Title: Great Expectations 4: Scully's Twin Paradox
Author: Emily Sim
Rating: PG
Classification: V
Keywords: UST 
Spoilers: Per Manum
Disclaimer: Still don't own them and I always put them away dry 
after playing with them
Feedback to: xf_emily_sim@yahoo.ca
Beta Kudos: to xdks, Tali, Siggy, and bellefleur - who always 
encourage, support, and keep me from embarrassing myself. Any 
left over mistakes are mine.
Thanks bellefleur - for taking the first step in this 
collaboration.

This is the fourth installment of Great Expectations, co-authored 
with bellefleur.

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

"You know, honey, a little chamomile tea may help with that." 

Scully might have managed some comment designed to divert the 
older woman's attention; she would have that is, if she could 
have disregarded her churning stomach for a moment. Dolores 
mistook her silence for license to continue.

"My daughter is fifteen weeks along. Sick as a dog the first 
month, poor thing. The chamomile tea did wonders for settling her 
stomach."

Scully smiled weakly, at a loss for what to say. She wasn't sure 
if it was the saltines that were ever present with her lunch 
orders, or if her jackets were doing a poor job of hiding her 
growing bulge, but if Dolores had figured it out, chances were 
others were becoming suspicious as well. They hadn't gotten to 
the 'how do I tell Skinner' part of what they were doing, and she 
wasn't sure they could do that until they'd done the 'how does 
this affect our partnership' discussion. The last thing she 
wanted to do was have a conversation with the lunch counter lady 
in the middle of a workday. 

She gripped her lunch tray harder as a wave of nausea rolled 
through her. Dolores was still talking, and there were now 
several other employees lined up behind her. She interrupted the 
older woman. "Thanks, Dolores. I've got to get back to the 
office." 

"Oh, sure, honey. Chamomile tea, you remember that now."

Scully nodded, moving as quickly as she was could, worried she 
was going to lose whatever was left in her stomach right in the 
middle of the FBI cafeteria. 

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

Mulder found Scully in the downstairs office twisting and turning 
in front of a small hand-held mirror. He stood silently at the 
door watching, finding her antics endearing. 

"Trying to see if there's something there?"

Her frown was not what he expected. "I think everyone knows." She 
dropped the mirror back onto her desk.

"What do you mean 'everyone knows'? Who knows?"

"Dolores guessed."

He took note of her lunch tray sitting untouched on her desk. 
"The saltines?"

"I guess so. That or the lovely green pallor I seem to wear these 
days."

"That doesn't mean everyone knows, Scully." He took a step 
forward. "You really can't see much. There's just a small bump, 
but you'd have to be looking for it." It took effort to keep his 
hands at his sides. The urge to touch her had gotten worse. He 
supposed there was some raw alpha-male instinct taking over, some 
Neanderthal pride at having gotten her pregnant. He knew the 
Gunmen thought something was up. Twice now he'd caught Frohike 
making veiled comments, which probably meant they'd been keeping 
tabs on her medical file. He'd have to find a way to warn him off 
before one of them said something to Scully.

He helped her put her jacket back on. "Are you going to eat?" He 
pointed to the lunch sitting on her desk. It didn't look like 
much to him: soup, crackers, and a small container of milk. It 
was her meal of choice these days, and he wasn't sure she was 
managing to get much of it down. In fact, he had been concerned 
for some time now. He had expected her to have gained more weight 
than she had at this stage; at least, that's what the books 
indicated. She was pale, and though she tried to hide it from 
him, he knew she was still battling nausea. 

"Yeah. Join me?"

"I'd love to, but I'm on my way to see Skinner. I just came to 
grab the notes I made concerning that case in Jacksonville."

"Jacksonville?" She groaned. "Tell me you're not submitting a 302 
for that?"

"I've asked Skinner to let us have a look. Hey, it'll be another 
nice trip--"

"Do not use the words 'nice' and 'forest' together in a 
sentence."

"Back country. I was going to say back country."

"Same difference."

"Try and eat all of that, okay?"

"Mulder."
 
He opened his mouth to say more, but shut it just as quickly. Now 
was not the time to lay claim to anything more than concern for 
her health and the health of the babies -- his babies -- their 
babies. She didn't seem up to having a discussion right now 
concerning their relationship -- or partnership, or whatever the 
hell kind of 'ship it was -- and neither was he. He wasn't 
exactly sure what he would say, either. He was getting tired of 
trying to hold it all inside and maintain a respectable distance 
when all he wanted to do was hold her and run his hands over the 
evidence of new life within her. 
"I'll probably be an hour or so. I've left a copy of the notes 
from the last case on your desk."

"And I suppose you're hoping I'll type the report, give it my 
scientific polish?"

"Only if you want to keep us employed." He gathered up his notes, 
glad to see her smiling a little. "Back in a bit."  

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


With Mulder gone, Scully felt that she could allow herself to let 
go just a little. She was exhausted, not only from the constant 
nausea she battled, but also from the pretense she tried so hard 
to keep up. She didn't want him to think she couldn't do her job, 
didn't want to worry him. He could be such a mother hen 
sometimes. She was always concerned he would hear her throwing 
up; the downstairs washroom was too close to the office. Or 
afraid he would walk in on her; he'd actually done that once or 
twice in the past when he couldn't wait for her to come back and 
hear his latest brilliant idea. She might be able to handle it 
all better if she could just get some sleep, but it seemed all 
she did was toss and turn. If the nausea wasn't keeping her up, 
her thoughts were. Some nights she lay awake absolutely panicked 
with what the future held. 

She picked up a saltine and broke a small corner off. Her stomach 
growled in response. She was hungry, but nothing on the tray 
appealed to her. She'd been doing this all week now. She bought 
milk, knowing she needed the calcium, but couldn't get past how 
it smelled to her. She usually ended up dumping it down the sink 
when Mulder wasn't looking. The soup was marginally more 
palatable. The heat felt good, but she could usually only manage 
a sip or two before it felt like it was going to come right back 
up. 

She lifted the tray and set it down on Mulder's desk. Right now 
she didn't think she had the energy to eat, let alone type up a 
report. All she wanted to do was have a nap. 

Deciding that he would be gone long enough for her to close her 
eyes, she cleared a spot on her desk. She pulled off her jacket 
and folded it up. Right now she could be fluffing a brick and she 
wouldn't care too much. Laying her head down, she closed her 
eyes. She just needed five minutes and then she could get the 
report done and attempt a little of the soup. Scully closed her 
eyes and allowed herself to drift off. 

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

Mulder thought it was one of the sweetest things he'd ever seen, 
but the sentiment only lasted until he caught sight of her lunch, 
still sitting uneaten on the tray. He couldn't be absolutely 
sure, but he was almost positive she hadn't eaten more than a 
mouthful all week. Even Skinner's secretary had made a veiled 
comment regarding her pallor.

Enough was enough. He quietly slipped from the room to use his 
cell phone. He wanted to let her sleep, but he also knew he'd 
catch three kinds of hell from her if she overheard him. He 
wasn't going to give her a chance to react. 

"Kim?" He tried to keep his voice quiet.

"Agent Mulder?"

"Yes."

"Could you speak up? I can hardly hear you."

He moved a little farther into the hallway. "Can I speak to the 
A.D., please?"

"You just missed him. He'll be tied up in a meeting for the next 
hour."

"I'll just leave a message then. Agent Scully isn't feeling well, 
and I'm going to drive her home."

"I'll be sure to let him know."

"Thanks, Kim."

"No problem, Agent Mulder. I hope she's going to be okay. I know 
the chemo can really take its toll." 

"What?" 

"The chemotherapy. I've heard it can be the hardest part to get 
through."

"You think she has cancer?"

"Well, yes. I just assumed...I mean, the last time I saw her this 
ill...."

"Oh God, no. It's not the cancer, it's just morning sick--" Oh, 
fuck.

There was dead silence from the other end of the line.

"Kim?" 

He heard her clear her throat before she spoke. "I'll let the 
A.D. know you're away for the rest of the day."

"Kim, if you could keep this to yourself, w-- she'd appreciate 
it."

"Sure thing. Tell her I hope she's feeling better soon." 

Mulder hung up the phone, a little unnerved. He couldn't be sure 
Kim had filled in the blanks, but damn him, if he couldn't keep 
his mouth shut, they wouldn't need Dolores. He was doing a fine 
job of it himself.

He returned to their office to find Scully still conked out on 
her desk. She was going to be grumpy when he woke her up, but 
that was going to be mild compared to how she might react when 
she found out that he'd arranged the rest of the afternoon off. 

He sighed and gave her shoulder a light tap. No response. He ran 
his hand up and down her back and was rewarded with a tiny groan. 
He bent down closer to her and brushed the hair from the side of 
her face. "Wakey, wakey, Agent Scully."

"Go away."

"I need you to wake up, Scully."

"God, move back."

"Scully?"

"Can't stand the smell."

"Smell?"

"Aftershave. It's making me sick."

"Oh."

"Just move away a little."

"I'll move, okay? But right now, I need you to get up."

She sat up slowly. Her face had crease marks from the jacket 
folds. She was pale and he could detect a slight tremor in her 
body. 

"You okay?"

"Fine, fine. I'm sorry I fell asleep. Give me a second here and 
I'll be ready."

"Ready? Ready for what? The only thing you're going to be ready 
for right now is home."

"Excuse me?"

"Scully, I'm taking you home."

"I'll be fi--" she clasped a hand to her mouth.

Mulder was quick, grabbing the nearest wastebasket and shoving it 
between her and the desk. He was just in time as she began 
heaving. There wasn't much to come up, and he knew enough to 
realize that it was a very bad sign. He doubted that she'd eaten 
all day, beyond the nibble out of one cracker that he could see. 
He ran one hand soothingly down her back and held her hair with 
the other until she stopped. He removed the wastebasket when she 
was done.

"Just give me a minute, Mulder. Stop giving me that look. I'm 
okay."

"You're not okay, Scully. You haven't eaten in--heck, I don't 
know how long it's been since you've managed a meal. You're white 
as a ghost, your hands are shaking, and shouldn't you be showing 
a lot more than you are?"

"Shhh, someone will hear you."

"Right now, I don't care. I'm taking you home and calling your 
mom."

"No."

"Yes. Scully, I've already called up and left a message with 
Kim."

"You didn't!"

"I did." He watched her sink back into the chair.

"I'm too tired to fight you right now."

He'd take what he could get. Mulder leaned in to help her up, but 
she began shooing him away again, one hand pinching her nose 
closed.

"Aftershave. Move back."

He wondered if he'd survive five more months of this. "Hold on, 
I've got an idea." He headed to the sink and wetted down a couple 
of paper towels, adding a squirt of soap for good measure. He 
ended up with a slightly damp shirt collar, but hopefully he'd 
gotten all the aftershave off. He made his way back to the desk, 
where Scully had given in and laid her head back down. He rubbed 
her head, afraid to get too close in case he still smelled and 
caused her to get sick again.

"Come on, Scully. Time to go."

He helped her stand up, amused when she began sniffing the air 
around him. 

"What'd you do? Wash it off?"

"Yes, I did. Couldn't have you holding your nose all the way 
home."

"Thanks." 

"Anytime, Scully. Anytime."

*********

Mulder's first look inside his partner's apartment in over two 
weeks told him everything he needed to know about how sick she must 
be feeling. He had never known Scully to leave dishes in the sink, 
or all over the counter. She had not protested when he removed 
her shoes and jacket and tucked her into bed. Given how tired she 
looked, he hoped she'd be able to sleep. He knew she needed it. 
He decided he had time to take care of some of the mess for her, 
but first, he needed to call her mother. He would not hear the 
end of it if he didn't let Mrs. Scully know what was going on. 

"Fox, is everything all right?"

"Actually, Mrs. Scul --"

"Maggie, Fox."

Right. He kept forgetting that. "I brought Dana home from work. 
She wasn't feeling well and hasn't been eating much --"

"Has she been taking her pills?"

"Pills?"

"Yes. The last time she saw her doctor he was worried that she 
was borderline for hyperemesis gravidarum. He gave her a 
prescription to deal with it."

"Hyper - what?"

"Severe nausea. At her last appointment she was down five pounds, 
and with her size and the fact that she's carrying twins her 
doctor was quite concerned."

"She throws up a lot. She thinks I don't hear her, but the 
washroom isn't that far away."

"Her doctor was concerned enough about her weight to give her a 
prescription."

"I haven't seen her take anything. Hold on, I'll check the 
bathroom."

Years of living out of suitcases and in each other's apartments, 
sometimes helping each other pack left no secrets. He knew 
exactly where she kept her drugs and he had no difficulty finding 
what he was looking for. The prescription was made out for almost 
two weeks ago. He opened the bottle and counted out the pills 
before picking the phone back up.

"Mrs. -- Maggie -- the bottle is still full. She hasn't taken a 
single one."

"I'm not surprised. She was reluctant to even take the 
prescription from him. I filled it for her while we did some 
shopping. She's so worried about doing anything that might harm 
the babies."

"Well, she's not helping them by not eating and throwing up all 
the time."

"I know, Fox, but I can remember being pregnant with my own and 
that feeling of protectiveness you get. I think, for Dana, 
there's an element of loss of control. Someone else takes over 
your body for nine months. Two someone else's in her case, and it 
can be a little scary trying to get used to it."

He hadn't quite thought of it in those terms before, but it made 
sense. Scully loved her ordered world, and loved keeping it that 
way. It must be unsettling to have your body doing and feeling 
things you can't do anything about. And on top of all that were 
all those dire warnings about things you should and shouldn't do 
or eat or get near when you were pregnant. Heck, he didn't have a 
medical background and some of what he read scared the hell out 
of him. 

"Are you still there, Fox?"

"Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about what you said."

"Fox, has she spoken to you at all, about any of this?"

"Talked to me? No, not really. "

"Fox, the two of you are a pair. I realize this isn't my place, 
but those are my grandbabies. I think the two of you have some 
things you need to work out. Dana should be able to talk to you 
about what's going on with her. And you should be the one 
supporting her right now. I'll help anyway I can Fox, you know 
that, I love you both. But there are some serious issues the two 
of you need to resolve. And --" He could hear over the line. 
"Here it is. I want to give you the doctor's phone number. I 
think if you have any questions you should call him. I also think 
you should go to her next appointment; you are the father after 
all. Do you have a pen?"

"It's okay, I've got the number, Maggie." 

"Of course, I'd forgotten that you -- well, you know -- "

God, he could feel himself turning red. "I know it's awkward --"

 "Oh Fox you have no idea. I'm sorry, but this is so hard for me. 
In my day, you got married, and then you had your children. This 
whole situation is hard for someone my age to understand."

"I realize it's not exactly traditional."

She chuckled. "That's an understatement. But however or whatever, 
you're the father of those two little ones." 

"I know." And he did know. Sometimes he was overwhelmed with 
feelings: excitement, dread, fear, and panic to name a few. 

"Do you need me to come over? I can leave right away."

"I think she's finally sleeping, so as soon as you can get here 
would be good."

The relief must have been evident in his voice. "Don't worry, I 
know how she can get. I wouldn't leave you take her on by 
yourself right now. I'll be there as soon as I can."

He took the pills back out to the kitchen with him. He needed to 
keep himself busy. He was tempted to go in and wake her up and 
force her to take one of them   right now, but knew that wouldn't 
get him anywhere, except sent home. He filled the sink and 
started on the dishes. 

"Mom? Mulder?"

He turned to find Scully leaning against the wall.

"Just me, Scully." God, she looked awful. He dried his hands and 
set the towel aside.

"What are you doing up?"

"Can't sleep."

"Were you sick again?" He watched her face carefully. He didn't 
think she would lie straight out, but she was a master at 
ignoring and deflecting. 

"Who were you talking to?"

"Your mom, and you didn't answer my question." 

"I'm fin --"

"Don't say it. You need to be straight with me." He grabbed the 
pill bottle and shook it in front of her face. "Why haven't you 
taken these?" 

"Where did you get those?"

He noticed her lip trembling and that she had grown even paler. 
He was too frustrated to let it temper his words. "Exactly where 
you left them."

"You had no right to go through my things."

"I had --" he set the bottle on the counter and stepped back, 
putting some space between them. "I had no right? Damn it, you 
couldn't even function properly today, Scully."

"I can do my job just fine."

"Fuck the job. I'm worried about your health and the health of 
the babies."  He picked the bottle back up. Opening it he took 
one out and pushed it at her. "I want you to take this."

"They're pills, Mulder."

"I think I know what they are, Scully." 

"You don't get it. You're not supposed to have anything like that 
when you're pregnant."

"You're not supposed to starve yourself, either.  Damn it Scully, 
these are my babies too. You think I would want you to take 
anything that would be harmful? But your doctor wouldn't have 
prescribed these if he thought they were dangerous."

He slammed the bottle back onto the counter, upsetting some of 
the contents. He had already said more than he wanted to, at 
least in the state he was in. He made his way to the front hall, 
nabbing his jacket and keys on the way.

"Your mom should be here any minute now. I called her."

"Mulder, wait." 

"Scully, I love you but I can't do this right now. I need to cool 
off. I'll call later, okay?"
He missed the stunned look on her face, and the tears filling her 
eyes as he opened the door nearly running over Maggie who was 
poised to knock.

"Fox?"

"Maggie. Sorry, I didn't hear you there."

"Are you leaving? 

"I think it's best if I do right now. 

"What's going on?"

"This isn't a good time right now." 

"Oh dear. Will we see you later?"

"I don't know. Probably not."

"Oh, Fox. I don't know what I'm going to do with the two of you."

"I just need some space right now. Maybe you can talk some sense 
into her."

Maggie sighed and patted his arm.  "I'll let you know."

"Good luck."

*******

"Dana?"

"I'm in here, mom." She picked up the pills and dropped them back 
in the container. She didn't know whether she should scream or go 
throw up again. He was always dropping crap like that on her and 
then taking off, or throwing it out when he was half looped on 
demerol.

"Is everything all right?" 

"Just fine, mom." She placed the pill bottle behind the coffee 
canister.

"Dana," she admonished. "I want the truth." Her mom rounded the 
corner, overnight case still in her hand. She could tell her 
daughter had been crying, but was wise enough to ignore it. 

"Mom, I don't know how the hell you managed to do this four 
times. Once is enough to make me not want to do it again."

"Afterwards, you forget all about the hard parts." She set the 
case down and took her coat off. "Why was Fox so upset?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"How's the nausea? Are you feeling any better?" She stepped 
forward to feel her daughter's head. "You're so pale, Dana and a 
little warm. Have you managed to keep any fluids down today?
 
She held her hand up and counted with her fingers. "Let's see, 
one: Queasy.  Number two: maybe a little better. And three: a 
little water."

"There's no need to be smart about it. Do you think you could 
handle some soup?"

 "Chicken noodle?"

"Whatever you'd like."

"I think there's a package in here." She started to open the 
cupboard doors.

"Dana, I'm sure I can find it. Why don't you get yourself cleaned 
up. Did you sleep in your suit?"

"Yeah, I guess I did. A shower sounds good."

"You go. The soup will be done when you get out."

********

Maggie watched Dana take small sips of the soup. Her daughter was 
still pale and far too thin but the shower seemed to perk her up 
a bit. Fox was right to be concerned.

"How's it feeling on the stomach?"

"I'm fine, mom."

Maggie bristled. "You're always _fine_ Dana. You know it isn't a 
crime to admit that you don't feel well."

"That isn't what I meant."

"Dana, you haven't taken a single one of those pills your doctor 
gave you."

"And how would you know that?"

Maggie retrieved the pills from behind the canister. Four kids 
had taught her to be observant. "They're all here."

"You told Mulder, didn't you?"

"Dana, he's worried about you. We both are."

"That still doesn't give him the right to go through my things 
and for the two of you to discuss it without me present."

"He has as much right to be concerned about those babies as you 
do. He's the father, Dana. Or have you forgotten that?"

"You don't need to keep reminding me, I haven't forgotten, mom. 
And you know as well as I do that any kind of medicine --"

"Dana, I was there when the doctor went through the information 
with you. He didn't expect you'd need to take them for very long, 
and I understood enough to know that they were relatively safe. 
You're not doing those babies any good when you can't eat."

"God, mom. You sound like Mulder."

"Dana, you are having twins. Now, I realize it's been awhile 
since I've had babies, but I remember enough to know that it's 
hard enough managing one on your own, but two? When were you 
planning on talking to him; when you're delivering?" 

The miserable look on her daughter's face was quickly hidden. 
"There hasn't been time and anyway, I'm too tired to think."

"You have to make time, Dana. Have you thought about taking some 
time off?" 

"I can't just quit."

"No one said anything about quitting. And it would just be until 
you felt better."

"I'd go crazy just sitting around, mom. You know that. And I 
can't leave Mulder by himself. You don't know the kind of trouble 
he can get himself into."

"Oh, I may have an idea or two. But that's beside the point. This 
is one of those things the two of you should be working out. What 
about after you have the babies, Dana? What then?"

The sight of tears in her strong, independent daughter's eyes 
gave Maggie slight pause, but only for a moment. Unfortunately, 
the only way to deal with Dana when she was being this stubborn 
was to be firm, even if it hurt her. She should have insisted 
that Fox stay. She didn't want to meddle, in fact, she made it a 
point to stay out of her children's lives, but these two needed a 
firm shove in the right direction. They gave new meaning to the 
term strong and silent. 

"Honey, I know it's hard for you, but it's going to get harder," 
she handed Dana a tissue. "Don't cry."

"I can't help it. Between the hormones and all the rest of it, my 
body feels like it's been taken over by those damn aliens we're 
always looking for." 

Maggie opened the pill bottle and shook one out. "I want you to 
take one of these. Don't look at me like that. I heard the 
doctor. If things didn't get better he was going to admit you. I 
will have him call if I need to. I want you to try one tonight 
and one tomorrow and see if it helps." 

She was somewhat relieved when her daughter sighed and nodded. 
She fetched a glass of water and handed the small white pill 
over. "Don't drink too much. With any luck you'll be able to eat 
a little something later on."

"What time is it?" 

 "It's still early, just after seven." She watched with a 
satisfied expression as Dana swallowed the pill. 

"Why don't I do a load of washing for you? You can sit and put 
your feet up and maybe take some time to think. There's still 
time to give Fox a call and ask him to come back."

"Mom, please stay out of it. Okay? We both need to cool off right 
now. We'll get around to it on our own." 

Maggie sighed. It was probably the best she was going to get 
right now. "Go sit. I'll clean up in here and start the wash." 
She was relieved when Dana didn't argue with her.

**********

As Scully dropped her computer on her desk, she had to admit she 
did feel better today. Being able to eat the toast and oatmeal 
her mom made her this morning, and keep it down, was heavenly. 
When her mom set another one of the little white pills beside her 
with a glass of water she didn't argue. She was still hungry, but 
weeks of almost constant nausea had taken its toll. She was a 
little fearful about eating anything that would set her off 
again. She was sticking to bland food and small portions for the 
time being. 

"Scully? I thought you'd be taking the day off?"

"Why would I need the day off, Mulder?" She realized how 
defensive she sounded when she noticed him wince. "I'm sorry. 
That came out wrong." She left her desk to stand closer to him. 
"Thanks, for yesterday." 

"No worries. That's what partners do, right? Look out for one 
another?"

Oh, this wasn't going how she planned it. She promised her mom 
she would try and talk to him. "Mulder -- about yesterday."

He looked up, expectantly. "Yeah."

"I know I should have told you how sick I was feeling, and about 
the pills too. I just don't want you to think I can't do my job."

"Can you, Scully?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I didn't mean it like that. It's just that you don't tell me 
what's going on with you and I'm left guessing. You scared me 
yesterday."

She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. It's hard; my body feels like 
it isn't my own anymore."

"Maybe because it's not? You've got tenants in there." 

She recognized his attempt to lighten the conversation with 
humor. "Yeah, and they're behind on the rent."

"You look better today."

"I feel better. Those little white pills."

"You took them?"

"Yes, but I'm still mad that you went through my stuff to find 
them." She held her hand up to stop him from commenting. "I know 
you were only concerned, but I wish you'd just ask me."

"Scully, I'd ask if I thought you'd tell me, but you don't. 
Didn't I just say that?"

"My mom thinks we need to talk." That was the safest way she 
could think to introduce the subject.

"I know. She said the same thing to me." 

Scully sniffed the air. "Did you wear aftershave today?"

"After yesterday, are you kidding?"

"Thanks." 

"It's okay, Scully. What did she say to you?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. I need to be more open, let people -- 
you and her -- help me more. How was I going to manage work with 
twins, and so on."

"Well, how are we going to manage it?"

She was pleased he used we, even if she wasn't able to yet. "Well 
--"

"I know we haven't talked much about it, but I'd like to be there 
for you and the babies.... I didn't plan on just -- you know -- 
contributing genetic material. I want to be -- involved. Ah hell, 
I want to be a dad, Scully, and not just on the weekends." 

She wasn't sure quite how to take what he was saying, or how she 
should respond. Was he talking joint custody? Two days during the 
week and every other weekend? Or every other day - she had one 
friend whose parents shared custody of her in that manner. 
Stephanie hated it. She used to say she felt like she didn't 
belong anywhere. Or did he want to split the twins up and each 
take one?  Like a modern day version of King Solomon's decree, 
only there were two children, not one to divide. Her brain felt 
like it was on over-load. Why was it so hard for her to just tell 
him what she wanted, what she hoped for? 

"Scully? Are you still with me?"

"Yeah, sorry. It's just that --"

"Just what?"

"I never know what I'm supposed to think when you say stuff like 
that."

"Like what? The fact that I want to take responsibility for what 
we've created?"

She sighed deeply and decided to stay on safe ground. "My mom 
thinks you should come to my appointments with me."

"And what do you think?"

"I think that'd be okay." It would be a start at any rate. Maybe 
they could start with this small step and work their way up to 
the bigger parts. 

"I'd like that."

"Okay."

"Good. Feel like doing some typing?"

"Don't tell me you didn't finish the report?"

"You know me. Plus your explanations are always so much more --"

"Plausible?"

"That's a good word for it. Are we okay, Scully?"

"We're okay."

"When?"

"Next Tuesday, four thirty. I get to drive, okay?"

"Oh-- kay?"

"While I still can. In a few months I doubt I'll be able to reach 
the pedals."

He opened his mouth to respond but she was quicker.

"Shut up and hand me the report, Mulder."  


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