Dana's Baby
by Agent Chloe Wildner
SPOILERS:  Requiem, All Things
TIME:  During and Directly After Season 7 
WHEN WRITTEN:  June/July 2000
CATEGORY: Story/Romance/Angst
KEYWORDS: Mulder/Scully Romance
RATING:  PG
SIZE:  23K
SUMMARY:  Another possible way Scully got pregnant.  Includes
story line from conception, through Mulder's abduction, and to 
his return. This was written before Season 8, and so completely 
ignores the "actual" outcome of the whole thing.  Based heavily 
on "All Things"

Standard Disclaimer:  X-Files, Mulder, Scully, etc.. all 
belong to Fox and TenThirteen Productions, they are not 
mine.  This is pure fiction and posted for fun, not profit.
 
*****************************************************


			 Dana's Baby

Dana Scully pulled herself to a seated position on the couch with a 
groan.  Her neck ached from the unfortunate way she'd fallen 
asleep.

Mulder came out from the kitchen.  "Sorry, Scully.  I didn't mean 
to wake you.  I just wanted a midnight snack."

"You mean you have food in that kitchen, Mulder?"

"Well, not really."  He held up a crumpled aluminum bag.  "Want 
some stale potato chips?"

"No, thanks."  Scully rubbed her eyes.  "What time is it?"

"About 3am."

"3am?"  Scully stood up and started to fold the blanket.

"Yeah, you fell asleep."  Mulder walked over and took the blanket
from her.  "What are you doing?"

"Getting ready to go home."

"But it's the middle of the night."

"Exactly."  Scully started to push past him, but Mulder stuck out 
an arm to stop her.  "Come on, Mulder.  I'm not going to spend 
the night on your couch.  It's bad for my back."

"Fine.  You can sleep in my bed."  Scully raised her eyebrows at 
him.  "I'll sleep on the couch."

"Which is as bad for your back as it is for mine."

"It's not like I haven't done it before."

"But we've finally got you sleeping in a bed!"

"Fine.  Then we'll both sleep in the bed."

"Mulder..."

"Scully, it's a big bed.  We wouldn't have to go near each other.  
Besides, we've fallen asleep in each other's arms before.  What's 
the big difference if we're in a bed now?"

You should know damn well what the difference is, Scully 
thought but did not say.  How many times had they almost kissed?  
How many times did the sexual tension in the room practically 
burn her, it had gotten so hot?  It was one thing in the artic or the 
middle of the woods - there was romantic tension, but the setting 
didn't easily lend itself to giving in.  But the two of them together 
in a bed, with no horrible injury between them, this was a recipe 
for disaster.

"I'm not going to let you leave, Scully.  So either we both go to my
bedroom or neither one of us is getting any more sleep tonight."

Scully gulped as she followed him.  There was still no way she 
was getting any sleep tonight.  She removed her jacket and socks, 
but kept the rest of her clothes on.  Mulder didn't let on, but Scully 
figured he must be laughing at her on the inside.  I mean, it wasn't 
like he hadn't held her naked body before, but this was different.  
And he should know that too.

Scully crawled into bed wishing that she hadn't caught those 
couple of hours of rest on Mulder's couch.  It wasn't great sleep, 
but it was enough.  Enough so that she wasn't too exhausted to 
care that she was lying beside Fox Mulder.  She looked over at 
him then and laughed silently at herself.  Who was she kidding?  
Even if she hadn't had a minute's rest in three days she couldn't 
sleep with Mulder by her side.  _In_his_bed_.  One thing she was 
glad about, he'd removed the mirrors on the ceiling.

Scully heard something then and looked over at Mulder.  She 
almost hit him.  She couldn't believe he was snoring.  Apparently, 
he did not have any trouble falling asleep beside _her_.  

She lay there then, covers held up to her chin.  She counted 
Mulder's breaths for awhile, but that became too much for her and 
she started counting the ticks of the clock instead.  Tick-tock, tick-
tock, tick-tock.  She had reached six hundred seventy-seven when 
the covers were ripped from her hands.  Mulder had rolled over 
and had taken almost all of the sheets with him.  Without really 
thinking, Scully began to struggle with the unconscious Mulder.  
She had gotten him to roll back over towards her and was just 
reaching across his shoulder when she noticed Mulder's eyes had 
opened.  She let her arm drop around him, and then clumsily 
returned it to her side.

"You stole all the covers," she hastily explained.  "I was just 
trying to get some back."

"Sorry, I'm not used to sleeping with anyone else."  A stray hair 
had fallen across Scully's face during her struggle with the covers.  
Now Mulder reached out a hand and pushed it behind Scully's ear.  
He let his hand rest across her cheek and under her chin, and they 
just stared silently into each other's eyes for almost a minute.  
Then Mulder sighed, took his arm away, and began to return the 
stolen covers.  "Here you go."

Scully nodded slightly and turned away from him.

"Good-night."

Scully said nothing for three minutes, then, without turning, asked 
quietly, "Mulder?"

"Yes, Scully?"

"If every move we make changes our possible future, and there's 
only one truly correct future.  You know, best outcome or 
something..."

"What is it?"

"Well, do you think it's better to sit back and wait to make sure 
you don't make a false move, or take steps and hope you can 
backtrack later if you find out they were wrong?"

"Well, I guess we both know I tend to be the look-before-I-leap 
type..."

"Not in everything."

"Well, no, not in everything."  From behind her back, Mulder ran 
a had through his hair.

"So, what do you think?"

He sighed.  "I don't know how to answer that question, Scully.  It's
too vague.  It could cover too many situations.  But I will answer
something else."  Mulder leaned over, pushed her hair aside, and 
planted a hot kiss on her neck.

Scully gasped.  "Mulder, I... don't..."

"What?  You don't want this?  You don't know what you want.  
That's the problem.  Oh, and it's my problem too.  I know that.  I 
take at least equal blame.  Both of us not knowing what to do, so 
we play silly little games and go basically no where.  One step 
forward, two steps back.  Well, I'm ending it.  I've decided.  I 
know what I want."Mulder leaned in again, and Scully tried to 
wiggle away from his lips.

"No, Mulder, please..."

"Scully, look at me."  She didn't move.  "Look at me!"  Mulder 
said much more forcibly, and she flipped over to face him.  He 
could see tears in the corner of her eyes, and he sighed softly.  
"Scully, I know how you feel about me, and I'm pretty sure you 
know how I feel about you.  But that's not always enough, Scully.  
It really is true about how sometimes it's good to hear it.  Because 
every once in a while, Scully, I doubt you, and I'm sure sometimes 
you doubt me.  And I hate it, Scully, I hate it.  I don't want you to 
ever have to doubt me."  The tears were now flowing freely down 
Scully's cheeks, and Mulder wiped one away with his thumb.  
"Everything we've ever done or said in our entire lives has led up 
to this moment.  This one decision of yes or no.  But it's not as 
simple as that.  Because we seem to come to this place at least 
once a day, and it becomes so easy to let it pass.  Decide to deal 
with it later.  After all, we've waited seven years, what's one more 
day?  Oh, Scully, I've been saying stuff like that to myself for at 
least the past three years, but I can't say it any longer.  I can't 
make myself believe it.  Every day is precious, and in our line of 
work we should know that better than anyone.  Every day is 
precious, and I can't waste another day."

"Mulder, please..."

"No, Scully, I have to say it.  I need you to know I love you.  Oh,
do I love you, Scully, and I need to be with you."

Mulder leaned over, took Scully in his arms, and kissed her.  She 
kissed him back, but more out of a gut reaction than a conscious 
decision.  And by the time Mulder pulled her shirt over her head, 
Scully's mind was out of the picture.


*****************************************************


Scully woke up early the next morning, and before Mulder awoke.  
She spent a long time looking at him.  She'd done it.  They'd done 
it. And, oh, it had been wonderful, better than she'd imagined.  
She smiled and brushed her hand over his hair softly.  Well, that 
might have had something to do with who she'd been with and the 
fact that she hadn't had sex in ages.  She ran a hand over his hair 
again and sighed.  "I love you," she whispered, but oh, what had 
she done?  Yes, they had both wanted this, but she wasn't so sure 
it has been a good idea.  In fact, right about now Scully was pretty 
sure it had been a bad idea.  She was scared.  

She pushed the covers back, picked her clothes up off the floor, 
and slipped into his bathroom.  Once the door was closed, she 
started to slip her clothes on.  She felt dirty, and for more reasons 
than putting on the same clothes two days in a row, but she didn't 
dare turn on the shower.  It may have still been only six am, but 
Mulder didn't sleep very soundly and she did not want to risk 
waking him up.  She went over to the sink and splashed water on 
her face and neck.  She dared to look up at her face and was 
surprised to find that she looked much the same, if a little 
nervous.  She ran a hand through her hair, but it was hopeless and 
she ended up borrowing Mulder's brush.  Afterwards, she removed 
her red hairs, smoothed her hair, and left.  

As she passed by Mulder on that bed that they had so recently 
shared, Scully was struck by how easy it was for her to walk away.  
She closed the door to his apartment behind her and lay against 
the door. It was over.  She was out.  Of course, she'd have to face 
him at work the next day, but by then she'd be a little more pulled 
together.  Besides, she didn't think Mulder would dare bring it up.  
Not by the light of day, with her being cold to him and both of 
them back in the work environment.  She leaned her face against 
the door and whispered, "I love you, Mulder, I do, but I just don't 
know what to do about this.  I just don't want to screw up."  She 
sighed and started to walk down the hall.  She knew it didn't 
really make sense, but somehow it did.


*****************************************************


Scully came in extra early to work the next day, and Mulder came 
in extra late and bearing breakfast.  He was talkative and friendly, 
but was giving her plenty of space.  He was being perfect.  She 
almost wanted to cry, but she didn't.  She was playing it cool.  She 
lived like that for two weeks.  Every day at work she played it 
cool, and Mulder treated her like a princess.  And every day after 
work she went home and marveled over how fabulous he was, 
loving her but giving her the space to make the decision she 
needed to make.  That's how she lived until the doubts began to 
creep in.  Doubts like:  Maybe he wasn't pushing her because he 
didn't want her.  Maybe he'd gotten what he wanted and was done 
with her now.  Scully shook her head at that one.  No, she 
believed he loved her, respected her at least, and wouldn't treat 
her like that.  But, maybe he hadn't thought it was as wonderful as 
she had.  Maybe he regretted what they'd done.  Maybe he was 
happy she'd run so he didn't have to.

These were the thoughts running through her head during that 
last case, and she could have sworn he could read her mind the 
way he acted.  He had been caring, but gave her lots of distance.  
Now he cut back on the distance.  Not a lot, but enough to remind 
her that he was still there beside her, and he wanted her.  She 
caught him looking at her more and the way he talked to her was 
the way he used to.  Gently flirting, his words and the way he said 
them let her know he still cared.  Just being with him now made 
her realize how much she'd missed him when he had been giving 
her space, as nice as he'd been.  

When he took her in his arms on that hotel room bed, spooning up 
behind her with his head on her shoulder, the doubts finally left 
her mind.  It was something he never would have done before that 
night a few weeks earlier.  It was too personal, too assuming, but 
for  Scully now it was just right.  Mulder loved her, he wanted 
her, and all was right with the world.  Well, okay, that was an 
exaggeration considering, but one thing was definitely right.

And as soon as Mulder was gone from her sight, after refusing to 
let her go with him for fear of losing her, Scully made a decision.  
She wanted Mulder.  She couldn't be happy living without him.  
Yes, she was scared of being in a real relationship with him, but 
she was even more scared of missing out on the chance to be with 
him always, in  the closest way.  She almost called him right then 
and there to tell him, but decided to wait until she could tell him 
in person.  In the meantime, she took the time to write to Mulder 
in her journal.  Not only to commemorate the moment, but in an 
attempt to insure that she wouldn't lose her nerve by the time he 
returned to her.

Unfortunately, it was only a day after making that entry that 
Mulder's abduction forced her to doubt some of her past decisions, 
or rather, the lack there of.  It started small.  She regretted not 
having called Mulder a day earlier.  Then, she wished she'd had 
the courage to accept a deeper relationship with Mulder when he'd 
declared his feelings for her those weeks earlier.  After that, the
real pain began.  She kept going further and further back in time, 
finding points where she could have made a move, declared her
feelings, and lived happily every after with Mulder and possibly 
their three children.  It wasn't long before she'd practically 
convinced  herself that she should have kidnapped Mulder and 
taken him away to a deserted island the first day she'd met him.  
Of course it was crazy, but what wasn't about this situation?  Just 
thinking about where Mulder really was made anything else seem 
plausible.

But when her world really collapsed was when she found out she 
was pregnant.  It was funny really.  It was ironic.  She was happy, 
but she was miserable.  Oh, she wanted a baby, she had wanted a 
baby ever since she'd found out that she couldn't have one.  And 
now, by some miracle, she was pregnant and she couldn't share it 
with the one person she really wanted to.

She should've been comforted by the fact that she had something 
of Mulder to keep in the baby.  At least, she could hear people 
trying to comfort her with that phrase.  Unfortunately, there were 
a few things that prevented that comfort.  First of all, she was 
convinced that Mulder would come back because she really did 
believe that was probable and also because she wasn't sure she 
could face surviving  without him.  And, if Mulder was coming 
back to her, it was even more upsetting that he was missing this 
moment of her pregnancy.  And what if he didn't return until their 
child was two years old or even older? Their child.  That was the 
other problem.  This was a miracle, perhaps too much of a 
miracle.  Every once in a while it crossed her mind that maybe 
this baby wasn't Mulder's.  Maybe it had grey skin or green blood 
or maybe, just maybe, it would kill her after bursting out of her 
chest cavity sometime in the sixth month and then go on a 
killing spree.  The pregnancy was an incredible joy, but it was 
also an incredible stressor.  And it was not a comfort following 
Mulder's abduction.  If anything, it only made her realize how 
much she needed Mulder's comfort in her life.

But the doctors kept telling her the baby was developing healthily 
and completely normally, so she focused on what they said and 
tried to accept it as the plain truth.  And she focused on Mulder, 
and how he would come back to her and the baby someday.  
Skinner put her on desk duty right away, and she was thankful.  
She didn't want another partner and she couldn't imagine carrying 
out an investigation without Mulder.  Every once in a while other 
agents would ask her to consult with them on a case, and 
sometimes it was nice and sometimes it was painful.  Every night 
she talked to the baby about his or her father and prayed that 
Mulder would return safe and sound before their child was born.

Her prayers were answered in the middle of the fifth month.  He 
was found unconscious in the same woods he had been abducted 
from and was brought to Washington soon afterwards.  He hadn't 
been in the hospital ten minutes when she was by his bedside.  
She sat in a chair close enough to him that she could hold his 
hand and thought about the moment when he would open his 
eyes.

The first images were beautiful - Mulder's ironic smile, his voice
as he asked if she'd missed him.  And she could just see herself 
leaning over and kissing him.  And that would be it, they would 
be together.  Then another vision clouded her dreams - the 
moment she would tell him she was pregnant.  Of course, some 
images were wonderful - Mulder whooping for joy and spinning 
her around.  Mulder talking about how all his dreams had come 
true but one, and then getting down on one knee to ask her to 
marry him.  Oh, those images were beautiful, but they left out the 
facts of reality and uglier pictures came.  Mulder challenging the 
miracle, asking how it had happened, saying it was an alien baby.  
Mulder telling her she should abort the baby as a precaution for 
the safety of herself and all the earth.  Finally, a simpler image, 
yet somehow even more painful, Mulder asking whose baby it was 
because he didn't really believe it was his.

That's when she decided she wouldn't tell him about the baby 
right away, telling herself that it was because she didn't want to 
add to his stress.

Scully spent as much time by his side as she could, but she went 
home to sleep every night.  She had a baby to think about after all.  
And she went to work for a handful of hours a few times a week.  
Skinner offered her vacation time, but she begged off.  Scully 
feared insanity if she spent all her waking hours beside an 
unconscious man who might not open his eyes for weeks, months 
or, God forbid, years.  Still, Scully spent every hour that she 
wasn't sleeping, working, or traveling right by his side and she 
prayed that she would be there when he awoke.

Once again, her prayers were answered.  It was early evening two 
weeks later.  She was telling him about her day at work, holding 
Mulder's hand and running her thumb over the back of it.  She 
was also looking down at their hands, which was why she didn't 
notice when Mulder's eyes first opened and why he was able to 
watch and listen to her for quite a few minutes before making his 
presence known to her.

Scully was in the middle of a sentence when she saw and felt 
Mulder's hand squeeze hers.  Her breath caught in her throat and 
she sat there in silence for a full half minute before she could 
bring herself to raise her eyes and find out if it was really true that 
he was awake.  When her eyes met his, tears began to flow down 
her cheeks.

"Oh, Mulder, thank God!" she cried and leaned over and kissed 
him.

He smiled and his eyes twinkled mischievously.  "I need to get 
abducted more often."

"Oh, don't even..."

"Miss me?"

"No, not at all."  But Scully leaned over to give him a quick kiss.

"So, how long have I been gone?"

"Five months.  Didn't beat me."  Her eyes were at least as 
mischievous as his.

"Hmm, bet you hoped I'd get back soon so I wouldn't beat your 
record."

"Yeah, that's the only reason I hoped you'd come back."  But 
Scully's eyes failed at playfulness.  "Oh, Mulder, I love you.  I 
don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come back."

Mulder tried playful, but also failed.  "So, my disappearing for a 
few months made you decide you couldn't live without me.  I 
guess absence really does make the heart grow fonder."

Scully shook her head.  "No, I already knew I couldn't live without
you."  Mulder raised his eyebrows.  "The day before you were 
taken, I decided I was going to go to you and throw myself at your 
feet as it were.  But, another one of life's cruel jokes."

"Not that cruel.  I'm back, I love you,, and there's no reason now 
why we can't be together.  Unless you have another curve ball to 
throw at me?"

Scully was quiet, than a light bulb went on in her head and she 
exclaimed, "Oh, here you are awake and I haven't even let the 
doctors know!"  Mulder tried to protest, but she'd already pressed 
the call buttons.  

Soon, the doctor and nurses arrived and did their series of checks. 
Before the doctor left, he said, "Now, go to sleep Mr. Mulder, you
need your rest."

"I've been resting for two weeks apparently."

The kindly doctor laughed.  "All the more reason to rest now, 
believe it or not."  Then he turned to Scully, "And you should get 
home to bed yourself.  You need to take good care of yourself right 
now."

Scully prayed Mulder hadn't gotten suspicious. "Oh, I will doctor,
just as soon as Mulder here falls asleep."

The doctor nodded and left them.  Mulder immediately 
announced, "I'm not going to be able to fall asleep with you in the 
room.  I wouldn't want to fall asleep, 'coz I'd miss you, baby, and I 
don't wanna miss a thing.'"

"Well, that's very sweet, Mulder, but please stop quoting 
Aerosmith.  I mean, Motown was one thing, but Aerosmith?"  She 
shook her head. "Come on, Mulder, go to sleep."

"I'm serious, Scully, I'm not going to be able to fall asleep with 
you here.  But you go on home and get some rest.  It'll be better 
for both of us.  You just better promise to return tomorrow."

"Oh, you couldn't keep me away.  But why don't you just close 
your eyes. I'll leave, and if you're a good boy and get a good 
night's sleep, when you open your eyes again I'll be right back in 
front of you."  She didn't want to risk Mulder seeing her shape 
and guessing the truth about her condition.

"Oh, okay, Scully.  One more kiss?"

"Okay."  She leaned in happily, expecting another quick peck, and 
was pleasantly surprised.  Mulder put all of the energy he could 
muster into that kiss.  When they broke apart, Scully smiled.  "Oh, 
I will definitely be back tomorrow.  Now, close your eyes."

Mulder obediently did as he was told, and Scully stood up to 
leave.  But Mulder opened his eyes to sneak another peak at his 
love, and she had only taken three steps when she heard him say, 
"Scully."

She stopped in her tracks and turned to him, seeing immediately 
in his eyes that he had guessed the truth.  

"You looked."

"Sorry."

Silently, Scully returned to the chair by his side and looked at 
him, questioning, imploring.

Mulder watched her a minute, then bit his lower lip and held out 
his arms, "Come here."

She climbed in beside him and wrapped her arms around him, 
crying softly.  Mulder just held her, and knew they could talk 
tomorrow.


			***The End***