Title - I Know What You Did . . .
Author - Nicky
Rating - PG
Classification - TRA
Keywords - Mulder/Scully Romance, Angst, Charlie Fic
Spoilers - The Sixth Extinction: Amor Fati
Summary - Mulder and Scully help her brother Charlie and end up with more trouble than they bargained for.
Disclaimer - The characters don't belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own therapeutic purposes. They will be returned relatively unharmed to Chris Carter, or whoever wants to borrow them next, when I'm done.
Chapter 6
Scully paces nervously around her living room, watching uncomfortably as the Gunmen go all throughout her home. She just wants them gone so that Mulder can finally tell her what he learned from Charlie. They didn't want to speak in the car or in their hotel the previous night for fear that someone may be listening. So they waited until they got back home. But now that they're here, she still has to wait because at Mulder's insistence, they gunmen are doing a thorough sweep of her apartment for any kind of surveillance equipment someone may have set up. She's not fond of having them poke through her things. But what's really disturbing her is the number of listening devices they've actually already found.
"Are you guys almost done?" she whines, sighing in irritation. She rubs on a sore spot on her back and takes a seat on her sofa. Mulder sits next to her and lifts her feet onto his lap, rubbing them gently.
"Your ankles are swelling. Is that normal?" he asks worriedly.
"What? You didn't get to that chapter in the baby book either?" she teases, instantly feeling the effects of his massage and letting out a grateful moan. "Oh that feels good."
"Seriously, Scully. How are you doing?"
"I'm feeling really good right now, Mulder," she assures him. "The morning sickness is still bad first thing in the morning, but I've managed to get a handle on it throughout the day. It's just weird being pregnant. Now that I know that I am, I feel like everyone else knows too. Did you see how Frohike stared at me when they first got here? I've been getting a lot of that lately."
"You look great, Scully. Honestly. No one can tell you're pregnant. Although, there has been one pretty big change. But most people looking at you wouldn't attribute it to pregnancy. They'd just assume you got some . . . work done," he blushes, gesturing towards her chest. "They're, um, bigger. Noticeably so."
"They are, aren't they?" she giggles, looking down at her chest. "I had to go buy new clothes last weekend. Everything I have is too small. I didn't anticipate that. I really didn't think I'd start showing for at least another few months."
"You're not showing. You're just . . . curvier," he says, his eyes flashing in delight.
"You like that, huh?"
"Oh yeah. I like it a lot," he nods happily.
He leans down towards her slowly, and for a second, she's sure he's going to kiss her. He gets closer and she closes her eyes, preparing for the moment. But the moment never arrives. She opens her eyes when she doesn't feel him near anymore and sees that they're not alone anymore.
"We're done," Frohike says. "You guys should have complete privacy now."
"Thanks," Mulder says, standing to show them to the door. After they leave, he can feel the gravity of his actions begin to weigh on him. He almost kissed Scully. She's dealing with so much. The last thing she needs right now is to worry about fighting off his advances.
"Come sit down, Mulder," she says from the couch, startling him at the door. He didn't realize how long he'd been standing there. He gives her a small smile and walks back to the couch, sitting next to her, but afraid to look at her. She senses his fear and places a hand on his leg.
Look at me, she pleads mentally.
"I'm sorry about before," he apologizes, afraid that she's upset with him.
"Sorry that you almost kissed me or sorry that you didn't?"
"I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable in any way," he says after a minute to think about it.
"Then you should rectify that," she says with a little grin. "I am uncomfortable now, Mulder. But only because you left me hanging, so to speak. You left me wanting that kiss so badly I can almost taste it."
He's stunned to silence. He just sits there for a second, staring in shock at her. Before he can say anything, she leans over and captures his mouth with her own, sending him more into shock. She continues the kiss until he finally starts to participate in it himself. They both pull away only when the need for oxygen becomes too great.
"Are you sure you want this? With me?"
She places a hand on his cheek, gently stroking his stubbly skin.
More than anything, her mind tells him. She leans in to kiss him again when they're stopped by a rumbling coming from her stomach. They both look down and laugh.
"This kid needs to work on his timing," Mulder says with a chuckle. He stands up and grabs Scully's hand, dragging her into the kitchen. "Let's fix lunch and then we can talk about Charlie."
"That's a good idea. I'm starving," she admits as she sits at the kitchen table. "But I've also been curious about Charlie's story."
He starts to fix them a couple of sandwiches for lunch while recounting the story he heard the previous evening from her brother. She's shocked that Charlie would even get himself into a situation that would allow him to be blackmailed. She's appalled at the lengths he's gone through over the years to keep the story buried.
"Don't be too mad with him, Scully," Mulder starts. "Yes, he did something colossally stupid when he was young. And yes, I'm angry too that his mistake is costing you such a high price. When I heard what he let them do to you . . . Scully, it took everything in me to keep my cool. But your brother isn't the enemy. His blackmailer is. They're using him for their own sinister purposes. He's as much a victim of this as you are."
"You too, Mulder. This whole thing has affected you as well," she says, wiping away tears of anger as well as sadness.
"Jumpstarting my latent mind reading ability doesn't even compare to them impregnating you, Scully," Mulder insists. "It doesn't come close to them threatening to kill your brother or his family if he doesn't do what they say. You two are more of a victim than I am."
"So you think that's what happened to me? That they came into my apartment and put this thing in me?" she asks angrily. But the gentle way she strokes her stomach belies her hostility.
"That *thing* is a baby, Scully," he says, placing his hand next to hers and mimics her gentle stroking. "More than likely *your* baby."
I wish it were your baby as well, she thinks to herself, only realizing when he jerks his hand away that he was touching her and could hear that thought.
"Scully," he gasps. "I don't know what to say."
"Forget it," she says, suddenly unable to meet his eyes. "It was just a passing thought."
"Was it? Just a passing thought, that is?" he asks as he places his fingers on her chin, lifting her eyes to meet his own. "Because it seems to be a permanent idea in my head ever since you told me you were pregnant - how I wish it could have been me to give you this miracle. How I wish it were my child growing inside of you. How no matter where this child came from, I already love it more than I ever thought possible because it's a part of you."
"Mulder," she says with a sniff, not even bothering to wipe away the flowing tears. "Don't say that. You don't need to be saddled down with me and . . . did you say love?" she asks, his words finally sinking in. "You love the baby?"
"I'm pretty crazy about his mom, too," Mulder smiles. He wraps his arms around Scully and pulls her into a hug. "This is going to be a big change for both of us. But we'll handle it, Scully. Just promise me I won't lose you."
"Lose me? Mulder, I was afraid of losing you. A baby is a lot to deal with. Especially since you don't have anything to do with it."
"Just a technicality," he says, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. "I want to be there for you, Scully. Every step of the way if you'll let me."
"And, I'm going to hold you to that," she says, standing up and walking him to the door. "Starting tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" he whines.
"I'm meeting my mother for dinner," she explains. "Charlie sent some recent pictures of the boys for her. So you're lucky she was able to wait until tonight for them. She originally wanted me to go over to her place straight from the airport."
"Oh. I guess I can understand that," he says with a little pout.
Scully can't resist stealing a kiss from those adorable lips. One kiss turns into two which turns into too many to count. She finally pushes him away and out the door before she changes her mind about him leaving.
"Good night, Mulder," she says breathlessly. Before she can protest, he gives her one more kiss that practically takes her knees out from under her. With a smug grin on his face, he turns and almost skips down the hall to the elevator.
How she ever lived for seven years without those kisses, she'll never know. She just knows she won't let another day go by without one. With a little laugh, she lets herself back into her apartment. One day and she's already addicted. Oh well, there are worse things to be hooked on than Fox Mulder's lips, she supposes. It's one habit she'll be more than happy to support.
* * * * *
Mulder tosses and turns, barely catching himself before falling off of the couch. Why he ever let Scully convince him to come home is a question he can't answer at the moment. He thought he was used to his nightmares. But the one he had tonight scared him more than anything ever has in his life. He dreamt someone took Scully away and he couldn't find her. He talked himself out of calling her just to hear her voice. But he knows he won't be getting back to sleep until he knows for sure she's okay. Before he can think twice about his decision, he pulls on a t-shirt and slides his feet into a pair of flip flops. His pajama bottoms should be able to pass for pants.
Within twenty minutes, he's slipping his key into her lock and quickly stepping into the apartment. He locks the door behind him, even though he tells himself he's just here for a minute to check on her. He steps out of his shoes, telling himself the reason is to make his trek to the bedroom a silent one. He pushes open the door to her bedroom and spies her sleeping form. A relieved smile comes across his face when he sees that she's fine. And now that he knows she's okay, it's time to leave. But he can't seem to get his feet to cooperate. They take him instead to her bedside, where he leans over to kiss her forehead.
"Mulder?" she groans sleepily. "What are you doing here?"
"I didn't mean to wake you," he whispers, secretly glad she's up now.
"Yes you did," she smiles. "Now get in this bed before I fully awaken and question my decision."
"If you insist," he shrugs, his grin making his face look youthful and boyish. He climbs into the bed behind her and wraps his arms around her waist, his hands resting gently on her abdomen.
"You want to talk about it?" she asks.
"Nothing to talk about. I'm fine now. Now that I know you are."
"Excuse me?"
"It was just a nightmare," he whispers. "I dreamt you were gone. And I couldn't find you. I just needed to see for myself that you were still here. I needed to hold you and feel for myself that you're okay."
"I *am* okay, Mulder," she assures him. She tries to hold in a yawn, but it escapes anyway.
"Go back to sleep," he tells her, kissing her cheek.
"You too," she yawns again, snuggling deeper into his embrace. Her breathing gets steady and he can tell that she's asleep. Only then does he allow slumber to claim him.
To be continued . . .
Author - Nicky
Rating - PG
Classification - TRA
Keywords - Mulder/Scully Romance, Angst, Charlie Fic
Spoilers - The Sixth Extinction: Amor Fati
Summary - Mulder and Scully help her brother Charlie and end up with more trouble than they bargained for.
Disclaimer - The characters don't belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own therapeutic purposes. They will be returned relatively unharmed to Chris Carter, or whoever wants to borrow them next, when I'm done.
Chapter 6
Scully paces nervously around her living room, watching uncomfortably as the Gunmen go all throughout her home. She just wants them gone so that Mulder can finally tell her what he learned from Charlie. They didn't want to speak in the car or in their hotel the previous night for fear that someone may be listening. So they waited until they got back home. But now that they're here, she still has to wait because at Mulder's insistence, they gunmen are doing a thorough sweep of her apartment for any kind of surveillance equipment someone may have set up. She's not fond of having them poke through her things. But what's really disturbing her is the number of listening devices they've actually already found.
"Are you guys almost done?" she whines, sighing in irritation. She rubs on a sore spot on her back and takes a seat on her sofa. Mulder sits next to her and lifts her feet onto his lap, rubbing them gently.
"Your ankles are swelling. Is that normal?" he asks worriedly.
"What? You didn't get to that chapter in the baby book either?" she teases, instantly feeling the effects of his massage and letting out a grateful moan. "Oh that feels good."
"Seriously, Scully. How are you doing?"
"I'm feeling really good right now, Mulder," she assures him. "The morning sickness is still bad first thing in the morning, but I've managed to get a handle on it throughout the day. It's just weird being pregnant. Now that I know that I am, I feel like everyone else knows too. Did you see how Frohike stared at me when they first got here? I've been getting a lot of that lately."
"You look great, Scully. Honestly. No one can tell you're pregnant. Although, there has been one pretty big change. But most people looking at you wouldn't attribute it to pregnancy. They'd just assume you got some . . . work done," he blushes, gesturing towards her chest. "They're, um, bigger. Noticeably so."
"They are, aren't they?" she giggles, looking down at her chest. "I had to go buy new clothes last weekend. Everything I have is too small. I didn't anticipate that. I really didn't think I'd start showing for at least another few months."
"You're not showing. You're just . . . curvier," he says, his eyes flashing in delight.
"You like that, huh?"
"Oh yeah. I like it a lot," he nods happily.
He leans down towards her slowly, and for a second, she's sure he's going to kiss her. He gets closer and she closes her eyes, preparing for the moment. But the moment never arrives. She opens her eyes when she doesn't feel him near anymore and sees that they're not alone anymore.
"We're done," Frohike says. "You guys should have complete privacy now."
"Thanks," Mulder says, standing to show them to the door. After they leave, he can feel the gravity of his actions begin to weigh on him. He almost kissed Scully. She's dealing with so much. The last thing she needs right now is to worry about fighting off his advances.
"Come sit down, Mulder," she says from the couch, startling him at the door. He didn't realize how long he'd been standing there. He gives her a small smile and walks back to the couch, sitting next to her, but afraid to look at her. She senses his fear and places a hand on his leg.
Look at me, she pleads mentally.
"I'm sorry about before," he apologizes, afraid that she's upset with him.
"Sorry that you almost kissed me or sorry that you didn't?"
"I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable in any way," he says after a minute to think about it.
"Then you should rectify that," she says with a little grin. "I am uncomfortable now, Mulder. But only because you left me hanging, so to speak. You left me wanting that kiss so badly I can almost taste it."
He's stunned to silence. He just sits there for a second, staring in shock at her. Before he can say anything, she leans over and captures his mouth with her own, sending him more into shock. She continues the kiss until he finally starts to participate in it himself. They both pull away only when the need for oxygen becomes too great.
"Are you sure you want this? With me?"
She places a hand on his cheek, gently stroking his stubbly skin.
More than anything, her mind tells him. She leans in to kiss him again when they're stopped by a rumbling coming from her stomach. They both look down and laugh.
"This kid needs to work on his timing," Mulder says with a chuckle. He stands up and grabs Scully's hand, dragging her into the kitchen. "Let's fix lunch and then we can talk about Charlie."
"That's a good idea. I'm starving," she admits as she sits at the kitchen table. "But I've also been curious about Charlie's story."
He starts to fix them a couple of sandwiches for lunch while recounting the story he heard the previous evening from her brother. She's shocked that Charlie would even get himself into a situation that would allow him to be blackmailed. She's appalled at the lengths he's gone through over the years to keep the story buried.
"Don't be too mad with him, Scully," Mulder starts. "Yes, he did something colossally stupid when he was young. And yes, I'm angry too that his mistake is costing you such a high price. When I heard what he let them do to you . . . Scully, it took everything in me to keep my cool. But your brother isn't the enemy. His blackmailer is. They're using him for their own sinister purposes. He's as much a victim of this as you are."
"You too, Mulder. This whole thing has affected you as well," she says, wiping away tears of anger as well as sadness.
"Jumpstarting my latent mind reading ability doesn't even compare to them impregnating you, Scully," Mulder insists. "It doesn't come close to them threatening to kill your brother or his family if he doesn't do what they say. You two are more of a victim than I am."
"So you think that's what happened to me? That they came into my apartment and put this thing in me?" she asks angrily. But the gentle way she strokes her stomach belies her hostility.
"That *thing* is a baby, Scully," he says, placing his hand next to hers and mimics her gentle stroking. "More than likely *your* baby."
I wish it were your baby as well, she thinks to herself, only realizing when he jerks his hand away that he was touching her and could hear that thought.
"Scully," he gasps. "I don't know what to say."
"Forget it," she says, suddenly unable to meet his eyes. "It was just a passing thought."
"Was it? Just a passing thought, that is?" he asks as he places his fingers on her chin, lifting her eyes to meet his own. "Because it seems to be a permanent idea in my head ever since you told me you were pregnant - how I wish it could have been me to give you this miracle. How I wish it were my child growing inside of you. How no matter where this child came from, I already love it more than I ever thought possible because it's a part of you."
"Mulder," she says with a sniff, not even bothering to wipe away the flowing tears. "Don't say that. You don't need to be saddled down with me and . . . did you say love?" she asks, his words finally sinking in. "You love the baby?"
"I'm pretty crazy about his mom, too," Mulder smiles. He wraps his arms around Scully and pulls her into a hug. "This is going to be a big change for both of us. But we'll handle it, Scully. Just promise me I won't lose you."
"Lose me? Mulder, I was afraid of losing you. A baby is a lot to deal with. Especially since you don't have anything to do with it."
"Just a technicality," he says, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. "I want to be there for you, Scully. Every step of the way if you'll let me."
"And, I'm going to hold you to that," she says, standing up and walking him to the door. "Starting tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" he whines.
"I'm meeting my mother for dinner," she explains. "Charlie sent some recent pictures of the boys for her. So you're lucky she was able to wait until tonight for them. She originally wanted me to go over to her place straight from the airport."
"Oh. I guess I can understand that," he says with a little pout.
Scully can't resist stealing a kiss from those adorable lips. One kiss turns into two which turns into too many to count. She finally pushes him away and out the door before she changes her mind about him leaving.
"Good night, Mulder," she says breathlessly. Before she can protest, he gives her one more kiss that practically takes her knees out from under her. With a smug grin on his face, he turns and almost skips down the hall to the elevator.
How she ever lived for seven years without those kisses, she'll never know. She just knows she won't let another day go by without one. With a little laugh, she lets herself back into her apartment. One day and she's already addicted. Oh well, there are worse things to be hooked on than Fox Mulder's lips, she supposes. It's one habit she'll be more than happy to support.
* * * * *
Mulder tosses and turns, barely catching himself before falling off of the couch. Why he ever let Scully convince him to come home is a question he can't answer at the moment. He thought he was used to his nightmares. But the one he had tonight scared him more than anything ever has in his life. He dreamt someone took Scully away and he couldn't find her. He talked himself out of calling her just to hear her voice. But he knows he won't be getting back to sleep until he knows for sure she's okay. Before he can think twice about his decision, he pulls on a t-shirt and slides his feet into a pair of flip flops. His pajama bottoms should be able to pass for pants.
Within twenty minutes, he's slipping his key into her lock and quickly stepping into the apartment. He locks the door behind him, even though he tells himself he's just here for a minute to check on her. He steps out of his shoes, telling himself the reason is to make his trek to the bedroom a silent one. He pushes open the door to her bedroom and spies her sleeping form. A relieved smile comes across his face when he sees that she's fine. And now that he knows she's okay, it's time to leave. But he can't seem to get his feet to cooperate. They take him instead to her bedside, where he leans over to kiss her forehead.
"Mulder?" she groans sleepily. "What are you doing here?"
"I didn't mean to wake you," he whispers, secretly glad she's up now.
"Yes you did," she smiles. "Now get in this bed before I fully awaken and question my decision."
"If you insist," he shrugs, his grin making his face look youthful and boyish. He climbs into the bed behind her and wraps his arms around her waist, his hands resting gently on her abdomen.
"You want to talk about it?" she asks.
"Nothing to talk about. I'm fine now. Now that I know you are."
"Excuse me?"
"It was just a nightmare," he whispers. "I dreamt you were gone. And I couldn't find you. I just needed to see for myself that you were still here. I needed to hold you and feel for myself that you're okay."
"I *am* okay, Mulder," she assures him. She tries to hold in a yawn, but it escapes anyway.
"Go back to sleep," he tells her, kissing her cheek.
"You too," she yawns again, snuggling deeper into his embrace. Her breathing gets steady and he can tell that she's asleep. Only then does he allow slumber to claim him.
To be continued . . .