Teena's Secret (PG-13)

She pulled up in to the cabin and turned off the engine.  “We’re here Fox.”

“Yeah!”  He pulled open the car door and piled out.

“Don’t go far, Fox!  Don’t get out of my sight.”  She let herself out of the car and stretched her back.  She probably shouldn’t have driven that far without taking a break, but Fox had been so excited.  When he’d finally calmed down and dropped off to sleep, she hadn’t wanted to wake him by stopping the car.

She moved to the back of the car and opened the trunk, lifting the suitcase out.  She felt a tightening in her lower abdomen.  She let the suitcase rest on the ground as the sensation passed.  The doctor had said she’d probably be having this false labor until she delivered.  What a pleasant thought.

She picked back up the suitcase and moved to the house.  She really hadn’t felt like coming all the way up here, especially having to make the drive with just Fox, but William had been insistent and he was going to meet them here for the weekend.

“Come on inside, Fox.  You know it’s too cool to go in the water.  Why don’t you take your things up to the loft?  I’ll fix us some lunch.”

The boy looked up at her with his dark expressive eyes.  “Okay Momma.  Can I have a Coke?”

“We’ll see.  Go on.”

They had their lunch and walked down to the water.  Fox threw rocks into the water for a while, but she was tired, so they returned to the house shortly.

When Fox promised to stay on the screened porch she lay down for a little while, but woke when he burst into her bedroom.  “Momma!  There’s someone here to see you.”

“What?”  She woke with the start.

“There’s a man here.  He wants to talk to you.”  Fox turned to run back out of the room.

“Wait.  Stay here.  Wait for me.”  She rolled to her side and made it to her feet.  Who would be up here?

The smell of cigarette smoke stopped her before she saw him. 

“Teena, good to see you.”  The man looked her up and down.  “Well, looks like the little one will be here soon.”

“What are you doing here?” She sounded sure of herself, but she was shaking inside.  Why was he here?

“I thought we should talk.  It’s so difficult for us to spend any time alone when William is . . . around.”

“There’s nothing for us to speak about.”

“Oh I beg to differ my dear.  I would think we have many things to discuss.”

She turned from him, “Fox, could you play on the porch for a little while?  I need to talk to Mr. Spender for a few minutes.”

He nodded and took his truck back out to the porch.

Once he was out of sight, Teena turned back.  “I want you out of here!” She hissed at him.  “You have no business here and I don’t want to talk to you, about anything.  I want you to stay away from Fox.  William and I are doing very well and we don’t need -  “ She stopped, her hand to her stomach.

“Teena?”

“I’m, I’m fine.  Just leave, please.”

“But you and I both know how good I’ve been about keeping my distance from the boy.  Now with a new baby, surely you plan to ease up a little.”  He smiled at her.

She refused to answer, her hand rubbing her large belly.

“Isn’t William coming up on Friday?  You’ll be alone here with the boy until then?”

She sank down carefully into the chair.  “We don’t need you here.”

He lit another cigarette and leaned against the mantle.  “Fine, but since I drove all the way up here, just to be with you for a little while, I’m in no hurry to just turn around and drive back.”

Teena pulled herself up from the chair, ignoring his outstretched hand.  She looked out the door to make certain that Fox was still on the porch, then turned toward the kitchen.  She took only a couple of steps before she grabbed hold of the back of the couch, “Um, ohhh.”

“Are you really sure you want me to leave, Teena?”  She glared at him as the pain subsided.  “As I recall, William told me that young Fox there was born quite quickly.  Don’t I remember him saying you were only in the hospital a couple of hours before he was born.”

She wanted to force him out, send him on his way, but he had a point.  Fox had been born very quickly for a first child.  And if the length of her contractions already was any indication, this one wasn’t going to wait long either.

“I’d be more than happy to drive you to the hospital my dear.  And of course you’ll need someone to keep an eye on Fox during the actual delivery.”

Instead of answering him directly, she forced herself upright and stepped to the porch.  “Fox, we need to go for a ride.”

“But Momma, we just got here.”

“I know Honey, but . . . “ her voice trailed off.

The man took her arm and seated her in the nearest chair.  “Fox, you know your mother is expecting a baby?”  The boy nodded, “Well, it’s time for it to be born.  We need to ride over to the hospital and find a doctor to help deliver it.”

“Does it have to come now?”

“I’m afraid so.”

The boy sighed, but gathered up his things to bring back into the house.

Teena watched him climb up to the loft, then turned to the man beside her.  “I don’t want you here.”

“Teena dear, you need to make up your mind quickly.  It’s at least a forty-five minute drive to the hospital.”

She closed her eyes as another contraction gripped her.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”  He turned to the loft, “Fox, we need to go on.  Come down.”

Fox scrambled down the stairs at the tone in the man’s voice.  He knew that tone from his father, and it meant business.

“Cal . . . “

“Ah, finally decided to use my name, uh?  I recall you using it with much more passion before.”  He assisted Teena to her feet, then realized that she needed his support to walk.  He felt a touch of nerves at that, but she was just having a baby.  She was probably trying to give him a lesson in what women had to endure. 

He helped her to the car and opened the front door for her, “Cal, I, I think I better get in the back.  I . . . I need to lie down.”

“You don’t have to put on a show for me Teena, I’m taking you to the hospital.  Your and ‘William’s’ daughter will be fine.”

“You know it’s a girl?”  She ignored the emphasis on William’s name.

“We know all kinds of things.  You don’t have to -  “

“Cal, listen to me.  We need, we need to hurry.”  He blinked at that, but she was already crawling into the back.  He opened the door to the front seat and motioned for Fox to climb in.

He glanced in the back seat and his eyes widened as he watched her writhe, trying to keep quiet and not frighten the boy.  He took off then, maybe this wasn’t an act to gain sympathy. 

He kept up a running conversation with Fox, speaking up to cover the sounds she was beginning to make on a damn frequent basis.  He had begun checking his watch now.  She was making those noises less than five minutes apart now.  He pressed harder on the gas, and tried to keep Fox occupied as she muffled yet another groan.

“Cal.”  He glanced in the mirror to see her struggling to sit up.

“Yes?”

“We’re not going to make it.  The baby . . . ummmm.”

“That’s not amusing, Teena.”  But he was aware that his voice was shaking slightly.

“I need your help.  Pull over.  Now!”  She moaned loudly and Fox looked up, his attention caught.

“It’s , Fox, I’m going to stop the car for a little while.  Okay?”

“What’s wrong with Momma?”

“That’s what I need to check on.  Okay?”  He pulled onto a dirt road and pulled off.  There wasn’t much traffic anyway.  “Now Fox, I want you to stay right here beside the car.  I’m going to get in the backseat with your mother for a few minutes.  I want you to promise me that you won’t wander off or get near the road.”

“Cal!”  He glanced in the back seat.  Oh shit. 

He pulled open the back door.  “It, it’s going to be okay, Teena.  Just, just relax.”

Fox took his dump truck and wandered toward the stream he’d spotted from the car.  He picked up rocks and began filling up the back, then tossed some into the water, trying to make the biggest splash.  He turned suddenly when he heard his mother scream.  He dropped the rock in his hand and ran back toward the car.

“Momma!”

“Fox, Fox it’s okay.  Your mother is okay now.  Look.” He showed the boy the bundle in his arms.  “This is your sister.”

*****

Mulder woke with a start, sitting up and panting as though he’d run a couple of miles.

“Mulder?  Are you okay?”

He turned as Scully sat up beside him, the sheet falling to her waist.  Her hand caressed his shoulder.

“Uh, yeah.  I . . . I just remembered something.”

“What?”

He shook his head.  “It’s . . . just go back to sleep.”

He knew that the hand that was pressed against his chest was also checking his heart rate, but he kept quiet.  “You’re probably worried about meeting with the auditor in the morning.”

“Yeah, that’s probably it.”  He pulled her up against him as he spooned around her.  “You know, your breasts are bigger.”

She chuckled, “Nice subject change Mulder.”  She felt his hand come to rest on her belly in a protective, or maybe proprietary, manner.

“Go to sleep Scully.  It’s okay.”

She squirmed back into his body, getting comfortable.  Morning was going to come awfully early.