Author: annaK
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Characters are not mine.
Classification: V, MSR.
Spoilers: This is a post-ep for Redux II. Spoilers for that
episode.
Archive: I'd be honored! Just let me know where.
Summary: This is a moment that he will remember with a smile.
Author's Notes: This fic is something of a belated Christmas
present for Sandra. Thanks for all your support and
encouragement, hon. This one's for you.
Many, many thanks to xdks.
**
A Moment To Remember by annaK
**
Calmness seeps through her veins. The room is light, its
white walls screaming with energy as the sun blinks against
the plaster. The darkness of yesterday seems all but
forgotten, her eyes finally open as she takes in the smiling
faces of those she loves.
Mulder had only stayed with her for a moment, his face a
blurred mask of joy that almost looked like pain. Eyes
watering, he'd tried to silence her when she'd announced she
had something to tell him. He'd said that anything she said
would sound like goodbye. He wasn't ready for that. He'd
never be ready.
When the news was finally allowed voice, he'd sat, silent,
just staring at her. "Remission". Such a strange word, so
scientific yet somehow soft. Hazel turned green as he blinked
repeatedly, watery streaks appearing on the stubbly cheeks
she knew he hadn't stopped to shave while he'd searched for
her cure.
Then, he'd kissed her.
Just a brush of lips, the gentlest sensation of his fingers
in her hair, and he was gone, moving abruptly out of the way
as Bill had entered the room.
Now, she floats within the warmth of her familial cocoon,
but her anchor is outside.
**
The soft sounds of gentle laughter make their way through the
thin hospital wall and serenade him with the music of life.
Ears attuned to the vitality just a few feet away, his eyes
still burn with the image of death that the bloody photograph
has forever imprinted on his mind. Two children, two smiles.
One, lost forever, vanquished to the realms of betrayal and
the caverns of his memory. One, a young boy, cheesy grin and
sparkling eyes. A boy lost long ago, hidden by time and
tragedy, buried somewhere within the man who can't stop
crying. But maybe the boy isn't so lost after all; the man
still dares to hope, still dares to dream. The boy's still
there. It was the little boy who needed comfort, the little
boy who made the man finally kiss the woman he loved.
It's the man who cries for that kiss though.
He'd always recognized that time passes in moments, that the
clock ticks by each second, but without those moments, the
passage of minutes, hours and days is meaningless. So he
treasures the moments.
Running down the beach in the Vineyard, Sam straggling behind
as they raced to the shore. Scully walking into his office,
so green and naive. Candlelit confessions as he accepted her
as an ally, holding her for the first time. Finally getting
her back after Barry, holding her hand and knowing he could
never live without her. Hearing that she was in remission.
Kissing her.
So many memories held within his photographic mind, so few of
them happy.
The last two, so recent, so immediate. He can still feel her
go still as he brushed her lips. Still feel the warmth of
her mouth against his as he breathed her breath and tried to
drown in her eyes. He can still feel it all. She's everywhere,
all around him, her voice seeping through the wall, her smile
fighting to the surface, chasing away the blurry remnant of
lost youth.
She's just in the next room, yet somehow, he's alone.
**
"You're tired, honey. You should get some rest. We'll come
back later."
She is tired. Eyes drooping shut, she has no idea what
they've been talking about for the past hour. All she knows
is the warmth of the bed, the soothing sound of her mom's
voice, and the gentle sway of the shadows that dance across
the dusk lit wall.
"We'll see you in a few hours." Planting a soft kiss on her
daughter's forehead, Maggie turns and leaves, ushering Bill
from the room with her.
The silence is blissful, sleep too tempting to resist. For
the first night in days, she can close her eyes and sink into
unconsciousness without fear that she will never wake up.
Dreams are of chaste kisses and strong arms, no longer of lost
chances and vacant stares.
Through closed eyes, she can see him, touch him, hold him. The
dream is liquid, yet through the haze, she hears the door open,
the sound of soft footsteps, and then the dip in the bed and
the warmth of a strong body behind her own.
"Mul...?"
"Shhh. You need to sleep."
"So do you."
Eyes still closed, she relies on her other senses. The smell
of his cologne permeates the air, the feeling of his fingers
in her hair; so soothing, so familiar.
*Fingers in her hair as he kisses her.*
Turning over, she buries her face into the crook of his neck,
breathes him in.
"Just sleep, Scully."
She won't argue. They'll talk about what happened tomorrow,
or maybe they won't. It doesn't matter. Through closed eyes,
she can see him, taste him; he's a part of her now, and
she'll never let him go. She doesn't have to.
**
The woman in his arms snores quietly against him, her breath
blowing in butterfly kisses against his cheek.
Sitting outside, he'd watched her family leave, politely
refused Mrs. Scully's request that he join her and Bill for
a coffee, and tried to decide what to do. Go in, see her,
talk to her, hold her; feel alive. Or stay where he was, so
close, yet so far away.
He'd finally realized the decision was no longer his own. The
little boy didn't care about awkwardness, about confusion. He
cared about being held, being loved. All he ever wanted was
to be loved.
Now, the woman in his arms snores quietly against him, and,
as he breathes her in, he knows this is just the beginning.
Maybe they'll move forward in a day, maybe a year, but they
have the time. There are moments ahead, and they'll come as
surely as day will bleed to night. But the child inside only
cares for this moment, this second in time when the moon
breaks the sky and Scully curls further into him. This is a
moment that he will remember with a smile.
**
The End
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