A New Life

See previous chapter!

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It was late the next afternoon before we finally pulled onto the long dusty, gravelly road that led to the rather expansive farm. After ten minutes of the shaking and jolting, that I'm sure rattled the baby, the car came to a stop in front of a quaint little two-story farmhouse. We both exited the rental car and stretched our stiff muscles. We were surrounded by the sounds and smells of the farm; and it felt peaceful. I closed my eyes and let the peace fill me. Too soon, however, my reverie was broken by the sound of Mulder's voice.

"I think they said the key was in the flower pot, under the frog, by the door. Can you let us in and I'll get the bags?" he asked.

I didn't have to answer so I made my way to the door. I bent over, or well, kind of flopped over as well as my swollen stomach would allow, and I looked for the key. I found it exactly where Mulder had described, and I opened the door. I was instantly hit with the smell of apple pie and lavender, and suddenly realized we hadn't brought any food with us. I turned around to face Mulder.

"Mulder, we don't have any food with us. I won't live if I can't eat Oreos with peanut butter!" I exclaimed, half joking, half not.

"Don't worry," he assured me, "I gave them a list of items we would need, and she was going to have a neighbor pick them up and drop them off for us sometime today."

Satisfied with his answer I once again faced the door and pushed my way in, with Mulder close behind.

We settled our stuff into what appeared to be the guest room, and I laid myself down on the bed to see how comfortable it was. Mulder lay down next to me and pulled me close. He kissed me on the forehead and made his way to my lips. My breath caught when his kiss was so gentle; so loving. He ran his fingers through my hair and held me close. Then he spoke, so softly I thought maybe I had been hearing things.

But he did speak, he said four simple words that brought tears to my eyes, "I love you Scully."

I looked up at him and saw he had a look of fear in his eyes. It took me a minute, and then I realized he thought maybe I didn't love him back. I took his hand and smiled before speaking.

"I love you, too, Mulder. I always have, and I always will."

He relaxed visibly, and pulled me closer again. We lay in silence for a while, and then his fingers started to trace circles on my tummy. The baby responded by pressing out in every place he touched. I laughed at each one, as did he, but then he grew silent again. I looked, and now he had darkness in his eyes.

"What's wrong, Mulder?" I inquired.

"Scully…I…the baby…" he trailed off, but I knew his unspoken question. I kept watch until I was positive he was paying attention.

"Mulder, the baby is yours. You never have to worry. There's never been anyone else, not even while you were gone. And there never will be," he relaxed visibly, but tensed again.

"Scully, the in-vitro didn't work, how…?"

I laughed, but he didn't look amused. I took his hands again. "Mulder, that didn't work…but…" I trailed off hoping he would catch on.

"Oh," was the most intelligent thing he could come up with. His lips turned up in a cute smile and he kissed me again, a little more passionately this time.

I leaned into him, and he stroked my hair. I felt myself getting sleepy, and even though I could hear Mulder talking to me, his voice wasn't enough to pull me back to reality and I slipped into dreamland.

I flew out of bed and ran over to Mulder. I shook him awake, and he groggily opened his eyes. He looked up at me, and his face instantly matched my own; full of panic. He stood up almost knocking me down. "Stay here," he ordered and ran out of the room. I tried to follow but something was holding me back. As I turned around I saw someone holding onto my shirt, but her face was in the dark. She took a step into the light…

I was pulled back into reality by Mulder's, and a woman's voice. I rolled out of bed as gracefully as I could, and looked at myself in the mirror. I looked fat. And not just fat all over; it looked like I was twelve months pregnant. I groaned and headed to the bathroom. Afterwards, I made my way downstairs, and I was greeted by the smell of tea, and Mulder. He gave me a hug, and sensed my distress.

"What is it Scully? Is it the dream again?" he asked gently.

I nodded my head. "They take the baby Mulder. It's our baby." I felt silly, as I was on the verge of tears. He hugged me.

"It's ok, I'm here you'll be fine. Your…our baby will be fine," he assured me. "You should come and meet the neighbor, Margaret. When she found out you were about to deliver, I had to tell her that we were running away. But, that's all I told her. Ok?"

I nodded and we went in the kitchen. We were met by a woman who appeared to be in her fifties. She had a round, loving face, and her eyes were filled with understanding. She gave me a hug, and somehow it felt right. She smiled at me and told me to have a seat. I obliged and she sat a cup of hot tea in front of me. I took a sip and the warm liquid slid down to my stomach. It tasted so good.

"Wow. What kind of tea is this? I've never tasted anything quite like it, it tastes so good!" I exclaimed.

She smiled, "It's just regular tea, but I put a couple of different natural extracts in it. My secret recipe." She then sat in front of me with her own cup, and the three of us chatted for a long time.

Around nine o'clock Mulder and I decided to turn in. I made my way up to the guest room, and Mulder joined me after assuring Margaret made her way home safely. He climbed in bed next to me and I snuggled close.

"Have you thought about names yet, Scully?" he asked while rubbing my stomach.

"A little, but I haven't come to any concrete decisions. Why? You have an idea?" I replied.

"I've always loved the name Olivia. I had a friend in the second grade who's name was Olivia, and I thought that was the most beautiful name. I think she was my first crush," he said almost shyly.

"That's a beautiful name. Beats my girl name."

"What's that?" he asked.

"Madison," I replied.

"That's beautiful, Scully. Madison Olivia Scully, I like it."

"Huh uh. Madison Olivia Mulder," I corrected.

I didn't see it, but I felt him smile. I was going to ask him about boy names, but I heard him snore, and decided to save my breath. I snuggled down and fell asleep in his arms.

Mulder returned empty handed. I collapsed to the ground and started hysterically crying. He knelt next to me, and we cried together. The pain started in my chest, my heart. It gravitated down to my stomach. It got worse and worse and I was gasping for breath…

I sat up as the pain in my abdomen increased. I placed my hand on my stomach and finally felt the tightness decrease. It hadn't lasted very long so I figured it was a Braxton-Hick contraction, like I had been having for the last couple of months. I slipped out of bed, and mad my way to the guest shower. I turned the water on, as hot as I could stand it, and stepped under the stream.

I must have stood there for twenty minutes before I heard Mulder enter the bathroom. I heard him strip his clothes and climb in the shower behind me. He grabbed the soap from my hands and started to work over my body. When he got to my stomach, my muscles tightened in yet another contraction. His hands paused, and then he placed the soap back on the shelf and turned me around. I saw panic on his face, and I couldn't help but smile.

"Don't worry, Mulder. It's just the baby coming."

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