Date: Sun, 12 Sep 1999 10:20:36 -0400
Subject: Story Submission "Maggie" 1/1
Source: direct

This is the disclaimer spot.  We all know that CC
and others own all this and I don't.  I'm still broke
guys.  Don't sue.  I'm just playing...honest.

This belongs in what my great beta reader Ten has
named the "Daniel" universe.  It includes "The
Couch," "Dreams of a New Father," "Christmas Miracle"
 and a few others including some she wrote specifically
"Making It" and "Making it Legal." Thanks to my
other beta reader Ghill too.  They are great and very
patient with how long it takes me to put in the edits
these days.

I don't care who posts it where as long as my name
is attached.

I can be reached as macspooky@erols.com.

No Ros had better bail from the entire series.  I
don't think any spoilers are necessary here.  

Summary: Maggie arrives for a late night visit with
her new grandson Daniel.

"Unexpected Arrivals"

by Macspooky

After many years of marriage to Bill Scully and
after having had four children, the one thing Maggie
Scully had learned was patience, until today that is. 
She felt herself growing increasingly restless as
the jet plane circled Dulles Airport yet one more
time awaiting permission to land.  Flying during the
holidays was always hectic at best, but her return
from Denver had consisted of one delay or hassle
after another.  It was late and she was tired, and
frankly, not in the mood to be going in circles
thousands of feet in the air.

Maggie had very nearly canceled her trip to see her
son Charlie and his wife in Denver for Christmas,
but Dana and her husband had insisted that she go. 
Charlie had invited her all the way back in October,
and when she had booked the flight, her daughter
had had one due date.  Then a sonogram had revealed
that the baby might come a bit earlier, and Maggie
had wanted to change her plans, but her daughter
wouldn't hear of it.

"I'm a doctor, Mom, and one of the first things they
teach you in medical school is that first babies are
always late."

She had started to retort that half of what they
taught in medical school was bullshit and that after
four kids she knew better, but had decided against
it. First of all, her daughter would have argued that
if that was the case, her mother should ignore the
sonogram and second of all, Dana would figure it out
soon enough. Babies did what they wanted regardless
of what the doctors said. Besides, she did really
want to see Charlie and the trip to Denver would
give her the opportunity to meet her sister and do
something that the two of them had always wanted to
do together...take skiing lessons.   Reluctantly she
had gone, and of course, her new grandson had
arrived right on schedule...two weeks early...just a
few minutes into Christmas Day.

Maggie had been fortunate in being able to
return home three days earlier than planned on the
27th, sans skiing lessons of course, but the flight
time had been inconvenient. The delays had
commenced the moment she had walked into the
airport at Denver.  It was illogical to think the baby
had already grown up without her,  but she had
wanted to be in on those first few minutes of his life
just as she had been with Matthew the year before. 

Finally the plane touched down at Dulles and she
made her way to her car, glad that she had insisted
on leaving it in the parking garage.  Fox had wanted
to drive her to Dulles, but her flight to Denver was in
the middle of the work day.  By that time her
daughter had been on leave but was so
uncomfortable she had forbidden her daughter to
even think about coping with the traffic around
the airport.  Secretly, she preferred to maintain her
independence and come and go as she pleased
anyway.  

Maggie started to head for home, but suddenly she
saw the exit to Alexandria and turned off.  She told
herself that she shouldn't, that she would not
arrive at her daughter's until past midnight, but
she didn't seem to be able to stop herself either.

Daniel Fox Mulder was her miracle grandchild. 
Born to her only living daughter, a daughter who
had nearly died of cancer and had been considered
sterile, his conception had shocked the hell out of
everyone.  He was extra special to her, because after
Dana's cancer had gone into remission, Maggie had
been certain that she had used up her share of
miracles. She smiled.  God was good.  The
frustrations of the airport melted away.

Daniel's conception had especially shocked the
living daylights out of his poor father, a man who
professed no belief in God and certainly not in
miracles.  The man had walked around looking
shell-shocked for weeks.  Every time Dana threw
up, Fox grew just a little bit paler.  It would have
really been quite funny to watch, in a way, if it
hadn't been so pitiful.  Fox had a way of blaming
himself for everything including what came
naturally.  

And, Lord have Mercy, Bill had been pissed.  That
might have been kind of amusing too except that he
gave Fox such a damn hard time for..well, doing
what comes naturally.  The young man had actually
handled her son quite well under the circumstances. 
He had put Bill in his place with a firm and quiet
dignity, not allowing himself to be steamrolled into
apologizing for loving Dana.  

Of course, that hadn't stopped Bill's whining and 
complaining when Fox and Dana hadn't been around.  
Finally she had had to do that old mother's thing: reach 
up and grab him by the ear and tell him to shut the hell 
up because everyone including God almighty himself who had
chosen to send them this baby was sick of hearing
Bill Scully Junior's complaints.  Tara had worked
very hard to keep a straight a face over that.  Later
she had told Maggie she'd been tempted to do that
more than once herself.  Tara was a very good wife
for Bill.

Anyway, almost before Maggie realized it, she was
standing at the door of Fox and Dana's apartment. 
The fact that they were living in an apartment was
another one of those things that had ticked Bill off
as though Fox was some sort of a failure for not
owning a house.  Bill acted as if Navy base housing
was the Ritz or something.  What he didn't realize
was that if his brother-in-law had wanted to, he
could have bought the whole damned apartment building. 

Everything was quiet inside.  She knocked softly.  If
someone was up, they would answer.  If not, she
would leave and return in the morning, she decided.

The door opened and her son-in-law stood there,
unshaven, hair rumpled, clad in sweats and a
stained t-shirt.  Over his shoulder, which was now
covered in baby drool and spit up milk, he had the
most beautiful infant she thought she had ever seen,
more beautiful even than Matthew and Bill's son
had been a gorgeous baby.  And, even as exhausted as
he appeared, Maggie thought she had never seen Fox
Mulder look so happy.

"Oh, my," she said softly, reaching for the child. 
She forgot to say hello.  She just took Daniel into
her arms and looked at his little face and devoured
him with her eyes.  Her belief in miracles had been
vindicated and all her prayers answered in this tiny
bundle of hair in a little blue sleeper.  She thanked
God for granting her one more miracle.

When she was finally able to look up again she saw
her son-in-law smiling at her.  He was a bit
blurry, she realized, because she was crying.  She
had spent a lot of time on her knees praying for this
child.  She had just about worn out her rosary.

"I'm sorry to come so late," she finally managed. 
"I took an earlier plane back.  There were so many
delays.  I just....found myself outside the door."

"That's okay, Maggie," he said softly.  He supposed
he should have been more surprised to see her than
he actually was.  "Dana is sleeping, but I was just
up playing with my son.  Of course, I'm the one
who's playing.  He's just snoozing."

Maggie nodded and smiled. "My husband used to do
that...get up in the middle of the night and sit there
and hold his babies." She felt a pang suddenly
wishing Bill were here to see this boy.  Dana had
been his special child in so many ways, his
favorite, although he would never admit it.  And,
Bill would have loved Fox.

"I'll put coffee on," he said.  "You entertain the
newbie while I'm gone.  If you're lucky, he'll
stretch or maybe even yawn or something." With a grin,
he disappeared into the apartment's small kitchen.

Cradling the infant, Maggie sat down on the couch
and glanced around the living room.  It had suddenly
become a nursery.  There were baby things
everywhere.  The dining room table was piled with
folded receiving blankets and sleepers.  It smelled
of baby oil and powder.  That was what infants did to
a place.  The TV was on in the background, the
volume barely audible.  It looked like the rerun of a
basketball game.  In the corner stood a Christmas
tree, all decorated, with some gifts underneath. 
Dana loved Christmas trees, always had.  Maggie
wondered when they would finally get around to
taking this one down.  Knowing her daughter, it
would be well after New Year's.

Well, the sofa was comfortable.  Maggie had once
made the mistake of asking Dana what happened to
Fox's nice leather couch.  A leather couch was
something she had always wanted and had never
gotten around to getting.  Leather couches and Navy
pay just didn't go together.  The young couple had
blushed and spluttered.  It came out a bit later when
Fox wasn't around that the old thing was the
conception spot for the infant she now held in her
arms, and that Dana and Fox had broken it in the
process of making miracles.

It wasn't that Dana had told her mother that exactly.
It wasn't the kind of thing a person told their so-
called sainted Catholic mother.  It had actually come
out in the course of an argument her daughter had
had with Billy.  Dana had popped in for a visit one
evening, her belly now bulging, when Fox had been
stuck at work.  Bill had been there on a short visit,
Navy business in Annapolis.  Her tiny little
redheaded girl, the sweet innocent apple of her
daddy's eye, had looked up at her 6'4" brother,
hands on her hips, and informed him in no
uncertain terms that Fox Mulder had f**ked her so
hard and so long that they'd broken the couch and
that she'd loved every minute of it and that if he
kept Tara half as happy, which she somehow
doubted, she was a lucky woman.  

Maggie could have sworn that Bill walked funny for
the rest of the day.  Bill had always said his little sister 
was a ballbuster when he thought his parents were not
around to hear.  What he didn't realize is that he
had had a lot to do with making his kid sister that
way.  He had always been a pushy kid and something of a 
bully.  Billy had probably spent more hours in "time
out" and felt the back of his father's hand more than
her other three children combined. 

Maggie had had to go into the bathroom to
laugh herself silly over the broken couch and her 
daughter's announcement to her big brother. 

Yeah, it had been nasty, but Bill had been quiet
after that.   Her children  always thought of their mother
 as a sexual ascetic.  None of her kids ever would know
that she and Bill had broken a recliner chair the
night Dana was created and she  was the third child.  
Ah, the memories of the earlier...well...another time...couches, 
recliners; like mother like daughter.  And besides, who knew,
maybe Dana and Fox had broken one of those too.  It
wouldn't surprise her, but she wasn't about to ask
either.  The biggest difference was probably that
Dana's had been knew and most of her furniture when
the kids had been growing up had been used.  New would
have been a waste of scarce resources.

Maggie set the baby in her lap and gratefully took a
cup of coffee from Fox when he returned.

"Don't worry." she smiled seeing how nervous Fox
was about her having both hot coffee and new baby
in close proximity.  "I won't spill anything on him. 
Believe me, I could hold three babies and still drink
coffee."

"I believe you. You've had a lot of practice." He
grinned.  He's seen Maggie handle Bill Jr.  An
infant was a piece of cake by comparison.

"That is good java.  How's my daughter?"

"Fine...weepy and rather sore, but fine.  It was a
pretty easy labor.  He just kind of popped. I mean
we got to the hospital in time and everything but
after that, it was quick."

"Only way to do it.  How are you holding up?"

"Who me?  I'm in total shock.  I mean, I didn't
think anything so little could......."

"Change your life so much,"Maggie finished.  "It
will never be your own anymore, not really."

He nodded.  Funny how quickly that understanding
came the moment they placed your child in your
arms.

"You'll be a wonderful father, Fox," she said
setting down the mug taking his hand.  She knew the
self doubt that the younger man suffered from.  He
really had never had much family life and from
what Dana had told her, his mom probably should
have been up for the Queen Bitch award, albeit an
elegant one.

"I....I think I'm too selfish sometimes...I...."

"You'll be a wonderful father," she said again. 
"You are a very kind and caring human being and
that is what children need....along with a good
spanking once in awhile." she grinned.

"I think I'll leave that to Dana," he said quietly.

"You aren't your father, Fox," she said softly. 
"Just remember that."

"How do you know?" he asked.

"I just know things.  Whatever your father may
have done to you, you aren't him.   I've seen the way
you are...with my daughter.  Dana told me about the
way you were with Emily."

"I hope you're right," he said.  He supposed Dana
had talked to her mother about his father, perhaps
before leaving to attend the funeral while he had
been near death in New Mexico.  It was possible
though that Maggie just knew.  She was strange that
way sometimes, fey.

"He's a beautiful baby.  He looks just like you."

"He has Dana's eyes," said Fox.  "I hope...all babies
have blue eyes.  I don't want his eyes to change."

"They will be beautiful no matter what color they
are," she smiled.  "And he will be his mother's son
I'm sure."

"Hi, mom," said a sleepy voice suddenly from the
doorway.  Dana stood there hair askew.  Maggie got
up and giving her grandson back to his father went
and hugged her daughter.  The decibel level rose and
the two of them were immediately talking labor and
delivery.  Fox took his son to the kitchen to put
water on for his wife's herbal tea.

Maggie watched him go out of the corner of her eye. 
She thought to herself that Fox and Daniel were
already on the way to becoming good buddies.  She
was glad.  She couldn't think of anyone who deserved
love more than Fox Mulder.


The End