Title: Silent Thunder Author: e-mail: Aiua@juno.com or Aiua@aol.com category: MSR rating: PG (if I try to write anything near "R" and I burst out laughing. summary: Mulder and Scully deal with the happenings of pre x-files life and the events of their partnership. Author's note: I quote from the wonderful writer, Orson Scott Card, this came from my totally screwed-up head. Actually, I kind of got the idea from the Entertainment Weekly article "A Spooky Kind of Love". You know, the one that, at the end, says that Mulder and Scully have the perfect TV marriage? Well, what if....and I built on that. Also, I have this thing with little kids (NO, I don't have any and am not even THINKING about it. I just babysit little ones a lot and think they're cute and annoying at the same time. As long as I don't live with them.) and I just pictured our favorite duo with one (or more, but it doesn't work out if I at least TRY to stick with CC's version.) I also have no idea what they'd name a kid, so I just went with a saint, knowing Scully's Catholic background... DISCLAIMER: We all know by now that Mulder, Scully, et al, are not mine. Or, 1013 productions would be One Nine Productions. Addendum to Note: Ever see someone spell Mulder Mudler and make you laugh? SILENT THUNDER Holy Cross Memorial Hospital Washington, D.C. She veritably glared at the x-ray of her own skull. The mass stood out, a bright white blob on the shadowy area of bone. Damn Leonard Betts. Mulder would have to finish the journey alone, without her, and they had been together for so long...she didn't want to leave him. She didn't want to leave Matt. She taped the black x-ray to the lighted wall. Mulder walked in, complete with a bouquet of flowers. He handed them to her,"I stole them from some guy with a broken leg down the hall. So...so he can't chase after me." The dry humor was a mask for the worry that welled up within him. His deepest fear was to lose his wife or his son. He sensed that one was about to be confirmed,"What exactly are we looking at, here?" Reverting to "doctor" mode, she said," It's what's called a nasal pharengial mass. It's a small growth on the wall between the superior concha and the sinoidal sinus." "A growth?" he sounded almost hopeful. "A tumor." His hopes were dashed. A silence followed as he tried to think of what could not happen yet inevitably would... "You're the only one I've called,"she spoke again. He thought about this, tossing aside the wayward thought that her mother would be angry, replacing it with agonizing despair...he made almost inaudible sounds of suffering, not quite crying or much of anything. No tears would fall. He was too stunned. He spoke in a quiet whisper,"Is it operable?" "No," how she wanted to say //Yes, I'm having an operation tomorrow and everything will be fine// but she stayed silent. "But it's treatable," this was a statement. She looked pained," The truth is, that the type and placement of the tumor make it difficult...to the extreme." " I refuse to believe that. I ... I --" She interrupted him," For all the times I have said that to you, I am as certain about this as you have ever been." INSERT THE REST HERE< I HAVE TO FIND THE TAPE She grabbed the black sheet of plastic composite off the lighted wall and followed him out. Before she could face Skinner, she owed it to Matt to tell him what was happening. *X* Mulder Residence 31 Eagle's Rest Dr. Alexandria, Virginia He had been immediatly suspicious when they had taken him out of school for the day. Not that he objected. He'd rather accompany his parents to work than attend kindergarten. He was a perfect replica of his father: chocolate brown hair, enchanting hazel eyes, brilliant mind. His hair cut in the same style Mulder's had been when she first met him at the FBI picnic. He had also inherited the over-protective/worry trait. That particular gene was obviously working overtime. "What is it, Mom?" She thought back to his birth, the magical day that it had been. July 3, 1991 Room 408 Holy Cross Memorial Hospital Washington, D.C. 11:21 PM Her voice was soft, tired from the last twelve hours. She still called him by his last name. "Mulder, I want to hold him." He smiled warmly at her, pride radiated from his eyes," He's down in the nursery. He's so tiny." "That's to be expected, Mulder. It's the only way they can fit. And even that's a stretch." He chuckled at the surfacing of her sense of humor. She'd somehow lost it during the last stages of labor, " They're bringing him up." As he spoke, a nurse brought little Baby Mulder into the room. His mother held him carefully, the same way his father had an hour before. Dana looked over at Mulder,"What are we going to call him?" "I thought we already picked out his name." "Your parents picked out yours and I'm calling you by your last name and I 'm not naming my kid Frohike, Byers or Langley. I had thought you were kidding." "Point taken. Okay, for starters, I don't like Bill. William is fine, but Bill makes me think of an old guy or some sort of rough adult. Not a little boy. " "My grandfather's name was Matthew. Do you have any objections to that?" "None at all," Mulder reached down and offered a finger to the boy, who grasped it tightly, "Welcome to the world, Matthew William Mulder." Present Day Mulder Residence 31 Eagle's Rest Dr. Alexandria, Virginia "Mom?" "Matthew, sit down, we have something to tell you." His eyes grew large and his hands shook as he cautiously sat on the edge of the living room couch,"What?" Scully took a deep breath,"Matt, I had a visit with the doctor today. And--" He cut her off," Is it like the last time? Am I going to be a big brother?" Yet another repercussion from her abduction. Her daughter had been born in that place and They had killed her in front of Dana's eyes. The hospital where she had been found said it was a still birth that had happened as soon as she had arrived, but she knew differently... "No, not that. Matt, I 'm going to be very sick. It might be in a month or a year, the doctor can't tell right now. I...I have a tumor in my skull. Matt, I have cancer." Her son looked as shaken as his father. Matthew didn't say anything, he only reached out and hugged her, clung to her as if he could save her if he could just hang on. He buried his head in her shoulder and the material of her suit muffled his sobs. They weren't loud. All she and Mulder could hear were his sniffles and she could feel the wet tears. After a moment, he pulled away and looked at her with red-rimmed eyes. "Matt, your father and I have to go back to work. Do you want to come with us?" The boy smiled through his tears, "Yeah." Scully smiled in return and ruffled his hair, "Let's wipe off your face, first. You'll feel better." He nodded and she herded him to the bathroom. He was quiet in the car. She and Mulder discussed the ensuing talk with Skinner. When they arrived and were parked in the parking garage, Matt poked his head in between the two front seats,"Let me wait in your office, guys. I hate the daycare. They treat me like I have an I.Q. of fifty." "Promise not to mess with anything?" Mulder asked. "On my honor." "Go on ahead. We shouldn't be long," Matt knew his own way around the J. Edger Hoover F.B.I. Building. He would also be completely safe. It was, after all, the headquarters of the largest law enforcement agency in the U.S. Not thrilled in the least, the two agents made their way to the office of the A. D. * * * * * They had made the decision in Skinner's office via the silent communication that they had and then announced it to Skinner that they would pursue some other means of investigation to help Scully heal herself. This avenue would take them to Allentown, Pennsylvania and the MUFON group based there at Betsy Hagopian's house. Matt would accompany them because Scully didn't want to tell her mother yet. Matt looked up as they walked into the office, "So?" "You're going to have some days off from school, kid," replied Mulder. "Cool. Let's go." With that settled, they drove to Allentown, Pennsylvania. * Hagopian Residence Allentown, Pennsylvania Next Day