From: "Barry Alberts" Date: Mon, 14 Jun 1999 18:50:44 -0400 Subject: story submission Title: Miraculous Author: Lindsay Alberts Address: Jammy@alloymail.com Rating: G Category: MSR-Friendship Spoilers: Milagro Summary: picks up where "Milagro" left our agents Disclaimer: Yeah, they don't belong to me, and I didn't say that they do! Don't sue, it's my birthday! Miraculous Scully grabbed Mulder's shoulders and burst into tears. Mulder, inconceivably relieved to find her alive, wrapped his long arms around her petite frame. Scully continued to cry, practically clawing at his back while she desperately tried to assure herself that he was there. Though surprised by his partner's outburst, Mulder hugged her as hard as she did him, for he was almost in tears himself. After hearing the gunshots, and running to his apartment, only to find his friend's blood-stained body lying by is sofa. The room was empty save for her, but Mulder would never have noticed. Scully truly appeared dead, and Mulder bent over her body, his mind in complete shock, feeling only numbness and terrified pain. Before he could actually process the scope of the apparent situation, Scully's eyes flew open, and she jumped, yelling. Recognizing her friend's face, she hugged him tight and began to sob. Scully, never one to be hysterical for long, soon reined her racking sobs into a sedate collection of sniffles. Mulder picked her up in his arms, and gently placed he on his couch. Swinging her legs over the edge, Scully sat up to face him as he sat down beside her. "What happened?" Scully's answer was punctuated by a few shuddering, left-over sniffles, but her response was clear and sure. "It was him, Mulder. It was Nacimiento." Mulder shook his head. "But I thought he." Scully nodded. "It was him Mulder." Confident that his partner was as sure as she sounded, Mulder dropped the matter. "Scully, Padgett burned his book." Scully looked around the apartment, then let her gaze fall to her hands. "Good." This time, she didn't sound so sure. Mulder reached out and lifted Scully's face with a finger, and locked eyes with her. "You okay, Dana?" Her mind jumped at his use of her first name; she was instantly aware of the gravity of his inquiry. Taking a deep, shaky breath, she maintained eye contact with him, hoping to look more confident than she was. "I think so.I 'm okay." As if snapping out of a trace, Scully suddenly became aware of what just transpired. Wiping her eyes, she dropped her eyes and turned slightly away from Mulder. "I'm sorry I lost it Mulder, I." He cut her off abruptly. "It's okay." Scully persisted, smoothing her hair and straightening her bloodied shirt and jacket. " No really, I shouldn't have acted so." Mulder placed a hand alongside her face, and forced her to meet his eyes. "It's okay, Dana." He left his hand there, slightly caressing her cheek. Scully stared deep into his hazel eyes, which were suddenly a much more intense shade of brown. "I know." She mumbled, halfway transfixed. Mulder dropped his hand, but let it travel down her shoulder and arm, and come to rest on her hand. Scully wasn't aware of how long they sat like that, but as always with these moments, it seemed forever. Finally, Mulder broke the spell by shifting, and releasing her hand. Scully looked around for an excuse to stay, but the rational part of her mind took control, and she heard herself say, "I guess I'd better go." She stood up, and moved toward the door. "No, wait." Scully turned, waiting for him to sweep her up into his arms, and tell her everything was fine. Instead, Mulder stood there was an awkward look on his face. "Um, maybe you want to change clothes. After all, you have.all over you." Scully glanced down at her stained shirt and jacket, and realized the wisdom of his words. She didn't really want to ride the Metro covered in blood. She nodded to her partner, and almost to herself mumbled, "Right. Right." Mulder could practically feel the tension in the air, and something made him want to break it, just to say something. Still, he didn't know quite wh at to do or say. Scully followed him into his bedroom, where he rummaged around in his closed for a tee shirt. "Here you go. I guess it'll be a little large." Mulder handed her a gray t-shirt, and smiled, to indicate he was joking about the size thing. Scully smiled weakly, just not in the joking mood. Mulder mentally kicked himself in the head. He walked out of the room to give his partner some privacy while she changed. Scully stood in the other room, staring at the t-shirt in her hand. It was such a classic Mulder-shirt. He always wore gray tee shirts, and they always looked great on him. She smiled to herself a bit, trying to shake off the doom-and-gloom feeling. In truth, she was thrilled to be putting on Mulder's shirt; there was a quiet intimacy about wearing someone else's clothes. She slipped the cotton over her head, and peered into the mirror hanging on the bathroom door at her image. Yep, the shirt was a bit large, but it looked fine. She rubbed her arm, and picked up her bloodied shirt. "Hey, fits perfectly." Mulder announced as Scully emerged from the other room. She smiled, trying to lighten the mood. "Thank you Mulder." He smiled and shook his head. "Hey, it's nothing." Scully looked into his eyes, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "No, thank you Mulder, for everything. You are always there for me, and I'm not sure how I got along before I had you." Mulder looked his colleague, friend, and true partner deep in the eyes, and spoke with total sincerity. "My pleasure." Without thinking, Scully flew into his arms, hugging him fiercely. Mulder, surprised but pleased, gently rubbed her shoulders. "Thank you Mulder," she mumbled into his shoulder, "You are my best friend in the world, and I truly would be dead in so many ways if it was not for you. I'd be lying dead in some field, shot by some maniac or abducted by little green men, but more importantly I'd be dead inside. I'd be a hard, cold doctor, peering everyday at dead or dying people, but instead I am investigating the very nature of our universe with a wonderful person like yourself. And I thank my lucky stars every day that I met you; I know I never say so, and I really should, but Mulder, you are my other half, my life. I love you." A part of Scully's brain froze when she heard those words come from her lips, but once said, words cannot be taken back. She waited for his response. When Scully pulled back to look into her partner's face, nothing could have prepared to see the tears building in his eyes. Mulder looked at her as if his soul was hungry. "Scully," he spoke, his voice cracking slightly." "Oh Mulder," once again, Scully hugged her friend tight. "Scully," Mulder buried his chin in her shoulder, smelling his t-shirt on her skin, "Scully, thank you so much for saying what you just did. And don' t ever think that I don't go to bed every night, thankful that the next day, I will get up and go to my basement office, where the most beautiful, intelligent, and wonderful woman in the world will spend the day with me. I don't know how I came to deserve your love and company, but I too would be dead without it. I would be the lining of Victor Tooms' nest, or I might be dead at my own hands. But I could also be some poor bastard who used to work for the FBI until they fired me, and who now is completely and utterly paranoid, who stays at home to watch his porno flicks, and has no human company. You make me a living breathing human, Scully. You are perfect- I love you, everything about you. The bee pollen you stir into your yogurt, the way you cross your legs when you sit down, the gold cross that you wear even though you say you've revoked the church; Scully, you are my other half." By now, Scully was tearing up as she stared into the hazel eyes of this man who had just opened the wellspring of his soul to her. She was amazed at what she saw there. "Mulder?" He looked at her, waiting for some thunderbolt revelation. "Do you want to go get some ice cream?" He smiled, a true, full grin that lit up his face. "I'd love some." "When you sleep, where do your fingers go? What do your fingers know?" -Cake, "Ah, the good old days in English." -Danny Divin