Disclaimer: Mulder, Scully, and whoever else that belongs to Chris Carter, still do.
Author's note: okay, I wrote this chapter before my life became hectic, and decided to post it, but it is the last posting until December, oddly three of my best family members are dealing with the law and I may lose two, so you see I'm not in the best mood for writing right now. Anyway…
Chapter six
Dana had just finished teaching her last class for the day. She gathered her stuff up and went to her office.
Dana was now five months pregnant. She was happy with it now, but always tired.
It had been a month and a half since Dana had spoken with Mulder.
She knew that he was still angry with her and she thought that it was best to leave him alone for a while.
Dana put her stuff down on her desk and sat in her chair. She rested her hand on her growing stomach.
Now she was obviously pregnant, especially with twins. She had no way of hiding her belly much. She did try though, with loose clothing and her very large sweater, but she wasn't sure at how many people she was really fooling. If any of her colleagues knew or had guessed, well they at least they let her live in her delusion.
Dana's mother, Skinner, and her bosses at Quantico were the only ones that knew for the moment.
Dana sighed wearily, she knew that it was Mulder that needed to know the most, but she didn't feel ready to deal with what would happen when she opened that door to their relationship.
She was afraid of the conversation they would have to have. She didn't want to be disappointed by him. Dana knew that she couldn't get what she wanted out of him, even if he tried to believe he could offer it to her. She just knew that it wasn't in his nature to settle down.
His work still meant a lot to him. His search for the truth, for his sister. Dana understood it and had accepted that. She wasn't going to force him into anything.
She just couldn't see him as a family man at the moment.
The idea of Mulder with children seemed more farfetched then his theories. She knew even if she told him the pregnancy, her children wouldn't be raised by him no matter what, because the moment he caught wind of an alien, or alien-abduction, or whatever x-file interested him at the time, he would take off running, leaving her behind to take care of everything, like she always did.
She didn't want their children to feel abandoned like she did when he left her behind.
Dana moved off her train of thought and started putting her papers away. It was Friday and she was looking forward to the weekend so that she could rest and do nothing.
A knock on her office door startled her.
She glanced at the clock and saw that it was seven in the evening.
"Most of the students should be gone by now," she thought curiously.
"Uh, come in," Dana called.
The door opened, and Mulder walked in. He looked at her awkwardly.
"What are you doing here?" Dana asked surprised.
"Just thought I would come by, it's been awhile," Mulder said sitting in one of the chairs in front of her desk.
"It has; so what's going on, uh, how are things at work," Dana asked for the sake of conversation, trying to keep things from becoming uncomfortable with them and still continuing to put her stuff away and figuring out what needed to be taken home.
"Funny you should ask that," Mulder said casually.
She looked up at him curiously, "Oh, why?"
"Well, it's quite interesting, you left the x-files, and the Hoover building about two months ago, but rumors still circle about you," Mulder said, "However, one in particular caught my attention," he said cryptically.
Dana instinctively loosened her coat a bit around her waist, hoping she wasn't obvious, in case he finally found out.
"Oh, and which one is that, I've been out of the loop so long," she said lightly.
"It actually seems very unbelievable to me, but I thought I just had to come and see you about it anyway," Mulder said scrutinizing her.
"Well, what is it, I would like to get home some time tonight," Dana said a bit annoyed and nervous.
"Well I've been hearing that your pregnant, but I thought that couldn't be true, because one, you can't conceive, and two if you had, you would have told me right?" Mulder said heatedly.
"Yeah, if it were true," she said coolly.
Mulder looked at her searchingly, "Open your coat then, it's not that cold in here," he said suddenly.
"I hardly think this is the time or place," she quipped at being caught off guard.
"Yeah, right, I'm looking for that," he said sarcastically, "Now open your coat, prove me that those rumors are untrue," he demanded.
"I don't have to prove anything to you, it's my personal life," she said outraged.
"Yeah, well not when I know it concerns me, now open your coat, or I can do it for you," Mulder threatened, getting up and moving over to her.
Dana moved around the desk to the door and opened it, "Get out, I don't need to be harassed by you," she said furiously.
"Come on, Dana, it's a simple request, just do it, prove me wrong and I'll leave," Mulder said closing in on her.
"I'll call for security," she warned.
He seemed to contemplate it, but he took advantage of Dana letting her guard down for that moment.
He lunged at the opening of her coat and had managed to slip his hand inside.
Dana recoiled from him, "Stop it Mulder!" she shouted angrily.
He looked at her astonished, as he felt her large, roundish, firm stomach.
Dana looked at him guiltily. He kept his hand on her stomach.
"Were you ever going to tell me, I mean it's mine right?" Mulder asked, sounding as if he had been disconnected from the world.
She looked at him, then became angry, "Yes, it's yours, and no I wasn't going to tell you, not yet at least" she said pushing him roughly away from her.
"Why, were you waiting until after the birth?" he asked looking at her in disbelief.
"No, I don't know when I was going to tell you and why should I, I couldn't expect anything from you, either way I see it, I would still end up raising these children by myself," she said he voice rising in anger.
Mulder was about to respond with words of…well, he wasn't sure, but he was caught off guard, "Wait, these, as in more then one?"
"Yeah, twins," she stated deciding it was best to give up the fight.
"I can't believe you wouldn't tell me, and it's not fair for you to assume things of me, we never talked, I wanted a relationship, you pushed it away, pushed me away," Mulder argued.
"Mulder, you don't have a good track record of being very reliable, or responsible, and you failed at most of your relationships because of your work, I mean come on, wasn't that the reason you wanted to sleep with me, why you created the arrangement, I was convenient, and your best friend, no one else would, or wanted to put up with you, but me, but things change," Dana said honestly.
He looked at her hurt and angry, "Yeah and what does that say about you, you were just as obsessed with work as I was, you agreed to the arrangement without hesitation," he argued.
Dana was hurt at the implication, "Yeah, and I'm ending it, you're the one trying to make something out of nothing, for your part it was a pathetic attempt at trying to believe that someone could even love you, I only did it because I felt sorry for you, I don't have to settle for you, " she said furiously.
With a look of surprise and hurt, Dana knew that she had gone to far and instantly regretted what she said.
He quickly masked it with anger, "Fuck you," he said and left, slamming the door behind him.
Dana held back her tears. She messed up big time.
Dana knew that Mulder was right about her needing to have talked with him earlier. It wasn't right, or fair.
Dana sat in her chair again and did nothing for a while.
Finally she sighed heavily. She knew what she needed to do. Dana grabbed her stuff and exited the office, deciding that she needed to talk to him, hoping that it wasn't too late to make things right.
Author's note: Next chapter should be in December, that's when all my families problems should be settled, but I will very much try to update sooner. Hope I don't lose you guys during this long waiting period.