Light
by weirdgirl42

Rating: PG
Email: weirdgirl42@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note: Anyone who didn't like the movie should be
checked for a pulse. This is my first attempt at X-Files fiction
though I've been reading it for years. As soon as I heard Mulder's
last line in the movie this idea popped into my head.


He knew from the way she pushed open the gate that something
bad had happened. There was a weariness in her movements that
hadn't been there when she'd left that morning. He watched from
the window as she drove up to the house. He saw in the backseat
a box of her things from the hospital. When she got out of the car
and looked up at him standing on the porch, he knew.

They'd been partners for sixteen years and lovers for six of them,
well seven if you counted the year he spent in New Mexico. He
knew her completely. So she didn't have to tell him that an
unexpected blood clot had ended Christian's life. Didn't have to
tell him that the boy's parents blamed her. Didn't have to tell him
that she blamed herself. He knew.

Leaving her things in the car she slowly climbed the stairs and
walked until her forehead touched his chest. He wrapped her in
his arms and held on as tightly and he knew she wanted him to.
They stood like that until she pulled away. She didn't have to tell
him what she needed. Mulder took her hand and led her to the
bedroom. Once she was seated on the bed he went to the
adjoining bathroom and filled the tub. Then he helped her take
off her clothes, a moment that held more intimacy than sex, and
helped her into the bath.

While she soaked, he packed four suitcases with clothing and
other essentials. He sorted through the papers in his office and
pulled out all the important documents for both of them. He went
to the basement and turned off the water heater and furnace, it
would stay warm enough for the rest of the night. By the time he
was done, Scully was out of the tub and wrapped up in his
terrycloth robe. She looked at the packed bags and raised an
eyebrow at him.

Mulder shrugged. "From what I understand, you don't need a
passport to go to Puerto Rico."

Scully gave him a half smile. "Sounds great."

Mulder walked towards her and put a hand to her face. "You
don't have to tell me," he said. "But I'll listen if you want to."

Scully shook her head. "Let's just get out of here. You and me."

"We'll go tomorrow," he replied.

She nodded and they moved to the bed. Still in his robe, she
crawled under the covers and settled herself against his chest.
They rarely held each other in sleep, but sometimes when the
outside world got to be too much, one or both of them would
seek solace in the arms of the other. Mulder stroked her hair and
kissed her forehead.

"I realized something after you left," he said, his lips moving
against her temple. "I told you at the hospital that I was fine. I
wasn't lying Scully. Even with everything that had happened I
felt so different than I had years ago doing the same thing. It was
like, I knew the darkness was there, but I could see through it
anyway. But then you said you weren't coming home and
everything was covered in black. It became just like before. And
I realized this morning that the variable is you."

Scully closed her eyes. "I should never have said that," she told
him. "It wasn't right."

"I understand why you did. But there's something you have to
understand. I realized that all the times over the years when I've
felt myself start to slip into the darkness. Every time was a
moment where we weren't together, when something stood
between us. I realized that I don't have to be afraid anymore.
With you, I don't think the darkness can ever overtake me.
You're my light Scully. You always have been. Ever since that
night sixteen years ago when you trusted me enough to take off
your robe in that hotel room."

Scully could feel the tears falling down her face at Mulder's
heartfelt words. He brushed them away with his thumb and
kissed her softly. "You told me my stubbornness was the reason
you fell in love with me."

Scully chuckled. "Well it was one of the reasons."

Mulder smiled and reached in the darkness of their room for her
hand. When he found it he linked their fingers together and
kissed her knuckles. "We can't escape the darkness Scully. When
we leave tomorrow it'll follow us. And we'll always be looking
over our shoulders at shadows, or waiting for the world to end, or
praying that somehow William comes back to us. But it can't get
us. It can't consume us. Because as long as I am able to see, I'll
never let you slip into the dark. And as long as you're with me I
can see. You're my light."

Scully choked back a sob and leaned her forehead against his.
Somehow, in everything they'd been through, this was the
position where she felt the safest. It was in feeling the lines of his
brow against her own that she drew her greatest strength. She
knew what he said was true. Flashing back onto a somewhat
similar conversation years before she just whispered, "And you
are mine."

They fell asleep with their foreheads still touching. And the
morning dawned as brightly as ever.


The End