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Most of the time Stella’s stubbornness was something that Scully found endearing, but in this moment she wanted to yank her own hair out and scream at the sheer will that Stella was exerting against her. The bathroom door had been locked with the blonde on the other side, the midwife on the phone telling them that their best bet was to leave for the hospital, and the telling puddle on the floor was evidence of just this. Stella had been managing through words all evening, but this time her forehead had scrunched as she felt everything shoot with an intensifying force into her hips, the gush of fluid catching her completely off guard.

The stress of this all was starting to get to the blonde, and the piercing pain that would ebb in the upper right corner of her head began to make the ever present feeling of doom lurk in the base of her chest. Hence her retreating towards the bathroom, locking the door firmly behind her as she felt herself ever so slowly unravel before her very eyes. She knew eventually the baby that she had eagerly requested to carry would need to come out, but the thought was something she rarely thought about, and agreed that she’d play it by ear when the time eventually came. Scully had hired and vetted the midwife, and searched up the hospital in Washington that best fit Stella’s preferences, but other than that she had insisted that she didn’t want to talk about it.

Scully understood, this wasn’t exactly a pleasant ordeal that many women eagerly looked forward to, and with her own past of invasive men, non-consensual operations, kidnappings, and mind altering substances, going to the doctor wasn’t exactly something she enjoyed, but with Stella, she worried deeply. The redhead had convinced her wife to speak with a professional about all of the horrific experiences that she had with the infamous Irish murderer, and the attack that still left Scully shaken to her core at the medical reports. Stella had experienced it all and more, it was different than Scully’s life, but she understood what it felt like to be out of control, to lay in a hospital bed for hours replaying all of the instances back- and in her wife’s case, without anyone checking in except a well meaning doctor, who’s male presence only seemed to make things worse.

Scully knew. She hated that they were similar in this way, that Stella had endured her own traumas, each time unfolding painfully slow before eventually falling into a fit of sobs into Scully’s chest. She knew that this was one of them, she had seen it in countless mothers before, their past creeping in as a whole other primal function takes over, and they felt overwhelmed and wanting to stop it all.

Scully just tapped her forehead against the soft, painted wood of the door and took a different approach, shedding her title of a frantic wife, calming herself down to sound like the level headed doctor that she was. She knocked softly and placed her hand on the door, exhaling slowly to focus on the woman on the other side.

“Stella Gibson.” Dana cried, trying her hardest to keep her voice even and leveled before reaching her hand towards the lock, feeling her wife’s body weight against the wood, holding it shut, giving it a jiggle to catch her attention.

“Please open the door, I know it’s scary, but I just want to talk.” She reasoned, but there was no movement from the other side, causing her heart to hammer nervously as she tried once more.

“You can talk from…mmm…the outside.” Stella pointed out in a strained tone, keeping her back firmly pressed against the wood, a point that Scully knew she’d have to take in stride, that wasn’t an argument worth starting. Dana nodded and rubbed her hand slowly up and down the door as if she could reach her wife through the solid matter.

“Listen, we don’t have to go yet, but you aren’t safe in there all by yourself, and I want you to come out on your terms, not with me having to knock this door down. I trust you and how in tune you are with your body and all that, but I am just here to make sure you’re safe.” Scully explained, her emotions threatening to get involved with her words if Stella refused once more, and she didn’t want to result to begging, because she knew tears could spout.

“You promise you aren’t tricking me- that you won’t try and get me into the car if I come out?” Stella demanded firmly, making Scully exhale and back up with hands up in surrender.

“I promise, I’d never take you somewhere without your explicit consent.” She cried, her words lingering for a moment in the silence before the handle began to shake, pulling the door open finally.

Scully breathed in relief at the image in front of her, her wife clad in her red maternity wrap shirt, her black sweats soaked between her thighs that she was spreading to prevent the moisture from touching her skin. Her face was flushed and glistening under the washed out lights of their bathroom, and her ponytail holding her stale curls from the day before was loosely falling out in strands against her sharp cheeks.

She gave her a moment and watched as she took a shaking breath and rubbed her hand on the underside of her stomach, pinching her eyes shut forcefully as her other hand found the doorframe. Scully felt her instinct to move forward and embrace her, but her better judgement told her to wait a moment, Stella was always keen on voicing what she needed.

“Help me.” She whimpered, almost like clockwork, making Scully lower her shoulders sympathetically and carefully move towards her, reaching her hands out to pull Stella close into her shoulder, feeling how tense her body was. Scully just pressed her lips against the woman’s forehead, rubbing firm circles on her tightened stomach muscles to try and help.

“Now I can be Dr. Scully right now, or I can be Dana your wife, tell me what you need right now.” The redhead questioned, feeling Stella’s hands wrap around her now slimmer waist and grip fistfuls of her maroon t-shirt, moaning into her chest. Scully just continued to sway with her, feeling the muscles go rock hard under her hand, allowing her to squeeze and claw at her throughout the duration of it, desperate for some form of relief.

“Wife-! Please just be wife-Dana!” Stella then burst into tears, sobbing intensely as her pain just increased, catching Scully off guard, allowing her to take on more of her weight as she fought through this one.

“Stella take some deep breaths for me.” She whispered into the blonde’s hair, feeling her lungs struggle to expand against her chest, but eventually finding a strained rhythm. Once she started to settle Scully slowly began to lead her towards the edge of their bed, slowly lowering her to sit, keeping an eye on her watch before giving her wife all of her attention.

“Tell me what you’re feeling, why you locked yourself in there.” Scully asked softly, brushing the stray hairs of her bang behind her ear, gently wiping the tears from her glossy cheek. Stella just exhaled shakily and looked down at the large expanse of her stomach, her eyes shedding more tears at the mere sight of it, leaning into Scully’s embrace once more.

“I don’t want it to start- it scares me and I don’t want to do it. I don’t want to go to the hospital and have them touching me all over. I want to keep them inside forever!” She cried, her rationality slipping towards the end of her sentence, but Scully just listened attentively and rand her hands up and down her back.

“I know you don’t, and how scary it is, but I’m going to be here the whole time, for whatever you need.” Scully assured, making Stella perk up at her vow and grip her wife’s hand, running her finger over the sparkling rock that was settled above her wedding band, the movement making Scully grin softly at her, feeling like she was getting through to her.

“Then don’t make me go.” She cried softly, her request catching Dana off guard at first, the redhead raising her eyebrow at the presumed joke, but she could see the sincerity in Stella’s blue irises. Scully bit her lip and worried for a moment, knowing that this could get tricky, and in her head she imagined that she’d already be trying to convince Stella to at least move to the car, but she was moving in the opposite direction.

“Stell, I’d love to, but you need doctors and nurses, and one of those nice beds…” Scully tried to convince, but the blonde squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head adamantly while squeezing Dana’s hand.

“You’re a doctor, and I only want you there when she comes- please, Dana.” She now sobbed once more as her muscles cramped under her hands, sucking in a hissing breath, groaning loudly at the abrupt feeling. Scully just pursed her lips and carefully pulled Stella against her chest, her mind now racing at her wife’s request. She wanted to do everything in her power to make sure she felt safe and supported, but she never imagined it would include this.

“It hurts so bad, Dana- god help me please!” Stella sobbed into Scully’s shirt, growling deeply into the fabric before pulling her hand back down to the peak of her stomach. Scully took in a centering breath before ultimately deciding, she had done this before, with a gun to her head and an octopus flailing above her, hell, she had delivered her own baby in less than ideal circumstances, she could help her petrified wife in their well furnished home.

“Okay, we don’t have to go, but you can’t go locking yourself in the bathroom again, I need to be able to get to you.” Scully whispered into Stella’s trembling cheek, brushing her nose against it to catch her attention, slowly breathing to try and get her to mirror until she calmed down a bit, now just steadily groaning through the rest of the contraction.

“I won’t- I, I need you with me.” She cried, her voice softer than it’s normal register, the relief running through her body finally after that long one, causing Scully to finally relent and agree, pressing a kiss into her wife’s temple.

“Alrighty, then let’s go have a baby.”

…

The house was quiet except for the sounds of the fire popping in the living room and Stella shifting in discomfort while perched on the sofa, her knees spread nervously against the coffee table as Dana ever so gently checked to see how far she had moved since getting her down the hall and out of the bathroom. It had taken almost triple the amount of time than normal, stopping three times to crouch over Scully’s shoulders and groan through it, alerting the doctor that things were getting serious.

She could feel her entire body trembling as she checked, an arm wrapped around Dana’s shoulder while her other hand not inside of her, pressed down on the top of her stomach to get a better feel.

“You’re doing amazing, love, just another moment.” Scully promised, removing her hand and the glove that she had insisted on, trying to keep a sterile space at least while dealing with the internal bits, but Stella just scoffed, as if this were Dana Scully’s first time inside of her.

“You’re progressing Stella, almost nine centimeters.” She reported happily, her own excitement spiking at the realization that she didn’t have long until this was over for her wife, and that she’d be meeting their baby. She was eager to hold her, to feel her not just against Stella’s soft skin.

Scully just sat herself on the coffee table and waited, passing her wife the cup with the bendy straw for her to hydrate, noticing the running sweat down her face and chest. As she reached towards her the blonde just groaned and used her elbows to prop herself up farther and reach towards the young doctor who just smiled and pulled her forward.

“Staying more vertical will get you into transition faster. It’s going to get pretty intense, but if you stay like this it may go quicker.” Scully explained while planting Stella’s feet onto the hardwood floors which were now covered in her older towels, steadying her on the edge of the sofa.

“Well then help me up.” She scoffed, Scully now pulling firmly on her hands to get her up and onto her feet, swiftly hitting play on the CD player which softly hummed in the background. Stella couldn’t help but grin momentarily at the smirk that Scully had plastered against her face while swaying them back and forth.

Dana could see it in her eyes, how they would fill with fright as muscles in her back twisted tightly, wrapping around her stomach like a band, a guttural groan being the only vocal indication of the agony that she was enduring. For being a few inches shorter, Scully held Stella steady as she bent over and puffed through each one, seemingly inching her closer and closer.

The time between each contraction were mere seconds now, and Scully watched as her wife began to shift, her very being morphing to get the task at hand done, taking all of her focus. She momentarily released Scully and used her sleeve to wipe the sweat running down her temple and chest, but Dana just helped her pull the material off, leaving her clad in only a black nursing bra.

There was a moment of silence before Scully watched Stella’s tired eyes widen with terror as her knees began to bend, pulling the both of them towards the ground. This was it.

“Stell, are you feeling her?” Scully tried to question, but by the way Stella continued to drag the both of them into a squat, she knew that the baby was finally coming. Scully bit her lip and pushed all of her lingering fears away for this moment, she was a medical doctor, and if god forbid, something happened she would be able to handle it, now was her time to be there for Stella.

“Dana- she’s coming! Oh my god!” Stella moaned frantically, squeezing her biceps to keep her balance as she felt the incredibly present pressure between her legs, no longer fighting her urge to relieve it.

Scully just nodded and kept her hands steady on Stella’s sides, keeping a watchful eye on both her expression and the space between her thighs as she grumbled, the growl coming out of her extended jaw, the sound shocking her wife.

“Yeah, that’s perfect, Stella. You’re doing marvelous.” Scully found herself smiling, tapping her head against her wife’s as she shouted. Dana looked to find only fluid trailing down Stella’s thigh, nothing serious to worry about, just an indication that this was happening and wouldn’t stop until they were parents.

“Please make it stop! It’s too much! Please!” Stella cried out, the panic in her tone causing Scully’s eyes to move back up to her frantic ones which were full of tears. By the sheer force of her breathing she could tell that Stella was panicking, which could turn a calm situation into a worse one simply due to fear.

“Love, focus on me, and focus on the baby.” Scully began, causing her tears to fall in thick droplets, moving a hand from her side and up to her cheek, tilting her face over so that they were mere centimeters apart. She took deep, cleansing breaths that she instructed she follow, inflating her own cheeks before blowing out and onto her clammy chest.

“Focus on our little baby. She’s coming to meet you, Stella. Remember her little nose?” Scully reminded, the mention of the tiny being that Stella was working so hard for, catching her attention. She nodded frantically and begrudgingly allowed her body to take over, sending another gargantuan push down, lower and lower.

She was shaking, her whole body in a fit of trembles as she continued, grunting as nails scratched at Scully’s bare arms. The higher pitch of her voice caused Scully to glance down, tearing her gaze from Stella’s to see the breathtaking sight of their baby’s head emerging.

“Stell, go slow baby, I don’t want to have to stitch you.” Scully instructed urgently, shifting her grip on her wife to reach down and press her hand against the sliver of the head to help her.

“I can’t Dana- I need to just get her out!” Stella sobbed, but Scully simply shook her head at her and locked eyes with her, urging her to trust her. Stella knew that she didn’t want to tear or rip or any of those horrific injuries that women always lamented about online, but everything in her was telling her to ignore what Scully was saying and just force the baby out with everything in her.

The feeling of helplessness filled her completely, something she absolutely hated, pushing all rationality out of her brain as she ignored Scully’s rhythmic breaths. “No! I can’t do it!” She cried even harder, her breath sending the feeling of movement down between her thighs, making them shake even harder than they were before.

Scully could feel the baby moving farther into her hand with every minute that Stella attempted to breathe it down and out. She could feel the tension in her muscles each time her insides twisted on their own, sending the baby farther and farther into this world.

“You can, you’re already doing it.” Scully cried as the head finally slid out into her awaiting palm, the moment making Stella wheeze out a strangled wail, tears trailing down her cheeks. She knew she needed both hands for this next part, but she feared that her wife would topple over with any movement, which would be unwise given the baby’s exposed head.

“Stella, I need both hands to catch her, so hang onto me to balance.” Scully urged, watching her wife catch her breath and nod at her, pulling herself closer, allowing Scully to reach her other hand down. She swiftly checked to see if the cord was wrapped around the neck, and at the positive confirmation that it wasn’t Scully returned her attention to her wife who began breathing heavily once more.

“You can push hard again, I have her, she’s fine.” Scully smiled, fighting her own tears back to try and focus for the last bit, feeling the baby twist and turn in her very hands. She sniffled back a cry at the sensation and grinned widely, making Stella beam on the inside, the burning in her pelvis distracting her once more.

“Dana!” Stella cried, now burying her eyes into Scully’s shoulder, the redhead feeling her jaw drop as an agonizing moan groan spilled out with the twisting shoulders, allowing Scully to slightly tug, her eyes now completely filled with tears.

“You’re so close, Stella! She’s right here, I have you love, don’t worry!” Scully now shouted, her excitement overwhelming her as she slightly pulled her wife back so she could see what was happening clearly. Stella just squeezed her eyes shut and wailed loudly before blinking wide, petrified eyes at Scully, noticing the abundance of tears in them as she watched with pure love, their child being born.

“Come on Stell, you’re so amazing!” She encouraged, and with one final, monstrous push the baby was wailing in Scully’s arms. Tears fell from both women as Stella pulled herself closer to her wife, leaning into her embrace, the screaming baby warmly embraced between the both of them.

“Oh my god- Stella take the baby.” Scully sobbed, passing her over gently after her wife dropped forward to her knees, racing over to grab the massive couch cushion, setting it behind her to relax onto. Stella was still catching her breath while sobbing over their screaming daughter who squirmed her slippery body on her heaving chest.

Scully wasted no time draping a towel over the both of them to keep in the heat that their newborn so desperately craved, crawling behind her to get a better look at the little life that they had entered into the world. Tears fell down Scully’s face, pride, joy, and bliss washing over her as she reached down and kissed her forehead, both women wasting little time before pressing a kiss onto each other’s lips.

“You did it Stella, you were so brave.” Scully sobbed, unable to control the rush of emotions that flooded her like a ton of bricks, the same way it had done so in the past with her other children. Stella just cried harder at her wife’s tears, trying her hardest to scoot farther into her arms, Scully’s arms pulling her head and shoulders onto her lap, softly stroking her hair back.

“Thank you, I’m glad you were the one here for this.” Stella sobbed, unconsciously rocking the baby who had settled from all of the excitement, her little cheek pressed against her bare chest. The fire was going and the room had warmed up enough for the baby to drift off so soon after her delivery, quite content with her two mothers crooning over her.

“That wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be.” Stella sniffled, looking down at the baby who had her fist against her lips to suckle on. Scully just chuckled at the comment and wiped both of their tears away, before lightly pressing her lips onto the tear stained tracks that fell down Stella’s cheeks.

“I’m so happy.” She whispered, sliding beside her wife to get a better look at their sleeping baby. Scully knew that she would need to return to doctor mode to deliver the placenta, but for the moment she was just another eager parent and wife snuggling with her newest addition to the family.

“Hi there, Luciana.” Stella crooned, the name like a sonnet on their lips once they had picked it, their daughter squirming happily on her chest before settling again, the feeling hard to describe to any outsiders, what both women were experiencing, which was fine because this moment was so blissfully them.