TITLE: Cravings, sequel to Making Memories

AUTHOR: Eral C.

CATEGORY: PG I think, one bad word. Still sappyfamilyfic 
though, next in the series, following on from-
          Everything
          Miracle Quota
          Possibilities
          Making Memories
          

DISCLAIMER: These characters still belong to Gillian
Anderson, David Duchovny, Chris Carter, 1013 and FOX.
Hmmph. Oh, I don't own Pop Tarts either. I mean, I've
eaten them but I don't own the name.

SUMMARY: Um, it's all in the title...

COMMENTS: I realised that CC threw the very concept of a 
timeline out of the window in S8 so I have a timeline
in my head that I stick with when writing. I have 'all
things' taking place in April 2000, William making his
grand entrance in late January 2001 and the new baby
in these stories being expected in September 2002. I'm
sure nobody even wondered but just in case ;)

FEEDBACK: Yes please at eral_c@hotmail.com 
I'm still pinching myself over the amount of lovely
feedback I've been receiving and yes-I reply to it all.
Thank You to everyone who has emailed and keep them coming,
it keeps me writing :)




Cravings by Eral C.



"Solid with the least density, Scully. Eight letters."

"Hydrogen."

"See, it's just *not* true that pregnancy depletes brain cells."

I smile even though he can't see me from where my head is resting 
comfortably against his shoulder,

"I think someone is ready to call it a night, Mulder."

He puts down the newspaper, crossword now finished, and scoops 
Will up into his arms from where he is dozing peacefully on my 
lap. He doesn't stir as I kiss his head lightly and I know he's 
all set to go right through the night as he has been doing for the 
past few months, since his first birthday when he seemed to decide 
that he actually quite liked to sleep. Suddenly, for the first time 
in what felt like forever, Mulder and I had our evenings to 
ourselves. 

At first we weren't far behind Will in heading off to sleep, maybe 
because the months had finally caught up with us, maybe just 
because we *could*. Then we found out we were expecting another 
baby and we took to curling up together on the couch, some nights 
talking and others just lying in comfortable silence, wrapped in 
each other's arms. That all changed about three weeks ago when my 
second trimester hormones kicked in and I found myself seriously 
horny, unable to sit next to Mulder without the urge to leap on 
him. It scared the hell out of me and it terrified Mulder! It was 
all new to me, I don't have many fond memories from the early 
part of my first pregnancy, having spent most of it in a daze, 
a cloud of depression where it took everything I had to simply 
get out of bed in the morning. 


Food cravings *are* a familiar urge though, I wanted nothing but 
cheeseburgers when I was expecting Will. I think Mulder was quite
proud the first time he saw me in the full throes of a craving, he 
took to calling them my "cheeseburger *NOW*!" moments. It's been
bizarre this time around, a different craving almost every week. 
Mulder says this makes perfect sense because we *are* having a girl
and women *are* fickle. 

Sure. Fine. Whatever. Just bring me a cookie, or a donut, or a 
milkshake or this week's food of choice, a Pop Tart. Normally I
hate the damn things but right now I'm incapable of rational 
argument so if baby craves a Pop Tart then so be it. I'm up off of 
the couch and into the kitchen before you can blink and two minutes
later I'm back, Pop Tart in hand. I'm eating them cold too, that's
the only way they satisfy my craving. Weird, I know.

I'm just about finished eating when Mulder comes back into the 
room and sits down on the couch next to me. I lean over to put 
the plate on the coffee table then climb onto his lap, straddling 
his legs and smiling what I hope is my most charming smile before 
I take his face in both of my hands and kiss him,

"Hi."

"Mmmmm, you taste sweet."

"Pop Tarts."

"I like this craving."

"And *this* craving?"

I bite the side of his neck and wriggle slightly, pressing my hips 
hard up against him, causing him to groan,

"Again, Scully?!"

I nod slowly and he licks his lips. Oh yeah, again.


************************************************************


"Scully, you're insatiable!"

"Hormones, Mulder, I can't help it. That, and you're pretty tasty."

I laugh and she giggles with me before burying her head into the 
crook of my neck and sighing contentedly. We have just made love 
for the second time today, here on the couch and this morning in 
the shower. A couple of weeks ago, when ultrahorny Scully first 
made herself known to me, I was scared shitless. Not that I haven't 
seen Scully horny before, she is one *sexy* woman and she has never 
been shy about telling me exactly what she wants and when she 
wants it, but ultrahorny, hormone driven Scully is a whole other 
ball game. She gets a look in her eyes, makes her move and I'm gone, 
powerless to resist even if I was dumb enough to want to. I guess 
I'm just worried that one day we'll be strolling around Home Depot 
-or somewhere equally normal- and she'lll pounce in the bathroom 
fixtures aisle. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't say no, I just 
can't think of anything that would rank higher on the embarrassment 
scale than being arrested for lewd conduct in Home Depot. 

I asked her the other day how on earth she coped with this when she 
was pregnant with Will and I was, well, not around. She told me that 
it didn't even cross her mind once I was gone, that the few short 
weeks we had been together before I was taken had given her enough 
memories to last for the rest of her life. We had both cried then, 
for everything I had missed out on, everything she had gone through 
without me and everything that we would experience together this 
time around. Then she had wiped my tears then her own before looking 
into my eyes and, with a perfect poker face, telling me that as long 
as we had Pop Tarts everything would be fine. 

Now, the food cravings I *have* seen before, Scully was a total 
cheeseburger fiend the last time she was pregnant, I had to force 
myself not to laugh the first time she stood in front of me, 
grabbed my hand and told me she had to have a cheeseburger-NOW! 
My lettuce-munching, yoghurt-eating Scully, begging for red meat 
and dairy. I kissed her, allowed myself a quick burst of laughter 
and took her for a burger. This time, the cravings seemed to be 
changing almost weekly from donuts to cookies to milkshakes and 
the latest-Pop Tarts. I think this one is my favourite so far, 
she tastes so good when she's been eating Pop Tarts, a sweeter 
version of how she usually tastes, if that's possible. Scully 
with a side of sugar-mmmmmm.

Being here with her now, for this pregnancy, I can't imagine 
how she must have felt having to go through most of these things 
alone last time, no-one to rub her back or massage her feet, 
no-one to lie beside at night, no-one to share her joy or her 
fears. She doesn't say much about that time but if I ask, she 
tells me. I don't think she likes to bring it up, it opens up 
so many unhealed wounds for both of us, brings back so many bad 
memories. I'm just so thankful I was around for the final couple 
of months before Will was born, glad I had the chance to try and 
make up for some of the lost time, even if it was strange and 
sometimes more than a little awkward for both of us.
 
The object of my thoughts stirs on my lap and lifts her head up 
from my neck,

"Let's go to bed."

I think I must be suddenly wearing my panic face because she 
quickly adds,

"Relax, Mulder! Let's go to *sleep*, I'm tired."


**********************************************************


Scully heads into the bathroom and I go off to check on Will, 
who is still sleeping soundly, a contented expression on his face. 
I'm halfway out of the room when I hear Scully call, actually more 
like yell, my name, so I charge towards the bathroom like a madman. 
When I practically throw myself through the door, she is standing in 
the middle of the bathroom with one hand on her stomach and an odd 
look on her face, not one of her usual looks and not one I can 
identify.

"Scully, what's wrong?"

She smiles then and my racing heart starts to slow down again,

"Nothing's wrong, Mulder. Get over here and say hi to your 
daughter."

I move over to where she stands and she takes my hand, placing 
it on her stomach. For a few seconds we stand perfectly still 
and totally silent until suddenly I feel it, a tiny kick against 
my palm. I gasp out loud and grin at Scully. She appears to have 
done the impossible and rendered me virtually speechless, all 
I can manage is a stunned,

"Wow!"

This sensation is like nothing I've ever felt before, it's such 
a different feeling than the first time I felt Will move, he was 
a fully formed soccer player by the time I was around to feel it! 
There's something quite odd about feeling the movement of a baby 
who is barely visible to the outside world, a child who is hardly 
a bump on her mother's flat stomach but who is already finding her 
feet and making her prescence known. Scully's expression changes 
and she seems miles away,

"Scully?"

"I was just remembering the first time I felt Will kick. It was 
the morning after-"

She stops and takes a deep breath before continuing,

"It was the morning after your funeral. I slept at your apartment 
that night, wore your shirt, tried to pretend it was all just a 
terrible nightmare. I woke up to the baby kicking, although I 
didn't quite know what had woken me at first. Then he did it 
again and I cried, I lay there and cried for hours because I 
realised that he would never know his daddy, never know what a 
wonderful daddy he had-"

I cut her off at this point and pull her to me, hugging her 
tightly against my chest and feeling her shaking in my arms as 
I stroke my hands up and down her spine.

"But he *does* know his daddy, Scully, he *does*. Ssh, everything's 
okay. I love you."

"I love you too, Mulder."

She mumbles her words into my chest and then looks up at me, her 
eyes glistening. I lean down and place a kiss on the end of her 
nose before I pull back and smile at her. Stepping out of our 
embrace, she pulls her hair free of the band that was holding 
it in a high ponytail and reaches for the brush. Before she can 
pick it up, I have it in my hand and I start to brush slowly. 
Her hair skims her shoulders now, reminding me of how it was 
when we first met, how *she* was when we first met. She's as 
beautiful today as she was then, maybe even more so. Yes, I may
be biased but I'm not blind either.

"I've been thinking, Scully."

"Oh?"

"About names, for the baby. A kid needs a good name, something 
unique and individual but without being horribly embarrassing."

I throw her a quick grin and she hurls an eyebrow right back 
at me,

"Go on, Mulder."

"I was thinking Xena."

"As in Warrior Princess?"

"The very same. Xena Warrior Princess Mulder has a nice ring to 
it, I think."

"Did you not just say unique and individual *without* being horribly
embarrassing? Keep thinking, Mulder."

She takes the hairbrush out of my hand and smacks me lightly on 
the arm with it before flicking off the bathroom light, leaving 
me grinning to myself in total darkness. I'm about to follow 
her to bed when I hear her voice,

"And before you ask, Mulder? No, Lara Croft Mulder doesn't 
sound *any* better."

Damn it, I need to go over that shortlist again.


END