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Title: 01. A Christmas Miracle Summary: Fox Mulder has a lot to think about as Dana has to spend a Christmas Eve in the hospital. Fox Mulder looked at the tiny redheaded woman lying in the hospital bed. His whole life was about to change again, and he wished he could spare her what was to come and take the burden on to himself, but there was no way. She had to do what she had to do. He hoped she wouldn't find it too hard although somehow for her, nothing seemed to come easily. He bent over and kissed her forehead gently. "How are you feeling?" he asked her softly. "I'm fine," she replied. "I just want to be home. It's Christmas Eve and I didn't want to spend it in a hospital." "I know, babe, but things don't always work out according to plan. You know what Dr. M'Benga said. We need to watch you carefully..." "All that work decorating the tree...our first one together..." He grinned. "Yeah, but it was sure fun what we did under it afterwards wasn't it?" "Yes, Fox William Mulder, it was wonderful, and probably why I'm here..." she smiled at him and he noticed that she winced and glanced at the clock on the wall. "Try to get some sleep, love," he said tucking the sheet up over her a little more and kissing her again. He sat back and watched as she closed her eyes and her breathing became deep and regular. She had actually fallen asleep. Her ability to do that nearly anywhere never ceased to amaze him, but she had told him it was a survival mechanism for any med student and intern. How things had changed from last Christmas when she had gone to San Diego to visit her family. The vacation had turned into a nightmare for her, and when she had finally called him, it had been for him to come and act as a witness on her behalf so she could adopt a very sick little girl named Emily. The adoption had never happened. Her little girl had died a few days later leaving Dana empty and alone, her only chance to have a child gone. He had held her all the way home on the plane. It had been a surprise to him that she had let him. She hadn't even wanted to stay with her family anymore. She had wanted him to take her back to Washington. Dana didn't talk a lot about it, but he knew none of her kin had been very supportive of her. Dana didn't have to because Maggie Scully had come to him later and told him. She felt terrible. Mrs. Scully had thought her daughter was having emotional problems. She had been so looking forward to going to visit her son and her new grandchild, to finally having some happiness that she hadn't been able to deal with her daughter. Maggie hadn't wanted to forgive herself, but she had cried in Fox's arms and he had told her that there was nothing to forgive. She was human after all. Maggie and Dana had worked things out as he had known they would. They loved each other. He had grown closer to Maggie than ever. It took a wonderful human being to admit weakness and deal with it, and Maggie was nothing if not that. Still, six weeks after they had returned home and Dana's building had caught fire because some idiot had been smoking in bed and had a heart attack, and Dana had lost everything, she hadn't wanted to go stay with Maggie. She had wanted to stay with him. Closer to work had been her excuse and he had believed it. It had started out that way, however, their relationship had been changing since her cancer. She had acknowledged it in her mind. He had avoided the issue. Of course, he wasn't living in the same apartment anymore. He had discovered that he couldn't tolerate being there so he had rented another...same complex...different building and one that had two bedrooms although the basic layout was the same. He had griped about paying extra rent for the extra bedroom, but then she had come to stay and he had been glad for the space. Oh, she had looked for apartments. They had looked together. Nothing had seemed right though. Her stay stretched out. Suddenly curtains appeared where none had been before. A pretty matching set of dishes miraculously ended up in the cupboard in place of his cracked thrift store crockery, and for whatever crazy reason, the domestic arrangement had worked between them. His shabby looking apartment had become a home. The sex...no lovemaking...hadn't come right away. That had taken awhile. And, when it had happened it hadn't happened in a particularly romantic or passionate way. He had been plugged into the TV. So what else was new? He had been watching a Charlie Chan Festival on a Friday night on AMC. She had brought him a bowl of popcorn and sat with him and they had settled in to watch the cheesy old racist murder mysteries. He had slipped his arm around her. She had leaned on his shoulder. They had munched popcorn. Her hair smelled pretty. They began to kiss and then neck like teenagers and suddenly they were making love. Just thinking about that night stirred desire in him as he watched her sleep. It was pretty damned tame in retrospect, but God it had been good. He hadn't known it was possible to love a woman so much or to be loved so much, to feel so as one with another human being. Later she had laid on top of him on the couch beneath an afghan purring like a kitten and asked him where he had learned to make love like that. Well, he didn't feel he'd done anything particularly great except spend a lot of time with her in the early stages. Her confession that no one had ever satisfied her before had shocked the hell out of him, but before he had a chance to pursue it, she had been sound asleep. He grinned. It had been nice having his ego stroked, and he was just selfish enough to be a little bit pleased that her other lovers had been idiots. Yeah...it had gone from best to even better from there...he and his tiny redhead...and as the days wore on, it had grown far less tame. And then, she had gotten sick. He turned toward her. She had stirred in her sleep. He heard a low moan and her eyes opened. "You okay?" he asked glancing at his watch. "Yeah...it kind of hurts..." Her eyes drifted shut again. Yes, and then she had gotten sick. She had come down with a cold that didn't go away. The nose bleeds started, albeit minor ones. She began to feel tired all the time and couldn't keep food down. Headaches became constant. And he had almost hit her. She had made an appointment with Dr. Zuckerman and the only way he had found out was that a message had been left on the answering machine that her tests had come back early and could she come to the office that afternoon. They had had their first real fight. He had been furious that she would shut him out. She got angry in return and told him she didn't need him. He had nearly hit her but had stopped himself ramming his hand into the wall instead. She had threatened to leave, and then they had been in each other's arms crying. They had gone to Zuckerman's office together, both terrified. Some of the test results had been positive. Dr. Zuckerman introduced her to Dr. Anandi M'Benga and they had been working together ever since to make certain that Dana got the best care. Dana woke up with a sudden howl. "Fox..." she wailed... "Oh, God...Dana...what..." he was on his feet in a minute. "It hurts... it hurts so bad...something is tearing me apart...It isn't supposed to be this way..." "Hold on... hold on, Scully..." he ran and got the nurse. "Dr. M'Benga was standing at the nurses station and they flew into the room together..." "Ah...now didn't I tell you it was a good idea to keep you where we could watch you..." said Dr. M'Benga in her musical voice. Dana let another cry escape her and then clenched her teeth. Dr. M'Benga and the nurse exchanged glances and ripped the sheet off of her. "No time..." said Dr. M'Benga. She began to don protective gear. "Agreed..." said the nurse. "Help me, please..." panted Dana. Suddenly she drew her legs back and in an act as old as time, her body gave a mighty push. An indignant scream was heard. It had been warm and suddenly it was very cold. Warm was better. Warm was nicer. It had been dark and suddenly it was light. Light could be painful to the eyes. "Well, hello little darlin..." said the nurse with a grin as Dr. M'Benga lifted a screaming bundle into the air. "And a Merry Christmas to you too," said the beautiful African woman. "You've got a beautiful son...and I don't think I've ever seen more hair on a baby..." They lay the infant on his mother's chest. Dana looked at the baby and then at her husband and tears ran down her cheeks. Her son had come into the world at 12:01 on Christmas morning. "I love you, Mrs. Mulder," he said softly choking up and wiping away the tears on her cheeks. Ever since the day that Fox Mulder had sat in Dr. Zuckerman's office and the man had grinned at him and said, "Oh, something is growing alright but it isn't a tumor...I don't care who you think harvested your eggs, Dr. Scully, they missed one..." he had been preparing himself for this moment. He thought he had, but he realized there was no way to prepare. "Do you want to cut the cord, Mr. Mulder...Mr. Mulder?" Dr. M'Benga was smiling at him as she snapped him out of his trance. "Oh...yeah...chord...cut..." He took the appropriate tool and did what he had to do, and suddenly sat down heavily in a nearby chair. Hey, he'd done it. Gone through labor and delivery and hadn't even passed out. And, it hadn't even been that hard on Dana. Only seven hours all together and only a few bad pains. Wow. For once something had gone okay. "We have to take the baby and finish cleaning him up a bit more in a minute," said the nurse, "but you might want to hold him first." Mulder nodded and they placed his son in his arms for the very first time. His eyes filled with tears. "Hello, Daniel Fox Mulder. Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday. Hey, already life is not fair...Christmas and Birthday on the same day...Well, don't you worry. Daddy will make sure you don't get gypped out of any presents..." He heard Dana chuckle from the bed. His heart was filled with love for his wife and the tiny infant. Here he was, Spooky Mulder, holding his very own Christmas miracle. The End |
Title: 02. The Couch Summary: This fic deals with the conception of Mulder's child and the ensuing destruction of the famous leather couch. Author's notes: I want to thank G. Hill and Vickie Moseley for beta reading this for me and I hope that I caught all the tense errors! I wrote this after having received a challenge to do so from Vickie. Dana's Narrative I couldn't believe that I was pregnant. I mean it's like it just wouldn't quite sink in. I had gone through so much hell when I found out that I couldn't have children, and then as I had watched Emily die, I found myself in hell. I didn't think I would ever come out of it. Then, just when I was beginning to get over it, if you can get over that kind of thing, my house burned down. I'd hardly been able to salvage anything at all. It had gone up in a horrible blaze and I'd found myself wondering why I was still here on earth. I don't know what I would have done without Mulder at that point. Basically speaking, he took me in and coped for me. I mean I coped but he was there to lean on. I could have stayed with my mom of course, but she has looked so worn out lately, worn out with Dana and her problems, and I didn't want to be a burden. Now I sat on the couch in the apartment I shared with Mulder and stared at the wall. I was pregnant. I was going to be a mommy after all. I carried the seed of life within me, a seed planted by the crazy man, the lunatic who I feel as though I have loved forever. Yes, I was pregnant...three months pregnant. I'd gone to see Dr. Zuckerman thinking that the cancer had come back. I had a cold that wouldn't quit. I felt tired and nauseated and I was having some pretty heavy duty nosebleeds again. I found out I was expecting a child instead. Mulder is ecstatic. I wouldn't have believed it of a man so married to his work. He's been like a little kid since we found out. Of course, he is terrified too, but he is trying to hide it for my sake. He took me out to dinner, most of which I threw up later but it was good while it lasted. He proposed marriage and I agreed insane person that I am, and then we passed a toy store and I had to stop him from buying toys already. This apartment is too small to rush into scads of toys. Oh, there is an extra bedroom and all so the baby will have a nursery, and there is one empty corner for a playpen, but with two of us here, we are already pretty packed, especially since we got the new couch that I am now sitting on. Now getting a new couch with Mulder was quite an experience. He...no we...really needed it though. It was like this. We'd been living together for a few weeks since the fire. I don't mean we'd been together together. We had been roommates. I had moved into his second bedroom. I'd even bought some lovely used furniture...Ethan Allen...solid pine...for a song...but I digress. I was looking for a place but nothing had come up that I really liked. Somehow, his highness and I were managing to make it work in spite of the fact that I am a neatnik and he is a slob. Well, we were faced with the prospect of a weekend off. It was Saturday night, we were basically bored having done all the grocery shopping and run all the errands, and there was a Charlie Chan Marathon on TV. I love those old movies. I know they are stupid and racist by today's standards but I still enjoy them. They exist for the sole purpose of mindlessly entertaining Dana Scully. We ate dinner and settled on the couch with a bowl of popcorn. Of course, we promptly started arguing about "who dunnit." I was right of naturally. By the second film in the marathon, the popcorn was gone, the coffee was gone and I was leaning my head on his shoulder. His couch was the most uncomfortable damned thing and none of the chairs were any better. The next thing I knew he was kissing me. In a few moments I wasn't sure who was kissing whom anymore, but a hand had slipped under my blouse and discovered that my bra was a front snap. I'm not exactly built like Dolly Parton and don't need a hell of a lot in the way of support, so it wasn't the most difficult to undo. I was wearing a skirt and as soon as I ended up underneath him, where by that point I very much wanted to be, it was easy enough to pull that up which he did with a practiced hand. I made some stupid comment about never having done it without a condom. "Me either," had been his reply. Then I made an idiotic comment about that making us virgins. I think he said something equally dumb in return, but by that time I wasn't thinking about it anymore. I was thinking about what Fox Mulder was putting inside of me and you had better believe me when I tell you there was a lot to put. Well, it had been five years for me, but I hadn't forgotten the moves and he sure as the devil knew them. We gave that couch one hell of a workout. I mean those springs bounced and I can testify to the fact that my scream...make that screams... reverberated around the apartment very nicely, and I've never been a screamer. I, no, make that we, made so much noise that when we were finished the neighbor banged on the wall. Jeez, that really pissed me off. It was embarrassing. I raised my fist and banged back and told him to get the hell used to it. A muffled, "Fuck you," came back through the wall at which point I screamed in return, "He will...good and hard." By this point poor Mulder was laying on top of me laughing his head off. He had always heard of my reputation as the Ice Queen and I sure as hell hadn't been acting like any freakin Ice Queen on that couch. Somehow or another we managed to switch places so that I was on top. It required a lot of wriggling. I think he kind of wanted me to just lay there except that not very long after that I detected some stirrings that I hadn't expected. I guess it was the wriggling. I mean he should have been on empty and I should have been on full if you know what I mean, but apparently there was more in the old gas tank so we started all over again. I made it a point to scream really loud and to create a great deal of creaking from the furniture. Amazing, what I thought was big when I was on the bottom felt even more so from on top. I have a degree in physics and one day maybe I'll work it all out scientifically. Anyway, eventually we were both so satisfied we couldn't move. I just kind of lay my head down on his chest and he pulled an afghan over me and we both fell asleep. We didn't hear diddly from the neighbor during round two either. Maybe he had given up. I was actually up before Mulder in the morning. I slid off of him, admired his morning hard on but decided to let him sleep. I needed a shower desperately and coffee. Once I was clean and had washed my hair, I came out and put some on to brew in the Mr. Coffee. Boy did I feel good. My body was singing. I couldn't remember ever feeling so good. Then again, I could never really remember sex that good. For me it had been a shock. I had never had an orgasm before, not really. For Dana Scully the earth had never really moved. Last night had been an earthquake of 10 on the Richter scale a fact that had shocked Mulder and would probably make him impossible to live with. Anyway, if that is what it did for you, then I wanted more...a lot more...frequently. Mulder got up and made me breakfast. I hate to say this but the man is not a bad cook. He makes one fantastic pan of scrambled eggs, and I could see that he felt really good too...yeah...really good. He looked relaxed and Mulder never looks relaxed. I wanted to catch the morning news show so while he sat at his ugly dining room table with the paper I took the rest of my coffee into the living room. When I cried out he was there in 10 seconds or less looking for his weapon. Fox Mulder's beloved leather couch was, basically, no more. There was a huge tear in each of the cushions. I was afraid he would never speak to me again. I know he loved that damn couch. "No big deal, Scully," he said. "We'll turn the cushions over." Then I was sure he'd like it...what we'd done last night I mean. If he thought it was worth sacrificing this couch for, he must have thought it was great. "We can't," I explained. "Why not?" "Because the other side is torn too. I found that out when I cleaned along with $17.87 in change which is in a jar in your closet, at least three pounds of sunflower seeds, and a used condom...bright green..." Hmm...maybe it had been better with the other woman. Nah, I wouldn't let myself believe that. He looked vaguely alarmed. He knew that I would not have liked the condom business but that was before my time...before last night...so what could I do? At least I knew he was careful right? "Oh..." he said. "Well, we'll buy a new couch. The stores are open today. That one came from the Salvation Army anyway." Only Mulder would find a leather couch at the Salvation Army. Sheesh. He looked relieved when I did not pursue the matter of the condom. He hesitated for a moment and then said the stores were open late. In a way, we had been a bit awkward with each other all morning. He had looked as though he wanted to kiss me but hadn't. I had wanted t tell him that I was deliriously happy but had kept my mouth shut. "So?" "So, let's go test out the bed to make sure we don't need to replace it too." With that, he picked me up and undid everything I had done in the shower that morning but that was okay. The awkwardness was gone. The mattress was nice and firm and the headboard had these really neat slats that you could grab on to and...well never mind. It was a nice bed. What we did in it was even nicer. After we had finished it's status had changed to well-used bed. After lunch and another shower which we shared, it was off to the store to look at couches. I was terrified. Mulder was so damned eccentric I couldn't begin to imagine what he might want and what could I say? It wasn't my apartment. He had screwed my brains out but he hadn't said a word about making the arrangement permanent. He hadn't even said he loved me although I knew he did. For all I knew I could end up moving out the following week or staying for ever. If I moved out the following week the bright yellow leather sofa he gravitated towards immediately wouldn't have been a problem, but if I stayed forever as I wanted too, it would drive me insane. "Um...couldn't we just buy a canary instead?" I asked. He snorted and headed toward a purple one that made the yellow one look like the epitome of loveliness. My heart was in my mouth when suddenly something caught his eye and he left me standing there. I knew it was love at first sight. It was forest green, velvet, modern with a high back...a sectional and he was like a kid in a toy shop. It had an armrest that came down the middle and he pointed out to me that it even had a phone jack for the laptops built in. It was a double recliner and a sofa bed. It had everything. It was huge. "Do you think it will fit?" he asked. "You'll make it fit, Mulder," I replied. "You're good at that." He laughed. "I've had recent experience. But do you like it, Dana?" I didn't know what to say. "It's your apartment," I replied softly. "You live there. If it is what you want..." I knew immediately that I had said the wrong thing and hurt him. I could have kicked myself. "I love it," I replied changing tactics. "It isn't my apartment anymore," he said gently. "It's ours...isn't it?" "Yes, it's ours...let's go for it. I should get the insurance check soon..." "No, the couch is on me," he grinned happy once again. "No, we're on the couch or we will be," I replied. The damned cell phone rang. It was Skinner. Some doggone politician had managed to croak in a whorehouse and they wanted Dana Scully to do the autopsy. I hated cases like this because if he'd been offed I'd be under pressure to keep it quiet and I wouldn't keep quiet. Still they had called the Bureau in. The thing is, I was better than most at finding causes of death. Well, maybe it would just be a heart attack. I told Mulder I had to go. He reached down and kissed me goodbye. I hadn't expected that from him. We were going to have to be very careful around the office and even in public. Frohike, Byers and Langley carried out the old sofa claiming that they were going to get it fixed. Yeah right. If I had known I had gotten pregnant on that couch, I might have cried when it left. I know that Mulder almost did although he was trying not to make a big deal about it. I don't think I'll ever forget the night on that old thing. It is seared into my memory forever. Mulder and I have had a lot of sex in a lot of places since then and it has been good, but that night was special for both of us. The new couch came the next day. Mulder managed to be missing on delivery day of course leaving all the hard work to me, but then again that was Mulder for you. He had gone hog wild too. I had to laugh. He got not only the couch, but a matching recliner and end tables, and then my heart swelled with love because he had also gotten the matching dining table and chairs and a small hutch where I could put some pretty things. He hadn't told me. It was a surprise. I wish he would have been here. I would have kissed him right there in front of the delivery men. I knew all I'd need was some new curtains, and we would have a real home. We christened it that night. Boy did we ever. I was reluctant because it was so nice and new, but when Mulder really wants something, he has this way of getting you to go along. It's amazing what you can do in a recliner too. We couldn't leave that unbaptized. My butt is no longer bruised from doing it on the dining room table, thank God, but Mulder told me he thought it looked kind of nice black and blue...my but that is, not the table. I didn't notice the bruises happening when I was lying there with him above me. What he did to me on that table felt too damned good. There is nothing you can do with a hutch or at least nothing either of us could think of. Oh well. I'm pregnant now and I can't remember a time when I've ever been happier. We are going to mom's tomorrow for Sunday dinner. Billy is going to be there. Mulder and I are going to break the news then. I know mom will be ecstatic. I am going to be delighted by brother Billy's discomfiture. Then next week we are going to Las Vegas to be married in the Elvis Chapel. I surprised him with the tickets. He was like a little kid when he heard about my plans. He even promised me that we could have Father McHugh marry us in the Church when we got back. Last time we saw the old couch it was on the street outside the Lone Gunmen's office. It was not salvageable. It seems a bunch of the springs broke and poked Frohike in the ass. He had to go to the hospital for stitches, poor guy. I am trying to be sympathetic and adult, but every time I think about it, I laugh. Fox's Narrative My God, all I can do is sit on this couch and stare at the wall across the way. I have my laptop plugged in to the built in phone jack. I promised myself I would work, but I can't. Dana is pregnant. That wasn't supposed to be possible, but they say miracles do happen. I know I'm grinning like a fool. It's all I've been doing since I found out earlier today. This morning started out with a terrible fight, the first since we've been living together, when I found out she had made an appointment with Dr. Zuckerman. I nearly hit her I was so angry with her. I guess I couldn't believe that she would try to shut me out when we were both afraid that she was experiencing a relapse of her cancer. It's a darn good thing I didn't. Dana isn't sick. She's pregnant...oh yeah. Yes...the thought is nearly is good as the climax I had when I got her that way! Of course, there is never any excuse for hitting a woman. I really scared myself. That is not my thing, not at all, but fortunately, I didn't. I saw dad hit mom once...Anyway, when Zuckerman told us that it wasn't a tumor growing I thought I would pass out. She looked at me for a moment as though she thought I might not think a baby was a good thing and for once I said the right thing and reassured her. Now all I can do is stare. She just went out to the store to get some skim milk. I didn't want to let her go. I just want to wrap her in a bubble for the next six months, but I knew if I said anything she'd shoot me and this time she'd aim to kill. She doesn't like to be protected. A part of me wants to go into the office tomorrow and walk into the bullpen and tell all those sons of bitches that I knocked up the Ice Queen. It's a guy thing I know. Boy would that make their mouths drop open...Spooky Mulder knocked up Dana Scully. She'd really shoot to kill then though and I'd be the target so I guess I'll have to restrain myself. I better not ever use that phrase around her either. It's crass. Guys like crass, but she sure as hell doesn't. I guess she lived with her brothers too many years and was very glad to escape it. The live-in arrangement was not supposed to be permanent. I told her she could stay here until she found a place after her apartment building burned down. I was surprised when she agreed. I figured it would last a week, maybe two at the most but apartments are hard to get these days in this area and she was holding out for Old Town. Don't ask me how, but we actually discovered we could live together. Skinner had made her take a week off to deal with everything that needed to be dealt with, so when she wasn't shopping for essentials or on the phone with insurance companies, she was cleaning my house. Before long she had it shining and I discovered I liked it. She actually got me organized and I decided I didn't like to be alone. Doing laundry wasn't half bad when you had someone to do it with. Grocery shopping was less a chore when there were two. Anyway, it worked. It's still working. Dana surprised me in a lot of ways. She actually went to a moving sale two floors down and bought a bedroom set...used. I didn't think that was her style. I said so. She told me the idiot rednecks were selling Ethan Allen furniture for $200 and she wasn't about to let that get away. Well, I didn't have a clue. That's okay. I don't really need a clue about the brand names of furniture. Anyway, we pushed and hauled and got it into my apartment and she disappeared to buy curtains for the second bedroom. What is it with women and curtains anyway? And, the woman still owes me for all that hauling a shoving...big time. Anyway, I digress. We were faced with a weekend off. By Saturday night we were bored having done all the chores that needed doing. We ate dinner and I loaded the dishwasher while she made coffee and some popcorn and then we settled in for a Charlie Chan filmfest on AMC. I couldn't believe it when she told me she liked those old movies. I was in hog heaven though. I wanted to watch and had been nervous that she might make fun of me. I know. I know. It is my place and my TV, but Dana can tease sometimes, another after-effect of having brothers. No, let me amend that. It was my place. It is our place now, our home soon to be shared by a little newcomer. Anyway, we had a good time with the filmfest. We argued over "who dunnit." I was right of course. Dana has never liked my old leather couch and I guess she wasn't really comfortable so she rested her head on my shoulder and we finished the popcorn. I don't know what happened next exactly. I know I kissed her. It was just supposed to be a brief kiss, but the next thing I knew, my hand was under her blouse and her bra was unstrapped, and I was on top of her humping...excuse me...making love to her after we had this conversation about condoms that was too silly to be believed. My, God, can that woman scream! I never would have thought it possible. What a turn on! After all the years that I had known the cool rational Dana Katherine Scully, it was like she morphed into a different woman when confronted with having a penis inside. I was no slouch either. Between the two of us, we must have driven the neighbor nuts because just as things reached an astonishing climax he started banging on the wall. Then my cool rational partner banged back and told him to get used to it. A discussion followed thereafter between the walls about who was going to fuck who and by this time I was laying on top of her laughing so hard I didn't think I'd ever be able to stop. I knew she was feeling my weight so I let her wriggle around to get on top of me. I just wanted to hold her. I realized that I was lost. I loved this woman totally and completely and after that night I knew nothing would ever be the same. It took a bit of wriggling. Actually, the wriggling got me started again. Should have been on empty but judging by what happened next, I must have still been on at least half full. Scully emptied the tank with all due speed and enthusiasm though and then she passed out asleep. We stayed that way all night. I wish she would show that much enthusiasm for my opinions on cases. The woman also shocked the hell out of me by telling me she had never had an orgasm before. Boy am I going to be strutting my stuff for the next 50 years if I live that long. I figure that meant I was pretty damned good. Men have egos about these things. I wonder what brother Billy would think if he knew? If I didn't value my life a whole lot right now, I might tell him. "Hey, Billy Boy Scully, you know I'm the only one who ever made your sister come, and boy did I ever. I made her scream so loud she nearly brought the house down." Wish I had the nerve, but I was a brother once and I know if any guy ever made a crack like that to me about Samantha, I'd kill him, so I guess I'd better keep my mouth shut. She got up first the next morning because I awakened to the smell of coffee and nothing on top of me. I ended up cooking breakfast. Scully is not a morning person as a rule and besides, I do eggs better than she does. She is much better with dinners than I am, so that is kind of how we do things. She looked good, really good. The woman was absolutely glowing. She picked up her mug to move into the living room when she was done eating while I sat at my old table with the paper and I heard a scream. I thought something was coming through the window. Mutants, aliens...I didn't know... It was my couch...my beautiful old leather couch from the Salvation Army...the buy of the century. All of the cushions were torn as a result of the night's activities. I felt heart sick but what could I say? I could see Scully was worried about my reaction. I know she was glad the thing was ruined, but she was concerned that I would be angry. My telling her we could turn the cushions over was met with a dirty look and the explanation that when she had cleaned she had discovered a tear on the other side along with $17.87 in change, a ton of sunflower seeds and a bright green used condom. When she said that, I got worried. I was afraid she might ask how it got there and I had no desire to tell her about the one night stand I had had with a woman I'd met in McCormick's Irish Pub. She'd been a flaming redhead and a lot of fun, but no Dana Scully. She couldn't have been. We'd only torn one cushion and the neighbor hadn't banged on the wall. Fortunately, Dana hadn't asked any questions. Maybe she hadn't really wanted to know. I told her we would go to the store and buy a new couch. We'd been a little awkward with each other since getting up, but when I suggested we check out the bed to make sure it didn't need replacing too, she literally jumped into my arms. I had a feeling that I was going to be in for a real workout over the next couple of months, not that I minded. For the most part I lead, or rather used to lead, the existence of a monk, the redhead from McCormick's aside, and I'd wanted her for so long it was doubtful I'd ever get enough. I was in this for the long term. This wasn't just sex with me. It still isn't. I love Dana Scully. I'm not sure when it happened exactly, but that night on the couch was the culmination of years of longing, not so much for her body but her soul. Oh hell, her body too. I am a man after all. I shouldn't be a hypocrite. Well, we tested the bed thoroughly. She was very taken with the slats in the headboard. She could reach back and hold them, and boy, could she move those hips. Once her legs were wrapped around me, I could even forget that she was short. We decided that the bed didn't need replacing and went to the store. I can't resist the urge to tease Scully so I zeroed in on a bright yellow leather couch. She suggested buying a canary instead. Wise ass. Then I went to the purple one, or I started to head in that direction when something caught my eye. I changed paths. It was love at first sight...me and a forest green couch. I asked her if she liked it. She really hurt me when she told me that it was my apartment and I should get what I want, but I realized it was partially my fault. I had never once told her I loved her, so I rectified that quickly. I could see that she didn't want to go back to living alone, that she wanted to share a home with me. I wasn't sure if it would fit in the apartment, but she told me I was an expert at fitting the very big into the very small. Yeah...I know she was stroking my ego, but I enjoyed it. Not as much as when she was stroking my...well never mind...suffice it to say it felt very very good. Then Skinner called and she had to leave. I was pretty pissed but work is work. I also went a little crazy. Well, my dad's blood money is no good in the bank where it has been sitting and growing for a hell of a long time. I bought not only the couch but a recliner and everything else that matched, even a new table and chairs and hutch. I knew Scully liked pretty things and had lost them all in the fire and I wanted to give her a place to put some nice useless china or something. Maybe I'll get her some for her birthday or Christmas or just cause I feel like it. I bet she likes Lladro. The Lone Gun Nuts took my old leather couch swearing that they could fix it and use it. Yeah right. Well, it was one way to get rid of it. If I had known Dana got pregnant on that old thing, I might have shed tears when it left. As it was we found it in the street with the springs broken about two weeks later. Of course I had to be away when the furniture was delivered. Damn it all anyway. When I got back though she had the place fixed up, even new drapes on the living room window. The place really looked nice. She was a little reluctant to make love on the new couch. I guess it is a woman's thing wanting to keep the furniture nice. When I want something though, I usually find ways to get it, and I really wanted us to do it on that new couch. We did too. Boy did we ever. I was learning quickly the right buttons to push. She liked it. I won't go into the details of what we did on the recliner but my partner is a very resourceful individual and extremely flexible. We gave the dining room table a workout the next morning. You know, the height is absolutely perfect. I get the better part of that deal because I get to be the one standing and not laying on the hard wood, but she didn't seem to mind. The chairs aren't bad either...great for serving dessert if you know what I mean. They also match which I know makes her happy although I personally don't give a shit. We haven't been able to think of a damn thing to do with that hutch though except put things in it so I guess it is safe for now. Anyhow, after we left Dr. Zuckerman's and before we got home I took Dana out to dinner and I asked her to marry me. She'll probably throw up every thing she ate later, but I know she enjoyed it while we were there. She also said yes with no argument. Tomorrow we will go to her mother's house for dinner to break the good news. Billy Boy is going to be there. I can't wait to see the look on his face. I should be reasonably safe because Mrs. Scully doesn't put up with much nonsense from her kids and never did. I'll never forget the way she came to my defense when Dana was in the hospital and Billy got started on me. She thumped him right up side the head and he is 6'4" tall. Anyway, I know she'll be happy. I'm glad to be bringing her good news for once. I wanted to rush right to the toy store and go hog wild but Dana wouldn't let me. Ever the logical one, she pointed out that the apartment was too small to buy a ton of toys right away. I did get one thing though. She picked it out actually. It's a stuffed gray fox. I would have preferred a baseball mitt, but how could I have refused her when she fell in love with it? For now, it is in the hutch. Epilogue - Fox's Thinks Aloud I am sitting in my office and my mouth is still hanging open. I don't believe what that woman did. I mean I just don't believe it. The interview with Skinner was over, you know the one where you have to tell your boss that you are pregnant. I went along, but Dana did most of the talking, thank God. I think he was genuinely happy for us. I can't recall ever seeing him smile like that before. We have a good friend in him. Of course, maybe he was just happy that he would have to split us up now and we might be less of a pain in the ass, but I don't think so. I think he was pleased for both of us and wanted us to be happy. Anyway, I found myself following my soon to be bride. We didn't get off the elevator in the basement as I expected. We got off on the second floor by the bull pen as she said that she had to stop and pick up a file. I should have sensed that she was up to something. I guess the fog of happiness I've been in lately has been just too thick. What did she do? She climbed up on Tom Colton's desk. My heart was in my mouth. What if she fell? I wanted to hold her, but didn't dare. Then before I could even process the sight of her on the desk, she clapped her hands loudly three times attracting the attention of every one there. Believe me when I tell you it didn't take long. Scully may be little, but she is also pretty damned intimidating. When they were all looking at us much to my horror, she gave her audience a big smile. "I have an announcement to make," she said in a loud voice. "Before you hear it from anyone else, I just want you all to know that Spooky Mulder knocked up the Ice Queen. Boy did she enjoy it. Caught her on the first go round and broke the couch. Now let's hear a round of applause for Special Agent Fox Mulder and Dr. Dana Scully, soon to be Mr. & Mrs. Spooky." I wanted to "kill" her. Hell, I still do, but she's pregnant so I can't. There are innocent parties involved here. All I can do is sit here with my mouth hanging open. I mean, after all, what is a man to do? Besides, when you think about it, it's kind of funny. I'll say this much, I know now who as the balls in the family and it sure as hell isn't me. The End |
Title: 04. Making It Summary: Mulder thinks back over the different and unexpected milestones he and Scully have reached ever since a certain night spent on his couch. He has finally made it...in ways he never dared to hope for. Thanks to: Debbie and Gerry for editing. Ladies, you are gems. Author's notes: Ten here. Several months ago I had an idea for a vignette and felt it would fit into Mac's Couch universe. I explained the scenario and asked her if I could borrow her world and write it. To my delight, she said yes and collaborated with the vignette which quickly grew into two, but also gave me creative freedom. Thanks so much, Mac. It's been great fun. Present I'm hot and hard and she's hot and wet and I do believe such opposite things can be easily merged into something very satisfactory for us both. So does she. I know that panting noise. I know what she wants. And that I'm the only one she wants it from. Her head is thrown back in abandon and - We get interrupted. Bummer. Her eyes open. Instantly her face is alert. She gets up, saying, "I'll be back in a few minutes. Don't go anywhere. Or should I say...don't come..." "Ha ha..." My mockery has a distinctly strangled edge to it. I watch Dana leave the room. In order to keep myself from bursting with frustration before she gets back, I instigate a temporary 'downer', so to speak, thinking of a time when I was utterly terrified... Summer, 1998 Dana and I were arriving at Maggie's for Sunday dinner. I had thought that it would be a great day, but the nearer it came, the more I was struck with serious doubts. And suddenly we were there, walking up the path to the door. This was it. This was the way that Dana wanted to do things, and what could I do but agree? I just didn't think it would turn out the way we'd planned. Hell, things never turned out the way we planned or expected. If they had, we wouldn't have been there then to do what we were about to do. The door opened and Maggie was standing there. "I'm so glad you could make it after all!" She gave both of us hugs, then looked at Dana in poorly-disguised alarm. "Honey, you're awfully pale - are you all right?" "Yes, Mom, I'm fine. Is everyone here?" "Laura's just gone to the drugstore. She shouldn't be long." Dana and I exchanged glances. Charlie's wife. We would have to wait. But surely someone would notice - "Auntie Dana!" Charlie's sons came sprinting into the hallway and leapt at her. I had to restrain myself from preventing them. Dana really wasn't well, and I didn't want them accidentally making her worse. /And what if they've got a cold or chicken pox?/ I convinced myself that I was being paranoid. I had to be calm. The boys herded Dana into the living room. Mrs Scully and I followed - not before Maggie had noticed my expression, leading her to gently tug at my sleeve and whisper, "Is she all right, Fox?" I managed a nod - it was for Dana to tell. It was her body. The return of the nosebleeds... The doctor's appointment... I was trying not to shake. Maggie had no idea just how irrevocably everything had changed. Tara was sitting on the sofa, holding Matthew. Boy, had he ever grown. Tara was looking nervously at Dana, probably not sure how she would react to the baby after what happened last Christmas. Dana untangled herself from her nephews and went over to hug them both. Bill and Charles appeared in the kitchen doorway - I recognized Charlie from the photos. And I recognized the glare in his eyes as 'brother of Bill' when he looked at me. I should have known it was too much to hope for that the younger brother could be an ally. My luck just didn't run that way. "Dana, it's so great to see you. But are you okay?" Tara had put Matthew down and was very worried as she embraced her sister-in-law, perhaps thinking that the sight of the baby was too much for her. "I'm okay, I just..." Suddenly Dana turned and sprinted for the nearest bathroom, nearly scattering the kids, hand to her mouth. Maggie raced after her. I would have too, only the hand of God landed heavily on my shoulder and hauled me around. I found Bill looming over me, glaring. "What have you done to her? It's that chip thing, isn't it? It didn't work, did it?" "It's not the cancer..." I managed. It was something that was scary on a whole new level. "Why else would she be puking her guts up?" Charlie suddenly loomed in from the side. "He's probably working her to death again," he said to Bill, then turned to me. He demanded, "Start explaining," not wanting to miss his moment of glory. Then he remembered the others in the room. "Boys - go play outside please. Tara, I think you'd better put Matthew down in the bedroom." "Um...Bill, Charlie, maybe this isn't the time to..." Tara began tentatively, in what I hoped was going to be a defense. Billy gave her a look, and she began to move away, holding the baby. The boys disappeared outside, to my relief. I was saved by Dana coming back in with Maggie. Everyone immediately forgot about me, and Dana was besieged by 'are-you-all-right?'s. But with all her family there, her eyes sought mine out first. "I'm okay," she assured me. My own stomach was in knots. /Damn, when the hell is Laura going to appear? I can't take much more of this./ Dana sat down on another sofa, and I immediately went to her side. Then I heard Tara blurt out, "Oh my God!" Everyone looked at Tara, then followed her stunned gaze. To Dana. Specifically her left hand. At not only the engagement ring, but the wedding ring she now wore - the Celtic knot that signified our love. Bill looked at me, his eyes roving towards my ring finger. For a second, a part of me wanted to sit on my left hand, but instead I reached over to hold my wife's hand, my own matching ring still gleaming in its newness. "Oh God! Not to EACH OthER!" Bill managed in a desperate whine which I found surprisingly amusing. "Married?" Maggie's stunned expression was rapidly being overtaken with delight, especially when her brain began putting factors together. Wedding ring...pale...desperate run for the bathroom... "Married and pregnant," Dana said proudly. She was as serene as a Buddha, even though she probably felt like throwing up again. This was usually her worst time of the day. We had meant to arrive earlier to prevent that, but traffic and my pregnant beloved feeling carsick promptly nixed that idea. I was just glad that the nosebleeds she had been getting seemed to have petered out to a stop over the last week. Tara slapped a hand to her own forehead. "How could I have missed it? All that breastfeeding must have drained away my female intuition. I mean, one look today and I could tell you were sleeping together, but... Oooo, congratulations!" My new sister-in-law and mother-in-law besieged Dana, then me. As for my new brothers, they stood there like Easter Island statues and looked about as happy. "A grandchild...a grandchild..." Maggie repeated in a daze like she didn't have three already. Well, four counting Emily...and however many others those bastards made... But I could understand her reaction after all that had happened with Dana, her only surviving daughter, who we'd all thought would never be able to have a child in the normal way. A baby... My baby. I was terrified and overjoyed and everything in-between. I'd muddle through. As long as Dana was okay. Maggie's joy was nearly too much for me though - because it was the complete opposite of my mother's reaction. I'd been so excited when I gave her the news over the phone, but good old Mom just acted as if I'd bought a new car or computer. "That's nice, dear. Pass my congratulations on to Dana." The way she said 'Dana' was like 'Agent Scully'. Her whole manner had been 'Oh, another child to ruin the life of. Excuse me if I don't get excited.' She kept the call brief and then rang off. I just sat there on the couch. I didn't have to hang up the phone - I had it on speaker, and Dana was right next to me. "Fox -" she said. "It's okay," I cut in, my mind busy processing excuses for Teena in an effort to dull the blow. It was the stroke and we'd never really been the same after I accused her of having an affair with that – But Dana knew me better than my own mother, and her arms went around me, and next thing I knew, I was crying harder than I could ever remember. And there we were a few days later in Maggie's house, with love and hate around us. "I wanted to wait until Laura was here..." Dana explained. I'd known the rings would give us away, but in the car when I had suggested that perhaps we take them off just until the announcement, Dana had given me the 'do that and you are DEAD, buddy, not to mention not getting any until you've groveled for two decades' look. "We are married, Fox, and I don't intend to EVER take these rings off." "Me neither," I quickly amended. Women. They were sentimental about stuff like that, I guess. Pregnant ones even more so. I should have known better. Hell, I'm supposed to be the Oxford-educated psychologist. "Pregnant?" Bill repeated dumbly. The guy had wanted to rip my head off for the abduction that apparently took her fertility away. He knew how much Dana had wanted a child - and now that she did have the gift of a new life, he still wanted to kill me for knocking his sister up. I almost felt sorry for the guy. Within the space of a few seconds he'd found out that we were sleeping together, married and pregnant. It's a lot to digest separately, let alone all at once. "We found out just over a week ago...a bit of a surprise," I said. "And you're married already?" Maggie asked. By her tone, she was trying not to sound disappointed. She wasn't being judgmental either - she was just so ecstatic for us, but naturally she would have liked to have been there. And to have been told a little earlier... Dana explained that she wanted to tell her in person at Sunday dinner last weekend, but we got a case and had to cancel. "It was so hard not to tell you on the phone, Mom, but I wanted to see you... We were sent to the Virgin Islands on a case that went nowhere, and it was so beautiful we just couldn't pass up the chance - but in a few weeks we'll have a proper ceremony in church with Father McCue. I promise, Mom." She pulled out the photos. Tara and Maggie oooo-ed and ahhhh-ed. Thank God we didn't do the Vegas Elvis Chapel after all. Perhaps for our tenth anniversary. Charlie reluctantly looked at a few photos, then frowned. "Dana...you're crying..." She gave an embarrassed laugh. "I was so happy..." And even crying, she had looked beautiful. "So, you're going to have to move," Maggie said. I cleared my throat. "Not right away, Maggie - Mom," I hastily amended at her look. Bill was thrilled. "I signed a two year lease on the apartment. The baby will have a nursery though. Then when he's old enough to run around, we'll have a proper house." I could see that is another black mark to my name in Bill and Charlie's eyes. Not being able to provide suitably for my woman. They wouldn't think to ask if Dana was happy with her lot. They didn't know that with my father's blood money, I could have afforded any house my wife wanted. I wasn't about to tell them. The truth was that we just weren't in a hurry. When the right time came, we would talk about it and decide, but for now our place was close to work and low maintenance, and I didn't think moving was a good idea while Dana was pregnant. She didn't need the extra stress. I could tell by Maggie's smile that she thought I was being a typical male by using 'he' for the baby, but I had it on good authority that's just what we were going to get, and that was fine with me. Another Knicks convert. "Hey, Mulder." Bill's voice was full of false cheer. "Wanna come grab a beer so we can welcome you into the clan?" He jerked a head at the kitchen. I knew what he had in mind. I had no desire to be pinned to the side of the garage while the Scully men gave me a verbal whipping and dictated thEIR terms for my existence with their sister. Or gave me the good old 'you only decided to marry her because you got her pregnant - wasn't she good enough for you before that?' lecture. Please... "No thanks. I'm not a big drinker, and I have to drive back." "Well, come out here so we can shoot the breeze. Get to know each other better." Maggie turned her attention to her sons and waited. She was more than a little suspicious of their motivations. Dana snorted quietly. I hoped she wasn't going to drop the bombshell on them that I was the only one who had ever made her come and come good. Tension hung thickly. I didn't stand. I didn't feel the need to try to gain height on Bill. I was perfectly comfortable beside my wife. "I am not going to apologize for loving your sister or for our child or for making her happy or being happy myself or marrying her." I saw the tiniest glimmer of respect in his eyes. It was just a bit too tiny for my liking under the circumstances. "Does that cover everything?" I asked as Dana's hand slipped into mine again. Bill and Charlie both glanced at their mother. I couldn't see her expression, but suddenly two pairs of shoulders slumped and they both nodded. Somehow I had the feeling that they hadn't backed off due to my intimidating masculinity, but there are times when even I know that silence is golden, and I decided to let it rest. Maggie seemed to sigh with relief and announced that dinner should be ready, just as Laura finally walked in the door. One of Charlie's boys suddenly appeared from behind the sofa - little bugger must have crept back inside without us noticing - and announced to her in one excited breath: "Mommy, Mulder's knocked up Auntie Dana but Uncle Bill isn't gonna punch his lights out because Grandma won't let him because they're married." So confusion and more hugs and a bit of laughter resulted as I wondered what sort of family I'd ended up joining. Then Charlie's other son was rounded up from outside and Matthew was placed in the high chair and we sat down to dinner. Naturally, the Scully women wanted to know all about our wedding. Dana told them an edited version of it...otherwise I would have been pinned to the garage wall so fast my head would have spun. It was a damn good story for the lead players. Tara and Laura kept giving wishful and jealous sighs at my wife's descriptions of the Virgin Islands and looking at their husbands as if to say, "You've never been thAT romantic." I guess I'll never forget our wedding, our first wedding, that is. We had planned to go to Vegas and get married in the Elvis Chapel. I knew that was the last thing that Dana wanted to do...get married in a tacky chapel. She has never entirely understood or appreciated my devotion to the King. The tickets for the ceremony were her gift to me. But before we could tell Dana's family about the pregnancy or go to Vegas, we were sent to the Virgin Islands on a case - St. Thomas to be precise. There had been some pretty grizzly murders down there and it was felt that Voodoo was involved. Took a lot of ribbing about it too on our way out the door. I didn't really want to go. I felt it would be dangerous, but I knew that it also might be the last case we would ever work on together since Scully would start to show soon, so I didn't protest too much. Besides, with all the crap-ass places we've been sent to, if I'd turned down paradise, she might have shot me again. In a part that had finally become more useful than my shoulder in the last few months. So, we flew down there and picked up our rental car. This turned out to be a battered old van decorated with 70's style flowers because they had lost our reservation. I always grin when I remember it. I think it actually belonged to the owner. The van needed a new muffler, but it ran. Scully and I argued because she said preferred death to being seen in such a thing, but I asked her where her sense of adventure was, and eventually she decided that it beat walking or taking one of the donkeys that can still be seen on the island roads. We checked into a small hotel which was somewhat better than we were accustomed to, a small place in Charlotte Amelie. It wasn't on the beach, but that was okay because we had the car and we were working anyway. In any case, the capital of St. Thomas was quaint and scenic, with cobblestone streets and flowers and the smell of frangipani. We arrived at the police station just as they were dragging in a very strange-looking young man in dredlocks, flying higher than a kite on something. He made a full confession, and I have to confess as well that I heaved a sigh of relief. I thought we would fly home immediately, but my partner had other plans. She informed me in no uncertain terms that we were in paradise, and it was in paradise that we were going to stay for at least 48 hours. She changed into something casual, took her late morning throw up break, and we hit the streets of Charlotte Amelie. We took a long walk along the waterfront and watched the boats sail in from the other islands, carrying bananas and other tropical fruits and produce, listened to the musical lilt of the island's natives as they transacted business, and we probably slathered on enough sunscreen to keep the chemical companies in business forever. Even the dark-skinned residents tended to carry parasols to protect their skin from the brutal tropical sun. The water was incredible though, a real aqua, and it sparkled in the sun like a jewel. It was the color of Scully's eyes. I hoped we would get a chance to use the beach. I wanted to swim in those eyes forever. Then we went to a small restaurant and had lunch, a slow affair. Normally we would have indulged in Planter's Punch, a real tourist attraction that goes down easy and packs quite a wallop, I am told. However, Dana was not allowed to drink and I couldn't enjoy it without her, so we just had fruit punch instead and a delicious meal that I hoped she would keep down. Although the nausea was not as severe as it had been at first, she still had bouts of it unexpectedly and tended to tire easily and sleep heavily. Then she told me that she wanted to shop. I whined but to no avail. St. Thomas is a duty free port, a shopper's paradise, so I couldn't blame her. We ended up almost immediately with a Lladro baby statue that she fell in love with. Shortly thereafter, it was a dress. I had to admit that it was beautiful, a snowy white gossamer affair with just a bit of pale yellow embroidery around the neckline, not her usual style at all. But it was loose-fitting and she looked up at me and smiled and told me that she just couldn't get through a summer pregnancy without it, and what could I say to those beautiful blue eyes that grew so soft when they gazed at me? We made our purchase and began walking again when suddenly it clouded over. I couldn't resist getting a dig in about how I'd told her that if she dragged me shopping it would rain, but before she got done telling me that I could shove it up my ass, the sky opened up and it began to pour. Next thing I knew, my hand was in hers and we were running down a quaint alley which was lined with beautiful pots of hanging plants. In no time the alleyway was filled with clear, running water and we were soaked to the skin. I have to say that Scully looked good in a tee shirt soaked to the skin. Her breasts had expanded remarkably in a short span of time, and it was a real turn on. We finally ducked into a small shop, and I was able to get a good look at said breasts in said tee shirt. Dana was laughing. It had been so long since I heard her laugh like that. The time that sticks in my memory is our first case on a cold night in Oregon in front of an open grave. I couldn't help but laugh with her then and I couldn't help it now. There had been a lot of water under the bridge since then, a lot of hard times, but a lot of beautiful times too. At least this time it was warm, and for once we were not chasing aliens... You know, I remember thinking how small she was when she was wet that night in Oregon. That hadn't changed. Apart from the breasts. A beautiful woman with ebony skin stepped out of the back room and smiled a smile that lit her entire face, displaying perfect white teeth. "Can I help you?" she asked. I started to tell her that we had just ducked in out of the rain, and then I looked down. I realized that we had ended up in a small jewelry shop and an upscale one at that. I had never seen a set of rings like the ones that shone in the glass case I found myself gazing into. The engagement ring was set in platinum and was not a diamond, but an aquamarine that matched the color of the Caribbean and Scully's eyes perfectly. On either side sat a small diamond and just the hint of the same pattern that made up the two wedding bands, the Celtic knot that intertwined in an unbreakable circle, like her and me. "Yes," I heard myself say, "I want to see those rings." My God, that aquamarine fit Dana perfectly and so did the wedding ring. The man's ring fit me too. It was as though fate had decreed that those rings be waiting there for us. When Dana saw the price of the rings, she started to protest, but I am not a fool. I knew it was probably half of what we would pay for the set at home if we could even find one. These rings were the work of an artist. I took out my American Express card and was grateful for my father's money for about the only time in my life apart from when I'd bought Dana all that furniture for the apartment. That had come about because we had gone shopping for a new couch after having wrecked my old one when we became lovers and became pregnant. I ended up buying a couch that had everything...and a matching recliner and dining table and chairs and hutch. I didn't realize at the time that a cradle would have been more appropriate. Dana's eyes sparkled like the engagement ring when she held it up to the light and looked at me. "And when will you be married?" asked the woman, finishing the transaction. "Next weekend. We are going to Las Vegas," Dana replied. "Oh...why go to Las Vegas when it is so beautiful here?" The woman smiled, and I have to confess that I would have found it difficult to turn her down if she had tried to sell me the entire store. "My brother is a Justice of the Peace, and you could be married today, except that it is getting late. No blood tests needed. Only ID - birth certificates. No waiting period. Perhaps if I call him, you could arrange the marriage for tomorrow. He is a shrewd businessman, my brother, and for a fee he will perform it on the beach at sunrise. It is very romantic. You will have beautiful memories." "I think," said Scully with a twinkle in her eye, "that you are a very astute businesswoman as well. We already have tickets to Vegas, thank you." "Call him," I heard myself say, "Pick the most beautiful beach on the island, and we'll do it at sunrise tomorrow." I don't know why or how, but somehow I realized that this beautiful, dark-skinned woman was right. It was romantic. I didn't have a romantic bone in my body. I mean, I had never done any of the normal things that a man does when courting a woman. I had never bought Scully gifts or candy, or really even taken her on a date. We had worked together, and her apartment had burned down, and she had moved into my spare bedroom, and the next thing we knew, we were making a love child. "Fox," she began to protest.... "Who needs Vegas when we have paradise?" I asked her. "But what about the King?" "We'll play his CDs in the van." I could see that she wanted to marry in this paradise, but things were happening so fast that she was automatically and frantically searching for reasons why it would be impossible, just like at work when I pitched a theory. "What will I wear?" she asked. I burst out laughing. It wasn't a mean laugh. It was a happy laugh and I teased her. "Is the increasing size of your belly diminishing the size of your brain cavity?" She thought about that for a moment and then burst out laughing with me. "My white dress....." She grinned, and then she did something totally unScullylike. She put her arms around my neck and pulled my face down and kissed me full on the lips in public. "I love you, Fox Mulder. I love you more than anything." Who needed flowers or dates? What I saw in her eyes was more romantic than that, and I realized that we didn't have to hide our feelings when in public any more either. We had a baby on the way and were going to be married. The wedding rings were back in their respective boxes as the saleslady was putting them in a bag for us, but Dana was still wearing the engagement ring. I took her hand and slipped the ring off. "Fox, what are you doing?" She was worried. "Putting this on properly." Dana had slipped it on herself when I'd urged her to try it, busy protesting about the cost. Now I gazed at her as I slid the engagement ring back onto her finger, where it would stay, then kissed the hand. She nearly melted. The jewelry store proprietress indicated that we should leave everything to her and we did. Thank you, American Express. We went back to the motel, where I wasted no time in peeling that wet shirt off my partner and warming her right up. Didn't want her catching a chill now, did I? Things got so hot that I could see the water evaporating to steam on her skin. She told me emphatically where to shove it. Again and again. I love a woman who knows what she wants. When I woke up, Dana was looking over at the Lladro baby we'd put on the dresser and smiling that special, serene smile that had appeared since we found out she was pregnant. Well, it hadn't been there when the doctor first told us. She was stunned. She stared at the doctor, then at me. I knew what she was thinking. She was amazed and overjoyed that she was going to become a mother - in the natural way - after all, but how did the father feel about it? Just when we had admitted our love and acted on it. Would I dump her, back out of the responsibility, disappear into the night, actually want a baby? I admit I nearly needed emergency resuscitation, but how could I refuse a second miracle on top of Dana becoming my lover? Considering that Scully's symptoms had at first terrified us that her cancer was back, I'd take pregnancy any time. And now we were in paradise, though we were making more of our own brand of paradise than seeing Charlotte Amelie itself. I resumed kissing Dana. She laughed and shoved lightly at me with her hands. "Fox, we've got a wedding to prepare for." "Our fairy godmother and American Express are taking care of it..." I pouted, intent on my work. "Yes, but - ohhhh..." Dana struggled to focus. "We have to sort out what you're going to wear and -" She let loose a strangled sound and jolted on the mattress. "I'll wear clothes. No one looks at the groom. And I'm preparing for the wedding...for the wedding night..." She gave up. "Make the most of these breasts, Fox... Oh God, yessssssss... Make the most of them...while you can... There, yes, right there! Oh!" The next morning at sunrise, the woman, Lila, came to act as a witness for the ceremony and wove yellow flowers in my beloved's hair. It was a real family affair. Her brother - the justice of the peace - had brought along his wife, and his daughter was our flower girl. There was also a cousin to take photos. Dana and I were married on the white sands of Magens Bay as the sun rose over the crystal blue waters. The dress was perfect. Somehow the baby had become bigger overnight and you could see the outline of early pregnancy through the dress. It made her all the more beautiful. Dana cried through most of the ceremony. Not loud, grating sobs or anything like that, but gentle tears slipped down her face. I nearly panicked, then I realized that it was because she was so happy. And hormonal. Lila and her family told us that we would have a beautiful, healthy boy. Yesssss! I nearly punched the air. When the others left, we realized that the hideous rental van we had laughed about was going to prove to be a blessing in disguise. We were able to duck into it and get into bathing suits, and then we swam in the Caribbean. I saw the rings sparkle on her hand, and it hit me that she really was my wife. Mrs Mulder. I wasted no time calling her that. I wasted no time in kissing her. And she wasted no time in showing me what she wanted. My new wife led me to the rental van, which was fortunately parked in a secluded spot amongst palm trees, because we didn't quite make it inside. I lifted her off her feet. Next thing I knew, we were making love standing there, her legs wrapped around me, her back pressed against the side of the van. The fear of discovery made it so exciting we could hardly contain ourselves. In fact, we didn't. Perhaps it was the tropical climate, but she melted quickly and completely and almost immediately, and you better believe I did too. It was one of those climaxes that a man wishes for, long and slow and shuddery and intense and not too much work to get to, not that I minded the work part as a rule. It might have happened again but we heard some people approaching and decided to move into the old van. That thing might have been ugly, but I sure remember it fondly. I may even hire one for our wedding anniversary. It did have a CD player in it, and I popped in a CD of the King I always made Dana carry in her purse for rental cars. You better believe that old van shaked, rattled and rolled for a good part of the morning. Dana said she would fill Bill in on how she had been filled. The woman knows how to scare me. I tried to make her forget that she even had brothers. Then we took another swim and headed back to town. It was probably the happiest day of my life at the time, but I knew I was going to pay for it when brother Billy saw the ring on my finger and realized that the bulge in his sister's belly was not a sudden weight gain. Present Daniel was born on Christmas Day, which was appropriate enough. He had a headful of my brown hair right from the word go and blue eyes and has old Dad well and truly suckered. I guess I'm a domesticated Fox now, but that's fine by me. Well, apart from the diaper washing. How one kid can produce that much should be an x-file. But it's a small price to pay, really, so I keep my trap shut. Most of the time. Now my son is down for his nap in the bedroom and I'm down on the couch, about to be seduced by my insatiable wife, who is desperate to continue our interrupted lovemaking. She obviously hasn't heard that having a baby is supposed to dampen those drives; thank God. I know mine sure haven't been dampened by fatherhood. We're still technically newlyweds and also working our way through five years of pent up desire. We're been working through it on the couches, the table, the recliner, the chairs, the floor...and sometimes just to be kinky, the bed. Our neighbors can't believe the noise we generate and the pace we set. When Daniel is a bit older, I wonder what's going to happen about all this furniture hopping and how vocal Dana is. I, of course, am the picture of restraint. "You know, Babe, we're gonna have to squeeze in as much of this as we can -" I start to say. My wife sits back on my hips and looks at me with a light in her eyes that I know is just for me, and a faint smile playing about her lips. "Believe me, we squeeze it all in, Fox Mulder. We will definitely squeeze it all in." And, of course, being Scully, she has to provide proof of her theory. "See, Fox?" she coos, arching her back. I reply, "Nhgghhhhhhhhhh..." which I think passes for 'sure do' in some language - on some planet. And when we're finished and she's draped over me like an afghan, I remember a time not long ago when just 'squeezing it in' wasn't that simple... JANUARY 8th 1999 "Fox... Fox!" "W-w-w-what?" "Fox!" Dana was shaking me. Pulling at me. At the best of times I'm not really a great, solid sleeper. At the worst of times, which was basically my life before Dana and I became lovers, my sleeping patterns were lousy. I sleep lightly and wake at anything. But usually there's a stage in the early hours of the morning where I get an hour or so of sleep so deep that I'm almost in a coma. It's that lot of sleep that saved my sanity for so long in the past. Usually when I'm awakened suddenly, I'm alert fairly quickly - have to be in my job. But when I'm awakened during my coma-hour, I'm more of a 'lert' than 'alert'. This was coma hour. "Whatizit? Whatsamatta?" Dana was shaking me urgently. My befogged brain started setting off alarm bells. Something bad must have happened - and why on earth was my partner in bed with me? Was there only one bed available at the motel on this case? Then I remembered she was my wife. /Oh. That's right./ "I need you!" she practically howled. "Huh? To do what...?" I mumbled. "What do you mean WHAT? To do ME. Sex, Mulder!" She only reverts back to 'Mulder' if she's really frustrated or scared. "I want you and I want you NOW!" My brain still wasn't functioning but let's just say that another part of me had all of its facilities. /Wife wants sex,/ it said. /I'm there!/ "Okie," I mumbled, sitting up, swaying with sleep-deprivation. My brain was still setting off bells, trying to tell me that something wasn't right, but the other part of me was telling it: /Go back to sleep, buddy. We don't need you for this./ "Wife wants sex..." I muttered. "Yessssssssssssssssssss..." came the agonized reply out of the darkness. I could see her face, just, but I couldn't make out her expression. I could tell that she was naked though. So I pulled my boxers down, and Dana scuttled across before I could even move over, so that she was lying across the bed. She didn't want to waste any time. She was lying on her back, waiting. My brain piped up, wondering how she could move so easily. Something was not right. "MULDER!!!! If you don't do something soon, I'm going to shoot you again! I want you on me; I want to feel you in me!" I sat up on my knees - thank God for knees when your wife's belly gets so big that it looks like she's swallowed a basketball...along with the whole basketball team - and felt around to get my bearings. Yep, I was between her legs, check, I'd just hold onto that belly for balance and - My brain couldn't believe the feedback my hands were giving me. I halted and patted her belly. "MULDER, what are you doing??????? This isn't patting down a suspect! Skip the foreplay and get in here now!!!!!!!!!" No belly. Well, there was a belly, but it was flat. "The baby?" I asked dazedly. "He's over there!" I looked and there was the cradle at the foot of our bed. Memory popped up like a lifebuoy in a sea of hormones. Daniel had a nursery of his own, but for the first month or so we were having him close by as we adjusted to being parents and getting him into a routine and wanting to check him every five minutes to make sure that he was still breathing. "We won't wake him," Dana said. "He'll sleep through anything. Move him out of the room if you're going to feel strange about doing me with him in here. Just HURRY!" I backed away, nearly falling off the bed. My mind was kicking in more. "But - but - he's only two weeks old!" "We'll be quick!" She was REALLY getting pissed off with me, but I knew what my brain was trying to tell me. "But the doctor said we had to wait six weeks!" I reminded her. "I'M a doctor!" she roared. "And I'm giving you permission!" She punched her fists into the mattress. "No, Dana -" "Oh, for God's sake!" She sat up and used a wrestling throw to shove me down on my back. "Do I have to do everything myself?" She went to climb onto me. I grabbed her by her rediscovered waist and lifted her off and away as gently and firmly as I could. She nearly spat sparks at me. She was smoking with horniness and anger. My eyes had adjusted enough to the lack of light for me to see her expression. I was in deep, deep trouble. I tried to reason with her. "Dana, the doctor said six weeks. I don't want to hurt you. We can't -" "Fine! So you don't find me attractive anymore! You hate the way I look!" She was crying. How could she say that? I loved her - I love her no matter what she looks like: even when she was so pale and thin from the cancer, or ripping one of my theories to shreds, or saying 'No, Mulder, I did not see that alien, the light was in my eyes'. Big with child or not, I loved her and wanted to make love to her... "Dana," I said gently, "We can't. And - and - we have to consider contraception now too..." When did I become the logical one in this relationship? Contraception was a bit of a dilemma too - after all, we didn't know how many or how few eggs Dana had left... We'd already been given one gift, could we take the risk of missing another, even if Daniel was only just out of her body? My wife pitched a fit at my gallant refusal. I couldn't take her - more's the pity - so I grabbed my pillow and stormed out to the couch. "I'm doing this for you!" I yelled, and hoped all this wasn't disturbing Daniel. It was certainly disturbing me. As I lay on the couch, I ached. And not just the parts of me that you'd think. I pulled the afghan down off the top of the couch to cover my nakedness; we always have a blanket there to curl up in after making love... Upset, I curled up alone, trying to get thoughts of my horny wife and my horny self out of my mind. I'd read all the books. Not just the baby books, but about the changes that having a baby can bring to a couple, and to their sex life. I was determined to be an Understanding Husband, especially in this abstinence period. I'd been prepared for the cold showers (and had a few), been prepared for her tiredness and mood swings, that her body may be different and that she may be self-conscious and that I had to boost her esteem and the fact that even after six weeks were up that she may not feel like being that intimate again for a while... Whenever I felt jealous about the attention that the baby got, or when I felt like having sex when my son was getting more breast than I was, I would count my blessings. And I had more than most new fathers to count. 'Remember the gift that your partner has just given you and be patient and grateful,' one book counseled. 'Use the time to bond with the baby - you are not the one who had to carry him/her around for nine months.' So I spent a lot of time with my new little buddy. I recounted the all-time best Knicks plays - held the kid enthralled. So yeah, I'd been prepared... But there was no way that I'd been prepared for thIS! A full frontal attack, no less! And I'd done the right thing and as a result I was in the doghouse... Typical. I wanted her so badly... For a long time I just stared at the wall. Daniel cried and Dana got up to him. I just lay there. Daniel kept crying. I could hear my wife getting more and more upset as she unsuccessfully tried to hush him. To my astonishment, we had found that I was the one who could calm him down more quickly when he cried. I mean, it wasn't a competition or anything, but it was something that both amused and upset Dana, depending on her mood. The sort of thing that makes a new mother feel inadequate. Plus she thought that as a doctor, she should know what to do, but I think all that knowledge was a major contributor to her tensing up in the first place and making our son cry more. Dana came storming out and deposited a howling bundle in my arms. "Here! Your son needs you! He doesn't want me. No one does. And I don't need YOU, Fox Mulder!" She stalked back into our bedroom and slammed the door. All that made ME tense, so it took a while to soothe Daniel. I had no idea how to do the same for my wife. My buddy and I watched TV together for half an hour, then his eyes drooped and I quietly opened the bedroom door and peered in. Dana was in a tight ball at the far end of her side of the bed. Her side. Often we were melded together so tightly it was a surprise to think we were separate people. She didn't respond when I quietly called her name. I put Daniel down in his cradle, hesitated, then went back out to the couch. They had some basketball repeats on, but I couldn't concentrate. I dozed fitfully. It was still dark when a pair of hands whose touch I knew so well were on my hair and shoulder, gentle. "Fox?" Her voice came softly. I turned around. She was kneeling beside me. "Fox, please come back to bed and hold me. I just want you to hold me, please." She was crying. "That's all I want, please." I got up and picked her up - it had been a while since I'd been able to carry her. In a few seconds we were back in bed, cuddling, warm and content. She said how sorry she was, I said how beautiful she was, and we kept holding and kissed a bit. We could actually hug properly again. There was no not-so-little bump in the middle anymore. I sort of missed the bump, but I had also missed the closeness. We drifted off. I woke up to find that the close proximity of my wife had led a certain part of my anatomy to show some hope, shall we say. Damn. I began to ease my limbs out from under and around Dana so I could slip out of bed and take care of things. Too many more cold showers and I'd be hypothermic. A hand shot out and seized hold, effectively halting my progress. "Dana!" I gasped. Her hand moved up and down, and I fell back. This time it was my hands that were punching the mattress. "Oh God, Dana, we can't -" "Now, now... There's more than one way to snare a fox..." That woman drained me of every last bit of hope, I'm happy to say. I just hung onto the headboard slats - Dana's right, you can really reach back and get a good grip - and let her go. And damn, her grip was great too. When I came back to earth, she was holding me, purring contentedly. My pleasure had given her pleasure. So I reached down to return the favor with interest and held her as she quickly began to writhe. When her scream finished bouncing off the walls, we held until Daniel let loose again. Dana insisted on getting up to him, and this time she wasn't tense at all. She said I'd gotten rid of every last bit of tension in her body. Once his needs were met, Daniel sensed all was well and zapped back to sleep. Dana hugged and rocked him for a little, whispering to him, then returned to me. I said, "I think we've found a good solution to our problem." She gave that grin. "Well, there's more than two ways to snare a fox..." And she started kissing her way down to prove it. So once again the hills were alive with the sounds of two very happy individuals, and every few hours or so, the howls of a demanding young baby. Then the baby turned six weeks old. And on that day - which Dana had insisted that I take off from work - the second that she was back from her doctor's and Daniel was out for the count, my wife turned my way. "Fox...wanna try the old snare again?" A few seconds later we were rolling all over the bed, getting clothes off and tossing them aside - I think my Knicks shirt went flying out the open window. Oh well. The baby was now in his nursery, so there wasn't the worry of any pieces of clothing landing in the cradle and smothering him, and the monitor was on. I was into it, but I was holding back a little. Dana noticed - even when she's as horny as hell, she's damn observant. "What's wrong?" I had to tell her. I didn't want to tell her, but I didn't want her to get upset again like last time. "I...well, I'm just worried that it won't be as good for you anymore. As good as it was..." I was going bright red. "What do you mean?" "The books - the books said that after childbirth sex may feel different for a woman. Not as good. I want it to be good for you." Better than good. "Mulder - let's not panic unduly until we see how things go, okay? And we've been able to satisfy each other damn well the last few weeks, haven't we? We'll manage." I nodded, but I was worried that I couldn't make her come the other way anymore. The way she loved. She sucked on my ear and then whispered, "Going by the book isn't always the way to do it. Throw the rules away, Fox. Go by your instincts. Your deep, primal, mating instincts..." So I pushed aside those thoughts and put my heart and soul and mouth and hands and myself into the act. We could really hold and touch and I didn't have to use my knees as much... Fox was back in his den. We thudded the bed so hard into the wall that at any second it was gonna burst through into the laundry room next door. Perhaps it did. I can't hold on much longer - it's been too long. Long... God, Spooky, you survived how many years of virtual monkhood beforehand and now you're moaning about six weeks? But she hasn't come yet and I'd better reach down - Wait - I know those noises. And that face she's making! That's the one! That's my ride, babe. No additional work required. I held on and surged forward. Dana's screams blasted the paint off the walls. In several apartments. And her nails raked all the way down my back - something which she hadn't been able to do for a while. She kept them cut short to handle Daniel, otherwise it would have been much worse... But what we were doing was so intense that I didn't care if she cut me into eight strips. Then I blasted apart into about eight zillion atoms anyway. Abstinence makes the orgasm grow stronger... When I could see again, Dana was lying there with this 'where the hell did that come from and have you been holding out on me since we became lovers' look. "That answer your question?" she managed to croak out. Somehow I was able to hear it over the ringing in my ears. "Mmmm hmm." I tried not to be smug. I really tried. /What a relief./ "That was so intense, Fox... I'm not kidding. Maybe we should hold off for another six weeks if that's what the result is." I sat up slightly and glared down at her. "You're asking for a good tongue lashing, Wife." She grinned in delight. "I'm just begging for one..." Present Yep, I'm domesticated now, but feeling pretty wild nonetheless, because what Dana and I just did was anything but tame. Back to work tomorrow. Dana and Daniel will be checking out Old Town townhouses so we can buy ourselves a home; and I'll put up with idiot Spender in the office and get phone calls from my wife every so often to defuse me and provide calm and to make sure that I'll still have the x-files in my possession when she comes back. But boy, the itch to ditch is STRONG. Hmmmm, looks like Dana is showing interest in the dining room table again. I'm up for that. Definitely. Gotta go. The End Scully's POV vignette is called "Making It Legal". Thanks for letting me take the baby out of the cradle and take him twice around the park, Mac! Disclaimer about "Places where you can get married the same day" - there was conflicting information published in newspapers about what the rules really are for the Virgin Islands: whether it is same day or if you have to file eight days ahead for a marriage license, and also about what you do need in order to get married. Well, we went for the most convenient for our story! |