TITLE: Towers, streams, and wooden rings. [1/2] AUTHOR: Rain Garcia [AgentRain] COMPLETED ON: May 23, 2002 WARNING: This is not a *fantasy* fic. At least not it's classification. ;-) RATING: R CATEGORY: Story, Vignette [some of it], and of course, Angst- no surprise there. KEYWORDS: MSR SPOILERS: A bit of Christmas Carol and All things. The other bits of information here are all random and common X-phile knowledge. SUMMARY: "You already own me, Scully- heart, mind, and soul- but I just don't think you love me that way. Sometimes, I don't even think you care." DISCLAIMER: Fox, Ten Thirteen and CC *still* owns them. Lucky, lucky, lucky. What I'll do with them if I DO own them. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: I never thought I'd make a "comfort" fic throughout the touching ending of the X-Files, but here is it anyway. Thanks, of course, to the PinoyXphiles, how could I ever forgive them? JC Maravilla [thanks for calling me up! Its 3:09 AM and I could be bitching around if you haven't had that psychic thingy and dialed my number.], my twin sis, Monica, Sarah Couchman, all the authors whose fics I read--- they give me so much inspiration. And of course, to Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny for having the best chemistry on primetime television. No one could kiss as passionate as they could, no one could snuggle up as sweet and touching as they could. They are truly a one-of-a-kind pairing that will go down in history. I love you both, so much. --------------------------------------------- ONE LAST BREATH- Creed --------------------------------------------- Please come now I think I'm falling I'm holding on to all I think is safe It seems I found the road to nowhere And I'm trying to escape I yelled back when I heard thunder But I'm down to one last breath And with it let me say Let me say Hold me now I'm six feet from the edge And I'm thinking That maybe six feet Ain't so far down I'm looking down now that it's over Reflecting on all of my mistakes I thought I found The road to somewhere Somewhere in His grace I cried out heaven save me But I'm down to one last breath And with it let me say Let me say Hold me now I'm six feet from the edge And I'm thinking That maybe six feet Ain't so far down Sad eyes follow me But I still believe There's something left For you and me Hold me now I'm six feet from the edge And I'm thinking... --------------------------------------- It was a soundless night--- an unusual occurrence to a state that has life brewing EVEN throughout the dark, early mornings even if the past sunshine days were as tiring as the last cold war. An owl hooting in the vast wilderness passed his sharp hearing, and another chirping--- or was it a squeaking?--- of a midnight creature that was foreign to his city- lined ears. Honestly, it was refreshing... a gentle break from the sounds he has grown used to, a switch from the muffled sounds of his neighbors' evening fights... A rustle beside his body roused his senses awake, and he wondered- half asleep- whether he was dreaming this too-good-to-be-true scenario of a comforting night. Even the covers his bare skin brushed against were too soft to actually be blankets. Sighing and deciding to just let his marveling spill themselves to the windy night, he curled up to the warm body beside him. His long fingers brushed against soft hair, then a cold cheek, before moving downward to a protruding collar bone. Unconsciously, he cupped a breast; drawing lazy shapes on the patch of skin surrounding the nipple to his content- before a small hand coated his. The hand pulled him away from his object of attention, making him settle on and around her flat stomach. Five minutes passed before he grew restless again, moving downward to her womanhood which housed that sensitive bundle of nerves he was aiming for. A grumble emanated from the body he was pressed against to, which made him moan a soft name, "Scully..." Mulder whispered eight octaves below his normal, professional voice. His impatient hand gingerly shoved away the thigh covering his destination. But as he expected, Scully's hand again met with his and tried to pull him away. "Mulder, please..." she groaned in her sleep. She used her fingers as a hand cuff of sorts by intertwining it with his and nudging it back where she wants them. Mulder was subjected to hands- off treatment twice now, and it was enough to completely wake him up. Opening his eyes despite the sleep that was drowning his systems, he lifted his head away from the pillow just enough to give him a good view of where they were. Then, Mulder remembered that this is NOT his apartment or Scully's apartment where they usually have their love- making... this is a different location, yes, different and far away from the core of life in Washington DC. It was a cabin in the north of Massachusetts, a place Mulder has projected as home in his mind during the most painful times of his life. Before, this cabin was owned by one of his close friends- being rich and all- and later the whole estate was sold to a nice, young man. That nice young man, luckily, had the cabins up for rental, and Mulder saw it as an opportunity. This cabin was his salvation from hell, where him and his last circle of friends indulged in normal child happiness... it was the most painful chapter of his young life, but also, the best times of his innocence. The aura was different in the cabin. It always reminded him of good things--- not like in Martha's vineyard, which was just a drive away from there. And it was ironic to find himself bringing Scully over to where the ripest part of himself was formed for a weekend vacation. Of course, it was great to release some tension from her stiff face as Mulder closed the air conditioning of the car and they both opened their windows to let some of that relaxing pre- holidays air cool them naturally. His partner was also charmed by the quaint place, but he has yet explaining to do. He was about to do so, nonetheless, where he deems Scully was way *too* charmed. Ever since they got here, the first thing he remembers is Scully pulling him towards the inside of the cottage. The last thing he remembers, though, is his orgasm tossing him towards heaven for pleasurable minutes before gravity pulled him back to the bed, with Scully on top of his sweaty body. And yes, he didn't get the chance to tell her what he really wants to. He slowly removed his hand from his partner's abdomen and gazed at the time. It was 1 AM. Certainly not a good hour to tell her about it, but if they only had two days in Massachusetts, he was expecting the other day to be in both their favors. He has to know something, and he has to find out about it now. "Scully?" He murmured still under the air's earshot, but over the woman's before him. He nuzzled his nose under her accumulation of hair, transferring to her nape. She made that familiar purr of hers to assure him that she's listening wherever she is in dreamland. That purr always has been an indication that Scully was in peace, and in her "don't-expect-me-to-say-something-except-a-small-sigh" stage in awareness. And that purr always has stopped Mulder from asking her what he always wanted to for the past 5 months that they have been sleeping together. Five months--- he has gone this far; he won't give up now. "C... can we talk about something?" He asked, this time his voice was a little bit louder. A sigh [as well expected] was pushed out of her lungs, before she absentmindedly turned around to face him. In the process, her feet pushed the covers a bit below their torsos, making him see through the moonlight her breasts--- one sight that was always connected to his weakest spot just below his stomach. He closed his eyes for a tempted second, before pulling the covers back up, just enough that it covered both their chests. He MUST not be distracted at this point. "What's... what's that?" Scully groggily asked; her eyes still shut. He grazed her forehead with his palm, making her eyes flutter open. He offered her a smile to assure her that he's not going to bitch out about something that's not important. Yawning, she returned the smile with a sleepy one. "Umm... what's that? I think I didn't catch..." "No, I haven't started anything yet." Mulder told her, moving his hand in and out of her silky hair. She supposed another adorable, tired grin out of her face. "I thought you were already talking, that was probably just the owl hooting." He couldn't help but bite back a toothy, juvenile smirk before it could explode into their faces. Scully's sense of humor always doubles when she's either very tired or very pissed off. Her short arms snaked their way to the small of his back, an unusual position for both of them, since it was always him who pressed his warm palm on the space above her spine. On the other hand, he took a moment from his anxiety filled brain to enjoy it, before going back to what he albeit started. "I just want to tell you... that..." Mulder hesitated, and convinced himself that he HAS to do this. He moved his head forward until they were staring from nose-to-nose. "I love you. I love you so much, Scully." He pressed a kiss on her tight lips, softening them to an extent. Scully must've thought that the situation was absurd, or so her quickly meeting eyebrows did so. Her lips parted, and his hopes accelerated from the bottom to the top, but to his disappointment, she just closed them and forced a thin smile: "Why would you want to tell me that now, Mulder?" She instead said, and Mulder guaranteed the heavens that he heard his heart breaking as she did. His eyes shone away from hers, and the certainty that she has hurt him--- not only now, but AGAIN--- panged on her hard. Scully took back what she said a while ago and continued with, "I know that already, Mulder... there's no need to tell-" "Is our relationship only about sex?" It was Scully's turn to be appalled. She stared back at him with baffled eyes, her head shaking itself into the pillow. Mulder repeated the question, his voice cracking with each word. Her mouth hung open, and her eyes blinked- as if pushing back tears that were not supposed to drop, yet. Clearing her throat like she would always do if she's trying to figure out the rationality of a case they were arguing on, she simply answered: "No." It came out like a desperate whisper. "Then why could you never tell me what I tell you every night, Scully? Why?" Mulder was already frustrated. He angrily kicked the covers off his body to enable himself to sit up. Pushing his knees to where his elbows could reach them, he tucked them under his aggravated chest. It was an act to stop him from blowing off his top- from completely lashing out at her- and to give her the space she needed. It had been five, long months. Never once was it ONLY sex for Mulder... what they shared for him was now his whole life. He let it take over his crusade to find Samantha as his top priorities. He let it ease him into a quiet stream, unlike the ravaging river he was once before. But he still drowned, as much as he tried to capture the rocks that stood over his head... he still drowned. And the decision to bring her to Massachusetts occurred to him in the brink of his death. He HAD to save himself, for the water was already lining his forehead, --- and save what they shared. The only problem is, Mulder doesn't think Scully cared enough to actually throw him a rope and pull him out of the stream. He wants to know if she does. He wants to know badly. "Mulder," Scully was still shocked by his mild outburst. She swallowed before she started talking, "it- it has only been five months..." "Goddammitt, Scully, those five months that you conveniently attach with *only* have been the best five months of my fucked up life! This means so much to me... and I don't think you understand that." "How could you say that?!?" She objected, raising her voice together with leveling her body with his. "Because you haven't told me what I needed as proof that THIS is not only about SEX from the start. I have been trying my best to understand why, Scully... but as shitty as it sounds, actions do not give me enough declaration- I *need* to hear it from you, I need to hear that you feel the same way--- that I'm not just some asshole here waiting for someone to pitch me a rope and save me from drowning." Mulder regretted his last words with a hand on his mouth. That was quite deep within him, he did not intend to let anyone- not even Scully- see that part of him. It was his basis of life... the stream, the river, the ocean where he has probably tossed himself in now... To his surprise, however, Scully seemed to understand what he completely meant: "The problem with you, Mulder, is that you never get a hold of one of the rocks! You just keep on waiting for someone to save you from this damned crusade and never- never did you try to save yourself! Never!" She shouted, and then lifted her enraged face to his. Scully recoiled and gasped when she saw the tears swiftly streaking down from Mulder's eyes. She fucked up, big time. "I- I just thought you will be the person who could make me realize that I'm an asshole in this. I just thought you were the one who would care for me, finally. Maybe I was wrong, Scully. Maybe I AM wrong." He wiped the tears with one fuming action, before moving away from her and the bed. He grabbed his underwear, jeans, and shirt, that were all scattered on the floor. Scully watched with her own tears escaping her eyelids. This isn't happening, her mind shouted. This isn't happening. Mulder didn't even bother to slip on a bit of clothing before leaving the room and slamming the door behind him. Scully closed her eyes and collapsed into the bed. "Damn, Dana... it already is happening." She murmured to herself, feeling her whole body shake with forthcoming sobs that at last found an opportunity to push themselves from her system. A sentence escaped her vocal chords before hard lamenting took over her whole being: "God, what have I done?" ----------------------------------Towers, Streams, and Wooden Rings [2/2] Everything you need to know is in the first part. Author's extra notes are below. ---------------------------------- Mulder rubbed his cold toes on the flower- patterned covers of the cushion. He was freezing, even if the fireplace before him was brewing heat quite satisfactorily. What he was thinking about brought him the real chill, though. He was thinking about the argument- no, this time, it wasn't JUST an argument. It was their first, official fight as lovers. He was thinking if it would be their first and last fight as lovers--- or worst, as partners. God, he couldn't even bare the thought. He hugged the Indian- inspired pillow closer to his beating heart, hoping that it had only been a dream, and wishing that he hadn't started the conversation, and hoping that he didn't bring Scully to a place where his wounds would just cut open ripe, and wishing that--- "Is there room for me?" Mulder looked over his back. Scully was standing on the door frame of the bedroom. Her eyes were horribly swollen, and her white cotton robe was probably just an impromptu shrug on--- but she was smiling, genuinely smiling, and that touched Mulder. It was obvious with the tone of her voice and the smile she was sporting that she wanted reconciliation. "Sure." He answered. Moving to give her space, he patted the now vacant area beside him. Her beautiful smile gotten wider. She sat down, keeping a few inches away from him. It was a sign that she respected their disagreement, but nevertheless, she'll try her best to fix it. It has been an hour since he left the bedroom, and with the muffled noises he heard inside the room, she was crying throughout that hour. That conception tugged at Mulder's heart heavily, but outside, he was also silently sobbing. No one had the guts to go to each other and give comfort, but still taking both their whole will power to stop themselves from rushing in to where either one was. And now, here's Scully, making the first move between them. It was certainly a first in their relationship as lovers. Scully flexed her upper limbs so that she could rest comfortably on the sofa. "Could I ask you... why you brought me here, Mulder?" Her weak voice piped up. She knew there was a reason behind this weekend vacation, and Mulder knew that she needed that reason to clear her side up. His side has always been clear for the past five months--- even for the past seven years. "I had a friend here--- the past owner of this estate. His name was Adrianne. We had a group before--- my last circle of friends, ever." Mulder shrugged and smirked at that. Scully brought a wider smile back to her face. "In this very cabin I had the last taste of my youth. I spent the other year making fliers with photocopied pictures of Sam, and when my parents were already divorcing I had this. This was my last chance of childhood... a place where I really am ME." He looked around the cabin, choking on his words, "Wonderful, wonderful memories here, Scully. "The reason why I brought you here... is because for the past five months I struggled with having you but not really *owning* you in that sense of couples. You already own me, Scully- heart, mind, and soul- but I just don't think you love me that way. Sometimes, I don't even think you care." He breathed in and out calmly, "In Washington I didn't have the chance to tell you what I want... because of all the pressures surrounding us. In here, I know I could--- we are so far away from chaos--- and this place... I could be ME here. And being me, I want to know why. Just... why?" Mulder stole a glance at his partner, who was licking her dry lips. She was gazing at the fire as if it would sprout out answers to why this is happening to them--- them who others would consider as soul mates. A sigh escaped her moist lips: "When I was young, Mulder, my father gave me a bunny... she was cute, always hopping around and it just delighted me to the extent that my Dad called the bunny, 'Love', because I was spending too much time with it. He actually told me that I *loved* the bunny more than him. But I was four and such an animal amazed me as much as a postmortem on an unidentifiable specie would do to me now. I talked to it sometimes, and it would just twitch its nose... it gave me the impression that it constantly listened." Scully gave out a chastened laugh, "But eventually, one day I left its cage open. It chewed on one of Bill's favorite pajamas, and he began to hunt for it. I was despondent; I didn't want him to kill Love. So I kept her inside a lunchbox in the basement--- the nave little girl never knowing that the rabbit could suffocate. When I went back to Love later... worms already consumed the bunny. "First time in my damn life that my heart was broken--- also first time in my life when I started thinking about being a doctor, so I could know everything about how animals or people could and would die." Scully shook her head, as if dismissing that fact in her life. Mulder started to reach over to comfort her, but she talked again, so he pulled back to make her continue freely. "Fast forward a few years, here is illicit Dana--- fucking her professor who had a wife and a kid at my age that time. If Daniel and I didn't meet recently, well, I could've never have closed that chapter in my life. God, I loved that man. I could've married him if it wasn't for the calling of the FBI. I knew I wanted a difference, so I risked my heart being broken... and just did it." She grinned, an almost impeccable grin that somehow didn't fit the situation or the story she was telling. "Oh yes, did I tell you about the man I lost my virginity to?" Mulder, wide eyed, shook his head. "Yeah, his name was Larry. My third boyfriend. I just thought the world about him... I thought *he* was the one. I was young, reckless... by the time I had my lips wrapped around his cock he had lost every single respect he had for me. He ended the relationship after getting me laid almost three times a day in one week. Damn, I just blocked out after that. And then, Mulder, I just started to build a wall around me." "What wall?" He wanted to clear. Scully mimicked his position on the bed a while ago during their fight. She crossed her ankles and embraced her legs close to her chest. Her chin rested in between her knees. Mulder marveled at how small Scully was, with the fireplace as his only source of light to see her through the darkness. He always almost forgot about their difference in size, she had an attitude about bringing herself a three inches elevation than her real height. "Its like the... analogy of your drowning, Mulder. It's my own analogy of my life. A wall that towered around my heart that would keep pain away from me. "The foundation was built when I walked away from Daniel ten years ago. I started to pack it as high as I could when my father died--- then I built the roof when Melissa died. There's only one door to it, Mulder, and I promised myself that I would never, ever give the key to someone else. Never." If Mulder was startled that Scully told him about the first time she lost her virginity, this was new to him. He never realized that she had a similar view to life that he had. Mulder has his streams, rivers, and oceans... and Scully had her tower. It fascinated him, how opposite they were, but deep inside, they were similar. And what more is that she's sharing her deepest secrets with him. That's a notion that never crossed him... maybe, maybe... he's at fault too, in this relationship. Maybe he has told Scully his feelings, but not... "Remember the time you came in the hospital room an hour after Melissa's body was hauled away into the morgue? You just held me as I cried into your chest... and Mulder, at that very moment, I knew that you would be the only person in this whole world who could hold the key to this wall I have built around my heart. And as soon as I realized that, I was frightened... because I knew that this wall was the only thing I had, the only thing I ever had through my moments of loneliness... I depended on myself for so long, how could I loose it to just one person?" A tear reappeared on Scully's cheek. "One part of me wanted to let you in, Mulder, to let you... tear the wall around me. But another part of me, the fucked up rational part, told me not to. Because I have worked on this wall for so long and it protected me. As I expected later on, my priorities about protecting myself were shattered in Antarctica, when you showed me how you would risk your own life just to save me... I knew that the protection this wall gave me would never be lost if I let you in--- because you are my protector. You have never failed me. I trusted you with my life." Mulder nodded. "It was too late, by the time I realized that. I have pushed myself to the limits. The wall and its rickety foundation just... collapsed. And I plunged into the darkness." More tears filled her dry, flushed cheeks. "The reason why I couldn't let you in, Mulder... why I couldn't tell you that I love you; is because you're the only one who ever cared enough to pull me out of the darkness. The problem is that I couldn't let you pull me out, because if I do, I *might* pull you in, too. I don't want you to get lost in this maze of my emotions. I don't want to risk loosing you. That's my... greatest fear. I begun to believe in the darkness- that if I let you in... if I made you peek within the dimmest recesses of my heart- you would hate me, condemn me... I just didn't think that in the process of my shielding away from you, I would be hurting you too. I was so afraid... that when you walked away from me a while ago- that I was going to loose..." She didn't go on anymore, she didn't need to go on. They both understood what she wanted to say, and it was out there plain as the day that awaited the demise of the night. Mulder took a deep, comforting breath. It was his turn to explain now. "Your--- your not the only one at fault, Scully. I became a selfish man when I had you, Scully. I wanted everything at once... I wanted you to save me from drowning in this stream you have given me over the past five months; at the same time I wanted to hold the key to your heart. I was so selfish. But your right, you have given me enough, you pulled me out of the ocean I was wading in when you entered the X-Files and turned your back against the conspiracy. You have given me more than enough when you pulled me out the fast- paced river and made love to me. And now that I'm in a gentle stream--- I'm still drowning... when all the while I just had to learn to float and relax. You ALREADY have saved me. You ALREADY are loving me. You don't have to tell me, I just had to look into your eyes, ... and it was there, all along. In retrospect, I lacked in this relationship. I should've told you about my real feelings, rather than attacking you like that." Mulder closed the gap in between them and placed an arm around Scully's quivering shoulders. He pressed a soft kiss on her wet cheek. "Could you ever forgive me?" Scully met his eyes intimately before she aggravated her position and kissed him on the lips. This kiss wasn't as hot as their previous ones, but it was one that they both would forever remember. It was soft and slow, understanding; giving and taking at the same time. It was a kiss that only couples that are truly meant for each other would ever have the chance to taste. And as Scully and Mulder's tongue slipped against each other- inviting, tugging, teasing- they knew that they were both lucky to have each other. How many people find their soul mates at such an early stage in their lives? They are truly blessed, both of them. When they separated, Scully stared at him from the tips of his hair down to his swollen lip. "I love you." She mumbled, unable to keep the bashful shake in her voice, as an answer to all of their questions on the future of their relationship. Mulder thumbed another trace of a teardrop on her exquisite face. "I love you too, Scully." She took his hand into hers as she did a while ago, this time clasping it as a symbol that she'll never ever let him go. Scully pressed her smaller body against Mulder's, as his free extremity wrapped itself around her shoulder. There are so many ways that they fit perfectly together, and tonight, this position was new--- and it was no exception. She began to ponder on the fact that giving him the keys to her heart wasn't as hard as she thought it would be. Someday in the near future, she'll let Mulder pull her out of the suffocating bricks of the tower, and someday, she'll permanently hold Mulder's hand and pull him out of that stream and keep him in her arms--- in dry land... "If there was just a priest in here, Scully, I would ask you to marry me at once." He said, rubbing his knuckles on her arm. She pressed her forehead under his chin. "Yeah." She agreed. A light bulb ticked off in Mulder's head. It was absurd, definitely, it was, but who cares? When Scully is with him, there was no such thing as absurd or over the edge. They could do this, no one would care, no cancer man to intrude, no protocol... Mulder's hazel green eyes were sparkling as he temporarily detached himself from his partner and told her his idea: "Why don't we get married right now, Scully? There's no reason why we shouldn't, I know it's not official, but we could make it official when we return to Washington. We don't need anything fancy, all we need is our faith and the belief that we wouldn't let another day pass without each other beside us. There are no witnesses that would endanger our professions, too..." Scully shifted on her position. "Mulder, that's crazy." She countered, her hands flying into the air--- but considering that she had a smile on her face, he knew that she was going to agree, she just couldn't help shake some rationality in him. "I know! But isn't this crazy enough?" He indicated at their relationship, making her giggle. He didn't need to hear her say anything audible this time; he knew through her laugh that she was already all for it. Scully tried to contain her excitement, but through the process, she become conscious of something: "We have no rings!" Her eyes dropped, her bitter disappointment ringing in his ears. Just then, Mulder's photographic memory kicked in. "Wait a minute." Mulder jumped off from the couch and bent over the floor. He knocked on the vertical wooden planks, listening intently as he did. Scully eyed him curiously, wondering what was going on. With self- control, she didn't give in to her curio; she wanted him to tell her afterwards. Mulder kept on knocking, until he heard a softer sound. He beamed widely as he flicked the plank off the ground and a hole was unveiled. Her partner lowered a hand into the break and out came a small matchbox. He didn't bother to close the plank as he resumed to his position on the couch. He offered the matchbox to Scully, and she opened it at once. She was startled to see four raw wooden rings. "Ohmigod... " she held her breath, "Where did you... how did you...?" "It's our friendship- bonding rings. Adrianne and I always had a much more special acquaintance. We kept it under the floor boards so that no one would find them out. We also told each other that if we *found* the woman that we are going to spend our lifetime with, we would go back to this cabin and tell each other all about it. The deal originally was to take one of the rings and give it as a ring of engagement to that woman. We own two of those ring there, and another pair was deliberately carved to be given to our soul mates. Apparently, I now have complete authority over the rings ever since Adrianne died in a car accident three years ago. "We could use them, Scully. I was the one who carved all of them." He proudly stated, picking an intricately carved one from the pair and taking her right hand. He poised the ring before her middle finger. Scully giggled again, she was amused by all of this, but her happiness was overflowing within her. Marrying Mulder? This way? It never occurred to her... but it's exciting, a chance for her to step out of her inhibitions and just be the REAL Dana Scully... "Dana Katherine Scully, would you take me, Fox Mulder, as your husband? Someone who'll love you even if your toes are unable to carry you from the bedroom the kitchen? The man who'll never really leave your side, even if you are thousands of miles away from each other? Someone who'll try his best to give you the best of this lifetime, and the next one awaiting both of you? Someone..." Mulder was fighting the tears that were already choking him up, but he was able to continue, even if Scully was already crying. "... Who'll pull you out of that tower you have collapsed in, and would gladly keep you company if you didn't want to be pulled out?" "Mulder... of course...." She said beneath her straddled throat emotions. Mulder slipped the ring into Scully's finger, and it actually fit! She smiled, then took another ring from the box. She showed it to Mulder before making her own 'ceremony'. "I believe this was once yours?" Mulder bent over and studied the ring. Surely enough, it had his name engraved inside of the band. "You couldn't have possibly seen that at once! How did you know?" "Wild guess." Scully took his right hand in turn and prepared the ring over his fourth finger. "Fox William Mulder, would you take me, Dana Scully, as your wife? Someone who'll keep you company even if all of your hair has turned white and your teeth are already fake?" They laughed at that one before she continued, "A woman who would devote her whole self to you, only you? She'll be there when the whole world has turned their backs on you, and she wouldn't care if she is called Mrs. Spooky and on the other hand she'll wear that title proudly because it'll mean she's your right hand? Your partner throughout all? And... someone who'll give you the keys to her heart for you to hold forevermore? She'll gladly save you if you ever drown again, she wouldn't throw a rope, but her own hand for you to hold on. Will you?" Mulder bobbed his head up and down strongly, while saying, "Yes, yes, yes, Scully. I will. I do." She slipped the finger into his fourth finger, and it also still fits. "You sure haven't grown much, Mulder." She kidded as they studied their rings. It wasn't real gold, or a real ceremony, however for the couple, it was enough to tell them that they in perpetuity will belong to each other- come what may. They kissed like a happy, newly wedded couple; during the kiss they couldn't help themselves. They laughed while mouths were still joined, the air thinning rapidly because of their amusement. Pulling apart, they laughed their hearts out, and then collapsed into each other's arms. Mulder smoothened Scully's tousled hair, cradling her face close to his. He directed her head to lay where it always corresponded in perfect symmetry- his chest. Her ears covered his heartbeat that was excited by their simple union. Body folded up against his like the world would end tomorrow; they both knew that during the process of their small ceremony, Scully has already saved Mulder from his ocean, river, and stream. And while she did, Mulder has pulled her out to safety from the collapsed tower. They had finally seen salvation far beyond their reticence, giving them a new freedom to share together. "Mrs. Dana Katherine S. Mulder," Mulder undertones, half to himself and half to his partner in life, "How do you think that will sound as soon as it's settled?" Mulder's moving lips landed on her forehead. Her eyes closed briefly, drinking in the warmth that his kisses gifted her with. "It sounds just right, Mulder." She cuddled nearer him, until there was not a single atom in between them. They just sat there, watching the fire that played soft shadows on their faces. Time somehow stopped and respected what was decided between them, a union between two souls that were created solely for each other. Mulder grazed the top of Scully's auburn hair, smelling her distinctive scent that kept him in a state of intoxication before he could speak again: "This is perfect, Scully." "Yes, it certainly is." Mulder broke his eye contact with the fire and looked down on his new wife. Her nose was inhaling his scent--- just as he did with her hair a while ago. He wanted to ask her something, unimportant maybe, but necessary in this delicate stage: "Do you want to go on with Honeymoon?" He almost wordlessly queried. Scully tore her nose away from his shirt, wrinkled her lips like a prune, then lifted her eyebrows: "Nah. I think we have a whole day for that tomorrow." Mulder reached over and tucked both of Scully's legs on his lap to finish fastening themselves together. "My thoughts exactly." ---------------------------- AUTHOR'S NOTES: Now, where did I get the idea of this marrying thing? Oh yeah, in the Count of Monte Cristo--- one of my all time favorite movies--- where Mercedes pledges her love for Edmond Dantes by tying a strip of thread around her finger and promising him that it'll never come off. He comes back, years afterwards, and still finds the thread around her finger. I have always wanted to do *something* inspired by that love, so here is it. The song I included before the whole fic- "One last breath" is one of my favorite all time Creed songs. That's basically where I got the idea of Mulder drowning and Scully being trapped in her crumbling tower. It may not seem related in any way, but if you delve deep into the lyrics, you will discover my source of inspiration. I also used it once for a snogger- type collage. It bends both ways. ;-) This fic is just a small byline from my Questions of the Painful Past continuation, Pristine Life. I have a thing for vignettes lately, smaller fics, rather than the novel types I have been accustomed to doing for the past three years. This fic is a "back-story-that-isn't-really-connected" to my other short fic, Cold. I wanted to wander around and switch sides for this--- I have been really a Scully fan, but this time, I want to go into Mulder's head. It deals with Scully not replying to Mulder's confessions of his feelings, which I opened up in my aforementioned fiction. I know that the towers and streams are confusing, but I enjoyed making this fic, and I do love the title. Its one of the most creative title I have ever done for a story, yeah, even if it sounds something from Lord of the Rings. Bear with me, please. It's 3:18 AM and I'm beginning to bitch out. Yeah, thanks to JC or else I'll not be bitching out by now; I'll be *fucking* this out. FEEDBACK: agentrain022@edsamail.com.ph --- deeply appreciated and will be answered ASAP! P.S: I have a thing for the night, do I? Maybe because when I make these short fics, it's always a transition from the evening to the early morning. It's almost 4 AM now. I seriously got to get into bed.