From: Luvthebeez@aol.com Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 22:01:00 EDT Subject: NEW: Packing (1/1) Source: xff Packing By LuvTheBeez Luvthebeez@aol.com CLASSIFICATION: MulderAngst RATING: G SUMMARY: With Scully's help, Mulder finds out what closure's REALLY all about. SPOILERS: Through Closure. DISCLAIMER: Mulder and Scully belong to Chris Carter, Fox and 1013 Productions, and have been used without permission. ARCHIVE: Go for it, but I'd appreciate your letting me know. E-MAIL: luvthebeez@aol.com WEBSITE: http://luvthebeez.homestead.com XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx Mulder silently cursed himself for having the electricity turned off the day before. Today had been unusually warm, and his face was dripping with perspiration by the time he sealed the last box. Finally finished, he stood aimlessly in the middle of the room. Even filled with boxes, the room felt empty and sad, as if it were a living thing fully and desperately aware that it was about to be abandoned. Every object, every possession left in the house had been carefully wrapped and packed away only to spend the rest of its days in a dank storage room somewhere. These boxes contained once precious objects that no longer mattered to anyone, all of them things he'd looked at a million times but had never really seen. Things that had been carefully maintained, fastidiously dusted and polished, each holding a memory that was solely hers, that he could not share. There was nothing left to be done now. Nothing left to plan, nothing left to pack or clean or sell. No secrets left to uncover. This was truly the end of her - the last of anything that signified she'd existed on this planet. The end of her body, and her home, and now of her things. And the last of the hope that he'd find his sister. He was forced to admit to himself that he'd held out some niggling hope that he'd find something here, some small thing that might reveal a part of her he hadn't known before. Some hint of the past she so vehemently refused to share with him or the secrets that she could not or would not allow herself to divulge. He jumped at the sound of a knock on the front door. His hand moved involuntarily for his weapon, and he suddenly remembered that he'd left it across the room in his jacket pocket. Sighing a little, he decided that it was just as well that it wasn't handy. The visitor was almost certainly Mrs. Gideon from next door, just stopping by to make sure he was all right. For the twentieth time that day. He knew enough about his mother to know that Mrs. Gideon must have driven her mad. Resigning himself, he opened the door. "If I've timed this exactly right, I've arrived just in time to find that all the hard, physical labor is done." Mulder couldn't help but smile at the sight of her. "Scully. I told you I was fine about taking care of this stuff by myself. You didn't have to come." "What if I told you I brought food?" She held up two large paper bags, both of which held very promising looking grease stains. Mulder's eyes lit up. "Scully, you're my hero. You brought hamburgers from Jerry's? You keep telling me those things are going to kill me." "Comfort food," she said, smiling. "I figured you deserved some right about now." Opening the door wider, he ushered her inside. "Everything's packed up. There's not a dish left in the place." "This is not food that needs dishes, Mulder," she said, handing him the bags. Pulling the dust cover off the sofa, she spread it out on the floor. They sat cross-legged, facing each other as they unpacked the overstuffed bags. Scully had bought every one of Mulder's artery-clogging favorites. "This is great," Mulder mumbled around the fries he'd already stuffed into his mouth. "What are you having?" "Very funny," she said, reaching for her own cheeseburger. "Which milkshake do you want? Chocolate or vanilla?" "Milkshakes too?" He reached for the onion rings, carefully placing them at specific intervals under the top bun of his burger. "Yes, milkshakes. If I'm doing this, I'm doing it right. And because you were too slow in answering, you get the vanilla." She took a long drag of the thick chocolate shake. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while as they ate. Mulder felt better, unsure if it was because of the food or because Scully's presence had eased the oppressive emptiness of the room. "It looks like you got a lot done." Mulder nodded. "Your timing was impeccable. I'd just finished the last of it when you arrived. Most of the furniture was sold at the estate sale last week, so there wasn't all that much left." "Still, it can't have been..." Mulder shook his head. "I'm okay, Scully." "I know you are. This part's always hard, though. It's so strange to pack up someone else's belongings." "It's weird," Mulder said quietly, crumpling up his empty hamburger wrapper. "All this stuff. It just makes me realize how unconnected we were, and how little we really knew about each other. I wish we could have been closer, but neither of us was really trying very hard." He sighed. "Right up until that last box, I was certain that I'd find something, some clue as to why she was trying to get in touch with me. Just something that would allow me to believe that she wasn't calling me to say goodbye." His eyes were bright with unshed tears. A little embarrassed, he lowered his head. "God, Scully, why didn't I call her back? I just blew her off, like she was nobody. How must that have made her feel?" "Mulder, you can't blame yourself for what happened. She's the one who chose this. Maybe you could have handled things better, but so could she. You both did the best you could." "It wasn't enough." Scully reached for his hand, and he clutched it tightly. "I'm sorry I asked you not to come," he said. "I'm glad you didn't listen." "I always listen, Mulder," she said, smiling. She stood, reaching for his hand. "Come on. You're exhausted and it's getting dark. Let's go home." They moved through the room quietly, gathering the remains of their dinner and re-covering the sofa. Scully was already halfway out the front door when she realized that Mulder was still standing in the middle of the room, his eyes on the stacks of boxes. She moved back to stand beside him, a gentle hand on his arm. "Mulder?" "Maybe I'll give this stuff to a charity instead of putting it in storage. It seems too sad to just shut it all away in the dark." Scully nodded, smiling. "That's a good idea." Taking her hand, he stepped outside and closed the door behind him. XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx End.