Two days later….

Scully paced the shoreline of Sunset Bay and for a brief moment she swallowed her anxiety and soaked up her surroundings. The sun was melting below the horizon, turning the blue sea to reds, yellows and oranges. A beautiful contrast to the golden sand that felt cold between her toes, it was easy to see where this bay got its name from. Her joy was short lived as the pressure from the last 24hours returned to her. She had driven down straight after her meeting with Skinner with the two agents he had assigned her. Agent Wiles had been an FBI agent for 10 years. He had a fiance and spent the majority of the car ride complaining about the list of jobs she had given him for the wedding. Agent Simons was about Scully's age and had joined the bureau around the same time as her. She insisted her and Scully had taken a class together but Scully either couldn't or was too preoccupied with what she was doing to remember her. Agent Simons had worked an X-file with Mulder just before he and Scully had been partnered up. So when Wiles wasn't complaining about how hard it was to find a decent band willing to play for under $1000, Simons was reminiscing about the three days she spent with Mulder in the middle of no-where ville interviewing minors who had claimed to find a cave deep in the mine that seemed to miraculously cure sickness and injury. Scully did her best to nod, um and ah at the right time but really she was just grateful these two had absolutely no interest in her pregnancy. She had grown very weary of the stares and questions aimed at her in recent weeks. Upon arrival she had immediately sent local officers to the island. They were hesitant and unconvinced they would find anything other than holiday makers and bachelor parties. Scully had been the only one not shocked when they reported back and confirmed that chaos reigned. Four more dead bodies, including the latest missing tourist. Witnesses claiming mermaids had hypnotised the men, not only in the aquarium bar but right off the side of the boats as they tried to escape. Reports of them swimming right up to the boats and the men seemingly followed willingly into the water and consequently to their deaths.

Scully shaded the glare from her eyes with her hand and looked back out to the horizon. She could see the boat she had hired for the rescue now making its way towards the wharf. Her chest rose and fell a little quicker knowing Mulder was aboard and she would see him soon. She had left Wiles and Simons with Gables in interrogation. They had brought him in as soon as the officers had reported back from the island. Predictably he was using his right to remain silent and lawyering up. The agents were slowly gathering evidence and working on determining the true identity of the mermaids but the wall of silence around the island was high. Most of the patrons were high profile and the fear of exposure was too great to assists their enquiries. The mermaids were missing and the only reliable witnesses they had were jealous wives and scorned mistresses. It was going to be a tough case to build unless they found those mermaids. Right now Scully was happy to leave it with the other agents, all she needed was Mulder to step off that boat safely, partly so she could slap him but mostly so she could kiss him-mostly.

A small wave brushed cold water around her ankles but she didn't flinch. The boat was now being tied to the end of the wharf just 500 short metres away from her but she fought the urge to run to him. He had been at sea for two nights. He would have been so dehydrated. She had sent with the rescuers intravenous fluids and antiemetics so that they could commence rehydrating them immediately. Then she saw them, two figures were being helped off the boat, both were around the same height, both had warm blankets wrapped around their bodies and hooded over their heads. She could easily tell which one was Mulder and assumed the other one was the Biologist he was with. They both seemed remarkably steady having been lost at sea for so long. He hadn't spotted her yet and she still fought the urge to go to him. The sand and shallow water had swallowed her feet a little and she almost lost her balance when a rogue wave whisked around her knees soaking the bottom of her skirt. Before she ended up being washed away she walked a little further up shore, a little closer to him. He and the Biologist were talking, they were standing face to face the expression on his face was very serious. The other hooded figure raised a hand to brush over his cheek and he smiled at her. She continued to stare not knowing whether to go forward or go back, her stomach did a little flutter when his eyes shifted to meet hers. He seemed to grow stronger then, his shoulders lifting and the smile that stretched his face was not that of man who was lost but had finally been found. She smiled shyly back at him. A smile that said 'Yip I'm here, I saved your arse again.' His steps were determined as he started to close the distance between them. She stayed where she was, deciding to let him be the one to come to her.

"Scully" He said when he was close enough for her to hear. Subconsciously she rested her hand over her pregnant belly, all of the walking she had done that day had suddenly made her feel very pregnant. He was looking at her like it had been months instead of days since he saw her. He was looking at her belly like it wasn't there the morning he had left.

"Mulder" she replied. He was now just a metre away from her just watching her, shifting his eyes up and down, as if trying to convince himself she truly was standing there. Her other hand went to her stomach, god why was he staring at her like that with that silly smile on his face, it made her feel like she was getting rounder and rounder.

"Scully" he breathed out her name "you got so….so.."

"Don't say it Mulder. I swear I'll put you right back on that boat."

"Fat." He said to her belly and then looked up to meet her eyes.

"Thank you!" She went to turn away and he caught her arm and pulled her back to him. They stood and stared for a few minutes. The rest of the world circled around them oblivious to the silent conversation that passed between them. His hand still clasped her elbow like he never meant to let her go as a gentle wind blew her hair across her face unable to break the grasp her eyes held on his. The sun had gone down completely now wrapping them in a private darkness. Only a few lights from the bay and surrounding boats cast shadows at their feet. He momentarily broke the spell when he picked up that small piece of hair sitting on her lashes and tucked it behind her ear.

"It couldn't stay the same forever." He whispered the words she had haunted his dreams with.

Scully looked at him confused for a minute, like he was finishing a conversation she wasn't aware she was in. "Do you want it to?"

He looked down at their child growing between them as he contemplated the right thing to say to her. Letting go of her arm he rested his palm on her stomach. Her heart skipped a beat as he brushed a thumb gently over the tight skin underneath her blouse. "I'd be lying if I didn't say I was scared."

She felt the baby begin to roll inside of her so she placed her hand on top of his and moved it over around her to the other side where tiny feet stretched out and kicked softly.

"Woah" Mulder smiled looking in disbelief at the surface of her shirt ripple subtly beneath their hands.

"He has your big feet." She smiled

"He?" He looked back up at her and she nodded confirmation. "A boy?"

"Let's hope he doesn't take after you in height."

They laughed quietly together. "Maybe not on the way out but let's hope that eventually he takes after me in height." Mulder smirked

"You called me fat and now you are calling me short?" she feigned indignant.

"You're a little round and a little short." He teased.

She hit him softly on the arm and then wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, nestling her cheek into his damp chest. He enveloped her inside his blanket "You're the most beautiful thing on this beach." He whispered into the top of her head "and I really want to kiss you."

She opened her eyes and caught site of the rescuers ushering the biologist into a van. "We have an audience." She pulled away from his embrace. "and you are wet you should probably go to the hospital to get rehydrated and warm."

He was shaking his head before she could finish her sentence. "I had two litres IV en route, I haven't vomited since yesterday and all I can think about is room service in that big hotel room with its giant bath, giant bed and you."

He couldn't kiss her so instead he grasped her chin and tilted it up to him. She thought that sounded like the best idea he had ever had in his life.

Cat had spent just a few hours in the medical centre hooked up to an IV and being warmed by a mechanical warming blanket. It was the early hours of the morning when she had returned to the hotel. As she passed Fox's room she had paused only briefly outside to contemplate how she could be so jealous and yet so happy at the same time. What she wouldn't give to be in Agent Scully's shoes right now. She had watched them that evening on the beach. The back drop around them made them look like an advertisement for a perfect island getaway. No one else seemed interested in paying them any attention. The rescuers were too concerned with getting her warm as she shivered from hypothermia. His jacket had unceremoniously been ripped off her and a heated blanket thrown around her shoulders. It hadn't taken long to warm and rehydrate her. She hadn't been as sick as Fox, who was no doubt feeling much better now. She didn't want to hang around at the medical centre. She just wanted to get back to her hotel bed, soak in a bath and sleep the day away. There was a flight booked home for her later that evening and she had planned on sleeping until then, knowing it was unlikely she would hear from the FBI agents again.

It was the phone that woke her that afternoon. One of the mermaids had been found dead, they were bringing the body into the morgue and the FBI had requested her assistance with the autopsy. Agent Scully would meet her there at three. She had a 6pm flight she tried to argue, not really wanting to spend the afternoon with the infamous Agent Scully, whom she was sure was more than capable of conducting the autopsy alone. The Agent on the phone was insistent she be there and reassured her she would still make her flight. After showering and pinning her hair back up into a giant bun on top of her head she stepped out onto the balcony of the hotel and closed the door behind her. As her door closed Fox's opened and a very buttoned up Agent Scully spilled out onto the balcony with her. Not yet wanting to see her she quickly ducked in behind a pillar so she could hide from her. She clenched her fist 'dammit' this wasn't high school why was she so nervous about meeting her. Oh yeah she had spent the last three days throwing herself at the father of her child, not to mention that little kiss. But that was for his and her own good she conceded and went to step out from her hiding place and call to her. Just as she did Fox jumped out of the door and called out to Scully. Cat quickly jumped back behind the pillar and closed her eyes, if she couldn't see them they hadn't seen her right? Slowly she opened one then the other eye. She had a clear view of them but they couldn't see her and even if they could they were unlikely to have noticed anyway.

Mulder was in a plush white hotel robe and obviously nothing else. His hair was spiky and wet like he had rushed from the shower. "Scully" he called and she turned quickly and went back to him "You didn't say goodbye."

They both had the glowing cheeks and secret smiles of lovers who had spent the day sorting out whatever differences they had left at home between the silk hotel sheets. "You were in the shower, you know I'm going to the autopsy." She stepped easily into his personal space. They couldn't take their eyes off the others lips as if they were stuck on the memory of what they tasted like. "I'm meeting your Biologist friend there. I can't be late after all it was you who insisted she help me."

He put his hands on her waist and gently pulled her hips to his "Be nice Scully, she helped me out a lot these last few days." He swayed them side to side, their unborn child nestled safely between them.

God, they looked so happy, it made Cat a little nauseous. She was starting to feel like some creepy voyeur but had passed the point where it wouldn't seem weird for her to jump out and reveal her presence to them. So she gritted her teeth and hoped they would part soon.

"I'm always nice." Scully said sweetly. "Let me go, someone might be watching". She tried to wiggle out of his clutches.

He wouldn't let her go "Wiles and Simons have taken Gables back to Washington. The police and forensics are either at the island or the morgue. There is no one around to see us." His voice was low and seductive as he ducked his head under her jaw and began moving his mouth along the length of her neck. Scully's eyelids fluttered closed.

Cat snapped her eyes shut, oh God, she wanted to jump off the balcony. She prayed they wouldn't see her, feeling mortified for invading this private moment. She may not have been able to see them but she couldn't block the sound of his mouth dragging along her skin or the way her breathing had come a little laboured. She dared a peak only to see Scully tug on the tie of his robe so his lips could meet hers. The kiss was deep and slow, obviously a familiar one between the two. She quickly snapped her eyes closed again.

"I have to go." She finally heard Scully say. She opened one eye and saw them peck lips once, twice and then Scully slowly slipped out of his arms. He held her hand until it was stretched as far as it could go and then he dropped it reluctantly still watching her back as she walked away from him, her heels clicking loudly on the hard wood of the balcony.

"Be nice to Cat, Scully." He called out to her. She smiled over her shoulder at him. "I'll have that big bath full for you when you get back." Scully waved at him not looking back this time. He made a satisfied 'hmph' noise as he tightened his robe and went back inside the door. Cat waited a few beats before she tip toed down the balcony behind Scully, hoping to have put enough time between them that she wouldn't see her.

She had circled the block a few times to make sure Scully was well ahead of her before she entered the morgue. Now standing at the threshold she started to reason with herself. There was no reason why she and Scully couldn't be great friends. After all they were both scientists, confident females making their way through a male dominated profession and they clearly had the same taste in men. Oh wait, that might be the snag. She took a deep breath to prepare herself and then pushed the heavy door open. Scully had a white lab coat on now, covering that buttoned-up suit she had seen her in earlier. She was fussing with instruments at the table next to the body that was still hidden beneath a sheet. "Agent Scully" She put out her hand to her "I'm Dr Catherine Stevens. Cat" Scully shook her hand politely. "It's nice to finally meet you." She added reluctantly, adjusting her glasses unnecessarily. "I can't say I'm glad to be here, I was kind of hoping I never had to see another one of these mermaids again." She laughed nervously knowing she was rambling but was unable to stop herself. "I feel like I should tell you that I really have valued the experiences I've had with your partner the last couple of days. I have truly gained a deep respect for the work that the two of you do and well I guess apart from the fact that I nearly died and all..." There was that nervous laugh again. Why was she still talking? Scully was looking at her like she had four heads. "I surely wouldn't have survived out there on my own. I've never been in a situation like that, you know where you begin to wonder if this is really it for you. We were lucky the weather was calm, that it wasn't too cold and we had a few provisions to keep us alive. He really kept me going out there, he's a really nice guy Fo.. Agent Mulder and I honestly didn't know you and he were, that he was. I mean when I kissed him he didn't kiss me back." Why did she tell her that? Her judgement was extremely off today.

"Dr Stevens." Scully saved her from herself when she paused long enough to let the woman speak.

"Yes Dana…Dr… ah …..Agent Scully?"

"Do you think we could start the post mortem?" Scully barely batted an eyelid at Cat and her over active confession.

"Yes. Well actually, I don't really know what it is you would like me to do. I'm not a pathologist."

"Perhaps you could look at the water and Sargassum samples the forensics team gathered from the island." She nudged her head in the direction of the lab. "I think you'll find them in there."

"Yes!" Cat sounded a little too enthusiastic. "Water samples, seaweed I'm on it." she cringed when her back was turned to Scully. Inside the lab she took solace in spending the next ten minutes looking through a microscope.

Scully whisked back the sheet. She had autopsied a lot of bodies in many different degrees of decay and her work on the X-files had certainly presented her with many strange mutations and monsters. Nothing prepared her for what lay before her now. She was beautiful, long red hair now tangled with sea life. Her skin was flawless and porcelain white. The detail of the gems and tail was so incredibly realistic if she wasn't such a sceptic at heart she would think she was seeing a real mermaid.

"Hey, it's Red." Cat called over her shoulder coming to join her next to the table. "This is Fox's little friend."

"Pardon?" Scully questioned

Cat laughed "Red, Ok now I get why that's funny." She pointed at Scully's hair.

Scully was obviously missing the joke.

"This is the mermaid who did the whammo on Fox. I swear he was practically drooling on the glass, completely hypnotised by her. Then when we were trying to escape she swam right up to the boat. The way they moved through the water, the hold they had over those men. I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it for myself"

Scully picked up the clipboard that hung on the end of the gurney and flicked it open to a police profile. "I got them to run her prints against missing persons. It turns out 'Red' is also known as 'hot velvet' or Jasmine Holmes to her mother. She used to be a dancer at a night club Gables frequented in New York. As it turns out three other dancers left this club at around the same time. Each said they were starting new jobs at a high class establishment boasting about the increase in pay and conditions but were never heard from again. That was two years ago."

Cat looked profoundly sad. "I never believed they were real mermaids but I didn't expect that either. Can you explain how they developed the ability to turn men into love sick zombies?"

"I'm hoping my examination today will answer that question. Ms Holmes and the others were known addicts, I think Gables feed their habits in order to keep them working for him. The tox screen should shed a bit more light on that. Did you find anything in your samples?"

Cat walked back through to the lab where she had been working. "Yes. As I suspected the water and sargassum found in the lungs and oesophagus of our original victims match that of the water and contaminant in the tank that was closed while we were on the island. There is no doubt that is where the men died."

"You kissed him!" Scully replied catching Cat completely off guard. They seemed to be jumping back a few conversations.

"I did, but only to prove a point." Scully looked a little confused and not very convinced. "About you and the baby and how something so complicated can become so simple. The realization that a teeny thing like a kiss could threaten to take everything you never even realized you had."

Scully seemed to consider her words for a few beats. "Good work on those samples, Cat." She answered "And thank you."

Cat smiled certain it wasn't her amazing Biology skills Scully was thanking her for.

As promised, Mulder had that giant bath filled to overflowing with hot water, thick bubbles and heavenly smells that filled the bathroom. She stretched her shoulders against the rim she leant on and sighed heavily. The last of the evening sun flooded through the small bathroom window that was opened slightly, casting a soft glow of colour and gentle sounds of birds and waves. This was her very definition of heaven, well perhaps, there was just one thing missing.

"Knock knock, can I come in?" Mulder asked walking into the bathroom. Scully's smile was wide in response. Now it was the very definition of heaven. "How's your back now?" He asked taking a seat next to the bathtub and resting his arms over its slippery edge.

"Much better thank you. Where have you been?" She kept her eyes closed and shoulders relaxed beneath the water not wanting to disturb her increasingly relaxed state.

"I was just saying goodbye to Dr Stevens." He watched his finger make a trail through the bubbles on the surface of the water. Scully didn't respond for a long time making him feel a little uneasy.

"I bet that was touching. Did she kiss you goodbye too?"

His finger froze mid pattern, he looked up at her hoping she would elaborate a little more on that But she still had her eyes closed and was giving nothing away.

"Scully I …" He started to scramble

Her left hand came out of the water and a wet finger went to his lips to silence him. She grinned wickedly "Shhhh I'm just teasing you."

He released a breath and sighed in relief. "I can't help it if sexy scientists find me irresistible."

That got him a flick of water to the face. "We solved your X-file." She said while he wiped the drops of water from his eyes and nose.

"Ooh Scully I love it when you talk dirty."

She smiled softly "Your mermaids were originally dancers at a New York night club with the apparently popular name "mermaids". Gables was a frequent patron at the club and one night after a good return in the stock markets he decided to recruit his four favourite girls and open a club of his own. He already owned the island but had been using it as somewhere to schmoose corporates or friends on conference or vacation." Mulder got comfortable on the floor resting his chin on his hands intently watching her do what she did best. "The women were all heroin addicts and estranged from their family and friends so it wasn't difficult to talk them into it or for him to get the police to forget about their missing persons files. At first I am sure his intentions were, in a way, genuine. He got them off the heroin and onto a methadone programme. The woman were isolated on the island but seemed to be well looked after, pampered even and wanted for nothing. It probably seemed like a great deal at the time, they lived in paradise, were well feed and manicured and all they had to do was swim around in warm tanks with tropical fish all night."

"I'm guessing as they came down off the drugs they wanted to go back to their families and the real world." Mulder interrupted.

"Who's telling this story?" she opened one eye to look at him

"Sorry, proceed."

"Thank you. From what I can gather either Gables kept them under his control by altering their dosage of methadone or they became so isolated and consumed by their new roles as mermaids that they literally became mermaids."

"Wow." Mulder replied

"Yeah. Only one of the four mermaids has been found. The police are still looking but I suspect the others have drowned. From the description Dr Stevens gave I think it's safe to assume if we do find the others my finding s will be identical. The tail, while it was mostly synthetic there were parts of it that were literally implanted into their skin. Her legs had imbedded scales and extensive tattooing. Those gems on their torsos were piercings."

"Drowned? Why did they drown now and how can you explain the hypnotic powers they seem to have or their motive for killing those men." Mulder was anxious to push ahead.

She lifted her head off the bath rim and looked directly at him, 'Are you going to let me finish?' written all over her expression.

He buttoned his lips.

"They used very high tech scuba equipment. There was a small oxygen delivering devise inside their noses that they hooked up to various oxygen stations around the aquarium. The thing is these stations didn't hold medical air they held pure oxygen allowing them to be able to "free dive" for long periods of time. The thing is constant exposure to pure oxygen isn't good for you but this woman and I assume the others seemed to have developed a higher tolerance to it. However, over exposure to this oxygen and methadone fuelled environment has altered their brain function and chemistry. There were global anomalies throughout her brain some that are commonly found post mortem in those who were exhibiting psychosis but there were some changes that I have never seen before. Frankly, I can't explain how they were able to hypnotise those men but I think it's a fair assumption that it is linked to these unusual changes."

"Why did they kill them?"

"I had the report from the only surviving sailor faxed through to me yesterday while I was autopsying the latest victims. His recall of events is shakey at best, first of all he said they swam up to the boat but they clearly were taken into the tank that had been closed due to the noxious weed."

"One of them swam up to our boat and there was an outlet to the sea from the tanks, perhaps they dragged them off the boat and back into the tank to play." Mulder added.

"Perhaps." Scully conceded. "The original three died from hyper oxygenation so I assume the mermaids were able to keep them alive under the water using the supply tanks in the aquarium only they didn't have the same tolerance for it, which is why it killed them."

"What motivated them to take them in the first place?"

"Procreation?"

"They wanted Mer-babies?" Mulder could barely contain himself.

"Each species has an inborn instinct to procreate. These women are no different, however, I suspect their psychosis jumbled this instinct and created a half fish half human way to make babies."

"You know I was joking about the dirty talk, right Scully." Mulder cringed.

"Most fish reproduce by spawning, the male and female release gametes into the water for fertilization."

"So they dragged them down tied them up and….". He didn't quite know how to finish that sentence "What a way to go."

"Yeah, well, between the alcohol, oxygen and mermaids trying to extract their sperm, I'm sure they were feeling no pain, I guess things got a little out of hand. I don't know why they shoved the seaweed down their throats but then again I'd be pretty angry too if someone tried to turn me into a pet fish. Clearly they had had enough anyway - they dragged the latest four victims into the water and drowned them before they disappeared and probably drowned themselves."

They were both quiet as they soaked in the facts. "I just have one question?" Mulder interrupted their thoughts. "How did the bodies end up on the beach?"

"I thought I'd leave that last piece of the puzzle to you. Honestly Mulder, how are you going to cope when I'm at home with a baby?"

"You mean you weren't planning on bringing Mulder junior to the office."

She pushed herself forward in the bath sending a good chunk of water over the side and into his lap. "Mulder Junior?!"

He stood and started to remove his now soaking clothes. "Yeah I thought I'd get you one of those kid packs, you know the ones that you put on your front. He could come with us on cases. I'll put a few extra pockets in it for you. You know something to hold extra diapers, your badge and gun." He tried to sound genuine as he slipped the last of his clothes off but his sly smile was giving him away.

She didn't protest at all when he pushed her shoulders forward and settled himself around and behind her in the bath. "I'm not calling my child Mulder Junior." She replied relaxing her back against his front.

Mulder laughed in her ear. "Out of everything that I just suggested, the name is the thing you have the biggest problem with?"

"You're making a mess." She avoided answering his question "This bath isn't big enough for three of us."

He placed his hand over her stomach, making her heart flutter again. She could get used to the feeling of him doing that. "Ok you don't like junior then, what about Frank?"

"Frank?" she sounded completely unconvinced.

"Frank Sinatra, Frank Robinson, Frank Zappa, Frank…."

"enstein.." She finished.

"Mickey"

"No"

"Jordan"

"No"

"Xavier?"

"Mulder!"

"Ok we don't need to decide on a name now, Scully." He drew little circles around her belly button.

She closed her eyes and did some serious evaluating. This moment she decided, this moment was her definition of heaven.

Continued in Xpecting: 40+weeks