Alone
He stood gazing at the portrait, mesmerized by what he saw there. The clothing was older by several centuries, but the face was the same. He glanced around to see if any one had seen his slack jawed expression. Nobody seemed interested in what had nearly out done him, but he was just now breathing normally.
The portrait was titled "Young Lady in a Sky-blue Dress" As if he didn't noticed. No known artist, subject unknown. But he knew her. He had just seen her that morning, she was a new field agent. Determined and dedicated, she had impressed him with her open mindedness about the X-files. Scully agreed that her presence on the last few cases was beneficial. The last couple of days, she had presented to them information that until then they had been unable to acquire.
Studying the artwork, he also came to the realization that she took his theories in a different light than Scully. Scully listened, but there was still that bit of doubt that surfaced. Agent Skye listened and didn't express any disbelief, she accepted was he said as truth. Startled he realized she trusted his word. In this game of intrigue and power, she trusted him, who trusted no one.
He felt a connection with her that he hadn't felt with anyone else, not even with Scully. It had to be the fact that she believed, but yet from the moment they had met, there was something there. A feeling of having known her. He shrugged and made his way to the exit. He had called Agent Skye to meet him here at 6:00 and it was 6:30. He decided to call her and in light of his recent contemplations maybe even ask her to dinner. All business he told himself with a half smile.
He had reached the gallery entrance when he noticed the lights from several police cars. People stood around murmuring how horrible it was. Mulder decided to skirt the crowd when his phone rang. Expecting Skye, he was surprised when he heard Scully on the other end. "Mulder? Where are you? The police just contacted me, Agent Skye has been in an accident. Mulder? Mulder are you there?" Her words were unheard from the phone that lay forgotten on the ground.
Mulder flashed his badge and proceeded to the accident victim, unheeding the words that were spoken to him by the officer: "Man, you guys are fast. We just contacted you a moment ago." He pushed past the paramedic as he was saying, "There isn't really anything to be done, she was gone before her body hit the ground." Mulder fell to his knees as he gazed into eyes as lifeless as the eyes in the portrait. In a corner or his mind he registered that she was wearing a blue dress.
