Title: Other Plans Author: shawntaw Spoilers: none Timeline: This takes place sometime during the first season. Rating: PG Summary: "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans" - John Lennon. ***************************************************************************************************************************** Scully rushed around frantically. Ethan would arrive in less than half an hour and she wasn't ready. She could smell the food beginning to scorch from her bedroom as she sat on the edge of the bed stuffing her toes into a pair of pantyhose. "Damn!" she cursed as she hopped her way to the kitchen, tugging on the hose as she went. Scully stirred the dish, moved it to a cool burner and added a little more curry. Ethan liked spicy, Indian food. She turned and scurried across her apartment back into her bedroom, clad only in her sensible cotton bra, panties and slightly crooked pantyhose. Once again she checked the clock. Ethan was due in only 20 minutes now. "Mulder!" she cursed him under her breath as she pulled a blouse over her head. He had PROMISED her they would be back from their out-of-town case by last night. Instead - and as usual she was learning - they had left Washington state THIS MORNING due to an unexpected twist in the evidence. Scully was lucky she had been able to keep this date with Ethan at all. She suspected if she had to break one more with him, she would lose him. She had been with Ethan for years now. He was familiar and comfortable and safe and she didn't want to lose him. Did she? Scully decided to think more about how that question made her feel later. Right now, she had to hurry. So, of course, the doorbell rang. And rang. And rang. Zipping up her skirt, she ran stocking-footed to the front door. "I'm coming!" she shouted as the bell rang again. It couldn't be Ethan; he was always exactly on time or fashionably late. Never early. She looked through the peephole and saw her neighbor, Sandra, holding her baby in her arms and a screaming toddler by the hand. Her oldest child stood with his thumb in his mouth. "Dana?!" Sandra yelled through the door, "Dana, are you there?" Scully opened the door. "Sandra, what's wrong?" Her neighbor sagged with relief, "Dana, I am so glad you're here! I didn't know what else to do! Rick's been hurt at work. He fell from a scaffolding or something and they've taken him to the hospital," she was pushing her children and a fat diaper bag at Scully as she spoke and Scully had no choice but to take the baby. The toddler sobbed and clutched at her leg. The boy walked past her into her apartment. "I need to get to him, but I can't find my mother or my babysitter. I'll be back as soon as I can, ok? This is Jenny and the baby's Markie, remember? And my son is Scotty, ok? Ok," Sandra was backing down the hall as Scully tried to feebly protest, "I really, really appreciate this, Dana. I'll pay you back, I swear." And Sandra was gone. Scully blinked down the empty hallway for a moment, dragged her toddler-laden leg inside her apartment, and shut the door. "Well, this is just great," she muttered looking down at the traumatized toddler and cranky baby. She looked at the clock. Ten minutes. On cue, the baby began to wail. **************************************************************************************************************************** Mulder strolled casually down the hallway toward Scully's apartment, reading the fax again. Although the case in Washington had appeared to be an x-file initially, he had revised that assessment after the father had confessed. But this new information...this was proving to be more complicated than it looked. Perhaps an x-file after all. Maybe he could convince Scully to give up her weekend to come back to Washington with him. It unnerved him how much he depended on her judgement already. It made him pause and stand outside her door, recon- sidering. In the past, he would've taken off on this new lead without a thought to back-up. Had he forgotten he did his best work alone? He didn't need her before and he certainly didn't need her now. Mulder was turning to leave when a shriek from inside and the sound of breaking glass caused him to stop. Alarmed, he turned back and pounded on her door. "Scully!" He heard more thumping and unidentifiable noises and was contemplating breaking down the door when it swung open. "WHAT?!!" Scully shouted. Mulder jumped back, surprised. "Oh. Mulder," she closed her eyes, "Of course its Mulder." She turned and walked away from the door, resignedly. "What's that mean?" He felt offended. He was sure he'd just been insulted although he wasn't sure how. A little boy sat on the couch with tears running down his face. His thumb was stuck in his mouth. A baby cried on top of a folded blanket in a laundry basket. "Where's Jenny??" Scully said, horrified. The boy took his thumb out of his mouth. "Hungwy," he said and popped his thumb back in. Scully dashed toward the kitchen and the curry-laden Indian food on the stove. Mulder took in the chaos of strewn couch cushions and upset children and decided Scully must be babysitting. So much for an impromptu weekend trip. If he'd been going to ask her. Which he wasn't. He sat down by the little boy. "So," he tried, clasping his hands together between his knees. The child and he stared at one another for a moment. "I'm Scotty," the boy finally mumbled around his thumb,"Tha's Markie." He gestured at the upset baby. Mulder tilted over and looked over the edge of the couch at the baby. "Hi, Scotty. I'm Mulder." He patted the baby awkwardly. "Markie seems pretty upset." "He want up," Scotty responded. Mulder looked indecisively at Markie. "Ok, I'm sure I can do that." He reached down and scooped up Markie under the arms. Markie immediately stopped crying, squealed, and smiled a gummy, slobbery grin at Mulder. And peed all over the legs of his suit pants. **************************************************************************************************************************** Scully was in the kitchen fishing her laptop and a broken platter out of a sink of soapy water. Her brand new laptop. The one she had charged on a credit card and was still paying off. The now deceased laptop that she threw disgustedly into the trashcan. "Jenny hep!" The small girl said proudly, suds dripping from her little hands, "heping!" Scully looked despairingly down at Jenny, closed her eyes and counted backwards from ten to calm herself. She opened them prepared to corral Jenny into the living room only to find her kitchen empty again. Panic set in. "Jenny?! Jenny!!" She heard Mulder give a slightly girly scream from the living room. Scully looked at the clock. Five minutes. **************************************************************************************************************************** Scully sprinted into the living room, hair wild about her face and some sort of wet stain on the front of her blouse. *We match* Mulder thought almost hysterically and held the dripping baby toward her. "Markie needs to be changed," He said, standing up, "and so do I," he added, deadpan. Taking a deep cleansing breath, she decided to rally the troops. "Scotty, find your sister. She's somewhere around here, ok? Mulder, give me the baby. Go in my bedroom and take off your pants. My robe is lying across the foot of the bed. When I get everyone found and you're cleaned up, you can watch the kids while I go down to your car. You keep a workout bag in the trunk, don't you?" She was shooing him quickly down the hall as she handed down orders, so all Mulder could do was nod. He heard her retreating footsteps as he turned into her bedroom. He didn't say a word. Mulder was just glad she hadn't made him change the baby. **************************************************************************************************************************** It was time for Ethan to arrive, but so far - no Ethan. Scully finished cleaning up Markie as Scotty reappeared. "I canna find Jenny, Missus Scully," he said, popping his thumb out of his mouth long enough to report. She frowned, "Well, she has to be here. She hasn't left the apartment." A firm knock sounded at the front door. Ethan was here. Scully took a deep breath, tried to smooth her hair and propped Markie on one hip. Ethan was just going to have to live with it, she decided. **************************************************************************************************************************** Ethan was stunned. Dana opened the door looking like she'd been dragged behind a car, a diapered baby in her arms. A snot-nosed, thumb-sucking pre-schooler looked up curiously at him, one small hand clinging to the edge of Dana's blouse. "Ethan," she attempted to smile, "please come in. Do I have a story for you!" Dana was obviously trying to lighten the mood, and he stepped across the threshold, looking around the shambles of a living room. A throaty shriek sounded from the back of the apartment as Ethan opened his mouth to ask her what the hell was going on. As heavy footsteps approached, he arched his eyebrow but she only closed her eyes and grimaced. And in a second, Ethan discovered why. "Mr. Scully found Jenny!" Scotty enthused as Mulder appeared holding a squirming Jenny in his arms. His knobby knees poked out from under the too-short, white terrycloth robe. It was tied haphazardly around his waist and he looked ridiculous with his white, starched shirt, paisley tie, and striped boxers peeking out from the edges of the robe. "Mulder, Scotty, Mulder," he held Jenny out to Scully, "Look who I sat on." "Owie," Jenny claimed and began to shed huge, quivering, alligator tears. "Hi," Mulder stuck out a hand, "I'm Mulder, Scully's partner at the F.B.I.? You are?" Ethan looked like steam was ready to erupt from the top of his head. It was the last time she ever saw him. **************************************************************************************************************************** Scully sighed as she looked down in the laundry basket at the sleeping Markie. Every now and then, his lips pursed and sucked at the pacifier in his mouth. He was adorable. Scully tucked the blankie around him a little more snugly. Her back made a cracking sound as she straightened and stretched. She looked over at the couch with more than a little satisfaction. Scotty lay sleeping at one end, Jenny - finally - at the other. They were covered with the large, fluffy comforter from her bed. Scully could hear Mulder clanging around in her kitchen. She decided to see what mischief he was getting into. *************************************************************************************************************************** He was bent over looking for something in one of her cabinets when she entered, so she took a moment to admire the way his lean legs and bottom looked in the pair of old, gray sweatpants he sported. "What are you looking for, Mulder?" "Ah! Found it," he straightened, waving a plastic mixing bowl, "I was gonna warm up whatever that stuff is in the microwave. I figured you probably hadn't had dinner since your date got trashed." She smiled at his backhanded kindness. He was making a lot of assumptions by staying and poking around in her space without permission. But she was learning that it was just his way. It surprised her that it didn't bother her more. He dumped the curried rice into the bowl and shoved it in the microwave. "See? Easy as pie," He looked thoughtful, "Mmm..pie.." Scully cocked an eyebrow at him and opened the freezer. She held out a box to him. "Great minds think alike, partner," she said, quirking a smile as he unwrapped the frozen cherry pie. *Ok, maybe its not so bad having a back-up* he thought *Maybe its not so bad to have a partner.* She was just busy admiring the stretch of his muscles as he put the pie in the oven. *Funny how life works* she mused *I started out getting ready for a simple date and now I've got Mulder cooking me dinner and three sleeping children in the other room* It was the night she fell in love. ***************************************************************************************************************************** TADA!!!! Hope you like it! :) Pretty please feedback at shawntaw@hotmail.com This was for the Fandomonium Baby Fic Challenge. Elements: Baby, cranky, quick, easy, curry, cherry, dead laptop and boxers.