Title: Another Life 3/5 Author: Erin M. Blair E-Mail: eblair@sonic.net Classification: SRA--Story, Romance, Angst Content: Mulder/Scully Romance. Alternate Universe. Archive Notes in Part One. Author's Notes at the end of this story. ------------------------------------------- ANOTHER LIFE (3/5) Written by: Erin M. Blair -------------------------------------------- Mulder's Apartment Wednesday, 10:00 p.m. Mulder was watching one of his porn videotapes when his cell phone rang. He shut off the video to pick up the phone. In a tired voice, he said. "Mulder." "Fox, it's me." Was this a dream? He heard Scully's voice, but she called him 'Fox.' There was only time she'd called him that but he told her not to. At first, he didn't like it. Now, he did. Was it because of her wonderfully low, sexy voice? "Scully? Where are you?" "I'm at the hospital," Dana said, as she sat up. "It's a mystery why I'm even there." "I'll be right there," Mulder said, as a huge smile appeared on his face. *She's awake!* However, his smile turned into a frown when he realized that Scully didn't sound like herself. He remembered her voice when she came to him as a vision. "Mulder, I'm still at the hospital, but my mind isn't." Northeast Georgetown Medical Center Wednesday, 11:00 p.m. Visiting hours were over several hours ago, but Mulder flashed his FBI badge to get his way into Scully's room. He walked in, and was surprised to see her sitting up. "Scully?" "Fox, how come you call me 'Scully'? You always called me 'Dana'," Dana remarked, as she noticed his startled expression. "What's wrong?" "Oh...nothing," Mulder stammered. "Nothing's wrong. Are you all right, Scully?" "I'm just wondering why I'm here in the first place. I don't remember coming here at all." "What do you remember?" Mulder asked, gently. He looked at her--it was the Scully that he'd known for the past several years, but something wasn't right. She had the same voice as Scully, but she acted as though they knew each other intimately. Dana sighed. "Fox, I told you that I was pregnant with our second child." "Second child?" Mulder echoed, confused. *How could we have another child?* Then, he remembered what Scully said about that universe she was in that the alternate Mulder and alternate Scully were married, and had a daughter. Dana spoke slowly. "Our daughter, Dana Kristine. We call her 'Dani' to avoid confusion with me. It was *your* idea to name her 'Dana' after me." She gave him a warm, intimate smile as she remembered the memory of their daughter's birth. "After she was born, you were called to do the hostage negotiations because of that psycho." "What psycho?" Mulder asked, confused. "Duane Barry. While I was in the maternity ward of the hospital, you were trying to rescue Allyson Krycek because he abducted her." "Scully, who's Allyson?" "Allyson is Alex Krycek's sister," Dana replied. "She's our co-worker in the X-Files Division, and we brought her in because I was pregnant with Dani." She paused, as she saw the confusion in his hazel eyes. "You don't remember, do you?" "I'm sorry, Scully. I don't," Mulder said, as he saw the sadness in her clear, blue eyes. He knew that she was upset that he couldn't remember, but he didn't know what to say. "I have a theory why you're feeling this way." "What is it?" Dana asked, as she saw the concern on Mulder's face. "What's your theory?" "You're stuck in an alternate universe." Dana nodded. "Something must have happened to trigger it...but why am I in a hospital bed?" "Scully was in a car accident which put her in a coma." "Why?" "She saw me kiss Diana..." "Diana Fowley? Before my husband met me, his partner was Diana Fowley. Their relationship was strictly platonic." "Diana was my ex-wife," Mulder confessed. "Scully knows that I was married before, but she didn't know who." He paused, with a sigh. "I told her it ruined me so much that I couldn't be with anyone." Dana frowned, and then she sighed. "Look, I'm sorry you disliked the idea of marriage." She paused, as she realized that this wasn't the man that she had married and fallen in love with. "Where I'm from, I'm married to him and had his child. Diana Fowley may be your wife---" "Ex-wife," Mulder interrupted. "Whatever," Dana said. She sighed. "I'd been married to Fox since 1992. We tell each other everything, and we trust each other. You're not the man that I'd fallen in love with..." She saw a hint of sadness in Mulder's hazel eyes, and she knew that something was amiss. "What's wrong?" "How do I get my Scully back?" Dana's eyes flashed with anger, and she realized this man before her had no idea how to love. Tears of sympathy welled in her eyes as she thought about how much this Mulder before her had put her through so much pain. No wonder Scully's with her husband. "Why would she come back? You'd given her plenty of reasons to leave." She paused, as she considered her next sentence. "You don't deserve her." "Oh yes, I do. I should tell you something that you don't know about us..." "I think that I know plenty," Dana insisted. "You love Fowley, not your 'Scully'." "That's a lie!" Mulder shrieked. He paused, as he calmed himself down. He felt the anger burning within him, and he looked at Scully. "You don't have any clue what it's like between Scully and me." "Why don't you just fill me in?" Mulder felt frustrated. He didn't understand why Scully would let him have it, and sighed. For some reason, he felt that he had to prove to her that he was deserving of Scully's love. "All right, for starters, she makes me feel like a whole person. She's my one in five billion that I trust. I followed her to the ends of the earth to save her from the alien virus. There, I told her that I love her. She gave me a huge smile, and I knew she loves me..." He paused, as he thought of his feelings for Diana. "Would I have done this for Fowley? I don't think so..." "I see." "Is that all you can say?" Mulder asked, as he looked into her blue eyes. "That you see..." "Mulder? Can I call you that?" "Yes." "I don't doubt your love for her, but I do have questions." "Oh, really?" "Yes, I have a few questions. If you love her so much, how come you kissed Fowley? How come you told her you don't trust her?" Dana inquired. She frowned. "You have went through so much with Scully that you decided you want to be with Fowley. It doesn't make sense, Mulder. You said you want Scully back, but I doubt you honestly love her." "I want her back, Dana." Mulder walked towards the window to see the darkened sky. "It looks like it's going to rain..." "Stop changing the subject, Mulder. Do you love Scully or not?" Mulder saw the rain came flowing down from the clouds, and he knew that the rain mirrored his own tears. He murmured quietly, and his voice was so soft that Dana couldn't hear him. All he hoped was that Scully, wherever she was, could hear him. "I do love you, Scully." Mulder Residence Thursday, 8:00 a.m. Alternate Universe "Dana?" Mulder inquired, as he was trying to wake her up by gently patted her shoulders. "Wake up." "What is it?" Scully asked, sleepily. Her blue eyes focused on him, and she noticed that he was already dressed in a navy blue power suit. "You're already dressed." "I know," Mulder said. He gave her a warm smile. "I couldn't wait to go to work..." Scully looked confused. "Fox, where do we work? You hadn't told me that." Mulder frowned. "I thought that I did. We work at the FBI in the X-Files Division." He shrugged. "I'm sorry if I hadn't told you..." "It's all right. Don't worry about it," Scully said, reassuringly. She gave him an intimate smile. "I'll get dressed." She paused, as she looked at him searching for one of Dana's power suits. "What are you doing?" "I'm helping you to get ready quicker," Mulder said, as he took off her white power suit from the hanger. "The last time that you had worn this outfit, you were only a few months pregnant with Dani. Since you're pregnant again, I thought you should wear it." Scully's smile deepened. "Do you always do that for Dana?" "Not always." "Why not?" "Dana has a mind of her own when it comes to pick out her outfits," Mulder said, as he put the outfit on the bed. He watched her walking towards him to examine her wardrobe. "I thought that you had already done that." Scully looked over the suits in the closet, and noticed that some of her outfits were similar to what she had worn in her early days of her partnership with Mulder. Mulder saw her wrinkle up her nose as she pulled out a light blue suit. "What's wrong?" "How can she stand wearing this outfit?" Scully asked, as she frowned. As she examined the light blue power suit, she thought how much her sense in clothes had changed. The outfit symbolized a particular outfit from her early days on the X-Files because it wasn't flattering to the curves of her body. Now, she wears clothes which showed off her body more. "That's what she wore on our first date," Mulder said. He paused, as he remembered touching the outline of her face for the first time before he kissed her. "She kept this for sentimental reasons, I guess. Her taste in clothes got better..." "I hope so," Scully murmured, as she watched Mulder caressing her back while she changed into her outfit. "That feels good." As she changed into her clothes, she wondered how *her* Mulder was. "I'm glad," Mulder replied. He gave her a small intimate smile, and then kissed her hair. He paused, as he thought about Dana. "I used to do that with Dana especially if we're on a long case." Scully turned around to face Mulder. "I know I'm not really your Dana. I'm sure she wants to return to you. I know she does." She paused, with reassurance in her clear blue eyes. "She loves you, Fox." "I know," Mulder whispered. "I know she does." He saw her grimace. "Are you in pain?" "I'm fine," Scully said, quietly. "My back's sore." "Must be the pregnancy," Mulder remarked. He watched her sit down on the bed, and he massaged her back. "Does this feel better?" "Much," Scully said, as she already felt better from the massaging. "You're good, you know?" "I had practice when Dana was pregnant the last time around," Mulder commented, as he continued rubbing her. "So that's why?" Scully inquired. "Yes." "I wish that my Mulder knew how to do that." "I bet that you'd never asked him," Mulder said, with a sigh. "We're not...that intimate," Scully said. She frowned, thinking of the times when he touched her lower back when he was guiding her into a room. "Are you sure?" Mulder prodded. "I'm positive," Scully insisted. "Look, can we please change the subject?" "I guess. What do you want to talk about?" "Dana. What she's like?" Mulder looked at her, and he didn't know how to explain about his wife. He shrugged. "She's a lot like you, Dana, except that she never had all that suffering." He noticed her eyes became downcast, and whispered. "I'm sorry." Scully saw that he was apologizing to her. "You don't have to be sorry because I suffered through so many traumas. I'm happy that my other self never had to go through what I did." "We had some hardships too, but mostly with me." "Like what?" Mulder frowned. "I thought my sister had returned." "I think I know about that." "Really?" Mulder looked surprised. "I haven't told that many people. Only Dana and my parents knew about this as well as Skinner." "Your other self had that happened to him too." "Did that Bounty Hunter took you hostage like he did with Dana?" Scully nodded. "Mulder saved me." "That's good. I saved Dana. I had a funny feeling that Samantha wasn't really her to begin with." He shrugged. "That's what happens when you're with a woman who makes you think. It grounds you in reality." "I know the feeling," Scully said, as she gave him a warm smile. "You know something? I have a question for you. Is Samantha still missing?" Mulder sadly nodded. "She is." He paused, as he reached out for Scully's warm hand. He grasped her hand and he felt the warmth of her touch. "I still believe that she'll be back, but I had moved on with my life. I have two women in my life now: Dana and Dani. I still search for Samantha, but my piorities are with the women who has been in life constantly." He paused, as he looked into her clear blue eyes. "I miss Dana." End of Part 3 of 5