I was incredibly, unbelievably sick of hotel rooms. Not to mention more
than a little jet lagged. It's fortunate that I'd bought one of those baby
snuggi things, not that I'd had it with me at Scully's, since I needed both
arms to carry in my suitcase and the kid's paraphernalia - for a tiny
person, she sure required a lot of stuff. Strapped to my chest she was dead
to the world, and wholly indifferent to the trouble she was causing me.
Women.
Fortunately, the bellhop was not blind to my plight, and offered to take my bags. I could have kissed him, but I didn't, no matter what Krycek might have suspected about me. I did tip him a five when we got to the room, though.
The room had a crib like I requested, but no changing table. Fortunately it had a nice empty desktop that made an adequate substitute. Babies are much easier to change when they sleep through it. No small energetic feet kick in places that make more mess to clean up, and they're far easier to dress than the average octopus. It's too bad you can't always wait until they're asleep to change their diapers or dress them.
Once I plunked the kid in the crib, I turned on the radio, very softly, and began to look through the girl section of baby names. It's funny, I'd bought the book, but Scully hadn't bothered to consult it, or me, when it came time to name our son. Typical.
None of the names really grabbed my attention. I thought of Blake since it means Light or Dark, oddly enough, since it's theoretically possible she'll turn out good or evil with or without my help, but I couldn't picture calling a little girl that, even though the book claims that it's a unisex name. She didn't look like a Blake either. I'm not sure what a Blake looks like, but I didn't think it was someone with dark brown hair that liked to spike on it's own, and beautiful blue eyes you could lose yourself in. Not like someone who could pass for a child belonging to Scully and I both.
The book had lots of significant names, some meaning change, or prophet or herald or new, even a few that meant unknown, which is exactly what this child was. Definitely a solve for X in this equation. But they were all so...biblical. She'd definitely be the only one in her class with any of those names, but after growing up as the only Fox ever, I wasn't about to pass along the burden to an innocent baby. Instead I thought about names that were less about what she might be than what I wanted her to be, Grace, Hope, Promise all the lovely angel names. None of them seemed to fit this child.
Little did I know that as soon as I gave up in defeat, the name would fall out of the sky. Or out of the speakers as it were. Closing the book with a sigh, I leaned back and finally heard the song playing on the radio.
"...she's cursed as a Jezebel
God damn Eve and the original sin
It's such a thin line between heaven and hell
But she walks it fine and she's knows it well
She'll make you feel more than you've ever known
She'll make you show more than you've ever shown
Evangeline, Evangeline..."
Opening my eyes wide, I thought about getting up that second to write a fan letter to the Mission UK, but I was too tired. Evangeline, why hadn't I thought of it before? Evangelists are people who preach good news, what better to call a baby that was a harbinger of an uncertain future? Not to mention Evie is a fairly livable diminutive.
Bringing the baby to see Scully before giving her a name had been a big mistake. Of course Scully reacted badly to a nameless creature, who wouldn't? Now that she had a name it'd be ok, Scully would be able think of her as an individual worthy of respect now. A name made all the difference in the world.
Feeling almost giddy with relief, I changed and crawled into bed. I knew Evie would wake me in a few hours, but I was feeling absurdly better about everything, so I feel asleep instantly, my dreams filled with smoke.
***
The first strains of daylight were filtering in through the hotel room's skimpy curtains when I heard a knock on the door. Fortunately, we were both awake already, though I'd been in the middle of giving the baby a bottle.
However, I had no idea who'd be knocking on my door at that time in the morning, so I was slightly frightened. A look out through the peephole revealed a familiar, if tense, face, but it didn't make me feel much better.
"Where's William?" I asked, noting that she was alone.
"Monica took him to the zoo."
I nodded, then sat down to continue feeding Evie since she was beginning to fuss. "Still afraid that the baby is going to eat him, huh?"
She shrugged.
"She's not a European cuckoo who'll take over the nest and be rid of William, and she's not the central figure in a horror movie. She's just a baby, who now has a name. Evangeline. I'm going to call her Evie."
This did not prompt a change of heart like I'd deliriously imagined the night before, but I'd gotten over that fantasy before she came knocking at my door; getting her to see things my way was going to require a lot more work than I had hoped. Her face remained completely neutral; I couldn't even tell if she liked or hated the name.
"How did you get it?" Scully asked. That annoyed me, so I glared at her. Even if she didn't like the baby any better with a name than without, she could have at least said 'she'. "Is anyone going to be looking for...her?" I guess she could read me still.
"No one is looking for her. They think she's dead." I said, standing up. Evie was asleep, so I wanted to put her in the borrowed crib. "They think she's as dead as the rest of them."
"If this is some misguided attempt to make up for not having been around William when he was a newborn-"
"This doesn't have anything to do with missing William." I told her coolly. All right, maybe it had a little bit to do with William, but if I had my way, I wouldn't be missing him for much longer. Her either.
"Mulder, please, I want to understand...but you need to tell me everything." There was a pleading note in her voice that I wanted to believe. She's not that good an actress so it could have been genuine; it was worth the risk to assume it was.
Sighing, I motioned to the room's two uncomfortable over stuffed chairs. Once we were seated, I mentally prepared myself for telling her everything, starting at the very beginning.
Fortunately, the bellhop was not blind to my plight, and offered to take my bags. I could have kissed him, but I didn't, no matter what Krycek might have suspected about me. I did tip him a five when we got to the room, though.
The room had a crib like I requested, but no changing table. Fortunately it had a nice empty desktop that made an adequate substitute. Babies are much easier to change when they sleep through it. No small energetic feet kick in places that make more mess to clean up, and they're far easier to dress than the average octopus. It's too bad you can't always wait until they're asleep to change their diapers or dress them.
Once I plunked the kid in the crib, I turned on the radio, very softly, and began to look through the girl section of baby names. It's funny, I'd bought the book, but Scully hadn't bothered to consult it, or me, when it came time to name our son. Typical.
None of the names really grabbed my attention. I thought of Blake since it means Light or Dark, oddly enough, since it's theoretically possible she'll turn out good or evil with or without my help, but I couldn't picture calling a little girl that, even though the book claims that it's a unisex name. She didn't look like a Blake either. I'm not sure what a Blake looks like, but I didn't think it was someone with dark brown hair that liked to spike on it's own, and beautiful blue eyes you could lose yourself in. Not like someone who could pass for a child belonging to Scully and I both.
The book had lots of significant names, some meaning change, or prophet or herald or new, even a few that meant unknown, which is exactly what this child was. Definitely a solve for X in this equation. But they were all so...biblical. She'd definitely be the only one in her class with any of those names, but after growing up as the only Fox ever, I wasn't about to pass along the burden to an innocent baby. Instead I thought about names that were less about what she might be than what I wanted her to be, Grace, Hope, Promise all the lovely angel names. None of them seemed to fit this child.
Little did I know that as soon as I gave up in defeat, the name would fall out of the sky. Or out of the speakers as it were. Closing the book with a sigh, I leaned back and finally heard the song playing on the radio.
"...she's cursed as a Jezebel
God damn Eve and the original sin
It's such a thin line between heaven and hell
But she walks it fine and she's knows it well
She'll make you feel more than you've ever known
She'll make you show more than you've ever shown
Evangeline, Evangeline..."
Opening my eyes wide, I thought about getting up that second to write a fan letter to the Mission UK, but I was too tired. Evangeline, why hadn't I thought of it before? Evangelists are people who preach good news, what better to call a baby that was a harbinger of an uncertain future? Not to mention Evie is a fairly livable diminutive.
Bringing the baby to see Scully before giving her a name had been a big mistake. Of course Scully reacted badly to a nameless creature, who wouldn't? Now that she had a name it'd be ok, Scully would be able think of her as an individual worthy of respect now. A name made all the difference in the world.
Feeling almost giddy with relief, I changed and crawled into bed. I knew Evie would wake me in a few hours, but I was feeling absurdly better about everything, so I feel asleep instantly, my dreams filled with smoke.
***
The first strains of daylight were filtering in through the hotel room's skimpy curtains when I heard a knock on the door. Fortunately, we were both awake already, though I'd been in the middle of giving the baby a bottle.
However, I had no idea who'd be knocking on my door at that time in the morning, so I was slightly frightened. A look out through the peephole revealed a familiar, if tense, face, but it didn't make me feel much better.
"Where's William?" I asked, noting that she was alone.
"Monica took him to the zoo."
I nodded, then sat down to continue feeding Evie since she was beginning to fuss. "Still afraid that the baby is going to eat him, huh?"
She shrugged.
"She's not a European cuckoo who'll take over the nest and be rid of William, and she's not the central figure in a horror movie. She's just a baby, who now has a name. Evangeline. I'm going to call her Evie."
This did not prompt a change of heart like I'd deliriously imagined the night before, but I'd gotten over that fantasy before she came knocking at my door; getting her to see things my way was going to require a lot more work than I had hoped. Her face remained completely neutral; I couldn't even tell if she liked or hated the name.
"How did you get it?" Scully asked. That annoyed me, so I glared at her. Even if she didn't like the baby any better with a name than without, she could have at least said 'she'. "Is anyone going to be looking for...her?" I guess she could read me still.
"No one is looking for her. They think she's dead." I said, standing up. Evie was asleep, so I wanted to put her in the borrowed crib. "They think she's as dead as the rest of them."
"If this is some misguided attempt to make up for not having been around William when he was a newborn-"
"This doesn't have anything to do with missing William." I told her coolly. All right, maybe it had a little bit to do with William, but if I had my way, I wouldn't be missing him for much longer. Her either.
"Mulder, please, I want to understand...but you need to tell me everything." There was a pleading note in her voice that I wanted to believe. She's not that good an actress so it could have been genuine; it was worth the risk to assume it was.
Sighing, I motioned to the room's two uncomfortable over stuffed chairs. Once we were seated, I mentally prepared myself for telling her everything, starting at the very beginning.