A/N: I don't own this or make profit, but I did just buy the Collector's edition of Season 8. Final chapter!

To Build a Home: Chapter Nine

"I- I'm having a miscarriage" She said quietly, Her legs were shaking now, barely able to hold up her body as she felt what was probably blood continue down her legs. And she fell to thr ground, as he followed her, grunting in pain. "I'm losing our baby." She said calmly, more to herself than to him. Her eyes were unfocused, staring past him. Finally her crystal-blues focused on his green orbs and he wished she hadn't. She repeated it again, her voice no longer calm, but raw and desperate. She cried out in pain as William bent down and tried to comfort his Mommy who was wrapped tight in Daddy's arms. He could see Mr. Skinner in the distance, running and shouting, but he knew he couldn't help mommy. His sister was dying.

Little William knew he could help.

Mulder held on to Scully fiercely, prodding her face with his fingers, trying to get her to look at him. Her eyes were glazed over, unfocused; he knew that she would say later that she was staring into the darkness…if there was a later. No. There was a later, of course there was. He had to believe. Her eyes slammed shut when the stabbing in her abdomen returned and she whimpered, causing Mulder to shout louder and squeeze her tighter.

"I'm having a miscarriage…I'm losing our baby." Her voice echoed in his head; it seemed to reverberate in the trees; manifesting in each raindrop that hit his head. She wouldn't look at him and he didn't even notice his son, who then kneeled to his mother. He felt like he could hear Skinner over her voice in his head, but he didn't really care. He needed her here. What was she staring at? Whatever it was, it terrified him more than any X-file ever had.

"Mommy." The little boy spoke, trying to nuzzle his way closer to his mother. Her eyes suddenly focused and she spoke, grabbing Mulder's hand fiercely.

"I brought the darkness back…it-it's returned."

"Dana." Mulder hissed in a breath, pushing the sopping wet strands of her hair from her face, examining the cuts he could see and blaming himself for all of it. He had to go off. Had to find this guy. Had to lead him to her. She moaned in pain one last time and then fell silent, fainting and going limp in his arms.

"We need a Medic!" Skinner screamed, finally reaching the forrests' edge. His experience taught him that even through rain, blood was clearly identifiable. He looked down at Mulder, who refused to look him in the eyes. He promised to protect her…promised.

"If you don't cherish her Mulder, someone else will."

"Are you suggesting that you might begin lining up at my door with flowers and chocolates for Sc-Dana? " He responded with a lackluster laugh, straining his ribs as he sat in the hospital bed, his companion sleeping slouched in a chair on the other side of the room. Despite their argument, he was happy she didn't give up on him-them; he knew that he would be in far worse shape than in a hospital bed, probably buried under 30 feet of snow.

"No, Mulder." Walter sighed, obviously unhappy that he wasn't getting the point. He looked over at the woman curled uncomfortably in the chair, the woman who worked 12 hours a day and who missed her son with every fiber of her being. "She doesn't deserve this. She deserves to come home…to a home." Mulder's eyes suddenly glassed over and he raked his hand through his hair.

"I know…"

Skinner ran off, cursing his knees for not being as young as they once were and suddenly felt an odd sensation going through his body…like he couldn't move.

"She's scared." William replied, matter of factly with his head resting on his mother's abdomen. Mulder looked back to see Skinner frozen in his run and raindrops perched above his head, stopped in midair. When his gaze returned to his son, William offered an explanation for his seemingly odd behavior in a voice that told Mulder that the reason for his actions were obvious. "I couldn't hear her…she won't listen when I tries to talk to her."

"Will, how-"

"They wouldn't let me help Mommy and Sissie, Daddy. They was gonna take 'em away and they can't help."

The young boy closed his eyes and concentrated intently, the vein in his forehead pulsing out exactly like his father's. She'd told him William got more of his traits than his stubbornness and nose. He placed his hands lightly on his mother's extended stomach and appeared to listen.

"No…Mommy's a nice Mommy, promise." He spoke earnestly. "Daddy's here so you don't has to be scared... They'll protect you." He opened his eyes and looked fearful. "I found Sissie, but Mommy can't hear me. She's in a boat crying." He wrung his hands together as his brow furrowed and his eyes glistened up toward his father. "She's not on the beach, Daddy."

"I was sitting in a boat, in the middle of a body of water and I couldn't see anything around me. There was a fog and I-"

"You came back to me." He spoke, kissing her hand.

"I could hear you…There was a rope and I pulled it because it lead me closer to your voice."

"William, tell her to pull the rope." He said through tears. "Scully, we need you." William closed his eyes, and struggled, his hands tightly forming into balled fists. "Don't give up on a miracle." His son suddenly fell backwards and Mulder craned his arm to catch him, thankful for this long limbs that had gotten him called 'lanky' as a child. His head was suddenly pelted with raindrops again and he could hear Skinner shouting as medics swarmed them. The grabbed her swiftly from his arms and placed her on a gurney. Skinner hoisted Mulder up and looked fearfully at William.

"He's fainted." Mulder offered, immediately wobbling past him to try to catch up with Scully." Reaching the ambulance in a hurried fluster he fought to ride with her, holding his son in one arm and her hand in the other, watching as the medics inserted Iv's. He was supposed to protect her. He failed. Would his son ever forgive him? Could he forgive himself? She asked him to believe…just once, and he hadn't. All the years she followed him and he couldn't trust her just once? Why did she use herself as a diversion? He was never the important one, it was her and William- their children. She put herself and their child in danger to save him. Did he really deserve to be saved? The gasp woke him from his self-depreciating reverie and his eyes are immediately on hers.

"Mul-"

"I'm here, Scully."

"You sure did scare us, Doctor S-"

"Mrs. Mulder," He spoke. He didn't need to explain to the young Doctor that she kept her name for professional reasons; that she was his and his alone, despite what any document said. She could even be Mrs. Hale If she wanted, or Mrs. Petrie. She wasn't the enigmatic Doctor Scully here, she was a patient; his partner; a mother. He would make sure she was treated as such. A loud snore from his son made him shift the young boy from his cradled position to resting against his chest. In his sleep, his little arms moved from their resting position and wrapped around their father's neck. "Our daughter…is she going to live?" He continued, eyes locked on the young Doctor's.

"My baby…" She began uncertainly with pain in her voice, struggling to keep her eyes open but fighting a losing battle.

"She's a fighter!" The cheery Doctor spoke without missing a beat, smiling broadly at the family. "It says here that you had a partial abruption with your son, correct?" When she didn't nod her head, he answered for her. "This is essentially what happened, but it was moving to a full abruption, hence the blood." He looked puzzled for a moment for continuing on. "For some reason, it just stopped."

"Stopped?"

"Stopped. We have no explanation, but we're glad it happened." Mulder signed as she placed her hand protectively over her stomach, opening her eyes to look into his. "We've given you some medication for that dull pain, but you need to take it easy from now on; you've lost a lot of blood." He spoke to Scully, looking right in her eyes and then shifting his gaze to Mulder, making sure the man enforced his words. The Doctor hurried out of the room as Mulder placed his son on the armchair, soon hobbling over to Scully. He sat directly next to her and grabbed both of her hands, kissing them.

"Scully, I'm sorry, I-"

"I heard you, Mulder." He looked shocked for a moment but wiped the look from his face when he saw her lazy smile. Her eyes were heavy and he could tell the medication was having its effect. "I pulled the rope."

"You did, Scully." She closed her eyes for longer than he expected and opened them up lazily, fighting to stay awake for him.

"When can we go home?" He smiled at her persistence to get out of the hospital; she always hated them. He smiled at his little rebel who would soon concoct plans for escaping this hospital in particular. His thumb moved rhythmically over hers until her eyes closed. He leaned in close and whispered

"We're home when we're with you." He walked over to the chair and scooped up his son, sliding into the chair himself and then holding his boy against him. Had they given him medication as well? The urge to sleep was suddenly a fighting force.

She was on a beach, and the sand felt wonderful in her toes as she squeezed them together repeatedly. The sun made her skin feel warm and the warmth moved throughout her body. She was somehow in the bikini she wore during their vacation many months ago and suddenly wondered if she had jumped into one of Mulder's dreams. Nope, this definitely wasn't her dream,Mulder wasn't wearing his red speedo, in fact he was nowhere to be found, and at that she began to panic before she heard a little girl laugh, and her son spouting a grandiose story.

"I'm telling you, Daddy said that Mommy-"

"Hello." She began softly, questioning briefly whether she should approach her son and the little girl on the beach. "Can I join you guys?" She asked as the girl immediately put her thumb in her mouth and shook her strawberry blonde locks; intently looking at Scully. Her hazel eyes following her every movement as she settled on the beach. "Are you building a castle?" At this the girl took her thumb out of her mouth and put her hands on her hips, her eyebrows furrowing.

"'Da water went sploosh!" She frowned. Scully's eyebrow rose slightly before realizing where they were on the beach. She feels no need to ask the child where her parents are on the deserted beach. Somehow this all feels…right. She feels the need to comfort the girl, to love this stranger's child unconditionally. It was just a dream, anyway, she could scold herself when she woke up.

"Aw, Sweetie." She says, taking the girl's soft hand in her own. "You just need to build it farther from the water." She walks with her son and the mysterious girl and begins to build a castle. Her attention is completely distracted from the two chatty children when she sees Mulder, approaching with sunflower seeds and a red speedo.

"Any idea why I'm in this?"

"I have a few ideas." She smiles. William gets up and walks around the sand castle that Mommy and Daddy protected from the water. Mommy and Daddy made it look real nice. He wonders if those little crabby things will use it as a home. The girl is sitting with her thumb in her mouth, her eyes glued to the two adults and their smiling faces. The lady looks so pretty when she smiles, but the man has eyes just like hers. Does she look like him when she smiles? She hopes so. William reaches her and kneels down into the sand, cupping his hands around his mouth and pressing them softly to her head. He can't have Mommy and Daddy evesdroopling.

"See, I told you Mommy was nice, Sissie." William whispers in the little girl's ear as she looks at the man and woman. "And Daddy tells great stories," William falls back from his whispering position and she thinks of the life she has to look forward to. She's glad she didn't give up. Her brother rises to her ear again "but I think he's fibbing about the aliens."

A/N: Sorry if this chapter gave you the diabeetus! Please leave a review! I'm working on another story, so I'd really appreciate any comments ya'll want to give. Despite what you may think, ya'll are super encouraging. Thanks for that. J