From phuwv@csv.warwick.ac.uk Tue Mar 11 20:07:23 1997 Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: NEW: Yesterdays 1/1 by Ian From: Ian Date: Wed, 12 Mar 1997 02:07:23 +0000 -------- disclaimer: The characters aren't mine you see In fact they're owned by Fox TV Chris Carter and Ten-Thirteen too I'm doing what I shouldn't do I've just borrowed them for a while To write my very own X-File Archive: sure Spoilers: none Rating: V Warning: G Summary: Mulder's thoughts in the middle of the night as he listens to a song. This is the fourth in my G'n'R sequence - let the music play... Yesterdays 1/1 by Ian Horsewell At first, as Mulder stirred from his customary place at the couch, he thought that Scully had been playing with his radio settings again. The music starting sounded like one of her country stations, and he grimaced. He did *not* need country music tonight. Yesterday, there was so many things I was never told As the lyrics started, he recognised the track. Not what he'd have expected, but a glance at his clock showed him that at this time, he was usually watching late-night B-movies or, more rarely, asleep. But though he'd had a few hours rest, his body now seemed determined to stay awake, if not alert. With a groan, he stood up and stretched. Maybe some coffee... ...No time to plant my feet. Those damn lyrics were just a bit too close to home. He laughed at the thought that his life could be so well described in a rock song, then frowned. He couldn't for the life of him figure out whether that was genuinely funny or just ironic. Flicking the switch of the coffee machine, Mulder glanced into the mug and winced. He moved over to the sink, placing the oversized mug under the stream of water, the sound of the faucet drowning out the music for a moment. But when he turned it off he found the next line just as apt, just as descriptive. I'm on the streets and I'm all alone. But he wasn't, was he? He had Scully, and he had Skinner, who protected him when and where he could. No, Mulder muttered to himself, he wasn't alone. Not like he had been before Scully had arrived at his office door, an unwelcome invader into the territory he had assumed would always be his and no-one else's. And he'd never regretted letting her in, letting her past the walls he'd built around himself so carefully. He winced again, an unwelcome image surfacing. Scully, pale and unanimated, in that hospital bed. When he'd gotten her back against all the odds, when his prayers had been answered. And then the doctors had told him that she was slipping away... I ain't got time to reminisce old memories... He smiled reluctantly. That was in the past, there was no point in trying to relive those memories, that painful time. He'd gotten her back, and she was alright. He wasn't alone any more - for that time without her had taught him, like nothing before or since, that once he'd let someone in, going it alone again was even harder... He poured the coffe reflectively, smiling at the writing on the mug. "Who needs sleep? I've got coffee!" A present from Scully on his last birthday. She'd smiled as she handed it to him, and he'd laughed out loud, as he so rarely did. "perfect - thank you," he'd said. She'd only nodded in acknowledgement, but his eyes had held hers for a moment longer. And that had told her everything he wanted her to know. The past was the past, he told himself. And maybe it was time to put those few, lonely months behind him and concentrate on the present, and on the future. After all, that was what the song seemed to be saying... Sipping the coffee, Mulder made his way back to the couch. After a moment's thought, he decided not to bother turning on the TV, just to sit there and enjoy the music. For despite the depressing words, the song had made him feel better. And as he set the coffee down, he realised with a hint of surprise that he was falling asleep. Miracles *do* happen, he thought drowsily, as the last line of the song played in his mind. Yesterday's got nothing for me... THE END Let me know what you think... one more to go in this sequence. Ian Horsewell University Of Warwick: i.j.horsewell@warwick.ac.uk The gods like an atheist; it gives them something to aim at.