From: Nicole Baker Date: Sun, 22 Apr 2001 22:32:32 -0700 (PDT) Subject: xfc: Promise for the Future, post Empedocles Source: xfc Title: Promise for the Future by: Agent Diana Fowley Email: agtdianafowley@yahoo.com Category: MSR, vignette, post episode Keywords: MSR Rating: PG Spoilers: Tonight's episode, Empedocles, Feedback: I need it to live Summary: This story takes place after Mulder gives Scully the doll. Promise for the Future Agent Diana Fowley "...but then that's the other gift you gave me, Mulder....courage....to believe and I hope that's a gift I can pass on," she says to me ask she runs the had over the doll I gave her. That doll was a favorite of my mothers. She kept in a glass case and only let Sam or I hold under close supervision, we both had a knack of tearing things up. When I got older, after Sam was taken, she finally told me what that old doll meant so much to her. She told me that her mother never had a doll when she was growing up. She always wanted one but her parents couldn't afford to buy her one. My grandmother swore to herself that when she had a daughter that her daughter would have a doll to play with. After my mother was born, my grandmother put a little money away every week so she could buy the very best doll for my mother. Then my grandmother spent countless hours sewing outfits for this one doll. The way my mother talked, my grandmother played with the doll almost as much as my mother did. I know, despite everything she had, that this doll was my mother's most prized possession. There was no other person I wanted to have it. "Mulder?" Scully finally said, bringing me back to the present. "You still here?" "Yeah," I said, but I don't think she was convinced. "Family heirloom? Wanna tell me that story?" she asks, holding up the doll and straitening its dress. "It was my mother's...I'll tell you about it later. Let's just say it's a symbol of hopes and dreams for the next generation" She nods and then gently places the doll back in the box. "Thank you, Mulder," she says after making sure the doll was comfortably arranged in its box. Thank you for sharing a piece of your family with me and thank you for giving me the courage to believe that mine would continue, for giving me the courage to believe in this miracle." Her eyes fill with tears and her hands stroke her swollen belly. I nod a thank you and then cover her hand with mine, still amazed at the fact that she lets me touch her like this. She immediately reverses their positions so my hand is resting on her stomach, just below her breasts, and hers is on top of mine. I barley feel the flutter of movement and smile at her, knowing she undoubtedly feels it to. She moves our hands to her right and I feel a more pronounced flutter from beneath her skin. "The pizza man must but be one hell of a soccer player," I say. She tries to respond but instead makes a sound of discomfort. I move my hand from under hers and lean back against the cushions of her couch. I drape my arm across her shoulder and pull her to me. She gives an amused snort as she lays her head against my shoulder. She then picks up my other hand and rests it back over the movement. I feel her relax against me as I draw lazy circles on top of her hard belly and silk PJs. "You know it wasn't the pizza guy, don't you," she finally says. I brush a kiss in her hair and say, "I'll cross him off my list of suspects then." She gives me snort of amusement. "How long's this list?" "One less than it was a few minutes ago," I say in cryptic response. She again covers my had with her own, stopping it's movement. Then she sits up so she is looking me in the eyes. "This baby....is yours," she whispers. "I thought you knew." I shake my head and can feel tears of joy stinging my eyes. "I didn't know. I hoped but I didn't...." She smiles and leans forward. Then she kisses me softly on the lips, "This the greatest gift you have ever given me." I smile and pull her back against me so her head is again resting on my shoulder. My baby. I can hardly believe it. I knew there was a chance. I just didn't dare to hope that it was actually mine. I knew that no matter who the father was, I wanted to be involved in this child's life. Even though I had not right to feel this way, I felt that any child of Scully's was mine by default. I rested my had on Scully again, hoping to again feel the movement of her baby, my baby. "It's asleep," Scully said as she pulls her body closer to mine. After what felt like an eternity of silence she said, "What's on your mind, Mulder." I was quite for a moment as I gathered my thoughts. She waited patiently and drew abstract patterns over my hand with her fingernails. "I've been thinking, about this case, about Agent Doggett. I was thinking about all he went through, about how he lost his child. I have felt so a float recently, like I'm no longer grounded to anything. I don't have the X-Files. I've found all of the answers that have kept me dedicated to my quest. When I heard about Doggett loosing his son, I couldn't help but thinking about you, in the hospital, fighting for your child. I realized that I had finally found my anchor. I finally found my new job and my new quest. I felt, Scully, that I was brought back to help your protect this child, this miracle, from whatever harm may be out there, whether it be the forces of evil or Barney." She laughs but I can hear her holding back a sob. "That was my goal, even before I knew that this child was mine." She wraps her arms around me and squeezes my body to hers in a sideways hug. Then she lifts her head from my shoulder and looks me in the eyes and smiles. I return her smile and lean forward to kiss her. While I plans on returning the chaste kiss she had bestowed on me earlier, she has other ideas. When I try to pull away after brushing my lips across hers, she follows, sealing our lips more firmly together. This is a kiss I can count on one hand the number of times I received from her before I was taken, and haven't received since I returned. It is full of passion and promise. When she pulls back I capture her head with both of my hands, "Scully, I promise I'll do everything I can to protect this child. I promise that I'll provide everything it needs. I want it to have everything I dreamed of when I was a child. The doll is just a start." The End. ===== AIM: xflznicole CSM: How do you like your coffee? Scully: Unadulterated! Justice - When you get what you deserve Mercy - When you don't get what you deserve Grace - When you get what you don't deserve