From reevesl@pilot.msu.edu Thu May 15 08:04:28 1997 Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: Out of Frame 1/1 by Rhondda Lake From: reevesl@pilot.msu.edu (Lisa Reeves) -------- Please note: I DID NOT WRITE THIS. This fanfic was posted to the x-files-fanfic mailing list; all stories posted to this list are forwarded to this newsgroup unless the author specifically requests otherwise. For information on this mailing list, and how to subscribe, point your browser to: http://mail.utep.edu/~trevizo/x-files . If you don't have web access, send a note to gossamer@birdfeeder.com with "subscribe request" in the subject, and I'll send you instructions. Please reply to the author, not to me. I will attempt to pass along any feedback that comes to me; however I do NOT guarantee I'll be able to do this. If you're missing a part, please contact the author, drop me a note at reevesl@pilot.msu.edu, or check one of the archives. For a list of archive locations, send a blank e-mail to archivefaq@akamail.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------- From: Rhondda Lake Subject: NEW:Out of Frame: Love is Waiting (1/1) No I'm not giving up on Watched Over, as a matter of fact part four will be posted tonight. This is not part of the Dogged Determination Series. If you like it let me know. I have others in my head and may make another series (of vignettes) out of them. Disclaimer: Insert disclaimer from any of my other stories here. Rating: R Catagory: V, A Summary: During and Post Momento Mori angst from someone you never see. :) Vague enough for you? Out of Frame: Love is Waiting by Rhondda Lake He had come home this afternoon, unexpectadly. Mai knew with a look that something was wrong. Terribly wrong. He was pale and agitated. She also knew this had nothing to do with his job. He normal job anyway. No student had ever shaken him like this, no threats from the administrator rattled him. Mai watched him pass her and move into the bedroom, searching the dresser for something. He began to pull out clothes. She set aside her brushes and moved away from the eisel. "Lealand? What's wrong?" A simple question that took the wind from his sails. Made him sit heavily on their bed. Mai was by his side in an instant. "Lealand?" "She's dying." His eyes met hers. He didn't have to explain who was dying. She knew. There had always been a deep connection between them, one few could understand. Mai closed her eyes and accepted his pain. "How?" "Cancer." Now Lealand closed his eyes and ran a hand down his face. "He thinks we can find something to help her. This isn't right. She was given this thing, a sick joke." He began to undress and Mai stepped back, watching him. She saw him slip on a pair of black chinos, his grey turtleneck, reach for his black trenchcoat. "Lealand... are you sure? You fight your fight from behind a desk, you let programs campaign for you, and the worst injury you risk is to be caught and face white collar charges... This," she gestured to his clothing, "This is not you." "It has to be me. For now. We're all they have." He pulled the coat on over his dark clothing. Mai embraced him and his arms slipped around her. She felt his lips caress her hair. "I love you." "I know. Go. Do what must be done. I'll wait for you." * It was two in the morning, and her stomach kept clenching into knots. He had not come home. She looked at her reflection in the blackned window. Her face and eyes were shaped like her mothers. Nugyen Thei. Viatnameese. Her eyes, however, were jade green, as her Italian-American father's had been, and her hair, far from being straight and sleek was a riot of curls. An uncontrolable mass of them. She had never known her father. He had died in the war. It left a gap in her life. That gap was occasionally filled by Uncle, her father's best friend. But Uncle did not feel comfortable intruding, so it was mostly an emptiness. It was an emptiness she hadn't realized she'd had until she met Lealand. She was an art student. He, a Poli.Sci. professor. One week after she graduated, she was married. And her husband was not home yet. She saw the glow of headlights in their drive and she rushed to the bed, composing herself. Allowing the relief, the joy to calm. Sarenity. He needed that sometimes. She heard him come in, slip through the bedroom door. "Lealand?" He sat on the bed, not touching her. Mai reached for him, instead. He let her pull him into her arms, allowed the tears to come. The ones he would show no one else. "We were almost caught." She stroked his hair. "Did you get what you were looking for?" "Answers. Yeah, just not the right ones. And more questions. I had to go face her alone. Her doctor was one of them, he was killing her. Mulder wanted me to warn her." Mai held her breath. A Cancer ward. Her poor Lealand. After his mother, he had vowed never again to step foot into the halls of the dying, the hopeless. "You did it." He nodded against her breast. "I got to her in time. He loves her. She loves him. But they are both too damn proud... and they don't have much time." Mai made shushing sounds and accepted his kisses. He made love to her, almost in a frenzy. Needing to feel alive. Needing to reaffirm life. She accepted this, and found her own joy in it. After, laying in each other's arms she held him, refusing to let him go. Even into the depths of his own despair. To the world he was unable to show his emotions, closed off, distant. But she knew the depths of his soul. It wasn't that he didn't care. He cared too much. Only when she was sure he was asleep did she close her own eyes. She accepted her role in his life. His anchor and support. She was his serenity. His calm amidst the lies and counter lies he had chosen to dabble in. However, Mai Byers only found uneasy sleep in her husband's arms. end. Please send feedback.