Tomorrow

By Jillian

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

"All right, quiet down," The teacher hushed her noisy class.

"Ayo, Doc' Carter, what's poppin?" A boy shouted out.

"What's poppin? Did you fail English too, Nick?" Dana Scully, also known as Doctor Katherine Carter, asked her student sarcastically. She looked up at the clock. It was ten minutes into the first day of her summer school instruction and she was already dying to leave.

The last week had been spent relaxing at home, at the insistence of Fox Mulder. Scully had been held at the hospital for two days, and they were anxious to get back to the quiet lives they led in New York. They had said goodbyes to Mrs. Scully, Monica, John, Skinner, and Gibson, and left for New York via train with a suitcase of liquid magnetite. Scully kept two hypodermic needles of it in her briefcase or pocket book at all times since they'd gotten back, also at Mulder's insistence. He was worried they'd come after her again, because their threat rang in his ears; "We'll hit you twice as hard."

The thoughts were the minority in her head for once, however, due to the noisy class she was teaching. They didn't want to quiet down, which was almost understandable. They were the "bad kids," the ones who had failed Chemistry and were stuck here. The class was at half attendance, since most of the kids passed the Regents and didn't care about report card grades. The rest of the room was filled with students who were unhappy to be there. They were definitely not following dress code, being that the girls were wearing two strips of cloth they referred to as "shorts" and a "shirt."

"C'mon, guys, give me your attention. The faster you get quiet, the faster I can prep you for the August Regents. I don't mind sitting here, I'm being paid. You ought to make the best of your time and listen to me, or else you'll be in my class a third time in September." The room settled down, and Scully smiled to herself. She was really getting the hang of this. "I think you all know me, but in case you don't, my name is Doctor Carter. I've been teaching here for a few months, and it looks like I'll be here a while."

"Ain't you having a baby?" A girl shouted. How was Scully going to deal with the lack of clothing and abundance of poor grammar? She was in a room with the bottom of the barrel.

"Yes, I am. In February. There's plenty of time before my maternity leave." She smiled. "Now take out your books." The students reluctantly did so, and Scully carried on similarly for the remainder of the day.

The summer progressed on in a mundane fashion. Scully would go to work, and Mulder would write articles for the magazine. Scully would come home from work, they'd eat dinner, spend time together, and go to bed. Sometimes they went out to dinner, or little things popped up here and there, but summer was proving to be rather tedious. Tedious. Something Scully and Mulder's lives had *never* been. They didn't know whether to cherish it or to despise it.

They did have one thing they knew they could cherish. They were happy that at this time in their life they were playing it safe, because they had a child, unborn as it may be, to protect. They were bored, but relatively safe, and relative safety was the best they could give their child. Laying in bed one morning late in August, Mulder ran his fingers over Scully's stomach. It had been about two months since she had been taken by the Super-soldiers, and nothing mysterious had happened since.

"Mm, Dana, it's early yet, I know, but still..." He began, staring at her stomach. "I swear I can feel it swell, right here," He indicated at the top of her stomach. "I swear I can see our baby growing." He grinned.

"That's crazy, Mulder. I'm just about to end my first trimester. I won't be showing for at least another month, more likely two." She smiled. "So, unless you're saying I put on weight," She teased, grinning.

"No, it's just that I can't wait until you do, until I can see it... I can't wait for visual proof daily, that we created another life."

"Me either." Scully smiled, and Mulder kissed her stomach lightly. It had become a habit of his, as if he was kissing the baby itself.

That evening Scully and Mulder sat on the deck, noting the little bit of a chill in the air. Summer school had been dismissed with the month of August, and it looked liked summer was on its way out, too. Scully had plans to teach school until the end of the first term in January, when she'd take maternity leave. After that, she was welcome back to school as soon as she could manage, which would be relatively quick since Mulder worked at home.

"Summer's fading away, Mulder." She sighed that night on the deck. "Since we're still manufacturing the liquid, do you think that the Super-soldiers will carry out their threat?" She asked quietly.

"It doesn't matter what they said or threatened... I'm not going to let them hurt you."

"It's not about letting them do anything, it's about what they decide to do. I mean, I know we aren't powerless to stop them, but if they really want something..."

"But we also really want something. I told you, I'm not going to let anyone hurt your or our baby. It's been months since they made that threat... Let's hope that it's nothing more than that, an empty threat. I won't let it become anymore than that. I promise. I love you." He said, grabbing her hand tightly.

"I love you, too, Mulder." She smiled, and he placed a kiss on her lips.

A week later, Scully made an appointment for a routine checkup with her obstetrician. They sat in the waiting office, and Scully nervously fidgeted her fingers about. She remembered sitting in a waiting room like this, pregnant with William, wondering what all the fuss was about concerning her child. Now, everything was normal, except that she shouldn't have even gotten pregnant. Of course, it was a miracle she didn't bother to question--the how didn't even matter to her anymore. It was the fact that it *had* happened. She didn't question why... She just looked to the future with hope.

She did, however, ponder the irony of her situation. All her life she wanted children, but that right had been taken away from her. For a woman who wasn't supposed to have any children, she was extremely lucky. She had three. Emily, her daughter, remained in her heart always. She would never forget the joy in her heart when she had found her, had promised to take care of her, but conversely, she would never forget the pain she felt when she watched her slip away. Emily was not a result of her own doing, but that didn't make her any less of a child to Scully. In those few days, a connection was formed, and it was broken far too soon.

After Emily, Scully simply never thought she'd have a child. She had lost the ability, and that was that. Everything changed when Mulder revealed he'd kept her eggs. Although he said they weren't usable, she demanded that she get another opinion. She had tried in vitro with Mulder, but it failed. It left her hopeless. Then, just weeks later, she found out she was pregnant. It hadn't been the in vitro, it had been *Mulder.* Mulder was gone then, and things would have fallen apart had it not been for the promise of William being born. When Mulder returned, and they held William together, that bond was formed again. She had given birth to this child, he grew inside her. It was like nothing she could have imagined. She had assumed nothing could ever bring her down from the high of motherhood. Nothing except having that right, that motherhood, taken away from her. Giving William up was the hardest decision of Dana Scully's life, but it was one she knew she'd have to make. After doing so, it was a whole new pain to deal with. She couldn't be angry that her child was pulled away from her, she had given him up. To keep him safe. How many nights did she lay awake, wondering if she made the wrong decision? If she could have taken care of him? She wondered every night after the one she gave him up. She knew now, she had to do what she did. Look at her life, she was running away, living as someone else...

Someone else with an unexpected surprise. How could she be so lucky, to be pregnant again? How could yet another miracle be bestowed upon her? Had she given so much that God finally decided she could have something to hold onto forever? What she'd wanted all her life... A child. One that she could love, and cherish, forever. One she'd never have to let go of.

The doctor interrupted her thoughts, and called her and Mulder inside. They prepped her, getting her ready for the ultrasound. Soon enough she was laying down, her stomach exposed as the doctor conducted the ultrasound. Mulder held Scully's hand, and they both watched the tiny image of their child moving around within the womb.

"God, Katherine," Mulder breathed, making sure to use her alias in the company of the doctor, "Look... We made that." Mulder said, staring in awe at the image on the screen. He looked like a little boy in a candy store, gazing up at everything he ever wanted.

"I know, William. It's amazing. I can't believe it." She smiled back at him.

"Well," The doctor interrupted, "You can believe it alright. You've got a healthy, growing baby, Mr. and Mrs. Carter." The doctor smiled. "I'll print you out some pictures, okay? You don't need to see me until you're well into your second trimester, but if you fear anything, especially since you say you've had fertility problems in the past, you come and see me, okay?"

"Of course, Doctor." She smiled. "Thank you."

"It's my job." The woman smiled back. "I'll be right in with the photos, you're all done." She said.

"This is so wonderful, Scully, I'm so relieved." Mulder said when they were alone again. "Although I was always sure everything would be okay."

"Yeah, it's good to be assured everything is normal." She smiled at him, meeting his gaze.

Normalcy. It reigned for the weeks after Dana Scully's OB/GYN checkup, and she was pleased with it. The days were the same, just like the summer, all throughout the fall. She fell into the habit of worrying more about having food in the refrigerator and grading exams than whether or not a Super-soldier would pop out of the shadows. But could that be just what they were waiting for? An opportunity when they were unexpected?

She pushed the thought from her head. Fall had come, and it was progressing faster than she had imagined it would. People began talking of holiday's, presents, and snow, and it began to be what they were talking about too. Things were taking their mind away from all the pain they'd felt in the past, and they were concentrating on the future. Little did they know that with the coming weeks, the coming holiday's, the coming future, they'd be tested once more.

"We'll hit you twice as hard." The Super-soldiers had promised they would return if the liquid production had not ceased, and it was still being created.

Super-soldiers don't make promises that they don't intend to keep.

Authors Notes: Hey, guys! This chapter was slow, but I needed to calm the world of Mulder and Scully down before their next big adventure ;) Anyway, the next chapter will leave you in suspense, I promise. It'll be up very soon (I feel I may have cheated you somewhat with this slow, time-spanning chapter)… Maybe within the day! Thanks again for the reviews, keep them coming!