Title: Biting the Bullet
Author: Starbuck_Jayne
Starbuck_Jayne@mulderandscully.co.uk
www.geocities.com/Starbuck_Jayne

Rating: PG-13 but I am very much only 
guessing here! 

Spoilers: Very minor ones for Alone (I think 
but I haven't seen it yet!) Rain King, 
Requiem, all things, Hollywood AD, Per Manum 
and Je Souhaite but they are VERY minor 
spoilers! 

Keywords: MSR, post season 8

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these 
characters they belong to Fox, 1013 
productions and Chris Carter (I wanted to 
get a "yaddi yaddi yadda" in there but never 
mind!) I also don't own Moby Dick.
 
Archive: Anywhere at all just keep my name 
and e-mail attached (a little note would be 
nice but not totally necessary!) but no 
flames please I am WAY too delicate! 

Summary: Could Mulder and Scully ever 
settle into a normal family life style?

Feedback: On my knees and begging for it. 
Pleeeeeeease!!!! 

Author's Notes: I really hope you enjoy this 
story that is just something I had fun 
writing more than anything else! Plus I know
very little about Moby Dick but I assume it's
about a whale! Don't hate me cos I'm not well 
read! ;-)

Biting the Bullet
Starbuck_Jayne

The door was thrust open and a shaft of 
light cut through the darkness that Scully 
had insisted on being left in. Her eyes 
creased and she watched as a small girl 
hurled herself towards her, bouncing on her 
stomach and reawakening the nausea that had 
been lying dormant for the past thirty 
minutes. 

"Hey Mommy!" she beamed, crawling into bed 
beside her mother, "Daddy says you're sick. 
Are you gonna throw up, mommy?" She regarded 
at Scully with wide eyes and a look of 
concern on her small face. Scully couldn't 
help but smile and turned her head towards 
the child.

"Well I don't know, sweetie, but there's a 
good chance if you keep jumping on me like 
that!"

"Oh..." she looked crestfallen, but the 
expression was only momentary. "Daddy!" she 
shrieked as Mulder appeared in the doorway, 
a cup of tea in each hand.

"Well who do we have here?" he feigned 
surprise at the sight of the two girls in 
bed together.

"Don't be silly, daddy! It's Bethie!" she 
giggled in a way that caused Scully to shut 
her eyes in obvious pain. Mulder set the 
two cups down on the bedside table and 
placed a discreet kiss on his partner's 
cheek. 

"Did you give her sugar again, Mulder?" She 
whispered.

"No, she found that drugs sample you brought 
home for testing," he grinned. "Ok now come 
on little Miss. Scully and get in *your* 
bed...where's daddy gonna sleep if you stay 
there?"

"Outside!" Bethie concluded, almost 
innocently, before Mulder scooped her up and 
escorted her out of the room; only to be 
brought back when she realised she hadn't 
given Mommy a bedtime kiss.

"I hope you get better soon, Mommy," she 
whispered, "Daddy can't tell the story about 
the whale like you do."

Scully laughed and placed a kiss on her 
daughter's soft cheek. "Ok sweetie, I'll 
make sure I do."

Mulder re-entered the bedroom after he was 
sure that Bethie was sleeping, and helped 
Scully into a sitting position so she could 
drink her tea. He sat on the bed beside her 
and reached for her hand. She smiled as he 
stroked her fingers then said: "Really, 
Scully, reading "Moby Dick" to a four year 
old child!"

"Oh yeah, just 'cause you don't tell it 
right," she teased, then grimaced as a wave 
of nausea passed over her.

"You ok?"
"I'll be fine."

He rolled his eyes at her response.

"I can't believe you're pregnant again."

"Yeah, sorry."

"See, that was the good thing about last 
time-I got to miss out on all the hormonal 
mood swings and throwing up," he told her.

"I'm so glad you're here." She said it 
sarcastically but they both knew that she 
was being sincere. He sighed heavily and 
placed his other hand on top of hers, 
noticing her eyes had slipped shut again.
"Right, well I'll go and get ready for bed."

"No," she mumbled sleepily, "just stay a bit 
longer."

He brushed the hair off her face and kissed 
her forehead. She smiled faintly and drew 
herself into a tighter ball, still supported 
by the pillows. Then he slipped away to get 
changed for bed-his traditional T-shirt and 
boxers. When he returned he saw her eyes 
were open again and she looked physically 
uncomfortable.

"You're gonna be sick aren't you, Scully?" 
he said, already slipping his arms around 
her and guiding her to the bathroom. Upon 
their return he got into bed beside her, 
sliding his arms across the top of her 
chest, figuring that she'd be feeling kinda 
delicate pretty much anywhere else.

"Why am I doing this again, Mulder?" she 
sighed, squeezing his hand.

"Because you look at Bethie and see that you 
make a great mother. More children deserve 
that," he whispered in her ear with a grin.

"Promise me that you won't abandon me this 
time."

"You have my word," he kissed her cheek 
firmly. "I love you, Scully."

"I love you too, Mulder."

He knew she meant what she said, but she 
always spoke with an edge of quiet 
reluctance, as though embarrassed by the 
words. He wondered if she thought that it 
made her sound weak-to have finally allowed 
someone past the brick wall that she'd built 
up around herself.

"Hey, Scully, you know how we're "just good 
friends"..."

"Who live together and have two children," 
she pointed out.

"Well, do you think we'll ever be more that 
that?"

X~X~X~X~X

When the pair had left the FBI, everyone 
immediately assumed that they would get 
married and settle down with their new baby. 
Hell, there were those at the bureau who 
were convinced they already were married, 
whilst others claimed their relationship was 
closer than that of any husband and wife. 
Everyone knew they loved each other. It 
wasn't as if they spread it around or 
anything, but it was clear from the way that 
they worked together. It was the way they 
could always calm each other down, but no 
one else stood a chance. The way they 
always knew what the other was thinking. 
The way they always booked two motel rooms 
but usually ended up only using one, be it 
because of dead cows through the ceiling, 
one of them feeling unwell or whatever. 

Mulder had never trusted anyone until he met 
Scully, and she had trusted most people 
until she met him. He looked at her now, 
suspecting she was asleep in his arms. 
After the birth of Bethie they'd moved in 
together for the sake of supporting the 
baby, telling themselves that's all it was. 
It was true that at first their relationship 
was fairly unchanged-the occasional chaste 
kiss and holding of hands, but four years 
was a long time to be living together and 
have nothing happen.

The first time they'd made love was when 
Mulder returned from England, and Scully had 
felt confused by this new development in 
their relationship. She'd slipped away the 
next morning without so much as a "goodbye", 
and for a while pretended that nothing had 
happened that night. Then they went out and 
got very drunk the night "The Lazarus Bowl" 
had premiered and Scully decided to tell 
Mulder "she liked his flashlight a lot" 
before passing out in his arms. 

The only thing she remembered the next morning 
was that wherever she'd been the night before, 
there'd been alcohol there too. Then when 
Mulder disappeared and she got landed with 
Agent Doggett she finally admitted to 
herself that he was more than just her best 
friend. She hated to say it, but Doggett 
had started to grow on her and she liked the 
guy in the end, but he was sure as hell no 
Mulder. Not suspicious enough for one 
thing-if she told Mulder her doctor 
specialised in fertility he'd have twigged 
something straight away.

They'd been living together for six whole 
months before it happened again. They were 
sitting on Scully's sofa watching 
"Caddyshack II" (purely for the purpose of 
reminiscing) when out of nowhere Mulder took 
his partner's glass of wine from her hand 
and set it down on the coffee table. In one 
fluid motion he leaned forwards and kissed 
her lips, his hands finding their familiar 
position on the small of her back. Scully 
was only briefly shocked, and then she 
raised her arms and slid them around his 
neck, kissing him back with the same 
passion.

"Mulder?" she breathed, "thank you for being 
here."

He didn't notice the tears in her eyes as 
she spoke, and carried her upstairs.

X~X~X~X~X

"Mulder?" she whispered, startling him 
slightly considering he thought she was 
asleep.

"Yeah?"

"You know we already are."

X~X~X~X~X

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Starbuck_Jayne@mulderandscully.co.uk

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