TITLE:  The End of Time
AUTHOR:  Red.  ds4fm@hotmail.com
SPOILERS: Requiem.  Dur
RATING:  PG??
CLASSIFICATION:  MSR, A, missing scene
SUMMARY: Mulder and Scully's last minutes together.  What if Mulder
knew before he was taken?
AUTHOR'S NOTES:  See bottom
BETA:  Eternal love to XScribe for your help and wisdom
DISCLAIMER:  I don't own them.  I would give anything in the world
  to have those rights.  Anything, I tell you!
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The End of Time

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"I won't let you go alone."

They pull apart, his hands lingering, lightly grasping hers for a long
second.  He nods slowly; thinks.

"Okay.  Okay, I - I'll ask Skinner to come along.  It's time he sees this
stuff for himself anyway."  The years of knowledge stretch out between them; 
he smiles widely at her.  She feels a lump in her throat:  this is it.  She
looks down at her feet.  Her heart thumps in her chest; her blood pumps in 
her skull; her palms become clammy; sweat sluices down her back.  She sways.
He reaches out to steady her, his hands warm and comforting on her shoulders,
pulling her back to reality.  She draws a breath through her dry lips, looks
up into his concerned, tired eyes and hears herself say,

"Mulder, I'm pregnant."

He is silent.  The echo of her words dies away into the walls.  His eyes
open wide and he draws his bottom lip between his teeth, biting on it.
He releases her from his grasp to run a hand over his face as he closes
his eyes.  She waits patiently for him, feeling suddenly very peaceful
and calm, all panic draining out of her.  She listens to the ticking
of his watch in the quiet hallway, second by second dragging past them
both.  He turns away from her and exhales deeply, then turns back and 
reaches a hand out to stroke a strand of hair behind her ear.  He shakes
his head slowly from side to side.

"Wow.  I, uh... wow."  His voice is husky and he clears his throat.  The
sound is sharp and clear as a bell.

"Is, uh... is it...?"  His forehead crinkles and he suddenly seems awkward
as a schoolboy, averting his gaze downwards, a light blush colouring his
cheeks.  She finds herself smiling at his confusion and takes his hand
in both of hers.  He forces himself to look up at her.

"Yeah.  Who else could it be?"

Tears spill from his eyes and suddenly she is back in his arms, crushed
against his chest, enveloped by his warm body, his racing heartbeat 
thudding against her own.  He mumbles into her ear words meant only for
her, about miracles and second chances, and his breath is hot against
her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.  He loosens his grip on her
enough to pull back and touch his nose to hers, breathing harshly
against her lips.  He mouths, "I love you," and kisses her sweetly,
passionately.  When she breaks the kiss and steps back, he swipes at
his wet cheeks and inhales shakily.

"I won't go back."

She places a finger on his glistening lips.  "Yes, you will."

"How can I go now?  I can't.  I won't.  I won't leave you here alone."

Her expression remains calm.  She smiles.  "I will be fine.  Go.  This
changes nothing."

He chuckles loudly in the quiet hall and taps a foot on the polished
floor, hands on his hips.  "B - Scully - this changes everything."

She swallows and raises her chin.

"It doesn't change us.
"This is what we do and who we are.  It's difficult and dangerous and
crazy sometimes, but this is our life.  We've given too much of
ourselves to it to just walk away."

"But - "

"Go."  She cuts him off defiantly, her mind made up.  He sees the 
decision in her eyes.  He scratches his cheek and sweeps his gaze
over her from her feet to her eyes.  She smiles and her voice
softens.  "Go."

He licks his lips and nods slowly.

"Ok.  Go home.  I'll call you tomorrow and we'll talk."

"All right."  She looks down, briefly, then turns and walks down the
hall, her heels clicking briskly against the floor.

"Hey - Scully!"  he calls out.  She stops and looks back.

"There's money in my desk drawer.  Take a cab."

A wide smile crosses her face.  He watches her stand there for a long
second before walking to the office door and opening it.  Her smile
lingers as she turns again and heads for the elevator, her body humming
contentedly.  As she waits, she glances at her watch, but it has stopped.
The doors 'ding' open loudly; she steps inside and begins her journey down
toward the basement, alone.




Fini

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Red 2004

AUTHOR'S NOTES:  The question I anticipate you lovely lot having in response
to this piece is - if Scully's going home for the night, how does she wind
up back in the office with the LGM, as we see in canon?  My answer is that
Mulder and Skinner, Krycek and Marita head off as Scully's still in the
building, and whilst she's on her way out the LGM call her - to ask for
help, or because she left something behind, or whatever.  Anyway, so she
goes back up there, gets distracted with the work, and then you get to
the bit where they realise it's Mulder who's in danger.  I know some
people will complain that Scully's a doctor and would know it's a good idea
to get some sleep when she's been fainting, but perhaps she would think it
more sensible to stay with people than to go back to an empty apartment
and wait for Mulder to call her from Oregon.  Anyway, whatever.  I hope you 
all enjoyed it!

Please ask before archiving - I will probably say yes but I would like to know
where my writing is going.
Feedback will be treasured forever, and flames will be useful to keep me warm
cuz I'm a poor student who can't afford heating.
ds4fm@hotmail.com