Date sent: Sat, 27 Dec 1997 16:06:59 -0500 From: Macspooky Subject: Christmas Miracle et al The X-Files and the characters therein belong not to me but to Chris Carter, 1013, Fox and probably some others. No copyright infringement is intended here and no money is being made. I'm just having fun. I finished this story on December 20, 1997. Summary: Fox Mulder has a lot to think about as Dana has to spend a Christmas Eve in the hospital. Rating: PG Classification: Romantic in nature All comments can be sent to macspooky@erols.com "A Christmas Miracle" by Macspooky Fox Mulder looked at the tiny redheaded woman laying in the hospital bed. His whole life was about to change again, and he wished he could spare her what was to come and take the burden on to himself, but there was no way. She had to do what she had to do. He hoped she wouldn't find it too hard although somehow for her, nothing seemed to come easily. He bent over and kissed her forehead gently. "How are you feeling?" he asked her softly. "I'm fine," she replied. "I just want to be home. It's Christmas Eve and I didn't want to spend it in a hospital." "I know, babe, but things don't always work out according to plan. You know what Dr. M'Benga said. We need to watch you carefully..." "All that work decorating the tree....our first one together...." He grinned. "Yeah, but it was sure fun what we did under it afterwards wasn't it?" "Yes, Fox William Mulder, it was wonderful, and probably why I'm here...." she smiled at him and he noticed that she winced and glanced at the clock on the wall. "Try to get some sleep, love," he said tucking the sheet up over her a little more and kissing her again. He sat back and watched as she closed her eyes and her breathing became deep and regular. She had actually fallen asleep. Her ability to do that nearly anywhere never ceased to amaze him, but she had told him it was a survival mechanism for any med student and intern. How things had changed from last Christmas when she had gone to San Diego to visit her family. The vacation had turned into a nightmare for her, and when she had finally called him, it had been for him to come and act as a witness on her behalf so she could adopt a very sick little girl named Emily. The adoption had never happened. Her little girl had died a few days later leaving Dana empty and alone, her only chance to have a child gone. He had held her all the way home on the plane. It had been a surprise to him that she had let him. She hadn't even wanted to stay with her family anymore. She had wanted him to take her back to Washington. Dana didn't talk a lot about it, but he knew none of her kin had been very supportive of her. Dana didn't have to because Maggie Scully had come to him later and told him. She felt terrible. Mrs. Scully had thought her daughter was having emotional problems. She had been so looking forward to going to visit her son and her new grandchild, to finally having some happiness, that she hadn't been able to deal with her daughter. Maggie hadn't wanted to forgive herself, but she had cried in Fox's arms and he had told her that there was nothing to forgive. She was human after all. Maggie and Dana had worked things out as he had known they would. They loved each other. He had grown closer to Maggie than ever. It took a wonderful human being to admit weakness and deal with it, and Maggie was nothing if not that. Still, six weeks after they had returned home and Dana's building had caught fire because some idiot had been smoking in bed and had a heart attack, and Dana had lost everything, she hadn't wanted to go stay with Maggie. She had wanted to stay with him. Closer to work had been her excuse and he had believed it. It had started out that way, however, their relationship had been changing since her cancer. She had acknowledged it in her mind. He had avoided the issue. Of course, he wasn't living in the same apartment anymore. He had discovered that he couldn't tolerate being there so he had rented another...same complex...different building and one that had two bedrooms although the basic layout was the same. He had griped about paying extra rent for the extra bedroom, but then she had come to stay and he had been glad for the space. Oh, she had looked for apartments. They had looked together. Nothing had seemed right though. Her stay stretched out. Suddenly curtains appeared where none had been before. A pretty matching set of dishes miraculously ended up in the cupboard in place of his cracked thrift store crockery, and for whatever crazy reason, the domestic arrangement had worked between them. His shabby looking apartment had become a home. The sex...no lovemaking...hadn't come right away. That had taken awhile. And, when it had happened it hadn't happened in a particularly romantic or passionate way. He had been plugged into the TV. So what else was new? He had been watching a Charlie Chan Festival on a Friday night on AMC. She had brought him a bowl of popcorn and sat with him and they had settled in to watch the cheesy old racist murder mysteries. He had slipped his arm around her. She had leaned on his shoulder. They had munched popcorn. Her hair smelled pretty. They began to kiss and then neck like teenagers and suddenly they were making love. Just thinking about that night stirred desire in him as he watched her sleep. It was pretty damned tame in retrospect, but God it had been good. He hadn't known it was possible to love a woman so much or to be loved so much, to feel so as one with another human being. Later she had laid on top of him on the couch beneath an afghan purring like a kitten and asked him where he had learned to make love like that. Well, he didn't feel he'd done anything particularly great except spend a lot of time with her in the early stages. Her confession that no one had ever satisfied her before had shocked the hell out of him, but before he had a chance to pursue it, she had been sound asleep. He grinned. It had been nice having his ego stroked, and he was just selfish enough to be a little bit pleased that her other lovers had been idiots. Yeah....it had gone from best to even better from there...he and his tiny redhead....and as the days wore on, it had grown far less tame. And then, she had gotten sick. He turned toward her. She had stirred in her sleep. He heard a low moan and her eyes opened. "You okay?" he asked glancing at his watch. "Yeah....it kind of hurts...." Her eyes drifted shut again. Yes, and then she had gotten sick. She had come down with a cold that didn't go away. The nose bleeds started, albeit minor ones. She began to feel tired all the time and couldn't keep food down. Headaches became constant. And he had almost hit her. She had made an appointment with Dr. Zuckerman and the only way he had found out was that a message had been left on the answering machine that her tests had come back early and could she come to the office that afternoon. They had had their first real fight. He had been furious that she would shut him out. She got angry in return and told him she didn't need him. He had nearly hit her but had stopped himself ramming his hand into the wall instead. She had threatened to leave, and then they had been in each others arms crying. They had gone to Zuckerman's office together, both terrified. Some of the test results had been positive. Dr. Zuckerman introduced her to Dr. Anandi M'Benga and they had been working together ever since to make certain that Dana got the best care. Dana woke up with a sudden howl. "Fox....." she wailed...... "Oh, God...Dana...what...." he was on his feet in a minute. "It hurts....it hurts so bad.......something is tearing me apart.....It isn't supposed to be this way....." "Hold on....hold on, Scully...." he ran and got the nurse. "Dr. M'Benga was standing at the nurses station and they flew into the room together...." "Ah...now didn't I tell you it was a good idea to keep you where we could watch you...." said Dr. M'Benga in her musical voice. Dana let another cry escape her and then clenched her teeth. Dr. M'Benga and the nurse exchanged glances and ripped the sheet off of her. "No time...." said Dr. M'Benga. She began to don protective gear. "Agreed..." said the nurse. "Help me, please...." panted Dana. Suddenly she drew her legs back and in an act as old as time, her body gave a mighty push. An indignant scream was heard. It had been warm and suddenly it was very cold. Warm was better. Warm was nicer. It had been dark and suddenly it was light. Light could be painful to the eyes. "Well, hello little darlin...." said the nurse with a grin as Dr. M'Benga lifted a screaming bundle into the air. "And a Merry Christmas to you too," said the beautiful African woman. "You've got a beautiful son......and I don't think I've ever seen more hair on a baby...." They lay the infant on his mother's chest. Dana looked at the baby and then at her husband and tears ran down her cheeks. Her son had come into the world at 12:01 on Christmas morning. "I love you, Mrs. Mulder," he said softly choking up and wiping away the tears on her cheeks. Ever since the day that Fox Mulder had sat in Dr. Zuckerman's office and the man had grinned at him and said, "Oh, something is growing alright but it isn't a tumor.....I don't care who you think harvested your eggs, Dr. Scully, they missed one...." he had been preparing himself for this moment. He thought he had, but he realized there was no way to prepare. "Do you want to cut the cord, Mr. Mulder?....Mr. Mulder?" Dr. M'Benga was smiling at him as she snapped him out of his trance. "Oh...yeah...chord....cut..." He took the appropriate tool and did what he had to do, and suddenly sat down heavily in a nearby chair. Hey, he'd done it. Gone through labor and delivery and hadn't even passed out. And, it hadn't even been that hard on Dana. Only seven hours all together and only a few bad pains. Wow. For once something had gone okay. "We have to take the baby and finish cleaning him up a bit more in a minute," said the nurse, "but you might want to hold him first." Mulder nodded and they placed his son in his arms for the very first time. His eyes filled with tears. "Hello, Daniel Fox Mulder. Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday. Hey, already life is not fair...Christmas and Birthday on the same day....Well, don't you worry. Daddy will make sure you don't get gypped out of any presents..." He heard Dana chuckle from the bed. His heart was filled with love for his wife and the tiny infant. Here he was, Spooky Mulder, holding his very own Christmas miracle. The End Anyone want a sequel?