From: ephemeral@ephemeralfic.org
Date: Sat, 4 Nov 2000 16:01:40 -0600
Subject: Long Lost by Emily O\'Donnell
Source: direct

Reply To: DragonzFlamez182@aol.com


Title: Long Lost
Author: Emily O'Donnell
Rating: PG
Summary: "Mulder, if you could go back 
and do it all over again, make those 
three wishes again, what would you wish 
for?"
Spoilers: Je Souhaite, teeny reference to 
Hollywood AD
Timeline: Post Je Souhaite
Archive: As always, yes to Legacy ( aha! 
Got ya before you even asked, Smurfie! ) 
Anyone else want to archive it? Go right 
ahead, just tell me first please? I like 
to visit on weekends and holidays 
Disclaimer: ::Does disclaimer dance:: Not 
mine, not mine! They belong to Chris 
Carter and 1013 and a bunch of other 
people! So don't sue me, do do do . . . 
Author's Note: Okay, okay, I am aware 
that I am in the middle of A Snatch Of 
Tiger Lilies, but while I was in the 
middle of the seventh chapter I started 
thinking about genies and wishes. . . and 
Je Souhaite. . . so you know what the 
natural outcome was: YUP! Post Episode 
Fanfic! dun dun dun. . . You have been 
warned. . .

*******

Long Lost 

*******

"Are you lost?
Do you find life turning out
Not quite the way you planned?
Come around, stay awhile
that's okay, that's all right
Couldn't get to sleep, so talk about it.
Let's talk about it right now.
Here it comes on my head again.
I guess I'm born to be the long lost 
friend. . ."

~Better Than Ezra, Long Lost 

*******


    "Mulder," Scully leaned back against 
the old leather couch, breathing in the 
musty smells as the credits for 
Caddyshack scrolled down the screen in 
front of her. She set her beer bottle 
down on the table in front of her and 
kicked her feet up, nearly upsetting the 
half eaten bowl of popcorn. She turned to 
face her partner, leaning her head gently 
on his shoulder. 
     "Mulder," she chuckled softly and 
shook her head. "Caddyshack, Mulder? 
Honestly." 
    Her partner set his own bottle 
heavily down on the table and turned to 
flash her a warm grin, "Ah, it wasn't 
that bad, Scully. Admit it, you liked 
it." 
    Scully chuckled softly and rolled her 
eyes at him with a small smirk playing 
across her lips. She leaned her head back 
on the soft leather of the couch and 
sighed thoughtfully. "You know if I had 
one wish, it would be for you to get some 
taste in movies." 
    Mulder snorted indignantly, "I have 
good taste in movies!" Scully smirked 
again and raised her eyebrows at him. 
    "I have five words for you Mulder," 
she said with a grin. "Plan Nine From 
Outer Space." 
   "I like that movie!" Mulder protested, 
throwing a handful of popcorn in her 
direction. Scully let out something that 
sounded remarkably like a giggle and 
shook her head again. 
    Mulder smiled at the sound of his 
partner's laughter and turned his 
attention back to the television screen, 
just in time to see the last of the 
credits finish scrolling and the picture 
fade to black. 
   Scully observed her partner for a long 
moment, observing as the soft glow of the 
television screen flickered on his 
features as the black switched to blue 
and the t.v. switched off. He turned his 
gaze back to her, meeting her blue eyes 
with his clear hazel ones. Scully tilted 
her head slightly and raised one eyebrow 
thoughtfully. 
   "So, Mulder. You never told me what 
you used that last wish for." 
Mulder shook his head and tossed her 
another bottle of beer which Scully 
caught easily in one hand. "It's not 
important." 
   "No," Scully tossed her bottle cap to 
one side and pulled her legs up so she 
was sitting indian style, facing him. 
"Tell me." 
    Mulder took a sip of his beer, 
grimacing as he swallowed. He studied his 
partner's elegant features for a long 
moment as she took a swill of her own 
drink and considered. 
    "I set her free." 
    Scully choked on her drink and 
swallowed hard, bringing her gaze down to 
meet his once more. "You did what?" She 
coughed, raising her eyebrows. 
    Mulder shrugged and set his beer on 
the table beside him. "I figured that if 
I couldn't do anything to help the world, 
I could at least help her. So I set her 
free." 
   Scully narrowed her eyes at him and 
shook her head. "Only you, Mulder." 
   "What?" He asked, raising one eyebrow 
at her. "'Only I' what?"  
   Scully smiled gently, a wistful look 
in her eyes. "Only you would do something 
like that." At his skeptical look she 
shook her head and gestured towards him 
with her bottle. "I'm serious, you're the 
most selfless man I know. Anybody else 
would have gone for money or power, but 
you: you put everyone above yourself." 
    Mulder frowned slightly and bit his 
lip. "I'm sure that's not true." He 
nodded towards her slightly, "what would 
you have wished for?" 
    Scully cocked her head to one side 
and narrowed her eyes in thought. After a 
long moment she answered him softly.     
"First," she raised her eyes almost shyly 
to meet his gaze. "I would take away all 
your pain." 
    Mulder lowered his eyes, 
"Scully. . ." 
    "I would bring your sister back, do 
anything I could, as long as you didn't 
carry around that haunted look in your 
eyes." She reached out and tilted his 
face up, forcing him to meet her eyes. 
"Yeah, that's the one," she whispered. 
    Mulder shut his eyes briefly against 
her prying gaze. "What else?" Scully 
shrugged and leaned back again, she swung 
her legs out from under her to rest them 
lightly on his calves. She took another 
sip of her beer and let out a pensive 
breath. 
     "I don't know." She shrugged her 
slender shoulders slightly and shook her 
head. "I guess," her eyes darkened 
slightly. "I guess I would ask for my 
fertility back," Mulder swallowed hard, 
he knew dark topics like these would pop 
up sooner or later. 
    She chuckled, "Though fertility may 
not be much good if I have no love life, 
so maybe I should ask for that as my 
third wish." She shrugged again and took 
a sip of her drink. 
    Mulder narrowed his eyes thoughtfully 
at her words, he glanced down at her bare 
feet stretched out beside him, he trailed 
his index finger lightly up the arch in 
her heel. Scully leveled her gaze on him, 
he could see the gooseflesh raising on 
her arms, but she didn't pull away. 
    "What about you, Mulder? If you could 
go back and do it all over again, make 
those three wishes again, what would you 
wish for?" 
    Mulder traced her ankle lightly, 
keeping his eyes trained on the smooth 
flesh of her leg rather than her 
inquisitive gaze. He stopped and thought 
for a long moment, before chuckling 
softly. 
    "It's funny, I would wish for the 
same things." He sighed and looked up at 
her tentatively. "I would wish to know 
what really happened to my sister. And I 
would wish that you didn't have to have 
so much pain." He trailed his fingers up 
her leg to grasp her hand gently. 
Scully bit her lip and squeezed his hand.    
"I told you, Mulder. I am relatively 
happy." 
    He shook his head, "That's not good 
enough." 
    She sighed and set her bottle down 
heavily on the table beside the two of 
them. "All right," she murmured. "What 
would be your last wish?" 
    Mulder sighed heavily, "There is one 
thing I wish I could do, one thing that I 
wish I was able to do, without having to 
worry about the repercussions or the 
dangers." 
    Scully's eyes softened and she leaned 
forward slightly. "What's that?" 
    His eyes darkened to a verdant green 
suddenly and Scully's breath caught in 
her throat. He leaned forward until their 
noses were barely touching. He reached 
forward and slid his slender fingers into 
her crimson hair that floated softly 
around her face. He rubbed her nose 
gently with his own, gazing into her eyes 
intently. 
    "This," he whispered, before shutting 
his eyes and bringing his lips down to 
meet her own. She seemed hesitant at 
first, surprised, but she leaned into him 
slightly to wrap her arms around his neck 
and pull him closer to her. The kiss was 
tender and gentle, full of love and 
passion, the way first kisses always 
should be. 
    There was a breathless moment as they 
pulled apart. They looked at each other 
for a long moment, before sharing a 
smile. "Well," Mulder whispered in her 
ear. "That's one wish granted." Scully 
leaned her head heavily against her 
partner's shoulder and smiled gently to 
herself. 
    "You know," she murmured. "When one 
wish is granted, you can find it's only a 
matter of time until the rest are granted 
as well." 
    Mulder chuckled, a low susurration 
that vibrated against her small form. 
"Well if we're granting wishes, there are 
a few others you could grant for me, 
Scully." 
    She smirked gently at him and raised 
her head, "I don't doubt that." 
    Mulder kissed her lightly on the tip 
of her nose and whispered softly. "I love 
you." 
    A silence fell over the two of them, 
a hush that clung to them in the night. 
"I thought you said no repercussions." 
Scully said, it was more of a statement 
than a question. 
    Mulder shook his head, "I don't care 
now, I don't care what happens tomorrow, 
all that matters right now is that I love 
you." 
    Scully grinned and pulled away 
slightly, dropping another kiss onto his 
cheek. "I love you too, I thought you 
knew that." 
    Mulder's eyes followed her as she 
stood, stretching cat like and slipping 
her bare feet into her shoes. "No. . . I 
didn't." He confessed quietly. 
Scully turned to regard him with 
surprise. "You didn't?" She asked, 
genuinely surprised. Mulder shook his 
head and Scully shrugged. 
    "Well, I do," she said, dropping her 
gaze to the floor again, allowing her 
hair to fall across her face in a 
vermilion curtain. Mulder stood and 
pushed her hair gently behind her ear, 
she raised her eyes up prudently to meet 
his and smiled slightly. 
    "Don't forget it either." She planted 
another lingering kiss on his lips before 
turning and heading for the door. 
    Mulder watched her stride down his 
hall in bewilderment. "Where are you 
going?" He called after her. 
    Scully turned to glance at him with a 
grin, "Tomorrow night, Mulder, you bring 
the buttered popcorn and I'll bring Steel 
Magnolias." She could hear him groan just 
audibly and she smiled in satisfaction. 
Mulder watched his partner's back retreat 
from his apartment for a long time after 
she was gone. He stood for a moment, 
before allowing a huge grin to split his 
face. 
    Maybe wishes did come true after all. 

*******

end 

*******

"Are you cold? Is there no place better, 
safer, friendlier than this?
Call me up, I'm alone.
That's okay, That's all right
Rather it be me than go without it.
So don't think about it right now.
Here it comes on my haead again
I guess I'm born to be the long lost 
friend."

~Better Than Ezra, Long Lost

*******

ahh, okay, I know that was some post 
episode fluff, but while in the midst of 
a huge fic with all angst and no fluff I 
needed something like this to keep me 
from getting too depressed.