Title: Birth Day
Author: Siobhan Gormley
Disclaimer: All copyrights to the characters of Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, Margaret 
Scully and Melissa Scully belong to Chris Carter and his merry band at Ten 
Thirteenproductions, as well as FBC. The excerpt from "When We Dance" 
belongs to Sting. No permission was given for the use of them, but that never
stopped me before! The use of Jackie St. George is permitted by Sheryl
Martin. This story, and the character Richard Pascal, are mine though.

Summary: Scully returns to D. C. pregnant after an absence of a few months, 
much to everyone's surprise...

Author's Note: Okay, so I started writing this before I knew they were going to 
bump Melissa off, but I figured I'd post it anyway. I was originally inspired
to start writing this while I was watching _Nine Months_. There is no
romance or X-File in this, just a bit of character development and
friendly bonding, oh, and maybe a little comedy (well *I* thought some
of it was amusing! ;). On to the legalities...

~*~*~

Mulder's townhouse
May 15, 1998
1:22 am

Fox Mulder got up from the couch and stretched his tall form, letting
out a loud yawn. He had been working late on another case and had
fallen asleep on the couch, just like the old days. But things weren't
like the old days. For one thing, he no longer lived in the cramped 
apartment in Alexandria, he had moved into a roomier townhouse. He
remembered the day he had decided to take this place, Scully had
been with him.

~*~*~

August 10, 1997
12:34 pm

"C'mon Mulder, one more place and I'll take you to lunch," Scully
cajoled. He reluctantly agreed, he was tired of looking
at overpriced dumps that seemed to have less space than where he
was now. He had only agreed to go out to look at new places to
please Scully. He hadn't seen her in a while and wanted to
spend as much time with her as he could. 

That last place had been the one. The two of them didn't have
their hopes up, but they were pleasantly surprised when they did
see it. It wasn't huge, but it was bigger than his apartment.
He knew he liked it, and he made the deal right then after seeing
the gleeful look in Scully's eyes. She was already planning on
how to decorate this place for him. Most men would be a little
wary of having a woman decorate their place for them, but Mulder
knew he could trust Scully's instincts, she knew his style.

~*~*~

May 15, 1998
3:49 am

Mulder was sound asleep, having pleasant dreams when the doorbell
rang, waking him. He grumbled and rubbed his tired eyes as he
stumbled to the front door. He looked through the peep hole and
saw Scully's face. He was slightly surprised, he hadn't seen her
for almost six months. He quickly opened the door and went to
greet her when he saw something he didn't expect, she was pregnant.
He stood there, mouth slightly open in disbelief. Scully gave
him a mournful look. He immediately took her into his arms, holding
her as close as he could.

"Do you think I could come in?" she asked, a little jokingly. Mulder
pulled away and ushered her into the front hall, taking her coat and
hanging it on a hook. They didn't say anything as they headed into 
the living room. "I guess you're wondering about this," she stated
as they sat down, indicating her pregnancy. He shrugged his
shoulders, turning to the table lamp and turning it on.

"I don't want to pry..." he started, then stopped when he saw the
look of disbelief on her face. "Okay, I'll admit, I'm a bit curious."

"It's Richard's. He...he said he didn't want it, he...he was going
to give me the money to..." Scully said, her voice fading near the
end. She started to cry, unable to hold it in. Mulder grabbed a
box of tissues from the side table and handed her a couple. She
smiled wanly, thanking him through her sniffles.

"Why? I thought you two were doing good?"

"We were, just the two of us, and that's the way the bastard wanted
it to stay. The ironic thing is, this isn't the first time I was
pregnant. I had had two miscarriages before. He didn't know anything
about them, he had been out of town on business when it had happened.
I had never told him about either of them. A few months ago, when I
had told him about this one and I heard his heartless words, I blurted
it all out, I was so angry and upset with him." 

"A few months ago? Where have you been?" he asked, a little worried.

"I left him after that blow-up. I couldn't go to my mother or sister,
they would have just told me they had predicted this would happen. I
didn't want to talk to anyone, so I went away for a while, to clear
my mind. It was only a couple of days ago that I felt strong enough
to come back. I wanted to see you first," Scully replied, smiling
a little at the last thing she said.

"I'm glad you did," Mulder responded, his voice soft. Scully sniffed.

"Is it okay if I use your bathroom, I feel like hell," she queried.
Mulder nodded, getting up from the couch and helping her up. 

"I'll make us some tea," he stated as she headed for the bathroom.

"Nothing with caffeine, I don't think I could handle it," she said
from the bathroom. Mulder turned on the light in the kitchen and
pulled out two herbal tea bags. 

He stood at the counter, waiting for the water to boil. His mind
began to wander back to the day that Scully had told him she was
leaving the FBI.

~*~*~

Wally's Bar
April 22, 1996
5:28 pm

Mulder and Scully slid into a booth near the back of the bar where
there was less noise. Scully had been acting nervously all day
and it was driving Mulder batty. When she had asked him to meet her
after work at Wally's, he knew something was definitely up.

They sat there silently while the waitress deposited their drinks on
the table. Once she was gone, Mulder finally spoke.

"Okay Scully, what's up? You've been acting strangely all day, barely
saying two words to me without getting a nervous smile on your face."
Scully smiled nervously, again, and took a deep breath.

"You know how I've been seeing this guy, Richard Pascal?" she queried.
Mulder nodded as he sipped his beer. "Well, he works for this
medical firm and they just had an opening for a pathologist. He put
my name in, without asking mind you, but they decided they wanted me."
Mulder stopped mid-sip and stared at her. He feared where this was
going.

"So you told them you didn't want it, right?" Mulder asked, desperate
hopefulness seeping through his voice. Scully looked at him, a certain
amount of sadness creeping across her face.

"I did at first. I was a little angry with Richard for not checking
with me first, but they weren't going to give up. Their offer was
getting better and better. After a while, I couldn't say no, they
had broken down my defences." Mulder looked at her with incredulity.

"How can you throw away everything? Nothing can be *that* good!" he
said, his voice getting louder. People began looking their way, causing
Scully to blush slightly with embarrassment and a bit of anger.

"You just don't understand, do you Mulder? I thought you might be more
supportive!" Scully whispered angrily. She slid out of the booth. She
stood up and looked straight into his eyes. "I don't need this crap,
I've already been getting enough of it from my family. My resignation
is effective immediately. I already handed it in to Skinner." With
those final words, Scully had turned on her heel and left the bar,
leaving Mulder feeling suddenly very lost and forlorn. The sounds of a
song entered his hearing.

"He won't love you
 Like I love you
 He won't care for you this way
 He'll mistreat you if you stay..."

Mulder slid out from the booth and slammed down some money for the
drinks. He wasn't going to sit here depressing himself, he could
do that just fine at home.

~*~*~

May 15, 1998
4 am

Mulder shook himself out of his memory. The kettle had boiled a
long time ago and the steam was burning his hand that he had 
absentmindedly put near the opening. He snatched it away and
unplugged the kettle, pouring the water into the cups.

They had made amends not long after their argument, they could never
stay angry with each other for long.

After making the tea, he headed back into the living room. Scully
was sitting on the couch again, dressed in some of his loose sweats.
He handed her her tea and sat down.

"I hope you don't mind me borrowing some of your stuff," she said,
sipping the hot tea. The taste of mint and honey swirled around
her mouth, making her smile contentedly.

"I always thought it would look better on you," he replied, a mischievous
glint in his eyes. Scully playfully swatted his arm, eliciting a
smile from both of them. They were silent for a few moments, enjoying
the tea and just being in each other's company after such a long separation.

"So, what are your plans now?" 

"Well, I'm obviously going to have to tell my family sometime. I would
appreciate it if you'd be there, might soften the blow a little." Mulder
nodded his agreement as he sipped his tea.

"What about your job?" Scully chuckled sardonically.

"When I walked away from Richard, I walked away from that job. I never
told you, but it was the most *boring* thing on the face of the earth!
I did autopsies on lab animals who had been tested on. It wasn't even
close to as interesting as what we would come across." She paused,
taking a sip of tea. "So, I hear that you got the X-Files expanded."

"Well, Skinner did. You know, I never trusted the guy for the longest
time and now he's one of my biggest supporters. Go figure."

"I'm glad. So, what's your new partner like?" she asked curiously.
Mulder grinned.

"Nothing compared to you, I barely have a fight with the guy." Scully
swatted at him, but he deftly moved out of the way. "Seriously though,
he's not a bad guy, a little *too* open to suggestions at times..."

"Not like anyone we know, right?" Scully teased. Mulder shook his head
and looked plaintively to the ceiling.

"The things I have to put up with." Scully laughed aloud, causing Mulder
to join her. "Okay, enough teasing," Mulder requested, and Scully nodded.

"Things are going okay though?" Scully asked.

"Yeah, as well as can be expected. Since Skinner is so highly placed
now I'm pretty much protected. Things have changed *so* much, Scully.
It's hard to believe that..." he trailed off as he saw a look of
discomfort crossed Scully's face. "Are you okay?" he asked, worried.
She nodded, the discomfort passing.

"This kid's going to be one hell of a kicker." Mulder got up from the
couch and offered his hand to her. She looked at it questioningly.

"Maybe you should get some rest. It's pretty late, Scully." She nodded
in agreement, finding herself yawning.

He followed her to his bedroom. She lay down on the bed and Mulder
tried to make her comfortable. Scully's eyelids began to droop slightly
as Mulder pulled the comforter around her.

"Good night," he whispered. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.
When he pulled away, he saw that she had a tiny smile on her face. 

~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~*

Scully family home
May 20, 1998
6:11 pm

It had taken a couple of days for Scully to get the courage up to call
her mother, but she had finally done it. Her mother had been so
grateful to hear from her, she had been so worried. As predicted, her
mother had not taken the news of Scully's pregnancy well, ending their
conversation with angry tears and words, and Scully slamming the phone
down. Margaret Scully then called Mulder the next day at work and they
talked it over. That night she dropped by Mulder's townhouse to talk to
Scully, who refused at first to talk to her. Mulder was finally able
to convince Scully to leave the bedroom and talk. He sat there in the 
living room, a sort of umpire, but soon enough they were talking about 
baby clothes and baby names. Margaret had insisted that Scully come and
stay with her, but Scully was not going to budge. She was comfortable
being here with Mulder, and she wanted to be near her lamaze coach.
Mulder had been quite surprised hearing this, considering they hadn't
discussed it. He stayed out of the way in this latest battle of wills,
he didn't want to chose sides on it. Finally, Margaret had relented
and she left for home, not before inviting them to dinner in a few
nights.

So here they were now, just driving up to the house. Mulder helped
Scully out of his car and up the stairs to the front door. Scully
took a deep, calming breath and rang the doorbell. Mid-ring the
door was opened and they were greeted by the whole Scully clan.
A chorus of voices overlapped as they were pulled into the house.

"Hi, how are you?..."
"So nice to see you..."
"You're so big!..."

"Everyone, give these two some room, you're going to suffocate them,"
Melissa's voice called out over the din of greetings. Everyone moved
out of the way to allow them room to get their coats off. Once that
was done they were brought into the living room, seated beside each
other. Scully sighed, looking at everyone around her. They looked
expectantly back at her. "So Dana, how have you been?" Scully looked
at Melissa.

"I'm doing better, thanks," she said simply. 

"Mulder, I hear they expanded your department. Must be pretty busy
there now," Brian commented. Mulder was a little surprised that
Scully's brother would know about this.

"It's about as busy as it used to be, we're just able to get more
cases taken care of faster," he replied.

"You think you'll need any more people to work with you, I mean, to
make things go faster," Brian queried. Mulder was about to respond,
but Scully knew exactly what her brother was getting at and cut him
off.

"Brian, don't bother Mulder with work things. We're here for a
relaxing family dinner, *that's* *all*," she said emphatically. Her
brother threw up his arms in mock surrender.

"I know better than to try and fight with a Scully woman." Everyone
chuckled over this comment. They sat in silence for a moment until
Margaret entered from the kitchen.

"Okay you guys, dinner's ready. I need some help here." The Scully
boys got up, and Brian stopped at Mulder.

"C'mon Mulder, you can give us a hand. If I know mom, she's cooked
*way* too much food."

"I heard that!" Margaret called from the kitchen, causing everyone to
laugh again.

===========================================================================

Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative
From: sgormle2@chat.carleton.ca (Siobhan Gormley)
Subject: NEW: Birth Day (2/4)
Date: Mon, 18 Dec 1995 19:04:43 GMT


Usual disclaimers apply...



 _Birth Day: Part Two_
 by Siobhan Gormley


Scully family home
May 20, 1998
8:20 pm

Scully stood outside on the back porch, enjoying the night air. 
Memories of her childhood flooded back to her. She had been
petrified of monsters being under her bed, something her loving
siblings had told her about, so she had decided she would sleep
out on the porch. She didn't want to tell her parents that she
was afraid, she was supposed to be the brave girl. Her father
had found her outside, shivering slightly in her sleep under her
sleeping bag. He had brought her inside and into her room. She
had woken up, feeling frightened again, and her father began to
sing a song to her, an old Irish folk song. She had then
relaxed, and eventually fallen asleep again, feeling safe and
secure, knowing that her father was there to protect her. When
her parents had found out why she was out there, they had
punished her siblings for scaring their little sister. They
hadn't forgiven her at the time, but they soon forgot about
it and everything went back to normal.

Scully jumped a little as the sound of the screen door entered
her hearing. She turned to see who it was and smiled at Melissa,
who was approaching her.

"You always liked sitting out here, to think," Melissa said.

"Yeah, it was one of the few quiet places around this house,"
Scully responded. Melissa sighed. She obviously wanted to
say something, but she seemed to be hesitant to bring it up.
"What is it, Missy?" she questioned with an urging tone.

"Dana, I know things weren't too good between us for the last
little while, but I really want to change that. I want this baby
to know only love, not anger and distance." Scully smiled while
she listened to her sister. 

"And I only ever wanted your support, Missy. I just wish you
could have given it to me two years ago."

"I know none of us were very supportive," she said, causing
Scully to snort with derision. "But we are now. We all love
you, and we want to help get you through this. Please don't keep
that wall up in front of us, Dana." Scully looked at her sister,
who now had tears in her eyes.

"Missy, I don't want to shut anyone out, but I can't just
immediately forget all the things you've said. They hurt me
then, and they still hurt me. I want to heal things up between
us, especially for this baby. It shouldn't need to be denied
seeing its relatives." Tears began to well up in Scully's eyes
and her voice choked up slightly. The two women then hugged,
sniffling.

"Look at us, a couple of saps," Melissa commented, making Scully
laugh. They pulled apart and kept an arm around each other,
heading back into the house. 

~*~*~

Mulder's townhouse
June 22, 1998
7:25 pm

"So I told this guy, look it, I've put up with your stalling..."
Mulder paused, suddenly noticing that Scully wasn't really paying
attention to what he was saying. She sat there with a slightly
glazed look on her face, pushing the food around on her plate.
Mulder waved a hand in front of her face and she snapped to
attention, her eyes refocusing. "I know I'm not that
enlightening sometimes, but..." 

"No, no, Mulder. I'm just...well, I'm just bored." She froze as
she saw the look on his face. "No! I don't mean you're boring
me, it's just...god, this is coming out all wrong," she
responded. She took in a deep breath. "It's just, I've been
back in town for a while now, and I know it's not a good idea for
me to do any work, well, any *major* work, but I just need
something to do besides sitting around here and watching soap
operas and daytime talk shows. I'm going to go bonkers soon, if
I haven't already." Mulder gave her a look of disbelief, one
very similar to the ones she had always given him when he had
come up with some outlandish theory. He took her hand tenderly
in his.

"Scully, you're not 'going bonkers', as you so quaintly put it.
If you were, you wouldn't think you were. I know it's not that
exciting hanging around here all day, but what can you do? You
yourself said it was better for you not to do any work. You
*are* in your final trimester." Scully snorted out a laugh.

"So when did you start becoming so technical, Mulder?"

"Well, the lamaze coach should keep up-to-date." They grinned at
each other. "Speaking of that, I might be a little late
tomorrow. Skinner wants to have a meeting with me near the end
of the day. I'll try to get out as soon as I can, but god only
knows how long this'll take."

"As long as you're there, that's what matters the most." He
smiled tenderly. 

"I promise."

~*~*~

Lamaze class
June 23, 1998
7:30 pm

"Well, I guess we'll get started. Tonight is what I like to call
movie night. For those of you who are a little squeamish, I'll
forewarn you there are what some of you would consider graphic
scenes in this. But, in the end, it is the real thing, so you'll
have to get used to such things," the instructor said. Scully
looked around the room. Mulder hadn't shown up yet, and she was
beginning to get worried. Her imagination was running wild with
possible scenarios, all of them frighteningly possible with
Mulder's bad luck. She breathed a sigh of relief as he breezed
into the room and sat behind her as the instructor started the
tape.

"Sorry I'm so late. Skinner went really long, and traffic was
hell." The lights were turned off now, but Mulder could tell 
she was smiling at him.

"I'm just happy you're here," she whispered. She turned to watch
the movie, leaning back against him comfortably.

~*~*~

8:30 pm

Mulder and Scully walked out of the classroom, heading for the
car.

"God, can they really show that kind of stuff?" Mulder wondered,
a look of distinct unease on his face. Scully couldn't help but
chuckle at his discomfort. "So glad I amuse you," he stated
sardonically.

"Hey, you've got to get used to things like that, it's real
life."

"Yeah, I know, but it's so...*GROSS*!" he responded, screwing up
his face, reminding Scully of her nephew when he was five. She
couldn't help but laugh aloud now, his look was too much. He
gave a sigh of mock exasperation.

"I just don't understand you, Mulder. Here you've dealt with all
sorts of weird and disgusting things over the years, yet you're
grossed out by a video about the miracle of birth."

"Yeah, but, it's just..."

"I know, 'gross'." She shook her head.

"Is it me, or do all the guys seem to have this problem?" Scully
and Mulder turned to see who was talking to them. It was one of
the other mothers-to-be.

"It must be a guy-thing," Scully agreed. The two women shared a
knowing smile, causing Mulder and the other woman's husband to
sigh. Scully stuck her hand out in greeting. "I'm Dana Scully.
This is my friend, Fox Mulder," she stated, indicating Mulder,
who nodded at the couple.

"Nice to finally meet you properly. I'm Chrissie Moll. This is
my husband, Brian. I was just wondering, we were going to stop
at this little coffee shop we found around the corner, would you
two like to join us?" Mulder and Scully looked at each other and
shrugged. They looked back at the couple.

"Sure, as long as we're not intruding."

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want you to come," Chrissie
said. They all walked out of the lamaze center and around the
corner to the coffee shop. The two men took the women's rain
jackets and hung them up while Scully and Chrissie sat down.

"What do you think of our instructor?" Chrissie asked.

"She's pretty good, well informed, which *always* helps," Scully
replied, grinning at her final comment.

"Yeah, she's much better than our last instructor." Scully
looked curious.

"You've been through lamaze class before?"

"Yes, with our first baby." A look of pain crossed Chrissie's
face, making Scully suddenly feel guilty. The two men sat down,
and both became concerned when they saw the look on Chrissie's 
face.

"Chris, hon, what's wrong?" Scully interjected before Chrissie
said anything.

"It's my fault. I didn't realize that you had lost a baby
before." Chrissie and Brian looked at Scully in surprise. 

"How...?"

"I..I lost two as well," Scully replied, taking a deep breath to
stop herself from crying. Mulder put an arm around her, rubbing
her back in an attempt to comfort her. She smiled thankfully at
him. Chrissie reached across the table and took Scully's hand in
hers.

"It seems like we were fated to meet after all," Chrissie said.
Scully simply nodded, not daring to talk yet. The waitress came
over to the table and took their orders, leaving them in silence.

"So, do you come from D.C., or are you like everyone else who's
just a transient here?" Mulder asked, breaking the silence.

"Actually, I'm from around here, well, Alexandria to be more
precise. Chrissie's from San Antonio. We met while we were in
college together. She was the best friend I'd ever had, and we
eventually fell in love with each other, although it wasn't hard
to love her," Brian responded, causing Chrissie to blush deeply.
He kissed her on the top of her head. "How about you two, where
do you hail from?" he asked, turning his attention to Mulder and
Scully.

"Well, I grew up in Massachusetts, on the Vineyard to be more
precise. Scully..."

"I can answer for myself, Mulder," Scully commented, making
Chrissie and Brian grin. Mulder put his arms up in mock
surrender. Scully simply sighed and shook her head. "I'm
from a military family, so we moved around a lot. I guess if
I had to say one place that I spent the most time 'growing up'
in, it would have to be here in the D.C. area. Mulder and I
met when we were assigned to each other..."

"Whoa, you were assigned to me," Mulder protested.

"Hmmm...last time I checked, we had been 'partners'." Brian and
Chrissie couldn't help but chuckle at their disagreement. Mulder
and Scully stopped their debate on semantics when they heard the
couple laughing. They couldn't help but laugh as well, it was
kind of silly. As their laughter abated, Scully continued. 
"Okay then, we worked together," she paused, looking at Mulder to
ensure that he approved of the wording. When he nodded
agreement, she continued. "We worked together for just over four
years at the FBI. We eventually became friends over those four
years, and that's about it."

"So you two aren't...?" Chrissie queried, leaving it open-ended.
Scully and Mulder suddenly felt flustered. They both began to
respond at the same time.

"Oh no.."
"We're not.."

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed. I guess I'm not as
modern thinking as I thought," Chrissie said.

"Don't worry about it, it's an honest mistake, anybody could make
it," Scully replied, regaining her composure. Their order
finally came, causing them to lapse into silence again. As they
sipped and munched, they continued chatting. After about half an
hour, they had finished the last of their snacks and drinks.

"Well, I really enjoyed doing this. We should do it again,"
Brian stated, getting up from the chair after putting down his
share of the bill. He helped Chrissie up and Mulder and Scully
followed suit. They all walked to the door, stopping to get
their jackets along the way.

"Yes, we should," Mulder replied as he helped Scully on with her
jacket. They all headed toward their respective cars, the two
men discussing something and the two women doing the same.

"Dana, can I ask you something?" Chrissie queried.

"Sure."

"Well, I was just curious. You and Fox call each other by your 
last names, why is that?" Scully couldn't help but laugh at her
question. The two men turned around in curiousity.

"Talking about me again, are you?" Mulder wondered. The two men
slowed their pace and walked on either side of the women.

"Actually, Chrissie was curious as to why we call each other by
our last names."

"Oh, that! Well, we've always done that, ever since we were
working together. I guess it just became habit."

"I guess the old saying is true then," Brian said. Before anyone
could say anything else, Scully suddenly stopped in her tracks,
looking straight ahead, her face blanched. Everyone stopped,
all with concerned looks on their face. Mulder stepped directly
into her line of sight, gently holding her arms.

"Scully, are you alright?"

"It's *him*," she whispered.

"Him who?" Mulder asked, turning his head to follow where Scully
was discreetly pointing. Walking down the street was none other
than Richard, and he was not alone. A tall, leggy woman was
hanging off his arm, as well as his every word. She laughed
deeply, throwing her head back. Scully scowled in their general 
direction. Mulder turned his attention back to Scully. "We'll
just keep walking down the street, it's better that he not see
you upset, that'll just give him the upperhand." Scully sighed
angrily, nodding in response. Mulder looped his arm through hers
and the two couples continued down the street and directly headed
toward the other couple. Richard suddenly recognized Scully and
Mulder coming in his direction. He pasted on a smile.

"Well if it isn't the lovely Dana Scully. And it's Mulder, isn't
it?" Richard asked. Scully barely contained her anger.

"Hello, *Dick*," she replied, heavily emphasizing his name. 
Richard momentarily got a distinctly uncomfortable look on his
face, but he pasted the smile back on.

"Dana, you're fairly glowing my dear. How have you been?" 
Scully looked like she was going to explode with anger, so Mulder
interjected.

"She's been just fine, not that you'd be much concerned." 
Richard had a look of mock shock on his face as Mulder finished
what he had to say.

"*Really*, Mr. Mulder. Well I'll have you know that I left 
several messages with Dana's various family members. I guess
they never gave them to her, although I'm not surprised. I
just assumed she didn't want anything to do with me. I must
admit, perhaps I *was* a tad overly negative when Dana first
told me, but when I thought about it, I knew I wanted to be a
part of my child's life." Scully couldn't take it anymore.

"YOU WILL NEVER GET YOUR HANDS, OR ANY OF YOUR OTHER BODY PARTS,
NEAR *MY* CHILD! YOU GAVE UP THAT RIGHT, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
she yelled, tears forming in her eyes. She stormed away from him
and Mulder, Chrissie, and Brian quickly following.

"I know you're angry now, Dana! We'll talk when you're calmer!"
Richard shouted. Scully stopped and turned on her heel, giving
Richard the most nasty Scully look that Mulder had ever seen. He
put his hand on her shoulder, hoping that it would somehow stop
her from lunging at Richard. He was saved from having to stop
her because Richard and his date quickly walked down the street
and out of sight. 

Scully breathed deeply, trying to regain her composure. Mulder
turned her back around, steering her toward his car. 

"Well, it's been an interesting evening," Brian commented.

"Yeah, that it has been," Mulder responded, opening the passenger
door for Scully and helping her to sit comfortably.

"We'll see you next week," Chrissie called out as Mulder got into
the driver's seat. Mulder nodded, closing the door. Chrissie
and Brian watched them drive away.

"They're quite a...unique couple, don't you think?" Chrissie
asked.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. But I kinda like them." 
Brian smiled, making Chrissie smile also.

"Me too." 

~*~*~

June 23, 1998
9:00 pm

Scully and Mulder sat in silence while they drove to
his townhouse. Mulder was trying to decide the best way
to broach the subject of what had happened without upsetting
Scully even more than she was. He just decided that the only
way was to just to talk to her about it bluntly, not to try and 
coddle her, that would most likely make her angrier.

"Scully, I know you probably don't want to talk about it..."

"You're right, I don't," she replied, a determined look on
her face.

"...but I think you should. It's not good for you, or for
the baby," he continued. She looked at him.

"You're not going to psychoanalyze me, Mulder. If I wanted
to talk about it, I would, but *I* *don't* *want* *to*," she
responded through clenched teeth. She leaned forward, turning
the radio on.

"Aaand welcome back! Glad to have you along for the ride
tonight. It's all request night here and *boy* did we have to
look hard for this baby, but we found it. So here we go, this
is from Richard to Dana. He's sorry, and wants to talk. Aah,
ain't love grand? Here's 'Bluebird', from Roch Voisine..."
Scully leaned forward towards the tune button and changed itimmediately.

"The bastard," she said under her breath. She hit the tune
button a couple more times before stopping. She sat back in her
seat, closing her eyes as the sounds of an alternative song came
out through the speakers.

"You took me for a joke
 You took me for a child
 You took a long hard look at my ass
 And then played golf for a while
 Your shake is like a fish
 You pat me on the head
 You took me out to wine dine 69 me
 But didn't hear a damn word I said

 I see right through you
 I know right through you
 I feel right through you
 I walk right through you..."

The music stopped abruptly, causing Scully to open her eyes
and look annoyingly at Mulder's finger that was on the on/offbutton.

"I was listening to that."

"Scully, I just want..."

"You just want what? To be overprotective, to make sure I don't
get hurt? Well I hate to inform you Fox Mulder, I am a
grown woman and I can handle stupid, idiotic episodes like this
one you just witnessed. I could have beat the crap out him, but
I didn't. I realized that that bastard was *not* worth the 
trouble of possibly injuring myself, and I *dealt* with it. I 
just wish you could do the same." She turned her face away and
looked out the window. Mulder was unable to respond to her
diatribe, so he just continued driving, not really realizing that
he was, his mind was so busy thinking. Did he really act overİ
protective? Sure, he watched out for her, but he always had. 
Had he finally stepped over that line of obsessive compulsion
that he always feared he would? He had come close at times, but
Scully had always been there to pull him back. Now she was,
admittedly, in a slightly more vulnerable state and less likely
to stop him, or at least in a rational and calm manner. He had
to learn to control that obsessive urge to protect the women in
his life. It could only hurt him and those he loved in the end.
He glanced over at her. She looked so tiny, even with the 
evidence of her pregnancy obvious. He turned his attention back
to the road.

Scully knew he was looking at her. God, she *had* been
harsh with him. She *was* still upset about meeting up with
Richard like that. She had always imagined triumphantly walking
up to him and smugly telling him that she was *so* over him,
that he had made the biggest mistake of his life. She then
imagined him becoming so incredibly depressed that he had to be
hospitalized...boy, did she have a twisted imagination. Must be
all that time spent with Mulder. She couldn't help but smile
at this thought. She turned her face away from the window,
watching Mulder as he drove. She had looked at the face so many
times before, but never had she seen it look so sad. His right
hand lay idly beside him on the seat. She gently took it into
her left hand, lacing her fingers between his. She leaned back
in her seat again, a soft smile on her face. Out of the corner
of her eye she saw a whisper of a smile on Mulder's face.

~*~*~

FBI Headquarters
July 30, 1998
5:30 pm


Mulder leaned back in his chair, trying to keep cool. The
air-conditioning had broken down, again. He hated having to work
in this heat, but he had to get these reports done or else
Skinner would never let him hear the end of it. Mulder smiled
sardonically. Skinner was no longer his immediate boss, but he
still liked to pretend every once in a while. 

"Oh for the old days!" Mulder exclaimed, stretching his arms
high in the air.

"Do you really mean that, or is it just nostalgia talking?"
Scully asked, appearing in his doorway. Mulder grinned.
She looked really good, even in this heat. She had been a little
'off' after the run-in with Richard, but once he got the hint
that she didn't want him in her life, he finally left her alone,
allowing her to regain her inner strength.

"Must be a nostalgia, I get enough gripe from you already,
I don't think I could take any more." Scully rolled her eyes.
She sat down in a chair before Mulder had a chance to get up and
help her.

"You're lucky I like you, Mulder. Most people wouldn't put
up with your 'sense of humor'."

"I thought you liked it?" he asked with a mock hurt tone.

"Only when it's actually funny."

"You mean only when it's directed at someone other than 
yourself." Scully snickered.

"You've found me out Agent Mulder. What are ya going to
do about it?" Mulder got up from his chair and walked to the
front of his desk, leaning against it, attempting to look
pensive. This caused Scully to snicker even more.

"Glad to see your sense of humor hasn't gone the way of the
dogs," a voice said from the doorway. The two of them turned to
look and see who it was. A smile spread across both their faces.

"Jackie!" Scully exclaimed. As Mulder helped Scully up, Jackie
put some CDs on his desk.

"I believe you wanted these." Mulder looked them over and smiled
in thanks as Scully hugged Jackie. Jackie pulled back, holding
Scully by the arms.

"Wow, Scully, you're h..." she stopped mid-sentence, a baffled 
look on her face. She wasn't looking at Scully, but past her to
Mulder. Scully turned her head to look at Mulder who
had a mock innocent look. Scully looked at him suspiciously, but
he kept the innocent look. She faced Jackie again who was still
a little confused, but trying not to show it. Finally her 
expression changed to a smile. "You look great, Scully." Scully
now looked at Jackie with suspicion.

"You don't really mean that, do you? I know I'm as big as a
house." Jackie snorted.

"You're not! *Really*, you look great!" she replied. 
Scully quickly turned her head to see Mulder making a thumbs
up motion to Jackie. "Busted." Scully sighed.

"I really wish you wouldn't do that hand motion thing
behind my back, Mulder. You know I know when you're doing it."
She turned to Jackie. "He seems to think I need to be constantly
reassured that I look good." Mulder walked up beside Scully.

"I never realized that you had already grown eyes in the back of
your head," Mulder commented sardonically. 

"Hey, maybe that's something you two need to investigate,
*alone*," Jackie commented, a smirk on her face. Mulder and
Scully both sighed at the same time.

"Don't you ever give up on that, Jackie? I was sure by now,
being a tame, married woman and all..." Scully responded, a grin
appearing on her face as she made her final comment.

"Hey, I may be married, but this is one dragon that will
*never* be tamed. Marty has resigned himself to that fact."

"Speaking of Marty, how is he? Is he in town, maybe we
could all go out for dinner," Mulder suggested.

"Marty's fine, but I'm afraid he's out of town on business. I
guess it'll just have to be a threesome." The two women looked
at Mulder with 'don't even think about saying it' looks before he
replied.

"You guys ruin all my fun," he said, pouting.

"What would you do without us, eh?" Jackie wondered.

"Oh, you'd be surprised," he responded with a smirk, putting an
arm around each woman, leading them to the door. Both women groaned audibly.

~*~*~

Mulder's townhouse
9 pm

Mulder took out the key and looked warily back at the two
laughing women coming up the front steps behind him. They
stopped laughing when he looked at them, but as soon as
they stopped they burst out laughing again.

"And I thought you guys drunk was frightening. I think you're
worse when you're stone cold sober," he commented as he opened
the door. Jackie came up beside him.

"Aw, poor Mulder feel left out," Jackie replied in baby talk,
causing Scully to laugh even harder. Mulder just shook his head
and let out a tortured sigh, making Jackie and Scully to go into
hysterics. Mulder contemplated closing the door and locking them
out, but then his conscience got the better of him when he looked
at Scully. The two women walked into the house, wiping their
eyes and finally calming down.

"You have to admit Mulder, that was quite amusing," Scully said.
He looked at her in disbelief from the kitchen.

"You're not serious."

"Of course she is. Telling that waiter that you 'liked' him was
incredibly funny, especially to find out that the guy was gay..."
Jackie responded.

"You are a *truly* sick woman Jackie St. George," Mulder stated.

"You're only figuring this out now?" she asked with mock 
surprise. Mulder didn't answer, he just disappeared into the
kitchen as the two women began laughing again. 

"I'm glad you showed up today, I had just been thinking about
how much I missed us three hanging out together," Scully
commented.

"You missed constant danger and hair-raising adventures? You
sure you're okay Scully?" Jackie replied, going to feel Scully's
forehead. Scully playfully batted Jackie's hand away.

"C'mon, you know what I mean. It's been a while since we saw
each other, and I'm really grateful for what you did for me..."

"What did she do for you?" Mulder asked, coming out of the
kitchen with a tray covered with three tea cups and a bowl of
sugar. He placed it on the coffee table and sat down.

"So you've domesticated him, have you Scully?" Jackie remarked,
changing the subject.

"She hasn't, and don't change the subject Jackie. What did
Scully mean?" Jackie and Scully looked at each other, Jackie
with a questioning look at Scully and Scully nervously
contemplating what to respond. Scully chewed on her lower lip,
then nodded at Jackie.

"Well, back at the beginning of the year, Scully came to me when
she found out she was pregnant. Since she didn't want to stay in
D.C., I suggested she could stay with some friends of mine in 
Toronto..." A look of hurt and disbelief crossed Mulder's face
as he listened to Jackie's explanation.

"You mean to tell me that you went to Jackie and you...you never
even...." Mulder got up from his seat, walking out of the room.
Jackie suddenly felt very out of place and decided it was time 
for her to leave. She got up from her seat and helped Scully up.

"You don't have to leave Jackie," Scully said. Jackie shook her
head.

"No, this is something you two need to be alone for. I had fun
tonight though, despite the bad ending. Don't be a stranger,
okay?" Scully nodded and the two women hugged. Jackie let 
herself out, locking the door with the spare key as Scully went
to look for Mulder.

She found him looking out the window of his bedroom at the sky.
He had a fixed look on his face, as if he was determined that
he wasn't going to get upset. Scully walked up behind him and
leaned her head against his back.

"I'm sorry. But when I first found out, I was upset and
confused, and Jackie just happened to show up at the right time.
Jackie had suggested that I let you know, but I was afraid you'd
do something foolish, like beat the crap out of Richard, not that
I would have been totally against it," she explained, causing
Mulder to let out a chuckle. He turned around and put his arms
around her.

"You know, I think I would have. Come to think of it, I'm still
contemplating it."

"*Mulder*!"

"I'm *joking*!" He paused, then added with a grin, "Sorta."
Scully swatted him in the arm, then grinned herself. 

"Just promise me that you won't do anything foolish, at least
not without my permission."

"Yes dear." He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. "You
look tired, maybe you should get some sleep," he commented as he
pulled back. Scully suddenly yawned.

"Boy, you have some power of suggestion." Scully allowed Mulder
to lead her to her room. He went to let go of her hand, but she
held onto it tightly. He looked at her questioningly, but her
only answer was to pull him into her room and toward her bed.
Mulder suddenly started to feel nervous, unsure as to her 
intentions.

"Scully..." She put a finger to his lips, shushing him.

"It's okay. I just want you to hold me." Despite her
reassurance, Mulder still felt a little tense. Scully
sat on the bed and indicated that he should sit next to
her. He did as she requested and she lay down, her back
to him. He lay down and put his arms around her.

As they lay on the bed, he began to relax, enjoying their
closeness. It felt nice to be able to be close to a woman
and not have to worry about being misinterpreted with
anything he did, well, most anything. He'd never had such a
close relationship with any woman except for Scully, and
perhaps that was why he was so protective of her, because he
wanted to protect their relationship. 

'God, I'm starting to psychoanalyze myself now,' he thought.
He smiled at this thought, closing his eyes. 'Just for a
minute,' he thought as he began to drift off.

~*~*~

Mulder's townhouse
August 15, 1998
6:12 pm

Mulder pulled up in front of his townhouse, glad to be home after
a long day at the office. His new A.D. was on his case, again,
and this time Skinner wasn't around to back him up. Mulder 
chuckled a little at the thought of wishing Skinner to be around.
It still amazed him how much his and Skinner's relationship had
changed after all those years of mistrust. Not to say that he
totally trusted Skinner, just more than he trusted most people
in the government.

He walked inside the house and was greeted by complete silence.
He raised an eyebrow in curiosity, then called out.

"Scully, you here?" As he neared her bedroom he could hear the
sound of a keyboard being tapped on. He pushed the door open
a little more and poked his head inside the room. "Hey, what are
you up to?" She turned her head in surprise, pulling a hand up
to her chest in an attempt to calm her speeded up heartbeat.

"I didn't hear you come in," she finally said, once she found her
voice. Mulder sat down on the bed.

"How could you not? I called out."

"I must have just been so concentrated in this case of yours..."

"Ours," he corrected, smiling.

"Ours, *technically*. Some weird stuff here, Mulder."

"That's my specialty," he commented, getting up from the bed and 
walking over to Scully. He leaned toward the computer, saving
what she had been doing and then turning it off. Scully went to
protest, but he stopped her. "You've most likely been working on
this most of the day without stopping much to eat. This was
something I was afraid of in letting you help me with some of
my cases. Now c'mon, I'm going to feed you." Mulder helped
her out of the chair and led her toward the kitchen.

"I don't know if I should be afraid or not," she commented,
grinning. Mulder stopped once they reached the kitchen, then
turned, coming face to face with her.

"Be afraid, be *very* afraid," he replied seriously, but with a
twinkle in his eye. This cracked her up. "Good, now that I have
you in a good mood," he paused, opening the fridge and coming out
with a shepherd's pie, "maybe you can tell me how long to heat
this for. Your mom sorta forgot to tell me, and you know me and
appliances." Scully rolled her eyes at his supposed ineptitude
and took the dish out of his hand, walking over to the oven.

"What would you do without the Scully women, eh Mulder?" Scully
regretted asking the question as soon as it was out of her mouth.
She waited for the inevitable innuendoİfilled remark, but was
surprised but what he did say.

"Oh, I'd probably be friendless, foodless, you know, the
important stuff." Scully turned to look at him in surprise after
putting the dish into the oven.

"You never fail to amaze me, Fox William Mulder." He smiled.

"Something I intend to do for a long time." This remark caused
Scully to blush, surprising herself as well as Mulder. She
turned quickly back to the oven, adjusting the knobs to the
proper temperature. Mulder walked up behind her, putting his
hands on her shoulders. Mulder could feel the tension in them.
"How long 'til that's supposed to be ready?"

"About 10 minutes," she replied. Mulder took her hand in his.
Scully just looked at the two hands joined.

"I think you need a back rub." Scully suddenly looked up, 
uncertainty clear on her face. Mulder held up his other hand
as if he was swearing in in court. "I promise, this is totally
innocent." Scully couldn't help but snort out a laugh.

"With you Mulder, hardly anything is innocent."

"Hmm, I suppose you do have a point, but this time it is." 
Scully finally relented, reluctantly, and followed him into the 
living room. They sat down on the floor, and as Mulder went to
begin, he could see her tighten up even more. He put his head
on her shoulder, talking directly into her ear. "You know Scully,
this might work better if you relaxed a little bit." Mulder
noticed how she shivered slightly when he was talking into her
ear.

"Okay, I'll try. It's just that nobody's ever given me one, let
alone a guy."

"Well, just think of something else then, something that makes
you relaxed." Scully nodded, then closed her eyes. When Mulder
saw that she seemed less tense than before, he began. As hisÔ
hands worked their way across her back, she let out the odd gasp
of surprise. Mulder couldn't help but smile each time she did.

Once he was finished, Scully leaned back into him, smiling 
contentedly.

"You should have those hands of yours registered as lethal
weapons. Anybody would be putty in your hands."

"So you liked it?" he asked, a little anxiously.

"Mmm, I think I enjoyed it too much. I might just have to
marry you, Mulder." 

"That wouldn't be such a bad thing, now would it?" Scully's
eyes opened up wide, looking directly into his eyes. She
could see that he was not joking. She didn't know what to
say, and luckily the timer on the oven dinged just at that
moment.

"Dinner's ready," she said, getting up as quickly as she
could. Mulder let out a slightly frustrated sigh, but didn't
push the subject. All through dinner they talked about different
things, but avoided the subject entirely. Finally dinner was
over and the dishes put away in the dishwasher. There was no
avoiding it.

Mulder sat down on the couch beside Scully, who was watching an
inane sitcom, obviously attempting to avoid the subject further.
Mulder picked up the converter and turned the T.V. off. Scully
kept staring at the screen after it was turned off.

"Scully, about what we were talking about earlier..."

"Mmhm."

"Well, I...I wasn't joking." She sighed.

"I know."

"Then, what do you have against us..you know..well, we're
practically married anyway." Scully finally turned to look
at him, a mixture of compassion and love evident in her
expression.

"I don't have anything *really* against it, except that it would
be too...well, *weird*."

"Oh, that makes me feel *so* much better," he responded
sarcastically, looking down and away from her.

"No, no." She paused, taking his hands in hers. "I do love you
Mulder, but not in a way that I could see us married. I've
always cared for you, and I always will, I just don't think we
were meant to be married." Mulder let out a sigh of sadness, but
when he looked up into Scully's eyes, he smiled half-heartedly.

"Funny thing is, I could never see myself spending the rest of my
life with anyone but you. I guess you've ruined me." Scully
felt her heart wrench as he finished what he said. Tears formed
in her eyes and began to trickle down her face. Mulder wiped
them away, suddenly feeling guilty. "I'm sorry, I didn't intend
to upset you." Scully let out a little laugh.

"You haven't upset me, you've just made me think that I must be
the biggest fool in the world to not want to marry you." She
kissed him on the cheek, leaning against him afterward. "Thank
you," she whispered. Mulder pulled back from her, a little
confused.

"You're thanking me because I made you think you're a fool?
Sounds kinda weird to me." Scully laughed.

"No, I'm thanking you for loving me so unconditionally. I guess
I should have made that clearer." Mulder couldn't help but
smile like an idiot after he heard her explanation. 

"Well, I don't know about you, but after all this serious stuff,
I'm in need of some serious laughs," Mulder suggested after
coming down off his cloud.

"Sounds good, but no B-horror movies," Scully replied. Mulder
put on his whipped puppy look, sure it would work. "No way
Mulder, my choice tonight." He heaved a defeated sigh, giving
into her. She got up from the couch, a triumphant look on her
face. She flipped through the videos, then chose one and popped
it into the VCR. As she turned the T.V. back on, she sat back
down beside Mulder, leaning up against him.

"So, what is it, Debbie Does Dallas?" he asked jokingly.

"That's your department, Mulder. Now keep quiet, it's starting."
Mulder watched her briefly, smiling at the thought of spending
every night like this with her. He then turned to face the T.V.,
watching as Larry, Curly, and Moe showed up on the screen.

~*~*~

September 2, 1998
3:29 pm

"Time waits for no one and neither will she
 Takes a man to admit that he finally sees
 Love's a much too precious thing to waste
 And this world can be a lonely place

"It don't come easy, reach out with both hands
 Don't be scared boy, stand up like a man
 It's love she's giving, better get it 
 Get it while you can

"She can see by your eyes that you're in doubt
 So before it's too late, better work this thing out
 Don't look back in 20 years and say
 'Why did I ever let you slip away'"

Mulder sang along with the CD playing. He was glad Jackie had
borrowed those CDs to him, he really liked this musician's
work ever since he had first heard it at Jackie and Marty's. 
The only way he could listen to it was by borrowing Jackie's CDs
since they weren't available in the States. 

He pulled up in front of his townhouse, turning the car off and 
hopping out. He had gotten back from a case early, and he
wanted to surprise her. He was also quite anxious since her
due date was coming up fast. But the ObGyn had assured them
both that everything was proceeding as scheduled and not to
worry. All the same, Mulder couldn't help but act the part of
the nervous significant other. It seemed to amuse Scully 
immensely, although he knew that deep down she was a little
anxious herself.

Mulder unlocked the door and went to call out when he was
stopped in his tracks by the sight of Scully breathing heavily
as she sat patiently, yet with a perturbed look, on the couch.

"Where..the..hell..have..you..been?" she asked between breaths.

"I..I just got back from Texas. Remember the case.."

"I know *that*," she replied, then suddenly let out a yell like
Mulder had never heard. She began her breathing again, and 
Mulder suddenly realized that this was *it*. He quickly went 
over to her, helping her off the couch and toward his car. 

"Why didn't you call an ambulance?"

"I *did*, but there's some stupid accident out on the 395 and all
ambulances seem to be tied up." Mulder was surprised at her tone
of voice, but he just assumed it was the pain talking. "I tried
to get through to you, but they said you were out of range or
something stupid like that."

"Well, I'm here now and we're going to get you to the hospital,
no matter what laws I have to break." Scully laughed at his
final comment.

~*~*~

Alexandria Hospital
5:47 pm

Mulder stood by Scully's bedside, trying to comfort her in the
best way he could. Unfortunately, she wasn't in any mood to
be comforted. From one moment to the next she passed between
docile compliance to enraged defiance. The change always came
about the time of the beginning and ending of a contraction. She
had practically begged the doctors to give her something for the
pain, but they told her that they felt it was better not to. 
Mulder hated to see her suffer like this, but the doctors
supposedly knew what they were doing. 

As the contractions got closer together, she seemed to become 
more determined about getting something for the pain. At this
point, Scully suddenly let out another yell, grabbing a hold
of Mulder's arm in a vice grip. Mulder yelped in surprise at
the strength of her grip. As the contraction ended, she kept
her hold on his arm and yanked him closer to her.

"Mulder, you have to get me something. You don't want to see
me suffer, do you?" she begged.

"Well, how about this. You let go of my arm and I'll see what
I can do." She nodded in approval and let go. As he walked
out the door, he commented to himself, "And maybe I'll find
something for myself." He ran into the doctor right at this
moment. "Ah, doctor, my friend is again requesting something
for the pain. Don't you think you could, I don't know..."

"Look it, Mr. Mulder. I don't like to see people suffer any
more than you do, but it's safer that she doesn't get anything,
especially considering her pregnancy history. I'll try to
convince her..." The doctor trailed off as an earthİshattering
cry came from the direction of Scully's room. The doctor and
Mulder rushed in to the shocking sight of a growing blood stain
on the white sheets. The doctor immediately yelled out for
nurses to come help. They rushed Scully out of her room, Mulder
following as best he could beside the bed, holding her hand.

Once inside the operating room, one of the nurses started gently
pushing Mulder out, causing his hand to begin to separate from
Scully's.

"But, I have to stay with her," he argued.

"I'm sorry sir, you can't stay, we can't have any distractions,"
the nurse replied. She pushed him a bit again, separating their
hands entirely. Scully looked at him with the most heart-
breaking look.

"Fox, don't leave me," she begged as they slipped the mask over
her mouth and nose. The nurse gave him one last little shove
through the doors, leaving him standing there looking through the
windows. Tears formed in his eyes and rolled down his cheeks. 
For the first time in a long time, he prayed to God to spare her.

"How is she, we just got here." Mulder turned around to face
Margaret Scully. Behind her was the rest of the Scully clan,
anxiously awaiting what he had to say. Mulder coughed, clearing
his throat.

"She..she's bleeding. They have to operate..." His voice trailed
off as he tried not to cry in front of the Scullys. Margaret
pulled him into an embrace. She cried into his chest, and as 
Mulder attempted to comfort her, he felt a couple of tears roll
down his own face again.

~*~*~

September 3, 1998
10:19 am

Mulder stuck his head inside Scully's room. She was still
asleep, so he quietly snuck in to leave some flowers for
her. As he placed the flowers on the bedside table, he
gazed at her for a moment. She was as pale as the last time
that she had been in the hospital, just after she had been
returned. Mulder shuddered at the memory. He had hoped
to never have to deal with anything like that again. But
this had fortunately turned out fine, just like before. Scully
was a fighter, and so was her little girl. 

Scully moved a little in her sleep and a stray hair fell across
her face. Mulder instinctively pushed it back into place.
Scully's eyes fluttered open and she smiled at the sight of
Mulder.

"Hi," she whispered.

"Hi. How're you feeling?"

"Could be better, but I suppose I could be worse." She paused,
obviously wanting to ask something, but not sure how she
wanted to ask it. "Is the baby...?" she asked finally.
Mulder smiled.

"The baby's doing well. She's quite a fighter. The doctor
was worried for a while, but I knew she'd be okay, she's a Scully
after all." Scully laughed, then grimaced with the residual
pain of the operation.

"A little girl?" Mulder nodded, still smiling. "I have the
perfect name for her, if you don't mind it."

"Why should I mind?"

"I want to name her Samantha." Mulder was taken aback by this
and it showed on his face. Scully worried that perhaps she had
made a bad decision, but then a smile returned to his face and
she knew that it would be fine.

"Samantha's a beautiful name," he responded. He leaned down and
kissed her on the forehead.

"Oops, I told you we should have waited." Mulder turned to see
Jackie and Marty sticking their heads in through the doorway.

"C'mon in, just don't tire her out," Mulder said. Jackie
snickered.

"You're telling *me* that?" she remarked with incredulity as
she and Marty came in. "Saw the baby. She's as pink as you are
when you get embarrassed," Jackie told Scully, making her laugh
again.

"Jackie!" Marty admonished. "Never mind her, she can't seem
to let go of poking fun at her friends, even when they're in
the hospital."

"That's okay, I need a laugh, even if it does hurt a bit."

Mulder couldn't help but grin as Jackie and Marty talked with
Scully. He watched his friends banter around for a few minutes
until he decided to slip out of the room. He wanted to catch
another glimpse of Scully's daughter, little Samantha.

~*~*~

Mulder's townhouse
December 20, 1998
9:23 pm

"Aagh! I'm gonna get you for that one Mulder!" Scully yelled as
she wiped off the remnants of Mulder's latest snowball attack off
her face. As she packed together a snowball, she didn't notice
Mulder sneaking up behind her with a huge amount of snow in his
arms. He grabbed her jacket and pulled it from her body,
throwing the snow down the back of the jacket. Scully screeched
from the cold and gave Mulder the nastiest Look he had seen in a
while. He knew at that moment that it was time to run for his life, 
or be doomed to a *major* snow washing. He ran to the front door,
quickly opening and closing it before Scully could reach it. He
leaned up against it, laughing. 

"Fox William Mulder, you open up this door now!" Scully yelled as
she pounded on the door.

"Fox Mulder, I'd expect better of you, especially when I just got
the baby to go to sleep." Mulder turned around to face Margaret
Scully, embarrassment written all over his face. With his guard
down, Scully was able to push open the door. When she caught
sight of her mother's disapproving look, she froze in her tracks,
snowballs in her hands. "Dana, I agreed to babysit because I
knew you hadn't gotten out much in the past few months, but if
I had known that you two were going to go about acting like
children yourselves, well..." she trailed off. Mulder and
Scully both looked sheepish as Margaret got her coat on and
took the snowballs out of Scully's hands. She turned to them
as she stood in the doorway. "The least you could have done
was include me." With a mischievous look on her face, she
turned back around and walked out, leaving Mulder and Scully 
stunned.

"Your mother..."

"I know, she never fails to surprise me either." The two of
them couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Margaret Scully
in a snowball fight. Just at that moment the baby decided to
wake up. Scully sighed, the moment gone. Mulder stopped her
as she headed for her room.

"That's okay, I'll get her. You go dry off." She smiled in
thanks and headed for the bathroom. 

Mulder entered the bedroom and walked over to the crib. 
Samantha Margaret continued howling. Mulder picked her up,
shushing as he rocked her back and forth.

"It's okay, Uncle...hmmm, I never did decide what should you call
me. Uncle Mulder? Naah, too weird. I guess it'll have to be
Uncle Fox," Mulder said, half talking to the baby, half to
himself. Sam began to calm down, only hiccupping.

Scully watched them from the door, smiling at this 'picture-
perfect' moment. Sam noticed something different around her
and began to cry again.

"Oh Sam, don't..." Scully walked over to them.

"Here, give her to me. You want mummy, not Uncle Fox, right?"
Scully asked. As soon as the baby was in Scully's arms she
seemed to calm right down, solely hiccupping again. "Why don't
we get some sleep, hunh little one?" Despite the suggestion,
Sam didn't seem open to the idea. Mulder held a finger up.

"Give me a minute. I think I might know what will do the trick."
Scully stood there, rocking the baby back and forth, humming a
tune. Suddenly Scully heard the sound of the stereo system being
turned on. Scully wandered out to the living room with the baby,
looking a little annoyed.

"What are you trying to do, keep her up all night?" Mulder
shushed her and held out his hand.

"May I have this dance?" Scully looked at him as if he had lost
all his senses, but decided to foolishly go along with whatever
his scheme was. The trio danced slowly as the lyrics began.

"Now I must leave
 But before I do
 For the parting shot
 Let me look at you
 You've known my mind
 More than anyone
 When all else has passed
 This will linger on

"You'll be somewhere
 In that place where
 I'll be going
 You will always
 Be beside me without knowing
 Every moment you'll be with me
 Every moment you'll be with me

"Life isn't fair
 You'll hear people say
 Every one you love
 Time will take away
 But save all your tears
 This is not goodbye
 Some things cannot change
 Some things cannot die

"You'll be somewhere
 In that place where
 I'll be going
 You will always
 Be beside me without knowing
 Every moment you'll be with me
 Every moment you'll be with me"

Scully looked down at Sam and saw that the baby's eyelids were
drooping.

"She's falling asleep," Scully whispered. Mulder nodded.

"This is her favorite song. I found this out by chance one day,"
he whispered. He stopped talking once Sam's eyelids moved up a
bit. Scully mouthed a 'thank you' to Mulder as Sam's eyelids
finally gave up the fight and closed. Mulder mouthed the word
'anytime' and smiled, holding the two women in his life closer
as the final lyrics of the song came up.

"You'll be somewhere
 In that place where
 I'll be going
 You will always
 Be beside me without knowing
 Every moment you'll be with me
 Every moment you'll be with me"

THE END



~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~
Siobhan Gormley, Carleton University * X-Phile, Trek Fan, B-5er, 
Disnophile, Dragon Posse
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CAUTION: The Mass of This Product Contains the Energy Equivalent of 85
 Million Tons of TNT per Net Ounce of Weight.
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