From: arcadianfalls@yahoo.com.au   
      
   TITLE:  The Genesis Project: Nothing Bad Happened Today   
   AUTHOR:  aRcaDIaNFall$   
   FEEDBACK:  as always, is welcomed, cherished and framed at   
   arcadianfalls@yahoo.com.au.   
   RATING:  PG-13   
   SPOILERS:   
   CLASSIFICATION: SRA   
   DISTRIBUTION: Ask me first, please.   
   SUMMARY: Part of The Genesis Project series. A day.   
   DISCLAIMER:  Yeah yeah, we all know it by now.   
   AUTHORS NOTE: This fic swaps character POVs.   
   Please ignore any typos, etc. I whipped this up today and haven't done   
   a proof read with fresh eyes.   
   **FOR MORE NOTES PLEASE SEE END.   
      
      
   The Genesis Project:   
   Nothing Bad Happened Today (1/1)   
   by arcadianfalls   
      
      
      
      
   THE MORNING   
      
      
   It snowed overnight. Erin must have wandered out early because I found   
   her asleep by the window when I went to put the coffeemaker on. She had   
   dragged a chair over and was twisted up in her rug, chin lolling on the   
   sill, Monkey dangling from her outstretched hand. She was slightly   
   blocked up because of a cold and her snoring was noisier than ever.   
      
      
   Scully was still asleep when I got out of the shower. She was   
   spreadeagled under the covers, face down. I stood in the doorway,   
   towelling my hair dry.   
      
   "Mornin' sunshine."   
      
   She let out a murmur, shifting under the covers and then lifting her   
   head. "Yeah, I'm up."   
      
      
   Hannah was awake in her crib, sitting up, studiously turning the pages   
   of one of her story books. She had a firm grip on the book, and her   
   dark eyes flitted across the pages, taking it all in.   
   She looked up as I entered, and smiled at me, showing her new two top   
   teeth. That made four.   
   She let the book drop and crawled to the side of the cot, pulling   
   herself up to a standing wobble. I lifted her up and she reached out   
   for my nose, tweaking it with her tiny fingers and a grin. She had   
   always been such a quiet, watchful baby, but now she was becoming   
   cheekier. She had darker colouring than Erin, who took after Scully,   
   and as much as I cherished them both, I felt a powerful biological   
   connection to Hannah.   
      
   I smiled broadly at her. "Yeah, you're so funny. How about some   
   breakfast?"   
      
      
   Astrid had slept on the covers, arms dangling over the edge of the top   
   bunk. Wading through the sea of Erin's toys and bedclothes and Astrid's   
   various craft projects, I tugged the curtains open, letting the early   
   light in, then went over to shake her awake.   
   "Time to get up, Astrid."   
      
   She groaned and turned her face away, pulling one of her stuffed   
   animals to cover her head.   
      
   "It's seven."   
      
   A mumbled response that I guessed to be "Ten more minutes."   
      
   "You were late yesterday, Mom had to give you a lift to school."   
      
   She raised her head, scrubbing at her eyes, and then smiled sheepishly   
   at me through her knotted hair. "But I like when Mom drives us to   
   school."   
      
      
   Josh had woken and was out with Hannah, feeding her breakfast. She had   
   a fistful of soggy toast and her spillproof milk cup in the other hand.   
      
   "Morning buddy."   
      
   "Hi Daddy."   
      
   He was still in his pyjamas. He'd always been such a slight child, and   
   still was, but now at least he seemed a healthier weight than he had   
   been for a long time.   
      
   "You want to do some baseball practice tonight? We can work on your   
   pitching."   
      
   A nod. He padded barefoot into the kitchen and started to pull out   
   cereal for Astrid, Erin and himself.   
      
   "Daddy?"   
      
   "Yeah?" I poured coffee into two mugs. They were handpainted by Astrid   
   at school, covered with large spotches, dribbles and streaks of bright   
   colour. She was still a big Jackson Pollock fan.   
      
   "Do you think euthanasia is unfair?"   
      
   "Unfair in what way?"   
      
   "When you ask somebody to kill you or to help you to kill yourself,   
   it's a huge burden you're placing on them."   
      
   "It is."   
      
   "Do you think that's fair to that person?"   
      
   "Is it fair being the executioner in a death-row prison? The guy who   
   gives the lethal injection or throws the switch? I don't know. I guess   
   the answer in those cases is that somebody has to do it."   
      
   "Do they?"   
      
   I drew a breath, thinking of the suffering I had seen.   
      
   "I don't know, Joshie," I said finally. "If somebody is in excruciating   
   pain and they're dying..."   
      
   "What's the harm in just upping the morphine until they drift away," he   
   finished for me quietly.   
      
   I was quiet for a minute, watching him as he chewed on his lip. It was   
   difficult to tell with Josh sometimes, if he was just pondering issues   
   or if for some reason the ethical dilemma was bothering him personally.   
   Watching him, I was fairly sure it was the former, so I wasn't so much   
   concerned, just impressed as always by the depth of his thoughts.   
      
   "Da!" Hannah had thrown her cup to the ground. I picked it up, the   
   sides sticky with milk, and offered it to her. She took a sip, then   
   held it back out to me. Turning back to Joshie, I found that he'd   
   slipped out of the kitchen.   
      
      
   A waft of perfume, and the clipping of Scully's heels on the kitchen   
   tiles. We had a meeting in the morning, and a day in the office   
   planned, so she was wearing a skirt, quite a rarity. I held out her   
   coffee, taking the opportunity to appreciate the shine of her freshly   
   blowdried hair, the gloss of her lips, the crisp white shirt and black   
   pinstripe skirt and jacket. She'd been taking advantage of our quieter   
   schedule to visit the gym once or twice a week - not that I'd ever   
   thought her body was anything to complain about - and she was more   
   toned and energetic. And sexy. My God, it felt like not a single day   
   had passed since those early years, somehow.   
      
   "Thanks Mulder," as she took the mug. She went to take a sip, then   
   hesitated, cocking an eyebrow and smiling slightly. "What?"   
      
   I grinned at her. "Nothing."   
      
      
      
   Astrid ran in clad in her bathrobe, grabbed the bowl of dry cereal that   
   Josh had poured for her, then ran out again.   
      
   "Astrid!" Scully called out after her. "No food the bathroom!"   
      
   "I have to straighten my hair!" was the answer that bounced back along   
   the corridor.   
      
   No food in the bathroom was the newest rule. A bagel left in there   
   yesterday had disintegrated when I accidently tossed it in the bath   
   with Erin and Hannah along with all the plastic water toys.   
      
      
   A tug at Scully's sleeve. Erin had woken with all the noise and stood   
   sleepily at Scully's side, still trailing the blanket and stuffed toy.   
   "Mommeeee, Monkey's hungry."   
      
   "What do we say, Erin? It's 'Can I have my breakfast, please'."   
      
   She was very articulate but still stuck to the baby phrases unless   
   prompted otherwise, in which case she ran together the words making it   
   almost impossible to tell what she was asking.   
      
   "Can-I-have-my-breakfast, please?"   
      
   "Cereal?"   
      
   "Yes."   
      
   "Milk on your cereal?"   
      
   "No."   
      
   "Orange or apple juice?"   
      
   "Both."   
      
   Scully passed me the breakfast bowl and plastic cup and I put them on   
   Erin's small table for her. "Sit down, Monkey."   
      
   She obeyed, dragging the blanket with her, carefully sitting Monkey in   
   the second chair. I leaned over to push her chair in and somehow she   
   managed to sneeze on me. "Oh... Erin!"   
      
   She giggled, pointing to my shirt. "Boogers."   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)