Author's Note: As always, feedback is much anticipated and greatly appreciated! Give me your thoughts.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Well, except the original characters.
Spoilers: None.
7 Months Earlier
Bright sunlight was streaming in through the window, illuminating even the darkest corners of their office.
Scully obviously wasn't in yet - it was pretty early, but it was a Friday and he wanted to get the work part of the day over and done with. He just wanted to go home and relax, maybe have a beer and watch a movie. Anything but watch the news.
Things had gotten bad again over in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bad had escalated to worse quickly: Al Qaeda was claiming to have a secret weapon they would unleash upon the U.S. unless the President pulled out all American troops in the next month. The President, of course, had responded by nearly doubling the troops in the Middle East in an effort to track down Al Qaeda and their "weapon". The U.S. military was spread thin; any troops not already in the desert, any of them lucky enough to remain stateside were on high alert. American politicians were at war with each other, arguing every viable angle on the situation.
Mulder had had enough of it. He knew what was going on, and how bad things were, but he was trying not to delve too far into it.
"It's Friday, Mulder, try not to look so pensive."
He glanced up to see Scully in the doorway, dressed immaculately as always. She had two cups of coffee in her hands, and she walked over and sat one down in front of him on his desk.
"I'm hoping this makes the day go faster," She told him
He smiled and took a drink from his cup. He watched her sit down in the chair across from him, her hair on fire in the early morning sunlight.
"So, anything big planned for today?" She asked
"I thought I'd change things up a bit," He answered slyly
"And how are you going to do that?" She challenged
"By not having anything planned," He replied with a grin, "I figured we could catch up on some paperwork, maybe even call it an early Friday."
"You're right, that is changing it up," She told him with a mock - impressed look on her face
He smiled, pleased that he had gotten even just a smile from her. Truth be told, he was looking forward to spending a normal day in the office with her, exchanging idle banter over dull paperwork as was their custom.
Mulder finished off his coffee and stood to stretch; already the sunlight was making him restless.
"Have you watched the news today?" Scully asked him
"Nope. Couldn't bring myself to. It's so nice outside, I didn't want to ruin it."
"Don't you think it's kind of important we stay updated?" She asked as she stood and approached the television
"C'mon, Scully, can't we just ignore it for the day? Catch up on the news tomorrow?"
She only gave him a small glare and hit the power button. The television flickered to life almost instantly, and she wasn't surprised to find that the channel was already set to CNN.
A blonde newscaster was on the television, the Whitehouse the backdrop for her address.
"…In the most controversial move we've seen in decades. Again, if you're just tuning in, the President has just put into effect the draft, calling for all capable men between the ages of 18 and 45 to enlist in the military during this state of war. More information will be coming down as we receive it …"
He was frozen to his spot a few feet behind her, the only things moving his eyes and his thoughts. How could this be? He couldn't leave her, couldn't accept that he would have to go impossible lengths of time without seeing her or hearing her voice. How could the President do this?
A small sound permeated the room, a sound he couldn't quite seem to place, but would guess had come from the small woman before him. That small sound of distress seemed to empower him, seemed to unglue his legs and drive him to action. He walked forward and took her hand in his without so much as a sound, but she didn't seem at all surprised by the act. She just stood there, staring at the television screen in disbelief.
"… the draft?" She repeated in a small voice
He said nothing. There wasn't anything he could say; not to her, not to himself.