Chapter Text
The movie shut off and Mulder rubbed his eyes, yawning.
“Scully, you okay? You seem… upset.”
Scully looked away from the rolling credits. “Hm?”
“You’ve been awfully quiet for movie night.”
“I’m fine.”
He looked at her intently, waiting for her to share whatever it was with him. She sighed.
“It’s stupid.”
“You’re looking at the king of stupid. You can’t possibly dethrone me.”
“Tomorrow is Mother’s Day.”
He nodded.
“I just didn’t anticipate it bothering me this much.”
“Because of Emily?”
“Partially.” She paused, pursing her lips and taking a deep breath. “I never told you this, but last year around Thanksgiving, my doctor told me he believes that whatever happened to me during my abduction left me… unable to conceive. Suffice it to say that having to process that news made losing Emily…”
“Even more awful.”
She nodded once. “You remember what a wreck I was.”
“I do. But you know there was nothing else you could have done. She knew you loved her.”
She chewed on her bottom lip, refusing to meet his eye.
“I’m so sorry, Scully.”
She nodded. “Thank you.” She swiped at a lonely tear. “I think I’m going to go on home, get some sleep.”
She opened the door to move into his hallway, but he placed a gentle hand on the crook of her arm. “Can I… can we talk for a second?”
She eyed him, concerned. “What’s wrong?”
“This isn’t something I want to discuss in the hallway.”
She raised an eyebrow but did as he asked, closing the door and perching on the edge of his couch.
“I need to be honest with you about something and I need you to hear me out. It’s okay if you’re mad at me, but I need you to hear this. When you were… sick, when I went looking for a cure, I found something. Something that was taken from you during your abduction.”
Her eyes widened.
“I didn’t want to tell you when you were sick. You had enough to deal with and I thought it might dishearten you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying that I know why you can’t… Scully, whoever took you… they took your ova.”
“What?!” She covered her mouth with her hand, looking like she’d been punched in the stomach. “And you… you found them?” She couldn’t raise her voice above a whisper.
“In a lab.”
“What did you-”
“They’re in my freezer.”
A bitter laugh escaped her lips. “This is so beyond ridiculous.”
“I kept them, in case you ever wanted to get them evaluated or something, I don’t know.”
“Can I have them, please?” She asked stiffly.
“Of course.”
“I’m going to call my doctor and schedule an appointment for tomorrow. I want to get them looked at, see if there’s any chance at all-”
“If there’s anything I can do, you know I’m here for you.”
She nodded tersely. “Thank you.”
“Want me to call Skinner and tell him you’re taking the day off tomorrow?”
“I can do it myself, thank you.”
~
The next day at work, Mulder couldn’t stop thinking about Scully and if the news she was getting was good or bad. It took everything in him not to drop everything and dial her number. Skinner eventually sent him home.
“I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you’re not getting anything done here, Mulder. Go on home, get some rest.” Skinner commanded.
Mulder nodded curtly, then spent the rest of the afternoon and evening driving aimlessly around town, trying to clear his head. Scully didn’t call that night.