The whole damn world stopped when Scully got that call from her mother.

"Your father, he's gone."

Scully hung up the phone and curled up on her couch. The tears wouldn't come despite her shock and sadness. She laid there, unmoving, unthinking until midnight when the tears finally broke the dam. Her father may not have been an affectionate one, but he was proud of her, right? He had to be. Did he? Scully could never be sure and now she never would be, and that broke her heart more than anything.

Scully schlepped into work the next morning. Although there was nothing unusual about her clothing or makeup, but her eyes were red and anyone could see that she wasn't okay. She walked into her shared office with Mulder quietly, which was out of character for her.

Mulder seemed to notice. "I'm sorry, Dana."

"Dana?" Yes there was something between them, but they were on a strictly last name basis, both professionally and personally.

"I'm sorry about your father. You should take some time and go to the funeral."

"I need to work." Her voice was impossibly close to breaking. He pulled her in for a hug and kissed the top of her head.

"I know what it's like to lose a family member. If you ever wanna talk about it, I'm right here."

She nodded, burying her face in his chest. "I saw him and my mother a few hours before he died. When they left, he hugged me, but he didn't say 'I love you'. He almost never said it," she whispered. "I know he did, but it would've been nice to hear it, you know?" Despite herself, her voice broke and tears ran down her face. Crying at work was the last thing she needed right now. She was not a crier, dammit!

"Hey, hey, look at me." She lifted her head to meet Mulder's eyes. Your father loved you. I never met him, but I can tell you that for sure." He kissed her cheeks where tears had fallen and pulled her back in for another hug. "You've never met something you couldn't overcome, Dana. Take your time, but don't let time take you."