Spoilers: Alternate storyline to "Essence" and "Existence" - starting partway through "Essence" (scene 16). The entire show up to those two episodes.
Author's Notes: I never thought I'd write a babyfic because I never cared for the William storyline and thought it shouldn't have been done. But after participating in a discussion on The X-Philes Fan Club YahooGroup about which plot device the show would have been better off without, William or killing off the Gunmen, this came to mind. After writing thirty-some stories about these people, I thought I knew what Mulder and Scully might realistically do and hopefully this works.
HUGE THANKS to Alia for helping me figure out the ending; I simply could not write without your help, my friend. Also to my wonderful husband Joe for writing the newspaper articles with his much more succinct and professional style and picking out the correct plane in addition to Bonnie Robb and her pilot husband Dave for help with the airport parts.
Though I listened to a lot of music in the three weeks it took me to write the outline and first draft of this, I listened to Bruckner's Symphony No. 4 "Romantic" to write the ending (pre-epilogue). Between that and Stravinsky's Three Symphonies, the ending turned out to be everything I'd hoped when I began writing this to Lacuna Coil, Within Temptation, and Breaking Benjamin.
Existessence
by Suzanne L. Feld
Rated R for adult situations and language
Previously on the X-Files:
At 33:44 into the episode "Essence", Mulder helps Scully down the back stairs of her apartment building and towards the street. That is where this story diverges from the filmed episode:
Part I: Escape
Hitting the auto-unlock tab on his keyring Mulder hissed, "Get in my car, Scully, it's down the block there—see the lights flashing?"
"I can only move so damn fast," I whispered back, waddling as fast as I could. Without thinking I'd slipped my feet into a pair of good work pumps and the two-inch heels weren't helping. Where I could have run at top speed in them eight months ago, I could barely walk now.
Mulder was glancing nervously over his shoulder, but we reached the car without incident and I was barely inside before he squealed away from the curb. I glanced back over my shoulder while fastening my seatbelt as we flew around the corner. A long black car with tinted windows was pulling up in front of my building and I caught a glimpse of a figure coming out of the front door, but that was all I saw before we sped away into the dark.
"Okay, Mulder, where are we going?" I said tiredly, folding my hands over my huge belly. Junior gave a kick or two, then apparently went back to sleep which was a good thing because he was dancing on my bladder. Luckily I'd used the bathroom shortly before Mulder had shown up at my door though I knew it wouldn't be long before I'd have to go again. "What's the plan?"
"No plan," he said, turning onto the 95 on-ramp south and accelerating onto the freeway. "I was going to take you to Skinner's office, but on second thought nowhere we normally go can be safe. After talking to that Gill woman I don't think you dare even go to a hospital."
"What?! And just how do you think I'm going to deliver this baby?" I demanded furiously. "I'm not delivering myself! What if something goes wrong or, God forbid, there's something wrong with the baby? I have to go to a hospital, Mulder!"
He turned to stare at me briefly and in his face, despite the darkness, I saw worry, anger, and fear. "Would you risk losing your baby to the Lizzy Gills and Billy Miles of this world?" he said quietly. "Let me know now and I'll just turn around and take you back to them if that's what you want."
I huffed out a breath, so sick and tired of this entire mess I wanted to just lay down and cry. But even nine months' pregnant I couldn't do that; I had decisions to make that would effect three lives immediately and probably more in the future. "Maybe… maybe we can find a small clinic or hospital in the middle of nowhere that I can deliver in," I said, thinking hard. "Even a nurse-midwife would be better than nothing."
"What's that?" he asked as we flew along the mostly-deserted expressway.
"Nurse-midwives are very popular in rural areas, they're trained to assist in normal childbirth at home," I said, stressing the word normal. We both knew that despite the sonograms and amnio, my delivery and/or child might not be. "If we showed up at the door of a small hospital or emergency clinic and said we were traveling or something and I unexpectedly went into labor, they—"
"What about ID and/or insurance?" he pointed out. "I've got a second set of ID, but we never did get you one. Never thought you'd need it. Would they take you in without ID?"
I ground my teeth. He was right. "They would, but they'd probably put my description on the wire," I admitted.
"I have an idea," he said in a slow, thoughtful voice. "Let me work it out and I'll tell you once I know more."
Oh, no.