From: ephemeral@ephemeralfic.org Date: Wed, 24 May 2000 03:55:54 -0500 Subject: Dancing Through The Night by Charlotte Unsworth Source: direct Reply To: CMUnsworth@aol.com Title: Dancing Through The Night Author: Charlotte Unsworth CMUnsworth@aol.com Rating: PG-13 Spoilers: None Summary: Theirs was an intimate relationship, a leisurely dance between them learnt one step at a time to music only they could hear. Feedback: Always, any welcome. Disclaimer: Not mine. I could never generate so much excitement over the finale! CMUnsworth@aol.com ===== Dancing Through The Night ===== I shared my son's apprehension at Fox Mulder's entrance to our life. I too was concerned that he took my daughter and replaced her with an imitation, unrecognisable. I saw through my misconception, accepted him for the love he shared with her. He treated her with a gentle respect I had always wanted for her. He had a grace that made me warm to him. Theirs was an intimate relationship, a leisurely dance between them learnt one step at a time to music only they could hear. But the music stopped. For a long time her tears created a new rhythm for her to move to, this time a dance for one. I often moved beside her, my rhythm a counterpoint to her own as we mourned together. Now once more there is only one rhythm. This time it is mine. My daughter lives in a solitary world ruled by the tempo of pain. Her brother carries her home, lies her in her bed. She is almost unaware, exhausted from being forced to dance alone. He is no longer here to support her, stolen in a skipped beat, killed by a lone gunman. It was a sick irony he would have understood. Dana falls back against her pillows worn out from the endless shuffle of chemotherapy, tests and medication. She must sleep. I wonder, where does she go, of what does she dream? -------- Together, Scully. Together we have a melody, a song all our own. That only we can hear. Was it always like this, just the two of us? I rather think it was. You come to me tired, physically yes, but also of what you feel you must endure. Lose yourself in the music, Scully, in the way you feel now. There is nothing else. Do you hear me, thinking these words as we resume our dance? I see in your eyes that you do. We dance together, as it should be. Spinning, whirling around it is as though nothing has changed. Slipping into our routine is easy. I hold you close, you spin away but I keep your hand to pull you back an instant later. ----- She turns, her condition weakens. She cannot fight. Perhaps without him she cannot hear the music beckoning her on. Or maybe it calls to her from another place. ----- I stumble, you catch me and it forms part of our dance. We move in synchronicity, we always have. Even our arguments; our doubts and fears, they were all part of the dance. At times each must take a different partner, but they all return for the finish. Is that what this is? I miss the melody you provided, a rich warm sound echoing through my life, the notes flowing over me, around me, in me. Without it, I cannot dance. I see myself lying still, my mother by my side. Her fear beats an anxious cadence, audible in the silence of the room while my emotions are discordant within myself. Behind me, you stand and as I turn I realise the truth. You are here, waiting for me as you have been for so long. "What is happening?" I whisper softly, is the spell broken? No. You answer me. "This is the finale, Scully". You reach out your hand, taking mine. The room is no longer silent but rings with the music we have created. You pull me, spinning me towards you and holding me near. To a rhythm eternal, and a melody all our own, we dance. End Thanks for reading! Feedback is welcome CMUnsworth@aol.com