From: "Dream Cole" Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2001 13:02:55 -0500 Subject: xfc: NEW: Peace - The Dream Series Source: xfc Title: Peace Author: Dream Cole E-mail: dreamcole@hotmail.com Archive: Just let me know. Rating: PGish. Classifications: V, MSR (Okay, MSM), S Spoilers: None. But I'm ignoring any episode that said Scully could not have children. So you can say it didn't happen or there was some miracle between then and now. This is kind of a continuation of the Dream Series, although it is quite obvious what happened. If you are interested in reading the others in the series, please e-mail me and let me know. Summary: Mulder and Scully struggle to decide the future. Disclaimer: I don't own em. I'd like to, but I don't. Quick note: This is a continuation from Exhaustion so if you haven't read that yet you might want to go read it. You'll probably get the picture of what's going on, but just in case... :-) Peace "I'm sorry, what did you say?" My mind couldn't comprehend what my wife just said. I blinked the sleep away and tried to concentrate. I've never been good at paying attention when I first wake up so talking to me after I've just awoken from a nap is never a good idea. Something was wrong though, I could tell that much. Scully looked worried and tired, about how I felt. Her clothes were wrinkled from her nap, her gorgeous hair swept up in a messy ponytail and her face scrubbed free of makeup. Her actions weren't typical either - my usually calm and composed wife was fidgeting, her eyes darting around the room as she chewed on her lower lip, an endearing trait that made me want to sweep her into my arms. But I could tell by the way she was acting that now wasn't the time. "Mulder, it'll be okay, you know? We can handle this, right? I mean, it'll be fine, just fine." She sat down on the bed with me and Dream, sneaking a peek at our sleeping beauty. "Scully, I didn't hear what you said," I braced myself for the worst. "Uh," she took a deep breath, looked me in the eyes and said, "I'm pregnant." Oh. That would explain her uneasy attitude. While we do love Dream and would do anything for her, these past couple of weeks have been stressful what with her rebellious stage kicking in. Moments like now, when she's fast asleep and looking adorable put a big grin on my face. But when she's running around the house, disobeying her own parents, and throwing temper tantrums I would like nothing better than to hide under the covers until she's either reverted back to her cute self or grown up. Another baby? Can we do this? I could tell my wife wanted an answer by the way she kept darting looks in my direction, pretending that she was fine but secretly needing to know how I felt about this. I mean, there was no question that we had to have this child, we were both against abortion, but I don't think Scully would have survived being alone in the pregnancy. I'd never leave her, that's not what I mean. Alone in wanting this child. I'm still tired, I can't think straight. "What do you think?" I asked her. She looked down at her hands. "I know we didn't plan but, I dunno. I mean, a baby! I wish we had waited a bit longer, but maybe it'll be okay. It will be okay. It'll just take some... adjusting." She was hurting and I knew why. She had taken off a great deal of maternity leave when Dream was born and though she didn't mind because of the baby, she had missed work. And now she's only been back at work for a year and she has to start all over? It had cost her, leaving work to become a mommy - she had been struggling to regain her position, her authority, her respect. But then I thought of other things. I remembered the first time I saw my baby - my baby! - covered in fluids and screaming her lungs off as the nurses struggled to clean her off. The way she looked into my eyes and snuggled in my chest, recognizing me immediately as someone she could trust. The way I could take her for walks and teach her things. The way she loved me, would always love me, and the way I loved her. The feeling of pride the day she started saying "da da". The surge of happiness that sprung up inside of me when she would come running into my arms after a long day. The sense of peace that came over me as I held her on my lap, with my wife by my side, reading her a story. Could I do this again? Probably. Did I want to? Definately. I could tell Scully was still waiting for an answer, striving to read my face for a response. I took her hand in mine. "We can do this." Her face lit up and I could tell that her thoughts had been similar to mine. "Yes. We will." THE END Author's Notes: Someone called me a feedback whore the other day (In a nice way, I hope) and I suppose that's true so... didja like it? Feedback feedback feedback!