Part IV: Kidnap
"Mulder... Mulder, wake up."
I rolled over and away, from the shaking hands, knowing it was Scully but not caring. "Just go back to sleep," I mumbled, burying my face in the pillow. "Will get you ice cream later."
"Mulder, it's started."
I froze, feeling sleepiness dissipate as the ice water of her words fell over me. "You mean... the baby?" I said slowly, rolling back over to see her sitting up against the headboard in the semi-darkness. The bathroom night-light was still on, giving me just enough light to see by.
"Yes. I've been awake about two hours and they've gone from fourteen to six minutes apart," she said. "I think I may have not realized that I was in the first stage of labor; that was likely why my back was hurting so much yesterday. That happens sometimes," she said almost apologetically as I sat up and switched on the lamp on the night table.
"How long do you think it'll be?"
"First babies are supposed to take a long time, but from how fast my contractions are speeding up it may not be more than a few hours," she said in a clearly worried tone. "I wish I could do my own pelvic exam and see how dilated I am."
Time to put Plan A into action. I swung my legs out of bed and shucked the sweats, already reaching for yesterday's jeans. "Okay, Scully, hang on, I'll be back shortly."
"You're leaving?" she all but screamed. I stopped myself from putting my hands over my ears by dint of will. "You can't leave me, Mulder, you have to help me deliver this baby!"
"I'm just running into town to get something," I explained almost desperately, slipping yesterday's t-shirt over my head.
"What did you forget?" she snapped then clutched at her belly, doubling over as much as she could and groaned, low.
"Oh, my God." I hurried around the bed to her side, brushing her hair out of her face as she laid back. She was already sweating. "Is there anything I can do?"
"Get this damn baby out of me without so much drama," she said grumpily, relaxing back against the headboard and kicking off the sheet, stretching out her legs. The huge bump of her belly looked even bigger beneath my old grey Knicks t-shirt that she had insisted on wearing despite the fact that it was dirty. "Would you take my underwear off? They're all wet and feel terrible. Can't whatever it is wait?"
She was right; her panties were soaked with a light bloody discharge that I, from my cramming yesterday, knew was normal. I tossed them in the wastebasket and covered her with the light sheet again, folding the bedspread back and out of the way. "What? No, but I'll be back in less than half an hour—you can wait that long, can't you?" I said desperately, sitting on the edge of the bed with my shoes and socks.
"It's not up to me, Mulder. This baby'll come when it wants no matter what we do," she said, watching me put on my old tennis shoes which I kept in my travel bag. She didn't mention that I had them on the wrong feet and I nearly fell over as I tried to walk. I knew I was far more nervous than I tried to show her; if this didn't work I'd have to deliver our child and that scared me far more than any mutant or monster ever could.
I leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. "I'll be right back," I promised. "Do your breathing."
One of the stack of books that had been sitting on the nightstand sailed past my head as I headed for the door and hit the wall just above my shoulder. "I'll breathe you, asshole," she snarled, and I made my escape while I still could.