep well little guy," Mulder whispered down the line.
Scully smiled as she replaced the receiver and returned to her bathroom. She slipped off her clothes and carefully climbed into the warm water, soothing away the day's troubles. Sinking down into the water, she closed her eyes and suddenly thought of Emily, the child that had never meant to be. Now Scully was getting a second chance to be a mother, and this time she knew about it. As the warm water ran over her aching limbs, she decided that this time, this second time, she was going to make sure that nothing happened to her child, and that it grew up without a care in the world…
Chapter 1 - Musings
"Mulder…I know when you said to me that I made you a whole person, that I saved you, you were telling the truth. But I have still always felt that I have held you back, and now I realize that more than ever. I just want you to know that I have never, and will never, blame you for what has happened to me. What happened on that morning was not your fault. God, if we had left just one second earlier, just one second, none of this would have happened. It destroyed me, it destroyed you…your beautiful mind…"
1.1 3 Weeks Earlier
1.2 Mulder's apartment, 7:00pm
"Mulder, just when I think I know everything about you…that I've got you all figured out…you go and do something like…like…"
"Like what, Scully? How can anything I do surprise you?"
"Oh come off it, Mulder! Antenatal classes? You never fail to surprise me."
Scully kicked her shoes off and slowly sat down on the leather sofa, laughing softly. When she looked up, Mulder was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. "And which part of the session did you find the most amusing?"
Scully looked into his eyes and tried to contain the fit of giggles that was about to overcome her. "Well, I think it was the panting that did it for me," she confessed, trying hard to look serious, but the innocent look on Mulder's face made her dissolve.
Mulder looked at his partner, wriggling around on the sofa, and his mouth curled into a smile. "Well, I was just trying it out for myself! Childbirth is one gift I will not be blessed with in life. Anyway," he said, suddenly looking disappointed, "I thought I did pretty damn good…for a guy whose nickname is 'Spooky.'"
She looked up at him, and their eyes met in a gaze that only they could understand. "Thanks for doing this with me Mulder. Thanks for being here." He didn't say anything, but she knew what that meant.
"You hungry?" he said at last, breaking the atmosphere gradually building up in the apartment. "I don't have the same pizza man as you but-
"That's fine," she broke in. "Order what you want. You know me, I'll eat anything at the moment so long as it's got tomato and a whole lotta stringy cheese on it."
He smiled at her. "Gotcha," he said, heading for the phone.
********************
"See you tomorrow Mulder," she said peering through the thick glass in the car door. "Thanks again."
As the car drove off into the evening rain, Scully slowly made her way up the stairs into her apartment block. She stood in the hall for a while, contemplating whether it was best to take the elevator or the stairs. I'm never having pizza at Mulder's again, she thought as she pressed the call button for the elevator. I feel like a humpback whale. I hope the lift can hold my weight. She smiled as she realized she was beginning to sound like her partner – he was forever cracking jokes about how one day in the not-so- distant future she would break the car when she climbed into it, and it was a good job that his office was in the basement of the FBI building in case she fell through the floor (at which point she had thrown a file at him). "Mulder really knows how to compliment a girl, "she said to herself.
Riding up in the elevator (without a hitch) she retrieved her keys from the bottom of her bag and, noticing the key to Mulder's apartment, she smiled as she remembered the events of the evening. The lady who had been running the antenatal class, as nice as she was, had given her and Mulder the strangest look when she noticed Mulder's gun under his jacket (which he had 'forgotten' to take off). Scully had teased him on the way back to his apartment about how he could possibly find anything dangerous or threatening at an antenatal class full of 'fat women' (as he so subtly put it). He had slyly reminded her of a case that they worked on together two years ago where a pregnant woman was infact a devil, and her husband went around killing all the devil children he had. He had also commented how she had been acting rather strangely lately. 'Naturally I put it down to hormones,' he had said, driving along the freeway, 'but I'm starting to wonder if maybe I should have a word with that pizza man of yours.' After having had her pillow thrown at him, he had said no more.
She left the elevator, walked the few metres to her apartment and unlocked the door. She decided to have a warm bath before she went to bed and treat herself to the aromatherapy oils she had bought at the weekend. Turning the taps on, she stood and watched the running water as the light danced around on its surface like little specks of gold. Staring at her reflection, Dana thought suddenly of how her life was going to change in a short while, and little luxuries like a bath would be almost impossible without someone's help. Someone she could trust implicitly… Scully smiled as she pictured Mulder holding a screaming, red-faced baby whilst she enjoyed a nice relaxing bath. The thought was wiped from her brain by the shrill ring of the telephone in her bedroom.
"Scully."
"Hey Scully, it's me… Am I disturbing you?"
"No, no. Just running a bath. What's up, Mulder?"
"Nothing really, just checkin' if you and the little guy wanted a lift to work tomorrow."
"Mulder, how do you know it's a boy?"
"Well, you know me Scully. I may be full of useless information, but I'm always right."
"You wanna bet? Have you been walking around like this for 5 months? How do you know what the sex is? Anyway, I'm not going to have this conversation with you right now. A lift would be wonderful, though."
"Ok, I'll be around at say, 7:00?"
"Ok, thanks Mulder. Oh, and I have a proposition for you."
"Oooh, I'm intrigued. Lay it on me."
"Nah, I'll tell you in morning."
"Aw, come on Scully. You gotta tell me now."
"No."
"Scully!"
"See you tomorrow Mulder."
"Fine then. Sleep well little guy," Mulder whispered down the line.
Scully smiled as she replaced the receiver and returned to her bathroom. She slipped off her clothes and carefully climbed into the warm water, soothing away the day's troubles. Sinking down into the water, she closed her eyes and suddenly thought of Emily, the child that had never meant to be. Now Scully was getting a second chance to be a mother, and this time she knew about it. As the warm water ran over her aching limbs, she decided that this time, this second time, she was going to make sure that nothing happened to her child, and that it grew up without a care in the world…