TITLE:  Mom
AUTHOR:  Lara Means
E-MAIL:  darknesslight@aol.com
WEBSITE:  www.geocities.com/larameans_2000
CLASSIFICATION:  V
RATING:  PG
ARCHIVE:  Gossamer, Spookys, Xemplary, NO (I'll submit 
directly); Ephemeral, M&S, Keep the Faith, YES.  Anywhere else, 
please ask.  I'll say yes; I just like to know where the kids 
are at the end of the day.
FEEDBACK:  Please?
DATE POSTED:  05/10/01

DISCLAIMER:  I don't own them.  Heck, I don't even own my name.  
It all belongs to 20th Century Fox.  No infringement is 
intended.

SPOILERS:  Nothing specific, just baby stuff.

SUMMARY:  Scully's first Mother's Day.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:  Thanks to IWTB for constant inspiration and 
support.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MOM

written by Lara Means



The little bell over the door tinkles as I come in.

God, I hate places like this.  Frilly and fragrant.  It reeks of 
femininity.

"May I help you?"  I turn and see that a saleswoman has crept up 
on me.  I'm slipping.  I should've heard her coming.

She's smiling at me, all patience and understanding.  She must 
sense that I'm out of my league here.  But this time of year, I 
would imagine they'd get lots of clueless men in a place like 
this.

"Um, yeah.  I'm looking for a gift.  For a woman."

Again with the smile.  "I figured that.  Is it a special 
occasion?"

I glance around the shop, take in the signs.  "Mother's Day," I 
reply, stating the obvious.

"Besides that?"  If this woman smiles at me one more time...

"It's her *first* Mother's Day."

And just like that, her smile becomes genuine.  "Wonderful."  
She turns, leads me further into the shop.  "Do you have 
anything particular in mind?"

"I... no.  I really don't.  Something to make her feel..."  I 
give up, shake my head.

"To make her feel like she's still a woman and not just a 
mommy?"

I squirm inside, uncertain how much to reveal to this woman, a 
stranger.  "Yes and no... I mean, I don't want to get her 
anything too... intimate."

She laughs a little.  "So, no frilly lingerie."  She weaves 
through the aisles, leading me past silk flowers and crystal 
vases and ceramic picture frames.  "What most new moms want is 
to feel pampered.  To have some time to themselves, to relax and 
recharge."

We come to a corner of the shop that gives the word 'fragrant' a 
whole new meaning.  I'm surrounded by candles and crystals, oils 
and sprays.  Instinctively I back away, but the woman moves 
further into it and I have no choice but to follow.

She picks up a few bottles and sniffs.  "Tell me about her."

"What do you want to know?"

The lady turns back to me.  "What kind of woman is she?"

I have to think before I answer.  "She's... she's a beautiful 
woman... intelligent, driven, strong... she's got integrity.  
That counts for a lot."

She considers me for a moment, then picks up some small pieces 
of cardboard and sprays each of them with a different scent.  
"Close your eyes.  Tell me which of these is her."

I'm suspicious my nature, but I do as she asks.  She waves a 
piece of cardboard under my nose and I inhale.  It's fruity, a 
little bit spicy.  That one's taken away and another replaces 
it.  This one has a lot of vanilla, too much vanilla.  Then I 
smell the third one.  It's kind of crisp, fresh.  It smells like 
Scully.

I open my eyes to find the saleswoman smiling at me, as if she 
knew exactly which one I'd choose.

x x x x x

The second I knock on her door, I hear it -- the baby's crying.  
Damn.  I knew I should've called first.  I'm seriously 
considering just leaving this package on her doorstep and 
running when it's too late.  The door opens and I see her.  
Them.

Scully looks a bit harried.  Her hair is pulled back, there's 
cereal on her blouse, the baby in her arms is wailing... but 
she's beautiful.  She's always beautiful.

"Hi," she says, surprised.  "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, I should've called..."

"Don't be silly, come on in."  She steps back and shows me 
inside, bouncing and cooing and soothing the tiny bundle on her 
shoulder.

"Is this a bad time?"  There I go, stating the obvious again.  
But she smiles at me, and it's like the sun breaking through the 
clouds.

"No, not at all.  She's just a little cranky.  It's time for her 
nap, and she's fighting it."

"I know exactly how she feels."  We stand there a moment, her 
holding the baby, me holding this big gift-wrapped package.  
Finally she glances at it, an eyebrow raised, and I thrust it 
toward her.  "I'm a couple days early, but... Happy Mother's 
Day."

Her eyes grow wide and her mouth falls open.  "Oh my God... 
that's so..."  If I didn't know her, I'd swear there are tears 
in her eyes.  But then, she's a new mom, so I guess tears are 
allowed.

We're at an impasse logistically -- she can't take the package 
and hold the baby too -- so I set her present down on the sofa 
and reach out for the baby.  She hesitates a little too long, 
and I give her a lopsided grin, hoping it comes off as charming.  
"I've held a baby once or twice."

She smiles, then places this precious child in my arms.  I 
cradle the baby as her cries fade and she takes in this new face 
in her field of vision.  Scully sits down and moves to open her 
gift -- I walk with the baby, swaying gently and whispering to 
her.

"Hey there, beautiful.  What's the matter?  Don't you want to 
take a nap?  When you get to be a big girl, you'll figure out 
that naps are a *good* thing."

"How did you know?"  I look over at Scully.  The package is open 
and she's taken out some of the things inside -- candles, bath 
oil, lotion...  "This is just... perfect."  Damn, those *are* 
tears in her eyes.

I give her a little shrug and a grin.  "All I did was listen to 
the lady at the shop.  She said what new moms really want is 
time to themselves, to feel pampered."

She opens a bottle of bath oil and closes her eyes, inhaling the 
aroma.  "Perfect," she whispers.  She looks at me again, those 
tears threatening to fall.  "It's exactly the scent I would've 
chosen."

I shrug again -- I really don't know what to say to that, how to 
tell her that I just picked what smelled like her.  I glance 
down at the baby, surprised to find that she's almost asleep.  I 
lean down and press a kiss to her forehead as Scully gets up.  
She smiles and does the same thing, then looks at me.

"You've got the magic touch."

I shake my head.  "You got her started."

Scully laughs a little at that, and I get a sudden flashback of 
the day we met -- her standing there in the office, smiling, 
laughing.  I'm glad she can do that again.  It suits her.

Then she does the most amazing thing -- she puts her arms around 
me.  She draws me into a gentle hug, careful of the baby 
sleeping in my arms, then kisses me on the cheek.  Her voice is 
soft when she says, "Thank you, Melvin.  For everything."

Damn.  Now *I'm* going to cry.



END