Salvation

TITLE: Salvation
AUTHOR: Donna Hartnett
EMAIL: IDanaKScullyI@aol.com
RATING: PG
SUMMARY: A man named Walter, a woman named Dana, and a memory named
Mulder.
KEYWORD: SSR/MSR/AU/Post-colonization/MScSkF/reference to character
death that happened in the original story.
ARCHIVE: Yes, please! I'm not above begging. g
SPOILERS: None really
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is a sequel to "Penance and Absolution." You
really need to read that first. If you haven't read it, it's at
Ephemeral, or you can email me at the above address and I'd be happy
to send it to you.
DISCLAIMER: CC and his minions, I write this out of love, and if you
sue me, you'll end up looking like a total ass! :p
DEDICATION: To Melly, who inspires me beyond words. I'm ten times
the writer I was before I met you! kisses
And to Her Prolificness, Peggy, at IWTB for encouragement above and
beyond the call of a list-mate.

Salvation


And at what price, salvation? Why the savior wins the penitent's
soul, of course.

And she had his soul and his heart and his body and his mind. All
that he was and all that he had to give was hers.

And as is always the case with the redeemed, he gave it all
willingly. He gave it without reservation and with the greatest
reverence.

And as is always the case with any worthy savior, she gave him all
that she was and all that she had to give in return. She gave it
without hesitation and with great love.

And each time he worshiped her with passion, she saved him all over
again. Taking in his love and returning it with equal fervor.
Keeping his spirit alive.

And they both lived their lives. Redeemer and redeemed, giving and
taking in equal measure. Always together in spirit, even when
separated in the flesh.

And neither of them forgot the man who forged their union with his
death. The man with the brilliant mind and the sparkling hazel eyes
was remembered often, and fondly, during each of life's milestones
or sometimes just because it was Tuesday.

And it came to pass that he asked her to marry him.

And she accepted, gladly.

And at their wedding reception an empty, flower-draped chair was
placed at the main table, just to her left, in remembrance of a good
man gone.

And they lived and they loved and they remembered him always.
Neither of them forgetting all the man had learned of danger on
the horizon.

And then it happened. Hell on earth, Demons unleashed. Invasion.

And the world lost its faith as billions died. But his faith
remained for one reason and one reason only. Because she remained.

And they fled the burning cities, taking shelter in the wilderness.
For a time content to have merely survived. Together.

And together they began to plot to banish the unholy.

And with his strength and her skill and a dead man's information,
they began their resistance.

And they gathered together an army of the lost souls left in the
rubble.

And he became a leader of men

And she became mankind's deliverance.

And a dead man shone the way.

And even amid the death and destruction that war always brings,
their love flourished.

And it gave all who bore witness to that love hope.

And her strict rationalism and science that had once saved one man a
thousand times over saved millions. A vaccine extracted from
antibodies in her blood and manufactured on equipment stolen from
the enemy saved the condemned.

And a virus concocted with other illicit equipment drove the
monsters out of Eden.

And a new day dawned.

And as their army disbanded, a new civilization began to rise,
phoenix-like, from the ashes. A civilization based not on
conflicting race or belief, but a civilization based on the common
bond of humanity.

And the dead man's quest was finally at an end, completed by the two
who loved him best in life.

And those two spread the word. A blanket of lies and deceit had
allowed Armageddon to occur.

And the survivors heard and taught their children well. They taught
them the danger of lies and the importance of truth.

And long after the two were gone, reunited with their lost friend,
mothers everywhere tucked their children in with the same story.
The story of a man named Walter, a woman named Dana, and a memory
named Mulder. It was a story of hope and love and courage that
restored the world.

And the story would always begin with the same three words, spoken
in all the languages of the earth, but the meaning always the same.

In.

The.

Beginning.
~~~~~~~~~~~
End