From agentdare@aol.com Fri May 09 11:13:45 1997 Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: NEW: Good in the Devil (1/1) by Dare Rowan (small potatoes story) From: agentdare@aol.com (Agent Dare) -------- Ok, here is my contribution to this overly-written about episode! CATEGORY: S SPOILERS: To “Memento Mori” and “Small Potatoes” RATING: a wholesome PG should be fine. No sex. No kissing. Just a few “damn”s. SUMMARY: Post “Small Potatoes”-- an alternate version of how the night would have gone if the real Mulder hadn’t barged in. Trust me, it’s not what you think. DISCLAIMER: The ownership of a soul is a power delegated only to the devil. Therefore, you should realize that I do not own them; rather, the souls of Mulder, Scully, and Eddie are property of Satan and his minions (a.k.a. Chris Carter, 1013, and Fox) ARCHIVING: Yes! NOTES: This takes what you actually saw in the episode and twists and contorts it until it is not what you saw at all. Why do I do this? Because, as He-Man said, I have the power....actually, I did this because otherwise my hopefully original idea would have made about as much sense as the plot of “The Field Where I Died.” In my story, Mulder does not barge in at that fateful moment, leaving endless possibilities between Scully and the Faux Mulder. Read on....... :) My trusty editor Rebecca never saw this, so if you see any gross errors, please e-mail me. Also, some of the dialogue said in the show may be wrong because I can't find my tape of "Small Potatoes" and I had to go off my really bad memory. FEEDBACK: DareRowan@aol.com or AgentDare@aol.com ************************************************************* Good in the Devil Part (1/1) by Dare Rowan Scully couldn’t believe she was telling him this. It seems the last time they had poured their hearts out was also the first, in that candle-lit motel room. Maybe it was the wine. “So anyhow, there we were...” Eddie nodded, enraptured by this woman’s story. He felt now as though she was a friend of his, a kindred spirit. Both were small, both were looked down upon in society. But unlike him, she had made something of herself. Life had handed her small potatoes; she had made use of them, creating mashed potatoes or scalloped potatoes, or potato pancakes or baked potatoes. The point was, she had accepted who she was, and had made the best of it. All he had done with his potatoes was watch them rot. She had strength, and courage, and an unbelievable will that threatened to consume everything. Her eyes, though not innocent, were childlike in that she absorbed knowledge, satisfying an insatiable curiosity. He had watched her, studied her, as she had talked about his father’s hair follicles, at the genetic amazement she beheld. She was so very...strong. If he had to choose one word to describe this woman, that would be it. What a fool Mulder was. To not recognize the full importance of Dana Scully. He didn’t need to be a loser; and he certainly didn’t deserve her. There was something between them. Stronger than friendship and beyond a lovers’ bond. But he could tell that they were not lovers; it was as if they had skipped that part of the journey, had passed over it like the Jews’ houses had been passed over. They were smart, as the Jews were. They didn’t want the plague; they were afraid that all they had worked for would be destroyed by the union of their bodies. So they had moved from union of mind to union of soul, ignoring the painfully obvious fact that they were detached physically. Well, he could fix that. He moved forward, slightly, shifting his weight towards her. Apprehension evident in her eyes, but mingled with something close to hope. This encouraged him, goaded him into continuing. He had almost pulled back, not wanting to hurt her. The other women he had felt nothing more than a primal urge for; except for Amanda. But even with her it had been more about trying to relive the past than to make a future. Amanda idolized Luke Skywalker; he was her hero, her protector, her Jedi in shining armor. But Scully harbored none of these feelings for Mulder; she respected him, and yes, she truly loved him. But on a more intimate level than the physical. And that was what had almost held him back. The fear that he could be destroying not just Mulder’s life, but hers as well. But that one small glimmer of hope gave him a reason to go on. He was certain that now he wouldn’t be hurting her; he would be helping her, saving them. He moved his face closer to hers, watching her body tense. Closer........closer.........closer........ He froze. Blood trickled from her nose, staining onto her lower lip. “Scully...?” he whispered. Her hand flew to her nose, feeling the wetness there. “Not again,” he heard her breathe as she rose from the couch and went to the restroom. When she returned, her expression had gone back to normal, but her skin tone was paler. “Scully, are you okay?” “I...” her voice was shaky. She opened her mouth to speak again, but no sound issued forth. Taking a deep breath, she managed, in a calm and steady tone, to say, “I’m fine, Mulder.” Eddie watched her expression, the slight twinge at the corner of her lip, her downcast gaze that refused to meet his. He had no idea what was wrong. She didn’t act like it was a simple nosebleed. He covered her small hand with his. “Am I important to you?” Her head snapped up. She looked directly at him, her eyes darting back and forth, searching him. “Of course you are, Mulder. You’re my partner.” “Is that all?” Scully chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip. “No, that’s not all. I know that I’m the one who is supposed to be dying, but damn it, Mulder, you scare me often. Every time you run off, I keep thinking that this is it, that this is the time you are going to get yourself killed, and it frightens me, because I feel that without you, I’d be all alone in this world.” Eddie knew, in some far corner of his mind, that his face held a befuddled, melancholy look. He hadn’t heard a word of what she said after “dying”; she couldn’t possibly be dying. But realization quickly set in; the nosebleed. He decided to take a stab in the dark. “How does your...illness...make you feel?” She gathered a deep breath; he released one. At least what he had asked made sense. “Helpless. Sometimes I feel angry, sometimes I pity myself. But mostly I feel helpless. How am I supposed to emotionally deal with this cancer when I can’t physically deal with it. Sometimes, I imagine that I can just feel it growing, that it..it’s going to push right through my skull, through my brain.” “I can’t do this.” He rose from the couch. “Can’t do what?” Scully was confused. Then, he watched as understanding swept across her face. “You don’t want to get close to me. You know I’m going to die, and you don’t want to cope with the pain.” She was angry. Eddie heard the rage in her voice. “You think that you can just distance yourself from me, pull away before you get hurt. You don’t want to suffer anymore!” “Scully-” “Damn it, Mulder! Listen to me. If you think that abandoning me will protect you, it won’t.” She continued her tirade, and Eddie could do nothing but helplessly stand there and listen to it. She had misinterpreted his words. The only way to explain to her what he had truly meant by “I can’t do this” was to...give up. He didn’t want to get caught. But he didn’t want to ruin her life either. No matter how strong she was, she would need support. *His* support. Mulder’s support. He had only been trying to do good with those other woman; he wasn’t an evil man. He sighed, and relaxed his muscles. Scully froze mid-yell. **** Mulder watched as the squad car took Eddie away. He had gotten there at the same time the police had. Scully had told him almost everything. And he was furious. Scully though, was calm. Almost peaceful. He didn’t understand how she could harbor no anger towards a man who had deceived her. “Scully?” “What, Mulder?” “How did you know it wasn’t me?” Scully took a deep breath. “He turned himself in.” “How could you be fooled like that!” Scully fixed an icy blue glare on him. “Because he was caring and compassionate, Mulder. Two traits that I thought you held.” She turned and walked back to into her house, leaving Mulder alone on the sidewalk. The End