Names of a Lifetime by Agent_410 Email: box9missingno@hotmail.com Summary: Season 10; AU She still remembers all of those who've come and gone in her life, from her mother (who's still around, thankfully) to her father (who sadly is not), to her husband (who is out of her life, due to circumstances out of their control). She argues with herself daily as to whether it was worth leaving him there, there were so many demons he was facing. But she worried about herself, about her own health and safety. 'You don't have to leave,' he said to her, with a pained look on his face. She looks back at her husband and sighs. 'I do, Mulder, I do... all that has happened with the both of us is not healthy. For either you or me.' He looks at her with a resigned smile on his face. 'I'm sorry Scully, I'm sorry that I've failed you...' 'No you didn't, Mulder... they lied to you. Lied to you about the invasion, the date and about our son. You have nothing to feel ashamed about. I still believe in you and still love you, but for now I think it's best we have some space and some time apart.', she said to him. He didn't know what to say, he was now standing there shifting back and forth on his feet, both nervous, sad and upset that she was leaving. 'You don't have to go, Scully...', he says to her, almost pleading. She sighs and squeezes his arm. 'I'll still visit from time to time, Mulder, but I think we just need some space for now.' She kisses him tenderly and goes, leaving him behind. His eyes well up with tears and he kicks at the floor. He's upset and angry that he didn't speak up sooner that he didn't try harder. But he also realizes that he's been resigned to their fate as of late. That he saw her start to draw away. The late nights at the hospital, less phone calls, and just shortness of temper, period. His life wasn't going to be the same. He knew it and he cursed himself for it. He went and shut the door and sat down on his couch, started doing some channel surfing, he came across a random show by some television host whose name was Tad O' Malley... he swore at the TV screen as Tad babbled on about some miracle cure for people who have no lips. He turned the channel as fast as he could and he landed on some random infomercial about the Suck-O-Matic, the newest and most powerful vacuum cleaner by K. Kaaarter Incorporated, partially funded by Swift Kik in the Pants. He swiftly turned the TV off and went over to feed his two fish, Doggett and Reyes. Then he went over to turn on his vacuum cleaner to do some cleaning. 'Cleaning is good for the soul...' , he thought with each pass over the carpet. His anger was starting to abate as he headed down the hallway and towards his bedroom. He knew he'd have to do some redecorating soon since he was once again on his own. 'Maybe some Yankees pennants...' he thinks to himself as he continues to vacuum. He doesn't plan on taking off his wedding band, because as far as he's concerned, he's still married to Scully. It's just a break. Not forever. Even she let him know that. They just needed time apart. To heal, to grow. They both loved one another. And planned on working things out, once any bitterness and anger abated. Vacuuming wasn't something he was used to doing, but he's gotten better at it. And the new model he had, the Cleanvac 2000 was one both he and Scully picked up at Home Depot. She thought it was a good one to get into all of the nooks and crannies and he laughed at the name of it, he thought it reminded him of her. She shot him a look and he looked down and grinned sheepishly. He returned to the present and got done vacuuming his room, and unplugged the vacuum and put it away. He'd return to finish the job later. It was time for some dinner... anything to take his mind off of Scully. At least for now. 'Oh what to have, what to have?', he thought, scratching his chin. 'Should I cook up a steak or order out?' 'I'm not sure, might as well call Skinner and invite him over for a cook out...' He takes out his phone and calls him up, but all he gets is a busy signal. He sighs and decides to order out instead. He orders up some green pepper steak from a local Chinese food place. They showed up about 45 minutes later with his meal. 'Finally...', he thinks to himself. 'Time for some dinner... this looks really good.' He digs in and then he goes to the refrigerator to get himself a beer. Some Duff beer. The only kind for a man watching every penny. He's not poor by any means, but he makes sure to make every cent count. He sits back down at the table, opens his beer, takes a sip and finishes up his dinner. He stretches and looks over at his UFO wall clock and sees that it's getting late. Around 9:45pm. Not late per say, but he has an appointment with his doctor tomorrow. Who also is his wife. Oh boy was that going to be fun. Life as a now single man/husband is complicated, that's for sure.