Title: Where Have all the Happily Ever
Afters Gone?
Author: Gillian Taylor
Email: usstrustno1@hotmail.com
Rating: PG-13
Category: V, R, A
Spoilers: Requiem
Keywords: Implied MSR, Scully Angst
Summary: Once upon a time...
Archive: Gossamer, Ephemeral, anywhere.
Just drop me a line so I can visit and get a
cheap thrill out of having my story up
somewhere where it can be appreciated.
Disclaimer: Sadly, I can lay no claim to the
characters from the X-Files. If I could, I
would die a happy woman. Mulder, Scully,
and Doggett belong to Ten Thirteen
Productions and I'm only borrowing them for
my own perverse enjoyment.
Author's notes: Thanks, as usual, go to my
beta, Crysta.
"Where Have all the Happily Ever Afters
Gone?"
by Gillian Taylor
Once upon a time, in a land not so far away,
a man met a woman in a dark basement and
nothing would ever be the same again. Years
passed by them both, solidifying a bond that
was beyond anything that either had
experienced before. Comprised of equal
parts of love, trust, faith, and belief it
withstood trials that would bring a lesser
bond to its knees. And then...one part of
that same bond disappeared and the woman was
left to fend for herself. And in that
moment, her world cried out in one voice:
Where have all the happily ever afters gone?
******
Pink laces, faery castles, and shining
knights on white horses - these were the
things that roamed through a young Dana
Scully's mind. Now, as the years have worn
on, those childhood fantasies had
disappeared to be replaced by the harsh
realities of an adult world. However, the
child inside of her continued to believe
that no matter how long it would take, a
happily ever after awaited her at the end of
the road.
Now, that previously unshakable belief had
been shattered. Long nights had passed with
no leads, and she had been forced to put her
search for Mulder aside to take on other
cases with her new partner. There were no
happily ever afters for Dana Scully now.
Instead there were early morning trips to
the restroom and the pain from surviving
solely on memories.
Tears burned her eyes and her throat as she
stared at the lone photo that rested upon
the soft swell of her pregnant stomach, but
nothing fell from her crystalline eyes. She
was hollow, for the best half of her was
gone. Now, all that remained of him was a
memory, and a well-worn photograph. To her,
the photo showed with precision the dynamic
between herself and her former partner. She
was staring intently at him, her face
wearing that skeptical amused expression
that she affected so well while he was
leaning over her, telling her about some
paranormal theory that could explain what
had happened at the crime scene. A fond
smile touched her lips as she traced his
frame with a finger, in that moment reliving
her years at his side and missing him more
than ever. A tear blurred his features, its
owner unable to keep up the fragile control
any more.
It had been five months, five long months of
wonder at the life that she carried within
her and sadness that he would not be able to
experience that same wonder with her. He
was gone; whisked away from her and their
baby by the whims of the dying remnants of
the Consortium. There was a time, months
ago, that she waited deep in the forest from
where he had disappeared, intent on waiting
for him. However, Skinner had brought her
back with a fervent promise that he would do
all that he could to find Mulder and bring
him home.
Chasing futile lead after futile lead had
worn her down, convincing her more than ever
that he was gone. Day to day life was only
worth it for the sake of the child that she
carried within her being, someone that she
had already grown to love unconditionally.
She was a mother to be, but instead of pre-
natal parties and shopping sprees she
scanned tabloids in her darkened apartment
for any lead that might lead her back to
him.
Futility screamed through her soul, and she
allowed a single tear to fall, blurring his
familiar features even more. 'Mulder.' It
was a breath, a word that her soul keened
with the voice of her Irish ancestors; it
was someone and something that she would
never have again. The pregnant woman heaved
a little as she struggled to contain the
grief that she had worn like a cloak since
he had disappeared.
And now, all she could wonder both aloud and
deep within her was 'Where have all the
happily ever afters gone?'
If only she could find them again.
Scully had found some solace in her work,
though her every breath screamed at her that
it was not Doggett that should be at her
side but Mulder. 'Mulder...' she thought
again, and her hands clenched at her sides
in unconscious longing.
She stood abruptly, and the photograph
fluttered to the ground. His face seemed to
stare at her accusingly, though in the
photograph he was staring intently at the
'Scully' of two years ago. The red haired
woman closed her eyes against the harsh burn
of the tears that had never truly left her.
Futility had set up a permanent residence
within her, though she had fought against
its onset. She had tried. She had tried
all that she could to find him, to bring him
home. But even her best was unable to find
where he had gone or to set into motion the
steps that would bring him back to her arms
where he belonged.
She stepped away from the photograph and his
burning, beloved hazel eyes to stare into
the frosty Washington night. However, deep
within her, something had begun to harden
and to grow. It was determination,
something that she had not realized that she
had lost. Her hand caressed the mound that
housed her unborn child and she spoke softly
to it and to the night, "I won't stop
looking for you, Mulder...and we'll make
that happily ever after come true. We have
to. We need to...I need you to."
The woman's breath caught in her throat as
she rested her head against the cold
windowpane. "I need my happily ever
after..."
And she would do all that she could to find
it.
***
Once upon a time, in a land not so far away,
a man met a woman in a dark basement and
nothing would ever be the same again. Years
passed by them both, solidifying a bond that
was beyond anything that either had
experienced before. Comprised of equal
parts of love, trust, faith, and belief it
withstood trials that would bring a lesser
bond to its knees. And then...one part of
that same bond disappeared and the woman was
left to fend for herself. Though she was
torn between depression and exultation over
the precious gift that he had left behind,
she made a vow to herself and to her unborn.
There would be a happily ever after for them
some day. She would make it happen.
Afters Gone?
Author: Gillian Taylor
Email: usstrustno1@hotmail.com
Rating: PG-13
Category: V, R, A
Spoilers: Requiem
Keywords: Implied MSR, Scully Angst
Summary: Once upon a time...
Archive: Gossamer, Ephemeral, anywhere.
Just drop me a line so I can visit and get a
cheap thrill out of having my story up
somewhere where it can be appreciated.
Disclaimer: Sadly, I can lay no claim to the
characters from the X-Files. If I could, I
would die a happy woman. Mulder, Scully,
and Doggett belong to Ten Thirteen
Productions and I'm only borrowing them for
my own perverse enjoyment.
Author's notes: Thanks, as usual, go to my
beta, Crysta.
"Where Have all the Happily Ever Afters
Gone?"
by Gillian Taylor
Once upon a time, in a land not so far away,
a man met a woman in a dark basement and
nothing would ever be the same again. Years
passed by them both, solidifying a bond that
was beyond anything that either had
experienced before. Comprised of equal
parts of love, trust, faith, and belief it
withstood trials that would bring a lesser
bond to its knees. And then...one part of
that same bond disappeared and the woman was
left to fend for herself. And in that
moment, her world cried out in one voice:
Where have all the happily ever afters gone?
******
Pink laces, faery castles, and shining
knights on white horses - these were the
things that roamed through a young Dana
Scully's mind. Now, as the years have worn
on, those childhood fantasies had
disappeared to be replaced by the harsh
realities of an adult world. However, the
child inside of her continued to believe
that no matter how long it would take, a
happily ever after awaited her at the end of
the road.
Now, that previously unshakable belief had
been shattered. Long nights had passed with
no leads, and she had been forced to put her
search for Mulder aside to take on other
cases with her new partner. There were no
happily ever afters for Dana Scully now.
Instead there were early morning trips to
the restroom and the pain from surviving
solely on memories.
Tears burned her eyes and her throat as she
stared at the lone photo that rested upon
the soft swell of her pregnant stomach, but
nothing fell from her crystalline eyes. She
was hollow, for the best half of her was
gone. Now, all that remained of him was a
memory, and a well-worn photograph. To her,
the photo showed with precision the dynamic
between herself and her former partner. She
was staring intently at him, her face
wearing that skeptical amused expression
that she affected so well while he was
leaning over her, telling her about some
paranormal theory that could explain what
had happened at the crime scene. A fond
smile touched her lips as she traced his
frame with a finger, in that moment reliving
her years at his side and missing him more
than ever. A tear blurred his features, its
owner unable to keep up the fragile control
any more.
It had been five months, five long months of
wonder at the life that she carried within
her and sadness that he would not be able to
experience that same wonder with her. He
was gone; whisked away from her and their
baby by the whims of the dying remnants of
the Consortium. There was a time, months
ago, that she waited deep in the forest from
where he had disappeared, intent on waiting
for him. However, Skinner had brought her
back with a fervent promise that he would do
all that he could to find Mulder and bring
him home.
Chasing futile lead after futile lead had
worn her down, convincing her more than ever
that he was gone. Day to day life was only
worth it for the sake of the child that she
carried within her being, someone that she
had already grown to love unconditionally.
She was a mother to be, but instead of pre-
natal parties and shopping sprees she
scanned tabloids in her darkened apartment
for any lead that might lead her back to
him.
Futility screamed through her soul, and she
allowed a single tear to fall, blurring his
familiar features even more. 'Mulder.' It
was a breath, a word that her soul keened
with the voice of her Irish ancestors; it
was someone and something that she would
never have again. The pregnant woman heaved
a little as she struggled to contain the
grief that she had worn like a cloak since
he had disappeared.
And now, all she could wonder both aloud and
deep within her was 'Where have all the
happily ever afters gone?'
If only she could find them again.
Scully had found some solace in her work,
though her every breath screamed at her that
it was not Doggett that should be at her
side but Mulder. 'Mulder...' she thought
again, and her hands clenched at her sides
in unconscious longing.
She stood abruptly, and the photograph
fluttered to the ground. His face seemed to
stare at her accusingly, though in the
photograph he was staring intently at the
'Scully' of two years ago. The red haired
woman closed her eyes against the harsh burn
of the tears that had never truly left her.
Futility had set up a permanent residence
within her, though she had fought against
its onset. She had tried. She had tried
all that she could to find him, to bring him
home. But even her best was unable to find
where he had gone or to set into motion the
steps that would bring him back to her arms
where he belonged.
She stepped away from the photograph and his
burning, beloved hazel eyes to stare into
the frosty Washington night. However, deep
within her, something had begun to harden
and to grow. It was determination,
something that she had not realized that she
had lost. Her hand caressed the mound that
housed her unborn child and she spoke softly
to it and to the night, "I won't stop
looking for you, Mulder...and we'll make
that happily ever after come true. We have
to. We need to...I need you to."
The woman's breath caught in her throat as
she rested her head against the cold
windowpane. "I need my happily ever
after..."
And she would do all that she could to find
it.
***
Once upon a time, in a land not so far away,
a man met a woman in a dark basement and
nothing would ever be the same again. Years
passed by them both, solidifying a bond that
was beyond anything that either had
experienced before. Comprised of equal
parts of love, trust, faith, and belief it
withstood trials that would bring a lesser
bond to its knees. And then...one part of
that same bond disappeared and the woman was
left to fend for herself. Though she was
torn between depression and exultation over
the precious gift that he had left behind,
she made a vow to herself and to her unborn.
There would be a happily ever after for them
some day. She would make it happen.