TITLE: Possibilities

AUTHOR: Eral C.

CATEGORY: Yep, fluff again. Takes place a year
on from Existence. 

DISCLAIMER: Not mine. Credit goes to Gillian Anderson,
David Duchovny, Chris Carter, 1013 and FOX. I own nothing,
absolutely nothing.

SUMMARY: Scully is cranky...

COMMENTS: Again, I find myself with another sappyfamilyfic
on my hands. I'm trying to write something else but I have no
control over what pops into my head. Run screaming now if
happiness offends you.

FEEDBACK: Yes please at  eral_c@hotmail.com  All feedback
is gladly received but be gentle, I may cry at the bad stuff  ;)



Possibilities by Eral C.


"Mulder!"

Uh-oh. I have no idea what I've done but that is not 
Scully's voice of joy. I carry on making the bed and 
I feel myself wince as she comes into the bedroom. 
I turn around and see her standing in the doorway, 
William balanced on one hip, her hand firmly attached 
to the other and I know that even my most practised 
puppy dog look won't get me out of this one. So, I try 
for casual,

"You okay, hon?"

"I would be if you had remembered to get diapers like 
I asked you to."

Crap. I open my mouth to apologise but she's not finished 
yet.

"One thing Mulder, one little thing, dammit! Too much to 
remember, obviously. Would it have been so incredibly 
difficult to write it down?"

Scully turns and storms back out of the room leaving 
me wondering what the hell just happened. She's been 
cranky all week and I just figured she was tired so I 
let it go. I finish making the bed and head into the 
kitchen intent on apologising and finding out exactly 
what's bothering her.

As I walk into the kitchen, Will , in his high chair, grins 
at me then turns his attention back to banging his spoon 
against the tray with alarming enthusiasm. I ruffle his 
hair and move towards Scully, who has her back to me, 
making our son's oatmeal. I step up behind her and put 
my hands on her shoulders, rubbing gently and feeling 
instantly how tense she is.

"I'm sorry, baby. I'll go out now and get the diapers."

"I'm sorry too, Mulder. I didn't mean to yell at you, the world
won't end because you forgot the diapers."

"True, but it won't smell too great either."

She leans her head back against my chest and sighs as I 
massage her shoulders.

"So, you planning on telling me what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Mulder."

Ah, the new, improved version of "I'm fine". There's no 
way she's getting away with that.

"You know I'm a believer, Scully but even I'm not buying that. 
You haven't been yourself all week and I want to know why.
Something's bothering you-"

"I'm ten days late."

She blurts it out then goes silent, waiting for me to 
say something.

"You mean, uh, you're-"

Smooth, Mulder. Real smooth. I turn her around to face 
me and tilt her chin up so I can meet her eyes. She 
slides her arms around my waist and presses herself 
tightly against my chest, where my heart is poundng 
frantically all of a sudden. I tuck her hair behind her 
ear before I speak,

"Why didn't you say something?"

"I wasn't sure, Mulder-I'm still not sure, it's just 
a possibility that's all. I-"

"You weren't worried about telling me, were you?"

"A little. We've never talked about the possibility 
of having another baby, Mulder, even if we could."

"Just because we haven't talked about it doesn't mean 
I wouldn't want it, Scully, if it happened. I still pinch 
myself daily when I wake up and see you and Will 
so the thought of another child....wow."

"I know, it's the same for me. On one hand, I would 
love another baby but on the other, I'm just so damn 
grateful for Will that I guess I tried not to think 
too much about the possibility of anything more."

I lean down and kiss her gently,

"You feed Will while I go to the store for diapers-
and a pregnancy test."

She nods and moves her arms from around my waist to 
let me go,

"At least we'll know either way and maybe I can stop
going psychotic on you."

She grins slightly sheepishly and I return the smile as I
head for the door.

"Mulder-bring back some really good coffee too. If there's 
even a possibility that I may have to give up caffeine 
again, I want a final fix."


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


I look at the clock on the kitchen wall and realise that he 
only left ten minutes ago and probably hasn't even found 
a parking spot yet, let alone actually gotten into the store. 
Breathe, Dana. There-not that difficult, is it?

Will is working his way through his oatmeal, occasionally 
using the spoon but mainly his fingers. He's a Mulder; if 
there's a strange, mushy substance, it's imperative that they 
stick their fingers in it. I smile at that thought as I look at our 
son with his combination of my blue eyes, Mulder's nose and 
a pout that could still go either way. My thoughts drift and I 
can picture a little girl with Mulder's hazel eyes, my nose and 
an undecided pout sitting in front of me with a bowl of oatmeal, 
just as Will is now.

It is at this exact moment that I realise how much I want this test 
to be positive, how happy another child would make me. Not that 
my life is lacking anything-far from it. Mulder isn't the only one 
who pinches himself, some mornings I am scared to open my eyes 
in case it's all been a wonderful dream. I guess it's just that 
I grew up surrounded by my brothers and Missy and I want that 
for Will too, I want him to feel the love of a brother or sister as 
he grows older.

My rational side is screaming at me now for allowing myself such 
thoughts, reminding me of how awful my first pregnancy was, full 
of fear, pain, resentment and loss. This time would be different 
though, I would have Mulder by my side throughout; for every 
bout of nausea, every strange craving, every hospital visit and 
right there for the delivery, to the final push. Everything would 
be very different this time.

Will is on the living room floor surrounded by a million toys and 
I am folding endless piles of laundry when Mulder comes through 
the door, somehow managing to juggle his keys and two brown 
shopping bags without dropping a thing. He puts the shopping on 
the table and comes over to kiss my cheek,

"I got coffee and bagels."

"Mmm, sounds good."

After we've eaten and I've savoured three huge mugs of coffee 
- much to Mulder's amusement - I reach ffor the small, white box 
that sits on the table between us like an invisible elephant. 
Mulder's hand closes over mine as I stand up to head for the 
bathroom and I bend down to kiss him, 

"I'll just be a few minutes. Keep Will amused."

I close the bathroom door and lean against it for a couple of 
seconds, staring at the package in my hands, immobilised by the 
thought of what it means-or doesn't. I take a shaky breath and 
open the box. 


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


She's been in the bathroom forever, it can't be good. I glance at my 
watch and see that she's actually been in the bathroom for about 
forty seconds, not forever as was my previous estimate. Breathe, 
Mulder. There-not that difficult, is it?

Will sits on my lap, playing with the buttons on my shirt, unaware 
of his crazy dad staring at him. He still amazes me, this little 
person with Scully's perfect eyes, my less than perfect nose 
and the ability to turn both of his parents to mush. I tear my eyes 
away from him to look at the time again, she's been in the 
bathroom now for two minutes. In just a couple more minutes, 
we'll know if Scully is carrying our baby or if this was just one 
of nature's cruel tricks.

If the test is positive, I will be there for everything throughout 
this pregnancy, I missed so much last time. I will hold Scully when 
she's nauseous, I will make cheese and banana sandwiches if she 
wants them, I will go to every hospital appointment and I will hold 
her hand right up until she delivers. She won't be alone for one 
minute this time. I smile and stand up, Will in my arms, and 
start toward the bathroom.

The door is closed and I stand and listen for a few seconds before 
I knock gently,

"Scully?"

I hear a muffled sound which sounds suspiciously like a sniffle 
and I catch my breath as I wait to hear her voice. After what 
seems like an eternity, she replies shakily,

"I'll be out in a second, Mulder."

I walk back to the living room, put Will down on the floor again 
amongst his toys and sink down to the couch. Just as I think I might 
explode from waiting, I hear a soft voice behind me,

"Mulder."

I turn my head and see her standing there, her skin slightly paler 
and her eyes slightly wetter than usual, but I'm sure I see the
beginnings of a smile on her face. She glances down at Will 
then back at me and I can't wait a second longer,

"Scully?"

She doesn't reply straight away. Instead she climbs onto my lap 
and puts her arms around my neck, just holding on, just breathing. 
Then I feel her smile against my neck as she answers me,

"Mulder....I think we're going to need a bigger apartment." 



END