Scully began wondering why she bothered making the bed in the morning these days. She always ended up back here, sprawled across her mattress, pillows discarded and covers thoroughly ruffled. A light sheen of sweat covered her brow, her breath coming in short pants as she raised her hips up and down. The tension in her legs was becoming painful under such exertion. She just needed a little more time, more thrust of her hips and it would happen. Rotating slightly to the left and she hit the perfect angle. She was so close she closed her eyes and dug deep ….just
One
More
Thrust
Her back arched "Aaah"! She cried out and that damn zip on her long pencil skirt came up. She lay there for a few moments, getting her breath back, contemplating how she was going to stand now that she had essentially placed a vice between her breasts and knees and no-longer had the ability to bend in the middle. Her head lolled towards the alarm clock, she had a meeting with Skinner at 8am, her third early meeting with him this week. People were starting to talk. This wasn't something she was unfamiliar with; she just hadn't been on top of the gossip list since Jerse and that bloody tattoo. Her pregnancy had put her just under the guy who was on forced leave for something he saw on his computer that was apparently outside his jurisdiction. Actually even she and Mulder had a wager on that one. She had him pegged as an international spy while he wavered a much more x-rated theory. Her breathing had settled so she tested a bend in the middle, lifting her chin to her chest. Her bump was still small enough to hide; it was there if you looked but she could still hide it easily under a blouse or long jacket. She rubbed a hand over it willing it to respond. The small flutters from the earlier weeks were easy to dismiss but lately she could feel the large rolling movements and sometimes even the sharp point of a limb stretching out to press against her abdomen. It was the weirdest and best sensation all rolled into one tight little ball sitting just under and flattening her bellybutton. The baby lay still, Miss or Mr was apparently sleeping in for a change. She had been resisting the maternity clothes her mother had so kindly brought for her, determined to stay out of them as long as possible. How could anyone be taken seriously wearing a pair of slacks or skirt with an elasticised pouch in the front? "Come on baby." She tried to convince herself and her bump and rolled to one side slowly bringing her to a standing position. The sound of ripping material had her frozen mid stance. "No!" she gripped the side zip desperately but could feel the material continue to open underneath her hand. "No, No, NO" She pulled her hand away, the zip had obligingly stayed closed the stitching holding it there unfortunately hadn't. Worrying the catch she attempted to lower it again but as stubborn as it was going up it wouldn't go back down. Gripping each side she tiptoed over to her mirror, every tipey toe step she felt another thread break until she gave up and puffed out her held breath. Her belly popped out with it, rewarding her with an image in the mirror of her very pregnant self and a gaping hole in her favourite black skirt. The over-sized underwear she had been forced to wear peaked through the gap. Her body was subtly trying to tell her something this morning and she realised she needed to start paying attention. The zip finally released her from its vice allowing her to push the skirt down her legs. If she didn't get a move on she was going to be late for her meeting, so she kicked it off and pulled open her closet to grab a pair of black dress pants. The maternity skirt hanging next to it swung on its coat hanger, the clatter of the metal hook mocking her with its squeaky hinge. Ignoring it, she pulled the pants on one leg at a time. She squeezed the two sides of the fly together with the same strength she would use in mortal combat. There was no way that fly was going to go up and she was now running extremely late for her meeting with Skinner. She kicked the pants off her legs and tore the maternity skirt from its hanger without even looking at its smug little pouch. The elasticised waist band pulled easily over her hips and the muscles in her abdomen expanded happily. Now officially running extremely late, she quickly slipped into her panty hose, buttoned and tucked her blouse. Earrings went in, hair brushed with open fingers smoothing it neatly around the curve of her face, a bit of lippy and she was good to go. She could grab breakfast after the meeting she thought absently as she rushed passed her full length mirror. The woman standing in the mirror stunned her momentarily. For the very first time she actually looked pregnant, quite pregnant in fact. There was no hiding it any longer. Even though it wasn't exactly a secret, the fact that it wasn't obvious had prevented people from actually confronting her about it. No-one had mentioned it and today people were going to notice. She pulled her jacket on, attempted to button it, gave up on that too and left.
Scully walked the corridor she had walked every morning for the last six years in her job as Special Agent of the F.B.I. Her shoes still made the same even rhythm as they hit the floor, the air still smelled of burnt coffee and the floor was still shining having just been cleaned. The faces were all the same but today all eyes were pointed in her direction. Their staring was creating a thick atmospheric pressure around her and the sheer ridiculousness of it made her smile; on the inside of course. The people in this building often talked about her, however, usually their fascination was rooted in a rumour regarding bigfoot or a yeti, little green men – often - but not this juicy little secret she hid under her top. Either she was smuggling in an unidentified object or this confirmed the pregnancy rumour that had been circulating for months. The water cooler blurped as she passed prompting one of those standing next to it to say something "Good morning Agent Scully."
She nodded politely, poised, head held high. 'Do your worst.' She thought, the challenge written in the crease between her brows. 'I shake hands with mutants on a daily basis. Your staring and talking behind your coffee mugs is nothing compared to being Mrs Spooky for the last six years.' A male agent slowed as he approached her. His gaze was fixed on her belly and not on his path and he walked straight into a desk, lurching himself forward and emptying the contents of his mug over the wood and documents that covered it.
"Hey watch it!" the owner of the desk yelped, clearly unimpressed as he pushed back from behind it to avoid his lap being scalded.
Scully ignored the commotion, thankful that someone had diverted the gaze of most of those in the vicinity and rounded the corner to her boss's office. The woman sitting behind the desk was not Kimberley, Skinners PA but a short round woman with a greying bob pinned on the side and a floral top that screamed 1985. She had head phones in ears and her fingers were pounding the keyboard in front of her, obviously transcribing whatever document or letter was being read through the recorded device. "Excuse me?" Scully was almost afraid to interrupt. The woman lifted one hand off the keyboard to point a finger at her, gesturing for her to wait one minute. Her other hand carried on impressively doing the work of two hands on the keyboard. She lowered her finger and continued to pound away. Scully shuffled from one foot to another eyeing the unusual woman and her boss's door hoping he would open it and save her from an interaction with this person. The woman punched the full stop key and pushed gently away from the computer screen.
She smiled at Scully as she removed her ear piece. "Good morning love, you must be Dana Scully." She spoke like a great aunt. One of those larger than life woman who only ever saw you as a 13 year old with pigtails and big potential. Scully smiled politely back, not showing any teeth. She went to reply when the woman began talking again "Sorry I mean Special Agent, Scully. They sent me up from admin today. Poor we Stephanie has the diarrhoea." She pronounced each syllable as if it were a separate word. "Poor wee thing, when I spoke to her on the phone this morning she was going at both ends." Scully's mouth hung open from her previously unspoken sentence and now just masked shock at the abundance of over information she was being given. The woman didn't seem to notice the shock on her face and continued. "I don't usually get to speak with you Agents, I just occasionally type up the messy scrawl some of y'all call report keeping." Scully took a breath to speak but this woman wasn't going to let her get a word in. "Actually, I have transcribed some of your autopsies Miss Scully. You use big words. Ex..sang…uin…ate," she pronounced each syllable singularly again. "Put…ri…fied, of course it all ends with unexplained, unidentified. Honestly honey, sometimes I wonder why you don't just say 'weird stuff.'" Scully closed her mouth and sat back on her heels now thoroughly perplexed by this woman who still hadn't introduced herself. "It's nice to put a face to the voice on the end of the recorder and what a pretty face it is. Hmmm, I pictured someone taller." She trailed off looking Scully up and down. "And look at you my dear, positively glowing with your little bundle in there. How far along are you?" She gestured toward her swollen belly and for a frightful minute Scully thought she was going to touch it. She didn't give her the opportunity to reply. "About six months I'd say am I right? Oh I just loved being pregnant, you're carrying low, a boy I bet. I bet you already found out didn't you? You young people all find out with your fancy scans and what not. In my day you found out what the good Lord gave after you squeezed that giant thing out of your little flower bed. Here, I didn't think you were married." She looked down at Scully's ring finger and noted the absence of a band. She raised an eyebrow at Scully.
'Flowerbed?!' Scully couldn't take anymore "I'm sorry Mrs?"
"Ms White, call me Dolly."
Scully declined the offer of being on a first name basis with this woman "Ms White, I have an appointment with the AD." She glanced at his closed door.
Dolly looked a little sheepish "I'm sorry dear, of course." She punched a button on the intercom "Mr Skinner, Agent Scully is here to see you." She altered the tone of her voice as she spoke into the intercom, sounding more like a PA to an Assistant Director of the FBI instead of the regional Girl Scout receptionist. She smiled with closed lips and sat back in her chair still seeming to eye Scully up and down.
The office door opened and Skinner stepped out his eyes falling instantly to Scully's middle, like he hadn't seen it the day before, when she was there, at the exact same time, in the exact same condition. Scully suddenly found the urge to check her back for a 'baby on board' sign. "Good morning, Sir." She helped pull him out of his awkward moment.
"Good morning Agent." He paused looking down embarrassed "please come in." Scully squeezed passed him through the door frame. "Hold all my calls, Ms White. Agent Scully and I will be busy for a while here."
Dolly held her professional tone, even as her eyes volleyed back in forth between the pair mischievously 'busy huh?' She thought. "Certainly Sir." She replied straightening her back. Her fingers tingled at the thought of dialling the girls down stairs to spread this juicy piece of gossip. So its true there is definitely a bun cooking in the X-Files kitchen. But who was the Daddy, and why was Mr Skinner suddenly having long, daily morning meetings with Agent Scully?
Scully and Skinner fitted awkwardly through the door frame. His elbow grazed her belly as she passed. "Sorry" they both said simultaneously. Scully's phone started to ring offering a reprieve from the awkward interaction between the trio. "Sorry Sir, I haven't turned that off." She pulled the phone from her belt drawing her jacket back further causing her belly to bulge just a little more.
Skinner's focus was again momentarily distracted by the tight little bundle, stumbling slightly through his response " ah ba sure no go ahead answer it."
"Scully.."
'Hey, am I interrupting?'
Her eyes snapped up at her boss, trying to be discrete and remain professional. "You know you are" she replied through gritted teeth.
'Good' Mulder was enjoying her discomfort.
"Is it urgent? I'm just headed into a meeting."
'You know Scully, this is your third private morning meeting with the Assistant Director, our Assistant Director,' he extended the sound of the word 'our'. 'I'm wondering if I should be suspicious.'
She shook her head and smiled politely at Skinner who was pretending not to listen to her end of the conversation and let Mulder continue his ramblings in her ear.
'He is already taking you off field work with me and these negotiations of your new role are at the present time keeping you out of helping down here with the crud book work. Statistically, an FBI Assistant Director spends approximately 85% of his working day in meetings such as the one you are presently attending. By my calculation you have taken up close to 40% of that 85% this week alone where as you have spent a mere 30% of your working week on your actual assignment, which is helping me sign these budget estimations for the audit next month.'
She could hear him shuffling through books and boxes while he rambled and she momentarily switched off to what he was saying and tried to figure out what he might be doing. The rambling continued anyway.
'More importantly I estimate our 'after work time' spent together to be around 90% in recent months however that has been halved these last three days to accommodate for the now ever increasing time taken in meetings with said Assistant Director, whom word from the secretary pool is, he is quite easy on the female eye.'
She rolled her eyes "Mulder.."
'I'm reaching a point here' he interrupted.
She sighed and took her seat opposite her boss's desk chancing a glance at him. He was reading through something on his computer, still pretending he didn't mind the interruption of the phone call.
'By my calculations, your time spent under the thumb of one Walter Skinner has increased an exponential 82.3%, drastically declining the time spent under me.' He could tell she was about to hang up simply in the way she was ignoring him. 'Wait don't hang up yet, I actually do have a new assignment on my desk to run passed you.'
She could still hear him shuffling about through his ramblings. "Where are you?"
'In the store cupboard.'
Then she heard something fall heavily on the other side of the phone.
'ow!'
"What was that?"
'A really big book! Ow.'
"Everything ok?" Skinner looked up at her from his computer vaguely concerned; she shook her head slightly indicating everything was fine.
'yeah I'm bleeding though, it may need stitches. See Scully look what happens when I'm left to my own devices down here? Giant books fall on my head.'
"I'll be sure to bring my gun with me when I'm finished in my meeting, which should have started 25 minutes ago."
'You joke Scully, but that book came from no-where and just so happens to be what I was looking for and now it has my blood on it.'
"What is it?"
' "Mythological sea creatures". Tell me Scully, your dad was a sailor, did he ever encounter a mermaid?' He sounded genuinely curious.
"I'm hanging up now."
She could hear his desperate voice as her flip phone slowly came to a close on him 'wait, Scully….. Bring ice.'
###
As she approached the door to the basement office she could vaguely hear music playing. She slowed her approach as she tried to make out the distorted cords spilling out from under her partner's door. The only means they had to play music on was their little broken boom box that still played cassettes and needed an aerial extension to receive any kind of radio signal. She carefully turned the handle, slowly pushing the door open, her interest in what she might find piqued. The music was foreign, unrecognisable, perhaps Italian or French. The old speakers were making it hard for her to decipher. It was pretty though, and not what she expected him to be listening too. The singer was either in love or dying, with foreign music it was more about the music and less about the lyrics and this was beautiful. It reminded her of a French film where lovers met in the rain and declared their undying devotion to one another. Mulder hadn't heard her come in. He was busy flicking through the files in his X-Files cabinet. She walked into the middle of the office and forgot to close the door behind her. "Mulder?"
He startled and spun to see her. "Hey" his focus dropped to her middle "hey" he repeated a pitch higher in the second time he spoke. She too looked down at her pregnant belly and rubbed it subconsciously. He dragged a file from the cabinet, slammed it closed and then perched himself on the front edge of his desk.
"How's the head?" She dropped her hand to her side and walked towards him coming to stand between his knees. Her fingers pulled back the front fringe of his hair where blood had dried then she leaned into him to get a closer look at the depth of the wound. His nose was a mere inch from her cleavage, her gold cross glimmered in his eyes catching the light in the room. He noticed her middle wasn't the only thing that had popped out this morning. He wondered if she even noticed she was practically smooshing her chest in his face. The fact that she was still carefully examining the bump on his head answered that thought in the negative. As usual she was oblivious to the effect she had on him. The French song coming from the only radio station he could find down here in the basement, was singing about love lost and found. From what he could make out with his high school French lessons, they had fallen in love, fought and then he had died. A sense of nostalgia washed over him so he grabbed her wrists and pulled her close.
"Sorry" she thought she had hurt him, and then she caught that little twinkle in his eye "What are you doing?"
"Dancing." He smiled and drew her to him placing one hand on her hip and took the other in his.
She decided to humour him and began to sway along. The woman in the song was hitting an soprano sequence and the cheap speakers protested. He ran his cheek over hers. She closed her eyes and leaned a little further into him. "You know Mulder dancing with you like this directly preluded to the event that got me in this condition."
"Hmmm" he hummed as he spun her under his arm then back against him. Their smiling lips landed dangerously close. "I want to kiss you." He confessed.
"We are at work"
"We are dancing too"
"You cornered me, practically grabbed me. I may file a harassment suit."
He nudged his flat abdomen against her round one "I think that ship has sailed."
They continued to sway together, goofy grins spread over their faces. They didn't hear the footsteps walking towards the door until someone cleared their throat. They subtly parted; Scully turned towards the desk and began flicking through a random file.
Mulder turned towards the man now standing at their office door. "Hey, Agent Doggett" he moved around the desk and leaned back into his chair, reaching over to flick the little stereo off. "What can we do for you?"
"Agent Mulder, I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt." Doggett felt a little awkward and then a little pissed he was the one feeling awkward. "Actually, I do mean to. Agent Scully, I need to talk to you!"
Scully stopped shuffling and turned to face him, she was suddenly concerned about how angry he sounded "Is something wrong, Agent Doggett?"
"You could say that, some would at least.." He was stuttering. He knew it but there she was, just like they said.
Mulder and Scully passed a quizzical stare.
Doggett gathered his wits again "I came to say congratulations." His voice was much more composed now.
"Thank you." Scully was hesitant she sensed something else coming.
Doggett paused, took some time to scan her up and down again. "Here's the thing Agent Scully, um, it seems you are not the only one being congratulated today."
Mulder and Scully passed another silent look at each other and then starred firmly at Doggett waiting for him to elaborate.
"Tell me Agent Scully, you must recall the assignment we did together?"
"Of course"
"A married couple in the honeymoon suite on a million dollar cruise."
"Of course I remember, Agent Doggett. That case was filed months ago, was there some sort of discrepancy?"
"Discrepancy." He laughed " you could say that. Yes it was six months ago to be exact."
Scully nodded, Mulder rolled the sharp tip of a pencil against his finger.
"And how pregnant are you exactly, Agent Scully?"
Mulders chair flipped forward, when he realised where Doggett was going with this. The chair rolled, almost tipping completely. Scully was so stunned she stood frozen, thankful that she was leaning back against the desk. The room fell silent so everyone could digest the information. No-one wanted to be the first to speak. Of course Mulder excelled in this area of awkwardness. "I was on that ship."
Doggett kept his eyes on Scully when he answered him "Undercover! No one else knows that."
Scully licked her top lip nervously; Doggett turned to Mulder tracking him with his intense stare as he moved from his desk and came to stand between them. "Whoa, wait a minute here, let me get this straight. Scully and I have been working together six and a half years. You work with her for what, two weeks, and they think you made a home run before me?" He pretended to look hurt.
"I'm glad you think this is funny, Agent Mulder."
Scully bit her lip. It was a little funny.
"Oh I don't think it's funny at all. Six and a half years!" Mulder emphasised.
"Mulder" Scully tried to quash the sarcasm.
"Well, laugh it up both of you. Meanwhile I have baby clothes and child care offers from the secretarial pool."
"I'll fix it Agent Doggett." Scully reassured.
"Thank you!" he pulled his hands from the depth of his pocket and straightened his jacket "and maybe you could learn to keep your office door closed." The slamming door punctuated his final statement.
"Ethan, Skinner and now Doggett, you'll get a reputation Miss Scully."
"Should I be offended?" She briefly looked concerned.
"I don't know should you?"
Scully shrugged, "can't be any worse than the reputation I got when I started working down here with you. You're just jealous the secretarial pool picked Doggett over you, unless of course they know something about you I don't."
"I'd be surprised if they even realised I still work for the FBI. I haven't been swimming in the secretarial pool in, ooh, about five years." He let that sink in. He could have sworn she blushed a little. "So what has Skinner come up with for you Scully? Are they sending you back to Quantico?"
"No actually, I'll be staying right here."
"Here?"
"Yes down here in the basement. I'm still staying in the X-Files division I'll just be working behind a desk. Actually, behind your desk." She ran her index finger along the polished wood like she was checking for dust.
"They are letting me out in the field alone?"
"Well if necessary they will assign someone to help you, meanwhile, I'll be here. You can send me evidence to analyse; I can conduct research from here, phone consultations."
"So you'll be like my personal secretary?" He smirked
"Well, no I wouldn't put it quite like that."
"I've never had a secretary before." His eyes glassed over.
She blew out a breath through pursed lips realising she had lost him to a day dream. She pushed off the front of the desk and rounded it to sit in his chair. She leaned back into it like he did. It was more comfortable than it looked and she wondered why she was just now allowed the privilege of sitting here. She straightened her back, resting her elbows down on the desk as if poised ready to work "I could get used to this."
He turned and looked her over. "Put your glasses on, Scully."
She frowned at him as she reached over for her glasses and sat them on the bridge of her nose "why?"
He smiled mischievously at her "Oh, I could get used to this too."
She threw the glasses back down on the desk "What have we got on today? More budget thingys?"
"Budget 'thingys'? No I have completed all the budget 'thingys', you're welcome by the way. I actually have an X-file."
"Mermaids Mulder, really?"
"Two men are dead Scully, dragged from their fishing boats in the early hours of the morning. The one sailor on board who survived reported seeing three beautiful women swim up to the boat and lure them right into their clutches. No bodies have been found." He handed her his copy of the police report and a newspaper article from the local paper.
Scully pulled her glasses back on to read through the files, her eyes scanned quickly over the words. She raised a single eye brow in his direction "It was a buck's party, Mulder?"
"Your point being?"
"My point is there is usually alcohol on a buck's party and beautiful woman for that matter. There must be more to this for you to consider investigating it further." She tilted the file in his direction.
Mulder folded his arms across his chest and smiled at her, he loved playing this game. His office phone rang before he could reply. He made no attempt to answer it, instead he tilted his head toward it. "I believe it is now your job to answer that."
She could play his game, locking eyes with him she leaned back in his chair and crossed her legs making her skirt ride a little higher. Swinging her high stiletto slightly she reached and grabbed the phone receiver. In her best mock flirting secretary voice she answered "Special Agent Fox Mulder's office."
Mulder could barely contain himself. This fantasy just kept getting better and then the person on the end of the phone spoke and his joy was squashed in her startled reply.
"Ethan!" Her legs unfolded, her whole flirty demeanour halted abruptly, shattering his fantasy. Now she couldn't face him. "No, it's me, Hi."
Mulder picked up the giant book he had found earlier and flicked to the mermaid section he had marked. His finger traced the words on the page so he could pretend he was occupied and not trying to listen to her end of the conversation. Ethan hadn't called her in months; well not while he was present anyway.
"Yes. No. I don't think that's a good idea. Well things are busy right now."
There was a long pause in the conversation from her end and Mulder wondered what pathetic excuses he was making on the other end of the phone.
"I thought I made myself pretty clear. No, really Ethan I can't."
Mulder fought the urge to snatch the phone from her hand and slam it down on the bench; he may even say a few choice words into it before disconnecting the call. He knew better than to fight her battles for her though. It never worked out for him in the past. She said she would deal with it and he trusted her to do the same.
"Ok. Yes I suppose that will be ok. Actually." She looked like a light bulb had suddenly ignited on top of her head, "maybe we could meet for lunch?"
Mulder almost dropped the book from his lap as his head snapped up and looked at her.
"Why don't you come here? Yes to the Hoover building, that is where I work. Great is 1.30 too soon?" She looked at her wrist watch. "Ok, I'll see you then." She caught Mulder looking at her. "Yes, me too," she lay the phone gently back down onto the base and turned to face him. "Don't look at me like that."
"What Scully, I didn't say anything."
She rolled her eyes as she gathered her wallet from the desk and stood "you didn't have to. The vein pulsing from your temple was speaking loud and clear on your behalf."
He twitched his jaw as he watched her pack a few things into a briefcase she left lying around in the office for when she needed to take work home. He was still perched on the end of the desk making them equal in height. "You do realise that the majority of the F.B.I will be in the Hoover building cafeteria at 1.30, Scully." He pouted.
She was gathering the files and information he had just given her and stuffing them into her briefcase while he spoke. She paused briefly to catch his eye.
He caught her meaning instantly. "Ah, I get it. This is how you are going to 'fix it' for Doggett." His shoulders relaxed.
She latched the two clips on her briefcase and walked over to where he was sitting, teetering slightly on her tired feet. "I've been here early three mornings in a row; Skinner owes me a few hours." She took the book he was holding and hooked it under her arm. "I'll meet with Ethan, hopefully that will get Agent Doggett off our backs and then I'm going home. I can look over this stuff and do some online research from there." She leaned in and pecked him softly on the forehead before walking leaving the office. "Come over after work for dinner" She called from outside the door. Then her head appeared back around the edge of the frame. "Bring your overnight bag."
"Don't forget your glasses" He called to the sound of her heels descending the hall.
Continued in part 2