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The scream
was so surreal and distant, he wasn't sure if it was waking him
from a dream or dragging him kicking from a good dream to a
nightmare. Either way, it sent a chill to his bone, and when it
registered a millisecond later that it was his partner's cry of
agony, Fox Mulder's eyes flew open and his body sat bolt upright.
Her name hung on his lips as he slipped off the bed and his eyes
struggled to focus in the poorly lit room, but then the sound
pierced the air again - a cross between an agonized cry for help
and his name - and suddenly there was no time to gain his
bearings.
He ran down the hallway, down the stairs to a destination that
felt miles away all the time she cried out.
And then he was finally there in the lounge, and the sight before
him - on top of the heartbeat drumming wildly in his ears - sent
his world crashing down around him.
"Mommy's hurtin'!"
Scully was spread out across the couch clutching desperately at
her abdomen - all blood drained from her face and rivulets of
sweat pouring down her cheeks. William was knelt beside her,
scared and confused.
Mulder ran to her side, grabbing hold of one of her hands to
assure her that he was there. "Scully, breath slowly,"
he pleaded, taking several deep breaths to demonstrate.
Drawing strength from his presence, Dana followed his lead and
managed to gain some control over her breathing pattern, but the
pain radiating from where their unborn daughter grew and tearing
through the whole of her body refused to ease even a tiny amount.
"Mul-der," she whined, turning fear-filled eyes to him,
"S-something's wrong..." There was the stabbing
sensation again and she curled up into a ball - eyes slamming
shut and face tightly screwing up as she struggled unsuccessfully
to fight back.
William looked to his father for any help that would cure his
mother's suffering, but Mulder could only stare back in useless
terror.
They had always kept themselves to themselves in the need to keep
their anonymity, but even if they weren't closed off up on the
edge of the cliff that overlooked the Pacific ocean, Freesol had
no hospitals or medical centers of its own. There had seemed
little reason to contemplate any risk, but the fact remained that
if Mulder had no option but to take his partner to the hospital,
they would have to make the thirty-minute drive to Custer, which
was a lot more populated and would give them too much exposure.
Another scream.
It was a risk they were going to have to take.
"Will, do you remember that bag we told you not to touch
unless in a real emergency?" Mulder queried, glancing at his
son again. At the boy's nod, he simply finished, "Go get
it," and immediately the boy disappeared up the stairs as
fast as his little legs could carry him. After watching William
disappear out of view, Mulder turned back to Scully and reached
for her pale, sweaty hand yet again. "Scully, honey, what's
happening?" Despite his efforts to conceal it, his voice
trembled with every ounce of fear he felt, and when she shifted
into the circle of his waiting embrace he saw the same thing
mirrored in her ice-blue eyes. "Is--..." He coughed to
clear the lump that had suddenly clogged his throat. "Is
it--"
"I-I-I don't know," she quietly wept, trying to keep
her voice low so that William wouldn't accidentally overhear.
"Mulder..." Her hold on his hand tightened.
"...I'm scared..."
That was all he needed to hear to know that all other options
were useless - they had to go, and go *now*. For Dana Katherine
Scully to show her vulnerability so willingly meant something was
*definitely* not right.
"It's okay," he whispered, leaning in to place a kiss
on her forehead as his free hand raised to slowly comb through
her hair. His lips lingered there for several seconds before he
reiterated "It's okay," against her skin and then
looked over his shoulder to see their son standing behind him
with a large duffel back at his side. He stood, reluctantly let
go of Scully's hand, and then crouched down in front of Will -
resting his shaking hands on the boy's small shoulders.
"Mom's gonna be okay. So's your sister. But I need you to be
a big boy for me, kiddo...I need you to keep reminding me that
thet're okay, 'cos you know how much I worry...D'you think you
can do that?"
William stared long and hard at the older man, delving as far
into his father's thoughts as he could, and then gave a single
nod. It frustrated him sometimes that he couldn't understand all
the 'grown up' stuff that went through his parents' mind - as if
he was missing out on something that involved him but wasn't
allowed to know - but at the moment his primary concern lay with
his mother and the cries he could mentally hear coming from his
unborn sister. They all needed him for one reason or another, and
if his dad needed him to be a big boy, he could definitely do
that.
"Good. Now, I'm gonna take this and go open the car...Keep
Mommy company until I get back, okay?"
"Yes, Daddy."
Mulder smiled, gave an appreciative nod and ruffled the boy's
hair as he snatched up the bag and jogged toward the garage door.
A minute later he was back and bending over to carefully scoop up
his partner.
"Jeez," he huffed exaggeratedly as he hoisted her frame
up against his chest. "You been fulfilling your bee pollen
cravings again, Scully?" He was trying as best he could to
lighten the mood and relax them all, but his voice sounded
hollow, even to his own ears.
It was weak, but he just caught the end of her chuckle.
"It's not my fault if your daughter inherits your oral
fixation...." Her voice trailed off as another surge of pain
creased her features and an ear-piercing cry barreled out past
her lips.
"That's our cue to get a move on, I believe," Mulder
sighed, adjusting his hold on her as gently as possible and then
awkwardly making his way back out to the parked SUV.
William hung back in the doorway for a beat, though, mulling
something over. Mulder, having laid his partner across the back
seats, was about to get into the driver's seat, but stopped when
he saw his son was still in the house.
"Will, get in the car!"
No movement.
"Will!" When that still didn't catch the boy's
attention he left the car door open and ran to crouch in front of
William once again. "Will, you remember what we were saying
in there? I need you, buddy. You're mom needs
you...Please--"
"Is Mommy hurtin' 'cos o' the mushy in the slushy?"
Low. Scared. William's voice muffled against his his chest as he
refused to make eye contact with his dad and started to nervously
fidget with his fingers. "Is she in pain 'cos I th'ew a
snowball at her?"
At that moment both father and son realized that one's guilt had
become the other's. Mulder quickly wrapped both arms around his
son and squeezed.
"Don't ever think that," he choked out. "We're
gonna find out what's wrong, but whatever it is it's not because
of anything any of us have done. I swear." Eyes squeezed
shut as the ex-FBI agent struggled to rid himself of his own
guilt with that promise.
XxXxXxXxX
Lost in a cloud of worry and torturous agony, the woman wandered
aimlessly - the only certainty she knew being how hollow and
alone she suddenly felt. Words tried to escape from her mouth,
but the swirling vacuum sucked them soundlessly out of her and
their names became nothing more than fragments of an unheard
prayer in her throat.
Where was she? What was happening? Did she even truly know who
she was anymore?
There were so many questions to become entangled in as she
continued onward through the thick mist, but the one that kept
coming to the forefront was: had she done something wrong? They'd
never exactly done things the 'normal' way - always finding their
own, very different kind of solutions to any problems that faced
them, especially as each day was tainted with the fear that the
supersoldiers would find their peaceful retreat and separate the
family. Nevertheless, she'd taken every precaution during this
pregnancy that she'd ignored during the first due to her
partner's absence, avoiding any form of stress and (though
occasionally a little reluctantly) even letting the father of
their children wait on her hand and foot...So how could this be
happening now, just three weeks away from her due date?
A fast, rhythmic sound began to pulse in the void enveloping her,
and as she felt the beat pull any last strands of hope she'd been
clinging to from underneath her fingers, Dana Scully closed her
eyes and waited for the darkness to either claim or free her.
XxXxXxXxX
The call to his cellphone came when they were only ten minutes
away from the town's border - by which time the pain Scully had
been enduring had become bad enough to render her unconscious.
Mulder glanced at the boy in the passenger-side seat, who
immediately carefully crawled between the front seats to be with
his mother, and then hesitantly answered the phone.
"Yes?"
"You're on the move without warning us?"
Marita Covarrubias's cold, annoyed question made Mulder sit up
straighter. Since the family's impromptu trip to D.C back in
June, the rebels fighting to find a vaccine against the coming
alien invasion had become more watchful over them. Covarrubias
had insisted it was to ensure their protection, especially as
they were the ones being depended upon to lead in The Great
Battle, but both Mulder and Scully suspected there was something
more going on.
"Scully needs help," Mulder quietly ground out, as if
that was all they needed to know.
At the other end of the line, the blond-haired woman glanced over
at her companion, who was listening in to the conversation on
another handset, and sharply replied, "You're supposed to
let us know so that we can arrange for some protection to escort
you."
"This is an emergency! Scully needs help and I need to get
her to the--"
"Pull over and wait for someone to meet you."
Mulder turned worried eyes away from the road briefly to look at
the pain etched in his insentient partner's features and his son.
They needed the rebels' co-operation if they were to fight for
the future of the planet, but right now his whole world existed
within the confines of the vehicle, and if that were compromised
at all he knew - had always known - that he wouldn't have a
future worth fighting for. "No," he eventually replied,
increasing the pressure of his foot against the accelerator pedal
and then disconnecting the call.
Covarrubias stared at the receiver for several long seconds
before muttering "Then you leave us no choice," under
her breath and giving a single nod to the shadowed man. Without a
word, her colleague pressed a button on the keyboard to his left
and waited.
"Daddy, she's giving up," William sniffed, wrapping
both arms around his mother's motionless form and hugging her as
best he could.
His foot was pressed as far down as it could go, but Mulder felt
the tears beginning to well in his eyes as he realized they were
still at least five minutes away from the hospital. He'd never
known Scully to give up... After all these years, all the roads
traveled, and the miles that had separated them at one time or
another, he couldn't let this be her last road trip.
Suddenly the SUV's engine completely died and the vehicle
silently rolled to a stop.
"What the--" Frantic, wide eyes stared disbelievingly
at the unlit gauges on the dashboard and Mulder's foot slammed
even harder against the accelerator, without any result.
William quickly turned and stood to look over the top of his
father's seat. "Daddy?" He stared at the dashboard and
felt emotions he couldn't understand swelling inside his heart.
Hoping it would help him escape the inexplicable feelings, the
boy let his mind wander into his father's, except he was
instantly bowled over by a tidal wave of despair, torment,
hatred, guilt and terror, and quickly pulled back out.
That was when the phone rang back to life.
Mulder snatched up the communicator with his shaking right hand
and exited the car - slamming the door shut after him in the hope
that that would discourage his son from listening in to any rude
words he was about to shout down the line.
"Now you have no choice but to listen to us," Marita's
voice sighed when the call was connected.
"You fucking bitch!" Mulder growled in anger, sadly
looking in through the back window of the vehicle at Scully and
resting a sweaty palm against the glass. "Start the engine
up!"
"Agent Mulder, you don't understand - They're looking for
you more now than ever...If you go into town you will risk
everything, including the life of your son and partner. Is that
what you really want?"
"My pregnant *wife* is dying and needs immediate medical
attention. Unless you want *Mister* Mulder to work against you,
you'll let him get her to the hospital now!"
There was a hesitant pause, but then Covarrubias replied,
"We have somebody heading for your location. We can't let
you risk all of your lives for the sake of one," before
sharply disconnecting the line.
William watched as his father threw his cellphone onto the gravel
and stamped on it several times. He'd seen his dad alone down on
the beach sometimes lost in thought, but he'd never witnessed
this display of raw rage coming from someone he'd always
considered to be the quietest, least violent person in the world.
Unsure of what to make of it he slipped out of the car also and
moved over to cup one of Mulder's hands in his own tiny, chubby
one.
Head bowed, Mulder's eyes squeezed shut as he felt the warm palm
brush against his skin.
"I don't know what to do," he choked out, defeated.
"We've been on the run for so long...I've always depended on
Scully's judgment and decisions..."
Like osmosis, something passed through the pores of Mulder's
fingers into William, and suddenly the boy understood every
sacrifice, every leap of faith, every hurt, every second of joy,
every ounce of love his parents had gone through and shared over
the years. Startled by the overwhelming influx of emotion, he
stepped back and let go of his father's hand.
If his mother died tonight, he would lose both parents, not one.
Shaking his head, the small boy ran around the front of the car
and rested both hands against the grill, focusing hard on the
warm hood and letting memories from his short-but-full childhood
course through his veins.
*Jeremiah was a bullfrog...*
*You're such a special little boy...*
*We can do this, for him...for us.*
His body starts literally vibrating as a vein sticks out across
his forehead and both palms appear to almost meld with the car.
*Nothing is going to get you or your father as long as I'm here
to kick the bad guy's butt.*
*I love you so much.*
*...Joy to the world...*
The head lamps flicker several times.
*Don't ever leave me again...*Please*...*
*See, kiddo? I told you she'd be happy.*
*Everything's okay, I swear.*
With a loud roar, the engine came back to life, and William fell
backwards onto the snow-covered road.
Mulder's head lifted and he sharply turned on his heel to stare
in befuddlement at the working SUV. Wiping the tears from his
eyes, he had to blink a couple of times before spotting the
child, illuminated by the headlights, sitting still in front of
the vehicle.
"Will-iam?" White powder kicked into the cold night air
as the tall man ran to kneel at the five-year-old's side.
"William, how--" His voice died in his throat as two
small, round, bloodshot eyes stared up at him.
"Want Mommy better," the tired voice croaked.
There was no time for questions, and Mulder knew that even if
there was he wouldn't know what to ask. How exactly do you ask
any young boy, let alone your own son, how he managed to start up
an electrically over-ridden engine with just the power of his
mind? As it was too many months had been wasted debating
William's psychic abilities. The only thing that mattered at the
moment was getting Dana the last two miles to the hospital as
quickly as humanly possible.
"Me too," he smiled, scooping the strawberry-blond
haired boy into his arms and gently placing him on the
passenger-side seat. "Buckle up, kiddo. This is gonna be a
bumpy ride."
XxXxXxXxX
"Mister Bydrell?"
Both Mulder and William looked up as the doctor approached them -
the elder of the two wiping a hand down his pale face as he
wearily raised to his feet and urgently begged to know, "Is
she okay?"
Doctor Worbow gave a 'reassuring' smile that Mulder had seen
enough in the past to know that it meant not everything was
one-hundred percent fine.
"Both your wife and child are fighting back, but we're going
to need to perform a C-section to get the baby out," the
physician explained, wringing his hands over and over as he saw
the tension mounting on the younger man's face. When that tension
changed to utter terror, Worbow rushed to elaborate, "It's
nothing serious, but the baby has shifted so that its in what we
call a 'transverse lie' position, which means its laying on its
back, blocking the birth canal and preventing its own
passage."
Mulder swallowed hard and glanced down at William momentarily.
"Can...Can we see her?" he rasped, turning back.
Worbow assessed the two. He really couldn't waste any time, but
something he could not explain told him that it was important for
the sake of all four of the family that contact was made.
"Very quickly - we really need to get her in to the
operating theatre as soon as possible." With that he turned
and led them to where Scully was being tended to.
The machines surrounding the bed to monitor both the vitals of
his daughter and partner overwhelmed Mulder as they stepped into
the room. He faltered in the doorway and stared, scared to breath
or move any closer in case it triggered any of the numerous
alarms. There was the insistent tug of William's hand on his,
though, pulling him onward, and he bit down on his bottom lip as
he followed and approached the bedside. Worbow gestured for the
two nurses to leave the room, and informed the father and son
that they had three minutes, before closing the door and leaving
them alone.
William focused on his mother, trying to meld his mind with hers,
but every time he got close he was knocked back by an opaque
cloud of torment. Meanwhile, Mulder bent down and rested his lips
against Dana's forehead in a gentle kiss.
"Scully," he whispered against her skin so that nobody
but her would hear, "I know you're in there...I just need
you to know we're here and everything's gonna be okay. The doc
says he just needs to do a cesarean section, that's all. You know
how simple that is. Before you know it we'll have a little
girl..." His eyes slipped shut as he snatched in a breath.
"Please don't lose sight of that truth..."
"Baby confused," William suddenly said, quietly, not
looking away from Scully's abdomen. "Scared."
Mulder's eyes opened and he shot a confused frown at the steadily
beeping machines before turning to his son. "Wh-at?"
William shook his head. "Scared, makin' Mommy scared."
"Can't you..." How was he supposed to put this?
"Can't you somehow let your sister know she's going to be
out very soon?"
"I try...but she no' hear..."
With a reassuring smile, Mulder ruffled William's hair and gave
an acknowledging nod. "It's okay..." If only he could
convince himself of that. "If anyone can pull through this,
it's your mom."
The door to the room opened once again and Doctor Worbow was
there, ready to take Scully to surgery. Mulder glanced over his
shoulder at the slightly-overweight man, but then turned back and
leant down once again to kiss his wife, but this time on the
lips.
"Hold on for me, partner," he uttered under his breath,
letting his lips linger against hers and finding comfort in the
gentle huff of her own breath. "Hold on for all of us."
He pulled back, let his fingers dance across her cheek in a
soothing caress and then guided William away. He wanted to be in
the operating room with her to ensure neither she nor the baby
were being tampered with, but he knew they wouldn't let Will in
as well, so she would have to fight this one alone whilst he
protected their son.
"Love you, Mommy," William whispered as they left the
room.
"It shouldn't take long," Worbow promised as several
orderlies passed to wheel Scully's bed out of the room also.
"We'll let you know as soon as your child is born."
Mulder smiled appreciatively, unable to tamp down the sickening
paranoia that refused to let him be whenever he thought about
letting her out of his sight, or the dread that resurged when he
saw them taking her farther and farther away down the hall.
XxXxXxXxX
*Hold on for me, partner...Hold on for all of us.*
*Love you, Mommy.*
*I love you so much...Please don't give up...*
The pulsing beat faded into a matching beeping sound, and the
dark cloud begun to clear as Scully slowly opened her eyes and
turned her head to see the tall man seated at her bedside. The
corners of her mouth lifted a fraction, and when he turned wide,
thankful eyes to her she reached out a hand.
"Mul--..."
He quickly moved in to cover her lips with his mouth and stop his
given name escaping all the way. She returned the kiss, but then
suddenly pulled back a fraction and stared into the depths of his
hazel eyes, frantically looking for the answers to all the
questions she knew she couldn't ask out loud.
"Thank God you're okay, Paula," he sighed, pressing
another kiss to her mouth - a reassurance that he would explain
everything he could as soon as they were out of here. "You
had me so worried...Me and the little munchkin, of course."
There was a tear hanging from the corner of his eye, but she saw
no sadness in his features, so that had to be promising.
"Stephen..." It still felt weird to call him that, even
after all this time. At home they would always be Mulder and
Scully, but when they were walking around the town of Freesol
they were John and Elena Hale from Solus, Illinois, and anywhere
else they were to be known as Stephen and Paula Bydrell from Leon
County in Florida (William always known in public as Jerry or
Jeremiah to avoid too much confusion for the small boy). The
multiple personalities occasionally became confusing, no matter
how necessary, but they had yet to be detected so they must be
doing something right. "What happened?"
"You're the mother of a fully developed seven pounds, four
ounces baby girl is what happened."
Both ex-FBI agents turned at the sound of the stranger's voice to
see the nurse standing in the doorway with a pink bundle cradled
safely in her arms and William at her side. When he realized his
mother was awake, the boy ran as fast as his short legs could
carry him to her and jumped up onto the hospital bed, wrapping
both arms around Scully's neck.
"Hey," Dana whispered, hugging him back and kissing the
side of his head.
"Careful there, kiddo - remember what we talked about
earlier?" Mulder chided, glaring at William, who heard the
silent warning and immediately shifted so that all his weight
wasn't resting on his mother.
The nurse smiled at the family reunion and then approached,
happily handing the baby over to the tall man when he turned and
outstretched his arms to accept the bundle. "Your little
girl grew rather quickly, and stubbornly wanted out as soon as
possible," the blond woman explained, lightly tickling the
baby's cheek and then looking at Scully.
"Wonder whose side of the family she gets that from,"
Mulder teased, glancing at his partner and smiling at her raised
eyebrow before returning his attention to his quietly slumbering
daughter.
"Must be a Bydrell trait," Dana retorted, letting go of
William, "because it certainly isn't one of my
family's."
Reveling in the warmth that unavoidably radiated from this
obviously very close family, the young nurse chuckled and watched
in silence for a moment as the parents shared yet another loving
glance, but then continued (a little reluctantly at having to
spoil the moment), "Anyway, she twisted around in her
desperation to get out and only succeeded in blocking her way by
lying horizontally in your uterus."
Knowing the dangers to the health of an unborn child in
transverse, Scully quickly sat up in the bed - frantic eyes
looking from Mulder to the nurse and then to the still bundle in
her partner's arms. "Is she going to be okay?" she
asked in a shaky voice.
"Both you and your beautiful daughter are in top health, and
should even be able to go home later this evening to enjoy what
remains of the first day of the new year," the nurse
replied, enthused. Realizing she'd spent a little too much time
here already, she took a step forward, smiled down at the baby
one last time, then glanced up sincerely at Mulder and whispered
so only he could hear, "Keep fighting the good fight. We'll
always be ready whenever you need us."
Mulder pulled back and stared at the woman in shock. It wasn't
until after several long moments of examination that he realized
who she really was - the dyed hair a successful disguise.
Yves Adele Harlow.
With a grateful smile, the tall man gave an acknowledging,
appreciative nod of his head and watched as she turned and left
the room.
Having not heard the exchange, Scully could only watch in
confusion.
"She good person," William assured, sensing his
mother's disquiet and hugging her again.
After another minute, Mulder glanced at his partner and then down
at the slowly awakening girl wrapped in the pink blanket in his
arms. "Hey, baby girl. Time to meet a very special
lady," he cooed in a hushed tone, bending slightly so that
he was more at Scully's level. "It's your mommy..."
Dana reached out and carefully took the baby from him, her heart
swelling so much with love and pride that it threatened to
explode within the confines of her chest as she beamed down at
the tiny face. There was very little she remembered about the
events of the past twenty-four hours - running down the stairs of
their home to fetch a glass of water as a wave of intense nausea
had struck being the last truly cognitive memory she had - but
the fact that she was now sat here with a premature-but-healthy
bundle of joy in her embrace couldn't be all bad, could it?
"You scared the living crapola out of me," Mulder
sighed, as if hearing her thoughts, kneeling down on the floor
and leaning in to rest his forehead against the side of hers.
"I promised to never leave again...That doesn't mean you
have to threaten to." He tried to laugh, but it lacked all
traces of humor.
She turned worried eyes to him. "I don't understand...If it
was only a difficulty with the presentation and position, why
would I be in so much pain?"
"Me and the WonderKid there have been trying to figure that
out," he shrugged in reply, gesturing toward William,
"and all we can guess is that she" - pointing at the
baby - " got lost and distressed, and somehow her discomfort
became yours."
She stared at him skeptically for an instant. "You believe
that?"
He hesitated, losing himself in her clear blue eyes for a split
second before firmly replying, "Why not? At the moment the
only thing I care about is that you're both okay."
"Katie," William's small, wondrous voice suddenly piped
up. Both parents turned to see him reaching to accept the chubby
fist his sister was outstretching to him. "I'm your big
bruvver..."
"Katie?" Dana queried.
The boy glanced up at her and nodded, but then returned his
attention to the bundle without a word.
"Katie it is, then," Mulder whispered, brushing an
errant strand of hair out of his partner's face.
They remained content and relaxed within the safe bubble of the
hospital room for another hour before packing up and making a
safe escape back out onto the highway. Another close call,
another crisis, but they'd come through it yet again with a
healthy baby and nothing more than a small scar on Dana's
abdomen. Up until their session of fun in the snow just over a
week ago, the stress of the impending invasion and constant worry
over if danger was just around the corner had been chipping away
at their resolves, yet they found themselves coming away from
this stronger and more sure of themselves than before. And with
their son exhibiting more abilities, they could only be left to
believe that their fight for the future was far from futile,
whether they worked with Covarrubias's group or not.
They were survivors. They were a family. And, in their own kind
of way, they were Mankind's last hope.
And they were ready.
THE END
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