Story 245: "A Thin Veneer" by Analise

[wendelah1]

First, your Fanfiction BINGO Update. We're getting so close! Come on, people, we can do this. We still need a story for each of the following categories: Aah-aaah!, Best Friends, MY ASS, and Straight People Do Not Exist in This AU. I can imagine exactly what the latter would look like. It would be an AU with these pairings: Mulder/Krycek, Skinner/Doggett (don't tell me you can't see it) and Scully/Reyes. Someone, somewhere must have written this fic.

Like a good little mod, I am trying to stick to the nomination queue. I'm working backwards, which means if you nominated something last year, we will get to you this year, but if you nominated something in 2008, chances are you've moved on long ago, maybe to Fringe, or to the Sherlock fandom, or possibly The Walking Dead. Sorry about that, folks.

Last year, an anonymouse nominated--something else--by Analise, a something else I didn't care for. We've never done one of her fics and I couldn't bear the idea of doing something that seemed so--uncharacteristically sentimental. So because I'm Bad Mod Wendy, I decided to be contrary and post her post-col/thriller fic, which I read a long time ago and remember liking. What can I say? I like post-col stories.

This is the pretty, illustrated version, but there is a text file on the site, too, if that's your preference.

SUMMARY: Colonization has come and gone, taking civilization with it. But not necessarily civilzation's monsters.

Read A Thin Veneer

Comments

[wendelah1]

One thing that annoyed me (and has tended to annoy me in some other fic) was some of the treatment of Scully's pregnancy, on a few fronts. The story seemed to pretty much ignore the question of how did it happen (despite the brief mention of "the fact that she shouldn't have been pregnant to begin with" and calling it a miracle). This is a pretty big thing to just kind of side-step.

I hear you, although isn't that exactly what the series did? And their options post-colonization for investigating the possibilities would be limited. I assumed it was the usual way: one egg, one sperm. Random luck. Maybe Scully decided it was a "miracle"--the word most scientists hate since it's essentially meaningless.

Maybe the pregnancy was basically used to give the killer a reason to target Scully, but that's kind of convenient. Well, yeah. That is the plot of the fic, essentially. But I was okay with that.

The story also promoted the idea that she shouldn't be doing any exercise/physical labor because she is pregnant; it does say that "it had been dicey as it was just getting to this point" with no further explanation (pregnancy complications? reference to the miraculous nature of the conception?), but for most pregnancies, there is no reason one can't do physical things in moderation.

Yes, the key term being in moderation, although studies do show that the more physical work a woman does, the more likely she is to miscarry and the more likely she is to go into premature labor too. I would assume they're just being extra careful in her case. She's their doctor, so her skills are irreplaceable. If something happens to her, there is no hospital ER to take her to so she can be checked out. Let other people chop the wood and carry the water. And she's unlikely to get a second chance at having a child, so there's that to consider.

There does come a point in pregnancy where all you want to do is lie down with your feet up. Eight months might be about right, or even sooner. I gained 35 pounds but I was 5'8" and I could carry the weight without much difficulty. My feet still swelled up like mad. Supposedly Gillian gained twice that and she was only 5'2"? She was a little unwieldy I would guess. The era of Scully and her Giant Coats (even in the tropics) begins.

And lastly, when Scully is running with Shan from Denny, we get told "this sort of thing was exactly what stimulated a miscarriage, but she couldn't stop." She's 8 months pregnant - almost to term; it can't be a miscarriage. If she's having contractions, it's either false labor or slightly premature labor. I don't know, I'm making it a bigger deal than it is, but I don't like all of the outdated ideas and falsehoods that surround pregnancy or reading things that tend to reinforce them.

Over-exertion can indeed cause premature labor. Pregnant women are encouraged to exercise but there are rules to follow to prevent complications. But yes, the term for someone going into labor at eight months is not a having a miscarriage. You are 100% correct on that. In civilization, at 32-35 weeks, a preemie would have a good chance of survival. But you wouldn't want a woman in her eighth month going into labor under these conditions. Post-col, snowstorm, no medical back-up available at all.

In addition, I would say a repeat pregnancy was to be avoided at all costs, and hope Mulder brought back condoms as well as toothpaste.

I loved the illustrations, too.

[tri-sbr.livejournal.com]

You're right, it makes sense that they are being extra careful in this case - the fact that Scully is their only doctor, the cold/snow, no hospital, the shredders, etc are all factors.

I am surely projecting based on my own experience, but I got really tired of people's misconceptions about pregnancy, especially about exercise/physical activity and pregnancy (and people are not shy about sharing their opinions). I was one of those people who continued my pre-pregnancy exercise routine, with a few modifications, all the way through the day I went into labor, and was happier for it (as was anyone around me!). Of course, I had no complicating factors or post-col extenuating circumstances.

[wendelah1]

I understand. Don't we all project? I talked a little about my discomfort with infidelity in fanfic. I have similar biases against hurt/comfort fanfic and rape fanfic and anything to do with the cancer arc. I have to work to judge stories in those categories fairly and I'm not sure I succeed.

"Of course, I had no complicating factors or post-col extenuating circumstances."

I am so happy to hear that. ♥