Title: Little Earthquakes
Chapter Title: Death
Author: Cyan Tequila
Pairing: MSR
Summary: Two people, who once shared their lives, operate in parallel worlds now.
Author's Notes: This is a work in progress and I have no way to guarantee regular updates, but if you stick with me, it'll be a fun ride. ;)
-x-
There was so much blood. It was the sight that greeted her when she arrived at the scene. The blood transfixed her, captured her attention in a way that let her block everything else out. She moved forward shakily, toward where the sheet-covered body lay on the ground.
How many times had she been here before? At this exact place? A crime scene spattered with blood and strewn with bullet casings. Hundreds of times.
As she continued to move toward the body, under the crime scene tape and past the cops and crime scene techs conducting their work, she briefly considered how routine it all seemed. How completely by-the-book.
Compelled to move forward, she continued, slowly, methodically, oblivious to the men and women around her who stopped mid-task and watched her, their expressions a mixture of pity and curiosity.
Two steps followed and she was there, hand poised to lift the sheet that shrouded the body. A strong, male hand closed over her wrist, startling her.
"Scully, don't do this." Looking to her right, she found A.D. Skinner crouched next to her, concern etched in his features.
"I need to do this." The calm in her own voice surprised her, but, Scully reminded herself, she was probably in shock. The world would fall apart later. For right now, she was calm. "I need to see for myself."
Beside her, Skinner hesitated. "Trust me," he said softly, maintaining his firm grip on her wrist. "It's him. I saw…him."
"You saw him?" she queried.
Skinner nodded. "It… doesn't look… Listen. He surprised the shooter from less than six feet away. There's… not much left."
She felt sick. "How do they know it's him? Maybe there was a mistake…" She wanted to cling to this hope.
"He's wearing his clothes, carrying his I.D., his gun, even has sunflower seeds in his pockets," Skinner calmly explained, pushing his emotions away, keeping rationality at the fore.
"I need to see for myself," she stated again, feeling the bile rising in her throat. Skinner's eyes pleaded with her, but she held his gaze in affirmation.
With a quick motion, he lifted the sheet. Scully glanced down at the lifeless body of her partner, Fox Mulder, at the bloody crater where his face once was, and promptly vomited.
Mulder was dead.
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Author's Notes: More to come soon!