Schisms (5/?)       
by Singing Violin (Pearl on Ephemeral/Gossamer)

Email: perlner@mit.edu
Rating: PG/K+
Category: X-Files VRA
Spoilers: Conduit, I Want to Believe

Summary: What could possibly cause these two to break up? A series
of short stories explaining the reported status of Mulder and
Scully's relationship upon the revival miniseries.

Disclaimer: The X-Files characters and universe are not mine.
Archiving: Anywhere, as long as you let me know. I put stuff on AO3,
ffnet, and Ephemeral/Gossamer.

Author's Note: I totally lifted the plot of this one from another TV
show. I do not apologize. If you recognize it, then you've
experienced another awesome TV show (besides X-Files). If you
don't, then it's new to you. :)


Chapter 5: Fate

Their wine glasses were almost empty, the food on their plates
decimated, and there was nothing left but to gaze into each other's
eyes.

"You know, Scully, I really enjoyed being married to you."

"What?!" she asked, wiping the side of her mouth with her napkin,
clearly confused.

"In Arcadia," he reminded her, leaning forward slightly and
lowering his voice. "I liked...playing house."

She smiled, remembering those few days so many years ago.
"We're not playing anymore; if you haven't noticed, we've been
living together for ages." He opened his mouth to object,
presumably to point out that they hadn't been living as a married
couple, so it was different, but she cut him off. "Besides, you were
awful, even before you started goading the village monster. And
you still haven't learned to put the toilet seat down! Or squeeze
toothpaste."

"I'm willing to try," he told her sincerely.

She snorted. "Yeah, like you've been trying for...how many years
now? Forget it; I've given up." She folded her napkin and placed it
on the table, then began to rise.

He stopped her with a hand on hers, forcing her to sit back down.
"Scully, I'm serious. How many times have you had to tell someone
I'm not your husband? How many times have they kept me out of
your hospital room because I wasn't? Wouldn't it be easier if...?"
His voice trailed off.

She pulled her hands away, but maintained solid eye contact. "Nice,
Mulder. That's got to be the second-least romantic marriage
proposal I've ever heard. Topped only by your order over the phone
during a case when we were still partners at the FBI."

"You still remember that?" he squeaked, suddenly bashful. "As I
recall, you didn't even acknowledge it."

"You weren't serious," she retorted.

He managed to give her a wounded-puppy-dog look. "If you'd said
yes, I would have been."

She scoffed. "Well, I think we've both had a little bit too much to
drink tonight, hmm?" With that, she rose quickly, so that he couldn't
interfere, and grabbed the wine glasses off the table.

When she returned for more dishes, she found him with one knee
on the floor, looking up at her with big, round eyes.

As her jaw dropped open, he popped open a small jewelry box
inside his hand. "Dana Katherine Scully, will you marry me?"

She looked down at the box, then slightly further up at his face,
then back down, then back up, shifting between the two and
blinking furiously to try to make sense of the situation.

Before she could answer, he spoke again. "Please don't say no;
as a doctor, you can probably tell me what that'll do to my heart."

She sighed. "Why now?"

He smiled. "I'm ready. Are you?"

Suddenly she was flustered. "I...I'm not sure."

The wounded look was back, but without the puppy dog eyes. 
Mulder looked down at the floor, his cheeks coloring with
embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Scully. I shouldn't have asked you
now." He looked back up, his eyes shining with unshed tears,
then rose to his feet, never taking his eyes off her as he changed
perspective. "It's just, I'm not sure if the time will ever be right,
and..."

Now her eyes were shining too as she looked up into his. She
gulped and shook her head, then took his hands in hers.
"Just give me some time," she begged. "I need to think about
it. There are so many things to consider..."

Now he looked confused, and quickly she backtracked. "I don't
mean how I feel about you, Mulder. That's not in question. I
just meant...whether getting married is a good idea, legally,
financially...our lives are complicated, Mulder. You can't deny
that. And marriage would make them even more complicated."

"Or simpler," he managed to choke out, somehow appearing
small even though he towered over her.

"Maybe," she agreed, "which is why I need some time to think
about it."

"All right," he conceded. "Take as much time as you need."
With that, he closed the box and pressed it into her hand,
then folded her fingers around it. "You let me know when
you're ready."

She nodded.

---

The old man lounged in the armchair, puffing a cigarette
through the hole in his neck. Former Agent Mulder looked
dubiously at him, trying to hide his disgust. "I thought you
were dead."

"Oh come now, Fox, you should know better than that by
now. Like father, like son. We aren't so easily killed."

Mulder shook his head. "What do you want from me?"

"Does a father need to want something to see his son?"
the smoking man asked idly, tapping his cigarette on the
side of the ashtray before raising it back to his hole.

"Maybe not any father, but you seem to always want
something. So what is it this time?"

"Perhaps it is you who want something from me," the smoking
man retorted coyly. "You've asked before."

"I don't need anything from you," Mulder insisted. "I've got a
good life. I'm not in the FBI anymore. I don't see how our
paths even intersect anymore."

The smoking man chuckled softly. "Ah, but you haven't stopped looking
for the truth, have you Fox?" Mulder opened his mouth to speak, but
the older man cut him off with a wave of his hand, sending a faint
trail of smoke into the air. "And I wouldn't expect any less of you.
I'm proud of you, son. I'm glad you're still looking. But there are
those who are not so pleased with your continued involvement."

"Just tell me," Mulder said impatiently. "I don't want to play games.
Why did you want to meet with me?"

Now the smoking man sighed disappointedly. "I told you I'm glad
you're still fighting for the truth, and I want  you to continue.
And you may very well help save the world, but there is one thing
standing in your way."

"And what is that?" Mulder asked apprehensively.

"Dana Scully," the man revealed, and Mulder couldn't hide his
slight recoil.

"What have you done to her?" Mulder demanded.

"Oh, nothing. I would never hurt her, not when she might become
my daughter-in-law."

Now Mulder gasped. "Might?"

"Well yes," the cigarette man answered, sounding very pleased
with himself. "It has come to my attention that you proposed to
her, but are still awaiting her reply. Is that not correct?"

"And how the hell would you know that?" Mulder replied, anger
seeping into his voice as a feeling of violation settled into his
chest.

"I have my sources. In any case, I've come to advise you not to
marry Doctor Scully at this time. If you do, you will not be able to
stop colonization, and I will not be able to protect her."

Mulder really wanted to strangle the man in front of him, but he
knew it would do no good. "And why should I trust you?"

Smoking man shrugged. "It's your choice, of course. Do what you
will. But as I said, if you marry her, I cannot protect her...or you.
Oh...and if she knows the real reason you're not marrying her,
the deal is forfeit. It's up to you, Fox. Either take my advice, or
take your chances."

"Thanks," Mulder responded sarcastically. "I'll take it under
advisement."

With that, the smoking man rose, leaving his cigarette butt in
the ashtray. As he approached the door, he turned around to
face his biological son. "Oh and Fox, it was good to see you."

He exited before he could hear Mulder's sardonic reply.

---

Mulder found Scully sitting at her computer, obviously lost in
thought. He came up beside her and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"We need to talk," he told her softly.

She looked up and over at him, and nodded. "All right."

He led her to the couch, then sat beside her. "I just wanted to
apologize...I didn't mean to put any pressure on you. I've thought
about it and...."

"The answer is yes," she blurted out. "Yes, I will marry you."

He gulped, then shook his head. "It's not a good idea, like you
said. Our lives are complicated, and you're not ready...er, we're
not ready," he quickly corrected himself.

"Mulder, I...," she started, but he couldn't bear to hear what
she was going to say.

"I'm sorry," he interrupted. "I shouldn't have asked. I withdraw
the offer. But you can keep the ring."

The pain in her eyes as she looked over at him physically stung.
"No, Mulder," she told him coldly. Then she got up, walked over
to her desk, retrieved the box, and handed it to him. "You take it
back to wherever it came from. You'll probably need the money."

His heart skipped a beat. He knew his revelation would wound her,
but was she implying that she was leaving him, over this? A few
days ago, he hadn't even asked, and now he was kicking himself for
doing so. He should have known that fate would never allow them
to have a fairytale ending. He should have been happy with what he
had, but he'd gotten greedy, and now he wouldn't even have that.

Of course she would leave him now. From her perspective, he'd
toyed with her heart. He'd offered her a choice, and then taken it
away from her, for reasons she had no way of discerning...and he
could not undeceive her, not without putting both their lives, and
possibly the fate of the world at risk. Hell, he'd leave himself in
her position, but he hoped to heaven that it was worth it, that
he'd done the right thing.

For a moment, he wondered whether this had been the smoking
man's intent all along, to kill his spirit by killing the one purely
good thing in his life.

As he pondered, he realized Scully was already gone.

Mulder put his head in his hands and wept unabashedly for his fate.