From: ephemeral@ephemeralfic.org Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2001 15:48:02 -0600 Subject: Rules by Philemom Source: direct Reply To: egbement@yahoo.com Disclaimer: These characters are mine, all mine.. ..Bwahahaha. Not. We all know who they belong to, and it ain't me. Nor am I expecting gobs of money to come my way. Fox, Chris Carter and 1013 get that glory. Time Period: Post-Requiem (sort-of), but from there I disregard everything else. Setting: In this story, Mulder was never abducted. My family will tell you that I live in my own little world. This story confirms it. Classification: MSR, little angsty, little fluffy POV: Primarily Mulder's Archive: Anywhere,just keep my name on it and let me know where it's headed. Feedback: always appreciated egbement@yahoo.com Rating: PG Rules By Philemom Prologue May 2000 "Well?" Fox Mulder asked the minute his partner walked into their office. "Well what?" Scully answered vaguely, her eyes fixed on the wall behind him. "What did the doctor say?" Mulder clarified, wondering why she was being deliberately dense about it. He'd been hounding her about this since his return from Oregon the week before. "She didn't say anything. I'm perfectly healthy." Scully still wasn't meeting his eyes. "Still in remission." "Then why are you fainting all of the sudden? And what about the chills? And the fatigue?" Mulder pushed. "She said that should go away soon, but it's to be expected." Scully sat in a chair and picked up the case file from his desk. "What are you talking about, Scully?" Mulder sat across from her, silently willing her to meet his eyes. "I'm pregnant, Mulder." Scully blurted out then raised her eyes to his. For a long moment, neither spoke. In that span of time, their eyes said volumes. Mulder's expression went from shock to joy in a nanosecond. Scully's remained impassive. But Mulder knew how to get past that. He saw what lay beneath -- panic. When he opened his mouth to say something, the impassivity left her face. But the panic intensified, and it mixed with pleading. As if she was begging him not to say anything. So he didn't. He gave her the space she obviously needed, figuring that they would discuss it eventually. Unfortunately, it was six months before they did. Six Months Later "Scully!" Mulder screamed from across the hangar. He was still running as he watched the bullets hit his partner in the stomach and in the arm. See her crumple to the ground, uninjured arm moving to cover her overly large abdomen. He also saw Jamison hit the ground, but that only vaguely registered as he ran the few remaining feet to Scully. She was unconscious when he arrived. Blood oozed bright red from the wound to her arm. Removing his belt, he made a makeshift tourniquet. Then came the hard part. Mulder parted her coat, preparing himself for the worst. But there was no blood. He ran his hand over the bulge that was their growing child. Strange time to be feeling that for the first time, he thought bitterly. Strange as it was, though, he was pretty sure it shouldn't feel bumpy. Then it hit him. Her vest. Lifting the blouse, he found the bullet and sent silent thanks to the makers of Kevlar, and to whomever had had the foresight to make a maternity version. Before he could do much more, their backup arrived and Scully was whisked into an ambulance. He holstered his weapon and walked quickly to the police sergeant that had called them in on the case. When he arrived at the hospital an hour later, he was a little shocked to be denied access to her. "What do you mean I can't see her?" Mulder's tone grew quiet. Dangerously so. "There's been a complication," the nurse said with no inflection. "To an arm wound? I saw it, it wasn't that bad." "I'm sorry, sir. But I can't release any more information to a non-family member." "But I am a family member, sort of." After all, he was related to the baby. That had to count for something. Obviously it didn't count to the nurse. As much as he hated to, as much as he knew Scully wouldn't want him to, he did it anyway. He called the one person he knew could get answers. She made it there in record time. "Fox?" Despite the seriousness of the situation, just hearing his first name was enough to make him smile. Mostly because there was only one person in the world that used it. "Hi, Mrs. Scully," Mulder said, embracing her when she was near enough. "Is there any word?" "No, nothing. Every now and then another nurse or doctor runs in or runs out. No one says anything, though. At least, not to me." That didn't sit well with the elder Scully, and with a determined set to her jaw she headed towards the nurse's station for news. She came back a few minutes later shaking her head. "They wouldn't tell me anything, either. And they won't let me see her. Apparently, at Dana's request." "So we wait," Mulder sighed aloud. "Again," Mrs. Scully said, stopping Mulder in his tracks. How many hospital hallways had he sat in, had Scully sat in, over the years? In how many others had they paced, or argued, or embraced? And now, another hospital. Another vigil. Another interminable period in which they were forced to wait for answers. "Mr. Mulder, Mrs. Scully?" the nurse said as she approached. Mrs. Scully jerked slightly. They rose together, Mulder's arm around her shoulders. At this point, he wasn't sure who was comforting whom. "Agent Scully is out of danger," the nurse assured them. "The shock of the gunshot wound sent her into labor." "Labor? But she's only seven months pregnant." Mulder began to pace again. He knew so little about this stuff. Could a baby born this early survive? Considering the miracle it already was, could they even ask for another one? He could hear the nurse continuing to go over the details with Mrs. Scully, but didn't know enough about it to follow the conversation. "They stopped it, Fox. She's resting now, and probably wondering where you are." Maggie Scully was desperately trying to keep from smiling. Fox Mulder, one of the most unflappable young men she had ever met, was nearly crawling out of his skin. "You go in first," Mulder said, still pacing. He couldn't see Scully like this. If he didn't get himself under control, he'd start breaking her rules. The damn rules. Not that they'd ever been articulated, or even referred to as such, but over the past six months he'd learned what they were. Usually by breaking one. Rule: No discussion of the night in April. Period. Mentioning the word April is not a good idea. Rule: Asking "How are you?" is not a good idea, either. Rule: No discussion of baby or pregnancy. You are supposed to pretend that you don't notice how big her stomach's getting. Rule: Do not mention that desk work might be more appropriate for a pregnant agent. And so on. About an hour later, he felt ready to face his partner. He'd been patient for six months, and dammit, she was going to talk to him this time. They'd both taken the easy way out for far too long. "What's up, G woman?" he asked, dragging a chair close, but not too close, to her bedside. He was going to have to take this slowly, if he wanted to sneak under her radar. "Not much, G man," her voice cracked. "Mulder-" "Scully-" They began together, then fought an eye battle to see who would go first. Scully won, staring her partner down. "Did they tell you what happened?" Scully asked. "Yes. Well, they told your mom and she told me. Is everything okay?" "It seems to be. They want me to stay overnight, but that's just a precaution." Silence descended. Mulder called himself a coward in every sense of the word, but couldn't do it. Maybe it was because seeing her in a hospital bed brought back too many painful memories. Maybe it was because she'd been through so much, he didn't want to burden her with more. But mostly, it was because he knew she didn't want to hear it. "Then I'll see you back at work," Mulder finally said and then rose from the chair and left the room. It was almost funny, he thought grimly. Two people that had created a baby couldn't even hold hands now. It would be funny, if it wasn't so pathetic. Mulder stopped the movie he'd turned on after dinner when he heard a faint sound at his door. He moved closer when the sound came again. He almost fell over when he saw who was waiting for him on the other side. "Mrs. Scully?" Mulder said, astonished. "Fox," she exhaled, as if uncertain over her actions. "May I come in?" Mulder made a quick mental inventory of his apartment and then granted her access. After eight years with this woman's daughter, he'd learned not to leave anything lying around. Or in the VCR, he grinned. "Well, Dana was right. It certainly is, um, picturesque." "I gotta be me," Mulder responded with a smile and led Mrs. Scully to the couch. "What's the occasion, if you don't mind my asking?" "I've had a policy of not meddling in my children's lives since they were in school. And I find myself desperately needing to break that policy now." "Why?" "Because my daughter is the one of the most hard headed people I've ever known." When he began to laugh, Mrs. Scully held up her hand. "Don't laugh too hard, Fox. You're the other one." "Oh," he sobered. "I have kept my mouth shut for years, watching the pair of you dance around your feelings for one another until I was dizzy. But that's all changed. Now I have a grandchild involved in your dance. If you were one of my sons, I'd tell you to get your head out of your behind. But you're not, so I'll temper it a bit. It's time to fish or cut bait, Fox." Mulder sat staring without speaking. Not that he could speak. His mouth just kept opening and closing. "Now I've said enough, more than I should have, and I have to go." She rose regally and walked herself to the door. "Good night, Fox." It took a few minutes, and she was already gone, when Mulder found his voice enough to say good night back. He'd always thought Scully's mom was a great lady, a mother figure for him since his own hadn't been the warmest soul on the planet. Hell, she'd even stood between him and a gun when Scully went a little nuts four years ago. But fish or cut bait? Now that the shock had worn off, he could even laugh about it. And whether Scully liked it or not, Mulder was going fishing. "Scully? Are you asleep?" Mulder asked, poking his head into her room. "No," she responded, not turning her light on. "What are you doing here this late?" "I needed to talk to you," Mulder said simply, walking over to her bedside and moving a chair closer. Just as he had that morning. "And it couldn't wait?" Scully asked. "Well, not according to your mother," Mulder responded, getting precisely the reaction he'd hoped for. "What does my mother have to do with it?" "She showed up at my apartment about an hour ago." "She did?" "She did. And she gave me an earful, too. Called the pair of us hard headed." "Mom never was one for subtlety. She usually told us to get our heads out of our rear ends." Mulder stifled his laughter. "I guess she got as fed up with the rules as I have." "What rules?" "The rules over what we are and are not allowed to talk about. I've spent six months walking on eggshells and it ends right now." Scully didn't respond, she simply met his gaze head on. "We have a great partnership, Scully, but we're lousy at the interpersonal stuff. We can spout crime theories for hours but we can't talk for two minutes about one night that changed everything." "Mulder-" Scully tried to break in, clearly uneasy. "No you don't," Mulder stopped her. "We tried it your way and we're both miserable. At least, I am. Now we're going to try it my way. I told you I loved you once, Scully. You didn't believe me. But I meant it as much then as I do now. You are carrying our child right now. Miracle that it is, it doesn't hold a candle to the miracle of having you in my arms, in my bed, the night that baby came to be." Mulder stopped to look up at her, almost afraid to gauge her reaction to what he'd said. Her cheeks were covered in tears. That could be very good or very bad. "Scully?" he prompted, taking her hand in his. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, her voice thick with emotion. Oh my God, Mulder thought. It was very bad. "I've been such a coward," Scully continued. Or very good, Mulder thought again. "I was so afraid, Mulder. I've faced down some pretty evil things, Tooms, Pfaster, cancer. But when it came to us, I just got down-to-the-bone scared. You're my partner and my best friend, Mulder. You're also the man I love. Over the years, the line kept blurring. I was never sure enough to risk crossing that line." Her hand tightened on his as she cleared her throat to continue. "Then we did." She cleared her throat again. "And when I woke up, I debated over staying or leaving. I thought that if I left, we could go on as usual and never mention it again. We never really talked about personal stuff, so I figured it would work." "But fate put a dent in your plans," Mulder said with a smile. "I know," Scully smiled back. "And that threw me. It shook me so bad, I couldn't talk about it. And not just to you, by the way. Mom didn't find out until two months ago, when I couldn't hide it anymore. But I realized today how selfish I've been. And I am so sorry for that, Mulder." Scully reached for his hand and placed it on her stomach. "This is your baby, too." The night nurse took that moment to come in and check her vitals. Once she'd left, Mulder sat on the edge of her hospital bed and placed his hand on her stomach again. "Maybe I heard you wrong a while ago," Mulder said softly, "but I thought I heard you say you loved me." Scully closed her eyes, obviously still uncomfortable with it. But Mulder's pulse leapt as she raised her head, smiled and said, "I did. And I do, Mulder." "Mrs. Scully?" a deep voice came from behind her. "Mr. Skinner," Maggie Scully said as the man approached her. "How is Dana?" he asked as he came to a stop in front of her. "I'd say she's just about perfect, Mr. Skinner. But I wouldn't go in there until they wake up," Maggie said, not even trying to hide her smile. "They?" Skinner questioned, glancing over her head and into the room. The sight that greeted him did wonders for his heart, but gave him a pounding headache at the same time. His two best agents, lying side by side in a hospital bed, Mulder's hand on Scully's distended stomach. -end- Author's Notes: I know, I know. I mentioned the end of a case and went nowhere with it. That was only the means to the end of Scully being shot. By the way, flames will be returned and unread so don't even bother. Like I said in the last one, if you didn't like it, move on. Life's too short.