From: ephemeral@ephemeralfic.org
Date: 20 Jul 2001 21:51:10 -0000
Subject: Everlasting by Starbuck_Jayne
Source: direct

Reply To: Starbuck_Jayne@mulderandscully.co.uk


Everlasting
By Starbuck_Jayne
Starbuck_Jayne@mulderandscully.co.uk
www.geocities.com/Starbuck_Jayne

Rating: PG (total stab in the dark, but 
nothing offensive that I can think of)

Spoilers: Minor references to Arcadia and I 
guess it's kinda post-Existence. 

Keywords:  MSR, post season 8

Disclaimer:  I don't own any of these 
characters they belong to Fox, 1013 
productions and Chris Carter (I wanted to 
get a "yaddi yaddi yadda" in there but never 
mind!)  
 
Archive:  Anywhere at all just keep my name 
and e-mail attached (a little note would be 
nice but not totally necessary!) but no 
flames please I am WAY too delicate!  

Summary:  Some more Mulder family 
reminiscing... 

Feedback:  Oh don't make me beg!  No 
seriously, feedback is very much 
appreciated.

Author's Notes: Ok well this is a bit of 
fluff I suppose but I am not overly clear on 
the meaning of that word...I like it tho!  ;-)  
This is just something I started writing 
then tried to twist into something slightly 
more interesting which makes no sense but 
lemme know what you think anyway!  "It 
starts in the present day" is the only clue 
you get to the timeline thing. ;-)  This one 
is for Liz, my friend Slovak (Agent M) and 
Jill, who taught me a very valuable lesson.

Everlasting
Starbuck_Jayne

She didn't know what it was exactly that 
stirred her from sleep, but a quick glance 
at the clock on the nightstand told her it 
was too early to be getting-up-time.  She 
turned on her side, only to discover that 
she was alone in the bed, but the space 
usually occupied by her partner was still 
warm, suggesting he hadn't been gone long.  
With an inward groan Scully flicked on her 
bedside lamp and was momentarily blinded by 
the sudden glare.  As her eyes adjusted to 
the light she heaved herself out of bed; it 
seemed like she spent her whole life chasing 
after that man!  Samantha's ragdoll fell 
from its position on the dresser, startling 
her as she stumbled over it.  She knew that 
Mulder had intended for the doll to be a 
gift for their baby, but somehow she didn't 
like to part with it, using the excuse that 
"dolls were for girls".  Mulder had just 
grinned and positioned the doll on the 
dresser instead.  Sometimes it was as if he 
could read her mind or something-he 
understood her so well!  Then again, you're 
likely to be close to someone that you've 
known for over eight years.
Scully spotted the light on in the living 
room and made her way down the corridor 
towards it.  The dying fire was still 
glowing in the grate, giving the room a 
sleepy, peaceful feel.  Scully found her son 
and Mulder curled up in her armchair 
underneath the afghan.  Her partner was 
apparently asleep, and yet still managed to 
support the baby's head, with his chin 
resting against William's temple.  Scully 
smiled as she approached the pair, taking 
William into her own arms and placing him 
into a bassinet, that had somehow found its 
way into the living room.  She lowered 
herself in front of Mulder so that her face 
was level with his.  With gentle fingers she 
smoothed back a few stray hairs from his 
forehead, leaving her hand resting against 
his face for a few more seconds.

"Mulder..." she whispered, smiling as he began 
to open his eyes.  "Hey!  We've got a lot of 
work to do!"

Her partner looked confused.

"What work?" he rubbed at tired eyes with 
the back of his hand.

"Never mind," she said, realising that her 
attempt at irony had been lost on him.

"Did I wake you?"  He asked, sounding 
concerned-he knew that William still tired 
her out.  He also knew that, despite what 
she may think, she couldn't manage with a 
new baby all by herself.  That was one of 
the reasons he'd moved in...that and the fact 
he'd confessed his undying love for her.  
Well, in his own way.  He treated Scully 
differently to her predecessors, despite the 
fact that all the women shared the same 
character trait-total independence.  He was 
subtler, more careful.  It was as if he was 
terrified that if he'd come on too strong 
she would have got scared and run away.  
He'd been in love with her for a very long 
time, and hoped that she felt the same way; 
but he couldn't run the risk of finding out.  
If she'd quit the FBI and he'd never seen 
her again it would have been too painful, 
but that was something he couldn't admit to 
himself for a very long time.  Very few 
people were allowed to see past his 
professionality, the "Spooky Mulder" facade.  
He wasn't sappy by any stretch of the 
imagination, and had no intention of being 
viewed in that way.  Besides which, if 
Scully had left he would have lost so much-a 
wonderful partner, and the best friend he 
had ever had, someone closer to him than his 
own mother had been.

"Hey!  Mulder!" 

He realised he must have phased her out 
while she was talking.

"What?"  He was jerked back to reality.

"You coming to bed or are you going to stay 
here all night?"

Mulder stretched and got out of the 
armchair, watching as Scully lifted William 
out of the bassinet, in preparation for 
taking him back to the crib in their room.  
They should really start thinking about 
getting a bigger place-William was only 
three months but it wouldn't be too long 
before he needed his own room.  Mulder crept 
up behind his partner as she lowered the 
baby into the crib, slipping his arms around 
her waist and placing a gentle kiss on her 
neck.  She placed her own hands over his and 
relaxed back into the embrace.

"I can't believe he's ours, Mulder," she 
smiled, shaking her head in disbelief.  
Mulder smiled too, but he had no response to 
offer so kept quiet.

"Come on," Scully said eventually, gently 
slapping the backs of his hands in a playful 
attempt to make him let go of her.  "I'm 
exhausted!"

"Scully...?"  Mulder turned her round to face 
him.

"Yeah?"

He regarded her for a few moments before 
drawing her into a long kiss.

"You know, Mulder, much as I love this 
method of conversation, sometimes words are 
good too."

He laughed and followed her into bed.

XXXXXXX

She didn't know what it was exactly that 
stirred her from sleep, but a quick glance 
at the clock on the nightstand told her it 
was too early to be getting-up-time.  It 
didn't take her long to realise that the 
phone was ringing, and that was what had 
woken her.

"Hello?" She mumbled into the mouthpiece.  
"Oh, yeah, sure.  I'll just get him for 
you."  She turned to the sleeping figure 
beside her and shook him gently.  "Sweetie, 
it's for you," she handed him the phone.

"Hello?  Mom?  What the...it's 6:30am!  Of 
course I remember...yes...I will...bye bye," he 
replaced the handset and turned to his 
fiancee.  "She says I shouldn't be sleeping 
with the Bride on the night before my wedding," 
he grinned, leaning in for a kiss.

XXXXXXX

"Scully, I am sure Will would have 
remembered to get up on his own wedding 
day," Mulder was on his knees in front of 
the closet, hunting for his smart shoes.

"Oh come on, Mulder!  You know what he's 
like!"  His wife called from the bathroom; 
"he was late for his graduation and look at 
the mess that got him in!"

Mulder remembered with a grin the scene that 
day-Scully with her head buried in his 
shoulder in embarrassment as their son tore 
onto the stage, his robe inside out and 
hanging off one shoulder.  He then went on 
to knock over the little table where the 
scrolls were, sending them all flying into 
the audience before finally falling over an 
electric cable and tripping out all the 
microphones.

"Hey, Mulder, do you remember *our* wedding 
day?"  Scully's voice penetrated Mulder's 
thoughts.

"Ohhhh yeah," he grinned.

"I said *wedding*," Scully emerged from 
around the bathroom door and began gesturing 
with a toothbrush, "*not* honeymoon."   
Mulder pulled her into his lap from where he 
was sitting on the floor.

"Look, I found your dress," he smiled, 
dragging it out with the arm that wasn't 
wrapped around his wife.  Scully lifted the 
lid and began fingering the delicate lace of 
her veil.

"Terri's wearing red," she sighed, referring 
to their son's fiancee, "not exactly 
traditional."  Her hands brushed over the 
layers of tissue protecting the white satin 
that lay beneath.  Her dress had been quite 
simple-a lace covered bodice with a full 
skirt, and complimented by a beautiful pearl 
necklace (another Mulder family heirloom).

"Do you remember Frohike's face when he 
caught the bouquet?"  Mulder laughed.

"Yeah," Scully grinned, "and then when Reyes 
told him it was traditional for the best man 
to sleep with the Maid of Honour?"

"Can you believe that was nearly twenty 
years ago?"  Mulder said, idly fingering the 
small gold bands on his wife's finger.  
Scully shook her head before kissing her 
husband and standing up.

"I have to get ready," she said, "and by the 
way?  Your shoes are under the bed."

Mulder huffed out his breath and crawled 
over to the bed.  He may have been nearing 
sixty, but years of intensive FBI induced 
exercise had left them both as fit as when 
they were forty.

"Hey Scully!  Guess what I found?"

"Surprise me."

"My poster!  I thought I lost that years 
ago!"

"It wasn't so much *lost* as it was 
*hidden*," Scully told him, crouching down 
beside him and dragging out the box of 
things from their office.  "Oh look, here's 
that photo of Will and Katie," she smiled, 
tracing the outline of the picture with one 
finger.

"Yeah, where is she anyway?"  Mulder turned 
round and went off in search of their 
teenage daughter.  His wife pushed the box 
back under the bed, after retrieving 
Mulder's shoes.  She sighed, thinking how 
many memories there were within this house.  
She and Mulder had moved there when Will was 
about eighteen months old, and they'd been 
married six months later.  Mulder hadn't 
proposed in the traditional, "down on one 
knee", begging kind of way, maybe because he 
knew she'd say yes.

They were curled up on the sofa together in 
her apartment, watching some cheesy black 
and white horror movie and eating popcorn.  
It had been a cold winter and it was snowing 
bitterly outside.  So, the fire was in and 
the pair were huddled up under the afghan.

"Scully..." Mulder began, clearing his throat 
nervously before proceeding-he still wanted 
this to be perfect.  "Scully, I've been 
thinking...about us.  You know, that you're my 
best friend and I never *needed* anyone 
until I met you.  You changed my life, you 
changed the way I look at things...and I guess 
what I am trying to say is...Scully, I love 
you.  I want to spend the rest of my life 
with you-there's no way I could risk losing 
you...so, I suppose, the best way for me to do 
this is to say: 'will you marry me?'"  From 
his pocket he had produced a ring- a modest 
gold band with a single diamond, that caught 
the firelight and sent shimmering patterns 
around the room.  Scully was silent as she 
took the ring, slipping it on her finger and 
holding it to the light.  Then, in a split 
second, her eyes met Mulder's and she pulled 
him into a passionate kiss.


"Hey!  Scully!  C'mon!  It's time to go," 
Mulder rounded the bedroom door, then 
stopped short as he saw his wife, still 
crouched in her position on the floor.  
"Y'ok, honeybunch?"  He used the phrase not 
as a genuine pet name, but as a joke-a reminder 
of their case undercover.  She smiled and 
rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, come on, Rob.  Let's go."

He laughed and put his arm around her, 
guiding her towards the door.

"Scully, just remember this-we're still 
young...ish...it's not time to start looking 
back instead of forwards yet.  Ok?"

She smiled and squeezed his hand.

"Love you."

XXXXXXX

The End

XXXXXXX

Ok so please please lemme know what you 
thought!
Feedback is more than appreciated at 

Starbuck_Jayne@mulderandscully.co.uk  

www.geocities.com/Starbuck_Jayne