TITLE: Everything AUTHOR: Eral C. CATEGORY: Babyfic. Fluff, pure and simple. Post-Existence. DISCLAIMER: Not mine. These characters belong to Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, who gave them life. Oh, ok, Chris Carter, 1013 and Fox too. The rocking chair is mine, all mine ;) SUMMARY: New parent musings. That's it folks. COMMENTS: I've never written before but I was inspired by the final scene of Existence. It grabbed me and would not let go. This is the result. FEEDBACK: Yes please at eral_c@hotmail.com If you like it, feel free to be enthusiastic. If you hate it, be gentle with me. Everything by Eral C. This is it. This is everything I wanted but didn't dare hope for. Standing here in our bedroom with our baby, all I feel is love, overwhelming love for this child and for the man who holds him. He speaks of a truth we both know, a love that created life, a love that made us a family. He leans in slowly towards me and, as our lips meet, I am hit with a sudden realization that nothing else matters, everything I need to survive is in this very room. The kiss is soft and slow, our tongues gently meeting as our son snuggles between us. As we pull apart, I lift my hand from where it had been caressing Mulder's arm and reach up to stroke his cheek, unable to take my eyes off him and the look of sheer wonder on his face as he glances down at our child, our miracle. His eyes are glistening as he looks up, "Y'know Scully, we've seen some amazing things but this,... this is just..." I nod at him, smiling, too moved by the joy in his eyes to speak. I look down and see that our son is now sleeping, obviously less overwhelmed by the occasion than either of his parents. Mulder takes him over to the bassinet and places him gently inside as I watch from the foot of the bed. He steps back and takes my hand, leading me into the living room where we stand in silence for a couple of seconds before he raises my fingers up to his lips and kisses them tenderly, one by one. He quirks his lips into a half smile and whispers, "Look at you, Scully. You're a mommy." My eyebrows raise and I smile back at him, "And you're a daddy." "How would you feel about being, um, a wife?" Before I have chance to take a breath, to respond to the question I didn't realise I craved so badly, his expression changes suddenly and his smirk fades, "I'm serious Scully. I think we've proved that we're pretty good together...and we make cute kids." The smirk makes a brief reappearance and I can't help but return it. I also find myself nodding and squeezing his hand a little tighter. "Is that a yes, Scully?" "Of course it's a yes." He flops down to the couch and pulls me onto his lap, nuzzling my neck and murmuring "I Love You" over and over until I find myself giggling. Then he goes quiet and pulls me to him, drawing slow circles on my back. "I'll make you happy, Scully. I promise." "You already make me happy, Mulder." He kisses me then, softly at first just like our earlier kiss but becoming more urgent, more passionate. I hear myself moan into his mouth as his tongue finds mine and, as I feel him shiver beneath me, I smile. A familiar warmth spreads throughout my body and I moan again. The last time we made love was the night before we went into hiding, the night he was attacked by Billy Miles. It was desperate, frantic love-making that night; we were afraid for our lives, our baby's life and, although neither of us dared speak it, afraid that even if we survived, they would try to tear us apart. Memories flood my mind and I remember how, as he held me that night, he whispered, "I won't let anything happen to you, I could never let anything happen to you. You're everything, Scully." He made me want to believe. He always makes me want to believe. Reluctantly, I pull away from him. I can't make love yet, so soon after giving birth, no matter how much I want to. I rest my forehead against his in our familiar pose as we both struggle to regain normal breathing. He strokes my bottom lip with his thumb and kisses the tip of my nose, "Sorry." "Hey, don't be sorry, Mulder. You have no idea how much I want you *right* now but it's too soon. Believe me, you should save your strength for when I'm ready." He chuckles softly and I lean over and kiss his forehead, his nose and his cheeks, lingering on the mole on his right side, wondering briefly if our son will inherit his father's perfect face and beautiful mind. Even as a doctor and scientist, the fact that we have created a little person together still amazes me, a little boy who is destined to be part believer, part sceptic. Our child will be a perfect combination of everything that we are and everything that we help him to be. If he is even half the man his father is, I will be proud. The man in question senses the shift in my mood and pushes the hair back from my face so he can look right into my eyes, "Penny for them?" "I was just thinking, wondering what he'll be like as he grows up. Whether he'll have your honesty, your passion, your dedication..." "My charm, my sparkling wit, my unending passion for redheads. Well, one certain redhead." "All that too, of course." "He has you as his mother, Scully. Kid couldn't ask for a better start than that." My eyes fill with tears but, before I can speak, a wail from the bedroom causes us both to grin. "Dinner time?" "Looks that way." "I'll leave you to it, you're better equipped than I am." I climb off his lap and head for the bedroom, taking his hand and pulling him with me. As I walk into the bedroom, I start to take off my robe so I can feed our son and, as I do, Mulder goes over to the bassinet and scoops him up, shushing him gently before handing him over to me. As he latches onto me and starts to guzzle hungrily, I look up and see Mulder staring in amazement. I smile and reach for his hand. **************************** It's silent now and I pull Scully closer to me. Her head is on my chest, her arm is across my stomach and I listen to her soft breathing, the contented little sighs she always gives as she sleeps. Tonight is different though. There is a third sleeper in the room, a child so precious and so loved that we were both too afraid to speak of him until he arrived safely with ten tiny fingers and toes. Only then were we thankful for the miracle we had been given. Only then did we dare to breathe. I take a deep breath in and smell my new favourite scent- freshly bathed baby. We gave our son his first bath tonight and I discovered that there is no experience like it. I was terrified I would drop him, he was so small and so slippery. Scully amazed me as usual, so calm and so confident with him. I thank God- or whoever- for whatever miracle enabled us to create this child. Scully was born to be a mother and I will be forever in awe that I am the one she chose to be with, to share this joy with. A whimper from the bassinet startles me out of my thoughts and I gently slide out from under Scully. She sighs but doesn't wake as I walk around to her side of the bed, where our son is starting to fuss a little louder. I pick him up and cradle him against my shoulder, whispering to him as I grab a diaper and head for the living room. Now *this*- changing diapers- is something that I am strangely good at. I don't know who was more surprised, Scully or me. I change him and we sit in the huge rocking chair that now occupies one corner of the room. He fusses and I wonder what he needs. Then I remember an article I read that said babies learn the sounds of their parents' voices very early and are soothed by them. So, I settle back and I start to talk. "I have no idea how much you can understand, son. I'll have to ask your mom about that, she'll know. She always knows. Let's start with your mom, actually. First off, I still don't know what I did to deserve her but whatever it was, I'm eternally grateful. I can't pinpoint exactly why or when I fell in love with her. I think maybe I've loved her forever. Well, it feels like that anyway and you'll get to know that I believe in all that stuff. I mean, I knew she was cute from day one. Heck, I'm not blind. Sorry, I digress. Your mom is honest, kind, loving, beautiful. All the good words in the world, your mom pretty much has them covered. Of course, if I was to say any of this to her, she'd roll those perfect eyes and say 'Mulder' in *that* voice. You'll get to know *that* voice eventually." I hear a gentle snort and I look up. Scully stands in the doorway, arms crossed and a smile on her face. I smile back at her and she walks over to where we sit, still rocking slowly. Her hand comes to rest on top of my head and she tousles my hair affectionately. "So, how are my boys doing?" "We were just having a little man-to-man chat. I thought there were a few things he needed to know." "Well, if you're all done, we should have about another hour before your son and heir needs to eat and I'm lonely in there." She gives me the pout she knows I can never resist and I stand up. She kisses our sleeping son gently on the head and heads back to the bedroom. I place the baby down to sleep and climb back into bed. I roll over to face Scully and she leans forward, kissing me softly. "I love you, Mulder." "I love you, too." As she closes her eyes, I feel a slow smile spreading across my face as I am suddenly hit by the enormity of what I have; a woman who I love and who loves me right back, and a perfect son we could only have dreamed of. A family. I have a family and they are everything to me. END.