Promises by Polly Email: polly122456@yahoo.com Classification: 310 Words, Mulder POV, UST Rating: PG-13 Spoilers: The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati. Minor for several others. Disclaimer: Not mine; all XF characters belong to 1013 Productions Notes: Happy Birthday, Sybil! Thanks for all you do to keep the fanfic flowing! Archive: If you want it, it's yours Feedback: Welcome and greatly appreciated Summary: Promises for the future * * * * * * My constant. My touchstone. My best friend. These words come easily. Why are the rest so hard? I want you. I need you. I love you. They're hard because I want to believe she feels the same. I'm not ready to accept that she doesn't. I owe her my life - again - revived not by a kiss but a tear. Is it only pity she feels for me? When I awoke in the hospital, I struggled against the vice holding my head. Her words were soothing: "Lie still, sweetie." *Sweetie.* A word she reserves for those she would give her life to protect. Kevin. Gibson. Emily. Am I just another of her lost children? For an instant I wish my gift/curse would return so I could know her thoughts. But I've never needed to read her mind; I can read what's in her heart, just as she can read mine - and she gives me the reassurance I need. "And you are mine." The words aren't important. Her eyes tell me all I need to know. Communication unspoken. We've always had it; we always will. I anticipate our first real kiss, but her lips press against my forehead instead. Familiar territory - yet it's different this time. Sensual, sexual, electric. She caresses my face, replaces my victory cap, and gently traces my lips with her thumbs. She's making a promise - a lover's promise of things to come. She walks away and I consider calling after her, but we both know I'm still weak as a kitten. The promise will have to be enough for now. I close my eyes and see the boy on the beach. I was once so sure the boy was me, father to the man. But maybe the boy is a promise too - the promise of a future together for Scully and me. THE END