| TITLE: Down Will Come Baby... AUTHOR: DM and Dana Perrin FEEDBACK: Loved and cared for at [email protected] or [email protected] DISTRIBUTION: Please ask first! RATING: G CLASSIFICATION: SR KEY WORDS: Mulder/Scully Romance SUMMARY: Teething woes, hospital visits and snuggling... what more can you ask for?? DISCLAIMER: Not ours, believe us... we tried. CC's a stingy, stingy man. =) NOTES: Well, we're just having way too much fun with these little stories. This is our latest, and I'm sure there's more to come! Special thanks to Carol for being our beta! "Scully?" "Yeah?" "Can we turn this kid off? His mouth is like a faucet. I haven't had one dry shoulder in a week." "Aww... he's teething. Let him be." She ruffled Mulder's hair affectionately as she passed by him on her way to the kitchen. "Well can't he chew on something else? I can't imagine I taste very good..." Scully switched directions, walking towards Mulder and planted one right square on the lips. She raised an eyebrow, "Mmmmm... You taste kinda sweet to me, Mulder." "Don't even start, Scully...you don't count." Eyebrow still raised, she continued to eye him. "Err," he continued, "well, you *do* count, Scully... But in a very, *very* different way." He smiled up at her as she bent down to kiss his forehead. "I did pick up some teething toys the other day; they're in the bedroom if you want them... although, you'd be doing your child a great disservice," she tossed over her shoulder on her way back to the kitchen. Grinning, Mulder picked up his baby boy and walked into the bedroom. "How `bout we get you something else to chew on, buddy. That sound good?" Mulder lay William on the bed and the baby squirmed restlessly. "Hey now little guy...stay still while I change my shirt you so thoroughly drenched...then we'll find you something to gnaw on." Mulder turned away and opened the second drawer of the bureau, fishing for a shirt. "Jeez, Scully, you have a lot of clothes! Where'd you put mine?" Scully called from the living room "T-shirts are in the third drawer on the left!" Mulder muttered to himself as he closed the drawer and moved on to the next. "Left...left...ah ha!" He exclaimed in victory as he reached for his favorite gray shirt. Removing the wet garment, he quickly slipped the clean one over his head. "How ya doing over there, Will? Got a hold on that drooling..." <thud> Mulder turned quickly at the sound, horrified to see William had taken a header off the bed. "Wahyyyyyyyyyyyy!" It was amazing how something so little could make so much noise, but William did have a healthy pair of lungs on him. Mulder raced around the bed and gathered his son in his arms. Red- faced and screaming, Will let his father know just how upset he really was. Moments later, Scully came rushing into the room, "What happened?!" She took one look at Mulder's hunched over position on the floor and didn't have to guess twice. In full doctor mode, she demanded he hand over her baby. "Give him to me." "Scully, I'm so sorry," he followed her out into the living room, "I just turned my back for one second..." Ignoring him she checked William's neck and eyes... looking for possible signs that something might be wrong. "Oh, sweetheart.... Aww, honey... it's alright, mamma's here." "Is he okay?" Mulder tried to take hold of Will's chubby little hand in an attempt to make amends. "He's crying, so that's a good sign. We'll just have to keep a close eye on him." "I'm so sorry, Scully... I only looked away for a second. I swear." "It's okay, Mulder. It's not your fault." "Yes it is. You would've never let him fall." "It's fine, really. He's gonna be okay, aren't you Will... yes you are," she directed her comments to the small baby who was still sniffling on her lap. Tickling Will under his chin, Mulder added, "Daddy didn't mean to hurt you, you know that, don't ya, buddy? Daddy would never hurt you. Never." Will looked over at his father as Mulder wiped the moisture of his little cheeks. He smiled as he recognized his daddy making the Mr. Potato Head face he found so amusing. "See, he's gonna be just fine," Scully tried to assure both of them. "Here fella, why don't you go to your dad, he needs a hug." William went willingly into his father's arms. Mulder held him a bit tighter than usual, not about to do anything to hurt his son again. Scully smiled, forgiving Mulder of his mistake almost instantly and walked back toward the kitchen. Mulder stood in the middle of the bedroom, rocking back and forth, whispering heartfelt apologies to his little boy. Brushing his cheek against the sparse tuft of hair atop his head, he breathed in the scent of baby wash and powder, wondering now what he would do without this little miracle in his life. After a few minutes William went limp in his arms, sleeping quietly with only the sound of tiny post-crying hiccups seeping from his tiny lips. Mulder slowly lowered him into the bassinet, staring just a moment more before turning to join Scully in the kitchen. The smell of stir-fry permeated the air as Mulder snuck behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and gently kissing her neck. "Mmm don't even think about it, FBI man..." "Hey that's former FBI man to you, Scully." Mulder backed off a bit and stole a taste of the fried concoction, making a mock-disgusted face as Scully jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. "How about making yourself useful and getting some plates out of the cabinet..." a thought struck her "...hey Mulder...where's William?" "Oh he's uh..." Mulder grabbed two dishes from the cupboard and set them on the counter "...asleep in the bedroom. Little guy was so tired from..." "Mulder!" Scully looked at him urgently, turning the stove off quickly and starting towards the bedroom. "You shouldn't have let him fall asleep, we have to keep an eye on him until we know he didn't hurt his head. Even a short fall like that could cause a concussion." Mulder's face lit up in alarm as he pushed past Scully and ran down the hall, through the darkness of the bedroom and over to where William lay. He bent over him, listening for the soft sound of breathing. Scully stood in the kitchen, still in shock from Mulder's shove...when a guttural cry shot through the air and pierced her soul. "Scullllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!" Heart stopped dead, Scully raced to the bedroom to find Mulder frantically trying to wake William. "He won't wake up, Scully!" "Here. Give him to me." A calm voice masked her increasing fear. She checked for a pulse, then put her ear to his little nose and mouth, making sure he was still breathing. "He's breathing, but we should go to the hospital, just in case. Do you think you can drive?" "Yeah... yeah... I'm so sorry, Scully... I'm so sorry." "Go get the car, Mulder. Hurry." Mulder flew from the room as Scully followed him to the front door, whispering to William, urging him to wake up. ~ ~ ~ Mulder sat nervously in the hospital waiting room. A half-hour earlier Scully made him leave the examination room, telling him there was more room to pace back and forth outside. He left without argument. After all, they were here because of his mistakes. Subconsciously tapping his foot to an unheard rhythm, he gazed at the cold linoleum tiles, his mind focused only on his baby boy. "Mulder." He felt a hand touch his shoulder. Looking up, he sought out Scully's eyes, searching for some indication of William's condition. "He's going to be okay, but it's a good thing we came in. They're keeping him over night just for observation." She took her hand off his shoulder and folded her arms against her chest. "You go on home, I'll stay the night." "Uh uh. I'm staying here with you and William." "I think it's best you go home, Mulder. We'll be fine." Mulder looked distraught "Don't do this Scully, don't push me away. He's-" "I said go home, get out of here!" "He's my kid too!" Mulder realized he was yelling, and lowered his voice "I'm not a liability, I'm his Father...his *Father* Scully." She wouldn't cry, she wouldn't, but the tears streaked down her cheeks just the same and she brushed them away angrily. Mulder reached to touch her arm, but she brushed him away too. Mulder sighed in defeat, his own tears threatening, so he turned away mumbling, "I'm going to get us some coffee, it's going to be a long night." When he was out of view, Scully curled up on the waiting room bench a few doors down from William's room, not being able to bear seeing her baby hooked up to the cold heart monitor and whirring machines. ~ ~ ~ Mulder slipped a dollar into the machine and watched as two cups fell from their chambers, filling with the bland, caffeine-filled hospital coffee. He walked slowly back to where Scully was and saw her curled up on the bench, turned away from him, but stopped short to peek into where William lay. Stepping into the room, Mulder approached his baby and put one of the coffee cups on the table next to the tiny incubator. "Hey buddy," he whispered, trying to push away the day's previous events that played constantly in his mind's eye. He looked like he was sleeping, his tiny, thin eyelids fluttering now and then, his little chest rising and falling with every breath. At least he could breathe on his own, which in itself was a gift. As Mulder stared at the hypnotic rise and fall of William's chest, a nurse approached him. "Mr. Scully?" "Mulder. My name's Mulder." The nurse corrected herself and continued "Mr. Mulder, we completed our external examination and are requesting a cranial x-ray for William. A baby's skull isn't fully formed, so we can't determine a possible fracture without it." Mulder frowned, "Will it hurt him?" He knew that x-ray's didn't hurt, as he had had many in his lifetime, but he wondered if it was a different case with infants. The nurse smiled and shook her head "No sir, we use a special machine on infants with a lower x-ray frequency. He won't feel a thing." Mulder nodded, bending down to kiss William softly on the forehead. "Do it." ~ ~ ~ Scully stood as she saw William being rolled out of the room and down the opposite hallway. Mulder too, emerged from the room and started towards her. She frowned, thinking the worst. "Where are they taking him? What's going on?" "It's all right Scully, they're taking him for an x-ray... infant cranial something or other." He paused and looked at her, her features softening just a bit. "There's an observation room." He put the coffee on the bench and held her arm, standing her up. "I thought maybe you'd want to come with me, keep an eye on the little bugger." Scully felt herself smile, nodding slightly and fell into step with Mulder as they proceeded down the hall. They entered an examination room, making their way toward the glass partition separating onlookers from the x-ray machines. They watched their son as he was placed on the cold metal, and Scully banged on the wall. "Put a blanket under him!" The nurse jumped, but complied, feeling sympathetic toward the worried mother on the other side of the glass. "Scully." Mulder turned to her, "I'm sorry...please-" Scully's eyes stayed fixed on William, now lying with a metal gown adorning his little body. "Scully." Mulder grabbed her arms and forced her to look at him, "I love him just as much as you do." "Mulder don't." "I love him just as much as you do and you can't just ignore that! I made a mistake!" "Mulder you're hurting me!" His grip loosened, guilt contorting his features. He watched as she let the tears come, let them stream down her cheeks in rivulets. Her hand rose to cup his face, and only then did he realize he too, had been crying. Wordless apologies were what they did best. Mulder pulled her to him, holding her tightly as her head rested comfortably under his chin. Scully pulled away, resting her hands on his chest as he bent and softly kissed her. Suddenly, a voice silent for too long pierced the air for a long moment. The sound of William crying. Scully let out a sigh of relief and smiled, looking up to Mulder as the nurse held the squirming baby in her arms. "I think that's the most wonderful sound I've ever heard." ~ ~ ~ The next night... "I think he's out. Should I go put him down for the night?" Wiping away the drool from William's little mouth, Scully smiled, "Nah, let's just stay here for a bit longer." Mulder smiled and tightened his arm around her shoulders. Scully sighed and rested her head on his chest, then gently rubbed William's back. Silence fell between them as Mulder contemplated all that happened in the past 48 hours. In a lowered voice he broke the quiet, "I'm glad he's okay... I've kinda grown attached to the kid." Scully pinched his side, just below the rib cage. "Seriously, though," he continued, his voice a soft whisper, "I felt so bad... hearing his cry just broke my heart." Scully snuggled up closer, urging him to continue but also offering comfort. "Then, the way you looked at me... it just about killed me." "I'm sorry, Mulder," she pulled away to look in his eyes. "It wasn't fair for me to do what I did. I know you didn't mean to let him fall." "No, but you'd never be careless with him." "Mulder," she stopped him and took hold of his hand. Puzzled, he watched as she took a deep breath and continued. "I wasn't going to tell you, because he was perfectly fine... but about a month ago, I was sitting here, he had just finished feeding... and he jerked out of my arms." Clearing her throat she continued, "His head just missed the coffee table, Mulder. I don't even want to think about what could've happened." He pulled her back to his chest and tightened his embrace. "Why didn't you tell me?" "Because I felt like the world's worst mother." "Scully-" "I feel so bad for treating you like that, it wasn't your fault." "And it wasn't yours either." "I can tell myself that all I want, but everytime I look in that sweet, little face... and see him smile up at me... I just feel so guilty." "You shouldn't feel guilty, Scully. I for one think William has the best mommy ever." He leaned down and kissed the baby's soft head, then continued in a whisper, "don't'cha buddy?" As if in response, William smiled and let out a small gurgle in his sleep, snuggling closer to his father. "See there, Scully. He agrees with me." "It was probably just gas, but... thanks, Mulder." Smiling, he bent to kiss her forehead. With his lips still pressed to her skin, he softly spoke. "Love you." She brushed her lips across his chin and laid her head back on his chest. "I love you too." End. |