Missing Scene:
A Father's Duty
by Trycee
Time-Line: Season 8, After Alone but before Essence and Existence
Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Files, this is written for fun not profit.
Mulder used his key to open her door. He glanced around at her apartment. It had an air of excitement in it. He glanced at the couch, an unfamiliar purse lay on the couch with a jacket strewn over the side. He scanned the apartment, noting the smell of freshly sliced fruit wafting through the air. He made his way to her bedroom and knocked on the outside of the door. He could hear Maggie answer, "Come in..."
He smiled and hugged Maggie warmly and then walked quickly over to where Scully sat against the headboard, dressed in silk pajamas, a blanket thrown over the mound that was her swollen stomach sticking out from her small hips. He kissed the top of her head and then her lips. Scully glanced shyly over at her mother and then blushed bright red.
"I'll leave you two alone...", Maggie said, closing the door behind her.
Mulder sat down on the edge of the bed, his long legs draping down to the floor and his hip resting against her leg. He sat there looking deeply into her eyes. "How are you feeling?", he said, letting his hand glide over her protrusion.
"I'm fine...", she said, as his eyebrows raised. "No...really...we're okay...The doctor told me I needed bed-rest..."
Mulder nodded. "And you weren't, were you?"
Scully touched her belly, her fingers sliding over to connect with his. "I'm sorry...I just...needed..."
"Scully...I know being home isn't what you want right now, but there's someone else you need to worry about...we need to worry about..."
She licked her lips. "We, Mulder?"
Mulder could see the hurt in Scully's eyes registered in her face. He sighed and closed his eyes and then opened them, leaning in just inches from her face. "Scully, I wish...I wish I could take back those first few days...after I came back...I wish I wasn't so...stupid...to have thought that..."
"Mulder," she said, as tears streamed down her cheeks. "It took me seven years to tell you I loved you...what would make you think I would've been involved with anyone? Let alone Doggett?"
Mulder opened his mouth and then closed it quickly. She reached up and touched his face. "I know you're sorry for how you acted towards me Mulder...I know that once you found out that it was yours you still had a hard time coming to grips...a lot of first time fathers have anxiety like that..."
"I'm here now...I've been doing better these past few months with Lamaze..."
"Yes you have," she said, wiping her tears. "I'm just still scared..."
"Of me?"
"That this will be too much for you...", she said, placing her hand over Mulder's and pressing his hand down over her stomach so he could feel the baby kick. "That's your baby in there...your's...and he or she loves you..."
Mulder smiled. "I love this baby, Scully, I do...This baby came from love...and I know it took me awhile to understand it...but I'm here now...and that's why I did what I did..."
Scully looked puzzled. "Do what?"
Mulder pulled out a set of keys and placed them in Scully's hand. "I bought us a home.."
"A house, Mulder?", she said, skeptically. "You expect me to move now?", she said, touching her stomach protectively.
He smiled. "It's not for now...Its for the future...I had the guys buy it...you know...in case we need it," he said, looking directly at her. "This key goes into the safe along with our I.D's..."
Scully knew exactly what Mulder's referring too. They had been acquiring fake I.D's, credit cards all under a pseudo name that no one could trace to him or Scully.
"A house?", she said, turning it over in her mouth.
Mulder smiled and kissed her cherry red lips again. "You're so gorgeous, how can I talk to you when you look good enough to eat..."
Scully huffed. "I feel like a blimp, Mulder...my feet are swollen and the baby's pressing against my bladder..."
He smoothed his hand back over her stomach. "You don't expect us to raise our child in two different apartments, do you?"
Scully cocked her head to the side. "No...I guess not..."
"Look," he said, leaning in. "We're not just partners, best friends...or lovers any more, Scully...we're about to become parents...", he said, watching as her eyes flashed with panic for a second. "I had been feeling hopeless, Scully...", he said, as she looked concerned. "After all the smoke cleared and it finally hit me...that I'm gonna have my dream come true...you and I are gonna have a child...I needed to figure out what to do..."
"What do you mean?", she said, with a frown.
"We had things in place for the two of us...if need be...but never for...our child...even though we tried with the invitro."
"We weren't officially together then...", she said in a whisper.
"But we never discussed what would happen if we succeeded...so I had the guys work out some things...The house...its not much. Actually, I've never even seen it...but its in rural Virginia..."
"Rural? Us?", she smirked.
"We could do it...", he said, running his hand up over her shoulder. "Its paid for, it's our's free and clear...if we ever needed to...leave...then that's where we'll go..."
She smiled. "Okay..."
"And as far as our current living situation...", he said, looking around. "We'll have to figure that out too..."
"No one knows your the father...As far as they know, its my baby...and we'll keep it that way..."
Mulder chuckled. "Of course they know...they're running a pool all over the Hoover Building...even Skinner mentioned it the last time...", he said, with a smile. "Scully, people knew we were in love with each other before we did...Besides they'll know the minute this kid develops my nose..."
She smiled and then laughed. "Mulder..."
"Look Scully...I'm not in the bureau any longer...it's none of their business what we've done..."
"Mulder, I'm still there...," she said with a shrug. "I don't need the repercussions when I go back..."
"Are you going back?", he said, looking into her eyes. "I mean...you won't have too...I think it would be best for the baby if you were home with him..."
Scully opened her mouth to say something but Maggie knocked on the door. "Come in," Mulder answered.
Maggie entered carrying a tray filled with food. She had a bowl of cut up fruits, two plates of pizza, two glasses of milk, and two brownies. "Here...", Maggie said, placing the tray on the nightstand. "Make sure she eats...and you eat too..."
Scully smiled. "I'm craving pizza...I wonder why?"
Mulder huffed. "Hmmm...", he said with a grin.
"Thanks Mom," Scully said, touching her mother's hand.
Maggie bent down and kissed her forehead. "I'll be back in the morning..."
"Okay...", Scully said, yawning. "Just call and remind me...I go to sleep so easily now."
"We have a baby shower to plan...", Maggie said, pointing at Dana. "And you're not getting out of it..."
"Awl, mom," Scully whined.
"And it's women only," she said, eying Mulder.
He chuckled. "Not a problem..."
"You don't want to pin the diaper on the bottom?", Scully teased.
"Ah, not particularly...", he said, looking panicked.
Both women smiled. "Don't worry Fox, I want you to assemble the crib..."
"That, I can do...", he said relieved.
"I hope you fix cribs better than you do pipes...", Scully grinned.
"Ha, ha!", he said, blushing.
Maggie kissed her daughter on the forehead and then hugged Mulder once more. "Be careful getting home..."
"Take care of our babies...", she smirked.
Mulder smiled shyly. "I will..."
After they heard the front door closed, Mulder picked up a slice of pizza and placed it to Scully's lips. She let him feed her. He waited until she had swallowed. "You have it all planned out, huh?", she said, before he placed the slice up to her mouth again.
"Not everything...", he said, looking over her. "I just...needed to do something...I mean...our love life has always been so private, Scully...we didn't hold hands out in public...we didn't kiss unless behind locked doors...for fear of them seeing us...things have changed...", he said, as she snatched the pizza slice out of his hand.
He grinned as she ate it quickly and moved on to the next piece. "The baby's hungry, huh?"
She nodded, concentrating on her food.
"This...," he said, pointing to her stomach. "Is all out in the open, Scully...visible to everyone and I think its about time we are..."
Scully looked nervous. "Can we give it a little time?", she said, looking into his eyes. "Until the baby comes and I decide if I'm gonna stay in the bureau or not?"
Mulder gazed into Scully's eyes. "Okay...we'll do that...we keep it as 'your baby' for now...but soon, Scully...we need to be who we are...I'm not raising our child in separate homes...I'm not pretending that this kid isn't mine...Its killing me not being here with you through everything...we spent enough time away from each other. This all needs to come to an end..."
Scully reached out and touched his hand. "Okay...But we'll keep it quiet for now..."
"Its what, two weeks more?"
She nodded. "In two weeks, Mulder...our whole world is gonna change..."
Mulder smiled and kissed her fingers. "For the better...".
Scully watched as Mulder stood up. "Where you going?"
He pointed towards the hallway. "I thought I'd lock the door and come back and snuggle up with my babies..."
"Okay...", she said, moving on to the brownie.
He looked around her apartment. He could see it was already changing. She'd already gotten rid of her romance novel nearly two years before when they finally consummated their relationship. In its place were more romantic candles and fragrant oils to set the mood, various cd's they'd listen too, and lots and lots of pillows. But after his return and things had once again changed between them, he noticed that all of that had gone too. There were stacks of books on baby development, parent magazines, and baby furniture catalogs. He could see that Maggie had made the apartment as neat as a pin, just as her daughter would and so he quickly locked the door and returned to the room. He slipped off his shirt and could hear an intake of air from Scully as she stared at his bare chest.
"I've missed that...", she sighed.
"My chest?", he said, amused.
She grinned as he slipped off his pants, standing in front of her in his boxers. "And that too...", she giggled.
Mulder blushed bright red and climbed in next to her, pulling her to his side, so she could lay her back and head against his chest as he rested against the headboard. Scully glanced up at Mulder, she could only see his chin until he lowered his head. "What's wrong?", he wondered.
"Are you scared, Mulder?", she asked.
"No," he lied.
Scully could tell that he was lying but she didn't want to push him. "I feel better that there's a plan...", he spoke.
She could see the determination in his eyes and she relaxed. He wrapped his arm around her, touching once again the bundle within her, marveling at the miracle of life and the gift they were given. "I'm going to be a father...", he said, more to himself.
Scully's hand slid on top of his and their fingers locked. She laid her head against his neck, listening to his pulse. Soon her fingers slipped and she was fast asleep. Mulder moved the tray of food on the side of her and then gently woke her so she would slide down and sleep. She slid down and laid to her side, her baby belly facing him. Mulder wrapped his arms around her waist, his arm protectively shielding their baby growing inside her. He kissed her lips as she sighed contented, drifting further into sleep. He covered their shoulders with the blanket, returning his hand to its protective spot, and closed his eyes, lying beside her.
The End