From macspooky@aol.com Wed Jan 01 16:47:01 1997
Hi all,
  This is Macspooky@aol.com posting another story for a friend.  Hopefully
this will go more smoothly than last time.  Let me know if there are any
formatting problems, but send all feedback to her.  Her addy is enclosed. 
This one seemed short enough to post as just one part.



Synopsis: Samantha is found, gravely ill. Mulder confronts Scully with his
feelings. Nothing bad here. PG-13 I guess for adult situations. 


Disclaimer: None of the following characters are mine. I'm am just
borrowing
them as a means of spending some of my free time. They do belong to CC,
FOX and 1013, not to  mention GA and DD. Please don't sue me, I'm only a
poor student who needs the little money she has for tuition.


Special note: I'd like to extend a great big Thank You to Macspooky, both
for editing and posting my stories. I couldn't do it myself.  It was sent
to her in final form on December 31, 1996.


Please send all feed back too jmbrazil@calvin.stemnet.nf.ca marked to the
attention of Jaime.  It would be appreciated.

 
                                     The Only Way


        Mulder rushed into the hospital room and stopped abruptly when he
saw her. She was no longer a child as he so vividly remembered her. A
beautiful young woman lay small and frail in the hospital bed, her long
dark hair lying in waves on the clean, white hospital pillow case. Her
features peaceful as she slept.


        Taking a deep breath, he crossed the room and pulled up a chair.
Sitting next to Samantha he took her hand in his and brushed her hair off
her deathly pale forehead, trying not to disturb her. 

      
        Her eyes flickered open.


        "How are you feeling?" He could have kicked himelf, he hadn't seen
her in a lifetime, and that was all he could say.


        Her mouth was dry, making it hard for the words to come. "Okay,"
she
managed to whisper.


        Tears flooded his eyes and he swallowed hard. She had suffered a
gunshot wound to the chest. The doctors had operated and done their best,
however they were not hopeful that she would survive. They had done
everything they could. Mulder was encouraged by the steady rhythm of the
heart monitor despite the coinciding sound of her shallow breathing. 'The
doctors don't know what they're talking about,' he thought to himself,
believing that she was with him for good. 


        Scully slipped quietly into the room and stood next to Mulder,
placing a hand on his shoulder, hoping to provide him with some sense of
comfort. 


        "I got your message and came immediately. How did you find her?"


        Scully's presence gave him strength. He turned around in his chair
and looked his partner in the eye. "I had an encounter with Cancerman. He
told me where she was, and what had happened."


        "Fox," rasped a quiet voice, "who is this?"


        Mulder's attention turned back to his sister. "Sam, this is my
partner Dana Scully."


        Dana smiled at the woman in the hospital bed, her mind flashing
back
to the clone whose life Mulder had traded for her own. "We've waited a
long time find you. I'm glad to finally meet you."


        "Sorry about the circumstances." Sam managed a weak smile.


        Dana brushed her hand against the side of Mulder's face. "I'll be
outside if you need me. You two need some time alone."


        When Scully was out the door, Samantha turned toward her brother,
"How long have you two been in love?"


        A small smile touched the corners of his mouth. It amazed him just
how well she knew him after being separated all those years. "I've loved
her since the first minute I saw her, when she was sent to spy on me. I
think she feels the same way, however, we've never admitted our feelings
to one another. Until today it was too dangerous."


        "Fox, promise me you'll tell her how you feel. She needs to know,
and you're going to need her once I'm gone. She'll get you through it."
"You're not going anywhere Sam. You're going to be just fine." Mulder
refused to believe otherwise.


        An hour passed as Mulder watched his sister slowly deteriorate.
His
heart was breaking in two. They had only just been reunited after a
separation of more than twenty years, and the realization that he was
about to lose her again settled heavy upon his soul.


        The increasing shallowness of her breath scared him "I love you
Sam.
Don't ever forget that."


        Samantha smiled, and forced out the words with great difficulty.
"I
know... I've always known. The whole time I was gone I felt you with me.
And Fox, I love you too."


        With that her eyes closed and she drew one final breath. The heart
monitor flatlined.


        A shiver ran the length of his spine. Tears spilled down his
cheeks,
wetting her now peaceful face as he bent over to kiss her forehead.
"Good-bye Sam."


        Mulder left the room. Scully sat in the waiting room, a look of
concern on her face. She crossed the floor and took him into her arms.
"She's gone."


        He nodded, tears flowing freely down his cheeks. He had lost her
again, and this time there was no hope of ever recovering her.

 
        Dana picked up on his utter despair, his body shaking in her arms.
"Come on Mulder. Follow me." Gently pushing him away from her, she took
his hand and led him toward the small chapel that graced the end of the
corridor. He stumbled along behind her, devoid of all feeling, just barely
able to keep himself upright. 


        Scully guided him into a pew in the back corner of the quiet
chapel,
and sat next to him. He buried his face in her shoulder and sobbed. Scully
wrapped her arms around him again and let him grieve, realizing that if he
was ever going to get over this loss, he was going to need her.

 
        Mulder pulled himself together, thinking, 'I have to tell her. I
promised Sam, and she was right - I do need her to get through this. Dana
is the only reason why  I managed to live long enough to see my sister
this one last time. She deserves to know the truth.' He sat up straight
and faced her, taking her hands in his. "Dana, I've left the X-Files."


        "What?!" Her eyes grew as large as saucers. "Why would you do such
a
thing?" Tears came to her eyes. She too was overcome with grief. "Why are
you leaving me?"


        "It was the only way I could see her for one last time. And I'm
not
leaving you. I can finally tell you this - I love you. I have loved you
since I first laid eyes on you. You have become my source of strength, my
reason for living. I need you to help me live."


        The already formed tears began to spill over her cheeks. She
didn't
have to waste a second considering her response. She had always known what
it would be. "I love you too Mulder."


        He pulled her into his arms and kissed her as he had wanted to do
for so long. Their lips still touching, he whispered, "Call me Fox. Sam
always did." 


                                                                The End

*Friendship is Love without his wings.*
                                -Byron
JAMES M. BRAZIL
JAMES M. BRAZIL


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