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Leaving Chloe's room, Mulder and Scully head to the living room.
"I'm glad it was just nightmares," Mulder comments as he sits down on the couch. Nodding, Scully sits beside him. After a brief silence, Mulder asks his partner if she is okay. She nods.
"Just tired," She lies. In no way will she tell Mulder that she is having a meeting with a doctor regarding her ova. Especially if the results are negative. Letting her head rest on the back couch cushion, Scully closes her eyes.
Standing up, Mulder heads toward Scully's suitcase. By now, she is staring at her partner.
"I'm going to put this in the bedroom."
"Mulder," She protests. He shakes his head before heading to his room. Passing Scully again, Mulder says, "I'll be in the shower if you need me."
Scully nods and leans back against the couch. Opening her eyes again, the red head heads to the bedroom to change.
Mulder comes out of the bathroom to find Scully lying snuggly under his blankets.
"Comfy?" He asks. When he gets no response, he looks closer at his partner who is silently crying.
"I miss her Mulder," Scully whipsers.
"Who?"
"Emily. I try not to think about her, but every now and then I wonder what she would be like now. Maybe what Chloe would think of her? She may have been my only chance."
Remembering a similar situation from a year ago, Mulder climbs on the bed and holds her until she falls asleep.
Waking up earlier than she wants, Scully quietly gets out of bed, careful not to wake Mulder, and heads toward her suitcase which currently resides in the bedroom. Grabbing her clean clothes, Scully heads into the bathroom. After getting a shower, the red head goes to the kitchen before checking the time. Thankful she has half an hour before she leaves, Scully makes herself a cup of coffee and a bagel. Realizing she is too nervous to eat, Scully throws her half eaten bagel away and pours the rest of her coffee down the sink. Smoothing her suit, Scully grabs her purse and heads to her appointment early.
"Dana Scully," A nurse calls bringing the red head from her thoughts. Scully stands and heads to her doctor consulation.
"'Ms. Scully? Got a good report for you. I've looked at the ova you've given me and consulted with some of my colleagues. We all feel that with the proper approach we might be successful. Got a good chance to get you pregnant'," Dr. Parenti tells her. Overwhelmed, Scully replies, "'Oh... It's too good to be true.'"
"'I don't want to lay odds but it's not out of the realm of possibility if we start soon.'"
Still in disbelief, the red head tries to absorb the information. After a moment, she asks, "'We can start right away?'"
Her doctor nods adding, "'Well, you need a father, of course. I can get you genetic counseling on finding an anonymous donor if that's what you want... unless you already have someone in mind.'"
Knowing exactly who she has in mind, Scully replies, "'Yeah... I, uh... I just have to figure out how to ask him.'"
Still in a daze when she leaves the office, the red head is thankful that her car is at her apartment.
"Hey, Scully. You left early," Mulder comments when his partner comes into their basement office that morning. Scully nods and shuts the door.
"I had an appointment," She replies remembering vividly their conversation from the night before. Obviously not remembering, Mulder looks at Scully in concern. Noting his expression, Scully reassures him that she is fine. He sighs in relief.
Scully nods before sitting at the seat in front of the desk while Mulder goes back to writing his report. His partner soon begins her own and they go about their day as normal. However, when they present their reports to Skinner, Mulder notices Scully nervously fidgeting with the folder her report is in.
"You okay?" Mulder asks. Scully nods unsure how to broach her doctor appointment again. After a moment, she tentatively says her partner's name. He looks at her but the secretary soon tells the agents to go into their boss' office.
"Agents," Skinner begins as he receives the folders. They smile at him before sitting in their regular chairs.
"How was California?" The Assistant Director asks. Mulder looks over at his partner as he suddenly remembers the night before, but has no need to worry. Scully smoothly answers, "Fine."
Coming out of the office twenty minutes later, Scully and Mulder head back to their office. In the elevator, Scully says, "Mulder? I need to tell you about my appointment this morning."
"You said you were fine," Mulder states while he tries to keep the nerves he suppressed from her cancer from reappearing.
"I am. Actually," Scully starts, "I had an appointment regarding my ova. A second opinion."
Mulder looks down at her wondering what she is getting at. His partner forms her thoughts carefully. A smile forms on her face as she states, "There's a chance, Mulder."
He smiles back just as the elevator doors open. He knows Scully wants a child and is not blind to the longing glances she sends to families or children as well as her breakdown over Emily the night before. After a moment he asks, "Are you gonna take it?"
"Dr. Parenti says I can start right away, I just need a father," The red head replies as they enter their office. For some reason, they find the basement itself a haven for them, not just the office. Mulder digests the information wondering who she has in mind. He hopes it will be him.
"Do you have any men in mind?" Mulder teases as he goes back to his desk. Leaning back in his chair, he notices Scully not meeting his gaze. With a smirk, the man teases, "Why Scully are you asking me to father your child?"
When he does not receive his partner's signature eyebrow raise, Mulder nearly falls out of his chair.
"You're serious?" He asks. Scully nods. Knitting his eyebrows together, Mulder finally says, "Wow. Um, that's a huge thing, Scully. Care if I take it a few days to think over?"
He wants to say yes right then, but remembers he has more to think about than just Scully's feelings. His partner nods adding, "We need to talk to Chloe, too. This will affect her as well."
Knowing they are in sync regarding the teenager, Mulder locks eyes with Scully as he sincerely congratulates her.
For the next two days, the agents silently agree not to stay out of each other's way unless at work. Neither wants to sway the other's opinion. After a long day, Mulder tells Scully to go home. She begins to refuse, but Mulder gives her a look much like the one he sends her when she pushed herself too hard when she had cancer. Relenting, Scully grabs her coat and purse before heading out. At home, the red head puts her things away and starts to tidy up her apartment. About to get out her vacuum, she hears a knock on her front door.
"'Hi'," Scully greets finding her partner on the other side.
'''Hi'," Mulder answers. Opening the door wider, Scully asks her partner to come inside before closing the door behind him.
"'Can I take your coat?'" She asks wondering how she can relieve the awkwardness that permeates their stunted conversation. Mulder declines explaining he needs to go back to the office. Scully nods before getting to the point.
"'Obviously you've had some time to think about my request.'"
Answering, Mulder begins, "'Um, it's... it's not something that I get asked to do every day. Um, but I am absolutely flattered.'"
Realizing he is declining, she smiles embarrassed.
"'No, honestly'," Mulder states. Scully avoids her partner's eyes as she replies, "'Okay, if... if you're trying to politely say "no," it's okay. I, I understand.'"
"'See what's weird is... this sounds, and this sounds really weird, I know, but I, I just wouldn't want this to come between us.'"
Devastated, the red head tries not to let her voice break when she speaks again.
"'Yeah. I know... I, I understand. I do.'"
Realizing Scully thinks he is declining, he puts his hand up to reassure her, but stops himself. Instead, he answers that he will be her sperm donor. Noticing her ecstatic expression, Mulder smiles back at her. They embrace, but are still awkward when they part knowing what they have just agreed on. Going back to business, Scully states, "'Um... Well, I'll call Dr. Parenti and...'"
Mulder nods and smiles as his partner adds, "'I assume that he'll want to meet you and go through the, uh, the donor procedure.'"
Cheekily, the man comments, "'At that part, I'm a pro.'"
Scully smiles softly as Mulder heads to the door. After a moment, she asks, "When should we tell Chloe?"
"Let's get the appointment set up, and then tell her," Mulder answers. He squeezes his partner's hand gently before seeing himself out of her apartment. Later that night, Scully calls Mulder to update him. Hearing him answer his phone, Scully tells him she has an appointment set up for the both of us next week.
"Okay. Um, that was fast," Mulder comments on the other line. He hears her hum in response before she tentatively asks, "Want to talk to Chloe on Saturday?"
"Yeah. That seems best," The father admits with a yawn. "Good- night, Scully."
"Night, Mulder," Scully replies before hanging up the phone.
"Chloe, Scully and I need to talk to you about something," Mulder tells his daughter that Saturday as he and Scully sit the teen down. Chloe looks between the two and is rather aware of their closer proximity.
"Why are you two holding hands?" The teen asks instead. Her father mumbles that he is nervous, but soon asks his daughter to focus. With a deep breath, Scully finally asks, "How would you feel about having a sibling?"
Confused, Chloe looks between the two wondering what is happening. She knows that Scully cannot have children and says as much.
"Well, I can't naturally, no. However, there is a possibility through IVF," The red head explains. Noticing the teen's confused expression, the adults try to explain the procedure as best they can without going into detail regarding Scully's abduction.
"So someone's going to plant yours and dad's stuff inside you and end up with my sibling," Chloe reiterates trying to understand the concept. She knows the term, but not the logistics.
"If it all works out, yes," Mulder replies. "Are you okay with that? With us trying this?"
Chloe smiles at them.
"Yeah," She replies thinking it will be nice to have a younger sibling. Much younger, but a sibling none the less.
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