From: MD1016 Date: 30 Oct 2000 03:28:58 GMT Subject: New: Sacrifice by MD1016 Gossamer: VA Rated: G Spoilers: 6th Season Keywords: MSR Summary: Sequel to Late Confession Sacrifice by MD1016 She knocked twice and then let her hanging bag drop from her shoulder to the hall floor. She was exhausted, more so than she could ever remember. How long had it been since she'd had a full night of sleep? Too long to keep track. She was working on forty plus hours of no sleep at all, and she looked it how she felt. At the airport, Scully had remembered to check her face in the streaked bathroom mirror, and while there was nothing she could do about the black eye that had developed since she left San Diego, at least her face wasn't still red from crying. She knocked again. His footsteps approached. There were two voices before he turned the deadbolt; his and hers. Scully instantly regretted not going home to her own apartment. She barely felt up to facing Mulder, she didn't know if she could handle buddy Fowley as well. The door opened before she could make her escape. Mulder seemed surprised to see her and startled by the state she was in. "Scully!" He pulled her inside and passed his bottle of beer to a gawking Diana behind him. "What the hell?! Are you okay?" She didn't bother trying to explain, she just stepped into his arms. They instantly offered her the comfort she needed. He was warm, and his sweater smelled of him and detergent. He held her firmly and cradled the back of her head. All regret was forgotten. At that moment, Mulder was exactly what she needed. "Scully, are you okay? Were you attacked? Do you need to go to the hospital?" She shook her head no. "I'll make some tea," Diana suggested, and then mercifully left them alone. Mulder led her to the sofa. Scully knew she shouldn't sit, but the gentle pressure on her shoulders was too much to resist. A soft blanket was draped over her. Her eyes closed. The battle to stay awake was lost. "The water's on the stove. I'm going to go, Fox." "Thanks, Diana." Someone sighed. "Listen. You should get her to put some ice or something on that eye, or it will swell shut." "I'll take care of it," Mulder told her. That was all Scully needed to hear. She drifted knowing Mulder was there, and she was safe and loved. Consciousness wasn't too far away, though, and when she slowly became aware of the couch and the blanket again it was the sound of his voice that drew her awake. He was upset, pacing, she could hear the dull thud of his socked feet hitting the floorboards. "Yes, I hear you. Now you hear me. If you ever, ever touch her again, I'll rip you a new asshole!" A slamming of receiver in its cradle told Scully the conversation had ended. She forced her eyes open enough to see Mulder, hands on hips, fuming. He stopped cold when he saw her watching him, and his expression dropped. For a long moment he didn't say anything, he just stared at her. She could tell he wasn't sure if he should say anything at all. "Did I wake you?" he asked. "Why did you call them?" He indicated the phone. "I wanted to know what happened. I mean, if something happened at the reunion, to your mother, or your brothers, or someone...at the reunion...you only left this morning, and you weren't supposed to be back until Tuesday -" She couldn't let him keep rambling, she didn't have the energy. "Now you know." He nodded. "You told them." "I told them," she admitted. It was never really an option not to, she'd realized too late. Mulder was impossible to deny. "I'm sorry." It twisted her heart around that the first apology he'd offered in all the years that she'd known him would be about this. She lifted her chin. "I'm not." A tenderness took over his expression. "No, I mean, I'm sorry that I didn't - at the bar - that I didn't believe you. I didn't believe it was possible for you to be so scared about telling your family. I knew they hated me, but I had no idea how much. Or to what extent they would take it out on you." "It doesn't matter. I'm fine." He threw his hands up in frustration. "How can you say that?! Your eye -!" "Was an accident. Bill's broken nose, however, was not." "You broke his nose?" "It doesn't matter anymore." "How can you say that?!" She shrugged. "How can I say the truth? How can I not? Isn't that what we're all about?" "Scully, your family -" "Mulder." She forced herself to sit up, needing him to take her words seriously. The floor was cold under her bare feet. "Mulder, you are my family. Just you." His head shook a little, more out of amazement and shock than any kind of disagreement, and Scully decided they'd both had enough for one night. She stood, blanket still wrapped over her shoulders, and took the short steps to him. He towered over her, a silent sentinel, like a god carved of marble. But his hand was warm when she took it, and his grip was gentle. She led him to the bedroom and offered him everything she had left in the world. End. Stories thus far in order of the Miles to Go series: A Hundred Miles of Nothing But Tin Can Phones (6K) Dead Channels (9K) Pyrrhic (5K) Maybe, Yes (4K) Weird In A Good Way (9K) Defining Slow (12K) Questions and Answers (5K) Friends and Lovers (27K) The Morning After (4K) Sleepless Nights (3K) Late Confession (6K) Sacrifice (5K) http://members.aol.com/msrsmut/MD1016.html