Inherently Given(1/3)
Tue Dec 24 1996
This is a companion story to the story "Yes Sir, That's My Baby." by
Michelle Hiley. When Michelle first posted it, back in April 96, Vickie,
who had been one of the first people to read it, remarked that there was
a lot more to it, and she would like to see the story told again, more
fully, filling in the gaps Michelle had had to leave. Michelle liked the
idea, and asked if she'd co-author. Vickie agreed and this is the
result. We feel it important that you read "Yes Sir, That's My Baby."
first, and so we have included the recently corrected version as the
prologue to this story. The prologue follows now, below it is the
introduction to "Inherently Given" and part one.
Inherently Given's Prologue: Yes Sir, That's My Baby.
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Here we go.. Mulder, Scully, Skinner and the Nisei man are not mine,
they belong to Chris Carter. Everyone else and the story are mine.
Mulder/Scully Romance Zone, warning hereby given. Minimal violence,
angst etc, no graphic sex or bad language.
This story may be freely distributed, as long as it remains intact and
unaltered, with the author's name and e-mail address, and provided
money doesn't change hands. Feel free to archive it, but the author
reserves the right to ask for its removal from any archive and retains
the copyright. I'm just covering my butt folks, in case it ends up on
the cover of Time (like that's really going to happen.....:))
Spoiler Warning. I haven't seen "Nisei" or "731", but I won't let a
little thing like that stop me...
OK, the rest is introduction, you can skip it if you like. Hey! I think
I beat my own long introduction record! Nearly 50 lines, plus a 12 line
footnote! Did anyone actually read this?
Hello.
I've been reading fanfiction stories for a while now. Happy ones, sad
ones, funny ones. But there is one kind of story I really hate. The ones
in which Scully has an alien baby and/or eggs taken from her. I don't
much mind if Mulder turns out to be Daddy, but otherwise...urgh....
Don't get me wrong please, this is *not* a flame towards the authors of
such stories. The ones I've (accidentally) read have often been
excellently written, and many people love them. As Sheryl Martin once
sorta said, each to their own tastes, and if you don't like it, don't
read it. So, when I can, I don't. It's purely a personal horror. I don't
think that happened in the show myself, (I go with the idea of humans
being mutated, not bred from), and if CC ever did do that, I'd probably
quit. But that's what fanfiction is for, speculation. I just try not to
read the alien baby stories.:)
Anyway, the point of all this, is that while on yet another rant to my
long suffering friends about how much I'd hated the whole abduction arc,
someone (Sneakers) made a joking remark about something I'd said. And I
realised, I was going to have to write a story to exorcise my demons.
So, here is my version of What Will Really Happen. Yes, Michelle is
writing an unexpected baby due to alien influence story. Those of you
who know my feelings, prepare to faint....
The medical information is undoubtedly all preposterous, because I know
nothing about it. But that's the nice thing with experimental
procedures, if anyone says "That can't happen!" I can say "Ah, but you
see it's *experimental* and secret......":D I know the doctors talk in
simplistic terms. That's so I can understand them. It's like the aliens
in Star Trek that all speak English.
This will never happen on the show. But, in this version alone, I'd love
it if it did.....:D:D
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes Sir, That's My Baby.....
By Michelle Hiley
e-mail fbi_basement@hiley.demon.co.uk
Dedicated to Sneakers, for inspiring it. Blame her.<G>
Autumn 1994.
Hanson's Disease Research Centre.
"So, is the test subject suitable?" The doctor turned to his Japanese
colleague, who was studying a chart.
"Yes, she seems healthy enough. I think she'll make a fine parent."
"So, when do we proceed?"
The Nisei man pondered. "We obviously need time to arrange matters.
Perhaps in a few weeks, we can get started, once we have what we need."
The other man looked down at the red-haired woman on the table. "Are you
sure she's genetically compatible? This is a big step. No-one's done an
experiment quite like this before."
"She's the perfect person to help us with this. Strong and healthy."
"Well, she looks anaemic to me. Curse of the redhead. And the tests you
did to examine her must have weakened her. Inflating someone's stomach
to look around takes it out of them, you know."
They stared down at the unconscious Dana Scully. "You're right. We'd
better give her an iron injection. Pass me the syringe please." He
grasped Dana's upper arm and injected her. Almost at once she went into
spasms.
The doctor said a rather rude Japanese word, and grabbed the bottle his
colleague had filled the solution from.
"Are you insane? This isn't iron solution!"
"Well, if you will keep labelling the bottles in Japanese... What did we
give her then?"
"Purity Control!"
"Oops."
They looked at the writhing woman, watching until she fell into coma.
"Get her into a hospital. I doubt she'll survive, but if she does, then
we'll arrange matters for sometime in the future."
"Yes, sir"
*****
October 13th 1996
"So Scully, want a sunflower seed?"
"No thanks. How much longer?"
Mulder checked his watch. "Twenty minutes and we're out of here. Why?
Hungry?"
"Yes."
"Then let's pick up a pizza and...." He was interrupted by the sound of
a rap on his door. Scully raised her eyebrows. A face came down
alongside Mulder's window, flashing a badge.
"Ah gee, and we weren't even necking, Scully. Guess this guy's either
part of the surveillance, or bored." He wound down his window.
"Yes, officer?"
"Get out of the car please sir."
Mulder showed his badge. "FBI, officer. We're on business here."
The cop didn't budge but raised his voice a little. "Out of the car
please. I have reason to believe you're drunk." He winked at Mulder and
mouthed <I need to talk to you, but the suspect might be watching. Play
along>.
Mulder obligingly got out of the car, just as the second man hit him
from behind. Scully dived for her gun, but came up to find the "cop"
using a dazed Mulder as a shield, gun to her partner's temple.
"Just step out of the car please Agent Scully, and I won't need to hurt
him."
Scully weighed her odds, and complied. She couldn't risk Mulder.
Meanwhile the second man had signalled to a van which drew up alongside.
The next thing they remembered was the sharp smell of the rags that were
pressed over their faces.
****
"You have both of them? Was that intended?"
"I gave orders, sir." The French doctor paused. "I'm continuing our
late colleague's work as he intended. This was his special sideline
project. The resulting child, although special, will be entirely human.
Therefore we needed both a male and a female. These two were separately
examined at different times, and considered a good genetic mix. And
because they were partners it would be easy to remove them together.
They are also in peak condition, an important factor."
"Then I suggest you proceed. You have taken an egg from the woman and
fertilised it with her partner's sperm?"
"We have."
"Then implant it. And release them. We won't need them back, we just
need to monitor the pregnancy, see whether it proceeds in an normal way
or not." He waved his hand. "Just seeing whether a child conceived and
born in these circumstances can survive will be enough. They'll no doubt
try and have the baby in secret, but they'll know we know. Let them have
it, and raise it. It'll be of no interest to us once it's born." He
frowned. "If it is born. What if they just abort it?"
The doctor smiled. "Agent Scully is a Catholic. And Agent Mulder wants
answers. His curiosity will be too much. Besides, it'd be as dangerous
to abort as to proceed. And they'll realise it's each other's. You
haven't observed them as I have, sir."
"They are lovers?"
"No. But they are emotionally linked. It would seem a matter merely of
time and courage on their part. They'll remember enough of this incident
to know what has happened. And I'm wagering their feelings will ensure
this baby is carried to term. I'd stake my life on it."
His boss smiled. "You just did, Dr Philipe."
****
Office of Assistant Director Walter Skinner
2 months later.
"Pregnant???" Walter Skinner looked at the agents before him in
disbelief. "When? How?"
Scully cleared her throat. "As for when, well as close I can reckon it,
about the time Agent Mulder and I vanished for two days. As for
how...well I believe artificial insemination was used. Agent Mulder and
I have memories of a sample being taken from each of us." She blushed.
"And neither of us can recall any sexual activity."
"Each of you? So this baby hasn't been fathered by an alien, Agent
Scully?"
Scully was turning redder. "No sir. We took the liberty of conducting a
few tests. The baby is clearly mine and Agent Mulder's."
"You ran a few tests." Skinner reached up and started pulling out what
little was left of his hair. "I bet you had fun explaining yourself."
Mulder stirred in his chair. "We just told them Agent Scully was a
nymphomaniac, and that I'd been drunk." He smiled at his infuriated
partner. Skinner regarded him coldly.
"Agent Mulder, I fail to see any humour in this. How am I going to
explain this upstairs? I lose two agents for two days, and one of them
comes back pregnant by the other. Any ideas?"
"They don't know about the birds and the bees? Jesus, I thought I had a
sheltered upbringing."
Skinner took a deep breath. "What are the medical implications here
Scully?" He suddenly looked worried. "Is this baby's birth going to be
dangerous?"
The agents shifted in their chairs and looked at each other. Finally
Mulder spoke up. "They did something to us, and we don't really know
what. We've been able to determine that they did something to ensure the
baby's supply of food and blood would be the same as a normal pregnancy.
The child seems to be growing as expected."
"And the birth?"
"We..that is Dana, reckons a Caesarean in the eighth month. We'll give
it every chance we can. But we're keeping it, unless things turn bad,
and we have to abort."
Skinner looked at them. "Very well, it's your right. But the
circumstances that surround this have to be kept secret. You do
appreciate that this child is unique?"
They nodded.
"Then I'm sending you together to a safe house in New Hampshire. You can
await the birth there. I'll see that you're supplied with any medical
equipment necessary. But I don't want one of my agents having a green
blooded baby in a hospital! The National Enquirer is all I need!" His
voice softened. "I'll ensure the best medical help is on hand."
Mulder and Scully nodded and rose to leave.
"Oh, and Agent Mulder? Agent Scully?"
They turned.
"Congratulations."
"Thank you."
****
A safe house
One month later.
The new Mr and Mrs Mulder lay in bed together, curled around each other.
"So, did you enjoy our day?"
"I loved it. Did I tell you that I loved you by the way?"
"Yes. Did I remember to mention I loved you?"
"Yes." They lay together in mutual warmth.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"You didn't just marry me because I'm carrying your child, did you?"
"Of course not! I...I know this was all sudden, and we didn't have time
to talk about how we felt until we came here. But I've always loved you,
and I've always wanted you. That abduction, this baby..well, it was a
blessing in disguise. I love you. And I love our baby."
"Thank you."
"You didn't just marry me because I got you pregnant did you? You never
struck me as the type to do something you didn't want to, just to be
respectable."
"No, the fact you knocked me up didn't come into it."
"What a charming way to put it." They both grinned in the darkness.
"Really?"
"Really. Just because I'm pregnant was no good reason to marry. I always
wanted to marry you. I was always just trying to pluck up the courage to
tell you how I felt when this happened."
"And now we're lovers, spouses, and prospective parents."
"Uh, huh." They snuggled up. "Do I show much yet?"
"Not much. You won't see it in the photos, don't worry."
"That's good. I know it's vain but I didn't want to look pregnant on my
wedding day."
"So, do you want to make love?"
"Again??"
"Sorry. Are you tired? That's OK if so."
"No, no. I'm pregnant, not ill. I was just teasing you."
"C'mere then....."
****
"We'll be doing the Ceasarean now."
Mulder and Scully looked at one another. Skinner had been as good as his
word. The safe house had been equipped with a medical room, and a team
of trusted doctors were on hand. Three of them, four if you counted
Scully, although they knew she wouldn't be in much of a state to offer
advice.
"It'll be OK love. I'll be here holding your hand. It won't take long.
And we'll have a beautiful baby afterwards, thanks to you."
****
"Congratulations. You have a lovely little girl."
The two agents just stared at the perfect miracle that was their
daughter. Eventually Dana was coherent enough to speak.
"Is she OK? I mean....she looks fine to me, but I'm not a
paediatrician...."
"She's normal and healthy. Here. You two get to know her while I stitch
up after her." He passed the baby up towards them and carried on. None
of them noticed one of the junior doctors slip out of the room.
****
"Well?"
"Baby Mulder born at 6.03 pm. Perfectly normal child. No reason to think
she won't thrive."
"Then the experiment is over. Make your excuses and leave."
****
"Mulder?"
"Yes?" Mulder was busy playing with his little daughter. "You know
Scully, she looks like you. What'll we call her?"
Scully smiled. "We'll figure something out. Look, while you were
talking to the doctor, Skinner called."
Mulder's face darkened. "What did he want? You look worried."
"It's just that..well, he thinks it would be easier all around if we
just told everyone that we conceived this child in a normal way, and
that we filled out the paperwork saying that I am its mother and you
its father."
"He just wants to deny it all, huh?"
"Mulder, he has a point. Imagine how she'll feel being pointed out as a
freak. We'd get no peace."
He thought it over. "You're right. It would be hell. But when she's
older...especially if we have children the normal way and you give birth
to her little brother or sister some day....can we tell her then?"
Dana smiled. "OK. Now get some rest." She crossed to the bed and kissed
her weary husband. "Mulder, you've had a long pregnancy, and a difficult
birth. You'll be just fine, but you need to sleep. I'll bring you some
food first, and we can bottle feed our baby at the same time."
"I guess I can't claim to be eating for two anymore huh? Can I at least
have some decent junk food now, instead of all that healthy stuff?"
She smiled. "After the gift you just gave me, you can have whatever you
want."
She drew him and their child into the first of many embraces.
The end.
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Footnote (read the story first please!).
OK...you should have known the weird way I look at things. Running and
hiding now....:D:D Comments welcome at fbi_basement@hiley.demon.co.uk
A quick end credit should go to Vickie Moseley, because a scene she
wrote suggested the ending of the scene where they tell Skinner. She
alas, broke her story up and used bits elsewhere, so I used her
"Congratulations" "Thank You" line with her permission. As she put it,
the circumstances were rather different in her story.:)
Final remark (then I'll shut up). The first two readers of this asked me
if it had been inspired by the film "Junior". No. I never saw that
movie, and I'd forgotten it existed. The story came about due to
conversations with Ra Enright and Sneakers (especially the latter).
But I might rent "Junior" out now....
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And now, onto "Inherently Given" itself.....
Fox Mulder and his parents and sibling, Dana Scully and her parents and
siblings, Cancer Man, Pendrell, Henderson, Kathy, Ellen, Trent, Danny,
Dana's Professor, Phoebe, Colton, Well Manicured Man, the Lone Gunmen,
Kevin Kryder and Skinner belong to 10.13 productions, and are used
without permission. Think that's all of them. Not a bad cast list.:)
Mulder's unnamed uncle and cousin just *might* be Mike and Erin Mulder
<grin>, or not. If they are, they are copyright Ra Enright and are used
with her permission. Everyone else, and the story, are copyright
M.Hiley/V.Moseley. The songs mentioned are "Wait" by Sarah McLachlan,
and "Lose My Faith In You" by Sting and are used without permission. In
both cases we have quoted the "official" lyrics from the album covers.
This story contains spoilers for the third season, but not for the
fourth. It does contain some consenting sex scenes between Mulder and
Scully, but they are not explicitly described. A Mulder/Scully romance
warning most definitely applies, read on at own risk.
The authors of this story consider themselves reasonably knowledgeable
about the subject of pregnancy, given that they have six children
between them. Actually that's a bit misleading. One of them has six
children, the other has never even been pregnant (though she did
cyber-adopt). One's American, the other's British. One's well known for
her thoughtful angst pieces, the other's a comedy writer who thinks
angst is a unit of radiation. Both however enjoyed the chance to write
"against type" and shared duties on both the serious and the comedy
scenes; Vickie loved wallowing in comedy, while Michelle got a rare
chance to do some soul searching. Hell, even if you lot don't like it,
we've had a *lot* of fun writing it...Michelle *still* hasn't seen
"Junior" by the way, and so remains completely unaffected by it, but
Vickie's seen it.:D
We would like to thank our test readers, Alasdair McLean, Juliettt,
Scarlet, Char Hall and Ra Enright (Sarah Johnson) for their help, and on
occasions suggestions, (it was Alasdair's question about forms that led
to the rewriting of one part for example). Ra especially has been a
source of immense encouragement, always ready with a suggestion or a
punctuation correction, hence we included a small tribute to her in the
final scene. Ta Ra.:)
Additional note: for the story we have supposed that, as well as the
home she keeps near Dana, Mrs Scully has a country home, (probably the
old family home she shared with Bill), a few hours drive north of
Washington.
Warning: The medical information in this story is undoubtedly wrong and
certainly far fetched, but then it's a work of fiction. Do not try this
at home.:) Remember children, Mulder is indestructible, you are not!:)
This story is being posted in 22 parts. Don't panic, many of them are
quite small.
Dedicated to Brian, Paul, Ra, Burny, Nate, Greg, Maggie, Patrick and
Stevie.
Inherently Given.
by Vickie Moseley and Michelle Hiley.
vmoseley@fgi.net, fbi-basement@hiley.demon.co.uk
Part One. Second Month Blues.
Basement office of Fox Mulder.
FBI Headquarters, Washington DC.
December 4th 1996.
10:35 am.
Dana Scully checked her watch and then looked at the clock on the wall
for verification. It was impossible, but it was happening. Her partner
was late for work. It wasn't that Fox Mulder had never been late for
work. It had happened before, usually the day after a wrap up of a
particularly horrific case. He would sleep in, and she would cover. No
problem. But this was the sixth day in a row that it had happened, and
she was becoming more and more concerned.
<He's got an ulcer,> she thought while booting up her computer. <All
this crap we face has finally eaten a hole in his stomach. And those
two days we went missing a couple of months ago have to be getting to
him, too.> She was about to call him when the door behind her opened
and he stumbled in.
He looked dreadful. His hair was standing on end, his clothes looked
thrown on, <and a little tight,> she noted. His face was an interesting
color of green. He mumbled an apology and slumped down in his chair,
avoiding her eyes. Still, he could *feel* her eyes on him.
"I'm fine, Scully," he blurted out before she could say a word.
"Well, if this is fine, I don't ever want to see you looking bad,
Mulder," she shot back. Then, realizing that she wasn't helping him at
all, she got up and walked over to his desk. "Do you feel as bad as you
look?" she asked.
"Do the world a favor, Scully. Don't ever decide to change careers and
go into diplomacy," he quipped, and put on his glasses to read the file
on his desk.
She grabbed his chin and turned his face toward hers. His eyes were
clear, if a bit miserable. He didn't look like he had a fever. Still,
she reached up and put her hand flat against his forehead to be sure.
He sighed with disdain, but made no move to stop her. Finally, she
took her hand away, shaking her head in confusion.
"Satisfied?" he asked sarcastically.
"No," she answered honestly. "You look like you have the flu, Mulder,
but you don't have a fever. What are your symptoms?"
"I don't have any symptoms," he lied. When she glared down at him with
her patented Scully Look, he finally caved in. "OK, I have a *few*
symptoms. I just seem to have an upset stomach." She allowed her
eyebrows to raise, a sure sign that she knew there was more to come. He
relented. "And I'm more tired than usual," he commented casually. She
still wasn't getting off his desk. "OK, OK, and I get queasy sometimes
at the thought of certain foods. Are you satisfied, Doktor?!"
She looked him over carefully and he suddenly got the impression that
this is how a piece of round steak might feel, if it could feel
anything. The next thing he knew, he was grabbing the wastebasket from
under his desk and emptying his stomach contents into it.
"That does it," she said with a note of finality. "We are going to the
doctor's."
Mulder merely nodded. Though he hated the idea of visiting the doctor's,
he simply didn't feel up to arguing with her. "OK. If you insist."
Scully opened her mouth to tell him exactly why he had to go, and
stopped abruptly. "OK?"
He gave her a miserable look. "Truth is, I don't think I can carry on
like this. If there's something you can give me to make me feel better,
then do it. I don't think you could make me feel worse."
Scully looked at him. Now she was really worried. Reaching for their
coats, she helped Mulder to his feet, making a mental note to get
someone to clean up the wastebasket. Before he could change his mind she
urged Mulder out of the building. She wanted a second opinion right now.
End part one.
From fbi_basement@hiley.demon.co.uk Tue Dec 24 10:04:05 1996
See part one for disclaimers.
Inherently Given.
by Michelle Hiley and Vickie Moseley.
fbi_basement@hiley.demon.co.uk, vmoseley@fgi.net
Part Two. Excuse Me, That's MY Bloodwork.
The parking garage.
December 4th 1996.
10:50 am.
They were halfway to the parking garage when Mulder grabbed Scully's
arm. "Wait a minute, Scully," he said, coming to a stop.
"What, Mulder? And don't give me that line about how you don't like
going to the doctor. I've heard it before and I'm not letting you get
by with it. . ."
"No, Scully, think about it. We were abducted two months ago, right?" He
waited for her reluctant nod. She was still not completely sure of what
had happened when they had vanished two months previously. She had
snatches of memories, most of them extremely vague, of things that
occurred during their two day absence. In many ways, she hoped she was
merely experiencing dreams, and had done her level best to convince
Mulder of the same.
"Yes, so we disappeared for two days. But we were fine when we came
back. Are you thinking that something is just turning up now? And if so,
why is it only affecting you and not me?" she asked, her arms crossed in
front of her.
"I don't know, but I don't want to risk going to a doctor on this. Can't
you just run some tests here in the building? Use the lab, it's well
equipped to do bloodwork, isn't it?"
She gave him her sternest glare. "You *really* don't want to go to the
doctor's, do you?" she accused. "What about wanting to feel better?
Chickening out now, huh?"
He gave her back his best "puppy dog" look. "Come on, Scully. Hey, I'll
even pass up the lollipop. Whadda ya say?" He broke into a grin when
she shrugged her shoulders in defeat and led him up to the lab.
Agent Pendrell was more than happy to help out, especially if it meant
spending time with Agent Dana Scully. All the while she drew the blood,
the red headed lab tech was shooting her looks and Mulder was having a
hard time containing his amusement. He found the "courtly affections"
of the young man to be harmless and couldn't help but notice that his
partner was completely without a clue. That made the whole scene even
funnier, in Mulder's opinion.
But his amusement was short lived when another round of nausea struck,
just as another lab technician popped a bag of butter flavored popcorn
into the lab microwave. Mulder beat a hasty path to the restroom and
when he returned, Scully made him lie down on a gurney they had borrowed
from pathology. Mulder made a snide comment about not knowing where it
had been or *who* might have been on it, but that didn't stop him from
taking the opportunity to grab a quick nap.
"Agent Scully, ah, I just got the results from that last blood sample,"
Agent Pendrell said. Scully couldn't help but notice the decided blush
that was coloring the younger agent's cheeks.
"OK, let me see them," she said, reaching out to him. He snatched the
computer printout just out of her hand.
"Uh, I really think, well, there seems to be some mistake, Agent
Scully," he stammered. "This vial was labeled 'Mulder', and I don't
think that's right."
"What do you mean? I drew the blood myself," Scully said, reaching
further and grabbing the sheets of paper out of the other agent's hands.
"Agent Scully, that blood contains high levels of. . .well, maybe you
should. . .Oh, gee, Agent Scully, that blood is yours and you know it,"
he sighed in exasperation. "I mean, I won't tell, I promise. It's your
business. But gosh, it's not a good idea to mislabel blood, you know. It
can cause real problems. . ."
Dana read the printout, then read it again. "Pendrell, this blood
contains high levels of . . ." she said, her voice taking on the tone of
a trance. "That's a . . ."
Pendrell was studying a particularly interesting piece of ceiling tile.
" . . .pregnancy hormone. Yeah, I know. I used to work summers in a
small hospital lab." Finally, he met her eyes. "I meant what I said,
Agent Scully. If you're, ah, in a family way. . .well, they won't hear
it from me, I swear it!" He looked totally crestfallen as he walked
back to sit at his desk.
*****
"So you haven't told me why you're taking more blood," Mulder said, as
his partner stuck him with another needle. "Ow! Hey careful, that arm's
attached, ya know!"
"Sorry Mulder," she muttered and hurried off back to the other side of
the lab. Mulder watched her and shrugged his shoulders. She would get
around to telling him what the problem was eventually. Until then,
another nap seemed in order.
About half an hour later, Scully was shaking him awake. "I *refuse* to
let you have any more blood, Scully. Make do with what you have," he
growled when he saw his partner.
"No more blood, Mulder, I promise. We need to do another test and I need
you to put this on," she said, holding out what looked like a hospital
gown.
He stared at it. "You want to tell me what's going on, yet, Scully?" he
said evenly, but it was apparent that his good temper was sorely being
taxed.
"We need to do an ultrasound and I can't do that through your suit, OK?"
she replied testily.
"Want to tell me *why* we are doing an ultrasound?" Mulder shot back,
not taking the gown.
She pulled on his arm and draped the gown over it. "Trust me on this,
Mulder. I'll tell you everything, just as soon as I know what the hell
is going on."
He glared at her a moment, and then reluctantly pulled the gown off his
arm and headed for the restroom. He took a bit longer than usual, since
he waited until the restroom was empty and then wouldn't leave its
confines until he was positive no one was in the hallway between it and
the lab. Finally he came back.
"OK, now what?" he asked.
"Lay back down on the gurney," she directed. He did as he was told.
"Now, this isn't nearly as good as the picture we could get in a
doctor's office. I mean this equipment is usually used in bomb disposal,
but it's the best I could come up with," she chatted merrily. He
couldn't help but notice that she seemed unusually cheerful, like she
was hiding something, something *really* big.
He eyed the machine suspiciously. "Bomb disposal? Are you sure this is
safe?" he asked.
She looked at him curiously. "Of course it's safe, Mulder! Do you think
I'd do anything to harm you?" She was obviously offended.
"Well, you did shoot me once," he reminded her.
"And you are *never* going to let me forget that, are you?" she
countered. "Mulder, this is as safe as walking through a metal detector.
I just need to see something internal. It's not nearly as sophisticated
as the one at the hospital, which is used for looking through soft
tissue. But it will suit my purposes. Now, if you'll let me get on with
this it will all be over in a minute. Just try not to wiggle, it will
blur the picture on the computer screen," she directed.
When she put the hand held scanner on his stomach he let out a yelp. It
was cold! But he quieted down immediately when he saw the picture on the
computer monitor. "Scully," he said slowly, "what is that little blob
like thing?"
"Ohmigod," his partner replied, growing very pale.
Mulder continued to stare at the screen. "You know, Scully, the only
part of biology I had trouble with was embryology. I actually had to
read that part of the book *twice*. And that thing looks an awful lot
like. . ."
"Ohmigod," she repeated and grabbed for a chair. "Ohmigod. . ."
"But that would be impossible, right?" he said, more to himself than
anyone else, since his partner was in shock and not responding to any
outside stimulus. "I mean, a man can't get. . ."
Scully finally found the words she had been searching for.
"Mulder, you're pregnant!"
The usually stoic Fox Mulder passed out cold.
*****
Mulder was a little shaky getting dressed and didn't even bother with
his tie. Scully decided that it might be a good idea to take the rest of
the afternoon off and drove him to her apartment. Agent Pendrell, who
had been at lunch during the ultrasound, and as a result was ignorant of
their findings, agreed to send Scully the results of the remaining tests
over her modem.
"What do you want to do?" she asked, once they arrived at her door.
"A bowl of ice cream sounds good. I'm starved," he replied as he flopped
down in a corner of her couch..
"That's not what I meant, Mulder. I mean, *this*," she said, patting his
stomach. "What do you want to do about this?"
"Scully, tell me the truth. Is this really possible?" he asked
anxiously.
"Well, I admit it's definitely in the realm of . . .No, Mulder, it's not
possible. But it's happening. Can you remember anything of our
abduction?" she asked.
"Not a whole lot," he admitted. "I remember a mask over my face, like in
the hospital. When I woke up, we were in that field. I was a little sore
and I showed you that cut I got on my stomach. That's about it." He
scratched his head. "I don't know. How is it even possible?"
"I don't know. Maybe it was surgically implanted. It appears to be
growing in a sac that's being fed by the blood vessels of your
intestines. It's very, very complex. I'm still trying to figure out how
they managed to get your body to produce the proper hormones. Synthetic
hormone therapy usually takes longer than a couple of days. When we came
back from Norway, it took close to a week for you to respond to it. . ."
She stood up and absently got him a bowl of ice cream from the kitchen
and watched as he dug in.
"Mulder, I'm going to ask you again. What do you want to do about this?"
"I'm not sure what you mean, Scully," he said between spoonfuls of ice
cream.
"You don't have to go through this," she said quietly.
"But if it's surgically implanted and if they made sure that I'm
producing the hormones, what would happen if I decided I *didn't* want
to go through with it?" he asked. By the look on her face, he saw that
it was indeed a very good question.
"Do you mean, could it be dangerous?" she asked. He nodded. "I don't
really know, but I'm afraid it could be very dangerous. Even so,
carrying it to term might be just as dangerous. It's just too close to
call which might be worse."
He sat there, at her table, considering his options. This was
unbelievable. But it was happening. He had been experimented on, and he
raged inwardly at that. But if it were possible. . .the result would be
mindboggling. Then, he remembered the ultrasound. That tiny little
being, floating in a little sac. . .
"What if it's alien?" he asked, suddenly fearful. Relief flooded him as
she shook her head.
"No, Mulder, there is no indication of that. It's human. Just like you
or me. It's just growing in the wrong place, so to speak. Or if not the
wrong place, at least a highly unlikely place. . ." she let her voice
trail off.
"So I was implanted with an embryo that was, what, a "test tube" baby?"
he asked.
"Yeah, basically, that's what happened."
"So there's a woman out there who doesn't know she's about to be a. . .a
'father'?" he asked.
Scully was silent for a moment. Then, abruptly, she burst out laughing.
"Now what is it, Scully?" he demanded.
She tried to regain her composure and not let him see what she was
thinking. "I'm sorry, Mulder, I can't help it. This is all so. . ."
"Impossible?" he asked. She nodded, glad he was leaving it at that.
"But it sounds exactly like something that would happen to me, Scully,"
he said with a sigh of resignation to his fate.
"Look, you still look beat. Go and lie down on my bed for a while and
I'll wait for Pendrell's fax. Maybe we'll know more when we see the rest
of the lab results."
"OK, in a minute," he said, going out into the kitchen with his bowl. He
filled it with more ice cream and then started to rummage through the
refrigerator.
"Mulder, what are you looking for?" she asked, as he proceeded to take
out all of her condiments and line them up on the countertop.
"I don't know, Scully, but suddenly pickles sound real good right now,"
he said with a lop sided grin.
Fortunately the cushion she threw just missed his head.
End part two.
From fbi_basement@hiley.demon.co.uk Tue Dec 24 10:04:48 1996
See part one for disclaimers.
Inherently Given.
by Vickie Moseley and Michelle Hiley.
vmoseley@fgi.net, fbi_basement@hiley.demon.co.uk
Part Three. Facing The Music.
Scully's bedroom.
December 4th 1996.
3pm.
There was a gentle tapping at the door.
"Come in."
Scully entered, a sheaf of papers in her hands. "Hey. How are you
feeling?"
Mulder grimaced and sat up a little. "Pretty bad. Still sick."
"How about..how about emotionally?" She sat on the edge of his bed, not
looking at him.
"Shocked. I mean Jesus, Dana, I'm still having trouble believing this."
That brought a smile. "You? I thought you wanted to believe."
"I wasn't expecting this, though." Despite it all he grinned. He hadn't
got any more used to this yet but... Then he noticed something. Dana
wasn't looking at him. She sat, head down, nervously playing with the
sheet.
"Dana?"
She looked up at him, and smiled again, but he could see the worry in
her eyes. And something else....anticipation. She had something to tell
him, and she wasn't sure how he'd like it.
"What's up, Doc?"
"Mulder..." she groaned.
"What *is* up?" he asked more seriously this time. "Is there something
wrong with the baby? Or is it me?"
"No." She hastened to reassure him. "You both seem to be doing fine."
"Seem to?"
"Mulder, this is a rather unique case, you'll have to agree. Seem to is
the best I can do, OK?"
"OK. So then what is it?"
She stopped looking at him again. This wasn't good. Finally, just as he
was about to tilt her face up, she spoke.
"Mulder, you remember I said this baby was human?"
"Yes. Isn't it?"
"Yes! Quite human. But, as you said, that had to have meant human
parents. Two of them."
He said nothing, and after a minute she continued.
"I did some genetic tests. I...I had my suspicions. I figured they had
to have taken an egg from a woman, fertilised it, probably with your
sperm, and implanted it into you."
"And what did you find, Dr Scully?" His voice was gentle. She looked at
him then.
"I used some common sense. They probably used your sperm, it would
explain the sample you remember taken during our abduction. The tests
proved it, the baby is genetically yours. And my other suspicions were
confirmed as well. They...they took a sample from me too, Mulder. Just
enough."
She dropped her eyes, and Mulder saw tears begin to form. He put his
hand to her cheek, raising her face to his again.
"Are you saying I'm carrying *your* child, Scully?"
She nodded.
"This is a bad thing?"
"I..." the tears began to fall faster. "No..I'm happy about it in a way,
but..."
"But....?"
"Oh Mulder, I'm so sorry. I know this will ruin our friendship." She was
sobbing and Mulder let her continue. "I always hoped one day..but to
have it forced like this, and on you..."
Mulder awkwardly pulled himself up and took her into his arms. God, she
felt good. She felt right. He stroked her hair as she cried against his
chest. Dana's baby. He was carrying a little Scully, a small part of
her. Suddenly Mulder felt like he wanted to cry the news from the
rooftops. The most wonderful woman in the world, and he was having her
child.
Eventually the sobbing subsided, and Scully, a little embarrassed, blew
her nose on the tissue Mulder proffered and pulled away.
"I'm sorry."
"That's OK. Dana...is the idea of this baby really so repellent to you?
Do you really feel unready for parenthood? Or is it that you just didn't
want to have children with me?"
Scully looked at him. He looked gorgeous, with his hair flopping over
his face. But he looked worried. And she knew she didn't ever want to
be with anyone but him.
"Mulder...I'm happy about it. I wanted it to be mine. When I was running
the tests, I was praying for it. But when it was...I was just afraid of
how you'd feel. I thought you might blame me for getting you pregnant,
might resent me, might not want a child with me."
Mulder wrapped his arms around her again, lying back in an embrace.
"Dana, there's nobody I'd rather have children with than you."
She looked up at him, tentatively raising her head as his lips met hers
lovingly.
End part three.
From fbi_basement@hiley.demon.co.uk Tue Dec 24 10:05:40 1996
See part one for disclaimers.
Inherently Given.
by Michelle Hiley and Vickie Moseley.
fbi_basement@hiley.demon.co.uk, vmoseley@fgi.net
Part Four. Mom, We Have Something To Tell You.
Scully's bedroom.
December 4th 1996.
3:10 pm.
The kiss lasted a nice long time. When it was over, they both looked at
each other and Dana started laughing.
"What's so funny?" Mulder asked, a little concerned. Could she be
laughing at his kiss?!
"I was just thinking that I always assumed we'd have sex *before* we
conceived, Mulder," she laughed again. "I mean, talk about putting the
cart before the horse!"
He chuckled. "Yeah, this sure puts a whole new twist on the phrase 'safe
sex'," he nodded. "But I want you to know that I'm a nineties kind of
guy, Scully. I don't mind if you're more experienced than I am," he
added with a wicked smile. She gave him her best 'Look' and gently
punched him in the arm.
"Hey, watch it! I'm in a delicate condition, here," he said with a grin.
"Mulder, the last time you were delicate you were still in your
mother's. . .Oh No!" She stopped short and sat up on the bed. "Oh No
Mulder!"
"You've said that twice now, Scully," Mulder said pointedly. "What's the
problem?"
She turned so that she could look directly at him, and the horror on her
face froze his heart. She was frightening him now.
"Scully, Dana, you are really scaring the hell out of me. What is
wrong?" he asked anxiously.
"Mothers, Mulder! What are we going to tell our mothers?!? I mean, it
would be hard enough to tell them that *I* was pregnant, but *this*?
What are we going to say? How is *your* mom going to take this? I mean,
Mulder, she's been through so much. And if she thought you had been
abducted, Mulder, think about it. This could be too much for her." She
was looking very concerned and for the briefest second, he was reminded
of exactly what a gentle person she was and how much he truly did love
her.
"Well, maybe we shouldn't tell my mom. I mean, not right away. I almost
never go up there, she has never come down here. We communicate over the
phone and we do that pretty infrequently. I don't think she would notice
as long as I remember to call her on Sam's birthday, and send a card on
Mother's Day. Hey, by the way, do *I* get a 'Mother's Day present' this
year?"
"Not this year, maybe next," she teased. "But you are changing the
subject. That might work with your mom, but we see my mother all the
time. If you just up and disappeared for eight months, she would be very
worried. Besides, I couldn't lie to her, Mulder. She would know it the
moment I opened my mouth." Dana chewed on her lip. "So, Oxford
psychologist, got any brilliant ideas?"
Mulder laid on the bed and considered the options. Finally, he pushed
himself up on his elbows and shrugged. "Well, I refuse to lie to your
mother. I have never lied to her and I won't start now. So that leaves
us only one option: we tell her the truth. But first," he paused, "we
have to tell Skinner...."
*****
Margaret Scully's country home.
December 10th 1996.
12:10 pm.
Margaret hurried to the door, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel. She
peeked out the curtained window and broke into a brilliant smile.
Opening the door she immediately reached out to hug her daughter and her
partner.
"Hello, hello," she greeted them merrily. "What time did you leave the
city? You had to have driven pretty fast if you left after you called,"
she said pointedly.
"Actually, Mom, I called from my cell phone. We were on our way up to
New Hampshire, and thought it would be nice to stop by," Dana said, as
she took Mulder's coat and hung it with hers on the coat tree. "Mulder,
take Clyde out to the backyard. He can terrorize the squirrels while we
talk." Mulder nodded and led the little Pomeranian out through the
kitchen. Dana caught her mother's knowing look. "I know, I know. It's
the last thing I need, but darn it, Mom, I just got so attached to
Queequeg. Mulder helped pick this one out. He's housebroken and
everything," she added, as if that would make or break the arrangement.
Maggie regarded her daughter with an upraised eyebrow for a moment, then
softened. "Well, I'm glad you did. You need something to baby, Dana.
You've always been such a Mother Hen. Now I have soup on and I made some
chicken salad sandwiches. . ." Maggie's voice trailed off when she saw
the concerned look on Dana's face and noticed that Fox, who was coming
back through the hallway, was turning slightly green.
"Maybe just the soup," he muttered. Dana steered him into the living
room and sat him down on the couch. She asked him something and he waved
her off with a weak smile. None of this was lost on Maggie.
"Dana," Maggie said, her voice betraying her concern. "Is Fox all
right?"
Dana looked up at her mother. "Yeah, Mom. It's just that certain foods
have been, well, not sitting well with Mulder these days," she
explained. Maggie didn't look at all convinced. She stood looking down
at the two agents and the beginnings of concern were flowering into full
blown anxiety.
"You *would* tell me if anything were truly wrong, wouldn't you?" she
accused.
"We better tell her now, Dana. Waiting won't make it any easier," Mulder
said softly. "Mrs. Scully, I think you should sit down."
Maggie obeyed, her fists clenched in her lap. Mulder looked at Dana and
he nodded his approval and encouragement. She began.
"Mom, I'm going to tell you something that I think you will find rather
unbelievable. You know that Mulder and I are very close."
Maggie smiled. OK, this wasn't so bad. "Yes, dear, I've known that for a
very long time," she said, giving Mulder a knowing look.
"Well, Mom, as you know, sometimes when two people care about each
other. . .oh, this isn't working," she wailed and looked at her partner
in dismay.
"Mrs. Scully, what Dana is trying to tell you is that we are, uh, we're
having, we're going to have a baby," Mulder blurted. Suddenly Maggie's
face took on a totally different appearance. It was not displeasure, it
was simply the look of a mother who had just found out that her daughter
was using birth control. Or maybe *hadn't* used birth control. . .
"Oh!" Maggie struggled to ensure she didn't look shocked. This was a
different generation she reminded herself. Even so, she was hoping this
announcement would have wedding bells attached.
"Mom, it's not what you think," Dana started.
Maggie looked very confused. "Then you aren't pregnant?" she asked,
looking at her daughter. Mulder started fidgeting in his seat.
"No, Mom, *I'm* not pregnant," Dana said kindly. "But we are expecting."
She stopped and let that statement sink in.
"I don't understand. . ." Maggie said, struggling with the statement her
daughter had just made.
"Gee, I think that's what I said," Mulder muttered to no one in
particular. Dana was clenching and unclenching her fists and it was
obvious that she didn't know exactly how to proceed. Mulder took over.
"Mrs Scully. What I am going to tell you is going to seem fantastic. No,
that's not even true. It's unbelievable. But it's true, every word."
Then, very gently, using every trick he had learned in the Bureau and
all the psych classes he had ever taken, he told her about the
abduction, what they remembered of the experiments, and finally, of the
consequences of those experiments. When he was finished, Maggie was
pale and visibly shaken, but otherwise, appeared calm.
"And you are all right?" she asked, looking at Mulder and then to her
daughter for confirmation of his nod. "And the baby. . ."
"Seems to be fine, Mom. We are going to be monitoring this very closely,
of course. The baby is ours, Mom. Mine and Mulder's. It was done
in-vitro, we guess. I ran all the tests myself. And they seem to have
taken care of every contingency, I mean, as far as we can tell, there
won't be any problems. Of course, we'll be taking the baby by
Caesarean. . ."
"Well, I had all four of you that way," Maggie commented, and then took
a deep breath when she realized what they were talking about.
"Want to give me some hints as to what I'm in for?" Mulder asked, taking
her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. It was enough to break the
tension and Maggie laughed.
"Of course, Fox. What kind of grandmother would I be if I didn't hand
out free advice?" she said lightly. "Then you are keeping the baby?" she
asked, and was doubly relieved to see both heads nod in unison. She
smiled at Mulder, and the affection in her eyes was all that he could
have hoped to find. "But I don't think you are going to be having this
baby at Georgetown Uni Hospital, am I right?"
"No Mom, that's the bad part. We have to go away for a while. I mean, it
would just be too hard to explain, and there are still some people who
might want to. . .well, make this headline news, you know. But we'll try
to call often and let you know how we're doing. And I'm sure we can
sneak you up for some visits," Dana smiled.
They had a pleasant lunch, talking about babies and raising them.
Finally, Dana and Fox had to leave. Maggie walked them to the door and
gave them both a hug.
"Well, take care of her," she said to Fox. "And you," she said to Dana
pointedly, "take care of Fox and my grandchild."
Mulder walked Clyde on out to the car and left Dana a moment with her
mother. "Are you sure you're OK with this, Mom?" she asked, searching
her mother's face for any sign of indecision. Maggie bit back a comment
on wedding plans. She had a feeling that would come in time.
"I'm fine with it, sweetheart. Just promise me one thing," she asked,
waiting for her daughter to nod. "When you have any more children, make
sure they come into the world in the *normal* way," she said, and Dana
gave her a hug.
Mrs Scully started to laugh.
"Mom? What's so funny?"
Margaret struggled for composure. "Oh Dana, I'm sorry. It's just..."
"What?"
"Well, I always knew there was a possibility that one day one of my kids
would come and tell me they'd got someone into trouble. I just figured
it would be Bill Junior or Charles...."
End part four.
From fbi_basement@hiley.demon.co.uk Tue Dec 24 10:06:23 1996
See part one for disclaimers.
Inherently Given.
by Vickie Moseley and Michelle Hiley.
vmoseley@fgi.net, fbi_basement@hiley.demon.co.uk
Part Five: Oh What a Tangled Web.
The road to New Hampshire.
December 11th 1996.
Noon.
The drive to New Hampshire was pleasant, the winter sun warming the car,
even though the air outside was crisp. They had spent the night in a
motel in Connecticut, and soon they'd be pulling off the interstate.
Scully smiled as she looked over at her partner, who had fallen asleep
about five minutes into the ride. <He looks like a little boy,> she
noted, and not for the first time. <I wonder if the baby will look like
him?> One thing was for certain, she hoped the baby inherited his eyes.
Her partner's eyes were the most endearing feature he owned.
Slowly, those eyes fluttered open and focused on her. "Trying to turn me
into a pumpkin?" he asked lazily, as he stretched his arms and yawned.
"You're doing a fairly good imitation without my help. You've been
asleep for hours," she said with a laugh. "Feeling better?"
"Yeah. Who would have thought that your mom's chicken salad would affect
me like that yesterday? Scully, I've thrown up more in the last week and
a half, than in my entire adult life," he said woefully. "I'm afraid to
watch TV, the commercials send me straight to the bathroom."
She nodded in sympathy. "At least you managed that toast the motel gave
us for breakfast. When we get settled into the safe house, Skinner has
arranged for you to be seen by an OB." She held her hand up to stave off
his protests. "Mulder, listen to me. I'm a pathologist, not an
obstetrician. I delivered one, count 'em, ONE, baby during my
residency." She held up her index finger to illustrate her point. "I am
not in any way qualified to do this."
"But Scully," he protested, "I don't *trust* anybody else!"
"I know that. I know that. And I will be working with this doctor, Dr.
Marc Robert. He's a researcher now, but he had a thriving practice until
a couple of years ago. He's an older gentleman, he's experienced. I
talked to him on the phone yesterday afternoon and I think you'll get
along. He's an avid Douglas Adams fan," she offered, hoping it would
lighten his mood.
"Great. Our baby's going to be delivered by an 'Arthur Dent' wannabe,"
he groused.
"Mulder," she said seriously. "You should know by now that I would
*never* do anything that would endanger you. And that goes the same for
this baby. Believe me, we will need Dr. Robert's help here. I'm very
concerned about your health. I want to make sure all of this turns out
all right." <I have no intention of losing a partner to childbirth,
regardless of what you want, Mulder,> she thought.
He glanced sideways at her plaintively, and was relieved to see her
smile in response. His mood lifted. The sunshine was doing a lot to
relieve the nausea that had greeted him when he woke up that morning.
"Where are we?"
"Not too far now. We need to turn off the interstate soon."
Mulder yawned lazily again, and looked over at his partner. "I *could*
drive for a while you know. If you get tired," he said, hoping that it
didn't sound as if he was questioning her driving skills. One
particularly harrowing ride to the airport, after a equally harrowing
case in Comity, played before his eidetic memory in glorious
technicolor. <Not gonna make that mistake again, buddy boy,> he assured
himself. <And I'm sure not gonna say a thing about her shoe size!> He
happened to like this little red car his partner had purchased. He sure
didn't want to see it wrapped around a tree, after his partner had lost
control on a tricky curve trying to sock him in the arm.
"Nah, Mulder. I don't think it's a good idea to allow someone to drive
who has the tendency to toss his cookies at a moment's notice. Just sit
back and enjoy the ride. Only a few more miles and we'll stop for a
bite to eat." She glanced over and noticed his tanned face growing a
touch pale at the mention of food. <Not again,> she moaned inwardly.
"Hey, Mulder, why don't you finish up some of that paperwork Skinner
handed you on the way out the door?" she suggested, more to get his mind
off his stomach than for any other reason.
"Sure, Scully. You just want me to do all the work," he shot back at her
with a grin. He knew that she was trying to keep his mind off 'other
things' and it warmed his heart that she was that concerned for him. He
twisted in his seat and managed to snag the handle of his briefcase,
then pulled it into the front seat. After a moment, he was rummaging
through a stack of paper.
A burst of laughter caught Scully by surprise. She looked over,
wondering if the stress might have caused him to 'flake out on her' at
long last. Mulder was reading a form, but just barely. He was laughing
so hard, his hands were shaking and he kept having to wipe tears from
his eyes to see the paper.
"OK, Mulder, what gives? Are you all right?" she asked, the concern deep
in her voice. She knew he got like this, usually when the stress of a
case became too much or when he'd had no sleep in an extended period of
time.
"Well, one of the forms Skinner expects us to fill out is a 'Request for
Maternity Leave'. Now, I guess I could do the honors, but that's gonna
tip our hand a bit, if you know what I mean. I don't know why he thought
to include it. This must be getting to him, too, I guess." He finally
got control of his breathing and sighed.
Dana chewed on her lip. "We need to fill that out, Mulder," she said
evenly.
"You're joking, right?" he asked, not ready to believe she was serious.
"No, I'm not, Mulder. Think about it. We're leaving town. In about ten
months we are going to come back to DC - with a child in our arms. Now,
it won't take a rocket scientist to figure out what happened. But if we
intend to allow our child a normal life, we had better 'dot all the i's,
and cross all the t's', and that means filling out that form. Besides,
without proper documentation, I won't be able to claim the baby on my
insurance," she concluded.
"Insurance?" he cried. "Shit, I never even thought about that."
She smiled at him patiently. "I know, Mulder. You *never* think about
it. It's a darn good thing that I do. You never did fill out a single
form when I brought you back from Alaska. And do you think that little
stay at Bethesda Naval Hospital after our trip to Norway was at the
beneficence of our beloved 'Uncle Sam'? The paperwork was enough to
wipe out half of the rainforests in the Pacific Northwest. So we'll fill
that form out as if it was *me* that was taking the leave, which I am, I
guess," she smiled, and winked at him.
"So what kind of leave am *I* taking?" he asked, getting confused
already.
Dana thought for a while. "What other forms are in there?"
"A couple of generic medical leave forms," he returned.
"OK, we'll use those. Let's fill mine out first, though," she said as
she pulled off the interstate and on to a smaller, two-lane highway.
They would travel that to the small county road that would take them
directly to the safe house. "Just ask me the questions, I'll tell you
what to write."
He shrugged and fished a pencil out of his briefcase, then pulled his
glasses out and settled into the seat. "All righty then, first question:
Name?"
She glared at him.
"Dana 'Starbuck' Scully," he said slowly, and she almost hit him in the
arm when she caught the twinkle in his eyes. "Sorry, Scully. I always
liked your nickname," he chuckled. "Next question: Division - I can
answer that one," he smiled, and wrote with a flourish. "Supervisor, got
that one. Address, that's a easy one. Geez Scully, I don't need you to
help at all on this form. I could fill this one out in my sleep." He
continued rattling off the inane questions, and not even waiting for her
reply, until he stopped and gulped.
Dana had all but tuned him out by this time, glancing at the map to
make sure she didn't miss any turns in the road. Mulder looked over and
gulped again.
"Scully, ah, when was your last, er, when was the last time you, ah,
oh shit," he sighed. No getting around it. <This is way too much
information,> he decided. They were closer than any two people could be
but this was one thing that he *really* didn't want to know about her.
Absently, Dana noticed his discomfort. "What, Mulder?" she asked, not
taking her eyes off the road.
He closed his own eyes and took a deep breath. "When was your last
menstrual cycle?" he asked in a whisper.
The car slammed to a stop.
Complete silence reigned for a few incredibly long moments. Finally
Mulder dared to open his eyes. Scully was sitting watching him, almost
doubled up with laughter.
"What?" he asked, aggrieved.
"Do you have any idea how embarrassed you look?"
"Well I..." Mulder found himself blushing. Scully made an effort and got
her face straight again.
"About a month ago actually. I'm due in about three days. I must
remember to get some...." she trailed away at the look of anguish on her
partner's face. "Mulder, it's a perfectly normal process."
"I know, it's just..." Mulder didn't dare to look at his partner.
"I think I better fill that one out," Scully said, taking pity on him.
"Great idea." Mulder was quick to agree. "Mine should be fairly safe to
fill out," he assured her, and pulled one of the other forms out of the
pile on his lap as she started the car up again.
He was quiet again. Too quiet, in her opinion. "Mulder, what is it now?"
He started giggling and she couldn't help but wonder if it didn't sound
just a little hysterical.
"It asks me for the 'nature of my complaint'," he explained. "And I want
to put down 'I was abducted by Men In Black and I'm getting damned tired
of it!' but it won't fit in the space provided," he said with a wicked
grin.
"Maybe I better fill those out too," she said grinning.
"Works for me," he replied tossing the forms into the backseat. They
fell into a companionable silence that lasted the rest of the ride.
End part five.
From fbi_basement@hiley.demon.co.uk Tue Dec 24 10:07:17 1996
See part one for disclaimers.
Inherently Given.
by Michelle Hiley and Vickie Moseley.
fbi_basement@hiley.demon.co.uk, vmoseley@fgi.net
Part Six. But What's It Going To Do To My Figure?
The safe house.
December 11th 1996.
2.30 pm.
The safe house turned out to be a pretty two story house, with four
bedrooms and a large backyard. A rose garden, in winter hibernation,
lay just behind the yard, and amongst the roses two stone benches stood
next to a birdbath fountain. Skinner had clearly chosen well, for a high
fence surrounding the property served to keep out prying eyes. In
Scully's mind it was idyllic.
"Mulder, isn't it wonderful?" she sighed as she looked out onto the
garden from the kitchen window above the sink.
"Yeah, I guess," he muttered, absently. "I'll take one of the front
bedrooms, you can have the room with a view," he said, and he walked
into the hallway with his duffle slung over his shoulder.
"Talk to me, Mulder," Scully whispered under her breath. She knew he was
working through a lot of things right now, and that most of it he would
have to do on his own. But she couldn't help but hope he would come to
her, if he needed someone to listen.
Fox Mulder walked into his room and tossed his duffle bag on the bed. He
sat down next to it, giving the bed a 'test bounce.' Comfortable. Not
that he slept well at the best of times. With a sigh he started
unpacking, putting the clothes in the empty dresser that stood opposite
the bed. Most of his clothes were sweats and other loose clothes, Scully
had advised him to leave most of his dress suits at home. He had
reluctantly agreed when she reminded him the slight 'spare tire'
that was beginning to form around his middle was only going to increase
as the baby grew.
He pulled out his bathrobe and glanced around the room, looking for a
hook to hang it on. He opened the closet door and discovered not a hook,
but a full length mirror hanging from the back of the closet door.
"This is not happening," he told his reflection. "Men do not have
babies. It is an abomination in the strictest sense of the word. It's
too cheesy for even an 'Ed Wood' creation! It's a bad dream, probably
from a high fever. I'm gonna wake up in a couple of hours, with Scully
holding my hand and a nurse named Attila trying to jab a needle the size
of a number two pencil into my ass." He was disappointed when his
reflection refused to agree with him. Reaching past the mirror to the
back of the closet, he found the needed hook and draped his bathrobe on
it. Then he dropped himself down on the bed, and with his hands behind
his head stared at the ceiling.
He was still there, an hour later, when Scully knocked lightly on the
door. "Mulder, you awake?" she asked. She entered at his grunted reply.
"Hey, we skipped lunch you know. Do you want something to eat?"
He didn't bother to look at her. "Yuck," he answered.
Scully sighed and sat down next to him on the bed.
"Mulder, I know you feel pretty icky right now, but you really need to
eat. Or at least have some juice. I don't want you to get dehydrated.
And you sure don't want to have an IV," she warned gently. He said
nothing, but pulled the pillow out from under his head and covered his
face with it.
"Mulder, are you having second thoughts?" she asked softly.
Slowly, he uncovered his face and looked at her. "Not second thoughts,
Scully. Maybe *first* thoughts."
She nodded. "I'm here to listen," she said.
He regarded her for a moment. "I feel awful. Is that normal?" he asked.
She could hear the barely concealed fear in that question.
"Well, we don't have a lot of past experience to draw from, Mulder. But
from what I've picked up on the street, yeah, that's normal," She
reached over and rubbed his stomach. "It's pretty sore, huh?"
"It was pretty sore a week ago, Scully. 'Ripped apart' is a more
appropriate description. And look," He raised his left foot off the bed
for her inspection. "Check out those ankles. Are they supposed to be
that swollen?"
"You were sitting in the car too long. You need to keep your feet
elevated, like you would if you had a sprain or a broken bone. Keeps the
swelling down."
He rolled over on his side and propped his head on his hand. "Do you
want kids, Scully? I mean, our present circumstances notwithstanding, do
you ever dream of having kids?"
Scully smiled. "I guess everyone thinks about it, Mulder. And I always
had baby dolls, you know, when I was little. I kept them right next to
my BB gun," she added with a wicked grin.
"Well Scully, I've never thought about it. It was the furthest thing
from my mind. Even with Phoebe, I never considered what we were doing
to be procreation. It was sex." He picked absently at the bedspread.
"Just sex. Plain and simple, no strings, no consequences." He was silent
again for a moment. "I mean, if she had come to me and said she was
pregnant, I would have married her on the spot. But I never *thought*
about it."
"Mulder, you were a college student," she said, with a hint of amused
exasperation. "None of us thought of the consequences in college. It's
hormonal or something," she joked. "What are you thinking now?"
"Well, aside from being scared shitless at the whole process, I'm scared
at the results." He rolled over onto his back, and stared at the ceiling
again. "I'm not exactly 'father' material, Scully. I'm moody, I have
terrible habits and I'm frequently self-centered. I have trouble keeping
fish alive!" he cried, and looked over at her with a faint smile. "Feel
free to defend me at any point here, Scully."
The fact that he was joking relieved her greatly. She smiled back at
him. "I'm waiting for you to get to the part I disagree with," she
countered. His smile broadened. "But seriously Mulder, if we had minimum
standards for parenthood, the human race would have become extinct eons
ago. I remember Ahab used to tell the boys, Fatherhood is a job. You
aren't born into it, you *grow* into it. And I have complete confidence
that you will grow into this. If you really want to. Do you still want
to?"
He lay on the bed, still staring at the ceiling. She patted his leg.
"Think about it. But if you want my honest opinion, what you are feeling
is the most natural thing in the world. And it only proves to me that
you will make a wonderful father. I can't think of anyone else I would
rather have to be the father, or even the 'mother' of my child." Then
she got up and left him to his thoughts.
Mulder thought about what Scully had said. "Well, she got the '*grow*
into the job' part right," he muttered to himself. "From all
indications, I'm gonna be 'Dumbo' in about six months!"
Downstairs, Scully had started a fire in the hearth and put a pot of
chicken rice soup on the stove. The sun was setting over the trees in
the front of the house, and from the clouds building up in the west it
looked like it was going to snow. She snuggled under a comforter, and
flipped through the medical journal she had packed, but her thoughts
were with her partner. She knew he was hurting. He was plagued with
doubts on so many levels. Even she was beginning to have second
thoughts. He needed to be firm in his commitment to this 'endeavor'. The
next seven months were going to be hard on him, both emotionally and
physically, and she didn't want him to go into it half-hearted.
"You know, whatever that is, it actually smells kind of good," he said
behind her.
"Chicken rice soup. Great for upset stomachs. Want me to spoon you out a
bowl?" she asked, starting to get up.
"Nah, I'll get it. You don't need to wait on me hand and foot, you know.
I'm not bedridden," he added. <But I might end up that way by the end of
this,> he thought.
He went into the kitchen, and returned with two steaming mugs. She
threw the comforter aside and made room for him on the couch, flashing
him a thank you smile as she accepted the soup. They ate in
companionable silence.
"So, do I call Dr. Robert tomorrow?" she asked, searching his face for
any indication of emotional upheaval.
He sipped his soup for a moment before answering. "Yeah, I guess you
better. If I'm going to do this, I'm doing it right."
She reached over and squeezed his hand. He covered it with his other
hand and squeezed back.
End part six.
From fbi_basement@hiley.demon.co.uk Tue Dec 24 10:08:26 1996
See part one for disclaimers.
Inherently Given.
by Vickie Moseley and Michelle Hiley.
vmoseley@fgi.net, fbi_basement@hiley.demon.co.uk
Part Seven. Enter The Gunmen.
The Lone Gunmen's office.
December 19th 1996.
11:21 am.
"So.....Mulder, what are you up to?" The bearded man held up some
photographs to the light. They showed Mulder sitting in the garden of a
house in New Hampshire. Subsequent shots had Scully joining him.
The blond man peered over his shoulder. "Not bad. You did pretty good
Byers, finding them that fast. Huh Frohike?"
Frohike grunted, his mind sifting through a pile of documents on the
table.
"What have you got?" Langly wandered over.
"I tapped the phone, arranged for copies of receipts, watched what they
did, where they went. With Byers' photographs, and your digging into
that business two months ago, I thought we'd have figured out why they'd
gone by now. Didn't you come up with anything on their abduction?"
Langly sighed. "Squat. Mulder told us what he could recall."
"What he said he could recall," interjected Byers.
Frohike looked offended. "What, we can't trust Mulder now?"
"We can't trust anyone. Hey, Mulder ran off to New Hampshire without
telling us. I trust him as much as I trust anyone, but there's something
going down."
"I wouldn't mind as much if he hadn't taken that pretty partner of his
away with him," grumbled Frohike. "You reckon they're doing it?"
Langly ignored the question. "Byers, pass me that photo again. I'm
going to enlarge it." He and Byers began working on the photos, not
noticing that Frohike had gone back to his receipts and notes, until
abruptly the small man spoke.
"Guys...this is weird."
Langly and Byers joined him. "What did you get?"
"This doesn't make sense." He pushed a receipt at them. "They get most
of their goods delivered or collected for them. This is what they bought
from the drugstore recently."
The others looked at it. "What's Natalins?" asked Langly.
Frohike looked at him meaningfully. "They're prenatal vitamins."
"So Scully is pregnant?"
Byers chortled. "Ten to one it's Mulder's! But why hide?"
Langly was grinning too. "Maybe they're scared of her Mom coming after
Mulder with a gun."
"I haven't finished." Frohike cleared his throat. "Look what else she
ordered."
They looked. "Sanitary napkins? Tampons?" Langly frowned. "Why?"
Byers shrugged. "It's possible to still need them occasionally during
pregnancy. She might just be making sure she has some."
"And the rest? The condoms?"
They looked at each other. "Nothing like shutting the barn door after
the horse has bolted I guess."
Frohike sniffed. "There's something *very* odd going on here. And Mulder
clearly doesn't want us to know what. Which means," he grinned, "that we
want to find out......"
End part seven.
<Footnote: Sanitary napkins are the American name for what the British
call sanitary towels. We aren't sure how the rest of the world refers to
them, but they're the pads women use while menstruating. You know what
we mean.>
From fbi_basement@hiley.demon.co.uk Tue Dec 24 10:09:59 1996
See part one for disclaimers.
Inherently Given.
by Michelle Hiley and Vickie Moseley.
fbi_basement@hiley.demon.co.uk, vmoseley@fgi.net
Part Eight. Ghosts In The Corners.
A safe house in New Hampshire.
Christmas Eve 1996.
8:00 pm.
"Careful Mom."
"I'm fine dear." Margaret Scully fixed the piece of holly firmly to the
wall, and carefully stepped down from the chair she had stood on. Dana,
her arms full of paper chains, regarded the freshly decorated room.
"It looks great! Let's just string these across the hallway, and we're
almost done." She passed half her bundle to her mother. "Bring the chair
Mom, we'll need it."
A plaintive voice spoke up from the couch. "Can't I help?"
"No!" The two women rounded on him in unison.
"Mulder, don't you dare even think about it!"
Mulder pouted. Margaret ruffled his hair. "Fox dear, you know you
mustn't exert yourself. Not...not.."
"In my condition?" Fox sighed. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to
just lie here and watch you two doing all the work? Having all the fun?"
Both women gaped, and suddenly to his surprise both were hugging him.
Very gently. <They think I'll break.>
"Hey, if I'd known I'd get this reaction, I would have complained
before." He smiled.
Dana gently squeezed his shoulder. "You just looked so...so forlorn
when you said that."
"I didn't really mean to. I just wanted to have done something to help."
Margaret let go of him, and fished around for the decorations box. "Then
you can. The tree isn't finished yet. Go and sit by it, and finish it.
Dana and I will do the hall."
Mulder happily seated himself by the tree as the Scully women walked
into the hall of the safe house. Once they were out of earshot, Margaret
turned to her daughter.
"How is he doing?"
"He seems fine. The baby's growing, he's gaining a little weight. The
sickness is still there, but that's normal. He's still only a little
over two months gone." <Incredible,> thought Dana. <It's only been a few
weeks since we found out. Since then we've had to explain it to my
mother, explain it to Skinner, and now here we are hiding in New
Hampshire until my partner gives birth to my baby.>
"I meant emotionally. How is he?"
"Oh. He seems OK. He had a hard time dealing with it at first..I mean
the shock..."
"I can quite understand that," her mother replied dryly, passing up the
chains as Dana climbed onto the chair and began fixing them.
"I guess it was a shock to us all. But he seems to be coping. He's
nervous, he isn't sure what to expect. Trouble is, neither am I."
"And how are you coping?"
"Me?"
"You. You're going to become a mother for the first time, Dana. Your
partner is having your child next summer. How are you feeling?"
Dana got slowly off the chair and looked at her mother. Abruptly, to
Margaret's surprise, she burst into tears. <Should have seen that
coming.>
"I'm scared, Mom."
"Scared?" Margaret rocked her daughter back and forth, hoping Fox didn't
hear. Obviously the same thought occurred to Dana, because she lowered
her voice, and wiped her eyes, choking back the tears.
"I'm sorry Mom. All I ever seem to do these days is lose control." She
managed a wan smile. "It's supposed to be Mulder who's moody."
"It's OK, Dana. You're under a lot of stress. Now, why are you scared?
Is it the thought of being a parent? Or are you worried about Fox?"
Dana lowered her voice so much, Margaret had to strain to hear her. "I'm
frightened, Mom. What if something goes wrong? What if,.." she started
to cry again, "what if I lose him, Mom?"
Margaret stroked Dana's hair. "Sweetheart, you're a doctor. You know
how many babies are born each year. It's not like it used to be, not
with modern medicine. I had four children, and I was just fine."
"It's not the same. Mom, if it was me, I wouldn't be worried, but,
but.."
"But with Fox, you can't predict what will happen? Because he's a man?"
Dana nodded.
Margaret sighed. "Dana, whoever did this to Fox made sure that baby was
well provided for. I can't believe they mean for it, or Fox, to be
harmed by this. You said the pregnancy was progressing just fine. Is
there any reason to think Fox can't have this baby by Caesarean when the
time comes?" At her daughter's mute shake of the head she continued.
"Well then, you'll just have to trust things will work out. Trust me,
that's a healthy man in there. He's going to give you a beautiful baby,
and me a fine grandchild. Now dry your eyes, and let's finish this."
Dana, happier, obeyed. But before she could pick up the chains again,
Margaret felt her daughter's arms go around her.
"Mom, thank you for coming here, to spend Christmas with us."
Margaret turned and embraced Dana. "Where else would I go? I wanted to
be with you. Both your brothers are doing other things." This time it
was Margaret's turn to feel the tears beginning to threaten. "And now
Missy and your father are gone, I wanted to be with you."
Dana was silent a moment. "I miss them Mom. I'm glad you're here."
Margaret smiled. "There's something about Christmas Eve. I feel it a
little at New Year too, but especially Christmas Eve. The past has a way
of intruding on your thoughts. My mother used to refer to the ghosts in
the corners."
"Ghosts?"
"She didn't mean it literally," Margaret explained. "She meant that on
Christmas Eve...well there's something about it. It's a time for looking
back, as well as forward. Call it an atmosphere. I always feel that
Dickens understood, when he wrote 'A Christmas Carol'. I always feel the
dead are closer then, than any other time." She squeezed Dana's hand.
"The unborn too. Next year at this time, one of those 'ghosts' will be
lying in your arms, wanting its bottle. Then you'll remember this
Christmas as the last peaceful one you had."
Both women began to laugh, but were cut off short by a crash from the
living room.
"Mulder! The tree!"
The sight that met their eyes however was not the horrifying one they
feared. Mulder, clearly unharmed, was leaning against the wall shaking
with laughter. The tree was on the floor, and emerging from it, also
unhurt but with his dignity clearly shaken, was an indignant Pomeranian.
"He tried to steal one of the baubles," Mulder eventually managed to
explain. "It didn't come loose, so he pulled it."
"Oh, you poor little thing!" Margaret scooped the dog up into her arms,
petting him. Scully turned to her partner.
"That could have landed on you!"
"But it didn't, it fell the other way." Seeing her open her mouth he
held up his hand. "Scully, I'm fine. You can't wrap me in cotton wool
you know. If it had fallen this way.."
"You'd have been hurt!"
"I would have had time to get out of the way." He looked straight into
her eyes. "Don't worry about me so much, Dana. I can look after myself,
and our child."
Scully looked at him, and thought it over for longer than he had
expected. Reluctantly she nodded.
"All right. But you are not helping to pick the tree up."
He raised his hands in surrender. "OK. Pick it up. I want to finish
decorating it."
*****
Margaret turned in early, saying she wanted a good night's sleep. "It's
always a luxury, getting to bed early on Christmas Eve. So many years of
having to wait until children were asleep."
Mulder smiled. "And some more to come. Go to bed early this year, while
you can."
She put her arms around him. "Thank you both, for this baby. It's a
marvellous Christmas present for me." She briefly hugged her daughter.
"I've put your presents under the tree, wrapped in dog proof wrapping."
She gave the unrepentant looking dog a stern look. "Yours too, although
you don't deserve them, frightening us like that!"
Dana smiled. "We did the same with your presents. Good night Mom. Merry
Christmas."
Left alone together, Mulder got up and stirred the fire into life.
Scully opened her mouth to stop him, then closed it again. <He's not
made of glass, Dana.> She sat on the couch, staring into the fire, not
noticing when Mulder returned to his seat beside her on the couch, and
picked up his book again. The mantle clock chimed eleven. Still
Christmas Eve.
What was it her mother had said? Christmas Eve was a time for looking
backwards, feeling the past pressing on you. She wondered if Mulder felt
his past tonight. If so, he was coping with it well. There had probably
been a lot of haunted Christmas Eves for him. Or was he looking forward?
To that unborn child he was carrying? The future..... And suddenly Dana
realised something. She was happy. In this past year she had been shot
at, abducted again for the purpose of helping them perform a dangerous
experiment on her partner, and was facing Christmas in hiding, while her
father and sister were dead. And all she could think about was that she
was with Mulder, and she loved him. She loved him. Unconditionally and
totally. And there was a child on the way that was their child, no
matter how it had been conceived, or would be born. At that moment Dana
knew what she wanted from life. All she had to do was ask for it, and
hope against hope that the answer was yes.
"Mulder?"
He looked up from his book. She was staring at him. "Yes?"
"Mulder...will you marry me?"
He just looked at her. <Did she just... my God, she just proposed. And
now she's looking at me. Oh right. She wants an answer. Well, that's not
too hard, you've been trying to think of a way to ask her after all.>
"Yes."
"Yes?"
"Yes. I will marry you, Dana Scully." He reached out and pulled her into
his arms, and for a while they held each other, kissing and gently
stroking.
"When do you want the wedding?"
"As soon as possible. Before you change your mind."
"Agreed. You might think better of your offer."
She hit him with a cushion. Laughing he reached for one to pound her
back, but stopped short at the look of consternation on her face.
"Dana?"
"Oh Mulder! I forgot you were pregnant! Are you OK?" Abruptly she found
herself pinned down on the couch by her wrists. Her new fiance's face
was thrust close to her own.
"Firstly," said Mulder in a mock growl, "I am pregnant. I am not an
invalid. I will not be treated like one, woman, or I will use my new
found status as your fiance to chastise you!"
Dana grinned. "Is that a promise?"
"Secondly," Mulder continued, ignoring the innuendo, "you may from time
to time call me Fox, instead of just Mulder. Otherwise when we're
married, it'll get confusing."
"What makes you think I'm taking your name?"
"You want me to be Mr Scully? That has a ring to it."
Dana smiled. "I rather like Mrs Mulder. I'll keep Scully for work."
"As you wish, milady." He let her go. "I've been wanting to ask you to
marry me."
"Oh! I'm sorry...did I upset you?"
"No!" he pulled her close. "I'm honoured you asked. I liked it. But we
have to get you a ring after Christmas."
"Let's get the wedding rings at the same time. If you want a ring?"
"Of course. I am pregnant. A ring on my finger will stop people
gossiping."
"It'll take more than a ring, Mulder...I mean Fox."
"You think?" He sighed theatrically. "People are so judgemental these
days. Still, think how happy our mothers will be that you did the decent
thing, and made an honest man out of me."
This time Dana threw the cushion. "How are we going to tell them?"
"We just tell them. Like I said, my Mom's away with friends this year.
I'll ring her in the morning. We can tell your Mom at breakfast." He
looked worried. "Think she'll approve?"
"She'll be ecstatic."
Abruptly, unexpectedly, Mulder started laughing.
"What?"
"Dana..do you realise something?" He looked more sober, and took her
hand, looking into her face. "Here we are, engaged and with a baby on
the way. And we've never even told each other 'I love you.' Never even
made love." He blushed.
She looked at him thoughtfully. "I love you, Fox."
"I love you, Dana."
"Then would you share my bed tonight?" She reached and brushed a stray
bit of dark hair from his forehead. "Only if you want to. It's a big
double bed though, and it's cold alone."
"What about your Mom?"
"Her bedroom's at the far side of the house." Suddenly Dana realised her
mother had deliberately picked the furthest room from Dana's own. "If
we're quiet, she won't hear us."
He kissed her. "Then the answer is yes again."
She got up, and extinguished the fire. Reaching down, she carefully drew
Mulder up off the couch. "Then let's go."
"Promise you won't be rough, considering my condition?"
She slipped her arms around him. "I promise."
As they went through the hall, Mulder reached for his coat and withdrew
something from an inner pocket.
"What's that?"
To her amazement he blushed. "I added these to our last order from the
drugstore. I was hoping....if I asked you..." He revealed a packet of
condoms.
Scully gaped, then began to laugh, as silently as she could for fear of
waking her mother. "You're quite right Mulder. Safe sex is a good idea."
"We could always say it was twins."
Laughing and clinging to each other, they climbed the stairs for their
first night together as Christmas began.
End part eight.
From fbi_basement@hiley.demon.co.uk Tue Dec 24 10:10:43 1996
See part one for disclaimers.
Inherently Given.
by Vickie Moseley and Michelle Hiley.
vmoseley@fgi.net, fbi_basement@hiley.demon.co.uk
Part Nine. Friends In High Places.
Heaven.
(Earthly time and date: 25th December 1996. 12:30 am EST.)
Bill Scully was chewing on his lip, regarding the scene below. He was
not a happy man. Christmas Night, and he had just decided to peep in on
his family, only to discover, to his shock, that his daughter was in bed
with Fox Mulder. They were asleep, but their mutual lack of clothing was
clear indication that sleep had not been their first priority this
evening. And now Bill didn't quite know what to think. He had no problem
with the young man his daughter was teamed up with as a work partner.
Not that he could have done anything about that anyway. But now, things
were changing, and he didn't know if Maggie was reading all the signs.
His Starbuck was headed for trouble, he was sure, and he couldn't just
stand by and watch any longer. He had to do something.
He found the man rather quickly, considering all the souls in heaven.
His 'target' was standing also looking down on the life and lives he had
left behind, lost in contemplation. Bill was a little shocked to see
that this man also was frowning. <What's *he* unhappy about? The little
twerp with his arms wrapped around Dana is getting the most precious
woman in the world!>, Ahab fumed. Glancing down he was reassured to see
that at least Dana was decently covered by the sheets. <Bad enough his
son's getting such a good look.> Then he noticed the man wasn't watching
the young couple at all, merely staring off into space, clearly as ill
at ease as Bill himself. He decided that he needed to talk to this
fellow soon, or else he might be forced to take action. <And the Big Guy
does frown on fist fights this side of the Pearly Gates.>
"William Mulder?" Ahab asked, approaching the man with his hand
outstretched. "I'm Captain Bill Scully. Dana's father." The other man,
Mulder, looked at Ahab's hand for a moment, then shook it. "Captain
Scully. I've been intending to look you up. I suppose you've seen what's
been happening?" William asked as his gaze wandered down to the Earth
below.
"Yes, I have been watching just now. Can't say I'm very pleased with the
current turn of events. Nothing against your son, but. . ."
"No, I'm concerned, too. This is not right. It's not normal. I can't
believe that Fox is going through with this," William said, almost in a
trance as he watched the scene below.
"Well, I wouldn't say it wasn't 'normal'," Ahab objected, confused. "I
mean, they have been through a lot. . ."
"But this baby thing," William said, shaking his head. "I can't believe
that old bastard would do that to him. I thought he was protecting him
all these years. Now this, this just. . ." He looked like his heart was
breaking.
"Baby thing?" Ahab asked, suddenly very interested. "But they just made
love." He stopped, embarrassed. It was like reading her diary when she
was little, to make sure she wasn't getting too wild. He had had to stop
when Maggie found out. She had been furious with him, although she had
never told Dana. He had felt the need to protect Dana, still did. But
she had been so happy in the young man's arms just moments before. Maybe
Maggie was right this time too, and he should let his daughter lead her
own life. But a baby? How could there already be a baby in the picture?
Ahab was sure this was the first time with Fox. At least he thought so.
Then a possible suggestion occurred to him, and he felt his temper rise.
"Look, if you're insinuating that my daughter is pregnant by another
man. . .," he huffed.
William looked at him, startled. "You don't know?"
"Know what? That they've fallen in love? Yes, I know. Maggie is
ecstatic. I probably wouldn't have noticed, but her feelings were so
strong. I depend on her reading of events, you know. We have four, or
rather three, children down there, and I can't always keep track of them
all at once." Ahab looked down on the bedroom scene below, watching with
some discontent as his baby girl lay naked, sleeping in the arms of her
new love. <I was always your 'best fella', Starbuck. Now you have
someone else to take my place,> he thought sadly. He quickly brushed the
thought aside.
"Oh, then you don't know," William said with understanding, interrupting
Ahab's train of thought. "It's not your daughter that's pregnant. It's
my son." The words just about didn't make it out of William's mouth,
with all the emotion he had infused in them.
Ahab looked at him like he was crazy. "What in the world are you
babbling about?" he demanded. "That is totally insane! Look, I know
we've been gone a while, but not that long!"
"You don't know the whole story, Scully," William said, shaking his
head. "I worked with some people in the government. Not the flag wavers,
mind you. The deep, dark, you don't want to know government that keeps
us a world power. And I served them well, or so I thought. But they
thought I was a danger. So they stole my little girl and never gave her
back to me." He shuddered as he stood there, the pain was so real.
"Ohmigod," Ahab muttered. "Mulder, I had no idea. . ."
"It's all right. Your daughter knows. And your wife, I think. Anyway, I
thought my death would appease them. But Fox has spent his life
searching for his sister. That's why they, your daughter and my son, end
up on some of those damnable missions they're always getting hurt on.
And now your family has been dragged in, through your daughter's
partnership with my son." He looked sorrowfully at the other man.
"Scully, I'm sorry. They didn't just take my daughter, they killed
yours. Melissa is her name, isn't it?"
"Yes." Bill thought of his other daughter. He'd call in on her after
this. They needed to talk. At least she was here with him. This man's
daughter was neither safe, nor with her father. "So, what are they doing
to my other daughter?" Bill suddenly felt very afraid.
"What I'm going to tell you will seem fantastic, Scully, but you have to
listen, all right? My associates have some very interesting, ah, 'lab
partners' we'll call them. And they kidnapped our children. They removed
an egg from your daughter, inseminated it with my son's sperm, and
implanted it. In my son. It's an experiment to see if a fertilized egg
can grow somewhere besides a woman's body. Grow to term." William took a
deep breath and sighed. "So you see, it's my son who is pregnant. By
your daughter. They chose them because they were partners, and there was
a bond that meant they'd keep the baby. And because a certain one of my
associates has a perverse sense of humour. It amused him to think of the
humiliation my son would feel. The terror your daughter would go
through, worrying about her partner. They didn't care if it destroyed
how Dana and Fox felt about each other. It's merely chance that they are
so in love that they've faced it together. That bastard didn't give a
damn. And he still doesn't care if this kills Fox. His associates are
curious about the child's welfare, but only for their damn experiment.
They don't intend to pursue this beyond the birth. They'll just observe,
and to hell with the consequences Fox will have to face, trying to raise
a child as a single parent." He snorted. "At least they intend to let
them keep it, and raise it in peace. But only because they'll have got
the information they wanted."
Ahab was silent for several minutes. He searched out Maggie's mind,
lying asleep in the little house with his daughter and Mulder's son.
>>Maggie, what's happened? Is it true?<<
<<That they're in love? Yes, Bill. I've known it for a long time. I'm
glad they finally figured it out.>>
>>But the baby?<<
<<Bill, it's still a baby. It's real. It might be a little unusual, but
would you deny our grandchild life, simply because of the circumstances
of its birth? It's still a human being, Bill. It's still our daughter's
child.>>
>>But Maggie! This is more than a 'little unusual', I would say.<<
<<No more than the fertility techniques that Bill Jr. and Karen went
through to get Sean and Jeffrey. Now, would you throw away your two
grandchildren so quickly, Bill Scully?>>
>>Of course not! But Maggie. . .<<
<<No buts about it, Bill. Dana has accepted this. She's happy about it.
We are only in the picture as observers. Please don't forget that.>>
>>I never made a very good 'observer', Maggie.<<
<<Well, maybe it's the time to start, Bill.>>
Ahab shook his head and turned to William. "They seem to be happy about
it," he said in a low voice.
"I know. I can't believe it. But I don't know what to do," William said
miserably.
"This 'friend' of yours. He's not likely to cause more trouble, is he?"
Ahab asked sternly.
William drew in a deep breath. "Not over the baby, no. I overheard the
doctor that did this talking to that smug English suit. The Englishman
and the doctor will curb my associate on this. But if I know him, the
trouble has only started. Fox will find his investigations hampered, his
movements tracked. He'll be there, waiting, like a goddam spider at the
centre of his intrigue web. But at least his hands are a little tied,
due to a certain tape which protects Fox and Dana." He grinned. Ahab
stared. William Mulder's grin made him look years younger. <He hasn't
smiled a lot in his life,> thought Bill, feeling a sudden urge of
sympathy for his companion.
"Tape?"
"I'll explain about it later." William Mulder started to laugh. "I'll
invite a few of the Navajo round, they love hearing about how the white
authorities got bested by their people. There's one old chief, cut down
by a raiding party in 1830, calls by every week to ask to hear the tale
again. He knows it by heart, but he just loves to hear it." He looked at
Bill, suddenly a little shy. "That is, if you'll drop by later? Perhaps
bring your other daughter, Melissa?"
Ahab put his arm around William's shoulders. "I'd be glad to, Mulder. If
we need to keep watch on my daughter, your son, and our grandchild, then
we'd better get to know each other. It looks like we have our work cut
out for us."
William met his gaze and returned it. The alliance had been formed. Fox
and Dana now had protectors, in *very* high places.
End part nine.