From: ephemeral@ephemeralfic.org Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2000 20:05:05 -0500 Subject: Purple Lilacs and Baby\'s Breath by Adia Source: direct Reply To: AdiaFic@email.com Purple Lilacs and Baby's Breath (1/1) by Adia AdiaFic@email.com Spoilers: "Requiem" Summary: Continuation of "Requiem." Scully's mom pays a visit to her hospital room, and while Scully searches for the right words, her mother already knows.... About a scene long. Rating: G Category: Angst, MSR Disclaimer: The characters of Mulder, Scully, and Margaret Scully are the ingenious creations of Chris Carter, not me. Author's Notes: Feedback is not only a good thing, but necessary to my survival. She was so tired, but she couldn't fall asleep that night. She'd stay at the hospital an extra day, but he tests turned out to be of little help in answering the many questions that she had. Now she'd be seeing an obstetrician. They'd moved Scully to a room where she could see the moon and the stars outside the window. Knowing that they were still firmly affixed in their heavenly paths was comforting in it's simplicity, with Mulder gone. With Mulder gone. As she stared hopefully out the window, she thought about the ramifications of what this meant, and the difficult path set out ahead of her. She realized the very strength to go on, to keep looking, had come from him. Unknowingly, he'd given her so much more than she could ever ask of him. And now, this life force which lay inside of her, growing, and *living*....had no idea how much love and hope it brought to her heart. As much as this fragile, helpless little child depended on her to take care of it, she depended on it just as much to survive. She'd never give up. She would find him. She had to. Her door then opened, slowly. She rolled over, instinctually cautious. Before she could even remember where her weapon was, she recognized her mother's profile in the darkness. "Mom..." she said with so much relief in her voice. "Oh sweetie, I didn't want to wake you...I thought I'd just bring you some things." She set a bag on a chair then a vase of purple lilacs and baby's breath on the nightstand. Turned the knob on the lamplight only once, so that it wasn't too bright. "No, no. You didn't wake me. It's only 9:00." They embraced. "I came as soon as I got your message on the answering machine," said Maggie Scully. "I'm so sorry I was out when you called. I was visiting Bill and Tara." "Oh," Scully said sweetly. "How are they?" "They miss you," Maggie said smiling as she sat down on the bed. "Matthew's getting so big. He looks a bit like your father....after he lost his hair." Scully laughed a little, then sighed. She looked at her mother, never having been happier to see her. Then she looked away, wondering what on earth to say. Maggie couldn't wait any longer. "Is it the cancer?" she asked fearfully. "Did it recur?" Of course, that would be her first inclination. Scully felt guilty for letting her mother think that even for a moment. "No, no," she assured her. "I'm perfectly fine." Maggie leaned over and kissed her daughter's cheek, speaking soothingly. "Oh, now, Danie. Whatever it is, you can tell me...Is it Fox?" Scully tried to speak, but it was just so hard. Her mother always made her feel like a little girl again. More so now than at any other time. She started to cry. She was scared. Oh how she missed Mulder. She'd never ached for him before. Not like this. There was a long pause while Maggie Scully studied her daughter. She was heartbroken, it was clear. And yet....And yet there was something else. Her cheeks wet with tears, Scully looked up questioningly. "What is it, Mom?" This was a look that only a mother would recognize in her daughter. But it couldn't be... "If I didn't know better, I'd say that you were pregnant," she said laughing solemnly. Scully just stared at her, surprised. Maggie's face grew serious. "It's true?" Scully nodded. "Oh, Danie." Maggie gently stroked her daughter's hair and cupped her face in her hand, starting to cry. "My baby girl..." "How did you know?" Scully asked. "I'm your mother," she said with a smile. "I know everything." Scully laughed a little, then hugged her mother. "I love you, Mom..." "Oh....Dana. I love you too, Sweethart." Maggie replied. Then she let her go and looked at her again. "I can't believe it. You told me you couldn't..." "I don't know how it happened. The tests aren't telling us very much. I do know *when* it happened," she smiled. "...and *where* it happened.... But not how. I just don't know." "Fox..." Scully's lip quivered. She nodded. "He didn't know, he...He was taken. Yesterday. Just like I was. He didn't know..." Maggie had never imagined watching her daughter suffer any more than she already had. This news had brought so much hope yet not without another setback. She'd marveled at the strength of her daughter's heart in tragedies past- a certain perseverance and fortitude which she'd also admired in Dana's father. But she knew now that her daughter needed her now more than ever before. She was the only one who'd even remotely understand the trials Dana would now face. They'd face them together, she vowed. "You loved him." Scully laid her head on her mother's shoulder. "He didn't know, he didn't know..." she sobbed. Maggie held her daughter tight for dear life. So help her God, she'd pull her through this. She stroked Dana's hair and rocked her like she did thirty years ago. "He knows, Dana. He knows."