January 1994

When Scully comes into work one morning in late January, she looks pale and slightly green tinged.

Mulder is hopeful that he knows why given that they've spent almost every night together since the third and all the pregnancy test boxes he's snuck looks at promise early results, but he pretends not to have a clue. "Scully, are you coming down with something? You don't look very well."

She pales even more, if that's possible. "We need to talk, Mulder. At lunch."

"Ok," Mulder agrees, pulling open a drawer in his desk. "I been giving what you said about organizing things better thought. But what do we do with something like these-" He spreads a handful of photos from their first case out on top of his desk. "Do they go under 'C' for cow, or 'M' for mutilation?"

Scully glances at them for approximately two seconds before covering her mouth with her hand and bolting from the room. As Mulder listens to the sound of her heels clicking down the hallway as she heads for the bathroom, he sighs. He feels guilty for such a trick, but the calendar tells him that Jack Willis is going to turn up missing very soon, and he wanted to know if he was right. She returns looking even paler, and tells him that he can make that decision himself since they're his files.


At lunch he notes that she ordered soup, something easy on the stomach, and decides to be gallant and also order soup too. The last thing he wants to do is to turn her stomach again on top of everything else.

Once they've got their steaming bowls in front of them, he gives her an expectant look. "You said there's something we needed to talk about?" ::As if I don't know what:: he thinks, suppressing a grin. ::Right on schedule too. By the time Duanne Barry lands in our lives you'll be so far along there's no way he'll have the heart to let the aliens kidnap you::

Scully gives him a shy look. "Mulder, I know that your family life was less than ideal, with losing your sister, and how distant your parents were after that, but have you ever longed for a normal family life?"

"I haven't given it a lot of thought," he says, thinking :: at least at this point in my life I hadn't.:: "I guess that's because I'd have to find a woman who could stand me, quirks and all, first, and I know that won't be an easy task."

She gives him a sympathetic look, and puts one of her hands on his. "Mulder, you really sell yourself short. You'll make a wonderful husband and father, and any woman who can't see that-"

The shrill cry of Scully's cell phone interrupts her, much to Mulder's chagrin. She was on a roll and he hated for her to lose her train of thought. Besides the fact that she's going to confess to being pregnant, like anyone else, he loves hearing nice things about himself.

Looking both annoyed and surprised, Scully pushes the phone's on button, and gives him an apologetic smile as she answers. "Scully." She listens, and he watches as her expression gets darker and darker. They're not going to continue their conversation.

Snapping the cell phone shut with a little more force than necessary, she tells him what the call was about. "That was section chief Blevins he wants us to check out the morgue because there's problems with Dupre's body."

"What kind of problems?" Mulder asks, not pretending annoyance. If only she'd found out she was pregnant one day sooner!

"Problems like part of it is missing," Scully says with a heavy sigh. "We better get going."

"Sure," Mulder says, sounding equally bleak, but not because of the missing body parts. "Maybe we can pick up our conversation after work."

"Sounds like a plan," Scully agrees, but he can see a new tension on her face even though her mask of annoyance. ::She wanted to get it over with.:: He thinks as they pay the bill. ::Me too.::


Three days later, Mulder gnashes his teeth and wants to scream in frustration. He's supposed to be changing things to keep Scully out of trouble, but the only thing he's managed to change so far is that he put a bun in her oven. Not that they've gotten to complete their little heart-to-heart on it yet.

Sighing, he admits to himself that he has managed to change one other thing - this time she's wired, even though she doesn't realize it. As soon as it became clear that Willis was going to be a problem again, he called in a favor from the lone gunmen and got them to lend him a bug he could insert in Scully's clothes. A well timed kiss and gentle pawing of her shirt masks that action on his part. He decided it was safer if she didn't know about it, so she has no idea that he's listening with a tiny receiver no bigger than a cigarette pack to every word that passes between her and the pair of criminals. And those words are not good.

He had to pretend when Willis called that he didn't know what was going on with her, but it's so damn hard to listen to what's going on now. As much as it kills him to be inactive, he's got to wait for a plausible moment to bring up where she is, so people don't catch on to his seemingly clairvoyant knowledge of what's happening.

Scully has tried to convince Willis that he's himself, not Dupre, but it's not going well. He's in mid-rant when Mulder hears something that gets his attention. "You left me to die on that table while you tried to save your friend!"

"You are my friend," she insists.

"Too bad he was gone already. I watched him go. I just saw him slip away down that long, black tunnel," Willis says, but as Dupre.

"No. We brought you back," Scully protests.

"You shot me dead! And then you let me die." Mulder pictures him turning the gun on her, though he has no way to see if that was the case.

"No. You won't kill me, Jack."

"You call me that one more time I'll make you stone-cold," he growls, making Mulder cringe.

"You wouldn't kill me, no matter who you are, or think you are," Scully says quietly.

"Why's that?" he harshly demands to know.

"Because I'm pregnant," Scully tells him quietly. Listening, Mulder's heart breaks. "Even the man Dupre was wouldn't kill an innocent unborn baby."

"You don't look pregnant," Willis/Dupre accuses.

"I just found out," Scully admits. "I haven't even gotten a chance to tell the baby's father, because of this case."

"Congratulations, then." He sounds sarcastic. "Good thing for you I'm not your ex-boyfriend, or maybe I'd be insanely jealous."

"Good thing," Scully agrees.

"You believe I'm Dupre then, not this Willis fellow, then?" he belligerently retorts.

Mulder holds his breath as he listens - Scully is as stubborn as he is, and he knows she doesn't believe the man is Dupre. He lets his air out in a whoosh of relief when she finally answers. "You've convinced me," she says, sounding utterly sincere. "Jack Willis is dead," she adds in a pained voice.

"That's right." Dupre says in a calmer, gloating tone. "You just keep that in your pretty little head, and you and me will get along just fine."


Eventually, it's all over. Mulder is able to hint to the tech guy listening to the tape that they're holed up near an airfield, and things move quickly after that. A short time later Willis and Lula are dead again, the same way as before. The only difference is as soon as Scully is uncuffed from the radiator, she clings to Mulder.

Mulder smoothes her hair, and tells her that things are going to be ok. As soon as she notices other agents around, she recoils from him with a sheepish expression, but those who noticed don't think anything of needing a hug after an experience that traumatic.

Mulder gives her a crocked grin as they walk out to his waiting car. "So, any woman who doesn't realize I'd be a great husband and father what?" he asks as soon as they shut the doors.

For a second she looks blank, but then smiles when she remembers what they'd been taking about. "And I thought they said women remembered every word of conversations."

Mulder pouts. "You're ducking. Are you going to finish your interrupted statement or not?"

"Not," she tells him with a mischievous grin.

"Scullllly!" he whines, grimacing.

"What would you give me for telling you?" she asks coyly.

He likes her playful mood. "I'll be your best friend."

"You are my best friend," she retorts, surprising him. Did she feel that way less than two years after meeting him the last time around?

"Well, I'll take you to dinner, then."

"That sounds like a vaguely familiar promise…"

"Hey, I'm not the one who canceled our plans by retrieving a ring in a macabre manner."

He sees her tense for a second at the word ring, but then she relaxes. "Nothing spicy, though, ok?"

"We can go anywhere you want, as long as you don't try to make me eat a salad."

"Men," she mutters under her breath.


Mulder can't believe how nervous he is an hour and a half later when a waiter finally seats them. From the man's snotty attitude, they ought to be grateful to have gotten a table at all considering they didn't call a month in advance.

At least they get complementary salads, which Scully toys with while they wait for menus. "Is your stomach still bothering you?" Mulder asks, looking concerned. "This is a stressful job, you could be getting an ulcer."

"I'm not getting an ulcer," she says with a shake of her head. "I know what's wrong with my stomach lately."

He gives her a long stare, silently willing her to tell him. Her cheeks pink up, which he thinks looks very fetching, and her eyes are slightly downcast. "I think there's something I need to tell you."

"What?" he asks, keeping his voice as neutral as possible.

"I'm pregnant, Mulder," she confesses. "I know we used birth control, so I'm willing to accept it if you're not ready to be a father-"

"A baby, really?" He lets his delight fill his voice. "I've wanted a baby forever."

"Really?" She gives him a surprised glance. "I wouldn't have guessed that."

"I know, it's usually a female thing, but… like you said, I never really had a family after my sister disappeared, and I want that. I don't know why I didn't admit this the last time we ate together, but I actually have given having a family thought. I don't know, I thought maybe if I admitted it, you'd feel like I was pressuring you into moving too fast.

She looks up sharply. "You've never made me feel pressured into anything, Mulder."

"Good. A baby..." he trails off, allowing himself to look as delighted as he feels. "A baby would make things even more real between us. That is, if the baby's Mommy is willing to give the family thing a go," he says shyly.

"I…of course," she says, flustered. "I want a family too, Mulder, I always have."

He reaches for her hand. "So, do we tell your mother that she's going to have a grandchild or a son-in-law first?"

"Does that mean you're proposing?" Scully asks.

"Only if it means you'd accept. Fragile male ego and all."

She smiles at him. "I think my answer wouldn't damage your ego at all."


"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to day to join this hound-dog and this hot momma in the sanctity of holy matrimony."

"Mulder, no."

"Come on, you know you want to be married by the King, Scully," Mulder pleads with puppy-dog eyes.

Unfortunately, she's having none of it. "Mulder, of all the things I want in life, being married by a fat man in a white polyester jumpsuit is not one of them."

"I suppose you want a big church wedding then, with lots of flowers and lots of people I've never met," he replies with a frown.

"Actually no. Melissa was forever planning her wedding when we were young girls, even buying those stupid bride magazines, but I've never liked the idea of a big wedding. There's just too much stress and planning involved. "

"You've always been a cynic, then."

"I prefer to think of myself as a pragmatist, but yes."

"So what do you want to do, elope? I don't think that'd be as effective without me owning a motorcycle and you sneaking out the window of your childhood room in the middle of the night."

"How about something small? Just you, me, our parents and my siblings?"

"That's really small. I'd agree though, if I could have Danny there as my best man, and invite the Lone Gunmen."

"You'd really want those three there?" Scully asks, making a face.

"I don't have three siblings like you do." Mulder pauses for effect so he's sure she thinks of Samantha too. "They're my best friends."

"Well…ok. But keep a tight leash on that Frohike character."

Mulder snorts and agrees to keep an eye on her smallest admirer. "Aren't you glad I want Danny for the best man?" he asks, thinking about garter belts.