He enters the suburban home, after another day at Quantico. He finds that Scully isn't downstairs when he enters the house. The dog greets him.
"I am glad that someone is excited to see me. Where is your mama?"
The dog races up the stairs. Mulder follows the pooch into the nursery. He finds Scully sitting on the floor in the middle of the nursery, surrounded by baskets of laundry. She sits on the floor with her legs folded in front of her.
"What are you doing down there?"
"I was tired, so I decided to sit down for a minute."
"That seems reasonable," he waits for further details.
"I then realized that I can't get back up."
"What do you mean?"
"In case you have never noticed, I am short."
"Only once, have I noticed that," he teases.
"My legs are not particularly long," she adds.
"That is okay," he tells her, "Not everyone can have long legs."
"There is a baby sitting on top of my bladder."
"Only for like three more weeks," he points out, as he stares at her rather round stomach.
"The point is, my center of gravity has shifted, and my stomach is preventing me from gathering the momentum required to get up."
"Don't forget your short legs," he smiles.
She grabs a burp cloth out of the laundry basket, and tosses it at him. He catches it. "Scully, how long have you been down there?"
"Twenty minutes."
He holds out a hand. She shoots him a begrudging look as she takes his hand. He assists her into a standing position.
"What are you doing in here?"
"You have nagged me continuously, for months to get prepared," she reminds him.
"I have," he nods.
"I went shopping this morning."
"Is there anything left on the shelf at babies r' us?"
"The crib sheet, and blankets are in the dryer."
"You want me to retrieve them, I suppose?"
"I am going to put her clothes into her drawers."
"At least she has clothes now. I really feel like at some point we switched bodies, because you never used to be the procrastinator."
"I would gladly switch you bodies. Your daughter thinks that my ribs are a prime location to practice tap dancing."
"I am going to leave you up here to nest, while I go retrieve the laundry from the dryer, fold it very slowly, and then bring it up here."
He is putting the last towel in the basket when he hears his name being called.
"Mulder!"
He races up the stairs with the basket of laundry. Much to his dismay Scully is not on the ground level of the home. He takes a deep breath, and heads up the next flight of stairs. He heads into the nursery, and finds it vacant. He calls out.
"Where are you?"
"In here," he hears her voice coming from the bathroom.
He enters the master bathroom, and finds her standing in the bathroom with a paper towel under foot, wiping something off the floor.
"What are you doing?" Before she can answer he reaches down, "Let me get that."
She lifts her foot, and he begins to wipe the floor up.
"Did the dog pee in here? I just took him out before I went to the laundry room."
"It isn't dog pee, Mulder."
From his position on the floor he looks up at her. He sees liquid on her leg.
"You peed on the floor?" He cocks an eyebrow.
She shakes her head, "It isn't urine."
"Oh," he sighs in relief as he tosses the paper towel into the trash can. He stands up, and turns towards her. He furrows his brow. "Then what is it?"
She doesn't answer him. She stands in front of the sink, gripping the edge of the counter.
"Are you okay?"
"Do I look okay?" She growls.
"That wasn't urine, which means it was… part of a mucus plug? That's even worse than urine."
"Thank you, Captain Obvious."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Go into the closet and get a pair of scrub pants."
"Scrub pants and a t-shirt, that is a pretty casual look."
"Now!" She growls.
He makes a beeline for the closet. He pulls out a pair of ceil blue scrub pants, and races back to the bathroom. He hands them to her. He helps her balance as he pulls them on. He proceeds to follow her into the bedroom. She takes a seat on the bed. He waits for further explanation, or instruction.
"Are you in labor?"
"It is a serious possibility," she confirms.
"How long have you been having contractions?"
"Since noon," she answers.
He looks at his watch, "It's six thirty."
"I know."
"Why didn't you call me?"
"At first they were completely irregular, and I didn't think that I was going into labor."
"What time did you get home?"
"Around two."
"So you kept on shopping, even though you thought you might be in labor?"
"You said it yourself, I left everything to the last minute."
"The bag is in the car, and we installed the car seat in your car last week. Let's go."
"Okay," she nods in agreement.
"You are so stubborn."
"You're just learning that?" She retorts as he leads her to the staircase.
"I have known for a while," he responds.
"Come on!"
He doesn't argue. He helps her down the stairs, and to the car. He straps her into the passenger's seat of her car, and he climbs into the driver's seat.
"I am not pulling over to deliver a baby, so keep her in until we get to the hospital, please."
"What do you want me to do, cross my legs?"