Love and Lovers - Part 6 (R)

 

He did phone Mulder after she was safely tucked in bed. He owed him that, he knew that Mulder had diffused a volatile situation with his sardonic quip and he was immensely grateful. Scully had relaxed after that, hell, she’d barely kept her eyes open to leave the apartment. He was in a marriage of three; he might as well face it. And he was going to be a father with the woman he loved, Mulder would never be able to take that from him.

He let himself into the guestroom and slept the best sleep he had had in months.

Scully slept late the next morning and was very surprised to find Mulder having a cup of coffee with Walter when she finally wandered into the kitchen. She reached for a cup and Skinner handed her a glass of juice.

"Haven’t had time to go buy decaf yet. Have the juice instead."

"I beg your pardon?" She held the glass and just stared at Walter.

"Aren’t you suppose to cut out caffeine?"

"Oh god." She sank into the chair across from Walter. She glanced from one to the other. She had obviously missed an important meeting here. "Listen guys. I need my caffeine before I go to work and – "

"That’s another thing." Her eyes widened, what the hell had gone on here?

"Yessss." She drew it out and Mulder had to look away, he’d warned Skinner this wouldn’t go over well.

"We think you should see Linda before you decide on a work schedule."

"Oh we do. And when did we decide this?" If her eyebrow went any higher Mulder was afraid it would disappear into her hair completely. This was almost amusing, Skinner thinking he could direct Scully at home like he tried to at the Bureau. They might be married, but he had a hell of a lot to learn about her.

"And wipe that grin off your face Mulder." She turned to him then and he turned his totally innocent look to her. She snorted and turned back to Walter. "First thing we need to get straight here is that I am not sick. I do plan to make an appointment with Linda at my first opportunity, but I plan to work and function and – "

"You have an appointment with her at 2:30 this afternoon." Walter volunteered. Mulder managed to curb his impulse to wheel away from the table and duck.

Scully glanced over at Mulder again. He was enjoying this way too much, but his amusement was keeping her temper from exploding. As well as knowing Walter was trying, and failing, to handle this without angering her.

She took a deep breath. "We need to back up a little here. What went on out here while I was asleep? Details. Because if you think I’m going to just sit around here and do nothing for the next seven months, I can head back for California."


"Scully, calm down. Skinner invited me over to discuss some things. We didn’t mean to step on your toes." She didn’t look like she believed him, but she let him continue. "I’m going to start back on the physical therapy – "

"About time. I will be coming over to work with you on that after work, no more backsliding."

"Not to my apartment. That’s another thing we discussed."

"Dana, that’s not a place I want you going. It’s not a good neighborhood and for people to see you coming in and out every day, especially later. . . " Skinner’s voice trailed off at the look on her face.

"So anyway," Mulder broke in, "could you help me find a new apartment, maybe closer to here, if I can afford it? Maybe I could even furnish it or something. . ." His voice trailed off as well and they all sat just looking at each other for a long moment.

"Well? What other decisions regarding me did we make?"

"Dana, please, this is a new situation for all of us. We’re not trying to control you, well okay, maybe a little." He conceded as the eyebrow started its assent again, "But it’s because we care. Look at you, you’ve lost weight, not gained, you’re obviously not feeling your best. Were you okay this morning?"

She looked at him, surprised. "I was. Maybe I slept through it. Maybe I’m just glad to be home. It doesn’t matter, I’m the only one in this room with an MD, I will not turn control of myself over to either one of you and you better realize that right now."

They both nodded, chastened. "I will see Linda today, since the appointment has been made. I don’t even want to know what you said to get an appointment this quickly. And I will follow her advice, you both know what this means to me. But there will be no more policy meetings without me. Do you understand?" Again they nodded, relieved that the lecture seemed to be over.

*****

"Linda? What is it? What’s wrong?" Scully was watching her friend closely, eyes narrowed, trying to take in her body language as well as her facial expression.

"Did I say anything was wrong?"

"Then talk to me." Dana was growing more uncomfortable by the second.

"Can’t I be surprised? We’ve known each other for years, Dana, but I never thought I’d be treating you for this particular condition. I know your medical history and background."

"So? What aren’t you saying? Is the baby alright?"

Linda stood from where she had been leaning on the desk and returned to her seat, opening the file. "You’ve lost weight and you’re slightly anemic. I assume that’s because of the morning sickness. It’s been bad, hasn’t it."

She waited for Scully’s grudging nod. "And I don’t mean to frighten you, but your blood pressure is ever so slightly elevated. I might not even mention it to a lay person, but you’re a doctor and you need to know. You might as well realize I’m planning to treat this as a high-risk pregnancy."

"So there’s more. What?"

"No, that’s all I know at this point. You can read your file if you want. I do want to do an ultra-sound, make sure everything’s where it belongs."

"I’ll schedule it."

"Let’s do it now. You’re here, I’m here, why wait?" She stood again as Scully paled slightly. She rounded the desk and sat beside her friend.

"I get to see you on the day Walter calls for an appointment, now you’re going to do an ultra-sound yourself? Linda. . . "

"I want this to happen for you Dana. Those guys in the waiting room want it too. Both of them. You’re getting my ultra-conservative care. And you’re the only patient I’ve got with your particular history. Oh, about work. . . "

Scully’s eyes narrowed, had ‘those guys’ already talked to her. "Wipe that look off your face, Dana. You haven’t been working for the last couple of months, I want to continue that until your energy returns and you’re in your second trimester. Then we can talk about a modified schedule."

"Modified?" This was worse than she had expected, worse than the two of them expected she imagined.

"Modified. No red-eye flights to Kalamazoo, no chasing bad guys down alleys, if possible no alien abductions." She smiled slightly at that one; she’d known Dana since before Mulder had turned her life upside down.

Scully finally relaxed, that kind of modification. Okay, she hadn’t really planned to go back to work that way until after the baby was born. Quantico and teaching, surely that wouldn’t threaten anything. Linda watched the tension leave her shoulders and nodded to herself. This was a tenuous pregnancy and she needed to convey that without frightening her. Shit, the woman supposedly had no ova, had survived cancer, had that thing in her neck and was torn between two men. Yippee.

"Why don’t we go see what we can see?" Linda stood and took Dana’s hand.

"Nice strong heartbeat, plenty of amniotic fluid, good position of the placenta. I like it Dana." Linda continued to slide the instrument over her abdomen.

Scully closed her eyes for a moment in relief, but couldn’t leave them closed. That was her baby she was watching. This wasn’t her field of expertise but she knew enough to know those were very healthy signs.

"Do you want anyone else to come in and see this?" Linda looked up at her.

"Both of them."

"Okay, whatever you say." She stepped to the door and had her nurse go for the two men waiting anxiously in her outer office.

Both men seemed to be struck dumb by the rapid heartbeat that was plainly visible on the screen. Linda pointed out the head and torso to them. "It’s too soon to tell the sex, but we’ll do other ultra-sounds so if you want to know, maybe we can find out later." Now Scully was watching the men instead of the screen. Mulder was slightly uncomfortable, though no one but she would be able to see it. Walter was totally mesmerized by the sight.

When she left to get dressed Linda cornered the two of them and herded them into her office. "Here’s the deal guys. I don’t know which of you is the father and I don’t personally care. I consider this pregnancy tenuous. There will be no stress induced by you two. Don’t think I would hesitate to castrate both of you if you cause her grief."

Walter stared at her, Mulder had had run-ins with Linda before and took her at her word. They both nodded solemnly.

They developed a routine. During the day she worked with Mulder, pushing him to exercise. She wanted him strong, walking, himself again. The apartment they found was closer and even Walter couldn’t object to the neighborhood. He ate well and forced her to do the same, so both gained the weight their doctors pressed for. He was using the walker within a couple of weeks.

In the evenings she was with Walter, back to the easy style they had developed while living together. There was little change except for separate rooms. Walter had Mulder begin work again as a consultant. He wasn’t yet able to handle fieldwork and since she couldn’t go with him, he had no real desire to travel yet anyway.

They all celebrated when he was able to move to the cane and give up the walker. They all three now worked mornings, with Mulder and Scully doing their physical therapy in the afternoons.

They found a track near his apartment and began walking it. He practiced without the cane and eventually became able to do the entire circuit without it. She was so excited by that achievement she threw her arms around him and hugged him. He was caught off guard for a second, then found his arms around her, holding her close. Never letting go entered his mind and then he felt the child stir against him.

He reluctantly released her. "Are we ever going to be together Scully?"

"We are together Mulder. Don’t doubt that."

*****

She was dragging and he finally commented on it. "I’m suppose to be the one learning to walk again Scully. If you can’t waddle any faster than that I’ll have to get a new walking companion."

"I am not waddling." She shot back at him.

"Are you okay?" Now that he was looking at her, she seemed a little strained.

"My back’s bothering me a little."

If she was admitting it, she must be in real pain. Without another word he took her arm and led her to the bleachers surrounding the track. "That’s enough for today then. You should have said something. I’ll go get the car."

"Mulder." She frowned at him, exasperated. This was why she hadn’t mentioned her back early.

"You wanna fight? Then wait here." He was walking well now and was exercising even when she wasn’t around. He was ready to be normal again and never look at that damn wheelchair again as long as he lived.

She was very quiet on the ride home, too quiet for him. He walked her inside, "Look, why don’t I wait here for Walter? I don’t have any plans this afternoon."

"I am fine, Mulder. I’ll take a nap, go home."

"Will you call me later?" He was reluctant to leave, but he couldn’t put a finger on why. She was probably just tired but he would be calling here to check on her, no way he’d wait for her to call.

That’s exactly what he did when he thought Walter should be home, calling on Walter’s cell phone, just in case she was still asleep.

"Skinner."

"It’s me. Is she okay?"

"Mulder? I just walked in. Why? What was wrong?"

"She just wasn’t herself this afternoon. Of course she didn’t want me to stay, but . . . "

Walter glanced over at the bedroom door. It was shut. "She’s probably asleep. Hold on." He put his briefcase on the desk and headed that way. He cracked open the door and looked inside. "Dana! Oh god, Dana!"

"What!" Mulder’s grip on the phone sent his knuckles white immediately. "Skinner! What?"

"I’m hanging up Mulder, I’m calling 911."

"What hospital!"

"Georgetown."

"I’ll meet you there." The phone went dead. What the hell was going on? He knew he shouldn’t have left her, but he allowed her to brush his concerns away. Damn, what was happening?

He beat them to the hospital and had them locate Linda. He didn’t know what was going on, but he felt better knowing she was around. She met him in the ER just as the ambulance pulled up and together they met the gurney. Walter ran in right behind them, having followed the ambulance from the apartment.

She was in obvious pain but when Mulder took her hand the lines in face eased and she seemed to breathe a little easier. Linda made a mental note of it but said nothing. She didn’t know if Walter had seen what his presence did for her or not. It didn’t matter now anyway.

"Out of the way Fox. I’ll talk to both of you later." And she disappeared into an examining room with her.

They both stood staring at the door until Walter finally pulled himself together. "Okay, what happened this afternoon?"

Mulder looked over at him as though he didn’t recognize him, then shook himself and headed for the waiting room. "Nothing, not really. We were walking like we always do and I mentioned she was dragging. She finally admitted her back was bothering her so I made her quit right then. I got the car and brought her home. I offered to stay until you got there, but she said she was just going to nap and to go on. I didn’t call because I didn’t want to wake her. That’s why I waited for you. God, I should never have left her. . . What happened?"

"I don’t know. She was obviously in a lot of pain. She was. . . she was calling out for both of us." He couldn’t bring himself to mention that she’d moaned Mulder’s name nearly twice as much as she’d called for him.

They sank into silence, barely aware of the other’s presence, thinking their own thoughts. Time slowed to a crawl, but Mulder was on his feet first when Linda finally emerged from the room.

"We’re moving her upstairs. She’s in pre-term labor and we’re going to do everything we can to stop it. I’ll let you see in her a little while."

"What happens if you can’t stop it?" Walter asked it quietly, his fear evident.

Linda shook her head. "Infants can survive at 24 weeks, but. . . Just hold a good thought." She moved to return to her patient.

"What caused this?" Mulder had thought she’d offer an explanation but she was just walking off.

"Nothing, anything. You know what her body’s been subjected to over the past few years as well as I do. It’s why I’ve been so conservative in my treatment. The ultrasound looks good, he’s just awfully small and I want to keep him where he is as long as I can." She turned again, then stopped. "It’s not you guys. We’ve talked, she’s not been under stress from. . . from the situation. Don’t sit here feeling guilty. Believe me, if there was a reason, I’d let you know."

Mulder nodded, Walter was staring into the distance. It was at least another hour before they were allowed in to see her. She was still pale, but not like she had been when she’d arrived here. She was still on an IV but the oxygen was gone. It was the fetal monitor that held Walter’s attention.

"You’d do anything for attention, wouldn’t you?" Mulder took her hand and kissed it.

"There’s no excitement just hanging around DC. I’m used to solving weird cases, remember?" She gave him a tired smile.

"How are you feeling?" Walter was at her other side now, closest to the monitor.

"Better. The contractions have almost stopped."

Walter nodded, not sure what to say. Fortunately he was saved from any comment by Linda’s arrival.

"These guys bothering you?" She winked at Scully.

"They’re not too bad. Well?" She watched Linda check the monitor.

"Looking better. I’m going to put you on steroids just in case." Scully nodded.

"What does that do?" Walter had hold of her other hand now.

"Helps the baby’s lungs mature. Don’t worry, Walter. She’s in good hands. She’s also going to be on complete bed rest for the next few weeks." She looked over at Scully to see if there was any argument from that quarter. There was none and Linda gave her a bigger smile. "I like it when you don’t try to second guess me. You know I did rank above you in medical school."

"Half a point." Scully snorted.

"Half a point is half a point. I’m going to throw everybody out now. You need the rest and they look like they could use some too. Go home. I’ll call you if I need you."

Linda had to actually herd them from the room; neither was willing to leave her side. Linda wasn’t more than an inch or two taller than Scully, though quite a bit stockier but when she wanted to move people, they moved. "I want you both out of here. Go home, go eat. If you stay you’ll keep her awake and she’ll pick up on how worried you are. She doesn’t need to spend her energy reassuring you. Go."

She was released after a couple of days, and sent home for complete bed rest. Again the schedules changed and Mulder took over the care of her during the day. He could still do his consulting by computer from her apartment. Adjustments were made with a minimum of stress on her, always Mulder’s and Skinner’s first thought.

The use of the bedpan was a major sticking point until Mulder pointed out, quite correctly, that she had done the same for him and she might as well shut up about it. So after a few remarks regarding picnic attachments, the issue regained its proper perspective.

He still continued his exercises, now in her bedroom under her watchful eye and even allowed her input on some of the cases he was consulting on though he pretended to do so grudgingly.

Mrs. Scully flew in from California, where she had remained as Bill’s tour was extended and extended, as soon as she was informed of the problem. She held herself back as much as possible, allowing these three to work things out together. Besides, as much as Fox tried to hide it, he wanted the time alone with Dana during the day. She was in the way.

Mulder was probably in the best shape he’d ever been in, at least since he swam in high school. He’d progressed from exercising to working out, even keeping some exercise equipment in her bedroom now. She was up and walking a little now, on modified bed rest and that had encouraged him as much as anything to build up his muscles. He wanted to be perfectly capable of doing anything she needed done.

Mulder realized it was getting harder to leave each evening, when it was time for Skinner to arrive and take his place. Unfortunately the reality was that Mulder was taking Skinner’s place during the day. He almost never accepted the invitation to dinner that was occasionally made.

Skinner was aware of this conflict within Mulder but made no comment. He could feel the two of them growing closer, depending on each other as they always had. He kept quiet; nothing would be gained by mentioning it, other than stress for her. The pregnancy was progressing and she was in much better spirits. That’s what was important, this other wasn’t exactly new anyway.

*****

Mulder headed for the door, he didn’t have anywhere he wanted to be, but it was Walter’s time with her. They were friendly, hell he’d never spent so much time with Walter Skinner and he did like the man, more than he’d thought possible at one time. But he never forgot he was married to her. Shit! He wasn’t about the upset the status quo now. Linda had finally let her be on her feet when she wanted as long as she didn’t overdo, and he wasn’t going to do anything to cause her grief.

He had his hand on the doorknob when he heard her. "Wait." He turned back and spotted her clinging to the bedroom door. Her gown was soaked. Walter froze for a second but Mulder was moving. He was at her side in two steps, but she was already doubled over.

"Where’s your car?" Mulder had her in his arms. Walter was moving now. He had the door open and the elevator summoned.

Mulder laid her in the backseat and Skinner was already putting the car in gear. They weren’t about to wait for any ambulance this time. He could hear her in the backseat, Mulder murmuring to her. Well, that was good. Mulder was better with her when she was in pain. It was still too early, thirty weeks, but the baby had a better shot than he had earlier.

He was making good time; rush hour was over for all intents and purposes. Everything would be okay, it had to be. This was his son, the only child he’d ever have. No, don’t think about anything but traffic.

"Oh shit. Hurry, Walter. Damn it hurry!"

"What? Mulder what’s happening?" He received no response and didn’t dare take his eyes off the road at this speed. What was that noise? A high pitched – oh god! The baby? "Dana!" He did turn slightly then and saw Mulder stripping off his t-shirt.

"Turn the heat on, all the way!"

He complied then jerked the cell phone from his pocket. "Is this an emergency?" The ultra calm voice of the 911 operator was in his ear.

"My wife just gave birth in the car. I need you to contact Georgetown, tell them our ETA is 10 minutes, less if I can do it. And find Dr. Linda Carruthers."

"Is the baby breathing?" She was alert now, but still maintaining calm. Hell, she wasn’t here in the car with them. She’d be shaken then.

"He was, Mulder, is the baby breathing?"

"Yeah." He was too busy for conversation, let Skinner talk to them.

"I’m contacting the hospital now, sir. Stay on the line."

The rest of the trip was blur to him. His son had been born and he wasn’t sure he or Dana would live. He slowed down only to turn into the emergency entrance. Skinner spotted Linda pacing on the emergency dock, a gurney already waiting. She’s the one that jerked the door of the car open.

"Did you cut the cord?"

"No, but the placenta’s been delivered."

"Okay, hold him." She was prepared and swiftly clamped and cut the cord. "Where’s that neonatal unit!" She handed the infant out of the car, wrapped in Mulder’s t-shirt.

"She was seizing." Mulder was pale as a ghost. Linda made no comment, examining her friend and patient rapidly.

"Let’s get her inside! Come on." Linda shoved Mulder out of the car and climbed out herself to allow the emergency room personnel access to her.