By Lara Means
darknesslight@aol.com
 

Date: Thu, 10 May 200
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