From: Nicolette <cheri@tiac.net>
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1999 19:32:09 -0400
Subject: Two stories by Nicolette
Source: direct

TITLE: Contact
AUTHOR: Nicolette
E-MAIL: cheri@tiac.net
CATEGORY: VR
KEYWORDS: Mulder / Scully Romance
RATING: G
SUMMARY:  Mulder unlocks secrets behind "the mysteries
of the heart." 
SPOILERS: The Unnatural
FEEDBACK: Fills me with joy immeasurable. Send responses
to cheri@tiac.net
ARCHIVE: Gossamer, and elsewhere only by permission, 
with my e-mail, name, and credits listed.
DISCLAIMER: These characters belong to Chris Carter, DD, 
GA, and all the folks at 1013. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Thank you Justin Glasser for your 
writing par excellence. You inspired this bit. And 
a special thanks to Jori- you inspire me to keep on 
trying.

XXXXX

Contact

The search for contact is the driving force behind his 
life's work. His investigations lead him through a 
complex web of lies and mysteries, burning away secrets 
to reveal a distilled truth in each effort. Has there 
been contact between mankind and a race of 
extraterrestrial biological entities? Are we alone in 
the universe, or do we share the heavens with some 
other? 

Mulder's journey is a quest of epic proportion, leading 
him toward the heart of the universe's greatest mystery.
His search demands his every attention, hones and shapes
him into a tool of discovery, hollows out all other 
endeavors and yearnings. Long ago his heart had caved 
into his chest, shaping a funnel which spiraled to the 
pit of his soul, and loneliness yawned wide within that 
abyss.  

In this bitter solitude, he looks up to the heavens from
the ball field, scans the glittering expanse stretched 
above. He believes his answers are concealed within it's
darkness. 

While his search for the heart of human kind's greatest 
mystery had brought him to the brink of death, to 
revelations of biblical proportions, his visit today 
with Arthur Dales remided him that he remained woefully 
unfamiliar with the uncharted territory of his own heart.


So here tonight he begins another quest, toward another 
contact. His body in contact with hers. His thumb to the
flat side of her fist. Her hair blowing upon his cheek, 
a tiny insect-like tickling upon his jaw. Her body heat 
irradiating his chest and thighs. In these simple 
gestures, he catch glimpses into the empty darkness of 
his lonely soul.

The bat whacks into the ball with a crisp resounding 
CRACK. It sounds of finality and certainty, sureness 
and purpose. Such certainty is so rare in his quest for 
alien contact. It feels good to find conviction in these 
human contacts: she feels like home, and this silly game
of baseball can bring joy and relief to a weary warrior 
for the truth. 

Mulder is astonished that his loneliness is so easily 
alleviated, the funnel collapsed, upturned, leaving his 
heart thudding hard and strong in his chest. Remarkable,
he thinks, that the ultimate human truths are not only 
there in the heavens, but also patiently awaiting 
release from where he himself has locked them, securely 
in the mysteries of his heart. How wondrous to find his 
answers here, in the little peals of laughter falling 
from Scully's lips, ringing like a crowd's cheers, on 
this summer night at the ballpark.