She
hoped she looked more professional that she felt. Keeping
her mind on the meeting was becoming impossible. This
was the first meeting of the 'expanded' X-files division with Skinner. The sound of his voice, Mulder's voice, was distracting. She just wanted to listen to the sound, the words
didn't matter, just the fact that it was his
voice. He still sounded a little weak. He hadn't completely recovered his voice from the
damage done by the tobacco beetles before he was taken.
His disappearance hadn't helped, but he was getting stronger.
Actually
his recovery was taking some time. What they
had done to his beautiful body was . . . No, he was recovering that was where her focus
should be.
What
fascinated her the most was the fact that the baby moved every time he spoke. She had her hand pressed discretely against her
swollen abdomen. Her hand was hidden below
the tabletop and her purpose was two-fold, one to reassure the child and two to increase
her own enjoyment of the sensation.
She
wasn't following the conversation and was surprised when he raised his voice in protest to
some comment Monica made. The baby turned a
complete somersault inside of her and she couldn't hide her reaction, gasping and jerking
upright.
Every
eye turned toward her, to her total embarrassment.
"Dana?" Walter started to rise and she felt Mulder tense. He wasn't used to the new closeness in their
relationship.
"I'm
fine. Please continue."
It
was obvious that no one believed her. Skinner
brought the meeting to a close immediately, despite her protests.
Everyone
rose and she had the impression for just an instant that they wanted to commandeer a
wheelchair for her. She pushed her own chair
back and placed her hands on the arms to assist herself to her feet when she saw Mulder's
hand come out to help her.
Her
eyes grew moist immediately and she looked down to hide it, but took his hand to allow him
to help her to her feet.
The
others seemed to melt into the woodwork, even Skinner, though it was his office.
"Are
you really okay?"
"Yes. I'm just not the only one glad that you're
back."
He
glanced over at the door doubtfully.
"No,
this one." She smoothed the fabric over
her stomach. "He loves the sound of your
voice too."
"What?"
"He
was . . . he was moving when you spoke. And
when you disagreed with Monica, he did a flip."
Mulder's
eyes widened. "That's okay?"
She
smiled, "yes. It's okay." She moved away from the table. "You've been here long enough for today
Mulder."
"Whose
Mother do you think you are?"
"Funny,
Mulder. I'm not going to let you
overdo."
"I
am a little tired. Maybe you should drive me
home." He managed to keep his lips from
smiling, but not his eyes.
"Are
you trying to get me to play hooky?"
"If
you think I should rest, I can think the same
thing about you."
Her
eyebrow rose to dangerous levels but he wasn't concerned, not any more. Besides she looked too soft and round to . . . "Are you going to give me a ride or not? We could order a pizza."
"Well,
I suppose just this once. But don't think we
can make a habit of it." She turned
toward the door and he stood for just a moment watching her, hell devouring her with his
eyes. He'd never thought to see her like
this, not after . . . It was the best welcome home he could have - her, and . . . and him.
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