From: Dawn Date: Fri, 15 Oct 1999 18:16:25 -0400 Subject: Rain Source: direct TITLE: Rain AUTHOR: Shawen A. Greer DISCLAIMERS: This is a fictional story involving the wonderful characters that are the property of Chris Carter, Fox Broadcasting and 1013 Productions. They are borrowed without permission, but without intent of infringement. DISTRIBUTION: Anywhere, but please archive in it's entirety and keep my name attached. CATEGORY: MSR,A RATING: PG, for one little word SPOILERS: Momento Mori, Redux I & II, The Blessing Way TIME LINE: Post Season 5 SUMMARY: Sometimes what you see isn't really what happened. And sometimes a bad day can turn into the best of your life. FEEDBACK: Yes, please. This is my first story and I would appreciate any feedback. Send to dawn@raventech.com DEDICATION: To Ms. Juanita Matthews who taught me how fun writing could be and for her endless encouragement. And to Jan for opening up a whole new world of writing for me. Thanks for the hours of TV time! Residence of S.A. Dana Scully 8:15 pm Special Agent Dana Scully walked wearily into her dark apartment. Considering her car had broken down three blocks ago in the middle of a torrential downpour the somberness of her empty dwelling suited her mood. "You would think that having a government issue vehicle, would prevent things like this due to routine maintenance." she thought to herself. She dropped her keys on the table and removed her soggy mail from her teeth. She managed to make her way to the lamp which came on brightly and invaded her solitude. She attempted to wipe the water off the table from her dripping hair with a damp sleeve which only made it worse. She kicked off her now ruined, newly purchased suede shoes. "Dammit!" she cursed out loud. "What else could happen to me in one day." As if in response to her question the water-logged grocery bag finally gave way spilling its contents onto the living room floor. She attempted to catch it which only made her loosen her grip on the stack of files in her other arm which now joined the groceries in their downward descent. She stood there expressionless watching a renegade apple come to rest under the coffee table. She slumped to the ground where she sat in the middle of her scattered parcels. The first hot tear started to roll down her cheek and before she could regain her ever so steady composure, she was consumed by a flood of emotion. She had always prided herself in always being in control of her feelings, but now everything she thought she had tucked away so carefully came back with a vengeance. "No! I won't allow myself to do this. Crying about it is foolish nonsense. It can't change anything."she thought. "Dammit Mulder...how could you?" Her sobbing was uncontrollable. She cried for the sister for whom she could not mourn. The sister who had lost her life in this matter that those dark men considered a game. The sister who lost her life in place of Scully. "Oh Melissa...I am so sorry," she whispered hoping that she could hear her. "That should have been me. You had no part in this." Her life had taken so many turns in the last year or so. She had been faced with her own mortality as she battled cancer. A cancer that she had not contracted but a cancer that had been given to her. But she had fought back and won and she was well now. So again, she scolded herself for her irrational tears. Yet still they burned her cheeks and blinded her eyes. The more she tried to stop them the more they mocked her. Her mind was full of images. Memories that haunted her. And in most of them were him. That boyish face with that tousled dark hair, and that smile. Oh, that smile. She had seen it hundreds of times and it never failed to make her heart race just a little. But that was before. Before her. Scully had always challenged the relationship she had with Mulder and her feelings for him. But seeing him holding Diana Fowley in his arms as he must have done so many times before, so many years ago was more that she was prepared for. How foolish she was to turn away from her ever so rational thinking. She never considered the possibility that she was alone in the thoughts of the connection she had with Mulder. "How could I be so blind. Of course he would turn to her. She thinks like him, she believes like him, all I can ever do is doubt and question." She wildly wiped at her eyes and tried to calm her breathing. Then slowly she started to rise to her feet, more out of necessity than desire, from the void she had fallen in. The hall was still dark as she made her way to the bathroom and began to strip off her wet blue suit. Her fingers were numb as they fumbled with every button. She turned on the shower and soon she could no longer see her swollen eyes from the steam covering the mirror. She parted the curtain and climbed into the steamy hot shower and allowed herself to be enveloped by it's healing warmth. "It just wasn't meant to be" she mumbled to herself. And yet she couldn't help but wonder what was to come. And how she could ever think of having a life that did not contain Fox Mulder. FBI Headquarters, Office of Fox Mulder-X-Files Division 7:00 pm Special Agent Fox Mulder sat at his desk in his dim little office in the basement. He knew that he was given that space where the heat hardly worked and the lighting was bad in the hopes that it would discourage him. That he would soon tire of the meek accommodations and give up his search for the truth in exchange for an office with a view. Little did they know that he actually preferred it that way. Especially these days. Special Agent Diana Fowley was back at Headquarters. A name that he hadn't thought about in a very long time. He met Diana shortly after he completed the Academy and it was with her that he began his pursuit through the X-files of his "little green men" as so many people commonly referred to it. She had been smart and attractive and had surprised Mulder that for the first time in his life, someone believed him and shared his thinking. He had become accustomed to the fact that everyone thought he was spooky. And in truth he never really cared about it. He was in search of something much more precious and important than the admiration of his peers. When Diana took a re-assignment six years ago, he chose his work with the X-files over her, and challenged himself on more than one occasion as to whether or not he had made the right choice. And he always came to the same conclusion. So much had changed since then. He was doing the work that he wanted and was getting closer all the time to the answers he had been searching for. Just then a knock interrupted his daze and he jumped a little in his chair. "It's open." He called to the closed door and watched with narrowed eyes as Diana came into view. "Hello Fox" she said as she walked across the room. "Slumming in the basement tonight?" he asked her with that smile that she remembered so often. "Actually..." she paused, "I came to say goodbye." Mulder stood as she reached his desk and shrugged his shoulders slightly. "Goodbye? What do you mean? Where are you going?" She took a deep breath and began her explanation. " I always thought we made a good team Fox. Strong together because we were kindred spirits." she paused briefly. "I resented you for a long time that you didn't come with me. But I know you had to stay." Mulder swallowed hard unsure of what to say hoping that silence would be sufficient. "I came here," she continued, " because I guess in some selfish way I hoped that you needed me here. To support you, to believe in you. But I can see that you are just fine on your own." "I'm not alone, Diana. I have more support than I deserve." Mulder said thinking of all the times that Scully had believed in him even when he had no reason for her to. Yet through all of her questioning his motives, she always followed him. Diana grimaced slightly. "It seems that Agent Scully has been a good...partner to you. I'm glad." She came forward and embraced him for what she knew would be the last time. She lingered for just a moment to relish the feeling of his arms around her and the smell of his skin. "Goodbye Fox" she said as she finally pulled away. "Be true to yourself." As Mulder looked up from the embrace, he saw the brief image of someone's hasty retreat and the heard the faint sound of running footsteps. He ran to the doorway to look down the hall just in time to catch a glimpse of the back of Scully's head turn the corner. Mulder threw back his head and mumbled some obscenity to himself. What had Scully seen...what did she think she had seen. Sighing he ran his fingers through his already mussed up hair. His hands came to rest on his hips as he stared at the empty doorway. "Mulder..." Oh God, Diana! He had forgotten she was standing there and he abruptly turned to face her. "...go Mulder" she said after a few seconds. "What?" He replied, partly unsure if he heard correctly and partly in disbelief. "Go where?" But he knew that it was obvious and it was pointless to try and say otherwise. He walked over and kissed her gently on her forehead. "Thank you" he said. "Would you get out of here... hurry!" and she hoped that he couldn't see the tears that were starting to fill her eyes. But he did. He squeezed her hands one last time and then ran out of his office with the past behind him down the path to his future. Residence of S.A. Dana Scully 8:45 pm The water was starting to get cooler and her skin was starting to resemble a raisin, so Scully decided that it was time to end her therapy in the shower. She stepped out into the steam weak and drained both from the shower and from the crying. She wiped a circle out of the steam on the mirror enough to see if her eyes were still swollen. Taking a washcloth from the cabinet, she submerged it in cold water. A cool compress should help. They would only be worse in the morning...where she would have to face him...face them. Just the thought of it sent her stomach churning. She would just have to regain her composure and put on the professional camouflage that she was accustomed to. She wrapped herself in her robe and tried her hair with a towel. All she wanted now was to climb under her covers. But she knew that the only way she would sleep was if emotional exhaustion finally took over. She walked out of the warmth of the bathroom and into the coolness in her bedroom. She went to her mirror and began brushing her hair. In the background over her shoulder something caught her eye. Slowly she lowered the brush to return it to it's place on the dresser never removing her eyes from her bed. Swallowing hard she turned expecting to find that her mind had been playing tricks on her. But it hadn't. Placed neatly in the center of her bed were all of the files that she had dropped in the living room. And on the top of the pile was a single yellow rose. She swallowed again and began walking to the bed though she couldn't feel herself take a single step. Her heart was pounding so loudly she could hear it in her head and no matter how deeply she tried to breathe she felt as though she were suffocating. She picked up the card that rested there. Her hands were shaking so much that it was difficult for her to remove it from it's envelope. The words were simple and the tears began to sting her eyes again. It simply said: For all the tears I have caused you and all the things you have endured because of me. Believe in me now as you always have. I will never fail you Scully! -Mulder Scully read the card over and over again trying to memorize every word. Mulder had been here. Had probably been here the whole time. She wondered how long he might have watched her through the window. It wasn't as if he had never seen her cry. He knew her better than anyone. But imagining what she must have looked like sitting in the middle of spilled groceries and scattered papers. What a site she must have been. He must have heard her in the hallway at F.B.I. Headquarters. She had tried to slip away undetected. Both for their privacy and for her own sanity. But he must have seen her. He must have...followed her. She held the beautiful rose and smelled it with her eyes closed thinking of him. She wasn't sure what made him leave Diana's arms to come running after her on such a rainy night. But she knew she had to find out. She dressed in her sweats as quickly as she could and finished running the brush through her wet hair. As she walked through the living room she noticed that he must have put her groceries away too. Even the apple. His thoughtfulness made her smile. She grabbed her car keys and headed for the door, realizing at the same moment that she didn't have a car. Unconcerned about the details she continued for the door. She would worry about that when she had to. She could walk, in the rain, or take a cab or... Her thoughts were disrupted when she opened her door and...there he was. Fox Mulder sat on the front steps in the pouring rain. His hair was soaked and drops ran down his black leather jacket. He stood slowly and turned to face her. He didn't say anything, he just looked at her. Looked at her in a way that made Scully think that he could see right into her heart. Into her soul. "M-Mulder," she stammered at first. "You're soaked!" hoping that her voice was audible. She could hardly speak. "It's ok," he replied, "this outfit is wash and wear!" and they both tried to smile. She tried again. "Mulder, it's really raining, what are you doing out here?" "Waiting for you." came the reply. "I was just going...um...to get...um...I mean...check on my car." Mulder raised an eyebrow and a slight smile formed at the corner of his mouth. "...and look for you." she finished. His smile spread wider and she watched as he started to climb the stairs. When he reached the top she found herself unable to look up at him. She felt his hands gently raise her head, but she couldn't open her eyes. Instead she stood there entranced and helpless to move. He was so close to her that the air was now thick with the smell of his skin and of leather. She felt his hands hold her face while his thumbs gently caressed her cheeks.. She could feel his breath on her skin. Her heart again pounded in her ears, and she could see him looking at her even though her eyes weren't open. She finally willed herself to open her eyes and they met his. She wondered if he could feel that she was shaking, but then realized that he was too. "So why are you here Mulder?" she whispered. "For you Scully. I'm here for you." and with that he kissed her. A soft and gentle kiss, and they rested their foreheads together savoring the moment. "Scully, I lo..." but before he could finish she took him in her arms and kissed him again. A kiss that said everything they had wanted to say for so long. And they stood there holding each other for what seemed like an eternity oblivious now to the storm and the rain that encircled them. Finally it was Mulder that came to his senses first. "As much as I love feeling like Bogart in an old black and white movie, do you think we could go somewhere a little less damp?" "I'd invite you in but you're all wet." she said sarcastically. "Marry me Scully." The words hit her like a freight train. "Excuse me?" she asked with her eyebrows raised, but she knew she had heard him clearly. "Just think of it...Mrs. Scully Mulder" he illustrated the positioning of the names in the air with his hands. Scully rolled her eyes and shook her head in a hopeless way. She walked into her apartment, and closed the door behind her. "What?... Scully?... What did I say?" he called after her. He tried the knob knowing it would be open. "Come on!" he teased her as he made his way through the door. "Just think about it," and the door closed behind him. And this time the lock turned. Outside the streets were quiet. The only sound was the drowsy rhythm of the rain. The only movement was an occasional car that passed by. The streets had been abandoned long ago in search of drier surroundings. The figure that had been standing on the corner obscured by the shadows lit another cigarette and disappeared into the mist. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX This is my first story...was it ok??? I would love some feedback. You can send it to dawn@raventech.com