Elysian Fields
Part 6

From: Amy Schatz <risamy@epix.net Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: NEW: ELYSIAN FIELDS - 6/7
Date: Mon, 25 Mar 96 11:24:52 PDT
See the non-existent disclaimer and the existent story notes in part one...

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Elysian Fields - 6/7
by Amy Schatz

As the pain overcame her daughter, Margaret stroked her hair gently, wishing that Fox were there. * * *

Rapahannock County Hospital
3:00 am

Scully wished that the baby would come soon. The contractions hadn't gotten any closer together in the past two and a half hours, but they were all very painful. She was sure that they should have begun coming faster, and started to wonder if everything was all right with the baby. Her mother had gone down to the cafeteria for some coffee and a snack, and Dana was alone again. But, in her pain-filled mind and heart, she wasn't alone - Fox was with her.

She imagined him standing beside the bed, holding her hand, telling her that everything would be fine. She smiled at his image, which had begun to get hazier as the night progressed.

"I'm so glad you're here," she breathed. "As long as you're here, I know this will turn out fine." And his image gave her one of his best quirky smiles. "Wait till you see our baby, Fox. She's going to be beautiful, and you're going to love her. I know you will."

And with that, Dana closed her eyes, again, imagining she was holding his hand, as she waited for the next contraction. Dana never saw or heard her mother watching her from the doorway.

****

Rapahannock County Hospital
4:23 am

Dana opened her eyes after the contraction had passed, and turned to her mother.

"Mom, there has to be something wrong," she said, her eyes a bit wild with fear. "The contractions aren't coming any sooner. I want you to call the doctor, Mom." Margaret, too, thought that something might be wrong. The nurses had been in and out of the room many times, as had the doctor, and each time they saw that the contractions were still the same, they had shared a look and left quietly. Margaret nodded, and rose, but before she could take a step, the door opened and the doctor walked in. Scully sighed in relief.

"I was just sending my mother to get you," she said, her voice thick with fatigue. "Dr. Samms, something has to be wrong here. I can't go on much longer." Dr. Kendall Samms nodded, and ran a hand through her brown hair.

"Yes, I know, Dana. We've completed some tests, and it appears that the baby hasn't turned yet, which is why the contractions haven't begun to come faster. I'm afraid that we're going to have to perform a Cesarean." The thought of the procedure scared Scully, but she wouldn't let it show. Whatever had to be done to ensure the safety of the baby, she would do.

"Okay, Dr. Samms, if that's what you think is best."

"I do. You've been in labor too long. I don't think you would be able to handle the stress of a breech birth. Your blood pressure is already a little high, and I don't want to risk it. So, we'll prep you and the OR and get you in there in about 20 minutes, all right?" Scully sighed.

"Great..." Margaret looked at her daughter, and squeezed her hand in support.

"Don't worry, Dana. Things will turn out fine."

****

Rapahannock County Hospital
OR # 2
4:47 am

Scully had wanted her mother to wait outside and try to get some rest while she underwent the operation, but Margaret would have none of it. She wanted to be there for Dana, and she wanted to be there when her granddaughter was born. They gave Scully a local anesthetic, and soon the operation was under way, with Scully awake throughout. Margaret wasn't squeamish normally, but she just couldn't bear to watch them cut into her daughter. It was horrifying and reminded her too much of the time that Dana was in the hospital. Halfway through, the doctor glanced at Scully.

"Everything's going just perfectly, Dana. You'll be holding your baby in a little while." Scully nodded and allowed a single tear to escape. Twenty minutes later, everyone in the room gasped as Dr. Samms lifted the wriggling baby up, and a nurse cut the umbilical cord.

"Make a note," said Dr. Samms. "Baby girl born at 5:03 am." Margaret looked at the baby, as the doctor held it in her arms, and smiled widely, tears shining in her eyes.

"Oh, Dana, she's beautiful," said Margaret. Dana couldn't see the baby from where she was, so Margaret made it a point to tell her.

"Really, Mom? Is she okay? I don't hear her crying," said Dana, worry in her voice. Just as she said those words, the baby let out a long wail, but then was suddenly quiet. Scully smiled, realizing everything was fine, and a few more tears fell onto her cheeks. As the doctor began to close the incision, the nurses cleaned the baby off, and wrapped it in a pink blanket.

Then, once Dr. Samms was finished with Scully, a nurse handed the little baby to its mother. Scully took the baby gratefully, and the minute she looked down into her clear blue eyes, her heart was forever lost. The baby was quiet, but smiled faintly and snuggled a little closer to her mother, blinking slowly. Scully smiled, wiped some stray tears away, and gently touched her baby's face. As she did, the lyrics of a song came to mind:

"Hello there, little one. I'm your mother..." Then Scully looked to her mother. "She is beautiful, isn't she?" she asked of her mother. Margaret nodded, stroking Scully's cheek.

"Just like her mother. Look, I believe she even has your hair." Scully looked at the baby more closely, and sure enough, there were a few wisps of dark red hair on her head.

"She does, but I know she'll have her father's eyes. And she has his mouth, as well." Margaret blinked back a few tears, and marveled at how strong her daughter was. She said all that without a waver.

"What are you going to name her, Dana? A baby shouldn't go long without a name." Scully nodded, and turned to look at her mother, her blue eyes warm with love.

"I picked her name out last night before I went to bed."

"What?"

"It's going to be...Melissa..." she said, seeing the recognition in her mother's eyes, and the gratitude.

"And her middle name?" asked Dr. Samms, liking the joy she saw in Dana's eyes. She had hardly ever seen her patient smile in all the months that Dana had been coming to her. At this question, Scully looked away from her mother and the doctor, and off to the faraway point where she saw Mulder.

"Her name is going to be Melissa Fox." The doctor looked at her quizzically, but Margaret merely nodded in understanding.

"Why Fox, Dana? That's a different name, and not usually what you'd name a girl." Scully smiled, pulling her daughter closer.

"I'm naming her after her father, and you're right, it is a different name. Her father's different, too - special." The doctor nodded and walked out of the OR. Margaret patted Dana's arm and smiled.

"It's a wonderful name, Dana. Maybe one day you'll be able to tell Fox about it." Scully looked at her mother, and for the first time, she actually thought about doing what her mother said. Yes, perhaps one day she would have enough courage to tell Mulder that he had a daughter. But for now, just the feeling that he was with her in the room was enough.

****

Unionville, Virginia
October 20, 1997
Rapahannock County Hospital
Nursery
9:30 am

The nurse walked into the nursery quietly, not wanting to awaken the babies. She made her way to a bassinet in the far corner, and down at the little baby wrapped in the pink blanket. She was lying on her back, with her head to one side. She was a beauty, that was for sure. But she was also very quiet, as if forever pondering things, working them out in her infant mind. This baby was certainly different than others - she even had a different name. Melissa Fox, said the label on the clear bassinet.

The nurse reached down and gently picked the baby up. As she did, the little thing made no sound, just stared up at her with her big blue eyes, and smiled a little baby grin. The nurse chuckled and walked out of the nursery, and down to Scully's room. When she entered, Scully was watching TV, but the minute she saw the nurse come in, she switched it off, and smiled.

"Here she is, Ms. Scully," said the nurse as she handed little Melissa Fox to her mother. Scully took the baby happily, and said,

"Thank you. I was missing her already." The nurse nodded.

"She is certainly a heart- breaker with that grin of hers." Scully nodded, and looked down at Melissa.

"Yes, just like her father." The nurse crossed her arms and said,

"Is her father's name really Fox?"

"Yes, it is. He's never liked it very much, though. He always makes people call him by his last name." The nurse's eyebrows raised.

"Really? Why did you give it to her, then?" she asked, gesturing to the baby. Scully shrugged.

"I want her to know that her father means a lot to me, and I want her to respect and love him. And besides, I always liked the name Fox, and I think she will, too." After smiling at the baby one last time, the nurse turned and walked out of the room, leaving Scully alone with her daughter. Scully couldn't believe that she had done this all on her own. That she had been strong enough to go through this without Mulder. But that voice inside her told her that she hadn't really. His presence had been with her, always - that image she had of him in her mind. How true the words of that song were. His love for her had made her strong enough to go through this - strong enough to live without him if she had to, strong enough to never tell him about Melissa Fox because she thought that being a father would make him unhappy.

Scully looked at the baby for a long while before she spoke. She studied its small hands and fingers, the way its mouth mirrored Fox's, at her soft cap of auburn hair, and her cute little nose. She was taken away by the fact that she and Mulder had created this.

"Well, little one, we finally get to speak face to face. Much better, don't you think?" The baby cooed in answer, and blinked her lovely blue eyes. Scully loved her eyes, but she knew, without a doubt, that they would turn hazel in a few weeks. Yes, Melissa would have her father's breathtaking hazel eyes, as if proclaiming to all the world who her father was. And for that, Scully was happy.

<<< Unionville, Virginia
October 20, 2000
Scully's apartment
1:27 pm

Scully walked over to Mulder, smiling.

"Mulder, I'd like you to meet Melissa." Scully's voice brought Mulder out of his trance, and he smiled at the little girl, captured by her beauty, but most of all by her eyes. They were like a mirror to his own soul. He couldn't understand the feelings he was having for this little thing.

"It's nice to meet you, Melissa," he said, not surprised that Scully had named her after her sister. "Does she have a middle name, Scully?"

Cassie took this as her cue to disappear for a while. She knew all about the infamous Mulder, and Scully's feelings for him. And she knew the shock that Mulder would suffer when he found out the little girl's middle name, and who she really was. Mulder and Scully didn't even notice her leave.

"Before I answer that, Mulder, why don't we all sit down?"

Scully suggested, walking over to the couch. Mulder followed her curiously. Once they were all seated, Scully put Melissa down on the floor, and the little girl tottered off to play with some of her toys that were lying in a corner.

"It's Melissa's birthday today," she told him in a casual voice. "She's three years old today." Mulder nodded, so intent on understanding this puzzle that he didn't think of doing the math.

"What's with all the mystery, Scully? What's her middle name?" Scully took a deep breath.

"Her name is Melissa...Fox." Mulder was silent for a few seconds, but then his eyes widened.

"Her middle name is Fox? Why, Scully?"

"I wanted to name her after two special people in her life." He smirked.

"Two special people? Scully, how am I someone special in her life?" Scully grinned slightly, and called to the little girl. She immediately responded to her mother's call, and was soon standing before her. Scully smoothed some hair away from her forehead, as Mulder used to do for her.

"Melissa, do you know who this is?" she asked, pointing to Mulder. At this question, Mulder looked at Scully in shock, but kept silent. Melissa nodded, grinning just like her father.

"Uh-huh."

"Would you tell me, please?" asked Scully, hoping that she was breaking the news in the best way. Melissa fell silent for a few moments, as she looked at her father. Pictures of him that Scully had shown her swam through her head. Scully had made it a point to show Melissa a picture of Mulder every day, and to tell her that he was her father. She never wanted to deceive her daughter. Melissa knew exactly who Mulder was - to her it was nothing new. Ever since she could remember, her mother had shown her pictures of him, and told her that this was her daddy. And from the first picture she had ever seen of him, Melissa had loved him, just as Scully said she would.

"Melissa, who is he?" prodded Scully. Melissa smiled again, her hazel eyes filled with happiness. When she spoke, it was the only word that she associated with Mulder, besides love. She looked at Mulder, and said it softly, but certainly.

"Daddy."

End part 6... ===========================================================================