Disclaimer: The characters of Dana Scully and Fox Mulder & The X-Files universe belong to Chris Carter and Ten Thirteen Productions. For me, they also belong to the gifted minds of GA and DD without whom those characters might not have been so intense. I don't intend to steal anything or to make any money with this. This is purely a creative game, a way to train my brain cells, so to speak.

This was my 2nd XF story set after "The Truth", written ages ago, and built up on my first, "Family Blues". Pairing: Mulder/Scully, but Doggett, Reyes & Skinner appear.

Summary: Mulder & Scully continue living their family life in DC (or at least they are trying to)

Hope

Scully woke to the sound of her son's crying. She opened her eyes and checked her alarm clock, hoping that she would be able to crawl back to bed after she would have soothed him. It was 7a.m. - she would get up then, alright. She carefully slipped her body out of the side of her bed and away from Mulder's loose embrace. She was looking for her bathrobe, put it on and tiptoed out of the room.

William was already up in his bed, standing on his mattress and waiting for her to ease his pain. "Oh, angel, what is it?" She leaned towards him and raised him carefully out of his toddler bed. William, still in pain, silenced for the moment of their first embrace. But it didn't take long for him to remember his uneasiness and he started to cry again.

"Shh, it's alright, angel. Is it your teeth?" Scully felt his temperature, checked his stomach and his mouth. Okay, she was right. It was his teeth. She tried to comfort him and further calm him down while rocking him in her arms and whispering, "It's okay. Shh. Everything's okay." into his ear.

She started to move towards the kitchen, hoping that she would find wafers in her ice box. Her mother had just told her recently that frozen wafers had been the only thing to help her when she was growing teeth as a baby. She had been skeptical about that, but that was a couple of days ago. Right now, she would try everything to calm her son down. Holding William on her left side, she started to use her right arm and hand to check the icebox. She was lucky. She found a package of perfectly wrapped wafers, with a note from her mother's. "Just in case. Love, mom."

"Oh mom.", Scully sighed, but she was relieved. Carefully unwrapping the wafers, she suddenly felt a slight wave of nausea. She put her hand on the kitchen counter and closed her eyes for an instant. William, sensing his mother's imbalance, was quiet for another moment before he continued to crank. "Alright.", Scully mumbled, "I guess we better sit down for that. What do you think, William?".

And she crossed the kitchen, aiming at the living room table and the couch. She bend down to place her son on the couch and quickly sat herself when another wave overcame her. She grabbed the recently unwrapped wafer and handed it to William who instantly started to chew on it with delight. Scully managed to shoot a short smile at him before the feeling of dizziness overwhelmed her and forced her to lie back. She tried to take in a long breath but only felt worse. With another quick look at her son, Scully noticed the roller-coaster in her stomach and started to run towards the bathroom. She barely managed to make it on her knees when she threw up. She felt another wave of nausea hitting her and passed out.

Mulder woke to the feeling of not having her beside him. He had dreamed of his capture in the military facility again and he felt the need to hold her close. It took him a second to realize that the doors to the corridor and the bathroom were open. He was awake in an instant, and rushed down the corridor, only to find his son chewing happily on one of the wafers Margaret had given him a couple of days ago with the instruction to put them in the freezer. Mulder reached over the armpit of the couch, raising his son and looking feverishly about the room for Scully.

"Dana?" No answer. "Honey?"

Still, no answer. "William, where is your mother?"

But William just went on chewing, beaming with joy. Mulder was getting nervous. Scully would never leave William unattended like that in the living room. He knew that, for sure. So where could she be? He rushed back to their bedroom to check the bathroom which he remembered to have been dark. He saw the open door again and no lights. When he switched the lights on, he saw her, lying on the floor. She had obviously thrown up and was pale like ice. He quickly put William on Dana's side of the bed and rushed towards the motionless body of his lover.

"Dana!"

He turned her around, looking for some water to refresh her face and brushing strands of hair behind her ears. He felt her pulse and was worried. So he gathered her in his arms, carrying her over to their bed and to William. William, who was still enjoying the delicious pain killer, made a happy quirky sound at the sight of his mother. Mulder carefully laid her on the bed and sat his son a few inches farther onto his side of the bed. He caressed him shortly and fully concentrated on Dana again.

"Honey?" He was worried beyond words. "C'mon, c'mon." He half whispered to himself and caressed her right cheek with his thumb while cupping her face in his hand. His other hand still felt her weak pulse.

He couldn't think. What would Scully do? He was lost. He took her hand into his and placed a long kiss on her left cheek. "Dana, please.", he whispered and felt a minor reaction from her. He breathed in sharply.

"Oh, thank God! What happened?"

Scully felt the world turning around her. She tried to focus on his voice and tried to open her eyes. Blinking, and with a striking headache which seemed to get worse with every movement of her eyes, she started to remember the feeling of nausea and her rush to the bathroom. After a while, she managed to look into Mulder's deeply concerned eyes. Her voice was still hoarse from the vomiting and she whispered, "Where's William?".

"He's fine.", Mulder quickly answered. "Which is completely different with you." He was still caressing her warming cheek and noticed how the color was returning to her face. "What happened?"

"I don't know.", Scully tried to shrug her shoulders and shot a reassuring look at her confident son. "I felt so dizzy and then it seemed to be okay again."

"Well, I have a different understanding of okay.", Mulder couldn't help but utter worriedly.

"No, I mean, suddenly I felt so sick to my stomach and I felt so weak. That must've been when I fainted." She tried to get up but lost the struggle against her body. She was still not feeling alright. "I thought that I called your name. Or maybe I wanted to." Scully wasn't really sure about the chain of events anymore.

Mulder placed another soft kiss on her cheek and grabbed the phone with his left hand. "Okay, you won't tell me to take an aspirin and forget it. I'll call your mother now to baby-sit and then I'll take you to the hospital." He was sure that she would try to interrupt him and convince him not to be ridiculously alert. But he was and couldn't help it. What alerted him even more was that she didn't even argue. She only nodded and reached weakly towards her son to fondle him with the back of her fingers.

After Margaret Scully had arrived a couple of minutes later, Mulder had lifted Dana into his arms again and had carried her to their SUV. He hadn't even tried to put her in the front seat next to him. He had immediately lied her down in the backseat and rushed towards the Georgetown Memorial.

When they had arrived at the hospital, he had carried her inside, yelling for a paramedic, a nurse or a doctor, or someone who could help.

He hadn't left her side since. The doctors had examined her, carefully, and had bombarded him with questions. But he hadn't been able to let them in into many details. He was amply worried.

A couple of hours later, Scully woke up in a hospital bed. Mulder was sitting in a chair at her bedside and must have dozed off. His hand was still lying on hers and she studied his messy hair with a smile. Then she started to look around. She was in a single room with a TV set and with flowers. On the table next to her bed, she detected a vase filled with red roses, some classic DVDs and a phone. Her necklace was lying on the book she had just recently started to read at home. On another table, she spotted a bottle of water and a package of untouched sunflower seeds. She had to smile again and turned towards her lover. While moving her hand to hold his in hers, she also noticed a picture of William and her on Mulder's lap.

She started to caress his hand and waited for him to awake. She didn't have to wait longer than a couple of seconds and he looked up with a relieved smile. "Well, hello gorgeous." He moved closer to her and sat on her bed. "You're going to be fine." And he raised her hand to place a lasting kiss on it.

Scully's smile broadened. She tried to sit up and thanked Mulder with a tender kiss when he helped her. "Now, did they find out what hit me?", she asked, nodding in the direction of the medical reports.

"Not fully.", Mulder replied. "They are still waiting for some test results but they were already calmed when your condition started to steady about two hours ago." He handed her the medical data he had been given and laid his right arm over her stomach.

Scully studied her results, looking for some calming answers. But there were none. She returned the papers and leaned forward to kiss her lover. "Okay, and when did they say they would let me go home?"

Mulder shook his head. "Not before the rest of the test result are here. They are still worried." He placed another kiss on her soft lips. "And so am I."

Scully sighed. "Alright then. What is your theory?"

"My theory?" Mulder played along.

"Yes." Scully smirked. "Was I infected with some alien virus because I ate something that you didn't? Or was I bitten by some kind of extraterrestrial insect?"

Mulder shook his head. "No, no, I already called our experts. They didn't dig up anything, yet."

Scully raised her eyebrow. "Our experts?" She sighed again. "Oh, no! Please tell me that you didn't call Monica and John."

"Well, I was really worried." He kissed her again, mockingly at first, but more sincere with the time. "Dana, I found you in our bathroom this morning, unconscious, pale, barely breathing. You had trouble to wake up and weren't able to sit up at all. You threw up and slept for almost 12 straight hours." He grabbed her hand again. "I was so afraid of losing you."

Scully could see the painful feelings that were crawling up to his surface. He had told her about his difficulties he had had when they had been separated. She knew about his nightmares and the haunting pictures of his capture. She knew about the pain he had felt when he had learned about the adoption of their son. And she knew about the joy he felt when he was with the two of them. Sometimes, she wondered if he really told her everything. Right now, she saw everything, in his eyes. The sorrow, the pain, the helplessness, the fear, the struggle.

She moved her hand up to his face, fondling his lips with her thumb and giving him one of her warmest smiles. "Darling, I didn't mean to cause you any pain."

Kissing her thumb, he smiled back. "It wasn't your fault. We don't know yet what might've caused your current state of health. But Doggett and Monica are working on it." He took her hand again to kiss her palm and went on, "They are checking the local hospitals for emergency patients. Until now, no one showed similar symptoms."

"That's good." Scully leaned her head against his chest.

Mulder instantly started to caress her head. "I hope so. The doctor said that he wants to wait 24 hours. If, by then, there aren't any other patients with your symptoms, it might just be a harmless virus."

"Yes, or it might just be an experimental one I was infected with way back." She sounded sad. But Mulder shook his head. "No, I don't think so. It's been too long since then."

"Yes, I know. But during and after my pregnancy with William, I also reacted to the tests they had performed on me." She nuzzled closer to him while going on, "What if I'm pregnant again?" The concern in her voice was overruled by Mulder's sudden change of mood.

"What?" He leaned his head down to meet her gaze when she raised hers. "Do you think that's possible?"

Scully tried to hide her concern and started to switch into her scientific tone of voice. "Mulder, the entire reason for sex is to reassure the..."

Mulder completely ignored her remark with an I'm old, not stupid look and gave her another short kiss. "Do you really think that you could be pregnant?"

Scully shrugged. "Mulder, I was pregnant before. I don't know any reasons why it shouldn't happen again. And it's not that we did take any precautions."

Mulder's eyes widened. He leaned down to kiss her belly and looked up into her piercing blue eyes. "Honey!"

Scully tried to soothe him. "Mulder, darling. I didn't say that I was pregnant. I just said that it might be an option." She cuddled up with him again. "Besides, I don't even know if I want to have another child." She felt Mulder's disappointment at her remark and went on, "After all I've been through with William. After all we've been through. His mental powers, my state of health, the insecurity, the threats. Mulder, I'm afraid that I wouldn't have the strength for that again."

Mulder had placed another kiss onto her head when he felt her true concern. The idea of having another child with the woman he loved so much had fogged his mind for a moment. But he understood her scruples. He hadn't been there in the first 6 months of her difficult pregnancy. He had felt alienated when he had discovered the progressive state of her pregnancy and then, he had had to leave her alone. It had been hard for him, no doubt, but it must have been hell for her as well. They only had had a couple of happy days before he had gone into hiding to protect them But she had had to face more then the loneliness he sometimes hadn't thought he could bare. She had been forced to be a single mother with a full-time job whose baby's life was threatened and who had to face all her doubts about his existence alone.

Mulder hugged her closer, whispering, "Dana, I'm sorry. I just love you and William so much that I hope that I would have been able to experience his growth along with you. That I would've been there to help you, to spoil you, to love you." He placed another gentle kiss onto her hair. "I wouldn't want to put you through such a challenge again. But I would have to lie if I had to say that it wouldn't make me ecstatically happy to have another child with you my love."

Dana exhaled. She was touched by his words, but she still couldn't deny her feelings of doubt and uneasiness. She freed herself from his embrace and kissed him passionately. "Mulder, after all we've been through, there's not been one day I wasn't happy about William. And there's not been one day I wasn't happy about you having given him to me." She kissed him again. "But I'm honestly afraid."

"I know.", Mulder assured her quietly. "But this time, I won't go anywhere."

Scully knew that he truly believed his words, but she also feared that, again, he might not have much choice in that matter. Before she could find the right words for her concern, she heard a soft knocking on the door. "Come in." It was Monica Reyes.

Monica welcomed her with a sunny smile and a box of candy. "Dana! Good to see that you are up and well after all." She bent down to hug her. "But you look exhausted."

Scully was happy to see her and tried to brush away her feelings for a moment. Squeezing Mulder's hand, she knew that he understood.

"How are you, now?" Monica asked while sitting down.

"Well, I don't really know," Scully admitted. "I've been better though."

"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about." She handed her the box of candy and went on, "But just in case, I brought my favorite chocolate from that tiny little store in New York which sells the best French sins. It's like heaven traveling on your tongue." Monica was cheerful as ever. "So now, what did the doctor say? Will you be home any time soon?"

"We don't know yet," Scully replied while trying a piece of chocolate. She couldn't help but let a moan escape her lips at the deliciousness of the candy. "Hmm, you definitely have to give Mulder here the address for the next Valentine's Day."

"Yes, of course," she beamed. "They have so many different delicacies in that store, I'm sure you'll always find something new." She smiled at Mulder and handed him a little card. "That's the store," whispering, "Just in case Dana should be pregnant again in one of these days."

Mulder's breathing stopped and he shot a sheepish look at Scully. Scully, closing her eyes on Monica's remark, took a deep breath and bit her lip. Monica noticed the uneasiness of her friends and decided to cut the awkwardness of the moment. "Did I miss something?"

Scully had raised her folded hands in front of her mouth, shaking her head and giggling. "Well, actually we had just come to the possible conclusion that I might be expecting another child." She sighed. "Regarding my feelings of nausea and my morning sickness, the signs hint to that option."

Monica beamed again, but while looking at her friends' facial expressions, she understood. "Oh," was all she could think of.

"Exactly," Dana replied and Mulder only answered with a forced smile.

When Agent Doggett entered the room, the three friends were still sitting in silence. Scully was the first one to notice him and shot him a little smile.

"Dana. Good to see you up already." Doggett moved closer to her bed, padding Mulder on the shoulder and leaning over Scully to place a friendly kiss on her cheek. Then, he took a few steps back and rested his hands on Monica's shoulders. "Any news yet from the doctors?"

Monica, Mulder and Dana shook their heads in unison. Sensing that he might have interrupted something, he asked foolishly, "Okay, what is it? Did I step on somebody's feet?"

Monica looked up at him, inviting him to sit on the armpit of her chair. She sighed and shook her head again with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "No, no. We are just waiting for the test results.".

John sat down and looked at his partner - he was confused. "Do they expect devastating news?" He turned his head to look at Mulder who seemed to be absentminded and lost in fondling Scully's hands. "Oh, c'mon guys, you start to frighten me a little bit. Is it really that bad?"

Scully replied with another small smile on her lips and momentarily closed her eyes. She raised her eyebrows and looked straight at him after reopening her eyes again. "John, did you find anything about my symptoms? Is there any other woman who is in a comparable condition?"

Doggett shook his head. "No. We checked all the hospitals and couldn't find anyone, be it women or men."

Scully nodded to herself. "Okay. Could you do me a favor and check the X-Files for any such cases?"

Doggett shot another irritated look at Monica Reyes. "AD Skinner is at this right now. He asked for the files a couple of hours ago." He re-addressed Mulder. "Have you heard from him yet?"

Mulder, who was still lost in thoughts, had put his hand on Scully's belly, caressing it carefully while loosing himself in the depth of her bright blue eyes. He smiled when Dana spoke to him. He saw her lips forming his name and started to brush of his thoughts. "Excuse me?"

Doggett repeated his question and mouthed a short what the... in the direction of his partner.

"No, Walter didn't call. Not yet at least," Mulder answered, not taking his eyes off Scully. "But I don't think that he'll find anything in the X-Files, anyway."

Doggett felt Monica's hand squeezing his arm. It was gentle at first and more insistent when he went on asking. "You don't? So you do have an explanation for your wife's condition?"

Mulder smiled at Doggett's slip of words, still staring into Dana's eyes. "My wife, John, might be expecting another miracle. And for the time being, I'd like to accept this as the most plausible and wonderful explanation." He leaned forward to place a passionate kiss on Scully's welcoming lips before he went on. "And until I am proven the exact contrary, I want to believe that this time, everything will go by the books." Mulder mouthed a short I love you to Dana. "This time, I will be here, to protect my family. I don't want to chase ghosts of the past. Not now. I want to experience every precious moment of this, and unless you show me proof, I will not look for truths that aren't out there."

Monica nodded, with a sad little smile on her face. She understood. And she knew that they needed some time for themselves. She padded her partner's arm and indicated him to leave along with her, whispering, "C'mon, John. Let's go and wait outside." She nearly shoved him out of the room. "Let's leave them alone."

After Monica had closed the door quietly, Dana broke her silence. "Darling, please, don't set your hopes on something that isn't even medically verified, yet." She smiled. It was one of her warm smiles. His words had touched her, she could feel his sincerity. "How long do you think you can live up to your own expectations of not questioning if this time, everything will proceed normally?"

Mulder pulled Dana into a warm embrace. "I don't know. I just feel that everything will be different this time." In between his words, he placed soft kiss on her head and neck, waking her need to feel him closer. "You told me that you believed in the dead watching over us, didn't you? I experienced how they can guide us in times of challenge. I told you about those experiences. I didn't have them since." He loved to feel how her body was cuddling closer to him and how her hands moved up and down his back. "Maybe this is the hope we were looking for. Another miracle, another existence, another sparkle of life."

Scully placed a long kiss on Mulder's chest on his words. Maybe he was right, maybe, she was too skeptical again. Maybe, this time, things would really be different. This time, things needed to be different for her. She needed his love more than ever. His support. His strength. His faith. His determination.

For the moment, she tried to hide herself away from the world in his arms. She let herself fall, tried to allow her feelings to crawl up to the surface and her heart to be protected by him.

When the doctor entered the room, he brought Assistant Director Skinner along with him. He cleared his throat at the sight of the bundle of lovers and handed Scully the latest test results. "Well, Dr. Scully, you can go home now. None of the tests show any hint to an infection of any kind." Dana, having loosened her embrace with Mulder a bit, exhaled with a relieved smile. "Furthermore, you are in a perfect state of health. We will prescribe you a homeopathic drug to weaken your symptoms of morning sickness and nausea, and you are free to go home to your family."

Mulder kissed Dana passionately at the news. Skinner was still a little confused and asked, "So, you mean, she's fine?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes, of course. It's typically normal to show these kinds of symptoms in the first weeks of a pregnancy." And he went on at Skinner's bewildered expression. "Sometimes, the symptoms only occur sporadically. Sometimes, they are more severe, and we recommend to treat them with homeopathy. However, it's really nothing to worry about." The doctor moved closer to the overwhelmed couple and offered his hand to the parents-to-be. Mulder, not being able to make much of a comment, gladly accepted his gesture and shook his hand with joy. "Congratulations then. I would recommend to come in for check-ups every two weeks. Just in case, you know." He spoke calmly to Scully, not wanting to upset her. "Your mother outside informed me about the difficulties of your first pregnancy. So I recommend to take precautions with you more carefully this time."

Scully was overwhelmed by the wave of positive feelings that overcame her. Her concerns, her fear, her doubts seemed to be blown away by a row of words. She went on smiling at the doctor who was happy to see his patient fully recovered by now. "If we would have known beforehand that you are pregnant, we wouldn't have had to scare your husband so deeply. We could have categorized your symptoms more easily in the first place. But, I take it now that you yourself were totally unaware of your current condition. Well, you have another seven months to get used to it. But you should try to take it easy. Like I said, just in case."

He shook Scully's hand and turned to leave the room. "I will send your family and friends in for you now."

Skinner was still startled. Mulder couldn't stop kissing his lover. He was too excited to have been proven right and too ecstatic about Scully being pregnant with their second child.

Scully was happy about the good news herself. The skeptic in her, however, still hoped that everything would keep on going well. She softly broke from one of Mulder's emotional kisses and moved his hand to touch her belly. She smirked, "But remember, I get to choose the name.". Mulder's right eyebrow darted high. "So, Rob and Laura are off the naming list then?", he answered with a chuckle. "I would bet on that.", Scully gave back through a giggle. "And, you promised to spoil me this time."

He nodded. "Oh, sure. That you didn't forget. But when I ask you to listen to my theories..."

"I only try to remember the important things in life."

"Like Brady Bunch character traits?" Mulder chuckled again. "Or Buddhist visions?"

"No, more important things like promises you made to me or ways to make your husband pay for your morning sickness and swollen feet."

"But where would you get information like that?"

"You know, as a single mother, I got to spend a lot of time on the internet."

"No kidding?" Mulder teased her. "And there I thought that you were looking for me."

"Actually I was. And then, sometimes, I was thinking of what I would do to you when you returned." She teased back. "You had the pleasure to enjoy plan A, now it's time to try plan B."

Mulder tried hard to look scared. "Ew, so we're done with the pleasure part then? Yup, I guess we're really married now."

Scully rolled her eyes mockingly. "Well, depends on your perspective."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. After your green mud masks and your discussions on tooth paste, how much more possible pain could I have to face?" Mulder placed another loving kiss onto her lips before she could utter a new remark. He knew how much she hated to be silenced like this but she just looked too adorable, word-wrestling with him.

On the sound of William's quirks, the couple broke their kiss and noticed the audience around them. Scully blushed slightly and Mulder got up to get their son from his mother-in-law. Margaret Scully handed him her grand-son and quickly moved over to her daughter's bed to hug her close, whispering "I'm so happy for you." into her ear. Monica and John stood at the end of Scully's bed, arm in arm and observing the scenery. Skinner was still awed by the recent news and events and slowly found his way to congratulate his former agents. When he placed a soft kiss on Scully's cheek, he whispered "Congratulations." in her direction. And he padded Mulder's shoulders, adding, "Take good care of her, will you." And he reassured them that he had not found a single matching file to her symptoms.

On the next day, Scully woke to the smell of freshly heated wafers and vanilla tea. She slowly opened her eyes when she felt her son's tiny hands playing with her hair. The sun was tickling her nose and Mulder began to massage her feet at the other end of their bed. He leaned over to kiss her softly and poured some tea into her favorite cup. Sitting up, she smiled at the harmony of the new day. A single red rose was standing next to her bed and Mulder had turned on her favorite classical music. Her smile broadened.

"So, I take it you found my plan B?" Scully said softly.

Mulder nodded, crawling up to kiss her again. "Is that how you pictured it, my love?"

"No," she whispered. "Better."

"Good then." Mulder smiled back at her while cuddling up with his son and his lover. He placed another soft kiss on her belly and started to feed her with the wafers.

Dana, hugging her son and indulging in the feeling of being with the man she loved beyond words, shared a wafer and a kiss with her lover. "I guess you were right," she whispered. "There is hope."

The End