Hey there everyone, so here it goes. The X-files and the characters don't belong to me. I just used them for my own entertainment and yours as well, I hope. I also don't own the song Gravity by John Mayer, but I heard it while I couldn't come up with a title or chapter titles for the story so it became the inspiration.
This story came to me while I was contemplating how much Mulder and Scully's lives just seem to suck. I was watching Season Eight and thought to myself, what if Mulder had come back sooner?
So that is the basis here. It is a what might have happened if Mulder wasn't found to be dead at the end of This Isn't Happening. How will he react when he finds out Scully is pregnant and will he be able to let her and the baby be a priority in his life or will the X-files always be more important.
Anyway, it is clearly MSR as well as some angst and fluff thrown in for good measure. I hope you like it. Please give me feedback, good or bad. if it sucks I want to know so I can rewrite it. I also have a much fluffier version of this I was working on. If anyone is interested in seeing that please let me know.
Gravity is Working Against Me
Panic resonated in Dana Scully's voice as she ran towards the group standing around Fox Mulder's crumpled body. "How bad is he hurt?" she yelled again. When no one said anything she continued to push her way passed Doggett, to Mulder's side. It was both clear and, at the same time, completely unfathomable to her why everyone was just standing around. As she dropped to the ground beside Mulder, she reached out and touched his face. His body was cold and his skin felt clammy. Every ounce of her doctor-brain told her that Mulder was dead and there was nothing she could do about it but, her heart and her soul was screaming to her 'you have to save him'.
As she ran her hand over his cheek again she noticed something, he had moved. Had she imagined it, was it what she wanted to see or had he actually moved. She touched him again and leaning in, whispered to him, "Mulder?" This time it was palpable, his eye lids fluttered. "Oh my God," she gasped. Then she exclaimed loudly, so everyone could here, "He is alive. Get the medics over here, now!"
The next couple hours were some of the most chaotic and terrifying in Scully's life. By the time she finally found herself sitting by Mulder bedside in his hospital room, she was dead tired. Monica Reyes came quietly into the room. Without taking her eyes off Mulder, Scully said, "If you are here to try and convince me to go home, Agent Doggett and Skinner already tried. And I will tell you the same thing I told them, Mulder needs me here and I need to be here."
"I, actually, wasn't going to try and convince you to leave." Reyes replied. "I was just coming to bring you these." She handed Scully a small brown paper bag and a plastic shopping bag. "You should try and get some rest, if not for yourself, then for the baby." With a nod, Reyes left the room.
Scully opened the plastic bag, inside was a change of clothes. She smiled and set it aside, turning her attention to the paper bag. It contained a sandwich wrapped in deli paper and a drink. Staring into the bag Scully's brain sent her back in time. Sitting in the car with Mulder, seven years ago, in front of the house where Tooms was living. 'Mulder, I wouldn't put myself on the line for anybody but you.' She could hear his response in her mind, as if he were saying the words now, 'If there is an ice tea in that bag, could be love.' She pulled the drink bottle from the bag Reyes had given her and smiled to herself as she looked at the root beer bottle. Looking back on it, all those years ago, she was already fated to end up here; even then she would have followed Mulder to the ends of the earth.
Scully closed her eyes and dropped her head for a moment taking a deep breath. Then, she un-wrapped her sandwich and began to eat. As she finished and leaned back in the chair, she felt the baby move around. It was a newer sensation, something that had started to happen in the past couple days. She had heard that it took longer for women to feel the baby move with a first pregnancy, and she could understand why; it was barely a fluttering at first. She was also noticing that she was beginning to show but only slightly, she could still hide it if she chose her clothes carefully. "Sorry baby," she whispered, running a hand over her abdomen. "I forgot to eat like I should have today. I promise to do better tomorrow."
When she had finished the sandwich, Scully crumpled up the wrapper and threw it in the bag by her feet. She let her eyes drift back over Mulder's unconscious figure on the bed. Her sight settled on his face; he looked like hell. She couldn't imagine what he must have gone through. The scares and bruising looked exceptionally painful. Shifting her eyes, she examined the readings on the monitors registering his weak vital signs. "Damn it, Mulder," she muttered, reaching forward and taking hold of his hand. "You can't do this to me. I need you to be okay. I need you to wake up. I need you here. I need… you," she finished, leaning forward and resting her forehead against the edge of his bed.
The baby moved again. Scully felt a teardrop as it slid down her cheek. All her medical knowledge about pregnancy had come flooding back to her, as she experienced each stage of her own. She knew that in the next few weeks other people would be able to feel the baby move, too. Would Mulder?
Images constantly bombarded her; they had since the moment she had found out she was pregnant and heard he was missing. It was a cruel trick her mind played on her. She could picture Mulder sitting on the coffee table across from her as she sat on the couch; he was talking to her stomach, explaining something about baseball to the baby. She could see him smile as he rested a hand on her belly and felt the baby kick. The most common image she saw was him with his arms full of a tiny baby bundled in blankets, the biggest, sweetest Mulder smile on his face.
She squeezed her eyelids tight and whispered to herself, "Stop, stop it." She couldn't think about it. The moment she had seen him move, that small slight movement as he lie on the ground, she had let all the hopes she had pushed aside rush back, but what if he wasn't okay. The doctor hadn't even come to tell her anything yet. She let her mind focus on that; where was the damn doctor?
Eventually, she heard the door open and sat back up. The doctor was reviewing the chart as he entered the room. "I am sorry it took me so long, Agent Scully. We had a rush of trauma cases."
"How is he doing?" Scully interrupted. She really didn't care where the doctor had been, she just wanted news about Mulder.
"Despite having weak vitals and obviously being unconscious, Mr. Mulder actually appears to be in decent health. There is some obvious damage to his body, evident by the scarring. Other than that, I can't actually give you a reason for his state. It is possible that the trauma he faced has pushed him into unconsciousness and it is a matter of time to see if he wakes up." The doctor finished and looked back at the chart.
"So basically, you are telling me that you don't know why he isn't awake and there isn't anything you can do about it. We just have to wait it out?"
"Basically, yes. As a medical doctor yourself, I am sure you appreciate this type of situation. As you know, the body is often a mystery. I assure you that we are doing all we can to help Mr. Mulder. Please let a nurse know if you need anything." And with that, he left.
Grabbing hold of Mulder's hand with both of hers Scully looked at his face. "Mulder," she whispered. "I know where you are. I have been there. I know it is comfortable and safe. But, I also know that you know I am here. Mulder, I need you. Please come back." Now, the tears were streaming down her face. She pressed her face against his body and fell asleep in next to Mulder's bed.
That is where Skinner found her the following morning and every other morning of the week. It was all he could do to get her to shower and change clothes. She wouldn't leave the hospital and she would barely leave the room. Finally, four days after Mulder was admitted to the hospital, something changed.
