Archive of Our Own ^beta

“So am I right to assume that I will be eating this pizza alone?” Mulder teased and she smiled, looking up from the doll he had given her. 

“I feel bad, I do. It’s just…” She pouted at him and he pretended to be hurt. 

“I understand. You have something going with the guy. I get it. It’s a sacred bond between a woman and her pizza man.” He sighed as he looked down at the ground and she suppressed a smile. 

“He knows me, you know? He… he gives me what I need.” 

He scoffed and looked up at her in mock disgust. 

“Pizza? Like the pizza I brought?” he asked, waving at the box on the coffee table. 

“Well, sometimes it’s… more than pizza…” she said with a shrug, looking at the doll and watching him through her lashes. 

“More?” he asked and she held back a smile. 

“Sometimes. When I need it.” 

He leaned forward with his chin on his hand and she bit her lip to stop from laughing. 

“What uh… like what? I’m just curious,” he said, clearing his throat and shrugging his shoulders. 

“Well, I’m experiencing changes, being pregnant and all. Some things… I can’t explain it, but he understands.” 

“Uh huh…” Mulder nodded, rubbing his hand across his chin and she took pity on him. 

Slightly. 

“He brings my pizza, but he knows I need more. That I… that it’s not enough and well… sometimes, without me even needing to ask, he adds breadsticks to my order.” She watched him and waited, trying so hard to remain straight faced. 

He stilled and stared at her, letting out a huge breath before shaking his head. Covering her mouth, she laughed and held the doll closer to her. 

“You’re a terrible tease, you know that, right?” he asked, raising his eyebrows and shaking his head again. She laughed harder and tilted her head, staring at him. 

“Oh, I really had you going.” 

“Pfft. You had nothing,” he said, closing the pizza box and glancing at her. “I knew that you meant something like that, it was obvious.” 

“Mm-hmm,” she hummed, smiling as she ran her fingers over the doll's hair. “You had your panic face showing. Your “could the pizza man really be a suspect?” face. I saw it.” She rubbed her belly for emphasis and he watched her before raising his eyes to hers. 

“It’s those goggly glasses isn’t it?” 

“That… and he smells so delicious,” she said with a shrug and a smile. 

“Jesus, Scully,” he chuckled and she looked down at the doll, stroking her face as she laughed softly. “Fine. I’ll put this pizza away and we’ll wait for yours to arrive.” 

“Oh, Mulder, I didn’t really order one,” she said, shaking her head. “But I also don’t feel like eating right now. I just want to relax. You eat though, I’m sure you’re hungry.” 

“Can I get you anything before I do? Water? Tea?” 

“Oh, there is some lemonade in the fridge that I would almost commit murder for, if you could get me a glass of it.” 

“Almost, huh?” he teased as he got up, smiling down at her. 

“Yeah. It’s good, but not actually kill someone and go to jail forever good,” she said, moving a little and setting the doll back into the box, not wanting to spill anything on it. 

“Good to know there’s a cutoff,” he replied with a snort and she smiled, leaning back and closing her eyes, listening to him moving around the kitchen. 

“Ice, please,” she said as she rubbed her hands over her belly. 

“Of course,” he answered and she heard it filling the glass before the refrigerator opened and her mouth began to water at the thought of drinking the lemonade. 

“Hmm. It’s good,” he said and her eyes opened. 

“Did you just drink my lemonade?” 

Silence. 

“Define your lemonade.” 

“What?” she asked, puzzled. 

“I mean it is technically yours, it being in your apartment, your refrigerator-”

“In my glass,” she added with a smile. 

“Oh, well then we’re fine. I didn’t technically drink your lemonade, but it was your lemonade.” 

“Yeah, that’s not confusing at all,” she laughed, shaking her head and folding her hands at the top of her belly. 

“Not confusing at all,” he said, walking over to her with a tall glass of lemonade. “I didn’t drink this lemonade, yours, but-”

“Straight from the bottle?” she asked, accepting the glass from him and taking a long drink, smacking her lips appreciatively when she was done. “Will I ever break you of that habit?” 

“Unlikely,” he said with a smile, bending toward her, his eyes dropping to her lips. She smiled and tilted her head, raising toward him. 

He kissed her softly and she drew in a breath as she moved closer, aching for more. He chuckled as he obliged, his tongue running gently along her bottom lip. 

“Hmm,” she hummed as he kissed her once more and then pulled back. She pouted and he laughed, kissing her nose as he straightened up. 

“You need to rest. No excitement.” 

“I’m not excited,” she argued. 

“Not yet,” he said in his low voice that made her heart race. “But if we keep doing that…” He shrugged and walked to the kitchen, leaving her with her glass of lemonade to cool her down. 

He was right, she did need to rest, but god she wanted him. Wanted to feel his hands on her body and his lips kissing the spots he knew so well, despite the short amount of time they’d had to spend together. 

But, she thought, rubbing her belly. We gotta keep you safe, little one. So unfortunately, there will be no excitement for your mama. She smiled and took another drink of her lemonade, finding the glass almost empty. 

“Mullllllder,” she whined and he laughed as he walked up beside her, handing her his own glass, without ice, and going back to refill hers. She took a large drink and when he came back he raised his eyebrows. 

“Did you drink my lemonade?” he teased and she nodded, taking another drink. He laughed and stepped past her to sit back on the couch, setting his glass on the coffee table. 

She closed her eyes, rubbing her belly again, as she listened to him eating his dinner, the scent of pizza filling her nose. Her stomach rumbled, but the thought of eating made her feel nauseous. 

“Sure you’re not hungry?” he asked, obviously having heard the loud rumble in the quiet of the room. 

“Yeah, I’m sure,” she answered, taking a deep breath as she opened her eyes. “Just thirsty for now.” Drinking down the lemonade, she handed him her glass and he smiled as he took it. 

“You want the other one?” He lifted her original glass and she shook her head. 

“Not right now, thanks.” 

He nodded as he set the glass down and continued eating his pizza. She stared at him, still amazed that he was there- whole and well, his injuries nearly nonexistent. 

Nightmares and broken memories were what plagued him now, though sometimes he tried to keep them from her, not wanting her to worry. 

“You doing okay today?” she asked softly and he raised his head in surprise. 

“Yeah, why?” 

“Just checking in,” she said, just as softly. “No bad dreams?” 

“Nope,” he answered with a smile and she nodded. “No concerning thoughts, except for you resting and feeling better.” 

“No excitement,” she stated, an eyebrow raised. He chuckled and licked his lips as he nodded. “Are you staying over?” 

“If you want me to.” 

“I do,” she whispered with a nod. 

“Then I will.” 

“Good.” He smiled and she closed her eyes as she smiled, resuming the stroking of her belly. 

He finished his food and she listened to him cleaning up and then pouring something in a glass. Hoping it was lemonade, she smiled when she felt him kiss the top of her head and say he had refilled her glass. 

“Thank you,” she breathed and he hummed as he kissed her again. 

Her legs were lifted gently and turned so she was lying on the couch. She opened her eyes and he smiled as he helped her get comfortable, sitting down and putting her feet in his lap. 

“Hard or soft?” he asked and she stared at him. “For the foot rub.” He looked at her pointedly and shook his head. “Get your mind out of the gutter.” 

“Not exactly where it was.” 

“But getting there?” 

She laughed softly and he smiled, eyebrows raised. 

“Medium? And it’s my calves and thighs more so than my feet.” 

“Okay. Let me know if the pressure is too hard.” 

“I will.” She closed her eyes again and took a deep breath as he began to rub her calves, the pressure causing her to moan. 

“Good?” 

“Very.” Letting out a deep breath, she kept her hands on her belly, lying still and comfortable. 

They were quiet for a little while, her moans ranging in pitch as he hit sensitive spots, his thumbs pressing harder or softer as she tensed and then relaxed as he continued rubbing. 

When he moved up to her thighs, her moaning increased and he paused for a second. Opening her eyes, she stared at him and saw his own eyes were closed. 

“Too much?” she asked with a smile twitching at her lips. 

“I want it to be good for you and yes, I do realize how that sounded,” he said, opening his eyes and looking at her. She chuckled and raised her eyebrows. “But we talked about no excitement and well, I’ve heard you make those noises during other activities and it’s… not something a man forgets. That’s all I’m gonna say.” 

“I’ll try to tone down the excitement.” 

“Thank you.” 

“Just so you know though, internally, I’m making a lot of noise.” She smiled, knowing exactly how her words would affect him. 

He stared straight ahead and blinked his eyes a few times as he took some cleansing breaths, his hands lying still on her thigh. One more and his hands began to move and she let out a quiet exhale, relaxing into his touch. 

She closed her eyes and relaxed back again, focusing on his touch and keeping her moans internal. He was so good at knowing exactly what she needed without her needing to ask for it. It was spooky. 

Laughing to herself, she did not notice a change at first, but then she heard a sound and she opened her eyes. She felt it as she saw it and she burst out laughing. 

Up and over her stomach, Mulder was slowly pushing a small diecast car. It was black and silver and he was making sounds as if it were changing gears, turning it to the side as it drifted, coming to a stop just below her breasts. 

“Vroom! Vroom!” he purred, shaking the car slightly, acting as though it were idling. 

“What in the hell?” she asked as she laughed and he made the noise louder, turning the car and going back down the way it had come, jumping and disappearing over her stomach. 

She then felt it on her right thigh, over her knee, down her shin and up her foot, before it jumped off of her toes. He looked at her and grinned and she shook her head with a small chuckle. 

“I’m gonna need an explanation,” she said and he nodded. 

“So the doll wasn’t the only thing I found.” 

“Obviously,” she laughed as he looked at the car in his hand. 

“I found a small box of mine, something I’d completely forgotten about, yet I knew exactly what was in it before I even opened it. Isn’t that so odd? It’s like how song lyrics stay buried in your head and you just know them. Ask someone for historical dates and they draw a blank, but ‘Sweet Caroline’ or ‘Ain’t That a Kick in the Head’ comes on and they start crooning along.” 

“How lucky can one guy be?” she sang softly and he nodded. 

“See what I mean?” he asked and she exhaled a laugh. “Anyway, I saw this box and I started looking through it. Baseball cards, a wooden yo-yo, of which I was very good at using, our old house key, this car and two others, a two dollar bill that I thought was the coolest, a Rubik’s cube I solved on my own, Batman and Robin action figures, and… two Stratego game pieces- one of each color.” He swallowed and she touched his arm, knowing why he had added the game pieces into the box. 

“So… you brought that toy car over here to drive it up and down my very pregnant stomach?” she teased and he laughed. 

“No. Well, I mean-”

“Careful,” she warned teasingly and he laughed. 

“No. I brought it here, because it was my favorite car. It was the fastest on the track, always beating the other cars, and I loved it. The other cars were good, but this one… it was the best.” 

She smiled as he handed it to her and she looked at it. Her brothers had cars like it when they were younger. She herself had played with them, racing them on tracks or adding them to other games they had played to increase the fun. She’d had her own favorites, choosing them for speed and a guaranteed win in a race against her brothers or other neighborhood boys. 

“It’s a nice car,” she said, handing it back to him. 

“No, Scully, it’s the best car. I was thinking I’d like to… put it in the baby's room, if that would be okay?” he said, looking at the car and not her. “On a shelf, out of reach, of course. Not sure exactly how safe it is with the old paint and all. But it could be something to look at and maybe use it to tell stories with and about the other items I treasured? Would that be okay?” He turned his head and looked at her, his demeanor almost nervous or worried. 

“It would be more than okay,” she whispered, tears pricking at her eyes. “Much more than okay.” She wiped at her eyes and he smiled with a nod. 

Turning the car over with his fingers, he set it back on her shin, driving it up and down, making quiet car sounds as he did. She smiled and sniffled, wiping her eyes again. 

“Red Buchman, oh by the way, the driver of this car is Red Buchman. He’s a famous race car driver and he has been on many race tracks, always defeating the other drivers. Especially the ones who boast about being the best. Red actually is, but he doesn’t go around bragging about it.” He smiled at her and she laughed softly, sniffling once again. 

“Red, Mulder?” 

“Hey, you name a kid Fox, he’s gonna bequeath different names on things. Even the playing field so to speak,” he explained, the car now going up her foot, bouncing off each one of her toes. “Plus my parents knew like three people named Red, apparently it was a popular name back then. Never heard anyone called Orange or Green. Wonder why Red was considered an acceptable name…” 

He tilted his head, staring up at the ceiling, the car paused at her big toe. She smiled and waited, enjoying seeing this side of him; slowed down and still Mulder, reminiscing about the past. 

“Tell me more about Red,” she said quietly and he shook his head, looking back at her with a faraway look in his eyes. He smiled and ran the car down the top of her foot slowly, causing her to jerk as it tickled. 

“Red was always up for a challenge, ready to prove his mettle, ain’t that right, Red?” he asked, lifting the car close to his face. “Damn straight, Fox. What’s our next adventure? Well, Red, see for yourself.” 

She grinned as she watched him, changing his voice to Red, making it deeper and more gruff, then switching to his own voice to respond. He winked at her as he set the car on her shin and made revving noises. Playing along, she bent her leg, her right foot now resting on his left thigh. 

“Holy shiiiiit, look at the size of that hill! Gonna need a lot of power to get up and over it,” he said in Red’s gruff voice. More revving noises and then he was moving it up her shin, side to side, the car obviously not having the proper amount of traction. 

She giggled as he got to the top of her knee and stopped, the car moving left to right as he whistled under his breath. 

“Tough hill, but the view is more than worth it. Next time I’ll need to remember to bring a camera. Let’s see what’s down this hill.” 

She smiled as she watched him get lost in the scenario he created, his inner child coming out to play. He laughed and frowned in turn as he narrated Red’s journey, making his way across her belly, back and forth, the road to the final summit grueling and long. 

When he made it over her belly button, on a rickety bridge that swayed in the wind over a large lake, he stopped as the baby suddenly rolled around, the car rising up as it did. 

Mulder’s eyes widened and she inhaled sharply as the baby moved again. Placing a hand on her stomach, she exhaled and inhaled again. 

“That was…”

“Like a sea monster nearly surfacing,” Mulder finished for her, staring at her stomach in fascination. “Jesus… that was amazing.” 

“I shouldn’t complain but…” She drew in a deep breath and shook her head. “… but that was a big movement. Felt like he was trying to burrow under my ribs.” 

“Or she,” he said automatically and she chuckled with a frown. 

“Or she, yeah.” She rubbed her belly and he looked at her, surprise in his eyes. 

“Holy shit, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” 

“Yes,” she said, laughing as she covered his hand with hers. “I’m okay. It happens all the time.” 

“It’s amazing. Truly,” he said, shaking his head, his eyes holding hers. 

“A miracle,” she whispered and he exhaled softly. 

She reached for his arm as he leaned toward her, both of them shifting slightly, their lips meeting in a soft kiss. 

“A miracle,” he repeated against her mouth, kissing her again before pulling back, moving his hand and the car from her belly. “I think Red’s had enough excitement for one night.” 

“I think so too,” she laughed and sighed. “And besides, I really need to pee. Can you help me up?” 

He did and she waddled slowly down the hall, using the toilet and washing her hands. 

Coming out, she found him in the nursery, putting the car up on a shelf, right where it could be seen. Stepping closer to him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed his back. He turned and pulled her around to his front, holding her as close as her belly would allow. 

“I’m glad you found those things, Mulder. I’m glad you have them to remember the happier times,” she whispered and he nodded. 

“Yeah, me too,” he whispered back, kissing the top of her head. 

“I love you,” she said and he pulled her in tighter. 

“I love you too,” he whispered and she sighed contentedly. 

They left the nursery and went to her bedroom where they changed for bed. He left to turn out the lights and be sure the doors were locked. 

She was under the covers on her right side, the pillows all arranged just so, when he came out of the bathroom smelling of minty toothpaste and humming under his breath. 

He got in bed and scooted closer, wrapping an arm around her and kissing her neck. She smiled, placing her hand over his as she sighed, and closed her eyes. 

”If this is just the be-ginnin’ my life is gonna be-yoo-tee-ful,” he sang softly and she exhaled a laugh. 

“I go to sleep and keep grinnin’,” she answered and he laughed into her hair, before he hummed. 

“Goodnight, Scully.” 

“Goodnight, Mulder.” 

“Goodnight little sea monster,” he said, rubbing her belly in a circular pattern. As he did, a foot or elbow answered back, causing both of them to gasp for very different reasons. “Sorry. Goodnight, little miracle.” 

A smaller movement, almost as if in thanks, and the baby settled. 

“Doesn’t like being called a sea monster. Good to know,” he said and she laughed as she squeezed his hand. “I’ll have to think of something else then. Maybe Blue… or Neon Green?” 

“Maybe just shut up and go to sleep,” she teased and he chuckled, kissing her shoulder as he hummed ‘Ain't That a Kick in the Head’ in her ear.