From: "lyndsie *" <rabidmunkie@hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2001 23:17:01 +0000
Subject: Story
Source: direct

Title: The Picture Frame
Author: Lyndsie... aka Lyndsey Mulder, this is my new name, i decided to go 
my real name instead of that. haha
Email: rabidMunkie@hotmail.com (lol thats my new email...)
Spoilers: based in S8, but none are specifically mentioned.
Author's notes: Thanx to Lea for beta-reading. Send comments to me!! thanks!

**********

The Picture Frame

	I stand up and stretch my legs. After sitting in one spot for
nearly four hours straight it will be nice to get home and relax. I
look over to say good night to Agent Scully and notice that she is
looking at that photo again. I walk over to her and kneel next to her
chair. "Dana, I'm sorry." I say quietly.

	Today marked the fourth anniversary of when Mulder left her
and their newborn son William, who is now four. It took three years
for AD Skinner and I to get the truth out of her. Mulder had left only
to protect Agent Scully and Will. I don't see how it helps, but
neither one of them have been threatened by anyone since he left.

	The longer he's been gone it seems, the more frequently I see
that photo. I gently pull it from her hands and look at it. In all the
years that I have been faced with the glossy back of that photo-only a
few rare occasions have I been able to get a glance at the actual
picture itself. It looks like a banquet or party. Some bureau
function. I know this because I can see recognizable faces in the
background. But the two people the photographer were focusing on were
Mulder and Scully. Both smiling happily in nice dressy clothes. Their
bodies very close together-as if one. On the back in neat and precise
script- I immediately notice as Scully's it states, December 24th,
1999.

	I gave the photo back to Agent Scully and knew exactly what to
do. I say goodnight to her and tell her to say hello to Will for me
and left.

~*~*~
	The next morning I walk into the office relieved that Agent
Scully hasn't arrived yet. I do what I need to and soon Agent Scully
was here. She me and puts her stuff on her desk. I watch as slowly a
smile creeps onto her face.  Knowing what she was smiling about, I
shimmed in, "That picture doesn't deserve to be hidden in a drawer
somewhere. It should be on your desk where you can look at it anytime.
You shouldn't be ashamed of you guys' love, Dana."

	She picked up the frame and held it tight. "You don't know
just how much this means to me, John. Thank You."

	On the frame below the photo, a caption read: Mulder and
Scully December 24th, 1999

	After arranging a few things on her desk, the frame and photo
contained found it's new home on Agent Scully's desk where it would be
for a long time to come.

*****

Finis

Thanks for reading!

Comments-good or bad are welcomed!