Title: Shadows of Morning
By: Shawen A. Greer
Rating: MSR, G
Disclaimer: As everyone already knows, these characters
don't belong to me but to Chris Carter, Fox Broadcasting
and
1013 Productions. They are borrowed without permission,
but without intent of infringement.
SUMMARY: Scully's further reflection of her life.
SPOILERS: All Things
FEEDBACK: Of course, I would love it! Please, please,
please! shawen@altavista.com
Visit my site The Hall of 'X' for the rest of my stories
and some others by wonderfully talented authors.
www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/8840
********************8


The whine of a distant siren pulled me from the images and
voices of my past that echoed in my head, and it took my
eyes a few blinks and my mind a few moments to realize
where I was. The low, methodic hum of his fish tank and
the soft blue glow that it cast on the room was peacefully
familiar, and it occurred to me that my last memory was of
him sitting beside me. He listened to me so intently and
even held my hand in silence, patiently waiting through the
parts that were difficult for me to say. He understands me
so well that it scares me I think sometimes, and it is no
secret to him that it is difficult for me to let down the
constant guard that I have so strongly established, and
reveal any hidden aspect of myself to anyone.

I have learned so much about myself in my journey with
Fox Mulder, but it pales in comparison to the knowledge I
have gained in a short journey of my own without him. For
though we believe that life is a series of questions and
decisions, ultimately fate intervenes and leads us to the
path that we are destined to follow. And so in the shadows
of morning I see that my life has come full circle and I am
where I am supposed to be, both literally and figuratively
alike.

My eyes are blurry and my limbs are heavy as I try to force
myself fully awake after the most peaceful few hours of
sleep I have had in the last couple of days. A blanket
surrounds my body, soft and comforting, and I close my
eyes to take in the smell of him that still lingers around it,
drinking it in as if I could fill myself with his very essence.

I strain my eyes to make out the time in the small digital
display across the room, thankful that though it is early, I
still have more than enough time to allow much needed
sleep to encompass me once again. And though I am warm
and comfortable, I cannot resist the urge to look for him,
my personal solace before returning to sleep.

Tossing the blanket off to the side I begin the slow and
painful process of standing, my legs having been crossed at
the ankles for hours now on Mulder's coffee table. I
grimace slightly at the prickly burn that grows in my feet as
they touch the floor and wait a few uncomfortable seconds
until I stand, hoping that the weight and the movement will
cause it to subside.

The hallway is dark, but I know that it is only a few yards
to his room, and my stocking feet are so silent as I
approach his slightly open door that I am not even sure that
I am not still dreaming. I pause at the threshold telling
myself that I shouldn't go in, but there is something
magical about the thought of him asleep, and I carefully
peek inside.

I can hear him breathing before I can see him; long, deep
breathing of sleep. I tiptoe in slightly, stopping quickly at
the soft creak of the door as I push it open, but it doesn't
wake him. Afraid to move it any further, I slip through the
space I have created and stand just inside, afraid to go in
any further and even more afraid to return to the loneliness
of the sofa.

As I near his bedside, I can begin to make out his features
in the faint light that drifts in from the window and I am
overcome of the rush of emotion that causes in me. He is
the most beautiful sight at rest, an equal mix of man and
boy and I resist the need to kiss his sleeping cheek.

Instead, out of necessity, I follow the edge of the mattress
to the other side and lower my weight carefully as not to
disturb him. I slip effortlessly under the sheet and smile as
the sight of his bare back and his boxers, infinitely sexy in
its simplicity, greets me. The heat from his body creates a
pocket of warmth that surrounds both of our bodies, an
invisible separation of barely an inch between us.

I'm not sure just how long I lay there in the semi-conscious
state somewhere between awake and asleep, so close that I
could feel the hint of his skin against me with each
deepened breath that he took, and surrounded again by the
scent of him as it filled the air around me. It seemed like it
was only minutes, though I know it was longer than that,
before the faint light of dawn invaded the solitude of the
moment.

And so was the beginning of a new day, and as much as I
hated to leave the nest I had settled into, there was work to
be done and a need to remove myself from his bed before
he became aware of my presence. So, after a kiss that was
barely a kiss on his bare shoulder, I left the warmth and
solace as carefully and as quietly as I had entered it.

Gathering up my jacket and the rest of my things, I folded
the offered blanket and placed it neatly on the sofa and left
in the early morning hours, stopping to breath only after I
have closed his door behind me.

*******************

The alarm clock rang out at its regular 6:30 hour, and
Mulder moaned his unhappiness as he reached over to turn
it off and rolled over to his other side unwilling to get up
yet. He pulled the other pillow in his arms, realizing that
he had slept better last night than he had in months. Then a
smile formed on this still sleepy face as the familiar smell
of her filled the air from the pillow in his arms and he was
suddenly torn between the desire to hurry to the office and
stay here with the essence of her. With lightning speed and
hope in his heart, he opted for the real thing that waited for
him at work.

Fin