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Title: Missing Time Summary: Mulder returns to find out that life has moved on while he was gone. Author's notes: This story was in response to the IWTB challenge. The elements are listed at the end. Many thanks to my betas, Beth and Gerry. You guys are the best! It was cherry blossom season. I had gone past fireworks, cook-outs, the leaves, turkeys, trees, ice storms and right back to cherries. There had been a few other things I had missed as well, but for some reason the sight of the trees covered with their pink and white blossoms had caught me off-guard. "Are you sure you're going to be alright?" Scully had asked as she stood by my front door. I nodded. After who knows how many months of disappearance, three months of death and a very long week in the hospital, I just wanted some time in my own space. I knew she wasn't wild about leaving me here alone, but I could see that she had her own problems. Okay, I take it back. The cherry blossoms were not the biggest surprise waiting for me when I returned. When I woke up, Scully was there with me, holding my hand, working her magic. Her smile was better for me than any anti-viral drugs they might have been pumping in to my system. She was there when I woke up and again later, when I was a bit more cognizant of my surroundings. I didn't want to hear any details, not then. I had persuaded the nurse to bring me a mirror so I was more than aware of how bad I looked, and that I had been run through the wringer. When Scully told me I had been gone eight months I didn't believe her. When she told me George W. Bush was president, I told her it wasn't nice to tease sick people. When Skinner brought me my requested copy of the Washington Post...well, it was a little overwhelming to say the least. But I had Scully. My one in six billion. Each day she sat beside me, quietly letting me know that everything was going to be okay again. She told me about the baby, even pulling out a picture album with sonogram photos. As the third child in her family, Scully had a largely incomplete baby book. There would be no blank sections for Scully's beloved child. We didn't talk about where the baby came from. I wanted to ask. I could do the math and knew that the dates basically added up to our lone night together, but it also added up to her weekend away with the smoking man. Let's face it, I'm a chicken. I was afraid to ask and until she decided to tell me, well...I was just going to live in denial. Mind you, it's not that I didn't want to know, but the recovery from death comes slower than your run of the mill gunshot wound or zombie attack. I found myself getting a bit morose over simple things, like the hospital laundry service losing my boxers and making me wear tighty whities. If that almost put me in tears, what might the news of an alien/human hybrid gestating in Scully do? It was self-preservation. Where was I? My mind seems to really wander these days. Yeah, I was saying good-bye to Scully. I knew that she wanted me at her place, or wanted to camp at mine, but it was time for me to see if I could make it on my own. "You'll be sure to put the antibiotic cream on?" she asked, reaching up to touch the wounds on my face. I pulled back before she could touch them. Who knew what kind of crud might be living in there. I didn't want anything like that to touch her. After an initial look of hurt that I would push her away, I could see she understood my hesitation. "It won't hurt me," she said quietly. I nodded. I didn't really believe her, but I knew it would make her feel better. "I'll call you tonight, then," she said, slowly turning to leave. "Scully," I called. She turned back to me, her eyes filled with expectation. I leaned down and pressed my lips against hers. I had forgotten how soft they were. Her lips parted slightly and I pushed further, trying to reclaim her, reclaim my life. My hands slipped around her and I pulled her close. It was strange to feel the child between us. I could feel the baby move slightly. Scully giggled and pulled back a bit. She took my hand and put it on her belly. The baby moved again. I could have sworn I even felt a foot. "Definitely a soccer player," she said, smiling at me. "I should go now, but I wanted you to have this." I took the stained letter from her hand. The front had my name in her familiar script. "I thought I had thrown it away, but last night it reappeared from underneath my couch," she said, smiling again. "Anyway...I'll call you." I stood at the door and watched as she walked to the elevator. Her whole way of walking had changed. I wasn't sure if it was the flat sandals her swollen feet were squeezed into or the baby's effect on her posture. As the elevator door closed I looked down at the envelope. I walked back into my quiet, dark apartment and headed for the couch. It squeaked slightly as I sat down. At least that had not changed. I reached for the light and turned it own, its soft glow warming the room. Sliding my finger under the edge of the envelope flap, I pulled the letter out. Mulder- You've been
gone four months now and I'm not losing Love, Scully I set the letter down, not sure what to do. Getting up from the couch I walked to the window. It had been too much to hope for. I never thought I would get back all those things I missed. Now it turns out they had just been here waiting for me all the time. I pulled the drapes back to look at the stars and there she was...just standing outside her car, looking up at my window. It looked like I might not have missed anything after all. The Challenge elements: -Mulder's reaction
to Scully's pregnancy FIN Feedback gratefully received
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