Song: Green Day - Time of Your Life
Spoilers: Everything up to and including the beginning of Season 9.
Author's Notes: I was slapping together a CD with some songs on it for a presentation, and this song was on the list. I'd heard the song before, but it was the first time I really listened to it. Somehow it reminded me of Mulder's disappearance--and, oddly, nearly made me cry. (Understand, I'm not an incredibly emotional guy--I almost-cried for the WTC attacks, and prior to that I hadn't almost-cried in years.) Anyway, I had to get this out of my system. I didn't see the first few episodes of the season, so I don't know if this comes close to matching up with the show, but who cares?
Legal Stuff: I don't own anything here. "Time of Your Life" is owned by Green Day (or whoever) and The X-Files and all its characters are owned by CC. Don't sue--I have no money anyway.
Dedication: As always, to Darci.
Mulder threw his suitcase onto the bed, stuffing clothes into it. He heard "Time of Your Life" on the radio. Normally he'd change the station, but for some reason it seemed appropriate.
Another turning point
A fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist
Directs you where to go
No more cases. No more aliens. No more monsters. He'd just disappear somewhere. The words of that man in the limousine, the Syndicate member, echoed in his mind: "His hope for you was that you would fight the future." Was he done fighting? Was he still needed here? What if he left and wasn't around to fight it?
So make the best of this test
And don't ask why
It's not a question
But a lesson learned in time
It's something unpredictable
But in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life
'I know I did', he thought. The last nine years were the best of his life. Even when he was abducted, he had the comfort of the knowledge that Scully would simply never give up. During those years he was sometimes able to forget about Samantha and just think of Scully. So many times he thought he was close to finding her, but they were all fakes--until the last one, when he finally found his answer. Her body was dead but her soul was safe.
So take the photographs
And still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf
Of good help and good time
Ironically, he was now putting his photo box in his suitcase. They started at the beginning of his life, then abruptly stopped after Samantha was taken. But then they started again, about when Scully appeared. He had held on to photos taken while on cases by FBI photographers, as well as a few they had deliberately taken. He had one picture of the baby. Was this the right thing? He may not have been the baby's biological father, but he thought the baby deserved one, and he would have been happy to take the job. Was he really protecting Scully and the baby by leaving, or was he just paranoid and running for no good reason? He had been chased so many times, but was he really being chased now?
Tattoos of memories
And dead skin on trial
For what it's worth
It was worth all the while
Yes it was. For all the panicked moments when he wasn't sure if Scully was okay, for all the head wounds, for all the freezing his butt off saving her, for all the sadness and worry when she disappeared, even for the time spent violently insane--all of it was worth it. Every second.
It's something unpredictable
But in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life
He picked up his bags and left his apartment. The shiny 5 on the door caught his eye. He pressed his hand against it, imprinting the shape, the coldness, into his mind. "I'll walk through this door again. I'll return to you, Scully. That's a promise."
Spoilers: Everything up to and including the beginning of Season 9.
Author's Notes: I was slapping together a CD with some songs on it for a presentation, and this song was on the list. I'd heard the song before, but it was the first time I really listened to it. Somehow it reminded me of Mulder's disappearance--and, oddly, nearly made me cry. (Understand, I'm not an incredibly emotional guy--I almost-cried for the WTC attacks, and prior to that I hadn't almost-cried in years.) Anyway, I had to get this out of my system. I didn't see the first few episodes of the season, so I don't know if this comes close to matching up with the show, but who cares?
Legal Stuff: I don't own anything here. "Time of Your Life" is owned by Green Day (or whoever) and The X-Files and all its characters are owned by CC. Don't sue--I have no money anyway.
Dedication: As always, to Darci.
Mulder threw his suitcase onto the bed, stuffing clothes into it. He heard "Time of Your Life" on the radio. Normally he'd change the station, but for some reason it seemed appropriate.
Another turning point
A fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist
Directs you where to go
No more cases. No more aliens. No more monsters. He'd just disappear somewhere. The words of that man in the limousine, the Syndicate member, echoed in his mind: "His hope for you was that you would fight the future." Was he done fighting? Was he still needed here? What if he left and wasn't around to fight it?
So make the best of this test
And don't ask why
It's not a question
But a lesson learned in time
It's something unpredictable
But in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life
'I know I did', he thought. The last nine years were the best of his life. Even when he was abducted, he had the comfort of the knowledge that Scully would simply never give up. During those years he was sometimes able to forget about Samantha and just think of Scully. So many times he thought he was close to finding her, but they were all fakes--until the last one, when he finally found his answer. Her body was dead but her soul was safe.
So take the photographs
And still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf
Of good help and good time
Ironically, he was now putting his photo box in his suitcase. They started at the beginning of his life, then abruptly stopped after Samantha was taken. But then they started again, about when Scully appeared. He had held on to photos taken while on cases by FBI photographers, as well as a few they had deliberately taken. He had one picture of the baby. Was this the right thing? He may not have been the baby's biological father, but he thought the baby deserved one, and he would have been happy to take the job. Was he really protecting Scully and the baby by leaving, or was he just paranoid and running for no good reason? He had been chased so many times, but was he really being chased now?
Tattoos of memories
And dead skin on trial
For what it's worth
It was worth all the while
Yes it was. For all the panicked moments when he wasn't sure if Scully was okay, for all the head wounds, for all the freezing his butt off saving her, for all the sadness and worry when she disappeared, even for the time spent violently insane--all of it was worth it. Every second.
It's something unpredictable
But in the end is right
I hope you had the time of your life
He picked up his bags and left his apartment. The shiny 5 on the door caught his eye. He pressed his hand against it, imprinting the shape, the coldness, into his mind. "I'll walk through this door again. I'll return to you, Scully. That's a promise."