TITLE: Realistically Yours
AUTHOR: Brynna
EMAIL ADDRESS: ingos_grrl@hotmail.com
DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT: anywhere you deem it worthy. If you’ve got a second, I wouldn’t mind a note tho; I like to visit my ‘kids.’
FEEDBACK: Always. :-)
SPOILERS: Requiem
RATING: PG
CLASSIFICATION: V/A/MSR
SUMMARY: "The moment you have in your heart this extraordinary thing called love and feel the depth, the delight, the ecstasy of it, you will discover that for you the world is transformed."
THANKS: to Brandon, Sharon and Trixie for being cool friends & good betas . .. . :-) And to Trixie for the title.
DISCLAIMER: Oh hell, Chris can rightfully own them again. So long as he lets me play with them.

She was sleeping.

Calm, deep sleep. There were worry lines on her face, even now, and he frowned slightly at them. Very gently, he sat on the end of the bed, and looked at her.

Somehow, despite the lines, and the passage of time, she looked younger to his tired eyes. Her cheeks were ever so slightly fuller, giving her a softer look. Hands clutched a pillow, pressed against her middle. Her lips parted slightly at a soft sleep-noise, and he longed to sip at them, to draw her essence once again into his lungs. He had been gone for too long, yet had never forgotten the taste of her kiss. He'd simply missed it. Desperately.

Her hair was longer, and when she shifted, it fell over her face. As he reached to brush it back, his fingers trembled. Touching her for the first time brought tears to his eyes, as he allowed his hand to linger against her cheek. Her voice reached his ears; his name carried on the soft lilt of her whispered tones. Blinking to focus on her face, her smile and still-closed eyes dealt him a one-two punch. She was dreaming. Of him. And she was happy. Her fingers clutched the pillow tighter, holding it against her stomach protectively, and he was unable to stand it any longer. Needing to hold her, to wrap himself around her and let her invade his senses, he moved quickly to rid his body of the abrasive materials his outer clothing were made of.

Slipping under the covers, the weariness in his entire being began to assault him. Gently, so as to not disturb her slumber, an arm slid under her neck, against her shoulder. Pressing his chest against the warmth of her back, he draped his other arm loosely across her middle, lying over her own arm. As his presence seemed to invade her mind, the grip on the pillow loosened. He tightened his arms, cherishing the feeling, and taking it to heart. How he wanted to wake her. To let her know he was there. Another look at the circles under her eyes cast that option out. She needed her rest. There would be time for that reunion once she woke; he would allow her as much sleep as she was allowing herself.

The small, warm body in his arms snuggled back toward him, and the pillow slipped from her hands. His arm didn't move as much as he'd expected, and he lifted his head from its resting place behind hers, brushing his nose over the shell of her ear as he moved.

A firm, rounded belly met his gaze in the dim light the moon cast into the room. A beautiful, pregnant belly. Tears returned; falling onto his cheeks, as his hand slowly slid from her elbow to touch. Fingers shook as they brushed over her stomach, where it held and protected their child. His hand flattened, then curled, cradling her womb in his palm.

"Mulder?"

Her sleepy voice forced his eyes away from the second most beautiful thing he'd ever witnessed, directly to the first. Her eyes, open and staring up at him, wide and shimmering, mirroring, he was sure, his own. "Scully," he whispered back, his voice weak and thready, all of him now trembling.

She turned fully toward him, bringing an equally trembling hand to his cheek. "Are you real?" Her question was so fearful - and hopeful - that it caused more tears to slip down his already damp cheeks.

"I'm real," he promised her, turning his head just enough to place a kiss against her hand. "I'm real," he whispered, over and over, as she gave a small cry, sitting and wrapping her arms around his neck. He felt the salty drops that fell from her crystal-blue eyes against his neck as he cradled her against his chest. His arms lifted her enough to settle her small frame in his lap, as he repeated the words to her, whispering them into her hair.

Giving a sniffle, her head tilted to gaze up at him. "I've dreamed this so many times," she told him softly. Reaching up, she began to trace his features with her fingertips. "So many times. But I've never felt you like this." Laying her head against his chest, her palm came to rest against his cheek. "And I've never heard your heartbeat." Her eyes met his once again. "Promise me you're really here this time."

Pressing his hand firmly, yet tenderly against her belly, he lowered his head, nuzzling her cheek with his nose. "I promise," he whispered to her, allowing his lips to caress her skin.

As she curled herself into his arms, her hand abandoned his cheek, only to join his against her stomach. She held him there, allowing him to protect their baby with his touch. Her eyes slid shut as she settled her head against his shoulder. "You know she's yours." It wasn't even a question, just a re-affirmation.

"I do." And he held her that much tighter, gazing lovingly at her face, as she began to drift once again.