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Abah IX: The Birth by Susan Proto
Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998
Category: Story, Angst, MSR, Mag/Sk Romance (mild mention)
Rating: PG13 for language
Spoilers: Through Season 4
Summary: It's time for a birthin' and you know things just don't come easy
for the Mulders. Ever.
Archive: Yes
Disclaimer: These characters belong to 10/13 productions and Chris Carter. I am merely borrowing them, I won't keep `em unless Mr. Carter thinks otherwise (which, of course, I doubt, but I can dream, can't I??) I shall return them at the end of the story, but may take 'em back again if he doesn't treat 'em right! <g>
WARNING: Somewhat graphic details are included re: the birth process. If you
have a weak stomach, or just can't handle details entailing biology, you might
want to skip this one…. (But heck, if Mulder can handle it, for the most
part, that is, I figure anyone can! <g>)
This continues after the events of "Abah VIII: The Caregiver." There is
continuity time line from the first story in the series to this one, so I do
recommend you read Abah I -VIII first. As "informative" as this story is,
there will be some black holes, **particularly the epilogue, kids,** that can
only be filled in by the previous stories in the series. Besides, this is my
totally gratuitous means of groveling and begging for feedback on any and all
of my "Abah" stories.
And if you want easy access to the series, thanks to the ever incredible,
Shirley Smiley, Web Mistress Supreme of the MulderTorture Anonymous site, I
now have a web site with all of my stories on it! Can you imagine? I am just
so tickled! Please, go visit and let Shirley know she is a wunderkind!!
Please!
The site addy for Susan's Garden is:
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Chamber/4819/index.html
And of course my everlasting thanks to my cyberMuse, cyberEditor and friend,
Vickie Moseley. I think it took less time for her to give birth to her own
children than it did for me to finish this one! Thank you Vickie, as always,
you are the best!
Thanks in advance for all of your kind words, past and future.
Please send e-mail comments to: STPteach@aol.com
Abah IX: The Birth
by Susan Proto (STPteach@aol.com)
Part 1/4
Amazingly, the crib had not crumpled moments after Mulder and Walter had
completed it.
In fact, it was a beautiful piece of furniture, made of natural oak, and
matched the chest of drawers Maggie and Walter had bought for their soon to be
born, grandchild's room.
And so the crib stood. Empty. For days after it was built. And remained so.
And Dana Scully-Mulder was getting sick and tired of it.
"Damn it! When is this child going to make an appearance?" she cried out in
total frustration.
"Dana, stop! That's not good for the baby!" retorted Mulder with his eyes
twinkling.
"Oh, sweetheart, I'll be okay," she replied to what she thought was his kind
and compassionate response to her frustration at being way overdue.
"Oh it's not that," he said with a wry smile. "I just don't think our baby
should hear her mother curse, that's all. We don't want her to be unduly
traumatized before she's even born, do we?" At this point, Mulder could no
longer contain himself, and he simply began chuckling out loud. And,
intelligently, he ducked at the same time.
As he watched Dana rant and rave in total and complete frustration, Mulder
simply guffawed. He knew he shouldn't laugh. He knew he wasn't being fair
to Dana, because he realized she was uncomfortable as hell.
But it had been a rather harrowing five months and since life had only
recently gotten back to normal, Mulder just needed the release. His family
had been turned upside down over the last few months as a result of his
father-in-law's stroke.
His Abah. It scared the hell out of Mulder to see Walter Skinner so weak, so
helpless.
So much like himself.
But Mulder turned out to be the strongest of all of them and became Walter's
primary care giver during his months of rehab. It turned out to be the
perfect solution for everyone, but most of all for Mulder.
The experience gave Mulder the confidence he needed to meet his
responsibilities as a new father head on. He, and Dana, had had so many
doubts about Mulder's ability to care for an infant given all of Mulder's own
disabilities. But the opportunity to care for Walter during his
rehabilitation showed everyone, including Mulder himself, he would certainly
be willing and able to care for his unborn child.
In fact, Mulder, himself, wished the baby would hurry up already. After all,
Dana was a good two weeks past her due date.
On the other hand, Mulder also knew the baby would arrive soon enough, and the
dynamics of his relationship with Scully would change forever. Mulder wanted
to hold on to what they had for as long as possible, given the inevitability
of the change that was to come.
Not that he wasn't looking forward to their baby's arrival. He was. It's
just their lives had actually been rather peaceful for the last couple of
weeks; a rather unusual occurrence for Fox Mulder and Dana Scully-Mulder.
They'd been settled back in their new home for about six or seven weeks now,
as their presence was no longer needed twenty-four hours a day at the Scully-
Skinner household. Walter returned to work on a reduced schedule two weeks
ago, as he'd just about fully recovered from his stroke.
However, Walter, being Walter, had put in a thirty five hour week the second
week. Maggie had asked Fox to speak with him and try to convince him to get
it under thirty hours for the first month. Mulder promised he'd try to
convince his Abah, but knew he would not likely succeed.
But for now, it was just the two of them again, at least for a little while
longer. Mulder and Scully were both a little grateful for the respite, as
they needed some time to get used to not only being on their own again, but
time to feel comfortable in their new home.
While Walter had been on the mend, Scully, in what little spare time she found
for herself, had begun looking for a larger place for their growing family.
Unbelievably, she found the perfect starter home for them. They were renting
it, with an option to buy, and they were ecstatic. It was small compared to
the Scully homestead, but it had three bedrooms, a large eat-in kitchen and a
fairly decent sized family living room. It even had a connected, one car
garage, which suited them just fine. They were home, finally, waiting for
their baby to join them.
Mulder sat back, as he watched his wife waddle about (he knew she would kill
him if he ever used that description aloud in front of her.) He tried
desperately to gain better control of his feelings of mirth, for as much as
he realized how necessary it was to keep a sense of humor about the whole
thing, Mulder also knew his wife was still the better shot in the family.
"She?" came the one word question to bring Mulder out of his reverie.
''What?"
"Mulder, you've been referring to the baby as 'she' all day today. What
gives? You know something I don't?" Dana asked lightly, but at the same time,
with curiosity.
"Oh." Mulder caught his wife's gaze with a hint of confusion on his face. "
I guess I didn't realize I was doing that, but now that you mention it, yeah,
I think of her as a being a girl. Don't ask me why, Scully. I don't know
why," he concluded softy.
"Mulder, it's okay. I know you sometimes__, well you sometimes just know
things. There's a reason for that nickname of yours," she said smiling. "So
a daughter, eh?"
He looked at her and his eyes suddenly began to dance. "Yeah, a daughter."
Mulder's face broke into the most glorious smile.
"Well, I just wish our daughter would hurry up and get here! I'm tired of
feeling like a beached whale," Scully moaned.
"But you're a beautiful beached whale," Mulder replied as he stood and
attempted to put his arms around her. She, of course, slapped his hands away
in annoyance.
"Mulder, that's not what I want to hear, damn it!" she cried out in
frustration. "Oh God, I am so sick and tired of being pregnant. I feel like
I've been pregnant for a year!"
"Just think, sweetheart, if you were an elephant, you'd be pregnant for two
years!"
Scully picked up a couch pillow and threw it. Hard. At his head. And then
she left the room.
Mulder sat back down on the couch and laughed. Hard. It felt so good to
laugh. It felt so good to be happy again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RRRIIIINNNGGG!
"Hello," greeted Mulder.
"Hey bro, how's the mama and the papa?"
"Sam?" Mulder asked. "Sam is that you?"
"Yeah, t'is me. I just got back, spoke to Mom, and found out I'm still not
an aunt. What gives?" replied Samantha.
"Yeah, well, she's a little overdue, and she's not too happy about it."
"I can only imagine. How big is the baby?" Samantha asked in what Mulder
recognized as his sister's professional mode. "I mean, Dana's so petite."
"Yeah, well you wouldn't say that if you saw her now, Sam," Mulder replied
with a chuckle. "And if you tell her I said that, I will deny everything."
"Right, big brother, and who do you think she'll believe in this particular
instance?" she replied laughing as well. "But seriously, if she doesn't go
into labor soon, will her OB induce her?"
"Dr. Brooks had mentioned the possibility last week. But she's pretty
conservative and would rather the baby make the decision to arrive on her own.
She said she'll make the decision at Dana's next office visit, which is the
day after tomorrow."
"Good," Sam replied, satisfied Dana's doctor was on the ball. She then added,
"God, Fox, As much as I needed to go back to school, I've missed you so much!"
Mulder was in all his glory. He was home with his wife, and now his sister
too. He'd miraculously reestablished contact with his sister during a
harrowing kidnapping experience a couple of years ago.
Now, Sam was back from a half year medical residency in California. She'd
decided to return to her alma mater to add to her skills as a physician. Her
sister-in-law's pregnancy inspired her to return for a pediatrics rotation.
"It's good to have you back, Sam. I've missed you too," he said earnestly.
"I know. I'm sorry I wasn't around to help you with Walter, Fox."
"I could have used your expertise, but Sam, I did okay. I mean, I really did
all right on my own," he said.
"Never had a doubt in my mind, big brother. So, how's the new house?"
"It's great, now that we're finally in it," Mulder replied.
"And the neighbors? Any potential baby sitters in the area?" she asked.
"God, Sam, we haven't been here long enough to meet anyone.
About the only thing of real use I discovered is the Convenient Mart down at
the corner," he added. "It's within easy walking distance, so I can be useful
every now and then," he said with self-deprecating humor.
"I mean, between Walter's doctor's appointments, my doctor's appointments,
Scully's doctor's appointments, and her constant prayers and offerings to the
Gods of birth and labor, we haven't had time to breathe, much less scope the
neighborhood for baby sitters," he said. "God Sam, Scully is so ready to
give birth to this baby," he added with a little chuckle.
"At this point, I'll bet she is! Now, put my sister-in-law on the line, so I
can tell her what evil things you're saying about her!"
"You'd better not, or you can kiss your Godmother title goodbye!" he warned in
jest. "Dana! Pick up! Sam's on the phone."
As Mulder heard Dana pick up the phone in the bedroom, he hung up the phone in
the living room. He clicked the television on and began surfing. He was
rather surprised to see special weather reports on all of the major network
channels.
**We are expecting hurricane force winds to begin whipping up within the next
twenty-four hours. This storm is moving in fast, and if it follows its
current path, we may see seventy to ninety mile per hour winds by morning.
Mulder kept changing the channel, only to find similar dire predictions on all
of them. One station was predicting golf ball size hail, the other was
predicting severe thunderstorms till after midnight, and the other was
predicting up to ninety mile per hour winds for the next twenty-four to forty-
eight hours.
*Ah, they're probably all wrong; all we'll see is a sun shower,* Mulder
thought to himself. All the same, he walked over to the fridge to see what,
if anything, they might need to hunker down for a couple of days.
"Hey, Dana," he called out, just as she entered the room.
"What's up?" she asked.
"Have you heard the weather report lately?" he asked.
"No, why? Anything interesting?"
"Yeah. Apparently they're predicting a possible hurricane by morning. I
heard they're expecting anywhere between sixty and ninety mile per hour
winds.. I'm gonna buy some more milk and bread down at the corner. You want
anything special?" he asked.
"Yeah. Butter Pecan ice cream. And marshmallow topping. And whipped cream.
And chocolate sauce."
"Right. And you're always busting my chops about my what I eat," he teased.
"Well, a bad storm calls for special supplies, ya know?" She walked over to
him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I invited Sam over for dinner
tomorrow night, okay?"
"Sure. I'm glad you two are getting along now," Mulder said, alluding to the
time after the plane crash he'd been hurt in when Dana and Sam were not
getting along too well at all.
"Well, we both love you very much, Mulder, and so we're both willing to put in
a little extra effort," she responded. She then released him and commanded,
"Go forth G-Man, and get those supplies. Don't let rain, sleet, snow, or
hurricanes stop you!"
"I thought that was the post office's saying?" he said.
"Mulder, go get my ice cream!" she admonished and practically pushed him out
the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They sat together that night, and watched the trees sway in the wind. The
winds were starting to pick up a little, but nothing too awe-inspiring. The
weather reports, however, were now on an almost continuous basis. This storm
even had a name.
Tropical Storm Melissa.
Somehow, Mulder and Scully found comfort in that. If Melissa turned into a
hurricane, as the forecasters were adamantly predicting she would, the young
couple felt as though it was a sign Scully's sister was watching over them and
their unborn baby.
By midnight, sleep beckoned them both, and while Scully got ready for bed,
Mulder rinsed their bowls and then turned off the lights. He took one last
look out the window. The winds were definitely picking up and a light, but
persistent, rain began to fall. Suddenly, Mulder felt mesmerized by Mother
Nature's quiet strength.
A strength that was going to be all too powerful for the two of them to
overcome within the next several hours.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
End of Part 1/4
Abah IX: The Birth
by Susan Proto (STPteach@aol.com)
Disclaimers in part 1
Part 2/4
The pounding on their bedroom window woke Scully first, with Mulder not too
far behind. The winds had definitely picked up, so much so, Mulder went to
get some masking tape for the windows.
He called Scully over to help him keep his balance, as he knew he would be
unable to reach the top of the window to tape it and hold onto his cane at the
same time. Though Mulder's ability to ambulate had improved enormously since
he'd first been ill, he still required the use of his cane to help insure he
not fall.
Though they now lived in the small, three bedroom house they, thankfully,
didn't have all that many windows to tape. It didn't take very long to
secure all of the windows with them acting as a team. Scully pulled the tape
and handed one end to Mulder. He reached up and patted it down in the corner,
while Scully pulled it taut and taped her end in the other corner. They
chuckled together when they realized the appropriateness of the large "X's" on
each of their windows.
"If any strangers knock on our door claiming to have information for us,
Mulder, I for one, am running for the hills," laughed Scully.
"I'll be right behind you my G-Woman, you can trust me on that," Mulder
responded in kind.
"Hungry?" she asked.
"Yep, but I'm gonna make you breakfast. Go sit."
"Mulder, if I don't do something, I'll go nuts. Besides, I'm hoping gravity
will help this child figure out which way's the egress," Scully said with a
chuckle. "Go turn on the television, and check on Hurricane Melissa."
"You sure?" he asked earnestly.
"Yes. I'm sure. Go sit."
Mulder turned to towards the living room and the television, while Scully
turned toward the kitchen and the preparation of breakfast.
**Winds are currently steady at forty-five miles per hour. Gusts, however,
have been reported as high as sixty miles per hour. This is only the
beginning, folks. Our satellite maps indicate Melissa is gaining strength
along the coast, and we expect her winds to steadily increase over the next
several hours.
**Our computer data resources are predicting the winds could climb upwards to
eighty-five to a hundred-ten miles per hour. Gusts will be even higher than
that. Ladies and Gentlemen, we urge you to stay off the streets. The safest
place for you to be right now is in your homes, and stay tuned to The Weather
Station for continuous updates.**
"Shit," Mulder said aloud to himself. He got up and walked into the kitchen
to find Scully busily preparing a breakfast of turkey bacon and eggs. "This
is one serious storm, Scully. It's a damned good thing neither of us has to
be anywhere other than here today."
"I guess maternity leave does have its advantages," she replied. "I cut up
some cantaloupe, Mulder. Would you put it on the table for me?"
As Mulder picked up the plate of fruit wedges, he'd already turned and didn't
notice the slight grimace on Scully's face. "Wanna hand me a couple of
dishes, and I'll set the table," he said.
Scully handed over the requested dishes, as well as some silverware. The
microwave beeped and she took out the cooked turkey bacon. She placed it on
the platter with the scrambled eggs and toast.
Mulder, meanwhile, brought the orange juice container over from the fridge.
He then returned to get two small glasses from the cupboard. Having to hold
the cane for balance often necessitated twice the number of trips to
accomplish a task, which initially, drove Mulder crazy.
However, since Walter had had his stroke, and Mulder was able to see first
hand how hard Walter had fought for every part of his recovery, Mulder had
finally learned to appreciate just how far he, himself, had come. It wasn't
that long ago when Mulder wasn't able to go more than a few steps without the
use of leg braces and a walker. No, an extra trip or two in order to set the
table was adequate payment for the price of independence.
While they ate their breakfast, Mulder noticed Scully give a slight shudder.
"Hey, you okay?" he asked.
"Hmm?" she responded. "Yes, I'm fine. Why?"
"You looked like you were cold or something, that's all."
"Cold?" she responded casually, "I'm not cold."
Some time passed, and as Mulder helped Scully clear the dishes, they both took
note of how much louder the wind sounded outside their window. "Maybe we
should leave the dishes for later and not stand quite so close to the window,"
Scully suggested. "It's starting to sound awfully fierce out there.''
Mulder nodded in agreement and walked with her back into the living room.
They sat down and turned on the television to listen for the latest weather
report.
**….sixty miles per hour while Annapolis is reporting fifty-five mile per hour
winds with gusts up to seventy miles per hour. Now the DC area is reporting
varying numbers, anywhere between fifty miles per hour to seventy-five mile
per hour winds. There have been reported gusts of up to eighty miles per
hour.
**Well, folks, Hurricane Melissa is certainly making herself right at home.
Please, if you do not have to be out on the roads, then stay home. It is
really the safest place for you to be at this time. **
Some time had passed before Mulder looked over at Scully and noticed for the
first time the same small grimace she'd made earlier. "Hey you," he called
out gently, "you okay?"
"What?" she asked slightly confused. "Of course, I am. Why?"
"You made a face," he explained.
"A face?"
"Yeah, like you were in pain," he elaborated.
"I'm not in any pain. I'm fine, Mulder." She stood up and began walking out
of the room.
"Where you going?" he asked with a bit of concern.
"To the bathroom, Mulder. I have to pee, if that's okay with you," she
replied a little sarcastically. Scully recognized his tone of voice, and knew
he was going to begin to hover. The last thing she felt she needed at the
moment was hovering.
"Do me a favor," she said before she left the room, "take the roast beef out
of the freezer. Remember, Sam is coming over for dinner tonight," Scully
reminded.
"Right." Then he looked out the window and wondered if that was a good idea.
"Hey, Scully," Mulder called out, "the weather's pretty lousy. Maybe we
should call Sam and make it another night? I don't think it's a good idea for
her to be traveling in this weather."
"Okay, better safe than sorry," she called back from the bathroom.
Mulder picked up the phone to make the call and listened hard for the dial
tone. He didn't hear a thing. He checked the volume level on the phone and
made sure it was turned all the way up, placed it back to his ear, and still
didn't hear a thing.
"Damn," he said softly. Mulder really didn't like the idea of his sister
traveling to his home. He went to check his cell phone to see if the battery
was dead. It was. Mulder had never been very good at remembering to
recharge the battery, but since he was no longer in the field and relied
mostly on his home and office phones, he'd become even more neglectful toward
his portable phone.
He went over to Scully's briefcase to see if her phone was charged. It was.
"Good ol' reliable Scully," he said softly to himself. He quickly punched in
Sam's phone number and listened carefully. Scully's phone wasn't modified with
the volume control like his own cellular and home phones were, so he had to
concentrate extra hard, only to discover the call wasn't getting through. The
weather conditions were obviously wreaking havoc with the cellular lines as
well.
He wasn't sure if all the lines were down in the area, so Mulder was tempted
to take a walk down to the corner convenience store and try the pay phone
there. He was really concerned about his sister's safety now.
"MULDER!!!"
Mulder startled and dropped the cell phone in response. He ran to the back of
the apartment to where he assumed his wife was lying in dire pain.
"SCULLY! Where are you! Wha's wrong?!" he screamed in total panic.
Scully was standing in the bathroom, smoothing out her clothes. She looked
perfectly fine. In fact, she looked happy.
"Jeeze, Scully! Wha' the hell is the matter wit' you? You scare' the hell
ou' of me!" he admonished.
Scully's smile disappeared. She knew for a fact she did scare the hell out of
him, and she felt terrible about it. She knew he was frightened as soon as
she heard him begin to speak. The word endings were dropping like flies.
As soon as Mulder became overly tired or stressed, his speech was immediately
affected. The hearing loss, a result of the high fevers associated with his
illnesses, had caused speech problems.
Though he was capable of clear speech, it did require some effort on Mulder's
part. When he was feeling stressed out, he had neither the energy nor
patience to concentrate on his word endings.
"Oh Mulder, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. I'm really, really
sorry. I'm okay. I'm fine."
"So wha' was the scream for?" he asked as he tried to regain his composure.
"I had the bloody show!" she exclaimed happily.
"Wha'?" he asked, totally confused.
"The bloody show!" she repeated. When she saw absolutely no recognition on
his part about what she was talking about, she went on to explain. "Mulder, I
told you, I had to pee. Well, when I went to wipe myself, I saw a little
bloodied mucus."
Mulder blanched a bit at this description. He never was very good at dealing
with detailed descriptions of bodily functions, which is one of the reasons
Scully got so good at summarizing her autopsy results for him without the
gross little details. He would literally become sicker than a dog if she was
too graphic.
"Oh, sorry, Mulder. I guess I'm out of practice. Sweetie, it's a little sign
that says the baby is getting ready to be born," she explained, all the while
beaming.
"Oh. OH! God, Scully! We gotta call a taxi! No! We'll call an ambulance!
We gotta call the doctor, we gotta call Mom and Abah! Sam, we gotta call
Sam!" he cried out anxiously.
"Whoa! Hold on G-Man!" She grasped his arm and attempted to get his
attention. "Mulder! Look at me!"
He stopped his nervous gyrations and looked directly at his wife. "Scully?"
"Okay, now listen to me very carefully. I am not ready to deliver this baby.
I am not feeling contractions yet, so just calm down. We are in no immediate
need of a cab, or an ambulance, or Mom and Abah. We will call the doctor, and
I thought you were going to call Sam to cancel because of the weather?" Then
she added, "Are you okay, now?"
Mulder took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down. He knew the
last thing his very pregnant wife needed was a hysterical husband. "Okay.
I'm okay. I tried to call Sam, but the phone's dead."
"Oh, well I'll get my cellular, since I assume your battery's deader than a
doornail," she responded.
"Yeah, well I tried your cell already, but the weather's apparently preventing
anything from going through." When she looked at him quizzically, he added,
"I'll go recharge my battery now."
Dana laughed out loud at that and joined him in the living room. She watched
Mulder pick her cellular up from the floor. She took it from him, checked to
see it was still in working order, and said, "Okay, G-Man, we gotta figure
out a way to contact Doctor Brooks. I would like her to know the little
bugger is actually showing some signs of entering this world!"
"I was thinking of going down to the corner convenience store to check out the
public pay phones. What do you think?" Mulder asked.
"Hmm, I don't know, Mulder. It looks pretty nasty out there. Maybe I should
go try__," she began.
"__You are kidding me, righ'?" he asked anxiously. Mulder knew his wife and
knew he had every right to be nervous. Dana was so protective of Mulder, she
might very well think it was a better idea for her to go down and face the
storm, even in her condition.
When Scully saw the look of horror on Mulder's face she realized he would
never in a million years allow her to walk out the door. When she thought
about it, she realized he was probably right. It did not, however, make her
feel any better to think about him going out to face Hurricane Melissa alone.
"Okay, Mulder. You win, but I don't really want you going out there either.
It looks awful out there," she said.
"Yeah, it does, doesn't it. How about I wait a little while to see if it lets
up a bit. This way we'll see if you start to develop contractions, okay?" he
replied sensibly.
"It's a deal. Shall we see what's new on the tube?" she said as she clicked
on the television. The two of them surfed the channels and watched as news
reporters from all of the major stations described the horrors Hurricane
Melissa was bestowing upon her victims.
"My God, Mulder. This is awful. I think we just need to stay put, okay?"
Scully said after a while. Mulder simply nodded in agreement and pulled his
wife closer to him. They watched the news for a bit longer, and then both
found their eyes were heavy with nervous fatigue. They closed their eyes and
slept on the couch.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CRACK!
Mulder jumped first, automatically searching for the gun he no longer
possessed. Scully, on the other hand, did own a gun, and tried reaching for
it, but she realized it was no where near her.
"What the hell was that?" she asked.
"I dunno," Mulder replied. He scanned the darkened living room and then
said, "Yes I do. The window."
Scully looked over at the living room window on the far wall and saw a huge
crack down the edge of the masking tape. It was the only thing that was
holding it in place, and who knew how long that was going to last.
"What time is it?" Mulder asked.
"Hmm, I'm not sure. It certainly got dark outside," Scully said as she turned
her wrist in an attempt to see the time. "Can't see," she said as she tried
pushing herself up off the couch. "Umm, I think I need a little help here."
Mulder pushed her gently up off the couch and Scully walked over to the wall
and flicked the switch. Nothing. She tried it again, and then went to another
light switch and repeated the process. Still nothing.
"Lights are out, Mulder," she said as she walked over to the window in the
hopes of catching a little light to see the time on her watch.
"Dana! Get the hell away from the window!" he cried out. When she didn't
move fast enough, he got up quickly and grabbed hold of her arm and tugged a
little more forcefully than he intended.
"Ouch! Damn it, Mulder, that hurt!"
"I'm sorry, Scully. Bu' you saw wha' happene' to the other window. It's
dangerous to stan' by one."
"I just wanted to see the time," and as she said this she looked at her watch.
"Wow, time flies when you're having fun. It's five-fifteen. You don't think
Sam would try to come out on a night like this, do you?"
"No, hopefully, she has more common sense than that," Mulder replied. *More
common sense than her brother at least,* he thought ruefully to himself.
Mulder walked over to the table and picked up Scully's cellular phone and
tried again. Once again he got the 'all circuits are busy' message and closed
it. He left the power on in the hopes that if someone were trying to contact
them, they might get through from the other end.
When he looked up at Scully he felt his breath catch. "Dana? What's wrong?"
"Nothing, Mulder. I'm fine."
Mulder knew she wasn't. He knew he had to maintain control, or Dana would
never tell him the truth. He couldn't let her see how scared he really felt.
"C'mon, Scully, I know something's up," he said with a forced lightness, but
with enough clarity that Dana would have to recognize his attempts to remain
calm.
"Okay. I think I felt a contraction, but to be honest, Mulder, I'm not
positive. I've never been pregnant before, so I don't have a clue."
"Okay. Okay. What would you like me to do, Scully?" Mulder was working very
hard at maintaining his cool, calm exterior. Inside, he was a virtual
volcano, ready to explode any moment.
"I think we should try calling the doctor again," she replied evenly. Scully
realized she needed to maintain a calm persona for both her own and Mulder's
sake. She moved quickly over to the regular phone, said a quick prayer for a
dial tone, and picked it up.
Nothing. Not a click, not tone, not a sound.
Next she picked up the cellular phone. She dialed Dr. Brook's number, but
realized with the number of beeps and odd tones the number was not going
through. She closed the power.
"Scully, what if someone tries to get through to us?" he asked in response to
shutting the power off on her cellular.
"Mulder, we don't have any back up phones. This is the only battery that's
fully powered. I'd begun recharging my backup battery this morning. Unlike
you, my dear husband, I actually think of these things ahead of time." When
she saw him bow his head contritely, she walked over to him and planted a kiss
on his forehead.
"I'm sorry, Scully. I jus' didn' think of it."
"I know, sweetie. You never think of it, so I'm really not as annoyed as you
might think. You were just following your usual pattern. Unfortunately, we're
still in a little bit of a situation here. I'm not sure what to do," she said
with a bit of tremor in her voice.
Mulder looked at her and realized she was nervous. He knew he needed to take
control of the situation so his wife, and his baby, would feel safe. To hell
with the fact he was scared to death.
He took a deep breath and spoke.
"Okay. I'm going to take a walk to the corner store and see if there's any
working phones. If nothing else, maybe I'll run into a cop and they can radio
for assistance. You, just sit tight, and try to relax," he said in as calm of
a voice as he could muster.
"Okay. As long as you don't tell me to cross my legs," she deadpanned.
Mulder simply burst out laughing and kissed his wife tenderly on the lips. "I
love you so much. You know that, right?"
"Yeah, I know that, G-Man. Now go. But please, please, be careful. If it
looks as awful as it sounds, then just come back inside, okay? Please,
Mulder?" she pleaded.
"Yes."
"Fox, please."
"I will, Dana. I promise." And with that he grabbed his raincoat and, with
cane in hand, walked out the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time passed too slowly.
No electricity. No television. No phone. No sound except the howling of the
wind outside.
"Mulder, where the hell are you?" Scully murmured aloud. "C'mon, Mulder.
Come home."
She kept checking her watch every few minutes.
She kept grimacing every ten minutes.
Dana Scully-Mulder was in labor. Granted, it was still the relatively early
stages of labor, but it was progressing a little faster than she'd thought
she'd be progressing.
And she was getting a little nervous. She wanted her husband to hold her hand
and tell her everything was going to be fine.
"Oh God, please, let him walk through that door now. Please?"
She checked her watch again.
She grimaced again.
"Mulder, where the hell are you?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
End of Part 2/4
Abah IX: The Birth
by Susan Proto (STPteach@aol.com)
Disclaimers in Part 1
Part 3/4
Mulder looked out onto the street from his door and noted there was not a soul
in sight. As he struggled to simply open the door to the street, he realized
there was probably a good reason for the lack of people walking about.
He pushed his way onto the street, and immediately wondered if he was being
less than sensible. The winds were ferocious, and he found himself totally
unbalanced. His cane provided him with only the minimum sense of security
while Melissa's winds did her best to throw him off balance.
Yet Mulder also realized Dana would never have allowed him to leave the house
if she wasn't concerned for the baby. So, he fought his way toward the
corner store, in the hopes of finding a working phone
or a person who could help him.
It was taking him forever, or at least it seemed to take him forever. Every
time he took a step, he felt as though he was going to fall. He couldn't
remember the last time he'd felt this frightened. Mulder worried even more
than most in this situation, because he was all too aware of his own medical
condition and how stress affected him.
He took Tegretrol, an anti-seizure medication, to help prevent the grand mal
seizures he was susceptible to ever since his illnesses. Though the
medication did an admirable job in keeping the seizures at bay, Mulder still
occasionally experienced one when he was feeling unduly stressed out.
At the moment, Mulder felt unduly stressed out.
As he slowly and carefully walked toward the corner store, he kept up a
continuous conversation with himself in order to remind himself he was going
to be fine and to keep breathing. Mulder figured as long as he kept up this
conversation, he would be fine.
He wanted to hold the seizures at bay, and perhaps the fear as well.
Mulder concentrated totally on putting one foot in front of the other as he
got closer and closer to the corner. Though the walk was only minutes away
under normal conditions, Mulder realized the hurricane's incredible forces
were making the trip many times longer than that.
He knew Dana would be worried.
Hell, he was worried.
He took a quick glance around and realized he had more to worry about than
just keeping his balance. The heavy, strong winds carried objects in the air
as though they were simply leaves from a tree. Heavy tree limbs were being
tossed about as well as other flying debris. The darkened traffic lights were
swinging uncontrollably from their wires above the street.
Mulder heard something above the screams of the wind and saw a trash can
suddenly upended and headed straight toward him. He tried to move out of its
path, but it happened so quickly he could do no more than brace himself for
the impact. He wrapped his arms around to protect his face as he felt the
jolt of the litter can fly into him.
He felt himself fall back upon impact and tried valiantly to keep his head
from pounding the pavement, but to no avail. At first, he felt the results of
the impact in his rib cage, which caused him to wince when he took a breath.
However, the pain that rocketed through the back of his skull told him
immediately he'd done some damage, and he fought with all his senses to
maintain consciousness.
Several minutes passed before Mulder attempted to sit up. He felt his head
pounding with pain, and he'd had enough concussions in his life to realize he
most likely just acquired another one. His sore ribs were causing him a
great deal of discomfort too, but he was fairly certain they were only
bruised.
He groped about for his cane, and panicked for a second or two when he
couldn't find it. He scanned the area again, as best he could, and saw the
cane a few feet away. He hoped the winds would be forgiving and not carry it
away any further than it already was.
When he tried to stand up the wind kept him off balanced, and the pain which
now seared through his head prevented him from standing up without the cane.
Mulder slowly crawled toward it, though each movement caused him to gasp in
agony.
The heavy impact of the metal trash container caused enough damage to make
Mulder wonder when the last time his body was in such pain. When he finally
did reach his cane, his cry of triumph didn't sound much differently from the
cries of distress he'd been uttering.
He grasped the cane and struggled to stand back up. He now fought both the
hurricane force winds and his own weakened body to get himself upright.
Mulder wasn't sure if he'd succeed. His head continued to pound and his body
felt pummeled. He looked around him to see if there were anybody out to
assist him, and when he realized he was on his own, he somehow found the
strength to rise up and remain standing.
Next, he pushed himself to start walking toward the store. He tried to look
inside the store but realized it was darkened. He didn't know if that meant
the store was closed, or if they were opened but simply had no electricity.
He prayed it was the latter. He didn't know if would have the heart to just
turn around and return home without being able to notify someone his wife
needed help.
Of course, it never dawned on Mulder to consider the idea he needed some
assistance too. Mulder's only concern at this point was to get help for his
pregnant wife and very soon to be born child. He walked up to the door and
tried the handle.
It didn't give.
"Oh God, please! Is someone in there? Please! Open up!" he cried out above
the winds.
Several minutes passed and Mulder realized the store was locked up tight, and
he was alone. He took as deep of a breath his sore ribs would allow and
garnered strength to make the return trip home. For whatever reasons,
unwarranted as they may have been, Mulder felt as if he failed Dana.
He was also certain Dana was now probably scared and worried about him, so he
struggled to make it back home more quickly than he'd walked to the store. He
took another, deeper breath and groaned in pain from the bruised ribs. Mulder
then grasped the cane as firmly as he could and began the trek home.
As Mulder walked slowly home, he couldn't help but be aware of the incredible
clamor all around him. In Mulder's often hushed world, he'd become more aware
of extraordinary sounds and this was one time when he was fully aware.
Melissa was one helluva of noisy hurricane.
And Mulder would have been most appreciative of her sheer force and power, if
he weren't so damned frightened by the whole ordeal. And he was very
frightened. By the time he made it back to the house, he was shaking so hard
he had trouble turning the door knob. He realized the snap lock was on, and
he didn't know if he'd brought his keys with him. He tried ringing the
doorbell, realized the electricity was still out, and finally, knocked as hard
as he could on the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dana had made about a dozen pacts with God by the time she heard the knocking.
"Mulder? Mulder, is that you?" she cried out desperately. She walked to the
door as quickly as she could and opened the door instantly.
"Damn, Scully, don' you ever loo' through the peephole before you open the
door?" he asked exasperated.
"C'mon Mulder, give me a little slack her, okay? Who else would it ___,"she
began and then gasped. "Oh God, Mulder. What the hell happened to you?"
She'd only then realized what condition he was in. He looked pale, his
breathing was ragged, and his eyes looked glassy. When she took a closer
look, she saw his pupils were slightly dilated.
"Mulder? Talk to me. Please. What happened?"
"I ha' a run in with a garbage can, and it won."
"Did you fall?" she asked softly as she sidled up to him and touched him
gently along the length of his arms.
He realized what she was doing. The tender touches were more than mere loving
caresses. She was examining him for any potential damage. Mulder sighed
deeply, but shuddered slightly at the stabs of pain that action caused in his
rib cage.
"Yes, the can hi' me head on straight into my chest. I fell backwar's, and I
banged my head agains' the sidewalk, an' yes, I probably have mild concussion,
an' no I didn' lose consciousness, and Scully__," he said all in one breath
before he finally hesitated. "I'm sorry, the store was locked," he admitted
as though that last bit of news was somehow his fault.
"Shh, it's okay. I was just so worried. You were gone for such a long time,"
she soothed.
"How long?"
"Mulder, you left an hour and a half ago."
"Shi'," he said. And then, as if something else hit him in the head, he cried
out, "The baby?! Dana, are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm okay, but I've definitely started labor," she replied in as calm of
a voice as she could manage.
"How far apar'? he asked anxiously.
"Don't panic. I'm feeling contractions a little under ten minutes apart now.
And they're relatively mild, so I think there's still plenty of time, Mulder.
Really." Scully tried her best to sound convincing, but she wasn't sure if
she was succeeding with Mulder, or herself for that matter.
He looked at her and wanted to believe she was as calm as her voice projected.
He looked at the cell phone, and asked her if she'd tried it again recently.
"No, I haven't. Maybe__?" she responded. "I'll try the cellular, you try
the house phone."
When Mulder picked up the receiver, he shook his head dejectedly. No dial
tone. No sound at all.
Scully walked over and picked up the cellular. She punched in Dr. Brooks
number and received a new message.
"We're sorry, the number you are calling is out of service at this time."
"Shit! The doctor's phone is out," she said with a little more nervousness
than either had anticipated.
"Let me try Sam's," he suggested.
"Okay," and she handed him the phone. He dialed her home phone number and
miraculously, he heard it ringing, and after several rings, he heard just what
he wanted to hear.
"Hello, Dr. Mulder speaking."
"Sam?" he cried out in relief.
"Fox? Fox, I'm sorry I didn't call, but you honestly didn't think I'd really
venture out into this weather to have dinner with you, did you? I mean, I
love you and all, but I'm not crazy!" she rambled.
"Wha'? shiT! I can'T hear you on this damned thing. I can'T hear you! Damn
it! Oh God, Scully?" Mulder now cried out in frustration.
"Fox! Fox, what's wrong?!" Sam shouted in the phone.
Dana saw Mulder was concentrating as hard as he could, but since her cell
phone didn't have the special volume attachment, he found it impossible to
hear his sister's words clearly. She took the phone from him with one hand
and wrapped her other arm around his waist to lead him to the couch.
"Sam? It's Dana." Both she and Mulder now sat quietly on the couch.
"Dana, are you guys all right? Fox sounded so upset? What's going on?"
Samantha asked worriedly.
"Well, we could be better. You're brother went out earlier in an attempt to
find a working phone as none of ours were working. He had a bit of a bad time
out there, as you can well imagine. He fell, Sam. I think he's got a
concussion and his ribs are apparently badly bruised." And then almost as an
afterthought, she added, "Oh, and I'm in labor."
"What?!" Sam screamed in reply. "What the hell are you doing there? Get to
the hospital, now!"
"And how would you propose I do that? I don't think I want to take the chance
of driving myself, Mulder's certainly in no condition to drive even if he did
have his license back, and I'm afraid to hang up with you to call 911 for an
ambulance because the phone lines have been nuts. We still don't have regular
service and I don't know if the cellular will be reliable because of the
weather.
"Frankly, I'm amazed you have service and we were able to get through to you.
Dr. Brooks' number is out of order at the moment," she said, and then as an
afterthought, Scully asked, "Do you by any chance have a cellular in working
order, Sam?"
"No, Dana, not yet. I canceled the California service and was going to
reestablish a new one through GWU Hospital when I begin working next week. I
was kind of pretending to be on vacation this week. Sorry, Dana," said
Samantha contritely.
"What is it with you Mulders and this need to apologize for things that are
not your fault or beyond your control? What is it, genetic or something?
It's okay, Sam, really it's ___. Oh SHIT!" Scully screamed out.
Mulder startled at Dana's outcry and Samantha reacted in much the same way.
"What?!" they both cried out at the same time.
"My water broke."
"Oh boy," Sam reacted.
"No, actually, Mulder's pretty certain it's going to be a girl," Scully
replied calmly.
"Dana? Are you okay?" Sam asked.
"Yes. I have to be," she replied as calmly as possible. And then in a
whisper she added, "I think my husband is going to have to deliver our baby."
"Oh Lord. This is the same man that gets queasy when he sees his own blood
drawn," retorted Samantha.
"Yup. The very same one," Scully whispered in reply with a deep sigh.
"Wha'?" asked Mulder. He knew Scully was saying something to Samantha, but he
couldn't make out what it was. Circumstances were scary enough without his
wife and sister keeping secrets from him. ''Scully? Wha's going on?"
"Mulder," Scully said with a small smile, "get ready for a crash course in
obstetrics, 'cause I think you're going to be playing Doctor Daddy."
"Scully? Are you crazy? I can'T do this," he lamented.
"Well, someone's going to have to do it, because my contractions are now
coming every five minutes, sweetheart, and they're getting pretty damned
strong. Now, are you going to help me deliver our baby, or am I going to have
to go through it all by myself?"
"Ohmigod," he said, took a deep a breath, and winced in pain. "What do I nee'
to do?"
"Okay, Sam, you still there?" Scully asked into the cellular.
"Yes, Dana. I'm here."
"Good. Do me a favor? Don't go anywhere for the next few hours?
"I'll be right here for you, Dana," Sam comforted. "How's my big brother
handling all of this?"
"He'll be fine, Sam, he'll be just fine," Scully replied all the while looking
at Mulder, smiling.
Sam listened to her sister-in-law declaration and wondered just who she was
trying to convince more.
Sam, Mulder, or herself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
end of part 3/4
Abah IX: The Birth
by Susan Proto (STPteach@aol.com)
Disclaimers in Part 1
Part 4/4
While Mulder was moving he did fine. Scully told him to help her into bed and
then ordered him to find clean sheets and clean towels. He brought in a
couple of large trash bags to lay under her in an attempt to save the bedding.
Sam advised Scully to have Fox bring her a small container to keep by her
bedside in case she felt nauseous. Also, Sam asked her if either of them had
an unopened package of boot or sneaker laces. Scully knew she had some and
asked Mulder to get them from the utility drawer in the night table.
Next, Sam told her to direct Fox to grab two large containers. One should be
covered with a blanket for the baby, while the other should be covered in
plastic for the afterbirth. Scully made a face when Sam mentioned that, but
knew it was necessary to keep in order for her OB to examine it.
Mulder did all that was asked and then offered to boil some water. Scully
laughed and she said a cup of tea would be nice. Sam, on the other hand,
didn't laugh, but rather, said it was a good idea to boil a small pot and
place a pair of sharp scissors in it to sterilize for a minimum of ten to
fifteen minutes.
Mulder nodded and left the bedroom to do his appointed duties. Scully smiled
as she realized how necessary it was to keep him busy until he was really
needed.
And that would be soon.
Very, very soon.
The contractions were suddenly coming on fast and furiously. Every minute or
two. This child had taken forever to be born, but boy, once she made the
decision, there was no stopping her.
Definitely a Scully girl. Dana smiled at the thought of her husband having to
deal with three Scully women in the family. Poor Mulder. He didn't stand a
chance. Dana smiled even more, but the smile turned into a grimace quickly
and then she screamed.
Transition.
Shit.
This hurt like hell.
Mulder.
"MULDER!"
Mulder watched as the tea cup shattered into the sink. He moved as quickly as
he could into their bedroom and gasped. Scully looked like hell.
"Scully? Wha's wron'? Wha's going on?" he asked with concern and anxiety.
"It's almost show time, Mulder," she shouted in between gasps. "OH GOD! Sam!
Talk to me Sam, tell me what I should tell him to do… It hurts too damned much
for me to have to think!" she cried out in pain.
"Put him on the phone," Sam replied. Scully pushed the phone into Mulder's
hands. He picked it up gingerly and placed it to his ear.
"Fox! Can you hear me?!" she practically screamed into the phone.
"Yeah. I can hear you now. Sam? Oh, God, what do I do? She's in so much
pain."
"Fox, listen to me. She's in transition."
"Wha'?"
"Transition. She's in the major part of labor, and when she feels a
contraction, she may feel like pushing. You have to check her cervix to see
if she's dilated enough first!" she said very loudly. "Do you understand?"
"Yeah," he said into the phone. Then he looked at Dana and, in a self-
conscious tone of voice, told her he needed to check her cervix. *The man is
a wonderful and caring lover, which is what got me into this situation in the
first place,* she thought to herself. *But now he's embarrassed as all get
out to examine me. Go figure,* she chuckled to herself.
And then she screamed.
This baby business hurt like hell, and she wasn't too thrilled with the guy
who got her into this predicament. "Damn it, Mulder! I feel like I have to
push! Tell me what to do!" she screamed in discomfort.
Mulder lifted the sheet to look at Scully's cervix. He wasn't sure what he
was going to find there, but he prayed he wouldn't faint from his discovery.
This was definitely not Mulder's forte, and he was scared to death he was
going to fail his wife and child.
He worked hard to calm down and steady his breathing. The last thing he
wanted to do was have a seizure. He finally got up the nerve to look.
He looked up at Scully, wide-eyed.
"Mulder, what?" Scully gasped through a series of pants.
"Hair. Lots of dark brown hair, Scully. Ohmigod!" he cried out in
astonishment. "Ohmigod!"
Scully somehow managed to smile through the pain. She reached for the phone,
and asked, "Did you hear, Sam? Did you hear what he said?"
"Yeah, but don't worry, Dana. The baby hair always falls out. She may be a
red head yet," Sam chuckled. "Dana, put him back on the phone." Dana handed
Mulder the phone. He put it to his ear.
"Sam? I see my baby's head. I can' believe I see her head! Now what do I
do?"
"Well, can you tell how long the diameter is, Fox?" Sam asked.
"Wha'? Sam, I'm sorry, I didn' ge' tha'."
"Oh. Sorry!" she responded more loudly. "Fox, how wide is the opening? How
many inches is the diameter of the opening?"
"It's gotta be a good four inches, Sam," he responded confidently.
"Four inches!? Are you sure!?" she asked excitedly, and more than loud enough
for Mulder to hear her.
"Yeah," he responded in kind. "Is that good?"
"Yes, Fox. It is very good. Tell Dana she can start pushing during the
contractions. She's got to practice her breathing between the contractions,
okay?"
"Okay," he replied, and proceeded to repeat Samantha's instructions to his
wife. He then returned his attention to the phone and asked, "Now, what do I
do?"
"Well, Fox," she began with a smile on her face, "remember those summer days
when you were playing right field? Get ready to make the biggest catch of
your career, big brother!"
"Sam, I don't know if I can do this," he whispered into the phone.
"Of course you can. Fox, that's my niece or nephew that's going to be born
any minute, so you'd better get your act together, do you understand?!" she
said loudly in an attempt to convince him.
Mulder watched Scully working so hard to pant and breath and avoid pushing
until her next contraction. He knew she needed him, but at that moment, he
felt as though he might be in as much pain as she was. His head was pounding
fiercely at the base of his skull, and his badly bruised ribs were making it
all the more difficult for him to breathe.
And he was so scared. His hands were shaking, and he was so afraid he would
drop the baby. His motor skills weren't what they used to be, and he was
terrified he wouldn't be able to control the movements of a squirming,
squalling newborn.
"MULDER!"
"Wha'?!" He looked down at Scully and realized she was in the middle of a
contraction and she was pushing with all of her might. He wasn't sure what
he should do first. "Scully, wha' shoul' I do?" he cried out.
But she couldn't speak, at least not yet. She was almost through the
contraction, and she knew the baby was not quite ready to pop out. But she
was exhausted already, and this was only the first major push she made.
Scully hoped their child wouldn't be too long in her arrival. She wasn't sure
how much of this she could handle without her doctor present and her husband
at her side coaching her.
Poor Mulder. Scully knew this was the last thing in the world he wanted to be
doing. Hell, it was the last thing in the world _she_ wanted him doing, but
unfortunately neither of them had much of a choice. Thank God Sam was on the
line.
Suddenly, she felt another contraction beginning to start. "MULDER," she
called out. "I have to PUSH!"
Mulder simply pulled the sheet off of her at this point so he could sit on the
bed and give Scully's back some support while also keeping an eye on the
baby's head. As Scully pushed on and on through the contraction, Mulder saw
the perspiration begin to bead up on her forehead.
She was working so hard, and seemingly getting nowhere. When the contraction
passed, Scully slumped back into Mulder's arms. "Oh God, Mulder, this is so
hard."
"I know, Scully, but you're doing such a good job. You're working so damned
hard, and you're doing such a good job," he said softly in an attempt to
encourage and console at the same time.
She rested for what seemed like only seconds when the next contraction began.
"OH SHIT!" she screamed out and pushed with all of her strength. Mulder
continued to support her back until he saw some movement of the baby's head,
and he startled.
"Scully, the baby! The baby's coming!" He was quick thinking enough to prop
all of the pillows behind her back for some support and then quickly came
around to the front of her and watched with rapt fascination as the baby's
forehead emerged.
He could hear Sam screaming over the phone, though he didn't have a clue as to
what she was saying. He managed to pick the phone up and said, "Say that
again, Sam. Loud, please."
"Okay, Fox. Now listen to me. When the baby's head comes out, you need to
cup your hands around her head and support it. If you see some membrane
around her face, tear it off as quickly as you can with your hands. Do you
understand?" she shouted into the phone.
"Yes," he responded as he placed the phone on his shoulder and leaned into it
with his head which freed both of his hands to catch the baby.
At this point, Dana was beginning another contraction and she began pushing
again. "Good, Scully. You're doing so good. The baby's coming, Scully.
Keep pushing sweetheart. Keep pushing," he said encouragingly.
At that very moment, the baby's head did pop out, and Mulder did just as he
was directed to do. He cupped the baby's head and supported it, and wiped
away some remnants of a membrane. "Oh God, Scully, I can't believe this. I
can't believe she's being born," he murmured over and over again.
Another contraction began, and Mulder asked Sam what was the next step. She
explained to him that as Dana pushed, the baby's head and then one of the
shoulders will be visible. After that one is through, simply raise the baby's
head , and the other shoulder would follow pretty easily.
Mulder watched while Scully pushed as hard as she could through the
contraction, and then he saw the baby's head popped totally through. He
looked in awe at what he saw.
And then he looked in horror.
"STOP! SCULLY, STOP PUSHING!! STOP PUSHING!" he screamed at the top of his
lungs. "The cor', Scully. Oh God, the cor's aroun' her neck!" he cried out
in fear.
"FOX!" Sam screamed into the phone. She was worried he might start seizing,
and then both Dana, the baby, and Fox would be in trouble. "FOX! PICK UP THE
PHONE!" she screamed.
Scully was panting continuously in an effort to stop her urge to push. She
picked up the phone and handed it to Mulder.
"Sam? Sam, what do I do?" he asked anxiously.
"Listen to me! Calm down, now!" she demanded.
He took a breath, groaned a moment or two, and then spoke into the phone.
"I'm okay, Sam. Please, wha' do I do?"
"Support the baby's head with one hand and see if you can lift the cord around
her head with your other hand," she shouted. "Tug it gently. It will
probably give and you'll probably be able to pull it up and over her head."
Mulder supported the baby's head with his left hand and tentatively grasped
the umbilical cord with his right one. He tugged at it gently and pulled it
up and over the baby's head. He breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Mulder looked at Scully, first with a grimace, for his bruised ribs protested
that last deep breath, and then with a smile. "I got it off her neck,
Scully," he said with pride. "PUSH!"
Scully stopped panting and the next contraction began immediately. As she
began pushing, the baby's right shoulder appeared and Mulder lifted the baby's
head just as Sam had told him to do. Sure enough, the left shoulder followed
easily.
"Sam, she's coming out!" Mulder said excitedly.
"Get ready to make that catch, Fox! And when she comes out, swipe her mouth
to clear away the mucus. The baby should start breathing by this point," Sam
instructed.
The baby's body quickly followed her shoulders and arms. Mulder did just as
he was told to do, but the baby was not breathing. "Oh God, Sam. Sam! Sam,
she's not breathing, Sam!" he cried out in panic.
Scully looked on helplessly. She was totally exhausted and could only hope
Mulder was able to understand what Sam was telling him.
"Fox! Listen to me!" Samantha called out. Mulder had the phone by his ear
and told her he could hear her. "Lower the baby's head below her body so the
mucus will have a chance to drain away. Blow really hard, if you can, on the
baby's chest, or tap the baby's feet to stimulate her. Do it! NOW!"
Mulder tried everything Sam had suggested, but still nothing. The baby's lips
seemed bluish to him. She wasn't breathing.
"Fox!?"
"She's not breathing, Sam. Oh God, help me. She's not breathing," he
lamented.
"CPR! FOX, CPR!" Sam screamed into the ear piece. She refused to believe they
were going to lose this baby. There was no way any kind of a God would do
this to her brother and his wife. Not after all of the shit they'd been
through. *Please, God,* Sam prayed silently, *Please help that baby breathe.*
And then she heard the answers to her prayers. A baby was whimpering. No, a
baby was crying. Loud. Very loud.
"MAZEL TOV, BIG BROTHER!" screamed Samantha Mulder, MD from the tops of her
lungs in total and complete joy!
"She's crying, Sam! Your niece is crying!" Mulder said into the phone as
tears rolled down his cheeks. "Oh Sam, she's beautiful. She's so beautiful."
"Okay, Doctor Dad, you're not quite finished yet. Put the baby on Dana's
stomach, and look at the cord. You're going to see it pulsating. When it
stops, you need to tie one shoe lace about seven inches away from the baby,
and then the second shoe lace about three inches away. You're going to cut in
between the two ties with those lovely scissors you sterilized. Understand?"
"Yeah, I think so," he said, and proceeded to do exactly what Sam had directed
him to do. After he'd completed his "surgery" he wrapped the baby up in one
of the clean towels and placed her next to Dana. "Okay, sis, I did it. This
doctor stuff isn't so tough," he said boldly.
"Good, Fox. I'm glad you feel that way, because now you need to help Dana
with the afterbirth," Sam said with a slight chuckle.
"Wha'?" he asked confused. "Wha' do I have to do?"
"The afterbirth, Fox. Dana's got to deliver the placenta, and you need to
save it for her doctor to examine it," Sam instructed. "And then once she's
passed it through, you need to massage Dana's abdomen gently every few minutes
until her abdomen feels firm in order to control the blood flow. Understand?"
Mulder watched carefully as Dana went through a couple of more contractions
and delivered the placenta. She seemed relieved to be finally done, as was
Mulder. The placenta looked like a giant piece of liver, which in turn
reminded both of them of a certain liver consuming monster they'd both rather
never have to think about again. He placed it in the large tupperware
container and closed the lid. Tight.
Mulder then gently massaged Scully's abdomen and sure enough, he felt it begin
to firm up. He then looked down at his beautiful wife, his beautiful
daughter, and leaned over to kiss them both.
Mulder then picked up the phone and listened for Sam's voice. He wasn't sure
if he was hearing correctly, but he could swear he heard his sister crying.
"Sam? Sam, you okay?" he asked.
"What," she sniffled in reply. "Of course I'm okay! I'm an aunt! So, what's
my niece's name?"
"God, Samantha, I don't have a clue. We haven't discussed it, to be honest,"
he laughed.
"What's so funny?" Scully murmured as she held her daughter to her breast for
comfort and nourishment. Both mother and father watched in awe as their
daughter's lips latched onto Scully's nipple and instinctively suckled
contentedly.
"Her name. Sam wants to know her niece's name," he explained.
"Oh. That's easy. Sarah Melissa Mulder," she softly replied.
"Dana? Are you sure?" he asked. Upon seeing his wife nod assuredly, he spoke
into the phone, "Sarah Melissa Mulder."
"Sarah Melissa?"
"Yeah. Dana's idea. I like it. What about you?"
"Mom's gonna freak out, you know. I really think you two will not only make
her day with this one, but her year as well. Oh hell, you've just made her
millenium," Sam exclaimed.
"Yeah. I think you're righ'," Mulder agreed.
"Look, I just happen to love the name Sarah. It's just a coincidence it
happens to be your grandmother's name too," Scully explained with a twinkle in
her eyes.
"Yeah, right," he said while looking lovingly at her. Mulder looked up when
he realized he couldn't hear a thing. It had become very quiet all of a
sudden. He looked out the window.
"Well, I'll be damned. It's beautiful outside," he said. "I'm going to see if
the other phone is working. Here, talk to the new mother," he said and gave
the cellular to Scully.
"Sam, do you really like the name?" Scully asked.
"Oh Dana, it's beautiful, but why did you decide against Melissa Sarah?" Sam
asked innocently.
"I suppose because my sister hasn't been gone long enough to become a
beautiful memory. She's still very much alive to me, Samantha, and I couldn't
deal with the idea of hearing anyone, least of all me, calling out for
Melissa, or God forbid, Missy, to do this or that. Your grandmother has been
gone for a long time. She deserves to have her name kept alive, and I'm still
honoring my sister by giving our daughter her middle name," Dana replied.
"Dana, you're okay, sis," Samantha answered.
"Thanks, Sam. And I do mean thank you for everything. You really helped
Mulder keep his wits about him," Scully said.
"I'm glad I was able to help."
The two continued chatting, with Scully describing Sarah Melissa's
extraordinary features in minutia. Meanwhile, Mulder returned to the bedroom
with a grin on his face too. "I got through to 911, Scully. An ambulance
will be here very soon. I also got through to Mom and Abah, and my mother.
Everyone will be meeting us at the hospital. Okay?"
"Sounds like a plan G-Man," Scully replied. "Did you unlock the front door
for the EMT's?
"I opene' the fron' door. I's beautiful out there now, Scully. I's jus'
beautiful," he slurred.
"Mulder? Mulder, are you all right?" Scully asked a little anxiously.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Jus' tire', Scully." As Mulder spoke, Scully noticed he
looked a little green under the gills. With all of the excitement of the
Sarah's birth, she'd forgotten her husband had been injured earlier.
"Mulder, sit down before you fall down. Please. I'm fine now, but quite
frankly my dear, you look like hell."
Mulder managed a light chuckle and responded honestly, "Frankly, my dear, I
feel li'e hell." He started to sway and Scully called out to him in
desperation.
"Mulder!"
Scully's cries of his name didn't help. He fell to the ground in a heap. If
she hadn't realized the paramedics were arriving momentarily, she'd have
jumped out of bed, childbirth, or no childbirth. But as luck would have it,
she heard voices from the front door the house and Scully could hear someone
calling out to her.
"Mrs. Mulder? Mr. Mulder?" a voice called out.
"In the bedroom. Please, hurry!" Scully cried out.
When the paramedics entered, they weren't quite sure who to attend to first.
When Scully saw their dilemma, she quickly informed them she and the baby were
fine, and explained Mulder's symptoms and long, complicated medical history.
And not a moment too soon. He began to seize. Grand Mal.
The technician radioed for an additional unit, as it was obvious the entire
family was going to be admitted. The paramedics timed Mulder's seizure at two
minutes, twenty-seven seconds. Not his longest, but it was certainly long
enough to cause some concern.
As they began inserting IV lines, the second unit showed up. Scully said her
good byes to Samantha at this point, and asked her to call back both Walter
and her mother, as well as her mother-in-law. Scully thought it was a good
idea to prepare all of the grandparents for their son's condition.
Scully remained calm. She knew Mulder would be fine. She was so incredibly
proud of him. He managed to hold himself together long enough to do what
needed to be done to bring his daughter into the world. His daughter.
Their daughter.
Sarah Melissa Mulder.
She was obviously a fighter.
Just like her mommy.
Just like her daddy.
Scully watched as her husband was lifted onto the gurney. He was just
beginning to come out of the stupor his seizures always leave him in, and the
first word out of his mouth was, of course, "Scully."
"I'm right behind you, Mulder. We're all going to the hospital, and we're all
fine, G-Man. I'll meet you at the hospital," she said confidently.
"Sarah?" he called out softly.
"Don't worry, Daddy, Sarah's coming along for the ride too," Dana said
smiling.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
End of Part 4/4
Epilogue
Mulder wasn't sure how they managed it, but somehow he was laying in a bed, in
Scully's bedroom, in the maternity ward. He supposed it wasn't everyday a
new father had to be admitted with injuries on the same day he helped to
deliver his own daughter.
His daughter.
She was sleeping in the bassinet in between his and Scully's beds. Mulder
quietly stood up and checked himself for dizziness. When he realized he felt
fine, Mulder walked over to where the baby was sleeping. He looked at her
carefully for the first time since she'd been bathed.
"You clean up real good, Sarah," he said laughing lightly. He wasn't sure if
it was allowed, but he figured if he could deliver her, he could pick her up
and hold her. So, he reached down, gently picked her up, and held her firmly.
Mulder then brought her body towards his chest and held her securely to him.
He breathed in her soft baby scent and murmured over and over, "I love you,
Sarah. Your mommy and daddy love you so much."
He felt strong enough to walk over to the window near his bed. He didn't want
to wake Scully, as he figured she would need all the sleep she could get. As
he walked with care toward the window, he marveled at how bright and clear the
sky was. It surprised him how Hurricane Melissa seemed to suddenly disappear.
He held his daughter and swayed to and fro in rhythm to a silent song in
Mulder's mind.
"Fox," called out a voice. Mulder turned slowly, Sarah safe in his arms, and
saw his mother-in-law and Abah smiling contentedly before him.
"Have you met Sarah yet?" Mulder asked the two proud grandparents.
"Yes, last evening, after you were brought in," replied Walter.
"Last evening?" Mulder responded disconcerted.
"Sweetheart," began Maggie, "you've been pretty much out of it for the last
twenty-four hours. I'm glad to see you feel well enough to dance with your
daughter."
"Dana?" he asked without really having to ask.
"She's fine, Fox. She's been up every three hours feeding your daughter.
Dana's just taking a catnap," Maggie answered.
"Like hell I am," announced Dana. "So, Dad, what do you think? We keep her,
or what?"
Mulder looked over at his wife and beamed. "Yeah. She's a keeper, Dana."
"She sure is, and so is her daddy. Come over here, Fox. Give the child to
her grandmother. The poor woman has been standing here so patiently for a
whole ten minutes," Scully chuckled.
Mulder handed Sarah off to Maggie, who promptly began cooing as any proper
grandmother should do. Of course, Walter cooed in stereo, as any good
grandfather should do.
Or as any good Sabah would do. Walter Skinner, Abah to Mulder and Dana, was
now Sarah's Sabah. And now Maggie also had a special name, Sahvtah. Mulder
watched two of the most important people in his life share in his joy.
Mulder next leaned down to give his beautiful wife, mother of his child, a
gentle, but passionate, kiss. "I love you, Scully. I love you so much."
"Oh Mulder, I am so proud of you. Thank you for taking care of me and Sarah.
I love you, G-Man, with all of my heart," she responded.
The door suddenly flew opened and in came a walking balloon ornament. Scully
and Mulder both started laughing aloud as they realized who was behind the
dancing Mylar balloons.
"Samantha?!"
"That's Auntie Samantha to you two! Now, where is my niece?" she laughed.
Maggie turned toward Sam and showed her Sarah's sleeping face.
"You still sleeping little girl? That's right sweetie pie, you lull them into
thinking what an angel you are while you're all in the hospital. You just
wait until you all get home until you wake 'em all up and make them smell the
roses!" she said, only half jokingly.
"Sam?" Mulder called out quietly. "May I speak with you?"
"Sure," she answered.
"Sam, I just wanted to say thank ___."
"__Fox," she interrupted, "you don't have to say anything. I'm just glad I
was able to help you bring my niece into the world, that's all."
"Oh Sam, if it weren't for you __," he began, but before he could say anything
else, the door swung open again and in walked Elizabeth Mulder and Jack Stein.
"Fox! Dana! Where is she? Where is my Sarah?" cried out Elizabeth.
"Hi Mom. Nice to see you too," Mulder said, lightly mocking his mother's
greeting.
Elizabeth laughed and walked all around the room, while Stein hung back,
fidgeting nervously with his fingers, and craved a cigarette.
"Oh, Fox, I'm sorry. We just got here. The weather was not cooperating with
any of the airports, and well, I'm just so excited, dear! How are you,
sweetheart? She walked over to him, reached out, and hugged him stiffly.
Elizabeth Mulder still had difficulty showing her son physical signs of
affection, though that had improved somewhat over the last couple of years.
Next, she leaned down and kissed Scully lightly on the forehead, and even
reached over to give Walter and Maggie Skinner a couple of light pecks on
their cheeks. Maggie graciously handed Sarah over to Elizabeth. Elizabeth
gazed at her first grandchild with eyes so loving, it took Mulder's breath
away. He had not seen that particular look on his mother's face in many, many
years.
"So, Mom, what am I? Chopped liver?" asked a bemused Samantha.
"Oh, Samantha, I didn't ever realize you were here! Hello, sweetheart. How
are you?" Elizabeth asked and leaned over to kiss her gently on the cheek.
"Fine, Mom. I'm just fine," Sam responded understandingly.
"She's more than just fine, Mom. Did she tell you what she did?" Mulder
asked. When Elizabeth shook her head no, Mulder went on to explain how his
baby sister, the doctor, managed to talk him and Scully through the birth of
Sarah. He sang her praises and embarrassed her greatly, and all were hanging
on to every word of it.
All, except one.
All, except one, stood in rapt attention to the story of Sarah's birth.
All, except one, kept their eyes on the story teller.
For his eyes remained on the youngest Mulder.
And as he kept his eyes on the tiny figure in her Grandmother Elizabeth's
arms, he twisted his fingers nervously and craved a cigarette.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
End of Epilogue
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(And yes, this teacher knows she has a summer assignment! <g>)