Disclaimer: Chris Carter owns all. I'm just borrowing the characters and giving them something interesting to do.
Acknowledgements: Couldn't have written this story without the all mighty GHU, jmartellacommunist@yahoo.com. Thanks for bringing me into the X-Files fold.
Spoilers: You really have to have seen the entire series to get this story.
Spring Cleaning
8:23AM
25 June 1999
The Basement Offices
J. Edgar Hoover Building
Scully walked into their office and set down her leather messenger bag. In her left hand, she held a plastic container containing a frozen coffee beverage, but it wasn't helping. She was extremely over tired and wanted to go home and go back to bed. But they had a review meeting today, to update the Bureau on how the X-Files were progressing. This would not be a fun.
She heard the elevator coming down and turned around in time to see her partner meandering in. He carried a Styrofoam cup in his right hand and a book bag in his left. He smiled pleasantly at Scully and put his stuff down on his desk.
"Good morning, Scully," he said cheerfully, turning his computer on. "How are you on this fine summer day?"
Scully raised an eyebrow and then yawned. "I'm tired, Mulder; why are you so happy?"
"It's Friday, Scully." He saw her disenchanted look. "The weekend starts soon, cheer up."
"In case you'd forgotten, Mulder, we have a briefing with the Review Board about our progress. Don't you think we should discuss what we're going to say?"
Mulder looked at his watch and then shook his head. "Scully, the meeting isn't for another six hours; it can wait."
She shook her head, sitting down at her own desk. She tried to focus on her computer and the words in her email, but her eyes wouldn't have it. She would close her eyes and immediately start to fall asleep. She typed with her eyes closed for awhile, but then she had to go back and fix the errors she had made. She sipped her coffee drink again and sighed.
Mulder watched his partner with amusement. They had both been putting in later nights than usual, but she wasn't used to not sleeping, and he was. Searching through his top desk drawer, he tossed a small bottle over to her desk.
She jumped as it hit her desk, waking her up. "What's this, Mulder?" she asked.
"No-doze pills. Take one now and you'll be good for the rest of the day."
Scully eyed them, uncertain. But then she realized that she was going to fall asleep in the meeting if she didn't. Not that the meeting would keep me awake if I was running on more than 4 hours of sleep, but still
"Thanks, Mulder," she said and took one with her now-watered down Coolata. Mulder chuckled and went back to the presentation for their meeting.
5:55PM
Mulder walked into the office, frustrated. He kicked the garbage can as he walked past and then started to collect his things. Scully followed a moment later, equally as frustrated, but too tired to act on it. She sat down at her desk and checked her email one last time.
"So, what are you doing this weekend, Scully?" Mulder asked suddenly, just as he was leaving the office.
Scully stood up, turning off her computer. "Sleeping, I hope. And cleaning." She gave him half a smile. "Doesn't that sound exciting?"
"It's better than what I'll be doing." Scully's eyes prompted him for more information. "I'll be sitting at my laptop trying to rework the presentation so I can convince the Board of what's going on." He thought for a moment. "And I have to paint my apartment, too."
The two agents walked out of the office and to the elevator. They traveled in silence, getting off at the same level of the parking garage. Mulder turned left, and Scully turned right. She was about halfway to her car, when she called out.
"Hey, Mulder?"
The taller agent stopped and turned. "Yeah, Scully?"
"If you come help me clean my apartment tomorrow, I'll help you paint yours on Sunday."
Mulder pondered it for a moment and then nodded. "Sounds good, Scully. I'll be there around 1:00, okay?"
Scully smiled. "All right, Mulder, see you then."
12:31PM
26 June 1999
Scully's apartment
Georgetown, VA
The alarm had been going off for a minute before Scully woke up. Looking at the clock and hitting the switch, Scully rolled over onto her back and stared at the ceiling. She really wanted to just stay in bed all day and read a book, but she had to get up and clean. At least I'll have some help, she told herself. Her reasoning was simple enough; she needed Mulder to move the heavy stuff so she could vacuum or sweep underneath it. Poor guy, she thought, he doesn't know what he's getting himself into.
Kicking back the sheet, Scully stepped out of bed, putting on a beat-up tee shirt and a pair of jean shorts. She walked into the kitchen and found a Wildberry Pop Tart in her cabinet. She popped it in the toaster and went searching for her newspaper. Sitting down with her breakfast, she looked through the paper, only partially interested in what was happening. She had missed so much in the world since she'd gotten re-assigned to the X-Files, that she wouldn't know where to start with all the goings-on. Sighing at the predicament that is her life, Scully finished her Pop Tart and waited for Mulder to arrive.
He was about ten minutes late, which was right on time for Mulder. He knocked on her door and opened it when he received no response. He chuckled at the sight in front of him. Scully was standing on a tall stool, trying to reach the top of the windows in her living room. She held a bottle of Windex in one hand and a ratty paper towel in the other. Her stereo was turned up loudly, playing a lively country song.
"Hey, Scully," he called out loudly. "You want some help?"
Scully turned around and smiled. "Yeah, Mulder, that'd be great," she said as she stepped off the stool and turned down the stereo. "Thanks again for stopping by. Are you any good with a vacuum?"
"I've used my fair share," he responded and she chuckled. "Now, where do you want me to start?"
Scully paused to think and then shook her head. "Doesn't matter Mulder, but I wouldn't start in the bedroom. I have a lot of other stuff to do in there that's going to take awhile."
Mulder nodded and went to where he saw the vacuum. Scully turned the stereo up again and then climbed back on her perch to continue cleaning her windows.
Mulder watched her as he vacuumed and had trouble not laughing out loud. Scully was dancing on the top of her stool, singing loudly, apparently forgetting she was not alone in the apartment. Mulder went back to his vacuuming, moving the couch and loveseat out of the way to clean six years of dirt from the carpet. Scully hadn't seriously cleaned in here since she'd joined the X-Files; there just wasn't any time.
Finally, Scully dismounted the stool and moved it into her kitchen. She returned to the living room, this time with Pledge and more paper towels. Kneeling on the carpet where Mulder had already vacuumed, she started cleaning her end tables and coffee table. Mulder continued through the rest of the apartment, skipping over the bedroom as he was instructed.
When he returned to the living room, he found Scully standing on her coffee table, Dustbuster in hand, trying to remove the cobwebs from her chandelier. Walking up behind her, he put his hands around her waist and lifted her up.
Scully looked down in a moment of panic and the chuckled. "Thanks, I guess I'm just not tall enough."
"That's okay, Scully," he said, setting her down on the ground when she was done. "What's next?"
Scully pushed aside some hair that had fallen in her face. Her face looked extremely thoughtful and then she nodded, having come to some sort of inner decision. "We tackle the kitchen. I need to go through the cabinets and see what can go. And I need to mop in there." She looked up at him. "Ready to do this?" He nodded. "Let's go then."
Five hours later, the two agents collapsed on Scully's couch, completely drained of energy. Both were covered in dust, dirt, and other unidentifiable stains. Mulder was sore from moving furniture. Scully had a cut on her leg from an over-anxious cabinet door.
But the apartment was immaculate. Aside from what resided on the two humans, not a speck of dust was to be found. Every little thing was in its place, right down to the last sock in the top drawer of Scully's dresser.
Mulder glanced around the living room. "We do good work, Scully."
Scully smiled at him. "We do." Her stomach rumbled and they both chuckled. "Pizza?" she asked.
He pondered her suggestion for a moment. "Chinese."
Scully's eyes lit up, and she made a happy noise. Mulder laughed. "I assume that's a yes?" She nodded enthusiastically. "All right." He reached over for the phone and placed the call.
Fifteen minutes later, Mulder was answering the door and paying the delivery boy. He walked back over Scully and settled down on the floor in front of the coffee table, where Scully had set up plates and drinks.
"After all our work, if you get Chinese anywhere, I'll shoot you," Scully warned him.
Mulder chuckled. "Again. Shoot me again."
"Whatever."
The two ate in a comfortable silence, then moved back up to the couch to watch the Mets vs. Braves game. Scully tried to feign interest as Mulder explained the inner workings of the game, but was asleep by the sixth inning.
She awoke suddenly, and was surprised to find herself in her bed. She rolled over to look at the clock, but she had to move a slip of paper to read the numbers. They read 1:24. How did I end up here, she thought before reading the paper she had picked up. She recognized Mulder's scrawl.
"Dear Scully,
You fell asleep watching the game, and I figured you wouldn't be too comfortable on the couch all night. Don't worry, I put away the rest of the Chinese, so your living room won't reek of lo mien tomorrow.
Give me a call when you wake up in the morning so I'll know when to expect you.
Sweet dreams,
Mulder"
Scully smiled to herself. Mulder can be so cute sometimes, she thought, before drifting back to sleep.
27 June 1999
11:34 AM
"Mulder."
"Hey, Mulder. It's me."
"Hi, Scully. Have a good night's sleep?" he asked, hoping she wasn't mad at him for having moved her to her bed.
"Yes, I did. Thank you," she replied, and he relaxed. "Listen, how's about I pick up something from Michael's Deli so we can eat before we get started?"
"Sounds great," he answered.
"Okay. I'll see you in, say, half an hour?"
"'Kay."
12:05PM
"Hey, Scully." Mulder moved aside and Scully walked into his apartment.
"Hey," she replied. She waved a white paper bag in front of his nose. "Salami on rye with mustard, lettuce, and" She wrinkled her nose. "Pickles."
"Oh, Scully, you are a queen among women," Mulder said happily. "What do you have against pickles, anyway?"
"I usually have nothing against pickles, Mulder. But on salami?"
"It's good!"
"Uh-huh," she replied, unconvinced. She glanced around. "Wow. You're already got everything all covered up. I'm impressed."
"Thank you."
"So what color are you painting this place?" Scully asked, sitting down at Mulder's table and handing him his sandwich.
"Basically the same color it is now," he replied. "I just got tired off looking at the cooking stains on the kitchen wall the caulking from filling in bullet holes the water stain at the base of the wall in the bedroom"
"I get the point," Scully interrupted. "I don't think I want to know about any other stains there might be."
Mulder raised his eyebrows. "Scully, what are you thinking?"
Scully gave him an annoyed look. "Mulder eat."
He was going to push the issue but his stomach overruled his mouth. He tossed Scully a beer and began to eat.
They finished quickly and Mulder tossed the wrappers in the garbage. "All right," he said, handing Scully a brush. "Ready?"
"Yes oh wait." Scully dug into her bag and pulled out a blue bandana, tying it around her pony-tailed hair. She looked back up to see Mulder grinning. "What?"
"Scully, in those overalls and that bandana, you look like you should milking a cow somewhere."
She crossed her arms across her chest and glared. "Shut up, Mulder."
"Sure, Ellie Mae."
She glared again.
"Sorry. Couldn't resist." He flashed her a grin. "Forgive me?"
She lasted about five seconds before caving. "Yes, Mulder. Besides, if I look like Ellie Mae, you look like Kramer. Where in the world did you get that ugly shirt?"
He chuckled. "A loving gift from my Aunt Linda. I was going to chuck it when I realized I could use it for situations like this."
"Aunt Linda must be interesting," Scully replied.
"Not especially. She just has really bad taste."
"Mulder!" Scully admonished, but couldn't keep from laughing.
"Well, it's true!" Mulder exclaimed.
"Let's get started," Scully said, shaking her head at her partner and dipping the brush in the paint.
They slowly worked their way around the living room, all the time talking about everything from mothmen to the Olympics to Indiana Jones. They progress on to the foyer, then to the kitchen, and finally to the bedroom.
"So this is it. The famous waterbed," Scully said, standing with hand on hip.
"Well, it's a normal mattress now," Mulder interjected. "After the last incident, I figured I shouldn't take any chances."
Scully shook her head and started over to the bed, stopping halfway there. She craned her head around to look at the top of the bed. "Mirrors, Mulder?"
"I don't know, Scully."
"Didn't you put them there?"
"Ilet's just paint, okay?"
"Sure, fine, whatever."
It was several hours and many cans of paint later that the two agents sat themselves down at Mulder's table and finished their beers. Both had splatters of beige on their jeans and t-shirts. Scully looked at Mulder and grinned.
"You know what I could really go for?"
Mulder leered at her. "Scully."
She rolled her eyes. "Ice cream, MulderI want some ice cream."
"Oh." Damn. "Um, I think I have some in the freezer," he said, getting up.
"No, Mulder, just sit. I'll get it; would you like some?"
Mulder nodded. "Sure okay."
Scully got up and went into the kitchen. Mulder leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. I wonder how old the ice cream is in there, he asked himself and then tried to remember what else was in his freezer. Orange juice concentrate, frozen burritos, ice cubes
"Oh fuck!" He jumped out of his chair. "Scully, I don't think"
"Mulder, what is this?"
Mulder came to a complete halt in the middle of his small kitchen. There his partner stood with a small test tube in her hand. "Mulder, what is this?" she asked again.
"It's, umlook, I can explain everything."
"Tell me what's in here, Mulder," she asked with a forced calm. What she wanted to do was shake him until he gave her an answer.
"I, uhwell, remember, a few years ago, back whenwell, you knowthe whole thing with Dr. Scanlon"
"Yes Mulder, the memory is quite vivid."
"Well, remember how I told you that I went to the research facility; I saw the Kurtsand well, while I was there, one of the Kurts showed me a drawer. There were lots of drawers"
"What was in the drawers, Mulder?"
"Wellthings," he stuttered. Scully looked most unamused.
"Damn it, Mulder!" she yelled.
"There your eggs Scully, all right?"
Scully's jaw dropped and she stood silently, waiting for the punch line. Mulder didn't say anything, instead collapsing into the nearest chair. He put his head in his hands.
"I wanted to tell you, Scullybut I didn't know how, or what you could do about it. I didn't want to make anything any harder for you than it already was. You'd just found out about your cancer; you didn't even know why you couldn't have children"
"But you knew, Mulder! You should have told me! What gave you the right to keep something like this from me; this was my body, my life Mulder! How dare you!?"
"Scully, you gotta understandI couldn't just tell you over coffee 'oh by the way Scully, I have your eggs in my freezer; do you want to pick them up after work?' How would that sound?"
"Mulder, you held the truth from me. Haven't we always been about the truth? How many other lies have you told me; how many other things have you kept from me?"
"But Scully"
"Shut up!" she hollered. "I'm not done! I can't believe you did this to me. Six years, Mulder. Six years! We've been partners for over half a decade and after all you said to me in the hallway that day" She looked even angrier, if that was possible. "You said that to me to keep me; so you wouldn't lose me. So you wouldn't lose your little lackey. Mulder, you said you loved me!"
"Oh Christ! Scully, would you just calm down?"
"I will not fucking calm down!
Mulder feared for his life at that moment. He had never seen Scully this angry. Ever. "Scully, please"
"Do you have an explanation for yourself, Mulder?"
Mulder hung his head. "No, I guess not." She was silent. Yup, she's pissed. "UmI'm sorry?"
"You're SORRY?" Mulder flinched as her voice echoed off the empty walls. "MulderI don't even know how to respond to that!" She slammed her empty fist down on the table. "Get out!"
"Scully," he said, barely above a whisper. "This is my apartment."
He didn't look up but he heard the door slam. "Aw, shit."
28 June 1999
10:21AM
The Basement Offices
J. Edgar Hoover Building
Mulder sat down at his desk and stared at Scully's empty desk. It had been empty all morning; he assumed it would be empty for the rest of the day. He'd almost called her a few times, but he couldn't let the phone ring more than once before hanging up.
"Agent Mulder?"
Mulder jumped, looking up to see his boss. "Yes sir?"
Assistant Director Skinner looked over at Scully's desk. "Where is your partner?"
Mulder shrugged. "Iwell, she's not really talking to me right now"
"Damn it, Mulder, what did you do?"
"Somethingvery very bad. Sir."
"Mulder?" Skinner said, eyebrows raised.
"No, sir, nothing like that. Agent Scully and I have a purely professional relationship."
Skinner had to contain his laughter at that statement. If there were two agents whose relationship was completely unprofessional, it was Mulder and Scully. "Yes, of course Mulder. So what did you do?"
"Ioh sir, you wouldn't understand."
"Mulder, you don't have to tell me what happened, but you and Agent Scully have to resolve this issue. And soon."
"Yes sir," Mulder said. "I'm trying sir."
"Wellgood then." Skinner walked out the door.
1 July 1999
6:25 PM
Georgetown, VA
Mulder sat outside Scully's apartment building, staring up at her third floor living room window.
What the hell am I supposed to say to her, he thought, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. He had been sitting there, in his car, for half an hour. His frown deepened, and for the umpteenth time he seriously considered just going home.
Movement in another room caught his eye. He turned his head to see Scully peeking out from between the curtains of her bedroom window. She scanned the parking lot. Mulder slouched down in his seat, hoping she wouldn't see him. She recognized, however, his black Honda Accord, and he winced as she angrily drew the curtains tight again and disappeared.
Knowing he had been discovered and figuring he'd better act, Mulder dragged himself out of the car and up the steps into Scully's building. He approached apartment number 35 warily, but knocked.
There was no answer. He tried again. Nothing.
"Scully?" he called. "Scully, I know you're in there. Open the door." She didn't answer. "Scully come on. Please?" He waited for a minute. "Fine. I'm using my key." He unlocked the door only to encounter the chain lock. "Damn it! Scully!"
"Get the hell away from me!"
Mulder jumped back surprised by the sound of his partner's voice. "Scully? Scully! Let me in!"
"NO!"
"I'll kick the door in!" Mulder threatened.
"Mulder, if you do that, I'll have you arrested for illegal entry."
Mulder thought about that. He'd been arrested for worse; this didn't seem like too terrible of a crime. "You'll have to do better than that Scully. On the count of three, I'm coming through. Get out of the way."
Scully was silent.
"One," he said, backing up from the door. "Two," he called, lifting his leg from the thigh. "THREE!" he yelled, and sent the sole of his foot towards the door
And ended up face first on Scully's floor. She opened the door, he thought as he turned himself over. Scully was looking down at him from behind the door, still angry but with a self-satisfied smile on her face. Apparently, she'd liked her little prank.
"Well Mulder, you're in my apartment. Now you can leave."
"Scully, you're still mad at me, aren't you?"
We've got a real quick one here, she thought. "Very good, Mulder. Yes, I'm still mad at you."
"I'm not leaving."
She sighed. She couldn't physically throw him out of the apartment, and she really didn't feel like getting the police involved in this matter on the off chance she ever decided to forgive him.
"What do you want?"
"I need you, Scully."
"Oh you do?"
"Yeah, at work. Skinner needs you too. The X-Files isn't the same without you."
"Skinner wouldn't have hid my eggs from me."
"Shit, Scully" he whined. "Will you at least tell me where you've been so I can tell Skinner if you're coming back any time soon?"
"I went home to my mother."
Mulder sighed. "I suppose you talked to Bill too."
"No, as a matter of fact, I did not talk to my brother. But the only reason I didn't, not that it's any of your business, is because he's in Japan right now."
"Oh." Mulder was suddenly very afraid for his life. "So, what else did you do?"
"I talked to my priest."
"Your priest?" he squeaked out, sounding like a young man going through puberty. "Am I going to hell now?" Scully declined to answer. "Did you" he started quietly, "did you find a way to fix it?"
Scully didn't want to tell him what her doctor had said. "Mulder that's none of your damn business."
"Scully, I may have given you another chance to become a mother. I just want to know if I can relieve my conscience."
"You gave me another chance? Yeah Mulder, you did. After holding it from me for two years. You are a self-centered, over-zealous, self-righteous, guilt-ridden son of a bitch!"
"All right I deserved that," he said, entirely too calmly for Scully's liking. "But would you please answer my question?"
"Yes, Mulder. The doctor can put them in whenever I'm ready. I only have a few tries though, so I have to be sure I'm ready."
"You're ready, Scully. You have been for years."
"I may be ready, but I seem to be missing the other 23 chromosomes needed to produce a child. Where exactly do you propose I find a donor of said chromosomes?"
Mulder shrugged. "There are some nice guys at the office, Scully, or you could go to a sperm bank"
"Oh, that sounds safe"
"The Lone Gunmen would be more than willing to donate"
"Mulder, that's sick"
"You might be able to convince Skinner"
"Mulder!"
"Or" he stopped and his face turned red. "Never mind."
"No, what were you thinking?"
"Nothing, Scully."
"Mulder, you have to say it," she said, suddenly extremely interested and not quite as aggravated with her partner. "Who else did you have in mind?"
"I'll do it, Scully," he said bashfully. "I mean, it's the least I can do after keeping it from you"
"Mulder, are you suggesting a pity fuck?"
"Scully! I was thinking of the test tube and a turkey baster method, but if you want to go at it the old fashioned way"
"Mulder!"
"You suggested it!"
"Mulderwhy am I even listening to this? I'm still mad at youwhy are you still here?"
"Scully," he said calmly, taking her by the upper arms, "you don't want me to leave."
"Iyes I do," she stuttered. "Damn it, Mulder." She cast her eyes down. "Why are you teasing me like this?"
"I am more serious now than I have ever been in my whole life."
Scully, this is ridiculous. You are considering one of the most preposterous liaisons ever...
Shut up, brain.
"You're serious?"
Mulder nodded. "Why would I joke about this, Scully? I watched you with Emily; I know what kind of mother you're going to be and I want to give you a chance to be a mother. If you're clock is ticking that fast, I'm willing to help. This will not be a sacrifice on my part, believe me."
"Mulder, you have to pick up a Playboy and aim into a cup. That doesn't sound like much work to me."
"Well," he said, blushing again. "I was thinking we'd have a bit moreuh, fun, in the conception process."
"Excuse me?"
"Come on Scully, you know what I'm getting at here. Youand me"
"Mulder."
"Yeah?"
"Mulder, that's absurd. We have to have professional boundaries"
"Fuck professional boundaries, Scully. It's not like you don't know how I feel"
"No, Mulder, I don't know how you feel. Care to share?"
"Uh" he looked down at her. "Only if you promise to say you reciprocate."
"Seeing as I don't know how you feel Mulder, I'm not sure my feelings for you are the same."
"But ScullyI already told you once"
"Mulder, you were in hypothermic shock."
"No, I was just faking it really well."
"You were drugged?"
"No," he said, shaking his head. "So, if I've got this right, you're the one who has something to tell me."
Scully opened and closed her mouth several times, doing an awfully good impersonation of a fish. "You were serious?"
He nodded.
"Oh Christ!"
"Scully, I bear my soul to you and all you have to say is 'oh Christ'? I suppose that's better than 'oh brother' although not by much."
"Well excuse me, Mulder; I'm kind of in shock. This isn't the kind of conversation I was expecting us to have at any point in our lives."
"Do you love me, Scully?" he asked, interrupting her rant.
"I"
"First thing that pops into your head, Scullydo you love me?"
"Yes. All right, I love you. Will you leave now?"
"Uh, three guesses Scully, first two don't count."
She started banging her head lightly against his chest. "Did I just say what I think I just said?"
"Yes, Scully. You told me you loved me. But I have something to tell you before this conversation continues."
"Something else?"
"Yeah, Scully, but I think you can handle it." She looked up at him expectantly. "I love you too."
"Oh."
"So are you going to take me up on my offer? Whatever way you want, Scully."
"MulderI think I need to think about this for awhilethis is all very strange" When he fell in, I had all intentions of kicking him right back out and now I'm seriously considering bearing his child. Would this seem odd to anyone else?
"All right Scully," he said, kissing her forehead. "I'll let you think. You just call me when you've made a decision." He paused. "Will I be seeing you at work tomorrow?"
Scully nodded. "Yeah, I have to come in. I don't know what my maternity leave benefits are."
Mulder smiled. "I'll take that as a promising answer to my question." He thought for a moment. "Well, this turned out much better than I thought it would."
Despite the situation, Scully smiled. "Mulder go home."
"Okay, Scully. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay, Mulder."
"G'night Scully."
"G'night Mulder."
"I love you, Scully."
"Don't press your luck, Mulder."
6 July 1999
8:30 PM
*Click* "Today on Today" *Click* "For only 14.98" *Click* "I did all for the Nookie!!"
Mulder looked up, confused. "What the hell is nookie?" *Click* "Have you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?"
"Oh, hell no." *Click* "And we now we continue with the Budweiser Beach Volleyball Championships."
"Ah, God bless ESPN." Mulder slid down further on the couch, but was rudely interrupted by a knock on the door. "Oh, man. Who is it?" he called, irritated.
"It's me."
"Oh shit," he mumbled under his breath. He turned off the TV. "Sorry, Scully. I'm coming." Mulder opened the door, forgetting that he was only wearing a pair of black silk boxers.
"Mulder, I haven't said yes yet," Scully quipped, looking almost amused.
"What? Oh! Jeez. Sorry. Uh, come in. Excuse me," he said, running into his bedroom, tripping over his basketball shoes on the way. He emerged a minute later wearing gray sweatpants.
"No shirt, Mulder?"
"OhI'm, uh, doing laundry."
"Uh-huh. Anyway, I've been thinking."
"Did it hurt, Scully?"
"Muldershut up."
"Sorry."
"Like I said, I've been thinking. A lot. I went back to my mother's."
"Oh, this doesn't sound good."
"Are you going to keep interrupting me?"
"No. I'm sorry." Mulder sat down on his couch and gestured at her. "Continue."
"Thank you. After much consultation, deliberation, and divine inspiration, I have decided that your sperm and my eggs have the highest rate of success in the creation of a fetus."
"So you wanna have my baby."
Scully nodded. "Yeah, basically."
Mulder's face turned red. Scully lifted an eyebrow. "You all right, Mulder? You're not backing out, are you?"
"NO! No. No. Not at all. It's just that are we how are we going to go about this?"
"You mean, are we going to go the 'test tube and turkey baster' method or the 'old-fashioned' way?"
"Um, yeah."
"Well, which would you prefer?"
"Um" Mulder's ears got very red. "I think you know, Scully."
"No, Mulder, enlighten me."
"Scully!!!"
She leaned over and kissed him then. Very hard. He was shocked at first, but then wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her to him. He pulled away for a moment and looked up at her, his eyes playful. "We'll have to practice for a while; make sure all the pieces fit together."
"I can live with that," she said, smiling.
Mulder stood up and picked her up over his shoulder. She squealed playfully, pounding on his back lightly. "Mulder! Put me down!"
"Right under the mirrors, Scully," he said, grinning.
"Mulderjust turn out the lights."
"Will do, Scully." He flipped the switch with his right hand and made his way over to the bed. He lowered her down onto his unmade bed. It was still fairly bright outside even though Mulder had closed his miniblinds. Scully could see his face in the dim light. "Are you sure about this?" he asked
She nodded and then realized he probably couldn't see her head move. "Yes, Mulder, as long as you are."
Mulder kissed her softly. "I've been sure about this for six years, Scully. You shouldn't even have had to ask."
She moved his hands to the buttons on her shirt. "Prove it."
22 November 1999
2: 27 PM
J. Edgar Hoover Building
The Basement Offices
Skinner walked into Mulder and Scully's office as the phone began to ring. Looking around and finding no sign of his agents, he picked up the phone.
"Skinner."
"Um, hello. Is Dana Scully there?"
"No, she's unavailable. Can I take a message?" he asked, sitting down at Mulder's desk, rummaging around for a pencil. He found none in the drawer but about forty were stuck in the corrugated ceiling.
"Um, yes. I suppose. Tell her that the results of hertest have come back positive."
"Test? What test?"
"Um, I don't know if I can tell you this," the young lab technician said.
"Don't worry son, you won't be breaking any rules. Agent Scully's had a lot of tests recently," he lied, "and I want to make sure I give her the results to the right one."
"Oh okay then. The blood work I had to do was for the pregnancy test. It came back positive."
Skinner was silent for a moment. "Thank you. I'll be sure that Agent Scully gets the message." Skinner hung up the phone.
"I am going to kick their asses."
3:04PM
Skinner was sitting on Mulder's desk when the two agents arrived back at the office. Scully and Mulder exchanged confused looks.
"Is there something we can do for you, sir?" Scully asked, sitting down at her own desk.
Mulder looked around and then sat down on Scully's desk so she could still see the Assistant Director.
"No, but I think I should be congratulating you two."
"Excuse me?" Scully asked, afraid to hear where this was going.
Skinner's eyes fell on Scully. "You're pregnant, Agent Scully. I'm not sure how this happened, and I don't think I want to know. You've broken some rules here, agents. You know what this means, right?"
The two agents nodded. "We saw this coming, sir," Scully said. "I have my resignation all typed up. I was just waiting for the good news."
Skinner was shocked. They were both taking this very calmly. Far more calmly than he himself was taking it. "Well, I'll be sorry to see you leave, Agent Scully. You've been invaluable to the department for the past six years." He turned to face Mulder. "Take care of her, Agent Mulder. I don't want to lose one of my best agents because you wanted a little variety in your life."
"Sir, I can assure you, that is not going to happen," Mulder said solidly. "You must have seen this coming."
Skinner nodded. "Honestly? I've had this speech prepared for five years. I was going to be awfully disappointed if I never got to use it." He almost smiled. "Good luck, Agent Scully," he said, getting off the desk and shaking her hand. "You'll make a fine mother."
"Thank you, sir," she said, blushing.
"And you," Skinner said, turning to Mulder.
"Sir?"
"Justbehave yourself, Agent Mulder."
"Yes sir."
"Good then. Scully, I expect your resignation on my desk by the end of the week."
Scully nodded.
"Mulder, our appointment for tomorrow is still on; do not forget about it."
"I'll be there, sir."
Skinner nodded and walked out the door.
The door shut and for a moment, the agents just sat. Mulder shifted to face Scully.
"We're going to have a baby, Scully."
"Yes, that would appear to be the case."
"Scully, you're not happy?" he asked, worried.
Scully smiled at him. "Of course, Mulder. This just changes a lot of things."
"Changes a lot of things? Well, that's true. I mean, this means we should probably move in together. But it would have to be your apartment, cause I only have one bedroom, and you've got a guestroom. Plus, your apartment is a lot nicer than mine. We'd have to refurnish it, though. Blue or pink or yellow. Hey Scully, I wonder if it's a boy or girl, cause if it's a boy, I was thinking maybe William, after our dads, and if it's a girl, maybe Maggie after your mom, or Sabrina"
"Sabrina, Mulder? Where in the world did that come from?"
He shrugged. "A lot of ABC Friday TV. But we don't have to do that. I mean, whatever you want. Hey Scully? Should we get married? Cause that'd be greatbut that's a lot of planning to do, especially when you're pregnant. But we could get our families to help"
"Mulder."
"Oh, we're going to have to tell Bill. He will not be happy with this, Scully."
"Mulder."
"But I think he'll accept it eventually. He'll see how happy we are together, how much I love you"
"Mulder!"
He finally stopped. "What?"
"Would you just shut up for a minute and kiss me?"
"Okay, Scully. I aim to please."
"Thank you, Mulder."