CHAPTER 13
"Scully."
"I'm not Scully anymore."
"Ok, Dana. Can we talk?"
"I guess."
"I'm sorry. I really am. I shouldn't have reacted that way. I should have been more compassionate. But, it was just a bit of a shock, you know. I mean, how would you react if."
"Mulder, I really need to get on this plane. Are you going to help me or not?"
"Yeah. I'll take her." Mulder took his sleeping daughter from Dana. He looked down at her and Dana's heart broke. Seeing Mulder and his daughter together for the first time was too much for her. She just hoped that he wouldn't hurt Emma. She had been through enough already.
"Come on." They boarded the plane and found a group of four seats together. Settling the kids in next to each other, Dana and Mulder didn't speak to each other. Once they too were seated, she looked at him.
"Mulder, I need you to know a few things. I never meant to hurt you. I didn't know what to do though. You have to understand, I was lost and confused when I was with Patrick. He had an effect on me that made me lose all common sense. I never should have stayed with him after the first problems. Hell, I never should have married him. But I did, and I can't change the past. You know that as much as I do. The past has already happened and there's nothing I can do about it. So I'm going to ask you to forgive me, not for me, but for our daughter. She can't be hurt again. She's been through so much already, and I can't see her in pain anymore. Either you can accept my apology and be a father to Emma, or you can make me live with my mistake. It's your choice and I will understand whatever decision you make. But you can't take us back now and then hurt my daughter later. If you accept her as your daughter, you have to be in it for the long haul. This is a lifetime commitment I'm asking you to make. You don't ever have to love me, as a friend or otherwise, but you do have to love our daughter. You have to put aside whatever anger you have for me when you are dealing with her. Don't take my mistakes out on her. She's so ready to love. She has a beautiful heart, and there's a hole in it that only her father can fill - her real father. So please Mulder, make your decision now, before she wakes up and sees you here. She already likes you as her mom's friend. Now she needs to love you as her father."
"Scully, first of all, I came to you today to tell you that I was sorry. I know that you did what you had to do and I can't expect you to change the past. Granted, it does hurt that you raised our daughter with another man, but it's in the past and I should just be thankful to have another chance. I will always resent the fact that Patrick saw her before I did, that he held her, and was there for all her firsts. But having a daughter with you is really all I ever wanted in life. The whole time we were investigating all those X-Files, all I wanted was to tell you how I felt and to settle down with you. Yeah, the cases were my life before, and finding my sister and the truth was vital to me. But that was before you. You came along, and even when you were just a friend to me, you filled the void in my life that had been empty since my sister disappeared when I was a kid. I didn't need the search after I met you. But I kept it up because I was scared. I was scared of what would happen if I put myself on the line. I didn't want to lose someone I loved again. But I lost you anyway. I really didn't want to have to see you marry him, but you did, and a part of me died. But I threw myself back into my work, the way that I did when I was starting out at the Bureau. That was my defense mechanism. But Scully, I don't need it anymore, not if I can have you and a family. So don't ask me to take our daughter without you Scully. I want you both. I want Danny too. You can all be my family. I sure as hell need as much as I can get."
"Oh Mulder. Are you sure that you can forgive me?"
"Scully, I would jump off a bridge if it meant I could be with you. You are really all I want in life."
"Ok. Well all there is left to do is to talk to the kid. I don't know if she will understand. But she needs to know."
They both looked at Emma. She was still sound asleep. They looked at each other and smiled. It was time to catch up on a few things.
A/N: Oh man, I am so sorry that took so long. I didn't mean it too. But I get super busy and super lazy. I promise that there is maybe one or two more chapters remaining and they will be up before the holidays. And then I am going to start on a long HP fic. I wrote a short stand alone one, check it out. It's called "Love Will Light the Shadows on Your Face." I am also starting something for fictionpress.com or whatever it is that takes original fiction. I don't know how long that will take, or if it will ever be done. My user name will be the same on there as it is here. Check it out in the future! Thanks for reading and please please please review!!! (That was one long A/N!!)
"Scully."
"I'm not Scully anymore."
"Ok, Dana. Can we talk?"
"I guess."
"I'm sorry. I really am. I shouldn't have reacted that way. I should have been more compassionate. But, it was just a bit of a shock, you know. I mean, how would you react if."
"Mulder, I really need to get on this plane. Are you going to help me or not?"
"Yeah. I'll take her." Mulder took his sleeping daughter from Dana. He looked down at her and Dana's heart broke. Seeing Mulder and his daughter together for the first time was too much for her. She just hoped that he wouldn't hurt Emma. She had been through enough already.
"Come on." They boarded the plane and found a group of four seats together. Settling the kids in next to each other, Dana and Mulder didn't speak to each other. Once they too were seated, she looked at him.
"Mulder, I need you to know a few things. I never meant to hurt you. I didn't know what to do though. You have to understand, I was lost and confused when I was with Patrick. He had an effect on me that made me lose all common sense. I never should have stayed with him after the first problems. Hell, I never should have married him. But I did, and I can't change the past. You know that as much as I do. The past has already happened and there's nothing I can do about it. So I'm going to ask you to forgive me, not for me, but for our daughter. She can't be hurt again. She's been through so much already, and I can't see her in pain anymore. Either you can accept my apology and be a father to Emma, or you can make me live with my mistake. It's your choice and I will understand whatever decision you make. But you can't take us back now and then hurt my daughter later. If you accept her as your daughter, you have to be in it for the long haul. This is a lifetime commitment I'm asking you to make. You don't ever have to love me, as a friend or otherwise, but you do have to love our daughter. You have to put aside whatever anger you have for me when you are dealing with her. Don't take my mistakes out on her. She's so ready to love. She has a beautiful heart, and there's a hole in it that only her father can fill - her real father. So please Mulder, make your decision now, before she wakes up and sees you here. She already likes you as her mom's friend. Now she needs to love you as her father."
"Scully, first of all, I came to you today to tell you that I was sorry. I know that you did what you had to do and I can't expect you to change the past. Granted, it does hurt that you raised our daughter with another man, but it's in the past and I should just be thankful to have another chance. I will always resent the fact that Patrick saw her before I did, that he held her, and was there for all her firsts. But having a daughter with you is really all I ever wanted in life. The whole time we were investigating all those X-Files, all I wanted was to tell you how I felt and to settle down with you. Yeah, the cases were my life before, and finding my sister and the truth was vital to me. But that was before you. You came along, and even when you were just a friend to me, you filled the void in my life that had been empty since my sister disappeared when I was a kid. I didn't need the search after I met you. But I kept it up because I was scared. I was scared of what would happen if I put myself on the line. I didn't want to lose someone I loved again. But I lost you anyway. I really didn't want to have to see you marry him, but you did, and a part of me died. But I threw myself back into my work, the way that I did when I was starting out at the Bureau. That was my defense mechanism. But Scully, I don't need it anymore, not if I can have you and a family. So don't ask me to take our daughter without you Scully. I want you both. I want Danny too. You can all be my family. I sure as hell need as much as I can get."
"Oh Mulder. Are you sure that you can forgive me?"
"Scully, I would jump off a bridge if it meant I could be with you. You are really all I want in life."
"Ok. Well all there is left to do is to talk to the kid. I don't know if she will understand. But she needs to know."
They both looked at Emma. She was still sound asleep. They looked at each other and smiled. It was time to catch up on a few things.
A/N: Oh man, I am so sorry that took so long. I didn't mean it too. But I get super busy and super lazy. I promise that there is maybe one or two more chapters remaining and they will be up before the holidays. And then I am going to start on a long HP fic. I wrote a short stand alone one, check it out. It's called "Love Will Light the Shadows on Your Face." I am also starting something for fictionpress.com or whatever it is that takes original fiction. I don't know how long that will take, or if it will ever be done. My user name will be the same on there as it is here. Check it out in the future! Thanks for reading and please please please review!!! (That was one long A/N!!)