Tomorrow
By Jillian
CHAPTER TWENTY
Things were finally looking up for Dana Scully and Fox Mulder. They were living with their beautiful son, who grew attached to them right away. It was almost as if he was never taken away at all... Almost. The pain from their losses were still there, and they always would be. They were closer now than they ever were before to normalcy, though, and they were happy. Dana went to school and taught during the week, and Mulder wrote articles for the magazine. They told the people involved with their new lives that William was their nephew, whose parent's died, and that they were going to raise him as their own. A normal house, normal jobs, a normal son, and another baby on the way.
Mulder was downstairs, playing with William. It was February, and Scully was due any day... It had slipped from his mind, however, as he and his son chased each other around the living room. It was a mixture between tag and hide and go seek--Mulder would chase William around, catch him, and scoop him up into his arms. William would laugh, Mulder would put him down, and then William would chase Mulder around. Mulder would let William catch him, and the game continued over and over. In the middle of the game, however, Mulder heard Scully yell from upstairs.
"Mulder!" She called, her voice sounding excited.
Mulder prayed it was what he thought it was.
"My water broke!" She squealed happily.
He was unbelievably happy. He scooped up their son and ran upstairs.
"C'mon, let's get to the hospital, Dana. This is so amazing..."
"Call my mom," Dana said. "And everyone down in DC."
Mulder obediently listened to his wife, and called Mrs. Scully, John and Monica, and Skinner. They all were elated, and Mrs. Scully said she'd catch the next train or flight out to New York. Monica and John also planned to come by and see the baby. They had decided to bring William to their neighbors, and when Mrs. Scully got there, she could go get him.
"Be a good boy for Mommy," Dana told her son. "And when I come back, I'll bring a little brother or sister." She grinned and he kissed her nose. Mulder brought him next door, and the super-friendly neighbors were thrilled to have William for a while. They congratulated Mulder and Scully, and watched the couple get into the car.
"I can't believe it's actually happening." Mulder smiled.
"You'd believe it if you were in the pain I'm in." Scully deadpanned.
"You're tough, Scully, you can take it." Mulder said.
"Shut up and drive, Mulder." She grinned.
They took Dana into a delivery room right away, and Mulder followed them in. The room was a single, so they'd have privacy. It was bright and cheerful, and they realized that when Dana walked out of that room, she'd have another child. The nurse briefed Scully on her condition, and left the two of them alone.
"So how long will it be?" Mulder asked.
"A while. I'm barely dilated yet." Scully said.
"I don't know how much longer I can wait." Mulder grinned.
"We waited a *long* time for this, Mulder. A couple of hours won't kill us."
"Yeah, I know. How are you feeling?" He asked.
"Okay, but the contractions are going to worsen. It's a lot nicer than giving birth to a child in an abandoned building. Plus, I know I've got a doctor and fresh water... Last time I had Monica and a pot we boiled water in. I still remember, we had to search for matches to light the place up... Monica did a good job though. She was very comforting, she was singing these whale songs..." Dana grinned nostalgically. "She's a lot like Missy was."
"Yeah, she is." Mulder said quietly. "I'm so happy, Dana. For once in my life... Everything is just the way I want it to be."
"Yeah, it is. It's happiness. I love you, Mulder." She said.
"I love you too. I can't believe we're bringing another life into this world." Mulder said.
"It's such a miracle." Scully said quietly.
"Yeah. We never gave up." Mulder replied.
It was about three hours later, and Scully was quite a bit further along. Her mother arrived, with William in her arms. She rushed into the hospital, giving her daughter's fake name. They let her wait outside the room, and a nurse came in to tell them who was there. After talking to Mulder and Scully, they let Mrs. Scully in with William, to see them before she went into labor.
"Dana!" Her mother squeaked. "I'm so happy for you."
"Thanks, Mom. Hey, Will." She smiled at her son. He toddled over to the bed, and grabbed out for her hand. She held his tiny fingers with her own.
"John and Monica are going to fly out as soon as possible, and Assistant Director Skinner said he'll be here tomorrow to see the baby."
"Great," Dana said.
"How are the contractions?"
"Not bad, I'm hanging in there."
"How far along are you?" Mrs. Scully asked.
"A little over seven centimeters dilated. I should be ready to start pushing in about an hour." Dana said.
"Well, these doctor's are trying to usher me out. I'll keep him occupied." She said, meaning William. "We'll grab something to eat downstairs."
"Okay mom, see you soon." Dana smiled.
About an hour later, Dana Scully was in *a lot* of pain. Now, Mulder *never* liked to see her in pain, but he decided this was the one exception. The pain would go away, and it would bring a lot of joy into their lives. She was fully dilated, and being in labor was just as hard as she remembered it being. The contractions were getting more intense and closer together, and the doctor's joined Mulder in the room. They checked one more time before they said "All right, Katherine, this baby is ready to come on out."
"What we need you to do for us is push, okay Katherine?" The doctor asked. "Long, hard pushes, and this'll be over. Ready?" They asked. Dana nodded. "Okay."
Mulder took Dana's hand. He smiled, and she smiled back.
"Puuuuuuush!" The doctor said, stretching out the word.
Dana pushed.
"Okay, very good, c'mon, again. Puuuuuush!" The doctor said.
Dana pushed again.
The doctor looked to Mulder, as if to remind him he was there to coach her along.
"C'mon, Dana, push!" He urged her.
"Arrrgghh!" She yelled. "I'm pushing!"
"More, Katherine, keep pushing!" The doctor said.
"I. AM. PUSHING!" She screamed. This scream was followed by other assorted screams, as she continued to push the baby.
"Push harder, Katherine." Mulder urged. "Just a little more."
"I am pushing as hard as I can, damnit! This isn't easy, you know!"
"How painful can it be? You've endured worse." He smiled.
"You act as if pushing a BABY out of my VAGINA isn't difficult!" She yelled.
"Okay, okay, just keep pushing." The doctor said.
"Uggh, I should have taken the drugs!" Scully muttered.
"C'mon, Katherine. One big push." Mulder said.
Scully gave one big push, and yelled out again. "When this is done you are getting a vasectomy!"
Mulder laughed off her threat quietly, but then he looked into her eyes. He brushed a strand of hair out of her face gently, and squeezed her hand.
"Here it comes!" The doctor yelled. "One more. One more push."
With a deep breath, she pushed as hard as she could.
"Very good, Katherine, there you go. That's it." The doctor smiled, pulling the baby out. "You've got a beautiful baby girl."
"Oh, God, she's so beautiful." Mulder smiled.
"Let me see her." Dana said, in shock that she finally had a *normal* birth process. The doctors cut the cord, cleaned the baby off, and handed it to her.
"Hey," Dana said, looking down at the baby. There were tears in her eyes as she spoke. "Hey, baby girl." She continued to murmur nonsense words, and Mulder sat down beside her. The doctors looked on quietly while going about their business of recording the time for the birth.
"William's got a little baby sister." Mulder smiled.
"Yeah, he does." Scully said. "And we've got a daughter."
The doctor's took the child to clean her up, and dress her. First, they weighed and measured her. Not much longer, they brought her back so that Dana and Mulder could hold her. They were also paid a visit by Mrs. Scully and William. When she walked in with John and Monica, a pleasant smile came to Dana's face.
"Look who the cat dragged in." Mulder teased.
"Congratulations, you two." John said.
"She's beautiful." Monica smiled.
William ran over to the bed, and looked up at the tiny infant in his mothers arms.
"This, is your little sister, William." Dana smiled.
"As a big brother, you have to look out for her." Mulder smiled, remembering his own sister. "Never let her think you don't care. You never know when you might lose someone…"
The small child just smiled, reaching out to his little sister.
"We'll give you some privacy." Mrs. Scully said. She, Monica, and John walked out of the room.
Mulder scooped William up onto his lap and stared into his daughters eyes. So this was happiness. Utter contentment for the time being. For once, there was no thought of Super-soldiers, smoking men, shadow governments, conspiracies, or aliens in his mind. It was only the people he loved. His lover. Their children. Children. It seemed so surreal. He, Fox Mulder, had children with Dana Scully? They were basically married, and he was a father. A father of two. Sure, he'd thought of Dana as a mother a few times, but as the mother of his children... Of their children... He'd forgotten just how beautiful that was for a while. He forgot because it was taken away from him. First he had to leave her, and his son. Then, they had to give William up. Suddenly, all at once, everything was okay. They were safe, and they had their son back, *and* they had a daughter.
"She needs a name." Dana said, quietly.
"Well," Mulder said. "We've agreed on no deceased relatives, right?" Mulder asked.
Dana nodded.
"Well, we have a son named after my... Father." Mulder said, pausing before father. He knew that man was not his biological father, but that the Smoking Man was. None of that mattered now.
"Why don't we name her after your mother?" Mulder asked.
"Margaret Carter." Dana smiled. "Little Maggie Carter. I think my mom would really like that, Mulder. I would too."
"So would I. You're mother's been better to me in the years I've known her than my parents were my whole life." Mulder grinned.
"So that's it. Margaret." She smiled.
"Yeah. Hear that, William, this is your little sister Maggie. Or when we yell at her, Margaret." He smiled.
Dana Scully looked down at the child in her arms. Her gaze drifted over to her lover, holding her son. It was all she'd ever wanted. She was sitting there, in a safe place, holding her daughter. Next to her was the only man she'd ever been in love with, Fox Mulder, holding their son. They had made sacrifices along the way, but in the end they were really going to do it; they were really going to save everyone. They'd already saved everyone they loved, and Dana knew that they'd make it through whatever was thrown at them. They always did, and things were always okay in the end. Now, they were better than okay, they were perfect.
They hadn't given up. No matter how many times they fell, they stood back up. Even when things seemed inevitable--which were so many times--they continued to search for the truth. Times when they thought they'd lost one another, or themselves... Times they never believed would get any better. They never dreamed that things could be like this one day, so beautiful. Neither of them imagined they'd be able to sit together, as lovers, with their two children beside them. It was what they'd always wanted deep within themselves. They'd found the truth, but they refused to accept it. They were fighting against what they'd searched for. They weren't going to allow everything around them to perish. They *couldn't*.
Instead, they reveled in the peace of the quiet hospital room. What more could they ask for? They had two beautiful children, great friends waiting outside, and each other. What more did they need? They had every answer to every question they'd ever asked, everything they'd ever looked for. There was no albatross around their necks, no obstacles to stop them from being happy. They had loss, and had seen their share of conflict, but it was over now. There was no more pain, just happiness.
Finally, Dana Scully and Fox Mulder had found happiness, utter peace. It was right where they had expected it... With each other.
*the end*
AUTHORS NOTES: Hey, everyone! Wow, it's finally finished! It took *forever* to come up with this story... It gave me so many problems! I had no intention of making it so long, or really having it be any good at all. As a matter of fact, I wasn't even going to post it. But I did, and I'm glad I did. Then when I decided to have Scully get pregnant, I had to find out all about pregnancy and whatnot (I think my mom thought I was trying to drop some kind of hint hehe..) Then when William came into the picture, I had to figure out how early babies walk/talk/etc. Yeah, so I was pretty damn confused. I also had to make up William's birthday, because it was never officially mentioned. I didn't make it up, I just used the date that "Existence" aired. One of the hardest parts was trying to name the baby, too. Took me *forever*.
You guys are SO great... I want to thank EVERYONE for reviewing, it really pushed me to put a lot into the story... So here are some individual thank you's!
Agent Balinski: Ah, my real life friend. Even though you're on my sh*t list (or are you?), you kick serious butt. You're always around to read a story or give me dirt... Even though you went self-righteous on me your still cool. ;) Anywho, you encourage me to write, and you actually were part of the reason I started. Bla bla bla, sentimental stuff, thanks a ton. Even when I get all angry at you (which is often) it's either CUS (lol) or me pretending to be angry when I'm upset. We all know I'm a big crybaby. So, bla bla bla [insert more sentimental stuff here]... Are you getting misty-eyed yet? I can't tell you how much of an encouragement you've been, especially in getting me to write fanfic. So all you fanfiction.net readers owe my pal Agent Balinski for being on my back all the time to write! Potato chips taste like potatoes!
tefla: Hey! You reviewed *a lot* and it was definitely helpful. I really appreciate the interest you showed in my work. When I get e-mails from someone who read my stuff, I feel special. Keep writing your own stuff, too! ;)
Teresa: You are awesome! I love your fics, as well as your reviews for mine ;) Thanks so much for giving us something great to read *and* for reading my stuff. ::Everyone go read Teresa's stuff!::
ViolinKid1: The e-mails were very encouraging! I live for feedback, and yours was definitely helpful. Thanks a lot!
More people: miranda, white lady bug, dragon, Pam, keebs, and everyone else.
Everyone else who gave me multiple reviews... I wish I could mention you all but there were so many... I basically mentioned the people I've spoken too, but that doesn't really matter. Thank you all so much! I love you guys!
If you'd like to contact me to discuss the fic or anything else, my e-mail is JILLIBEAN@aol.com
My next story is going to be a case-less, fluffy piece. Mulder and Scully go skiing together, the ski instructor is a jerk, and they both suck at skiing. Yeah, so it should be amusing, I hope.
Final chapter written 12/3/02 by Jillian