Chapter 8
Title: Strangers in a Bar
Disclaimer: See an earlier chapter!! :o)
~(X)~
"They want you to go to Arizona, now?!" Dana questioned exasperatedly, fanning her face with her hand. Fox nodded, throwing assorted clothing items into a suitcase. He too, was frustrated. "But... but I was due a week ago, Fox. I can't have this baby if you're not here with me. You can't miss our daughter's birth!" she exclaimed, tears springing to her eyes.
"I argued with Skinner over it for a solid hour, but he said that there are no other agents who can go, other than the two of us. He said, he would go it alone, but with the workload this case is promising, he's going to need another agent," Fox replied, slamming his suitcase shut and turning to face his wife.
"Couldn't they get someone from the Tucson Field office?" she asked, drying her eyes with a tissue as she followed him back to the kitchen.
"According to Skinner, no," he said, getting two glasses out of the cabinet and filling them with water. He handed one to Dana, and she walked slowly to the living room, still trying to process all that had happened. Fox's cell phone had rung at 5:00 that morning, and A.D. Skinner had given him all the information about the case. He had told Fox to meet him at Headquarters, and they would be heading to the airport an hour after they met. "Your mother's on her way over to stay with you for the time that I'm gone. She'll call if anything happens, and I'll be on the first available flight home. Everything will be alright, I promise," she said, gingerly kissing her forehead.
"If you can do anything to get out of it..." she began, a pleading look in her eyes.
"I'll try my hardest. I'll be home as soon as humanly possible," he said, giving her a kiss. He looked at his watch, and said, "I've really got to go now, sweetheart. I promised Skinner I'd be there fifteen minutes ago." He hurried up the steps, leaving his frustrated and emotionally and physically worn out wife in the living room. She collapsed onto the sofa, wiping the slight perspiration from her forehead with the back of her hand. When she heard Fox's footsteps growing nearer, she said, loudly,
"Remind me next time I get pregnant not to do it during the summer." He leaned over the couch and looked at her, smiling. He gave her one last kiss, saying,
"Bye sweetheart," and then kissed his fingers, and placed them on her swollen stomach.
"Bye little one," he said, "Take care of your mom for me while I'm gone." And with that sentiment, he was out the door.
Dana looked around her at the display. Red, white, and blue everything. Table cloths, streamers, even the children all wore red white and blue. Another Maggie Scully holiday celebration. Her mother, the Queen- of-All-Things-Holiday, had called together all the Scullys in the tri-state area, and of course, Bill, his wife Tara and their son Matthew, who would never miss a family holiday event, no matter how far they had to travel. She had even made shirts for all of them, including Fox, who was still in Tucson. The case, he had told her, was more difficult than they could have anticipated, and Skinner needed him more than ever.
"Just do me a favor," he had said during their last conversation, "and tell the 'Little One' we're not quite ready for her yet."
"I don't know, sweetheart, if she stays in there much longer, I might have to start charging her rent," she had responded, laughing. But now, even amidst all the holiday cheer, she was miserable. Not only emotionally, but physically. She hadn't slept decently in days; she was so uncomfortable at night, and she had totally lost her appetite. Most of all, she just wanted her husband home, or at the very least, in the same time zone.
"Dana!" Charlie's voice called, and she turned around, he grinned at her like a child, "Come on, Dana, they're getting ready to start the fireworks." She smiled at her younger brother, and said,
"Charles Scully, are you really twenty-seven or just twelve and pretending?" Her brother put his arm around her shoulders, and had any onlooker been none the wiser, he would have assumed that Charlie was the older of the two, for his sophisticated looks, and the fact that he towered over Dana and all the other Scullys at a height of six foot five. As they walked in silence across the large field toward the lake, Charlie said,
"Dana..."
"What is it?"
"It's good to see you happy. I don't think I've ever seen you this way about anyone before, even in the beginning of your marriage to Daniel."
"I'm very lucky to have found Fox," she said, looking up at her brother.
"No, he's the only one who's lucky," Charlie said, making his sister smile.
She couldn't focus on the fireworks display. There were two things which occupied her mind, how cold she was, and how much she wanted Fox to be the one to put his arms around her and keep her warm. She shivered, and a voice from behind her said,
"Here, I think you could use this," she felt a jacket on her shoulders and turned around as quickly as possible to see her husband's smiling face.
"Fox!" she shouted, "You're home!" She felt a pang of concern as she noted a line of stitches close to his left eyebrow.
"What happened?" she questioned, gingerly examining them, being both doctor and wife. He grasped her hand, pulling it away from his forehead, and looked her in the eyes.
"Hostile suspect. She slapped me, with her left hand, and got me with the diamond in her engagement ring," he laughed.
"I'll bet you can't see a thing from here," he said, standing and assisting Dana in doing the same. A childish grin on his face, he took her by the hand, and the two walked slowly closer to the lake, and the rest of the Scully family. He was greeted with overwhelming warmth by Maggie, who leapt up and threw her arms around him.
"Fox! You're home! We were getting worried that you wouldn't make it back in time," she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. He turned when he felt a hand on his shoulder,
"He almost didn't," Dana muttered, nearly doubled over. Fox's eyes went wide as he looked at her, ushering her into a chair.
"Is this it?!" he asked. She winced at the pain of the contraction, and nodded.
"Yeah, it is. I've been..." she paused, catching her breath, "having little pains all day, but they were Braxton Hicks. This one, is definitely the real thing. We need to get to the hospital, right now," she said clutching Fox's hand.
"I'll go get the car," he said, and turned to Maggie. "Mom, can you just stay with her for a minute? Make sure she does her breathing. I'll bring the car down the boat path to the dock." He found himself smiling as he said, "Let's have ourselves a baby!" and raced off across the field towards his car.
3:59 a.m. brought into the lives of Dana and Fox Mulder, a beautiful, eight pound eleven ounce baby girl, who they lovingly named Samantha Elizabeth.
"How can you love someone so much, who you've only just met?" Dana asked Fox in a tearful whisper, as she looked down into the bright blue eyes of her daughter. Fox sat on his wife's bed with her, studying every square inch of Samantha. He gently touched the soft brown which thickly blanketed her head, and looked up at Dana, smiling. Her question needed no verbal response.
"She's got your facial features, Dana. Your nose, your chin," he said, gently laying his finger on each of her features. She smiled at him, and leaned in, receiving his kiss. They pulled apart, and he said,
"If you don't mind, I'd like to borrow our little Samantha for a few minutes, and introduce her to her grandparents, who have been camped out in the lobby all night." Dana handed Samantha to him, and he supported her head in the crook of his elbow. His confident movements told her that he was already comfortable, and would be a natural. She gave him a tiny wave as he disappeared from her hospital room, holding their daughter. Dana sighed, counting the moments until she could hold her baby girl once again.
Fox entered the lobby and found his father, and father-in-law sound asleep on facing sofas, and his mother and mother-in-law standing by the nursery. As soon as they saw him, they bounded across the floor of the lobby, stopping just short of crashing into Fox.
"Mom, Maggie, I'd like you to meet your granddaughter." The giddy squeals which escaped the lips of the two women could have woken the dead, and Bill Scully and Bill Mulder were both instantly alert. When they were awake enough to realize what all the fuss was about, they came over, both equally awed.
"Congratulations, Dad," Fox's father said to him, embracing his son.
"She's beautiful." Bill Scully said, shaking Fox's hand.
"What are you going to call her?" Teena asked, as Sam's tiny fingers gripped her own. Her eyes met her son's as he said,
"I'd like for you all to meet Samantha Elizabeth Mulder."
Title: Strangers in a Bar
Disclaimer: See an earlier chapter!! :o)
~(X)~
"They want you to go to Arizona, now?!" Dana questioned exasperatedly, fanning her face with her hand. Fox nodded, throwing assorted clothing items into a suitcase. He too, was frustrated. "But... but I was due a week ago, Fox. I can't have this baby if you're not here with me. You can't miss our daughter's birth!" she exclaimed, tears springing to her eyes.
"I argued with Skinner over it for a solid hour, but he said that there are no other agents who can go, other than the two of us. He said, he would go it alone, but with the workload this case is promising, he's going to need another agent," Fox replied, slamming his suitcase shut and turning to face his wife.
"Couldn't they get someone from the Tucson Field office?" she asked, drying her eyes with a tissue as she followed him back to the kitchen.
"According to Skinner, no," he said, getting two glasses out of the cabinet and filling them with water. He handed one to Dana, and she walked slowly to the living room, still trying to process all that had happened. Fox's cell phone had rung at 5:00 that morning, and A.D. Skinner had given him all the information about the case. He had told Fox to meet him at Headquarters, and they would be heading to the airport an hour after they met. "Your mother's on her way over to stay with you for the time that I'm gone. She'll call if anything happens, and I'll be on the first available flight home. Everything will be alright, I promise," she said, gingerly kissing her forehead.
"If you can do anything to get out of it..." she began, a pleading look in her eyes.
"I'll try my hardest. I'll be home as soon as humanly possible," he said, giving her a kiss. He looked at his watch, and said, "I've really got to go now, sweetheart. I promised Skinner I'd be there fifteen minutes ago." He hurried up the steps, leaving his frustrated and emotionally and physically worn out wife in the living room. She collapsed onto the sofa, wiping the slight perspiration from her forehead with the back of her hand. When she heard Fox's footsteps growing nearer, she said, loudly,
"Remind me next time I get pregnant not to do it during the summer." He leaned over the couch and looked at her, smiling. He gave her one last kiss, saying,
"Bye sweetheart," and then kissed his fingers, and placed them on her swollen stomach.
"Bye little one," he said, "Take care of your mom for me while I'm gone." And with that sentiment, he was out the door.
Dana looked around her at the display. Red, white, and blue everything. Table cloths, streamers, even the children all wore red white and blue. Another Maggie Scully holiday celebration. Her mother, the Queen- of-All-Things-Holiday, had called together all the Scullys in the tri-state area, and of course, Bill, his wife Tara and their son Matthew, who would never miss a family holiday event, no matter how far they had to travel. She had even made shirts for all of them, including Fox, who was still in Tucson. The case, he had told her, was more difficult than they could have anticipated, and Skinner needed him more than ever.
"Just do me a favor," he had said during their last conversation, "and tell the 'Little One' we're not quite ready for her yet."
"I don't know, sweetheart, if she stays in there much longer, I might have to start charging her rent," she had responded, laughing. But now, even amidst all the holiday cheer, she was miserable. Not only emotionally, but physically. She hadn't slept decently in days; she was so uncomfortable at night, and she had totally lost her appetite. Most of all, she just wanted her husband home, or at the very least, in the same time zone.
"Dana!" Charlie's voice called, and she turned around, he grinned at her like a child, "Come on, Dana, they're getting ready to start the fireworks." She smiled at her younger brother, and said,
"Charles Scully, are you really twenty-seven or just twelve and pretending?" Her brother put his arm around her shoulders, and had any onlooker been none the wiser, he would have assumed that Charlie was the older of the two, for his sophisticated looks, and the fact that he towered over Dana and all the other Scullys at a height of six foot five. As they walked in silence across the large field toward the lake, Charlie said,
"Dana..."
"What is it?"
"It's good to see you happy. I don't think I've ever seen you this way about anyone before, even in the beginning of your marriage to Daniel."
"I'm very lucky to have found Fox," she said, looking up at her brother.
"No, he's the only one who's lucky," Charlie said, making his sister smile.
She couldn't focus on the fireworks display. There were two things which occupied her mind, how cold she was, and how much she wanted Fox to be the one to put his arms around her and keep her warm. She shivered, and a voice from behind her said,
"Here, I think you could use this," she felt a jacket on her shoulders and turned around as quickly as possible to see her husband's smiling face.
"Fox!" she shouted, "You're home!" She felt a pang of concern as she noted a line of stitches close to his left eyebrow.
"What happened?" she questioned, gingerly examining them, being both doctor and wife. He grasped her hand, pulling it away from his forehead, and looked her in the eyes.
"Hostile suspect. She slapped me, with her left hand, and got me with the diamond in her engagement ring," he laughed.
"I'll bet you can't see a thing from here," he said, standing and assisting Dana in doing the same. A childish grin on his face, he took her by the hand, and the two walked slowly closer to the lake, and the rest of the Scully family. He was greeted with overwhelming warmth by Maggie, who leapt up and threw her arms around him.
"Fox! You're home! We were getting worried that you wouldn't make it back in time," she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. He turned when he felt a hand on his shoulder,
"He almost didn't," Dana muttered, nearly doubled over. Fox's eyes went wide as he looked at her, ushering her into a chair.
"Is this it?!" he asked. She winced at the pain of the contraction, and nodded.
"Yeah, it is. I've been..." she paused, catching her breath, "having little pains all day, but they were Braxton Hicks. This one, is definitely the real thing. We need to get to the hospital, right now," she said clutching Fox's hand.
"I'll go get the car," he said, and turned to Maggie. "Mom, can you just stay with her for a minute? Make sure she does her breathing. I'll bring the car down the boat path to the dock." He found himself smiling as he said, "Let's have ourselves a baby!" and raced off across the field towards his car.
3:59 a.m. brought into the lives of Dana and Fox Mulder, a beautiful, eight pound eleven ounce baby girl, who they lovingly named Samantha Elizabeth.
"How can you love someone so much, who you've only just met?" Dana asked Fox in a tearful whisper, as she looked down into the bright blue eyes of her daughter. Fox sat on his wife's bed with her, studying every square inch of Samantha. He gently touched the soft brown which thickly blanketed her head, and looked up at Dana, smiling. Her question needed no verbal response.
"She's got your facial features, Dana. Your nose, your chin," he said, gently laying his finger on each of her features. She smiled at him, and leaned in, receiving his kiss. They pulled apart, and he said,
"If you don't mind, I'd like to borrow our little Samantha for a few minutes, and introduce her to her grandparents, who have been camped out in the lobby all night." Dana handed Samantha to him, and he supported her head in the crook of his elbow. His confident movements told her that he was already comfortable, and would be a natural. She gave him a tiny wave as he disappeared from her hospital room, holding their daughter. Dana sighed, counting the moments until she could hold her baby girl once again.
Fox entered the lobby and found his father, and father-in-law sound asleep on facing sofas, and his mother and mother-in-law standing by the nursery. As soon as they saw him, they bounded across the floor of the lobby, stopping just short of crashing into Fox.
"Mom, Maggie, I'd like you to meet your granddaughter." The giddy squeals which escaped the lips of the two women could have woken the dead, and Bill Scully and Bill Mulder were both instantly alert. When they were awake enough to realize what all the fuss was about, they came over, both equally awed.
"Congratulations, Dad," Fox's father said to him, embracing his son.
"She's beautiful." Bill Scully said, shaking Fox's hand.
"What are you going to call her?" Teena asked, as Sam's tiny fingers gripped her own. Her eyes met her son's as he said,
"I'd like for you all to meet Samantha Elizabeth Mulder."