Title - Wake To This Nightmare
Author - Nicky
Rating - PG-13
Spoilers - Up to beginning of Season 8
Keywords - Mulder/Scully romance
Summary - Scully sinks deeper and deeper into a depression as the hunt for Mulder seems to wind to an unsuccessful conclusion. As she struggles to hang on to hope, Mulder awakens to a life he doesn't remember and faces his own struggles to maintain his grip on reality.
Disclaimer - Most of these characters aren't mine. You know that. And I know that. They're property of someone else and used without permission strictly for entertainment purposes.
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Chapter 2
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"Mr. Skinner, I really wish you would just tell me what's going on," Margaret Scully begs. "Why have you dragged me out here to Fox's apartment in the middle of the day?"
"It's a long story, Mrs. Scully. One I'm sure Dana would rather explain to you herself," Skinner responds. "Besides, we're here. You can ask her yourself."
Skinner shuts off the car engine and runs around to the other side of the car to let Mrs. Scully out. He leads her up to Mulder's place and knocks gently on the door. Doggett said that she was asleep and he didn't want to risk waking her. Doggett opens the door and ushers them inside, much to the surprise of Mrs. Scully.
"Who are you? Where are Dana and Fox?" she demands to know.
"Mrs. Scully, this is Special Agent John Doggett. He's Dana's new partner."
"Her new partner?" A panicked look strikes her face as she realizes the implication of that statement. "What happened? Why does she need a new partner? Where's Fox?"
Doggett can tell by the reaction that Mulder was more than just Scully's partner. He was also like a son to this woman. Just what was it with this guy and the Scully women, Doggett wonders to himself. But he's shaken by his thoughts by a sound coming from the bedroom.
"She's back there," Dogget announces to the others. "I think she's having another nightmare. She keeps screaming out for Mulder. Begging him to help someone named Emily..."
Before he can finish explaining, Mrs. Scully has flung open the door and gathered up her child in her arms in the way that only a mother can do. She whispers sweet hushes into her ears and eventually calms the hysterical woman down.
Scully blinks her eyes into focus and notices that she's attracted an audience.
"What are you all doing here?" she mumbles. With a shaky hand, she manages a sip of the water that Doggett left by the bed for her.
"Mr. Skinner called to tell me you needed me," Mrs. Scully says simply. "What's the matter, Honey? Just tell me what's wrong."
"You didn't tell her?" Scully asks Skinner.
"It wasn't my place to tell, Scully," he assures her. "But I know that she needed to know."
"Know what?" Mrs. Scully is confused and starting to get angry. "Dana, Honey. Why do you have a new partner? Where's Fox?"
"Gone," Scully whispers, trying her hardest to hold back the tears. One lone tear manages to escape, though. "Taken."
"Oh, Dana," he mother gasps, pulling her into her arms again. "When did all of this happen? Why didn't you tell me?"
"You were on your cruise. I didn't want to bother you. Besides, it's been too long, Mom," Scully admits defeatedly. "Three months. I came back in three months. But he didn't. It's been too long now." Scully finally lets the rest of the tears fall, her body wracked with the forces of her sobs.
Skinner motions for Doggett to follow him out the room and he closes the door behind them to give the women some privacy.
"You said she started acting this way a couple days ago?" Skinner queries. "That was three months to the day that Mulder had been taken. My guess is that she set that as a time limit for finding him. Figuring he'd be returned within that time."
"But why three months?" Doggett is curious.
"Agent Doggett, you read through the X-Files when you were first assigned, correct? Then you may remember that Agent Scully has been featured in there a few times. The first time was about 7 years ago. She was abducted. Gone. Vanished. Mysteriously disappeared. And three months later, she simply reappeared. To this day, we don't know who took her, where she was, or how she got back. I think Agent Scully may have hoped for that to also be the case with Agent Mulder. When the three month mark passed, she just lost hope. And this pushed her over."
"Sir, she seemed fine a week ago," Doggett argues.
"That's what she wanted everyone to believe. But she was a mess," Skinner explains. "This depression was a long time coming. I didn't know she'd sink this far this quickly. And now, I'm afraid that only one person will be able to get her out." He sighs and walks Doggett to the door. "Thanks again for taking care of her. I'll handle your reassignment papers in a few days."
"Reassignment, Sir?" Doggett asks as he walks out the door.
"I don't think Agent Scully will be back," Skinner sighs. "Not until Mulder is."
"Sir, let's not rush anything. I'm not particularly fond of working on the X-Files, but from what I understand, Agent Mulder and Agent Scully have made it their life's work. I wouldn't feel right abandoning the X-Files, because in all honesty, Sir, I think it'll be the only thing to help Scully in case Mulder is never . . . well, you know. No matter what happens, she won't be like this forever. And when she's better, she'd never forgive either of us if we allow anything to happen to that division," Doggett expresses.
"You may be right. Carry on for now." He gives Doggett a sad smile before closing the door. He leans back against it, letting out another heavy sigh. He let them both down. First he lost Mulder. And just now he almost threw away the X-Files. And if Mulder isn't found soon, he's afraid that Scully's also just as good as gone.
* * * * * * * *
"Rise and shine, sleepyhead," a voice calls through the fog of sleep. Mulder blinks his eyes and looks around at his unfamiliar surroundings. Instantly memories of the day before flood his mind. This apparently was his home. And the attractive brunette calling to him is apparently his wife. She explained all of that to him yesterday. Unfortunately, it didn't feel like home to him. And this woman most definitely didn't feel like his wife. The only thing remotely familiar to him was Emily. He felt a love for her. A bond that confirmed what Diana said about her being his daughter. He accepted that fact easily enough. It was everything else that left him unsettled.
But in all fairness, Diana didn't seem completely unfamiliar to him. So he must know her. But not as his wife. That place in his heart is already filled by someone. But for the life of him, he couldn't remember who. He remembers the flash of red hair in the vision earlier. And now he has another piece of the puzzle - her eyes. They're Emily's eyes. He could almost picture this mystery woman by looking into Emily's eyes. That's how he's sure that Diana isn't what she's claiming. She's not his wife. And she's not the mother of his child. That honor belongs to someone else. But until he can figure out what's really going on, he has to play Diana's little game.
"How are you doing today, Fox? Is your head feeling any better? I was worried about this memory loss you seem to be having. But the doctor said it was probably temporary. That I should just fill you in on all the details of our life until you can remember it for yourself," Diana tells him.
"I'm sorry I can't remember. I know that must scare you. And Emily must be terrified. Can I see her to make sure she knows I'm alright? We can put off our little trip down memory lane until later," Mulder suggests.
"Sure, I'll go get her," Diana says with a little frown. She tries to cover the disappointment with a tight lipped smile before leaving to go retrieve the little girl. Minutes later, she's in Emily's playroom. She scowls at the girl playing in the corner and is pleased with herself when the child cowers in fear.
'Good. That little brat needs to be afraid of me,' Diana thinks to herself, allowing an evil smirk to spread across her face.
"Mrs. Mulder," a small red-haired woman says when she finally notices Diana's in the playroom. "What can I do for you?"
"Audra, get Emily cleaned up and take her in to see her father. I have some phone calls to make. And I am not to be disturbed," Diana says sternly, casting a warning glare at the nanny. Quickly, she turns and leaves the room, not wanting to spend any more time with that kid than she had to. She didn't understand why they insisted on bringing her here. She didn't want to deal with her. But she could see how it could work out to their advantage. Just as they had suspected, Mulder harbored deep feelings and memories about the child. A few well placed lies easily made him believe she was his daughter. And once he sees the nanny, any memories of that partner of his should be explained away by Audra's resemblance to Dana Scully. He'll just assume that he had some misguided, mid life crisis type of fantasies about the young woman caring for his daughter. Dana Scully will soon just be a figment of his imagination. And once she's out of the way, Mulder will belong to Diana.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Rise and shine sleepyhead." Scully moans and pulls the covers over her head, trying to block out the sun. Her mother's cheer was too much to deal with this early in the morning.
"Dana, get up," her mother calls again, this time with more force in her voice. "I won't have you sleeping the day away."
"Mom, I'm fine," Scully insists.
"You most certainly are not, young lady."
'Oh no', Scully thinks to herself. 'She's using young lady now. She's determined to get me out of this bed'. Scully relents and sits up, letting the covers pool around her middle, covering the small bump beginning to grow there.
"That's better," her mother smiles. "I didn't think you'd get much further than that, so I brought your breakfast to you."
Scully's eyes bulges at the sight of the tray of food placed beside her. All of her favorites, but nothing that her stomach could handle right now. Just the thought of the food gave her images of herself throwing it all up and she could literally feel her skin turn green as the nausea began to rise. She covers her mouth with her hand and races to the bathroom with more energy she thought she had.
"Dana, honey," her mother calls over the gagging. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fi . . " she manages to get out just before a second wave hits her. She sticks her head back in the toilet for a repeat performance. When she's finally done, she rises unsteadily and makes her way to the sink to wash up. The door opens slowly and her mother sticks her head in to check on her.
"Dana?"
"Mom, I really am fine," Scully insists.
"Dana, that didn't sound like fine to me. Now tell me. What's going on with you. You can barely muster up any energy to do more than sleep since I got here yesterday. You haven't eaten. And when I do finally bring you food, you throw up before even tasting a bite. Honey, are you sick? It's not the cancer is it? Dana, you'd tell me if something were wrong?"
"Calm down, Mom," Scully interrupts. "I'm not sick. It's not the cancer, I promise." Scully walks past her mom and makes her way back to her bed.
"Then what is it, Honey?" Her mother sits on the bed next to her and lifts Scully's chin so that she's eye to eye with her daughter. "Tell me the truth. And remember, I'm your mother. I can see it in your eyes when you're lying to me," she says with a little grin that works and elicits a small smile from Scully.
"Mom, it's not the cancer," she repeats. "Although it would be easier if it were. That way, Mulder would forgive me for giving up. Calling it quits. He'd understand me not being able to live with the cancer more than he would me not being able to live without him."
"Dana, don't say that! Don't ever say that. You're not thinking about . . ."
"Killing myself? Every day actually," Scully answers with a morbid grin. "The longer he's gone, the more I realize that I might not ever see him again. And I can't live like that."
"He's been gone for months now, Honey. What has stopped you?" Her mother's curious, but grateful at what ever reason that has been keeping her daughter alive.
"Mulder. He's gone, but he didn't leave me alone." Scully begins. It wasn't hard delivering the news to her mother. She'd be happy about the baby. But, she won't be happy being left in the dark again. Scully figured now was as good a time as any to tell her the whole story.
"I wasn't feeling well a couple months ago when Mulder and I got back from a case in Oregon. So when something came up and we needed to go back, Mulder wouldn't let me go. He thought I was in too much danger. And he thought the same thing you did. That it was the cancer again, even though he never said it out loud. He made me promise to stay here and go see my doctor.
"But, I never made it to my doctor. At least not for awhile. I found out that Mulder was the one in danger. And the next thing I knew it, I was in the hospital. I passed straight out and some friends of mine rushed me to the ER. After running some tests, they finally figured out what was wrong with me." Scully looks up at her mother and smiles a small teary smile. "Mom, I'm not sick. I'm . . . I mean, I'm going to . . . I don't really know how this is possible, but I'm . . . pregnant."
Scully watches as the look on her mother's turn to relief. Relief that she wasn't sick or about to die. The relief quickly passes to joy, accented with tears streaming down her face and a huge smile. She pulls Scully into her arms, thanking God for the miracle in her baby girl's life.
"Dana . . oh, Dana . . . this is . . . I can't . . ." Mrs. Scully happily stutters before finally pulling back to look at her daughter's face. And instantly her heart is broken at the sight of Scully. Her daughter was painfully trying to hold in her grief that was eating away at her.
"Oh, Honey. He didn't know, did he? Fox didn't know about the baby?"
Scully shakes her head. Unable to get any words out for fear of tears coming instead. But soon, they were streaming down her face despite her efforts. She crumbles in her mother's embrace, allowing the older woman to hold her up.
"Dana, I'm so sorry. So very sorry I wasn't here before. But I'm here now," Mrs. Scully promises. "And I'm not going anywhere until Fox returns."
"You mean if he returns," Scully sobs.
"No. I mean WHEN he returns." Mrs. Scully lifts her daughter's face until she locks on her eyes. "Listen to me, Dana. When you were gone, I was too quick to want to give up on you. But Fox was there the entire time. I could tell he wanted to give up, but he wouldn't. He couldn't. He believed you'd come back to him. And now, you've got to believe he'll come back to you. To both of you," she says, laying a hand on Scully's stomach.
"Thank you, Mom," Scully whispers, giving a small smile and placing her hand on top of her mother's. "I can't do this alone."
"Don't worry, Honey. You won't have to," Mrs. Scully whispers back, kissing Scully on the forehead. "You won't have to."
To be continued . . .
Author - Nicky
Rating - PG-13
Spoilers - Up to beginning of Season 8
Keywords - Mulder/Scully romance
Summary - Scully sinks deeper and deeper into a depression as the hunt for Mulder seems to wind to an unsuccessful conclusion. As she struggles to hang on to hope, Mulder awakens to a life he doesn't remember and faces his own struggles to maintain his grip on reality.
Disclaimer - Most of these characters aren't mine. You know that. And I know that. They're property of someone else and used without permission strictly for entertainment purposes.
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Chapter 2
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"Mr. Skinner, I really wish you would just tell me what's going on," Margaret Scully begs. "Why have you dragged me out here to Fox's apartment in the middle of the day?"
"It's a long story, Mrs. Scully. One I'm sure Dana would rather explain to you herself," Skinner responds. "Besides, we're here. You can ask her yourself."
Skinner shuts off the car engine and runs around to the other side of the car to let Mrs. Scully out. He leads her up to Mulder's place and knocks gently on the door. Doggett said that she was asleep and he didn't want to risk waking her. Doggett opens the door and ushers them inside, much to the surprise of Mrs. Scully.
"Who are you? Where are Dana and Fox?" she demands to know.
"Mrs. Scully, this is Special Agent John Doggett. He's Dana's new partner."
"Her new partner?" A panicked look strikes her face as she realizes the implication of that statement. "What happened? Why does she need a new partner? Where's Fox?"
Doggett can tell by the reaction that Mulder was more than just Scully's partner. He was also like a son to this woman. Just what was it with this guy and the Scully women, Doggett wonders to himself. But he's shaken by his thoughts by a sound coming from the bedroom.
"She's back there," Dogget announces to the others. "I think she's having another nightmare. She keeps screaming out for Mulder. Begging him to help someone named Emily..."
Before he can finish explaining, Mrs. Scully has flung open the door and gathered up her child in her arms in the way that only a mother can do. She whispers sweet hushes into her ears and eventually calms the hysterical woman down.
Scully blinks her eyes into focus and notices that she's attracted an audience.
"What are you all doing here?" she mumbles. With a shaky hand, she manages a sip of the water that Doggett left by the bed for her.
"Mr. Skinner called to tell me you needed me," Mrs. Scully says simply. "What's the matter, Honey? Just tell me what's wrong."
"You didn't tell her?" Scully asks Skinner.
"It wasn't my place to tell, Scully," he assures her. "But I know that she needed to know."
"Know what?" Mrs. Scully is confused and starting to get angry. "Dana, Honey. Why do you have a new partner? Where's Fox?"
"Gone," Scully whispers, trying her hardest to hold back the tears. One lone tear manages to escape, though. "Taken."
"Oh, Dana," he mother gasps, pulling her into her arms again. "When did all of this happen? Why didn't you tell me?"
"You were on your cruise. I didn't want to bother you. Besides, it's been too long, Mom," Scully admits defeatedly. "Three months. I came back in three months. But he didn't. It's been too long now." Scully finally lets the rest of the tears fall, her body wracked with the forces of her sobs.
Skinner motions for Doggett to follow him out the room and he closes the door behind them to give the women some privacy.
"You said she started acting this way a couple days ago?" Skinner queries. "That was three months to the day that Mulder had been taken. My guess is that she set that as a time limit for finding him. Figuring he'd be returned within that time."
"But why three months?" Doggett is curious.
"Agent Doggett, you read through the X-Files when you were first assigned, correct? Then you may remember that Agent Scully has been featured in there a few times. The first time was about 7 years ago. She was abducted. Gone. Vanished. Mysteriously disappeared. And three months later, she simply reappeared. To this day, we don't know who took her, where she was, or how she got back. I think Agent Scully may have hoped for that to also be the case with Agent Mulder. When the three month mark passed, she just lost hope. And this pushed her over."
"Sir, she seemed fine a week ago," Doggett argues.
"That's what she wanted everyone to believe. But she was a mess," Skinner explains. "This depression was a long time coming. I didn't know she'd sink this far this quickly. And now, I'm afraid that only one person will be able to get her out." He sighs and walks Doggett to the door. "Thanks again for taking care of her. I'll handle your reassignment papers in a few days."
"Reassignment, Sir?" Doggett asks as he walks out the door.
"I don't think Agent Scully will be back," Skinner sighs. "Not until Mulder is."
"Sir, let's not rush anything. I'm not particularly fond of working on the X-Files, but from what I understand, Agent Mulder and Agent Scully have made it their life's work. I wouldn't feel right abandoning the X-Files, because in all honesty, Sir, I think it'll be the only thing to help Scully in case Mulder is never . . . well, you know. No matter what happens, she won't be like this forever. And when she's better, she'd never forgive either of us if we allow anything to happen to that division," Doggett expresses.
"You may be right. Carry on for now." He gives Doggett a sad smile before closing the door. He leans back against it, letting out another heavy sigh. He let them both down. First he lost Mulder. And just now he almost threw away the X-Files. And if Mulder isn't found soon, he's afraid that Scully's also just as good as gone.
* * * * * * * *
"Rise and shine, sleepyhead," a voice calls through the fog of sleep. Mulder blinks his eyes and looks around at his unfamiliar surroundings. Instantly memories of the day before flood his mind. This apparently was his home. And the attractive brunette calling to him is apparently his wife. She explained all of that to him yesterday. Unfortunately, it didn't feel like home to him. And this woman most definitely didn't feel like his wife. The only thing remotely familiar to him was Emily. He felt a love for her. A bond that confirmed what Diana said about her being his daughter. He accepted that fact easily enough. It was everything else that left him unsettled.
But in all fairness, Diana didn't seem completely unfamiliar to him. So he must know her. But not as his wife. That place in his heart is already filled by someone. But for the life of him, he couldn't remember who. He remembers the flash of red hair in the vision earlier. And now he has another piece of the puzzle - her eyes. They're Emily's eyes. He could almost picture this mystery woman by looking into Emily's eyes. That's how he's sure that Diana isn't what she's claiming. She's not his wife. And she's not the mother of his child. That honor belongs to someone else. But until he can figure out what's really going on, he has to play Diana's little game.
"How are you doing today, Fox? Is your head feeling any better? I was worried about this memory loss you seem to be having. But the doctor said it was probably temporary. That I should just fill you in on all the details of our life until you can remember it for yourself," Diana tells him.
"I'm sorry I can't remember. I know that must scare you. And Emily must be terrified. Can I see her to make sure she knows I'm alright? We can put off our little trip down memory lane until later," Mulder suggests.
"Sure, I'll go get her," Diana says with a little frown. She tries to cover the disappointment with a tight lipped smile before leaving to go retrieve the little girl. Minutes later, she's in Emily's playroom. She scowls at the girl playing in the corner and is pleased with herself when the child cowers in fear.
'Good. That little brat needs to be afraid of me,' Diana thinks to herself, allowing an evil smirk to spread across her face.
"Mrs. Mulder," a small red-haired woman says when she finally notices Diana's in the playroom. "What can I do for you?"
"Audra, get Emily cleaned up and take her in to see her father. I have some phone calls to make. And I am not to be disturbed," Diana says sternly, casting a warning glare at the nanny. Quickly, she turns and leaves the room, not wanting to spend any more time with that kid than she had to. She didn't understand why they insisted on bringing her here. She didn't want to deal with her. But she could see how it could work out to their advantage. Just as they had suspected, Mulder harbored deep feelings and memories about the child. A few well placed lies easily made him believe she was his daughter. And once he sees the nanny, any memories of that partner of his should be explained away by Audra's resemblance to Dana Scully. He'll just assume that he had some misguided, mid life crisis type of fantasies about the young woman caring for his daughter. Dana Scully will soon just be a figment of his imagination. And once she's out of the way, Mulder will belong to Diana.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Rise and shine sleepyhead." Scully moans and pulls the covers over her head, trying to block out the sun. Her mother's cheer was too much to deal with this early in the morning.
"Dana, get up," her mother calls again, this time with more force in her voice. "I won't have you sleeping the day away."
"Mom, I'm fine," Scully insists.
"You most certainly are not, young lady."
'Oh no', Scully thinks to herself. 'She's using young lady now. She's determined to get me out of this bed'. Scully relents and sits up, letting the covers pool around her middle, covering the small bump beginning to grow there.
"That's better," her mother smiles. "I didn't think you'd get much further than that, so I brought your breakfast to you."
Scully's eyes bulges at the sight of the tray of food placed beside her. All of her favorites, but nothing that her stomach could handle right now. Just the thought of the food gave her images of herself throwing it all up and she could literally feel her skin turn green as the nausea began to rise. She covers her mouth with her hand and races to the bathroom with more energy she thought she had.
"Dana, honey," her mother calls over the gagging. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fi . . " she manages to get out just before a second wave hits her. She sticks her head back in the toilet for a repeat performance. When she's finally done, she rises unsteadily and makes her way to the sink to wash up. The door opens slowly and her mother sticks her head in to check on her.
"Dana?"
"Mom, I really am fine," Scully insists.
"Dana, that didn't sound like fine to me. Now tell me. What's going on with you. You can barely muster up any energy to do more than sleep since I got here yesterday. You haven't eaten. And when I do finally bring you food, you throw up before even tasting a bite. Honey, are you sick? It's not the cancer is it? Dana, you'd tell me if something were wrong?"
"Calm down, Mom," Scully interrupts. "I'm not sick. It's not the cancer, I promise." Scully walks past her mom and makes her way back to her bed.
"Then what is it, Honey?" Her mother sits on the bed next to her and lifts Scully's chin so that she's eye to eye with her daughter. "Tell me the truth. And remember, I'm your mother. I can see it in your eyes when you're lying to me," she says with a little grin that works and elicits a small smile from Scully.
"Mom, it's not the cancer," she repeats. "Although it would be easier if it were. That way, Mulder would forgive me for giving up. Calling it quits. He'd understand me not being able to live with the cancer more than he would me not being able to live without him."
"Dana, don't say that! Don't ever say that. You're not thinking about . . ."
"Killing myself? Every day actually," Scully answers with a morbid grin. "The longer he's gone, the more I realize that I might not ever see him again. And I can't live like that."
"He's been gone for months now, Honey. What has stopped you?" Her mother's curious, but grateful at what ever reason that has been keeping her daughter alive.
"Mulder. He's gone, but he didn't leave me alone." Scully begins. It wasn't hard delivering the news to her mother. She'd be happy about the baby. But, she won't be happy being left in the dark again. Scully figured now was as good a time as any to tell her the whole story.
"I wasn't feeling well a couple months ago when Mulder and I got back from a case in Oregon. So when something came up and we needed to go back, Mulder wouldn't let me go. He thought I was in too much danger. And he thought the same thing you did. That it was the cancer again, even though he never said it out loud. He made me promise to stay here and go see my doctor.
"But, I never made it to my doctor. At least not for awhile. I found out that Mulder was the one in danger. And the next thing I knew it, I was in the hospital. I passed straight out and some friends of mine rushed me to the ER. After running some tests, they finally figured out what was wrong with me." Scully looks up at her mother and smiles a small teary smile. "Mom, I'm not sick. I'm . . . I mean, I'm going to . . . I don't really know how this is possible, but I'm . . . pregnant."
Scully watches as the look on her mother's turn to relief. Relief that she wasn't sick or about to die. The relief quickly passes to joy, accented with tears streaming down her face and a huge smile. She pulls Scully into her arms, thanking God for the miracle in her baby girl's life.
"Dana . . oh, Dana . . . this is . . . I can't . . ." Mrs. Scully happily stutters before finally pulling back to look at her daughter's face. And instantly her heart is broken at the sight of Scully. Her daughter was painfully trying to hold in her grief that was eating away at her.
"Oh, Honey. He didn't know, did he? Fox didn't know about the baby?"
Scully shakes her head. Unable to get any words out for fear of tears coming instead. But soon, they were streaming down her face despite her efforts. She crumbles in her mother's embrace, allowing the older woman to hold her up.
"Dana, I'm so sorry. So very sorry I wasn't here before. But I'm here now," Mrs. Scully promises. "And I'm not going anywhere until Fox returns."
"You mean if he returns," Scully sobs.
"No. I mean WHEN he returns." Mrs. Scully lifts her daughter's face until she locks on her eyes. "Listen to me, Dana. When you were gone, I was too quick to want to give up on you. But Fox was there the entire time. I could tell he wanted to give up, but he wouldn't. He couldn't. He believed you'd come back to him. And now, you've got to believe he'll come back to you. To both of you," she says, laying a hand on Scully's stomach.
"Thank you, Mom," Scully whispers, giving a small smile and placing her hand on top of her mother's. "I can't do this alone."
"Don't worry, Honey. You won't have to," Mrs. Scully whispers back, kissing Scully on the forehead. "You won't have to."
To be continued . . .