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Title: Special Delivery (or Bottom of the 9th, One Out) Summary: Mulder and a very pregnant Scully pay a visit to the Lone Gunmen, where Scully realizes that her "false" labor is actually the real thing. Author's Note: Although this was conceived as a sequel to my story "The Bond," it works just fine as a stand-alone fic, too. "For the last time, Mulder, we are NOT naming the baby 'Jeter!' " Scully slammed the car door and held her head high to bring herself closer to eye level with her husband, the way she always did when she was being stubborn. "Why not?" Mulder affected a wounded look to help him repress a grin; he really had her going with this one. "Derek Jeter's the best ball player in the major leagues!" She put her hands on her newly-widened hips...nine-months-pregnant-and-counting hips. " 'Jeter Mulder?' It's a dreadful name!" "But you don't like ANY of the names I've come up with," Mulder protested with an exaggerated pout. "That's because all the names you've suggested sound like they came out of a baseball locker room! Besides, I thought we both liked William?" He shrugged indifferently, and she clicked her tongue. "I can't believe you're actually serious about this..." With that, Mulder finally lost the battle for control over his facial muscles and burst into a grin. When Scully realized the joke, she couldn't help but smile in return; he'd only been trying to cheer her up. "Don't worry, Scully," he said gently as he lay a hand on her protruding belly. He was rewarded with a couple of kicks from his week-overdue son, and smiled. "He'll find his way out of there soon enough. Try not to worry, everything's going to be fine." "I know that, Mulder," she sighed deeply, and added, "I'm just anxious to get this part over with." "Hey, don't apologize; I've got the easy job in this arrangement, remember?" He looked back down at her belly and mused, "You know what? I think we can forget about a baseball career for this guy...the way he kicks, he'll probably end up on the football squad." Scully gave him a grateful smile, and took his proferred hand as they walked toward the Lone Gunmens' building. She pulled her wool coat tightly around her and shivered against the February wind. "It's gotten colder," she noted. "Yeah, it has," Mulder agreed, surveying the gray skies. "I think I've seen a couple of snowflakes flying around; I heard on the radio this morning that we may be in for a real blizzard tonight." He grinned down at her. "Tell you what, we'll go find a nice hill and do some tobogganing." "Sure, Mulder. Right after I make some fat snow angels." Mulder chuckled as he opened the door for her. He wondered just how she was going to manage to get up all those stairs in her condition; but she simply walked right up to the staircase, took a firm hold on the railing and began to climb. She moved a little more slowly than normal, of course, but she was obviously up to the challenge. Mulder kept pace directly behind her, making sure she had no missteps. "Hey, Scully...how do you feel about the name Elway?" This time, he actually elicited a little laugh from her. Langly, who had noted their arrival on a video surveillance system, peered out of the doorway and grinned broadly. "Mulder! And Scully. good to see you! Geez, we thought you'd be calling us from the maternity ward by now." He gave her a gentle hug. "Scully!" Frohike and Byers swarmed around her, offering tiny hugs and lightly patting her belly. "You're not still working, are you?" Byers asked, obviously concerned. "Actually, we just came from the hospital," Mulder explained quickly, putting a comforting arm around Scully's shoulders. "False labor." "But I'm still on light duty," she informed them. "Yeah, she was bored sitting around the apartment waiting for Mini-Mulder to make his grand entrance, so she's been riding along with me to offer her professional opinion on a non-violent case." "What are you working on?" Byers inquired. "Kersh asked for Mulder specifically to look into a personal matter... " Scully started to explain. "Kersh's mama saw a ghost," Mulder finished, his patronizing tone of voice clearly expressing his feelings about this latest silly assignment. "Oh, dude," Frohike responded glumly. "The pickings are pretty slim these days." "Let's not even go there," Mulder grumbled. "Anyway, we were on our way home, and we thought we'd swing by here to bring you this videotape from Mrs. Kersh's VCR. It may be nothing, or there may actually be a discernable signal buried somewhere in all that static, but we'd appreciate it if you'd check it out." "Sure," Langly agreed. "What are we looking for?" Frohike asked. "Can you give us a hint?" Scully barely subdued a grin. "Mrs. Kersh told us her television was possessed," she explained. The Gunmen broke out into laughter, and even Mulder - who was often accused of believing anything - cracked a smile at the absurdity of it. "Hey Mulder," Langly began, "yesterday I hacked into some top-secret files at a laboratory that does research for all the big food-processing companies. You'll never guess what the FDA is going to let them to put into soft drinks..." "Uh, I'd rather not hear it," Scully put in quickly, protectively shielding her can of club soda. "I practically own stock in Canada Dry as it is." "Still having stomach upset, huh?" Frohike asked gently. She nodded. "So has Mulder. He never realized it at the time, but it seems he's been having sympathy pains almost from the beginning...even when we were apart from each other." Mulder gave them a mildly embarassed smile. "A bonding of empathetic nausea. I've got my own two-liter bottle of ginger ale out in the car. Hey, you guys want to see something weird? Check this out..." He laid a hand over Scully's abdomen once again, and right on cue, the baby began to kick. "He does that every time!" He shook his head, enchanted by the feel of the baby moving against his fingers. "I used to go to sleep every night with my arm around Scully's waist. I had to give that up, otherwise he'd keep her up all night kicking." "That's pretty neat," Byers said. "The baby must be able to sense your connection to him." "Yeah, either that, or his little guts are in a knot, too." "But you and Baby Fox are feeling okay otherwise?" Frohike directed the question back at Scully, but Mulder groaned loudly. "Ugh, I wish you guys would quit calling him that..." "We're both doing fine," she answered. "Actually, my last trimester has been fairly routine." "She's a bundle of energy," he said, his admiration gushing through his voice. "She keeps everything running smoothly around the office and still goes home to cook and clean every night! The apartment is spotless..." "...as long as I'm never too far away from a rest room, anyway," she added. "By the way, if you'll excuse me, I have to visit your little hackers' room." The men laughed at her joke, then watched as she made her way down the hall. "She's unbelievable," Frohike sighed. "Yeah, she is," Mulder agreed, watching her disappear behind a door. "She's going to be a first-time mom any day now, but she's keeping a pretty level head. She's getting a little impatient, understandably. She doesn't get much sleep these days, and I think her back hurts her a lot more than she lets on. But she's hanging in there," he sighed, and turned his attention toward the large bank of audio-visual equipment. "Well, let's see if you guys can find any ghoulies, ghosties or things-that-go-bump-in-the-night on this tape..." Scully closed the bathroom door quickly and hurried over to the commode. It was getting harder and harder for her to hold her water, especially now that the baby's head was pressing inexorably against her bladder. A fast-moving digestive system didn't help matters, either. She eased herself down onto the seat and sighed with relief. Her back was hurting again. She tried to remember how long it had been since her last dose of Tylenol. Consulting her watch, she winced; she'd have to wait another hour and a half. Damn. She finished taking care of her private business, then pulled her clothing back together and began to wash up. She carefully rinsed the soap suds from her set of wedding rings and smiled at the heart-shaped solitaire Mulder had chosen for her. Despite her discomfort, life was pretty damned good right now. All of her pre-natal exams had shown that her unborn baby was perfectly normal and healthy...just tardy. And Mulder had recovered well from his abduction experience; like her, he remembered very little about it, except in occasional nightmares. Before long, he was re-adjusting to life on terra firma with the resilience and energy he'd always had. After he proposed in a charmingly awkward fashion, they'd wed at a small, rather impromptu ceremony at her mother's house, with only family and a few close friends in attendance. Marriage and prospective fatherhood had made him happier than she'd ever seen him, and in turn, she herself had never been more content... Another back spasm, much stronger than the previous one, abruptly shook her out of her reverie. This time, it was accompanied by a new and unfamiliar sensation. Her eyes went wide. "Oh my God..." The Lone Gunmen were clustered around the TV monitor, convulsed with childish giggles. The screen was blank, except for little bits of video dropout. One of the men had suggested that the dropout pattern resembled a certain area of female anatomy, and the three of them burst into laughter, like junior high school boys ogling a stolen "Playpen" magazine. Scully stood at other end of the room, her face ashen. "Mulder...?" "He went out to the car to get his ginger ale," Frohike explained with his back turned to her, still watching the video screen. "Well, you'd better go get him... my water just broke." Three heads whipped around to stare at her, their jaws dropping halfway to their navels. After only a split second of shocked hesitation, Frohike was by her side, with Byers following closely behind. "Does it hurt?" She nodded, gritting her teeth. "That damn doctor told me it was false labor...But now the pain in my back has spread to the front, and it's even shooting down into my legs..." She let loose with a wail that nearly toppled the Gunmen over. When the paroxysm had let up, Byers asked in earnest, "Scully, what can we do to help you?" "First of all, find Mulder...I'm going to need him. Then call 911. And for God's sake, get me some towels, I'm soaking wet!" Frohike and Langly scattered in different directions, scrambling to do as she asked. Byers stayed with her, gently lowering her into a chair and trying to calm and reassure her with soothing words. Langly returned shortly, clutching a wad of paper towels. She accepted them gratefully, and began to mop herself off. "I'm going to need more," she told him and he nodded quickly, hurrying off to fill her request. As Scully glanced anxiously toward the door, Byers gently squeezed her arm. "Scully, don't worry about a thing. I had a good friend at the F.C.C. who became a single mother, and she took me to one of her Lamaze classes. If the baby comes before the paramedics get here, I know exactly what to do." She laughed, not in derision, but out of nervousness. "I appreciate the offer, Byers. But I'm sure that won't be necessary. If all else fails, Mulder can just drive me to the nearest hospital." Langly, looking distinctly uneasy, returned with the rest of the roll of paper towels tucked under one arm and a stack of bath towels in the other. "They're clean," he told her. "Good!" She grabbed one of them off the stack and finished blotting herself dry. "Ugh - dammit! Where the hell is Mulder? Frohike should have found him by now..." Another wave of pain crashed over her. She doubled up, yelling through clenched teeth. Almost on cue, the door flew open and Mulder burst inside, Frohike right on heels. He rushed to the chair and knelt by her side. "Scully?!" he gasped, out of breath from running up the stairs. As the spasm abated, she lifted her head to look at him. "Oh my God, Mulder," she panted, "it hurts like a sonofabitch..." He held her face in his hands, gently brushing her hair back. "Contractions?" She nodded. "They must be...we called for paramedics..." Mulder looked intently into her eyes. "It'll be OK, Scully," he assured her, "just like I promised..." He shot to his feet. "We need to make her as comfortable as possible until the ambulance arrives. Get some pillows and blankets; we'll lay her down on the floor here." Frohike and Langly raced to accommodate him, returning shortly with an eclectic collection of mis-matched couch cushions, blankets and bed pillows. They piled them onto the floor as Mulder and Byers carefully lifted her to her feet and guided her over to the makeshift bed, then eased her down onto it. Mulder clasped her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Just take it easy now, babe," he said softly. "Save your strength for game time." She smiled appreciatively at him and nodded, settling down into the cushions with a heavy sigh. Frohike, still trying to make himself useful, ran out of the room and reappeared with a dampened washcloth. "Thanks." Mulder took the cloth from him and gingerly wiped the perspiration from Scully's forehead. A moment later, sounds of the ocean began to waft from hidden speakers in the room, accompanied by a pleasantly ethereal chime of new age music. "Subliminal relaxation tape," Byers told them. "It's called 'Afternoon by the Sea.'" "Not that yuppie-Muzak crap again," Langly snorted. "Shut up, Langly," Frohike snapped. "It's for Scully and the baby!" Scully managed to smile a little at the attentive care being lavished on her. Mulder smiled back at her, caressing her face tenderly. "I guess this means we'll have to postpone our tobagganing date..." "At least for a day or two..." The minutes ticked by. The queasy Langly kept his distance, monitoring the surveillance system and watching for help to arrive. "It's starting to snow pretty good out there," he noted absently. Frohike and Byers hovered nearby, hoping to appear silently supportive. "Shouldn't we be boiling water or something?" Frohike asked no one in particular. "You've seen too many old movies," Byers needled him good-naturedly. Mulder remained by his wife's side, whispering gentle reassurances to her. Scully was able to relax for the most part, tensing only occasionally from the on-going contractions. Suddenly, however, she gasped sharply, bolting upright and shrieking as an especially powerful contraction overtook her. Mulder checked his watch and looked up at the Gunmen. "How long did the operator say it would take the paramedics to get here?" Frohike looked at Byers. Byers looked over at Langly. Langly stared back at the other two. "I thought YOU called them..." "I thought YOU did!" Scully moaned loudly, both in disgust and in agony. As the pain dissipated once again, she yanked her cell phone from the hip pocket of her dress. "For Chrissakes, I'll call them myself!" She stabbed several buttons in succession, then pulled it away from her ear and gaped at it. "The battery's dead!" she cried in exasperation. Mulder glared up at Frohike. "Make the call!" he commanded. Frohike wasted no time complying, snatching up the phone and hastily dialing the number. After a moment, he frowned in bewilderment. "It's busy..." "What?!" Scully was incredulous. "You're sure you dialed 911?! How can it be busy?!" "It's busy," Frohike said again, shrugging helplessly. "It happens sometimes," Byers explained. "Not very often, but in city-wide emergencies-" "-Never mind that now," Mulder cut him off. "Just keep trying." "Mulder," Scully pleaded, "help me stand up...I think if you and Byers take my arms, I can get back down the stairs and out to the car..." Mulder shook his head. "Even if you could, Scully, it wouldn't do us any good right now..." "What are you talking about? Why not?" "Because the car has been...towed away." "Wait, you told me it was stolen!" Frohike contested. "What?!" Scully cried in disbelief. Mulder rolled his eyes at the little man's indiscretion; he'd made up the fib so he wouldn't unduly upset her. Byers shook his head in disgust. "I keep trying to telling you guys - we live in a lousy neighborhood!" "We do not!" Langly shot back. "Lots of 'hoods in DC are much worse than this one!" "Argue about it later!" Scully shouted. "We'll just have to take your van instead..." Frohike, still trying to reach 911, told her regretfully, "Sorry, Scully, it's in the shop..." "Brakes went out," Langly added. "Oh, Jesus..." Scully groaned. Another excruciating contraction gripped her, and it was all she could do to keep from screaming at the top of her lungs. Mulder surreptitiously checked his watch again, but she saw him do it. Between gasps for breath, she asked him, "How long...since the last one?" As evenly as he could muster, Mulder told her, "Two-and-a-half minutes..." Scully fell back in shock. "Oh my God..." "Hey, I know!" Langly suggested eagerly, "Why don't we call a cab? Those guys drive like they're racing the Indy 500!" "It's too late for that now," Mulder countered. "She'll have to stay right here." Byers gulped audibly, and Frohike's eyes were wide as saucers. All the color drained from Langly's face as he stood frozen in place. "What...should we do?" Byers asked tentatively. "The three of you, stay calm...and keep trying 911," Mulder ordered them. "I'll need some disinfectant," she said weakly. "What - you mean like Ajax?" Langly asked. "She can't use Ajax on herself, you geek!" Frohike chided him. "No, I meant antiseptic," Scully corrected herself. "Do you have a first aid kit here somewhere?" "How about this hand sanitizer?" Byers tossed the bottle to Mulder, who caught if deftly. He held it up for Scully's inspection, and she nodded. "That'll do. We'll also need some clean water...and a straw, if you have one." Byers rummaged through some cabinets returned with a six-pack of Evian and a cocktail straw. She thanked him, then looked back up at her husband. "Mulder...it's all I can do to keep from pushing. I need you to check and see if I'm dilating." Mulder blanched noticably, but otherwise kept cool.. "OK..." he answered hoarsely. "Byers, can you bring me a flashlight?" "Sure..." He ran over to a shelf and brought back a small mag light and handed it to him. Mulder kneeled in front of Scully's legs and glared back at the gawking Gunmen. "Can I ask you gentlemen to turn the other way, please?!" They hastily complied. Mulder pushed the hem of her dress back up to her hips. She had already removed her panties; he carefully eased her knees apart and shone the light at the area in question. His eyes widened in shock. "Scully...You're already crowning. I can see the top of the baby's head, on its way out!" That was enough for Langly. His eyes crossed, his knees buckled, and he slowly sank to the floor. "Hey, Langly..." Byers knelt beside his friend, lightly tapping his face. "You okay?" Scully's yell from her latest contraction shook the rafters. Mulder regarded the oblivious Gunmen with utter incredulity. "Hey, I'm going to need some help here!" "What about Langly?" Byers asked. "He'll be fine," he told him breathlessly. "Weak stomach...trust me, I know." Frohike, still holding the phone to his ear, picked up one of the bottles of Evian and walked over to the supine Langly. He opened the bottle and upended it, splashing cold water all over him. Langly awoke with a start, sputtering and shaking his head like a wet dog. "Pull yourself together, man!" Frohike rallied. "Scully needs us!" A voice on the other end of the phone startled him just then. "What, hello?" he shouted into the speaker. "911?! Yes, this is an emergency! We have an FBI agent down!...No, not like THAT! She's giving birth! Special Agent Dana Scully, she's gonna have a baby any minute now, and you need to send an ambulance right away...Whaddya mean it'll take a while to get here?! Yeah, I know it's snowing...a little...Well, so what if it's rush hour?!" "Byers," Scully called over to him resignedly, "it looks like I'm going to need your Lamaze skills after all...you'll have to coach me through this." Mulder looked wounded. "Don't you want ME to coach you?" he asked in surprise. "Mulder, I have a much more important job for you; I need you right where you are now. You'll have to do the actual delivery..." She looked at him imploringly. "Do you think you can do that for me?" Mulder smiled calmly at her. His insides threatened to turn into jelly, but he drew on his reserves inner strength, willing his bones to solidify once again. "Don't worry, Scully. I can handle it," he assured her, glad that he'd managed to sound confident, at least to his own ears. He rolled up his sleeves and reached for the bottle of hand sanitizer, rubbing it liberally over his hands and arms. "Byers, get behind her and hold her up." Byers simply nodded his compliance, not trusting his voice just now; like Mulder, he was trying to maintain a brave facade for Scully's sake. He seated himself behind her, laying his hands lightly on her upper arms and hoping she wouldn't notice that he was shaking. "Oh, damn..." Scully moaned. "What's wrong?" Mulder asked. "The video camera was in the car..." "You want to watch the birth later on?" Frohike queried in surprise. Then into the phone, he said, "No, operator, not you! Here..." He passed the phone to Langly, who had just managed to climb back to his feet. "...give 'em directions." Frohike disappeared briefly and returned carrying a state-of-the-art camcorder; he flicked on some work lights, brightening the area considerably, then sat by Scully's side. "Scully, I'd be honored to tape the birth of your child, if you'll allow me." She smiled at the little man. "Thanks, Frohike. I'd appreciate that very mu-" Another powerful contraction cut her off. "OOOOHHH!! Mulder! This is it! This is the big inning coming up...time to step up to the plate!" In that instant, Mulder was both surprised and delighted that she chose a baseball refererence for him. He knew that she had to be terrified; everything imaginable had gone wrong today. Yet she was still trying to make this as easy for him as possible. He calmed her with a look of absolute confidence. "I'm ready, babe. Just think, in a little while, we won't be 'Mulder and Scully' anymore...we'll be 'Mom and Dad.'" She smiled briefly at him, tears of emotion mingling with those of pain. Then her face contorted, and her whole body went rigid with the effort of pushing. "Careful, Scully...easy, now, not too fast," Mulder cautioned her gently. She cried out, then fell back against Byers, who softly urged her, "Breathe, Scully, breathe..." Mulder watched in fascination as the baby's head emerged. "His head's free!" he cried, then took the next step: as carefully as he could, he squeezed the nostrils and under the chin to extract the fluid from the tiny nose and mouth. "Check...cord..." Scully gasped in between breaths. She knew that sometimes during birth, the umbilical cord became tangled around a baby's neck. "It's clear," he assured her quickly. "Everything's fine. So far, so good, Scully!" She smiled for a moment. "Get ready to push again..." He gently pressed the baby's head downward to ease her into the next phase. "OK, push!" Scully grit her teeth and hollered with the effort. This was the worst part the baby's shoulders. A single shoulder squeezed out before Scully fell back again, panting hard. "Breathe, breathe, breathe!" Byers chanted. Langly, having finally gathering his wits about him, took a seat on Scully's other side. He picked up the forgotten washcloth, mopping the sweat from her brow, and took her hand in his. "We've got one little shoulder here!" Mulder announced happily. Scully lay collapsed against Byers, her face twisted with agony, and small whimpers of pain issuing from her throat with every breath. Suddenly she lunged forward, bringing herself face-to-face with Mulder. She glowered at him in primal animal fury. "You're NEVER touching me again!" she spat before falling back again. The Gunmen all recoiled at her outburst, but Mulder kept his composure. He glanced toward Frohike and found himself staring into the camcorder lens. "Doctors make the worst patients," he deadpanned. To Scully, he simply said, "And I love you, too. I know this is the hardest part, Scully, but I need you to pull it all together and gimme everything you got. OK?" She managed a quick nod. "OK, now...puuuuuuuush!" The other men joined in to encourage her. "Push! Push, Scully!" The added ranks in the cheering stands seemed to invigortate her, as she shot forward with a fresh burst of energy. "Ughhhhhhh!" Mulder grinned as the other shoulder slipped free. "That's it, that's it! You did it, Scully! You've rounded third and you're sliding for home!" She leaned back again, resting and gathering her strength for the final push. By now, Mulder's exuberance was downright contagious. Each of the men took turns spurring her along. "'Atta girl, Scully!" "You can do it!" "You're almost home free!" Scully drew herself up and pushed with all her remaining energy. The little torso and legs began to slide out very quickly, catching Mulder by surprise. "Careful, now!" he cautioned her with a little chuckle. "You're gonna shoot him across the room, and me with him!" Scully relaxed her abdomen immediately, and Mulder gently eased the baby the rest of the way out. At the same time, the unmistakable sound of an infant's crying suddenly filled the air. The Lone Gunmen erupted in shouts of triumph. "Mission accomplished!" "Nothing can stop us!" "We are invincible!" Scully lay weakly against Byers, tears streaming down her cheeks as she sobbed with joy. Mulder used the bottled water to clean the baby as well as he could, being careful to leave the umbilical cord intact; he knew enough to leave that to a medic. "It's DEFINITELY a boy!" he announced with a little laugh, eliciting applause from Scully's three other midwife-wannabes. Mulder then used the straw to suction the rest of the fluid from the baby's nose and mouth. Finally, he allowed himself to relax; the emergency was over now. He straightened up, allowing more of the overhead light to illuminate his task... ...And for the first time, he had a good look at the precious new life in his arms. He stared in awe at this beautiful, fragile little child. Scully's baby...and his baby. His newborn son. A surge of tenderness, unbearably sweet, overwhelmed him. "Hey there, little guy..." he whispered, his voice catching. With infinite care, he wrapped him in a thick, soft blanket and pulled the child up against his chest. Tears spilled softly from his eyes as he stoked the little face looking up at him. "I don't wanna let you go; I wanna hold you some more. But I think right now your mom wants to have a look at you..." Langly quietly retreated, allowing Mulder to maneuver himself and the baby around Scully's side. He nestled the tiny bundle against her breast. "Take a look at that, Scully," he smiled through his tears as Scully wrapped her arms around her baby. "We committed parenthood." As Scully embraced her infant son, his crying softened, then faded completely. Mulder and Byers carefully traded places, allowing Mulder to lift her up for a better view of the tiny miracle all their own...a miracle with soft wisps of his mother's red hair, and his father's deep green eyes. Mother and son beheld each other in wonder. "Oh my God..." she whispered. Mulder gently hugged her from behind. She turned to smile at the father of her child. "I love you!" she cried softly. He bent his head and tenderly kissed her temple. "I love you, too." he murmered back. As the Lone Gunmen looked on, they were trying to blink back tears of their own, without success. A loud banging on the door interrupted the charming scene; a burly paramedic flung it open. He stared at the bizarre interior and the assembled cast of quirky characters before asking, "Someone call for an ambulance?" THE END Acknowledgments: Thanks from the bottom of my heart to my sister, Elizabeth Warren, for her in-depth critiquing at all stages of the writing, and for her many wonderful and funny suggestions. (Most of the best ideas contained within were hers.) Thanks to Eliza, too, for her help and for her encouragement. And thanks to Edna, Jody and Sharon and especially Nita for beta-reading and kind words. Thanks to RJ for his friendship. And thanks to everyone for the giggles!
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