Food for Thought
by Stonewar


-Rating: PG
-Category: V Post-ep
-Keywords: Mulder/Other friendship
-Disclaimer: X-Files characters belong to FOX and 1013. .
-Spoilers: Milagro, eludes to The Unnatural
-Summary: During the aftermath a friend offers a little food for thought.

Authors notes: The is Part of my ANNE series. found at

She lay on his couch sleeping peacefully for the moment. He
watched her chest rise and fall as she breathed. He imagined
he could see her heart beating against the section of chest
exposed by the gaping neckline of her borrowed shirt.

It was stifling in the apartment. He wanted to run his frustrations
away, but he did not dare take his eyes off her for fear she
would. . . Need him? Leave? Fade away?

He paced the length of his apartment from the front room to the
window but that didn't satisfy him since he tried to avoid the spot
on the floor where she had lain in a pool of her own blood. Finally
he threw his front door open to pace the hallway outside. Every
time he walked by his door he would glance in to make sure she
was still sleeping. As he continued his path he would avoid the
spot on the floor of where she had lain another time not so long ago.

The door to the stairwell at the end of the hall opened and a head
peaked out whispering, "All clear?

"All clear," Mulder whispered in return. So she stepped into the hall.
Anne looked different now. Her cheeks were fuller and there was a
little bruising under her eyes from not getting enough sleep. The most
drastic change was that she had hacked off her long wooly brown hair
into a simple jaw-length pageboy. she was also sporting a new accessory
these days, and it was snuggled up against her shoulder snoring softly.

The baby! "Oh God. Anne, I'm sorry about the commotion. How is she?" he asked,
reaching to peel back the blanket for glimpse of the infant's peaceful face.

"She's fine, Mulder. The gunshots woke her, of course, but I got her
back to sleep. " she smiled tiredly.

He was fidgeting with a blanket, body language conveying he was
itching to hold her. So Anne complied laying her daughter in his
arms, then took the opportunity to roll her shoulders while he
whispered ,"Sorry to wake you, little one."

"I even put it in her baby book 'Christie heard her first shot fired
today' and it won't be the last time, Mulder. She's growing up in an urban
area during 21st century." she informed him with a rueful smile
caressing the black downy hair on her child's head. "How's Dana?
I'm probably not the only called 911 when I heard the screams."

Mulder a let out a heavy breath and pulled Christie a little closer.
Only a week old and already giving so much comfort. "Badly shaken.
She had a good cry, now she's sleeping."

Anne raised her eyebrows at the mention of Dana Scully breaking
down in tears but only remarked, "Extreme emotions are exhausting....The
next door neighbor, huh?" she asked eyeing the ajar door down that hall.

"Yep."

"So, who are you moving into this apartment?" She asked with a smirk.

Mulder chuckled softly at her question. Yes, this situation was remarkably
simular to what happened over a year ago when he discovered he was being
survielled from above and Anne graciously agreed to move into the vacated
apartment upstairs.

"Scully?" He suggested.

"Nah!" they disagreed together.

She watched her friend sway with the baby in his arms and inhale
her sweet scent. He sighed and returned Christie to her mother.
"Hmm ... when she wakes up maybe I should send her upstairs.
Christina is better than a sedative. Scully probably could use a
hit of this too. " He suggested tracing a finger along the baby's velvety
cheek and smiled slightly.

"Look at what it did for you. " she added which made him smiled bigger and she gave a motherly caress to his cheek as she moved
past him to glance into his apartment at the sleeping Scully on the
couch. He had never pictured Anne as a mother before. It was a
difficult concept to wrap his mind around all during her pregnacy.
Now she exudes a Maternal aura or something. It was simply
amazing. She cleared her throat to interrupt his musings."I've
been watching a lot of educational TV during my late-night feedings
and you can take my observations as result of postpartum hormones.
But I want to pass on a little food for thought. "

"Go ahead, there's no need for you to qualify your statements like that I
always listen to you," He protested.

"Ok here goes ... I know the word codependant has been tossed
your way a couple times. " he nodded in response. "Here's
something else, trauma bonds."

"I don't think get you," Mulder prompted.

"I know I get a lot of your stories secondhand but I get the
impression you two seem to only get close in times of crisis.
You feel closest or let yourselves open to each solely in
those instances. What you have... I envy that but once this, "
she gestures vaguely around her, "Ends. Memories of crisis is
all that you'll have. I know I'm not the psychologists here but I
think the relationship will be run into trouble if you don't base it
on something good and happy too, not just crisis after crisis. "
she sighed. " Like I said chalk it up to the hormones. I need
to go put this one down and catch a nap myself." She turned
to go back to her apartment upstairs.

"Anne," He called to her, and she turned to acknowledge
him. "I'll think about."

She smiled in response. "Bring her upstairs when she wakes up.
I think you may be on to something with this Baby sedative."She
suggested and continued on her way home.

Mulder turned to his apartment again lingering in the doorway.
"She's right, Scully," He whispered. "We need some more positive
memories to look back on. We need to play."


end