From: "Georgina Mellor" Date: Sun, 6 Aug 2000 23:12:12 +0100 Subject: Submission. Source: direct Title: Mountain Breeze. Author: Georgina Mellor Rating: PG Spoilers: Post-requiem Distribution: Anywhere, just let me know. Disclaimer: Mulder, Scully and all other characters are not owned by me, no infringement is intended and no profit is being made from me playing with them. Feedback: yes please to: tweetiedee@hotmail.com Mountain breeze. Scully lay on her side staring up at her open window. Her doctor had told her that sleeping with the window open helped some women with their morning sickness. It hadn't worked for her. At twenty-seven weeks she was still vomiting most mornings and feeling nauseous most of the time. She sighed heavily, not feeling that she was going to be able to sleep in the near future. She couldn't lie on her back anymore, she felt like she had an elephant sitting on top of her and it gave her heartburn. For obvious reasons she couldn't lie on her stomach, the spine is just not meant to curve in that direction. Lying on her side made her hip joints ache from the weight of her bump so she had to lie with a pillow supporting it, she had found by accidentally being tangled into her bed clothes that a cushion between her legs also helped to keep her hips aligned. Even then she had to change position about every hour as her bump started to shift downwards and strain on her hips. She could feel the baby kicking in protest, as it's watery environment shifted shape slightly. She was afraid, she hated to a dmit it, but she was. If she was this uncomfortable and worn out now what was it going to be like when she reached full term? She wasn't tall so her bump was huge compared to what she was expecting for the stage of pregnancy. That day she had bumped into a friend from med. school. She asked her when she was due, when she told her she looked surprised then asked her if she was sure of her dates. She had blushed and assured her the scans confirmed her dates. She turned and lay on her back for a moment and stared at the ceiling. She wondered where Mulder was right now and shivered at the thought of what they could be doing to him. She tried to push those thoughts away, but in the darkness there was little else to take their place. Tears slid down her face as she turned onto her other side and hauled the pillow around to in front of her and packed it under her bump again. Mulder should be here, she thought bitterly. He should be here to see his baby growing, to go out in the car for fried chicken in the middle of the night; to help her hook her panty hoses over her feet because she could barely reach them over her extended stomach. He wasn't here though; all that remained of him was a bathrobe he had discarded on a chair and a bottle of wine on the kitchen counter. She had left both items in place. Sometimes she wore his bathrobe, taking comfort in the lingering smell of him on it, but now after four months even that smell was fading and she was afraid sometime soon she would be unable to picture his face. She often stared at that bottle of wine, remembering the night he had brought it over. It was the night before that fateful trip to Oregon he had taken with Skinner. She had felt nauseous so they hadn't opened it, promising themselves a romantic night in when he returned. She was finding that thought harder to hold onto these days. She cried hot tears as she thought what she would like to do to those who had taken him away from her when she needed him most. A bitter snort escaped as she thought that she was utterly incapable of doing anything to them in her current condition, except perhaps throwing up on them. She couldn't even fit behind her desk, Mulder's desk she corrected herself. Sobs where coming from her now and she couldn't stop them, her body was wracked with them and she felt the baby kicking back in protest. He or she didn't like it when she cried, she thought they would have gotten used to it by now. She wiped her tears away, the pillow beneath her was soaked, but she didn't care. She rested her face into it as she continued to sniffle; feeling none of the hope she had portrayed to the world that day and every day since Mulder had disappeared. She felt despairing, she felt her child would never see it's father and she would be alone. Alone when she threw up, alone when she had to pee in the middle of the night, alone for ultrasound scans, alone for her first contraction and alone during the delivery. She fell asleep finally, still sobbing as the darkness closed in around her. She could hear the telephone ringing, but she didn't want to wake up, she would feel nauseous and dizzy and she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, but her brain told her it could be important. She slowly shifted herself around to face the telephone, hoping who ever was calling her would be patient and knew she couldn't do anything quickly anymore. She didn't switch on the light, or open her eyes; mearly reached for the phone blindly and pressed it against her ear. "Hello?" She said hoarsely. She groaned quietly as a wave of nausea hit her. "Scully?" The voice said questioningly. She must have sounded bad if Skinner didn't recognise her voice, she really felt like vomiting now, Skinner late at night could not be good. "Sir?" she croaked back at him. "I just received a call from Krycek," he hesitated, "they've found them, all of them." His statement was heavy with sub-text. She sat up suddenly and regretted it, she sank back down a little "Is Mulder with them? Is he alive?" She both needed and dreaded the answers she was going to receive. "Yes, I'm driving up there." She already had her feet on the floor, guess there were some things she could do quickly when she tried, "I'm coming with you." "Scully, listen, there's something you need to know, you might not want to come with me." She was puzzled, if Mulder was alive, why not? What did he think would keep her from being by his side as quickly as she could, "What?" "They found them on.. Skyland mountain." She froze in her tracks, that was where Duane Barry had taken her and she hadn't been seen again for two months, then they had found the charred bodies of former abductees on that same mountain. Fragmented images of what she remembered of her abduction flashed behind her eyelids and she felt nauseous. He was right, she didn't want to back, but stronger than her fear was the need to see Mulder and for him to see her heavy with his child. "Sir, I don't care if it's Antarctica, I'm coming with you." He hesitated, "I'll be round to pick you up in twenty minutes." She was about to protest that she was perfectly capable of driving herself and re-thought that opinion. She wasn't. Apart from the fact that she could barely fit behind the wheel and when she pulled the seat back to accommodate her abdomen she could barely reach the pedals, she was exhausted and physically trembling with the thought of actually finding Mulder. She remembered the phone in her hand and was pleased to hear it was dead. Skinner was as good at goodbyes on the phone as Mulder was. Twenty minutes, she thought to herself, better get a move on. She would be lucky if she could get to the bathroom to pee in twenty minutes. Skinner was still acting as if she were her former nimble self. She didn't know if she liked that or not, at least he wasn't letting the pregnancy define how he viewed her as she found many people did. People in corridors rarely looked at any other part of her than her protruding abdomen, especially at work. She wondered if half of that wasn't because they were wondering about paternity. She felt like sticking a sign to herself 'yes, I am carrying Mulder's baby and he's missing'. Not anymore, he's found. The thought made her heart rate rise involuntarily and she was hit by a wave of nausea. She bolted for the toilet, but only made it to her poor bathroom sink before her stomach ejected its meagre contents. She retched a couple more times as she ran the taps. Steady Scully, she told herself, you haven't seen Mulder in four months, you don't want to vomit on him. She reminded herself that Krycek could be playing games, this whole thing could be a mistake. Twice before they had journeyed to emergency rooms to men matching Mulder's description, neither was him. Each left her feeling more hollow than the day he disappeared. Her mother had rung to see if she was all right, she could barely speak to her. Dana Scully was not one to indulge in self-pity, but she had lay in bed, alone in her apartment all the following day. She reminded herself that it was possible she could spend tomorrow that way too. She wasn't going to call her mother this time, if it was Mulder she would find out later. She pushed herself away from the sink and took a shuddering breath. She had to get ready; Skinner was going to be here in about ten minutes. She shuffled her way back into her bedroom and picked out the most comfortable clothes she could find. Comfortable was a very relative term these days. There was no such thing with a bulge like that sticking from your abdomen. She manoeuvred herself into a pair of maternity pants, with a special built in baby pouch that stretches as you do and topped that with a polo shirt. She held her breath and tipped her head forward slightly as she fought back a wave of nausea. It was a trick she had learned in med. school while caring for a baby who regurgitated his food for attention, if you tipped his head forward he couldn't vomit. She wasn't sure it was advisable in adults so she never used it to stop herself vomiting, but she found it helped with some of the nausea. She threw the minimum into an overnight bag; she didn't have many clothes s he could wear at the moment anyway. She hauled the bag into the living room. She had to pee again. She hoped that wouldn't be the case during the long car journey. Naturally she had just sat on the toilet when Skinner knocked at the door. She peed hurriedly, pulled herself up and hauled her pants back around her waste. She pain-stakingly made her way to the door. Skinner's was patiently inspecting her neighbours' doors. "Ready?" She motioned him through the door, "I'll just grab a jacket." She avoided the question she was burning to ask, are you sure it's him? Skinner crossed the room and picked up her bag as she pulled a coat on, it wouldn't fasten around her, but she didn't really care. "Thanks." She nodded toward the bag. He shrugged back at her. "Are you OK, Scully? If you're not up to this" She sighed, "I need to see if this is him, I don't care if I'm tired or sick, I just, I need him, and he needs me." Skinner nodded back at her, "You're tired and sick?" He turned her statement back on her. He must have learned that from Mulder she mused, he was the only one who could do that until recently, apart from her mother of course. Perhaps she was becoming more transparent. Perhaps it was the pregnancy; perhaps it was just because of the depth of her feelings for Mulder. She sighed, "I did throw up, but I'm OK, and it's 3am, sir, I'm guessing you're fairly tired too?" He smiled; he had to give her that one. "Let's just go, OK?" She locked the door behind them, hoping that she would be bringing Mulder through it with her when s he returned. Skinner threw her bag into the trunk of the car as she laboriously manoeuvred herself into the passenger. How the thought of driving herself had even crossed her mind she didn't know. She slammed the door a little too hard and stretched the seat belt around her. Gazing out the window she tried to think of anything else beside the reason for their journey. How could Skinner be so sure they could trust Krycek? How did he know he wasn't playing game with them? Was he luring them, luring her, back up that mountain for some other reason? She remembered Mulder's accounts of her kidnap by Duane Barry, if Krycek hadn't stopped him he would have reached her before Barry could hand her over to the men who had experimented on her for months. She would never have had that implant in her neck, never developed cancer, never thought herself baron in the first place. She mused over this, if she had learnt anything from her time with Mulder it was that everything happens for a reason, sometimes we just don't see it. If she had never been abducted she wouldn't have been as invested in Mulder's work and probably would have walked away by now, without ever knowing his feelings for her, or conceiving this child. It had been a hard road, but perhaps it had been necessary for them to realise the depth of their feelings for each other. This latest separation though, she could see no reason for. There was no possible positive outcome to Mulder being taken from her when they needed to be together more than ever. If he was back at least he would see the birth of his child, but he had already missed so much, there were so many things she had yearned for him through out. When she first found out she was pregnant, when she started to believe it, she wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but the only person she really wanted to tell was him. When she had started to suffer from morning sickness she selfishly wanted him there to comfort her, like he had when she had vomited her way through numerous rounds of chemotherapy, but instead she had sit alone in her bathroom for what seemed like hours on end. The first time she felt the baby move she was so happy for a moment she forgot Mulder was missing and turned around to tell him. Then she remembered he wasn't there, and with the words dying off in her throat felt more alone than she ever had in her life before, his absence had hit her like a hammer in the heart. She glanced across at Skinner, he had been so supportive in Mulder's absence. She hoped that Skinner's support would not be necessary for very much longer. She had often thought about how she would tell Mulder she was pregnant when he returned, now she thought, she probably wouldn't have to tell him. He wouldn't be able to miss it. She just hoped that he could accept that he was the father and try to put thoughts about how this happened out of his head as she had done. At least until the baby was born. She tried to push images of Emily out of her head and rows of containers of babies in solution, babies with green blood, hideous abnormalities. They would just have to wait and see, all the ultrasounds were normal and the amniocentesis showed this baby was 100% human, containing half her DNA and half Mulder's, but she still wouldn't be happy until she held a perfectly healthy baby in her arms. "Do you want to stop and get something to eat?" Skinner asked, shaking her from her thoughts. She thought about not wanting to waste any time, but lack of sugar quickly reversed her decision, "Yeah, that would be good." They pulled into a service station that seemed to Scully to be miles from anywhere. It was still dark so there seemed to be no visible landmarks of any of the places she expected to see. She didn't consider it very long though, she had to go to the bathroom. She managed to leaver herself out of the car with much effort. Skinner stood by looking uncomfortable, she could tell he wasn't sure if he should offer her help or not. She was glad he decided on the not, she didn't need to be pulled out of the car by her boss, that would just be the final humiliation. This entire pregnancy had seemed to be a string of humiliations. Firstly passing out on the long gunmen and their virtual kidnap of her to the hospital to find out what was wrong. Then there was the occurrence of frequent dizzy spells during meetings regarding the search for Mulder. Most recently the smell of Skinner's cup of coffee had sent her running to the ladies where she had thrown up her breakfast and dinner from the night before in front of a horrified and concerned Kimberly. That was without mentioning the various pelvics and other diagnostic tests she had had to undergo. She couldn't understand why her mother had done this four times, then again she had yet to hold her newborn baby in her arms. She suspected at that time she would forget all that had gone before. She mused that perhaps if she fell pregnant again she would have fewer symptoms because her body would have already been exposed to the various hormones and would be better able to cope. Skinner was waiting for her by the car when she returned from the bathroom, he had already bought them both something to eat. She smiled her thanks as he handed her a bag containing a plain croissant, he knew she preferred plain food these days, while he tucked into a donut and a cup of coffee. He tossed her a bottle of mineral water and she smiled to herself. When had he become her guardian angel? She realised her had done everything he could to make this whole thing more bearable for her. He had bent over backwards to accommodate her, and probably bent a few rules in the process. She wondered if part of his motivation was guilt over losing Mulder. She knew it probably was, but also knew that there was nothing else he could have done to stop him. Mulder's inane curiosity would have gotten the better of him regardless of who he was with. She doubted the outcome would have been very different if she had been there. Silence hung heavy between them as they chewed on their respective pastries, until Scully finally summoned up the courage to ask the question that had been burning to be asked ever since he had telephoned her, "How do you know Krycek is telling the truth?" Skinner put down his coffee and turned to face her from his position perched on the bonnet of the car, "To be honest I don't, Scully. But I just can't ignore what he's saying, I can't think of any reason why he would lie about this, can you?" She shrugged, "Maybe he wants to lure us up there, for, Well, I don't know what, but it's a very remote location." "I don't think he wants to hurt you, Scully, he phoned me, he didn't ask me to bring you." "But he knew I would want to come, he knew you'd inform me straight away." She countered. He shrugged, "Maybe," he sat up straighter as he regarded her, the colour seemed to draining from her face, "Are you ok?" She leaned heavily against the car, "Just a bit dizzy." "Here." He said as he took hold of her arm. Scully allowed herself to be led around to the passenger side where she sat down and leaned her head forward taking deep breaths. Skinner allowed his hand to linger on her shoulder to try and lend her some stability as the world span around her. He crouched down next to her, "Is there anything I can get you?" She shook her head slowly, "No, thanks, I'm ok, it's easing off a bit now." When she was able she looked up at him and smiled her reassurance then took a mouthful of water, she didn't want to drink too much because she would need to go to the bathroom again. Skinner pushed himself up and r egarded her form above, she was well used to being towered over by now and h ad long ago ceased be intimidated by it. "Are you ready to carry on?" He asked. She swung her feet back into the car, "When you are." She replied. Skinner joined her back in the car and turned the key in the ignition. Scully felt the baby stir at the sound, her own heart rate too rose slightly as s he silently prayed that she would finally be able to bring Mulder home. Scully woke with a start, but didn't know why, it took her a moment to get her bearings and realise they had stopped. She looked out the window into the now breaking dawn and it's light, they had arrived on skyland mountain. She saw features she recognised and an involuntary shudder passed through her. "Ready?" Skinner asked. "More than ready." She replied, if this really was true she had been waiting for this moment for what seemed like years. She saw Krycek walking toward them and felt herself stiffen. She released her seatbelt as skinner did the same. As she opened her door Krycek offered a hand to help her up. She ignored it and pulled herself up to face him. "What's going on Krycek? Is he here or are you playing games with us?" "Good to see you too Scully." He replied, apparently unfazed, "You're looking well." Skinner rounded the car to join them, "Cut the crap Krycek, are you going to take us to Mulder or not?" Krycek took a deliberate step back and gestured to a small wood cabin that was just visible, "He's waiting for you." They began their walk toward the cabin, Scully could feel her heart rate increase as they got closer to the cabin, she took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself down, logically she tried to tell herself this could still be a trick. She didn't see any other signs of life a round here, certainly less than she would have expected if all the abductees were found here. Alarm bells were ringing in her head and she remembered the lone gunmen's warning to her. They reminded her that both her and Mulder were immune to the virus, though they disagreed about it's origins, so it was likely their child would be too, and there were some parties who would love to get their hands on a child with such qualities. Ironically now she was passed the twenty four weeks stage she knew the baby had a chance of survival if it arrived early, now though approaching the cabin she found little comfort in that and began to wonder about the timing of this visit to this remote location. Would Skyland Mountain add to its repertoire of bad memories today? She could only hope not. She could see lights on in the cabin ahead of them and wasn't sure if she should feel comforted or not. She was a good few paces behind Krycek and skinner and made no attempt to catch them up. Her stride was shorter than theirs was and that coupled with her protruding abdomen meant she wasn't built for speed. Built for comfort, not speed, that was what a professor of hers had said during med. School, right now she didn't feel like she was built for comfort either. Krycek and Skinner were at the door to the cabin, another few steps and she would be too. She irrationally didn't want to get there, because when she did and he wasn't there her hope would die again and she and her child would be alone together. But she did get there. Her throat and stomach tightened as Krycek placed his hand on the door and pushed it open, it all seemed to go in slow motion as the door swung open. There, facing them, sitting on the edge of a bed was Mulder. Scully blinked twice, he was still there. Perhaps it was really him. She quickly assessed him as she approached, his hair was untidy and he needed a shave, he'd lost some weight, but otherwise he seemed fine. He was rising to meet her, he was saying something, but she couldn't hear him. She could barely see him through the tears blurring her vision. She was in his embrace, not knowing how she got there, and it was only then with her face pressed into his shirt that she realised this was real, he was here. She hugged him back, as closely as her stomach would allow, feeling them warmth of him, inhaling his smell deeply, allowing her sobs to escape her, not caring if this was a trap because at least she had been able to spend this time with him. After what in one way felt like hours, but in another felt like seconds only Mulder pulled away from her enough to be able to address the others. Krycek and Skinner stood at a respectable distance away from them, both holding their silence. Mulder openly ran his hand over Scully's abdomen as he bent down to kiss her on the forehead. She clung to him as if her life depended on it. It was Krycek who broke the silence, "What a touching reunion," he said sarcastically, "looks like Miss Scully has been busy in your absence, hey Mulder?" Mulder squeezed her shoulder as he replied, "I guess math isn't your s trong suit Krycek, along with morals, and loyalty, but since you made the mistake of telling me I had been missing for four months I think I can safely assume the baby's mine." "Why are we here?" Skinner interrupted impatiently. "YOU'RE here," Krycek said as he gestured at Skinner and Scully, "because Mulder here kept asking to see Scully, now that he has I'm hoping he will be more open to negotiation." Scully stiffened and tightened her grip on Mulder, feeling as if he was about to be taken away again. "Negotiation about what, Krycek?" Mulder asked him. "I want you to work with us, with Marita and I instead of thrashing around in the dark against us. Stop trying to reveal what's going on to the 'American people' and concentrate on helping us find a way to save them." "From what?" Scully interjected. "From what?" Krycek replied incredulously, "After all these years trailing around after him you don't know? You should really join us too, denial like that is hard to come by." Scully was about to reply but Mulder cut her off, "Forget it Krycek, I'm not doing your dirty work, or the dirty work of who ever it is you're betraying at the moment." He took hold of Scully's arm and led her to the door, "Let's get out of here Scully." Skinner led the way to the car as Krycek followed them silently at first, as they got into the car he fired ff one last parting remark. "Don't forget Mulder, that baby is the product of two parents who have both undergone various types of genetic manipulation," he paused, looking thoughtful, "there are people who would love to put that baby under a microscope." "Yeah? They'll have to find us first." Mulder slipped into the back seat beside Scully as Skinner started the engine. "Don't make threats Krycek, it's not good for your health. How many people do you know that you can still trust? I'd think about that." They drove back down the dirt track and left Krycek standing alone in the mountain breeze. FIN. Author's notes: This is my first venture into fanfic, hope someone l ikes it, feedback would be greatly appreciated!