Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters unless I state otherwise.
There will be spoilers in here for 'The Truth'.
Maybe There's Hope
Huddled up in the corner of the damp room, Mulder kept his hands over his face, eyes closed in deep thought. The door swings open suddenly and light pours into the room, forcing Mulder's eyes to open. A large figure looms in the doorway, a nightstick held tightly in his hand. Moving further into the room, the guard stands over Mulder and asks patiently; "What are you thinking?"
"About my son... about his mother." Mulder answers defeated, knowing the reaction that he was bound to have provoked.
"Wrong answer!" The nightstick is swung up into the air, only to come crashing down onto Mulder's pained face…
...
Mulder suddenly awoke, his face running with sweat. Fearing it was blood he blindly wiped at it with his hand, before studying it closely; satisfied it was only a dream. He sat up in bed, closing his eyes and calming himself with slow deep breaths.
"Mulder?" A small voice came from next to him and he looked over, seeing that thankfully he hadn't woken her up. "Another one?" She rolled over now and he caught a glimpse of her peaceful face in the light penetrating the room.
He lay back down beside her and exhaled, "Yeah, not as bad though." Wide awake now, he rolled onto his side and kissed her cheek, watching as her eyes cautiously opened to gaze at him, an eyebrow raised.
"I could get used to this sort of treatment." She smiled, rubbing her eyes wearily and reaching out to find her watch. She brought it close to her face and groaned as she read the time; 4.15am. "Mulder…"
"Scully…" He playfully repeated, nudging her awake again as her eyes slowly closed. "It's as good a time to get up as any. Besides, we're travelling today." He now grinned, before clambering out of bed, making sure to cause as much chaos as possible to keep her awake.
"Oh wow, travelling… it's not like we haven't done that in ages…" Scully sarcastically remarked, yawning before joining Mulder in getting out of bed. "You know if it hadn't been for you getting caught, and being arrested, then being put on death row, then making us free you, then-"
"You would be bored senseless." He finished, a smile on his face. "Admit it, you couldn't have left me to die." He now made puppy dog eyes at her and whimpered playfully.
"Wake me up tomorrow at quarter past 4 and then you'll find out." She moved past him, giving him a gentle shove as she went into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Sitting down on the edge of the tub, she considered how their lives had changed since they had to leave. The constant running, the occasional phone calls, the loneliness. She had given up everything for him; their child, her family, her life. Tears began to drip from her eyes and land softly onto the tiles beneath her feet, followed by a small sniffle.
"Hey Scully, you alright in there?" Mulder's voice called out, above the roar of the TV set.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just… blowing my nose?" It sounded more like a question than a statement. When no reply came back she stood up and looked herself over in the mirror. Dragging a brush through her long auburn hair, she sighed, taking in her sleep deprived eyes that seemed to die slowly everyday. Blinking away the last of her tears, she brushed her teeth quickly and joined Mulder again in the motel room.
He sat on the bed, his back propped up by pillows and she noticed the long scar that adorned his chest now, inflicted from one of his prison beatings. She moved to him slowly and sat down on the edge of the bed, her hand mindlessly running through his hair.
"I could get used to this sort of treatment…" He closed his eyes and leant back, letting the feeling of her hand soothe him. "We've got an X-File today…"
Scully dropped her hand suddenly and sighed, levelling Mulder with a glare. "Why? How? Where?"
"Well, when I popped out for refreshments last night, I was at the store down the road and some guy was in there, he looked all tired-"
"Wow, I look all tired! X-File me!" Scully interrupted, her voice serious. "Mulder you know we shouldn't be doing this, what if we get caught?"
"Have we been caught yet?" He asked, his eyebrow raised.
"No but-"
"Exactly! Leave it to the G-Man…" He smiled warmly at her was pleased to see a smile appear on her face too.
"Anyway back to the story. So, I overheard him talking to the store owner, and he said that apparently some strange things have been happening at his house, objects moving, bumps in the night…"
"A ghost?" Scully offered, incredulous. "You want to go on a ghost hunt?"
"Not necessarily, we do!"
"Mulder!"
"Hey no harm in it, I offered for us to stay over for a night, get a feel for things again. We need something to do now…" Mulder climbed off the bed and walked into the bathroom. All was silent for a minute until she heard his voice again, this time hampered by a toothbrush. "You know it could do us the world of good…"
"Since when have you ever done us 'the world of good'?" Scully asked, moving into the doorway and leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over her chest.
Silence followed and Mulder took the toothbrush out of his mouth and turned to look at her. His eyes were sad and they began to fill up slowly, he turned away and Scully moved to be behind him, admonishing herself for her last comment.
"Mulder I didn't mean it like that." She tried, her hand rubbing on his back. "It wasn't your fault."
"I wonder what he would be like now, whether he remembers us." Mulder pondered, an image of William in his mind, holding his child to his chest and never wanting to let him go. But he had. And then Scully had too as well.
"None of this was your fault… It wasn't your truth, it was ourtruth. I knew what I was getting into. Don't for one second believe you made the decisions." Scully turned him round and smiled, looking at the toothpaste smeared around his mouth. She took a towel off of the rack and wiped at his face gently, making him look presentable.
"Better?" He asked, smiling himself now.
"Much." She put the towel down and leant up to place a gentle kiss on his lips, before turning and leaving the bathroom, throwing one last remark over her shoulder, "By the way if today is anything like the last time you forced us on a ghost hunt, I will not hesitate to shoot"
Author's Note: This will be continued, hopefully get the next part up very soon, I look forward to any reviews!!