                                     |
Disclaimers: Just in case anyone hasn't figured out yet what is and isn't mine...if it's not named Randall, Bethel, McMillan or Yates, it belongs to FOX. Category: SR Rating: PG Keywords: MSR, sequel to the "Schism" series, Randi appears, faith/religious content. Summary: Important decisions and changes are made during Mulder's recovery. "Schism Epilogue: Covenant"
**Georgetown University Hospital**
Mulder awoke slowly, fighting his way over the last stretch of ground to awareness with grim determination. Technically, he'd been out of his coma for two days, but every time he woke up felt like coming out of it again. He forced his eyes open. Scully's red hair spread out around her like a fan on the bed and across her folded arms. One small hand clasped his on the bed, loosely so as not to disturb the IV line. A smile touched his lips. No matter how long he slept or when he woke she was always there, hovering over him like a flame-haired angel. An angel who had taught him to fly even as she kept him down to earth. Thank you, God. Thank you so much for bringing her back to me. It was strange how naturally prayer seemed to come to him now, after his ordeal. Before this past June, he would never have considered it. God was only a distant stranger who had taken Samantha from him, and he wanted nothing to do with Him. But now that he had allowed himself to see beyond that childhood grudge, gratitude seemed to pour out. And most of it had to do with this woman here, his fiery angel, his partner, his beloved. She stirred, lifting her eyes to meet his, and he made no move to take his gaze away from her. "Good morning." Scully smiled. "How're you feeling?" "Like I spent a couple of weeks at the bottom of a well. You?" She laughed, and the sound made him smile in spite of the pain it still caused his face. They hadn't had much chance to talk--he'd only drifted in and out of consciousness since the coma broke two days ago--so he still had a lot of lingering fears. "Like I lost my best friend--then got him back again." Her hand tightened on his, and he returned the gesture with another swell of thankfulness. "I never got a chance to thank you...for coming back for me." A sadness came into her eyes, and her grip tightened again, as if loosening it would send him back into the darkness he'd passed so many days in. "When have I ever not come for you?" she asked, trying to make the question teasing. "I can't think of one time," was the sincere reply. "Though I wouldn't have blamed you after the ass I made of myself. I don't deserve your loyalty, Dana." Her heart quivered at the sound of her name, wishing he would use it more often. Even though their surnames had taken on an almost inexplicable intimacy during their years together, there was something special about hearing him call her Dana. "Well, that's just too bad, Mulder, because you're stuck with it from now on." He chuckled. "What, no 'I can't leave you alone for a minute'?" "I refrained, but that doesn't mean I wasn't tempted." Mulder lifted his hand from where it rested beneath hers, interweaving their fingers without thought. His eyes still danced from their banter, even though the rest of him hurt too much to show his amusement. Scully blinked back tears, her own smile softening. She let her eyes drift for a moment to their intertwined hands, a thrill unlike anything she'd ever felt before passing through her heart. "I got your letter," she whispered, partially by way of explanation. Mulder's eyebrows tightened in confusion. "But how...? I never got up the courage to send it." Scully smiled. "Randi. She must have found it while she was visiting you and decided to take it upon herself to save our relationship." Eyebrows lifting, he tried to sit up a little straighter in bed. "Where is she? I owe her a hug." "Not for a few more weeks, you don't," Dr. Scully scolded, giving her favorite patient her patented glare. She loved how easily their conversations could flow from serious to light-hearted and back, without any discontinuity. "Hugs may be good for your emotional health, but they're not too good for bruises." He grunted. "Tell me about it." Scully helped him settle back into a comfortable position on the bed, plumping his pillows in the process. A comfortable silence fell between them, emotions like air caressing them both and needing no further explanation. Their eyes met again, searching and finding. "I love you, you know," Dana finally murmured. Despite the pain, a beautiful smile spread over his face. "You wouldn't believe how long I've wanted to hear you say that..." "Then I suppose I'd better make up for lost time--I love you, Fox William Mulder." "I love you too, Dana Katherine Scully. More than even I ever thought possible." Tears shining on her eyelashes, she bent over to kiss him gently on the forehead. "I know. You wrote me a love letter, remember?" He nodded, fighting the dizziness his attempted movement a moment ago had caused. "Every word..." Scully reached one hand up to caress his face, brushing back a stubborn stray lock of hair. He was struggling to hang on to consciousness, but the movement his body still wasn't ready for had weakened him. She knew it wouldn't be long before he was forced to give in. "It's okay, Mulder. Go back to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up." With that reassurance, he finally let go of consciousness and drifted back into peaceful oblivion. **Georgetown University Hospital**
"I'm not leaving," Scully stated firmly, throwing her mother a stubborn glare. Her grip on her partner's hand tightened once again and Mulder laughed. The laugh quickly turned into a cough and her eyes turned away momentarily to check on him. "I'm okay," he nodded, stifling one final cough. Her eyes scrutinized him anyway, doctoral training taking over to assess the truth of his statement. Once it had been confirmed, she relaxed. "You need to get some rest," her mother interjected again with the same Scully stubbornness that kept her daughter at Mulder's bedside. "And I don't mean drifting off for a few moments while he's unconscious." The younger Scully's mouth hardened, her blue eyes turning steely and cold. "Go ahead--I'll be here when you get back," her partner smiled, jumping in before she could refuse again. For a moment, the redhead hesitated. Then, releasing his hand long enough to run hers lightly down the side of his face, she nodded. "I suppose I have been hovering a bit." Margaret Scully smiled. "As a doctor you should know, dear, that suffocating a patient tends to slow down their recovery." Her daughter shot her a patented glare, but acquiesced and rose from her seat beside the bed. "Aren't you going to spring to my defense, Mulder?" she remarked with a caustic smile, not looking back at him. "Why, Dana Scully! Whatever happened to 'I'm-a-trained-federal-agent-I-can-take-care-of-myself-thankyouverymuch'?" "You know, if you weren't already in the hospital, I would demonstrate those skills on you." "Sounds kinky." Smiling, Margaret stepped to her daughter's side and took her arm. "I think you two have just proved my point. Now before things get any punchier...Dana?" The shorter agent reluctantly followed her mother out of the room, turning back once in the doorway. "I love you," she said softly to the man in the bed. He smiled. "I love you too." ********* Walter Skinner watched the two Scully women disappear down the hallway in the direction of the hospital cafeteria. It was nice to see her again, to see that she and Mulder had not only reconciled, but apparently taken their relationship a small step further. If only that step didn't mean he would probably be forced to split up the best partnership in the Bureau... With a sigh, he folded the newspaper he'd been reading and tucked it under his arm. Sighing, he moved down the hallway to room 1210 and knocked softly. "Come in," a familiar voice called. He opened the door and smiled at the man in the bed. "Agent Mulder, it's good to have you back with us." Mulder gestured for his boss to take a seat in the chair Scully had recently vacated. "I suppose you know why I wanted to see you, sir." Skinner nodded. "Yes...it wasn't too difficult to discern from the events of the past few weeks that you and your partner have acknowledged the feelings you have for each other." The agent nodded, his face softening. "I'm going to ask her to marry me," he admitted. "But I'm scared--I have to confess, I'm scared of losing her as a partner. We work together so well, and..." His voice trailed off and he glanced up at his superior. "Is there any way we could stay together?" The AD sighed. This was indeed the question he'd been dreading. "It's unlikely. The Bureau policy on the matter is quite strict, not allowing for the fact that the two of you have already put yourself at uneccessary risk for each other any number of times..." Mulder smiled. "I will see what I can do, but short of keeping your relationship a secret, I can't think of anything off-hand." The agent nodded, his brow wrinkled pensively. He didn't want to have to keep his relationship with Scully a secret--he wanted the whole world to know that he loved her, that, incredible as it might seem, she loved him. If they got married, the last thing he wanted to do was to hide it...but if it was the only way... Well, there would be plenty of time to find another way, if all went as planned. "There was something else I wanted to ask you, sir..." Skinner nodded. "Yes?" "I was wondering if...if you could grant me a year's sabbattical." The AD looked surprised. "Any particular reason?" Mulder took a deep breath. "I love Dana with all my heart, and I never want to hurt her...but I did. I hurt her badly, and it amazes me every day that she was able to forgive me for what I did. I don't ever want to see that happen again." Meeting his boss squarely in the eyes, he continued. "I've sent a letter to a friend in England, Mark Sayers. We were classmates together at Oxford, and he's one of the best practicing psychologists I know. I've asked him if I could stay with him for a while, and try to get my head straightened out a little bit." "Wait a minute, let me get this straight. You want to propose to your partner, then leave the country for a year?" "I don't want to," Mulder corrected. "I have to. I won't marry her until I can be a good husband to her, a good father to our children. I don't want my relationship with her to turn out the way my parents' marriage did. Do you understand?" The AD nodded, a new respect for his agent sweeping over him. Yes, he understood. Maybe if he'd made that choice before he married Sharon, he would never have lost her. "Very well, Agent Mulder. One way or another, I will approve your sabbatical." He stood to leave. "Is there anything else?" Mulder shook his head. "No. Thank you, sir." Skinner nodded. "My pleasure, Agent Mulder. One question--when exactly are you going to propose to her?" The agent grinned. "As soon as I can bend my knees without collapsing." **July 17, 1998** Dana Scully returned from her second day of enforced rest to find Fox Mulder slowly moving down the hallway outside his room. He leaned heavily on a walker and a robe had been thrown over the thin hospital gown. He waved at her and she smiled in return. "Damn. I was hoping I'd have a few more days of knowing where to find you before you were off and running again." "Ah, but this time I'm running *to* you, my love." My love! A delicious shiver ran through her. "Doesn't look like you're running very fast," she quipped in response with a sardonic smile. "Suspense, Scully. Gotta keep you in suspense." "I think I've had my fill of suspense where you're concerned, partner." By this time she had reached his side and stood on tiptoe to give him a kiss on the cheek. "So hurry up and get well. Doctor's orders." Oh, believe me, Dana, I intend to, he answered her silently. I've got a lot of plans, and I'm pretty eager to get started on them. "Okay, I think that's enough for today, Agent Mulder," the nurse who had been walking with him commented, smiling. "Let's get you back in bed." Mulder acquiesced with surprising ease, allowing the nurse and Scully to help him back into the room and settle him back into bed. Amazingly, he was even quiet, until the nurse had left. Then he turned to his partner. "Dana..." Her eyes met his instantly, shining with love and concern. "What's wrong?" Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, Mulder plunged ahead. "When Randi came to visit me--while you were in St. Louis, she told me something I hadn't wanted to hear, but that I needed. I've got a degree in helping solve other people's problems, but I've never really tried to solve my own." "What do you mean?" "I mean...what I did to you. How I took my anger about...Sam's body...out on you. I never wanted to hurt you like that, but I never did anything to make sure I never would. And now that I have a second chance...I don't want to blow it." He met her eyes, wishing he didn't have to say this next part. "I've asked Skinner...for a sabbatical. For a year. I spoke to a classmate of mine from Oxford, who's living just outside of London...he's offered to help me." The disappointment in her eyes almost made him retract the statement. Only the knowledge that it would probably hurt her more if he didn't do this made him stick with it. "You're leaving?" He took her hand and clasped it tightly. "I have to. I don't ever want to hurt you like that again." **FBI Headquarters**
Walter Skinner sighed, reaching up to rub the bridge of his nose. He'd been reading through the Bureau handbook for almost an hour now, looking for a loophole that would allow him to keep Fox Mulder and Dana Scully together if they married. So far, he'd had little success. There were one or two rules that he might be able to bend to their advantage, but it would take a lot of bending. "Sir?" the voice of his secretary interrupted his musings. "Agent Bethel would like to see you, if you're not busy." Skinner's eyes widened. Erin Bethel, Mulder's new partner? He pressed the button on the intercom. "Send her in." He had chosen her for the job because he felt she needed the challenge that partnering Mulder would provide, even though he had known she would never fill Scully's place. And while he had been right about the X-Files being the necessary impetus to draw her out of her shell, it had been Scully's friendliness, not her former partner's stubbornness, that had done it. The two female agents had really connected over Mulder's disappearance, and apparently the senior of the two had been a positive influence on Bethel. A moment later, the door opened and the younger agent entered with a shy smile. Her long honey-blonde hair was pulled back on the sides with a clip, he noticed instead of in the tight braid she used to wear. "What can I do for you, Agent Bethel?" He gestured for her to take a seat, which she did, perching on the edge of it like a restless hummingbird. "I...I wanted to ask you..." she began, stammering. For a moment she floundered, like the lost bird she had been when she first came into his office on the day he assigned her to work with Mulder. Then, a spark of courage came into her eyes and she took a deep breath. "I would like your permission, sir, to stay with the X-Files department." The Assistant Director just looked at her for a moment, startled. "Any particular reason?" "I like working there, sir. I feel like what we're doing is important." "There are a lot of people who would consider mainstream Bureau work a hell of a lot more important," he reminded her curtly. An idea was beginning to form in his mind, but before he could enact it, he had to know exactly how determined she was to stay. "Yes, I realize that, sir. And now that Agent Scully is back, it would seem that my services there are no longer needed. But I don't think those who place more value on mainstream assignments realize just how much the work done down there in the basement really means. I didn't even know until Agent Scully told me. I think that it's about time the Bureau gave Agents Mulder and Scully more resources to work with, and I'd like to be one of those resources." Her eyes shone with defiance, something that amazed him because he'd never seen it in her before. But there was something else there that he hadn't seen before either--the easy confidence of someone who is doing what they've always wanted to do with their life. He knew that Bethel had only joined the FBI at her father's urging--John Bethel had been one of the finest agents they'd had back when he was in the field, and he'd tried to live that life over again vicariously through his daughter. This was the first time Skinner had ever gotten the impression that Erin didn't regret that choice. "That's a pretty strong statement, Bethel." For a moment, a hint of the old fear came into her eyes, as her spirit seemed to collapse in on itself. But she pulled herself back up again with a fierce determination and met his eyes evenly. "Yes, sir." Skinner nodded in satisfaction. "Request granted." Bethel's eyes widened in surprise. "Thank you, sir." "Dismissed." He nodded towards the door and she stood to leave. "Oh, Agent Bethel..." Bethel turned back in the doorway, her new confidence never fading. "Yes, sir?" "You're not the only one who thinks you can do a lot of good down there. You've picked a fine department to join." She smiled. "Thank you for the assignment, sir." After Bethel had gone, Skinner turned back to his desk and allowed himself a small smile. Although she didn't know it, the younger agent may have just given him the answer to his problem. Now all he had to do was put together the rest of the team... **Amanda Randall's Apartment**
Randi breathed a deep sigh of relief when she saw the letter in the mailbox, addressed in Dana Scully's familiar handwriting. She'd been waiting for news for so long, it seemed, that she'd begun to second-guess her decision to come home while Fox was still recovering. But she'd decided that he and Dana needed some time alone, besides which she had work to do, on an idea that was beginning to take shape in her mind for a sequel to Sky Lights... Dropping the rest of the mail onto her coffee table, she ripped open the envelope with one finger and pulled out the letter.
Randi smiled happily, closing her eyes in a moment of thanks.
Setting her friend's letter aside with a smile, Randi studied the large manilla envelope that she had found jammed in the mailbox beside it. Her name was written on the front in a meticulous hand, but there was no return address anywhere and, oddly enough, no postmark either. Puzzled, the writer unfastened the end of the envelope and poured the contents--a manuscript--into her hands. For a moment she just stared at the thing, wondering if something meant for her editor had been somehow misdirected. Then understanding dawned on her face. "Well, whaddya know? He actually sent it." Smiling, Randi crossed to her sofa and seated herself, flipping to the first page of text in the packet. A grimace spread across her face. "Jack Colquitt and Raoul Bloodworth?? Okay--first item of business..." Here she began to scribble on the page with a pen she'd picked up off the table. "...do something about those names..." **Dana Scully's apartment**
It had been almost a week now since Mulder had come home and the two of them had settled into a comfortable routine that was both similar to and completely different from the way they had interacted before. The precious friendship that had once seemed so damaged by their bitter fight had emerged from the ordeal stronger and purer, strengthened by the deep love for each other that they had finally acknowledged. And with that acknowledgement had come a gradual dismantling of the stubbornness and fears that had kept them from confiding in each other. Because of that, it was no longer unusual for the two of them to find themselves curled up together on a sofa, just holding each other and enjoying each other's company without any expectations. There were temptations now to do more than just cuddle, but a few quiet conversations had brought them to the conclusion that they didn't want their first time together to be impulsive and awkward. Instead, that final expression of complete partnership would wait until the moment was right. When that would be, they hadn't decided yet, except that it would be after he returned from England. Otherwise the separation would be just too difficult. "Dana?" Scully craned her neck to look up at him, a smile teasing the edges of her mouth. "Yeah, Mulder?" He chuckled. "Do you remember that conversation we had a few years ago? On that stakeout after Tooms was released?" ("I wouldn't put myself on the line for anyone but you.") Her face softened. "Of course." "I just wanted to apologize...for what I said to you." Dana frowned, unable to find anything offensive in her memory of that night. "What do you mean?" "I told you that I made even my parents call me Mulder--I imagine you've figured out by now that's not true..." "It doesn't matter--" she began, meaning to reassure him. "It does to me," he interrupted gently. "I want you to know...from now on you can call me whatever you want. Hell, even 'Spooky' if it strikes your fancy." The woman wrapped in her partner's arms felt a sudden swell of surprised tears come into her eyes at his words. With that gift of his name, Mulder had, in effect, torn down the final barrier between them. "Mulder, I--" "Fox," he corrected her with a quiet smile. "For a while at least, why dn't we leave Mulder and Scully at the office?" "I'll do my best, but you know what they say about old habits," she teased, eyes sparkling. "Well, as I see it we'll need the practice if we're going to get married," was the equally teasing reply. "Couldn't you just see us? 'I Mulder take thee Scully...'" Dana pulled back, startled, and stared at her partner with hope and disbelief warring in her eyes. "What did you say?" she whispered. Mulder slipped from his seat beside her on the couch and dropped to one knee on the floor, still clasping her hands. "Will you take me, Dana Katherine Scully? Be my partner for life as well as in work?" Then, as he had unwittingly in the well, Fox Mulder reached out across their bond and spoke directly to her soul. Marry me, Scully? Almost weeping with joy, Scully still couldn't help but laugh a little at how he too had slipped into their familiar form of address at this intimate moment. Only after the thought had passed did she realize that she had accepted the way their minds touched without question. Perhaps after hearing him propose so many possibilities became so much less extreme. Leaning forward, she took his face between her hands and kissed him with all the depth and sincerity of love that they had both concealed for six years. Well, Fox Mulder, it's about time you got around to asking me. FIN Well, that's it for the "Schism" series. Next up is "Sky Lights," which is an independent story, although having read these others would definitely help. :-) |
|
author | site | awards | recs | webrings | home
Ink and Quill | Worlds to Wander | Favorite Flavor | LiveJournal | Dreamwidth |