While I might claim not to be fond of babyfic, I *am* really fond of this story. I read it for the first time before I saw season eight, so I was quite willing to believe that it was the authorized, "real" version of what happened. I still am, come to that.
It's well-observed and not sentimental. This Scully is neither a perfect mother nor a bad mother, but quite simply Scully with a baby and a fierce maternal love. It is fascinating to watch Mulder getting to know her all over again, and the baby as well. It's a small scale voyage of discovery, but a voyage nonetheless, with the cross-country trip providing the perfect parallel.
Mulder waits until the door of the bathroom sucks shut before nudging the baby-carrier on her seat with his toe. The motion jerks the baby out of his daze, and he blinks solemnly.
"So what's your story?" Mulder asks. "Or can't you remember either?"
The recapitulation of Scully's season eight cases is also very nicely done. It solves the problem of season eight--the lack of Mulder making for boring viewing--by in a way inserting his perspective ex post facto into the cases. I loved this bit:
He is very interested in bats in general, he says, and man-bats in particular. This file seems to intrigue him more than the slug case, and he reads it from front to back several times before questioning her as they shoot down the highway passing 18-wheelers and school buses.
And:
"Oh God, Mulder," she says, wiping her eyes, "I can't tell youhow long I've been waiting to hear you make that joke."
Beyond case files, the story recapitulates a lot of the time they spent apart, their back story, how the trip allows them to reflect on what has happened between them.
This piece of observation is just sweet:
The boy toys with his ear and makes desperate sooming noises, like she's the only oasis in the desert of his life. This is startlingly true, he realizes. He feels the same way.
It's interesting that the author has Scully breastfeeding. Is this true in the series? Because I only remember a bottle, and as much as I want to believe, somehow I see her as someone who would choose the bottle.
Very nice story, although I find myself wondering where they stashed the baby in the final scene.
no subject
It's well-observed and not sentimental. This Scully is neither a perfect mother nor a bad mother, but quite simply Scully with a baby and a fierce maternal love. It is fascinating to watch Mulder getting to know her all over again, and the baby as well. It's a small scale voyage of discovery, but a voyage nonetheless, with the cross-country trip providing the perfect parallel.
Mulder waits until the door of the bathroom sucks shut before nudging the baby-carrier on her seat with his toe. The motion jerks the baby out of his daze, and he blinks solemnly.
"So what's your story?" Mulder asks. "Or can't you remember either?"
The recapitulation of Scully's season eight cases is also very nicely done. It solves the problem of season eight--the lack of Mulder making for boring viewing--by in a way inserting his perspective ex post facto into the cases. I loved this bit:
He is very interested in bats in general, he says, and man-bats in particular. This file seems to intrigue him more than the slug case, and he reads it from front to back several times before questioning her as they shoot down the highway passing 18-wheelers and school buses.
And:
"Oh God, Mulder," she says, wiping her eyes, "I can't tell youhow long I've been waiting to hear you make that joke."
Beyond case files, the story recapitulates a lot of the time they spent apart, their back story, how the trip allows them to reflect on what has happened between them.
This piece of observation is just sweet:
The boy toys with his ear and makes desperate sooming noises, like she's the only oasis in the desert of his life. This is startlingly true, he realizes. He feels the same way.
It's interesting that the author has Scully breastfeeding. Is this true in the series? Because I only remember a bottle, and as much as I want to believe, somehow I see her as someone who would choose the bottle.
Very nice story, although I find myself wondering where they stashed the baby in the final scene.