Title: Out of Darkness

Author: Kyosenshi

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Takes place after The Christmas Miracle. It is 2009 and William has just been reunited with Mulder and Scully as they prepare for the birth of their daughter, Melissa. But as Mulder said, the darkness always has a way of finding them.

A/N: This is a colonization story. I strongly advise you read Christmas Miracle first to fully appreciate and understand this story. As always, thanks to my BETA, WildwingSuz and Veredgf for making the cover art!

It had been just over three months since their son had been reunited with them. They had gained emergency guardianship recently while they worked on gaining full legal custody over the boy. He was adjusting quite well to living with them, all things considered. Mulder had recently finished the nursery for baby Melissa with a little help from Scully's mother. That sort of thing definitely needed a woman's touch and he had to admit that he wasn't the best at color coordination.

Mulder and Scully had spent some time on names and Scully had suggested Samantha, though if he were honest, the mention of his sister still pained him to a certain extent. Then they recalled the little girl they had seen in their dreams being referred to as "Lyssa". The eventually concluded that the little girl's name must have been Melissa, as they doubted it was something like Alyssa. Scully had given her older sister the nickname "Missy", but they had decided their daughter should have her own nickname and "Mel" didn't seem right either.

He enjoyed feeling their baby move and bonding with Scully over her ridiculous cravings. He had to admit, it gave him a break from the evil eye she often blessed upon him whenever he had an indulgent snack or meal. Scully was often restless and uncomfortable approaching her 8th month of pregnancy and end of the first trimester. She had begun "nesting" or what he referred to as "Scully on steroids" with her more anal than usual cleaning.

Tonight, she slept pretty soundly. So much that he had fallen asleep through the night for the first time in weeks. Until he woke up to Scully's startled cry. His heart racing in his chest, he flipped the lights on to see Scully holding her belly in agony. Blood pooled beneath her. "Mulder, call an ambulance…please!" She grunted through gritted teeth.

It was times like this that he resented living in the middle of nowhere. He quickly made the call before coming back to Scully's side, trying as much as he could to talk her through some of the things he learned in that Lamar class all those years ago. To be honest though, it was more to comfort himself. He was clueless and didn't know what was happening.

When the ambulance arrived to take Scully, Will came out of his room rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"What's going on?" He looked confused and afraid as he saw his mother on a stretcher by the door going outside and into an ambulance.

Mulder wanted so badly to go with her, but Scully insisted she would be okay. She didn't want to traumatize Will. Reluctantly, he agreed to meet them at Washington Memorial hospital.

Mulder touched his son's shoulders. "It's okay, Bud," he started trying to keep the fear from his voice. "But I need you to do something for me. Can you go get changed and pack a few clothes and essentials for a couple days?"

He nodded slowly before going back to his room.

Mulder pulled his Blackberry out and dialed Skinner's number.

"Skinner."

"Sir, I need your help."

"Mulder? What's going on? Is everything okay?"

He grabbed his temple. "No, something is wrong with Scully and the baby. I need you to meet me at Washington Memorial hospital."

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

To Mulder's surprise, Will was waiting for him on the couch, dressed and ready. He could see the fear and concern in his eyes when he asked, "Something is wrong with my mom and my sister isn't there?"

Mulder nodded slowly. He could tell the boy w as intuitive and highly intelligent, but he was still a seven year old boy and he felt the need to protect him from the harsh realities of their life, "I think so, but she's going to a good hospital where they'll be taken care of," he said more to himself than anything.

He nodded slowly and followed Mulder outside to the car.

Will had practically begged him to take the front seat. Mulder hesitated and wasn't quite sure if he was old enough to ride shotgun yet, but he conceded, eager to get where they were going as soon as possible.

The drive was exasperated by the rush hour traffic and he swore it felt like one of the longest hours of his life. If it wasn't for his son in the car, he would be cursing up a storm and speeding through all the lights. He knew it would take them much longer to get to the hospital than the ambulance and he was reconsidering whether he should have just gone with them.

Why the hell had he insisted on living in the boonies? Being on the run and wanted by the FBI, a little voice had said inside his head.

On his way, he called a very worried Margaret Scully who said she would be on her way as soon as she was able.

They eventually pulled up to George Washington Memorial hospital and it took everything he had not to burst through the doors and demand if Scully was there. Part of that was thanks to Will; he didn't want to fighter his son.

He approached the first nurse's station and asked in a hurried breath where Dana Scully had been admitted. The younger woman frowned as he looked them over, Will managing a smile at her.

"Yes and you are?" She looked Mulder up and down as if it wasn't obvious.

"My name is Mulder, I'm Dana Scully's husband and this is her son."

She nodded slowly, finally convinced.

"She's In the ICU undergoing a few tests, but let me page the doctor."

"ICU?" He sputtered to the nurse who was no longer paying attention. That really did nothing to alleviate his worries. He looked down at Will who had taken hold of his hand. If it wasn't for his son, he swore he would have lost his shit already, having been forced to wait like this.

A moment later, a female doctor, about Scully's age had appeared. She introduced herself as Dr. Yao. "You must be Fox Mulder. I'm Dr. Yao. I'm one of the doctor's monitoring Dr. Scully."

"How is she?" Mulder almost demanded, overlooking her extended hand.

Dr. Yao looked down momentarily and smiled at the young boy next to him.

"Dr. Scully is having some complications," she started.

"Yeah, I figured that, but what's wrong with her and the baby?" He said tersely, afraid of the answer.

She looked down for a moment. "The placenta has separated from the uterine wall. She could have lost the baby had she not gotten here when she did, but she may need to deliver early to avoid further complications."

Mulder nodded. "I want to see her right now."

The doctor looked at him sympathetically.

"We're trying to get the bleeding under control and are finishing up some tests, which shouldn't be too long now. I'll come and get you shortly when we move her to a regular hospital bed."

Mulder nodded and turned at the sound of footsteps as Skinner tried to muster a small smile toward William.

"What's happened?" he asked.

Mulder had given him a quick briefing as he paced around the hallway, desperate to see her. It pained him to think she was suffering alone like this.

When the doctor returned an hour later, it felt like it had been an eternity. "Mr. Mulder, you can come with me, please."

Mulder turned towards Skinner and his son.

"Skinner, I need you to do me a favor. Could you stay with Will until Margaret Scully gets here?"

Skinner nodded and Will managed a smile up at him. Mulder knelt next to him. "I'll be back soon, okay buddy. Be good for Skin-man, okay?"

Skinner frowned.

"I want to go with you," he insisted.

Mulder shook his head. "I know you do and you will see her soon, but not yet."

"Okay as long as you promise I can see her soon," Will frowned, unconvinced.

He tried to manage a reassuring smile as much as he could. "I will, I promise."

As the doctor led him to Scully's hospital room, he recalled a conversation he had had with Scully after one of her Doctor's appointments. She told him that at about 24 weeks gestation is when a pregnancy is considered viable. She explained to him that it meant that the baby had a very good chance of survival, should she born prematurely. He still didn't want that to happen of course. Scully was about 32 weeks along now, so he was hoping the chances were infinitely good that the baby would be born healthy if something went wrong.

Though he wasn't the one pregnant, he had grown excited by the idea of having another child with Scully since he missed so much the first round. They would be shattered if something went wrong.

Once Mulder reached Scully's hospital room, he could see her still form visible from the window. The doctor looked over at him and mustered a small smile. "She's a bit out of it due to the mild sedative we've given her, but you can go see her."

He nodded his thanks before entering the room. He thought back to a similar situation before, when she was pregnant with William. She had told him about the complications of her previous pregnancy, but so far everything had been fine this time around until now.

He sat down in the chair beside the bed and looked over at Scully. Her long hair had been tied back and her face was pale, even more so than usual without makeup. One hand was gently tucked around her belly. Slowly and quietly, he reached for her hand and held it between his own.

She was hooked up to several monitors and it seemed like there were cords were everywhere. He could see that there was a monitor tracking the baby's heartbeat and another tracking her own. The strong constant sounds were reassuring.

"Scully," he whispered lovingly. "I'm here." He wasn't quite sure of all that was happening and he didn't really want to traumatize Will until he knew Scully was going to be okay.

A moment later, he watched her eyelids flutter and her gaze eventually settled on him. It seemed to take her a moment to register his presence.

"Mulder?" She whispered, in a complete daze.

She looked so fragile at that moment. Slowly, he stood up and leaned over to kiss her gently on the lips. "Hey," he whispered.

She seemed confused for a moment as she seemed to remember where she was. Then it hit her. "Hi, I didn't want to scare you or William, but I really thought I was losing the baby."

Mulder winced at the memory of the blood. He made a mental note to replace the bedding right away. "I know," was all he could muster.

"Where's William?" She prompted suddenly.

"He's waiting with Skinner; I'll bring him in here. I just wanted to see you first. I wasn't sure what Ito expect. But you're 32 weeks along, right? That's a good sign, isn't it?"

Scully tried to muster a smile, but as she did, she let out an audible gasp and clutched her stomach. Her face was pained as she tried to breathe through the tremors in her abdomen.

Mulder was instantly on his feet. "Scully?!"

In that moment, he heard the monitors make erratic noise and felt his heart race in his chest. He bolted outside. "Help, I need a doctor, NOW," he roared. Scully moaned in pain as he tried to hold onto her and tell her that she was going to be okay.

It seemed like another eternity before a few nurses and doctors joined them. Mulder stood back helplessly.

He heard one of the doctor's say something about a total abruption and that the baby was losing oxygen. He wasn't a doctor, but he knew the baby was in trouble, especially by the sob Scully let out. "My baby, you have to save my baby," Scully cried out tearfully.

Mulder shoved his way through and grabbed Scully's hand. "It's going to be okay," he whispered as soothingly as he could. She tried her best to nod at him and he used his free hand to brush a long strand of hair from her face.

"She's going to need a cesarean section immediately," one of the doctors announced.

Mulder felt a lump in his throat as he felt himself being pulled back. His heart was breaking at the sound of Scully's fearful sobs. "I love you, Mulder," she whispered. "And William too. Please," her voice broke.

"No, Scully! You're going to be okay."

"Don't leave me, Mulder. You have to...don't let them take the baby," he knew the medication was probably making her somewhat delirious. Her concerns were perfectly valid though after everything they had been through.

He felt someone try and pull him away and he nearly threw them off.

"No!" He growled

Figuring they didn't have the time to spend arguing, the doctors and nurses decided to get to work. They needed to move Scully to the operating room.

One of them ordered Mulder to scrub up if he was going to be in the room during the operation. Mulder's mind and heart were racing a mile a minute. For the first time in a long time, he realized he was truly terrified. It was entirely possible that he might lose his wife and child today.

To be continued...