Bathrooms and Other Benefits 3: Beneficial Dividends

Sara B. 05/06

Mulder pulled into the parking garage and turned off the engine.  “You ready for this, Mrs. Mulder?”

“Oh, yes, Mr. Mulder.  What if,” the rest of her question faded out,

“If it turns out yes, it will be absolutely fantastic, and if it’s no, then we go home and try some more until it is yes.”

Dana felt the tension give way as a result of his words and she leaned over and kissed him.  “Thanks, I needed to hear that.”  She opened her door and turned back toward him.  “If it is yes, I think we should still go with your plan.” 

“Oh, we will, we most assuredly will.  Now, let’s get in there and get this confirmed.” 

Mulder pictured her as he hoped she would be in six months.  Round, waddling slightly and complaining that she can’t see her feet.  God, he hoped that the home pregnancy test was right.

~

They sat in the doctor’s office waiting for Dana’s gynecologist to return with the test results.  Mulder couldn’t sit still.  He didn’t remember being this anxious when Diana was pregnant.  Lord knew he loved Sam to distraction but Diana’s pregnancy had been the last straw of an already over taxed donkey. 

Things had always been tense with Diana but when she was pregnant everything bad between them magnified.  Diana wanted to terminate the pregnancy but he wanted the baby.  That was when he found out that she’d been unfaithful to him throughout their marriage.  Her hurtful words still burned, ‘Fox, I don’t even know if it’s yours.’

Even then he still wanted to make a go of their marriage.  A simple blood test after Sam was born proved that Sam was his child.  He thought Diana would be glad but the news seemed to piss her off.  Two weeks after Sam was born he’d come home to find the housekeeper watching the child and Diana’s things gone.  His reaction had surprised him, instead of anger, hurt or despair all he felt was relief; he was relieved that she was gone.  It had washed over him like a gentle breeze that blew away the smog.  Diana was gone and he couldn’t have cared less.

Samantha was the joy of his life.  The first time he’d seen her, seconds after her birth, he felt a love stronger than he ever thought possible.  Now that love extended to Dana, Will and hopefully to a new life inside Dana.

They hadn’t been trying, but they hadn’t not been trying either.  Two days earlier Dana was slightly nauseous.   She told him it wasn’t the first time but she’d chalked it up to the flu that had been running rampant through her patients.  The difference this time is that the symptoms were lasting longer than she expected.  He nearly laughed at himself remembering how fast he’d run to the store for a pregnancy test.  Or rather three different types of tests; two came out solid positives and one neutral.

Dr. Marilyn Newsom walked in with a file and took her seat.  “Dana, Fox, it looks like you are going to need to convert one of those bedrooms into a nursery.”

Mulder didn’t remember moving but suddenly Dana was in his arms and her feet were not touching the floor. “God, I love you!” 

“Mulder, I love you too but, well, could you put me down?”  She leaned into him and gave him a kiss and whispered, “more later.”

They took their seats and the doctor went over some instructions, rest, vitamins, exercise and so on.

~

They arrived home and Trina met them in the kitchen as they walked in from the garage.  It took one look at their smiles for her to know and she pulled them both into a hug. 

“The kids are at school, I’m going out for rest of the day, I’ll pick them up and take them home with me and keep them for the weekend.  You two are to celebrate to your hearts content.”  Five minutes later she was gone and Mulder and Dana were alone.

“So, what do you want to do first?”  Dana asked with a decidedly saucy voice.  Mulder’s response shocked her.  He fell to his knees, lifted her shirt and kissed her stomach. 

Dana bent down and kissed his head.  “Happy?”

Mulder got up and they held each other.  “I never knew I could be this happy.  You, the kids and now this.  All the crap before was worth it to get here.”  Suddenly his mood changed and his eyes darkened as he licked his lips.  “Seems I remember you promising more later.  It’s later and I think I want that more now.”

Scully pulled from his loose embrace but held on to one of his hands then led him toward the elevator.  They got in and she shut the door but she didn’t push the button.  “Ever have sex in an elevator, Mulder?” 

~

Dana had looked all over the house for Mulder but couldn’t find him.  She had a serious bone to pick with him.  They’d just told Sam and Will about the baby.  They decided to wait until the beginning of the second trimester just in case.  The kids were excited about having a new brother or sister.  Then the ever precocious Will asked the age old question that brought terror to many a parent.  “How are babies made?”

Dana blinked her eyes and Mulder was gone and two expectant children were waiting for an answer.  She’d just spent the last hour talking about the birds and bees with two very inquisitive children.

She decided to look in the only area she hadn’t been yet; the rarely used third story and that is where she found him.  Dana watched Mulder wandering around the space.  She could tell he had something on his mind.  His mood was pensive and she forgot about her earlier pique.

“Mulder,” she didn’t continue.

“Hey, Babe, finished with the talk?”  Mulder held his hand out to her and she moved to his arms.

“Yes, with no help from you.”

“Hey, I’m a Psychologist you’re the one with a medical degree.”  He leaned down and kissed her ear.

“So, why are you up here?”

“Dana, this is your house and I would never presume. . .”  She looked at him aghast.

“Wait a minute, this is OUR house.  Not mine, ours.  And as far as presuming, go ahead, presume.  What do you have in mind?”

“We don’t use this apartment so I did some preliminary work and had some plans drawn up.  Dana, I want to be around with this baby.  Would you have a problem with me having some work done and Chris and I moving our practice here.  It has its own outside entrance.  A few of our patients might need to use the inside elevator but most can do the stairs.”

“Interesting idea and one I like.  Follow me.”  She led him to a door and unlocked it.  “Have you ever wondered why this wall didn’t quite fit?”  She asked with a smile.

“To be honest, I never really noticed.”

Dana opened the door and it revealed a small room with no floor.  “It’s an elevator shaft and it opens to the outside.  The original owners had it installed when they had their mother move in with them.  The ground floor entrance was sided over so you can’t see it.

It was the one part of the house Jaime didn’t finish.  He had plans on getting to it eventually in case someone needed it.  It wouldn’t take much to install the lift and open the downstairs entrance.”

“You mean it, Dana?  You wouldn’t mind me making major changes?”

“Mulder, this is your home.  You have every right to make changes and it alarms me that you didn’t realize that.”  Dana was hurt that he didn’t feel he had equal rights where their home was concerned. 

“No, Babe, don’t be upset.  It’s just this was Jamie’s pride and joy.  This was his vision; I didn’t want to do anything to hurt that.”

“Oh, Mulder!  Yes, Jamie put everything he was into this place but he was a realist.  He always knew that a space needed to be functional as well as beautiful.  He would be happy that this wasted space was going to be used.”

“So you like the idea of me moving my practice here?”  He asked hopefully.

“Yeah, and I happen to know that the lot next door is available.  We can buy it for parking.”

“Why, Dana, why would you know that?”  He asked hesitantly.

“The same reason I know that there won’t be a problem with zoning.  I guess this would be a good time to tell you about the plans I had drawn up for redoing the carriage house for my practice.”

~

Mulder didn’t know how Jamie had done it but he’d stashed away all the original and modified plans for their house.  Dana found them in with his papers that she’d locked away in the study.  The original plans showed that the southern exterior wall had been altered to accommodate the elevator addition.  Dana never understood why Jamie hadn’t either installed the elevator or restored the wall according to the original plans. 

Work was moving along quickly.  Mulder knew that Dana still had interests in Jamie’s company but he never realized she was actually an equal partner in the business with Paul Jasper, Jamie’s partner and college buddy.  When Paul heard about the changes they were making to the house, he jumped right on it and had crews on sight before Mulder could exhale. 

Paul was a nice guy and Dana had introduced the two men years ago.  Mulder always had the feeling Paul took more than a fleeting interest in Dana but now that he was working on the house, Mulder was sure of it.  Not that he could fault the man; who wouldn’t fall in love with someone like his Dana?  But still it made him a little unsettled.

Mulder thought back to two months earlier.  He didn’t think there would be too much to change in the apartment until Chris and he sat down with Paul.  Paul pulled out some plans that Dana told him to draw up.

“I know you think all that needs to be done is install the elevator but let me show you some ideas.”  Paul looked up from his blueprints and saw Mulder’s horrified face.  “Mulder, Buddy, breathe.  Dana knows all about this and she doesn’t have a problem with it.  And I can assure you that if Jamie were here he’d approve.”

“But this is going to cost more than I expected; and we wanted to be in there before our office lease ran out,” Chris said.

“Not a problem on either account.  Mulder, Chris, the cost won’t be negligible but it won’t be nearly what you are thinking either.  Dana is a full partner in the business but she doesn’t take anything from it.  This work is being done at cost, same with her office.”

Paul’s plans were perfect.  The two bedrooms that were being transformed into their offices were being soundproofed and the third bedroom was going to be set up for patient files.  The kitchen and dining area were closed off from the main room for their break area.

One thing Paul insisted on was creating an entrance hallway for the external elevator.  He said it was a security measure and he wouldn’t compromise on it. 

The place was a mess but the kids were having a ball with the workers around.  Mulder looked up and saw Dana talking with Paul.  He knew it was unreasonable and completely unfounded but he felt a pang of jealousy.  Then she turned toward him and started walking toward him.  When she reached him, Mulder couldn’t help himself; he picked her up and kissed her deeply.  This resulted in catcalls from the workmen and a ‘way to go Dad’ from Will and Sam.

Mulder put her down, the look in her eye told him he hadn’t gotten away with anything.  “Mulder, in case you hadn’t noticed,” she placed his hand on the bump of her belly, “you already made your mark on this territory.”  He had the good sense to look ashamed.  She pulled his head down.  “But thanks for compliment.”  She kissed him even more deeply that resulted in more catcalls and Sam yelling for them to go to their room.  “Sounds like a good idea to me, what do you say, Mulder?”

“You comin’ onto me woman?”  Mulder asked as he ushered her toward the stairs.

“I do believe I am.”

“Second trimester, gotta love it!”  He whispered in her ear.

~

Mulder had just finished with his last patient of the day and he was locking up.  Chris had gone home about an hour earlier.  The intercom chimed and he answered it, expecting that Dana was calling to ask if he was ready for dinner.  It was Dana, but she wasn’t talking about dinner, her water broke and they needed to get to the hospital.  The kids and Trina were already in the car; this birth was going to be a true family affair.

Dana was in the bed with the two kids sitting on either side.  Trina sat calmly on the small couch, the picture of calm.  Mulder paced,  bed to window to couch to door to bed to window to door and so on. 

Dana watched him as he moved, thankful he was with her.  This was so different from Will’s birth.  Then she’d driven herself to the hospital from her office.  She waited nervously for Jamie to arrive; he never did.  It wasn’t until the second hour of waiting and who knew how many contractions that she started to really worry and by the third hour she was a basket case and they were taking her into the birthing room.  She remembered seeing the two police officers in the hallway but their presence didn’t mean anything until later.

She had just finished nursing Will for the first time when the officers entered her room.  Something inside her froze and she knew that Jamie would not be coming.  She was sent home a day later with a newborn and a funeral to plan.  Looking back it was all so surreal, completely unbelievable. 

The piece of her that froze when she found out about Jamie’s death stayed frozen until Mulder.  She’d loved Jamie, she still loved him, but Mulder was the love of her life.  There were times when she was a little ashamed at how much more Mulder meant to her.  She didn’t understand it but she was grateful for every moment with him. 

Mulder stopped his pacing, saw her staring at him and smiled.  He walked over to her and she pulled him into a hug just as a huge contraction ripped through her.  Trina gathered the children to take a little walk.

They heard Sam ask, “are they going to get mushy again?”

~

Mulder stood looking at his sleeping wife while he held their new son, Jason Fox Mulder, seven pounds nine ounces with lungs of steel.  He’d begrudgingly entered the world at three-twenty seven in the morning and he made sure that everyone knew he was none too happy about being awakened at that time.  Sam and Will were asleep on the couch and Trina had headed home shortly after the birth. 

“Mulder,” came Scully’s sleepy voice.  “Haven’t you gotten any sleep?”

Mulder sat gingerly on the bed.  “He’s so beautiful; I just can’t stop looking at him.”  The baby started to fuss.  “I think he may be getting hungry.”

Dana adjusted her gown and reached for the baby who quickly latched onto her nipple.  “Well, he takes after his father in that regard.”

“Hey, we Mulder men know a good thing when we see it.”  He stroked her cheek.  “You, Mrs. Mulder, are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known.  Thank you for this,” his hand swept over toward the sleeping children, “and them.”

End