Ch2
The streets bustled as they always had with strangers whose busy lives intersected for mere moments never to traverse again. Each day framed another precious second of consciousness wasted on trivial tasks. The quiet life had done little to intrigue Scully and quite frankly it stole more of her soul then relentless tragedy ever could. At least with tragedy, one was in the process of growth and overcoming an obstacle, moving toward an unreachable destination but complacency is the worst of existences. It steals the flame that lights your soul ablaze and slowly you forget what you were searching for.
"Do the three boxes left belong in the living room?" Scully asked.
"They are mostly clothes and some old baseball cards nothing that needs to be put out right away." Mulder answered.
They had contemplated moving back to the city for some time, to escape the mundane and heal the wounds that had been left within its limits and now they occupied a two bedroom apartment in Alexandria. The furnishings were scattered and eclectic but just enough of each life they had lived to make it home. She often watched as Mulder would fall into a dream on the sofa or read till the early hours of the morning. He hadn't lost the child's gaze that would take over his face whenever he found a new article that caught his interest and he certainly hadn't given up the hope that one day he would become more that himself and accomplish what he had set out to do 17 years earlier. He never could let himself give up; even when it meant holding on would be forever painful.
"I have a surgery scheduled for noon. I doubt I will be home before night fall." Scully said
She has been given an attending position at Georgetown University Medical Center and jumped at the chance to leave the bureaucracy of Our Lady of Sorrows. On this particular Tuesday in what could only be described as the perfect fall day, Scully found herself staring as the leaves covered the sidewalks. Mulder was quietly humming to himself as he watched the ball game while she couldn't ripe her eyes from the people that cluttered the park. Some had come with their children and others with their lovers. There wasn't a lonely soul among them. The unexpected ring of the phone jolted her mind from its daydream long enough to make her way to the receiver.
"Hello."
"Ms. Scully this is Madeline from Assistant Director Skinner's office. Please hold for the Assistant Director."
Scully's face sank as she recalled the last time she had seem AD Skinner. She had nearly lost Mulder for what she could only hope was the last time. His unexpected call gave way to a flood of memories that she would have rather not relived. She saw Mulder lying in the snow, his blood staining the ground around him. He had been only moments from death. His eyelids twitching in pain and disorientation; she held his head in her arms praying that this wasn't the time she buried him. Once again Scully was shaken from her own thoughts by a familiar voice.
"Scully, Scully are you there?"
"Sir, I wasn't expecting your call." She cleared her throat in an effort to banish the images that hindered her from concentrating.
"I apologize for the unexpected nature but I have something you are going to want to see. I wondered whether I should even contact you but Agent Reyes insisted."
"Monica insisted, about what?"
"It affects you. It affects you and Mulder. It's pertinent you meet me at headquarters a quarter past one this afternoon. I can explain it better in person."
Scully heard the phone hang up on the other end before she had the chance to protest. She slowly turned to see the man she had come to base her life around and wondered for a second if ignoring Skinner's request would save them future agony but she trusted in Monica's judgment and was curious at what could have possibly given the FBI reason to seeker Mulder and her out.
"Mulder…"
He faced her with a smile she came to realize she couldn't live without. How would she convince him to trust the very organization that had stolen everything from him? How would she convince him, or herself for that matter, that the FBI didn't intend them harm after everything that had happened?
