Title: And Then there were Tears
Rating: PG to PG-13. Basic teen stuff, like suggestiveness, but this does have adult material. Not for young children. (BTW, this is an alternate universe.)
Disclaimer: I did not create Mulder and Scully. I just play around with them a bit.
Feedback: Sigh. (clears throat) PPPPPPPPPPPLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE?? (cough, sputter, choke…)
Summery: Dana Scully is a teenager visiting her Uncle in Massachusetts. But then she meets a boy (humm…wonder who that could be) who raises questions about her deceased Aunt and her mute niece. And, most importantly, Dana's confusing quest of being a teen and becoming an adult.
Author's note: At the end
Chapter 7: By the Tears of Angels
Dana sat cross-legged in the grass. It was cold, plushy, dew covered earth that would probably stain her favorite jeans, but she just sat there, not caring, picking away at the blades that surrounded her, listening to their silent screams.
She didn't know how long she had been sitting there. She kept returning her gaze to the house, its oblique windows and deathly stillness haunting her conscience.
There was no yelling, but that just frightened her more. She wanted to be in there so badly, to make sure that Aram wouldn't hurt him.
However, the girls were in there, asleep in their beds, making it hard for her to believe that her uncle would engage in physical violence.
But Mulder only needed words to be hurt.
Then again, this situation must be hard for Aram too. He lost his wife in this mess. Not that it was caused by any specific party, but he was hurting, and blindly blaming. Dana could see that.
She sighed and put her face in her hands. Her hair toppled around her face and she pulled her scrunchy out of her pocket and put it up in a loose ponytail.
She got up off the ground, dusting off her now green pants and walked over to a rather large tree, leaning up against its thick, sturdy trunk.
She observed her left hand, the pads of her fingers still tingling from Mulder's contact with them. She did not want to touch them now, in fear that she would wipe away that feeling that she had never known existed until last night.
How can simple contact between two simple people be so…complex?
Unable to resist temptation, she met those fingers with her other hand, smoothing over the area with her thumb, palm, knuckles. The slight tingle remained.
And by some odd impulse, one of which she did not know she possessed, she raised her left hand to her face and placed the tips of her fingers to her lips.
The door opened and Aram stepped out of it.
He met her gaze and held it for a while.
Oh my God; he's been crying.
"You can come in now, Dana," he said, his voice soft and wavering.
She approached him and he held the door open for her. She entered the house to see Mulder on the couch. Not lazing on it, sitting with his feet flat on the floor, his back leaning slightly forward with his arms draped over his legs with his fingers knitted tightly together.
He was looking straight ahead, thinking of…she didn't want to know.
As the sound of her light foot steps grazed his eardrum, he turned to face her.
His eyes were watery and black. The blackest, lifeless eyes she'd ever seen. But as soon as his eyes had rested upon hers, they softened, dried, and started to fade back to a grey-hazel.
She smiled slightly and his sad, trademark grin appeared on his face in response. She made her way to the other side of the couch and sat next to him. Not as close as they did on the beach, but close enough for Dana to feel that familiar warmth surround her. She let out a soothing sigh of contentment, even with the darkness of the situation looming overhead.
Her uncle came in and sat down in the recliner across from them. His face was grave and stern, but not angry.
"Dana, Fox has told me that everything he has said today, he told you last night. Is that true?"
She swallowed. "Um, he told most everything last night, yah."
He nodded, looking down and sniffing. Whether it was to repress tears or not, she didn't know.
After a few silent moments, Aram raised his head. "I don't blame anybody for the death of Lidia. I don't blame the doctors and I certainly never blamed Fox. But, I've always felt…as if I've missed something. As if…there was something more I could have done. I was hardly there; I didn't bother visiting often because I was so…so convinced she would get better." His wiped away a forming tear from his eye.
Dana felt that swelling feeling in her throat. She'd never seen a grown man cry.
"I got the call, and I couldn't believe it. I was sure that there was some kind of mistake, that somehow what was happening, wasn't really happening.
"I didn't make it. I saw my children outside of the room, not permitted to enter. I saw Fox, his face expressionless as he sat in the waiting chair.
"I knew what had happened, I knew that she was gone, but I couldn't accept that. Not until I placed my hand on her cold, colorless cheek. I went through what Fox went through when he was thirteen; we simply couldn't believe that the unimaginable could…"
He took a sudden intake of breath, several sobs following afterward.
"…And I'm (sniff) just now…realizing…" He steadied himself after a deep sigh. "I'm just now realizing that Fox and I were, and still are, in the same boat."
She looked at Mulder, who was staring at her uncle. Tears stained his cheeks. She wanted to wipe them away, but knew that she couldn't.
Something tickled her nose and she rubbed the area, to find it cold. She pulled her fingers back to find them covered with the wetness of her tears, and wiped her eyes and sniffled some.
"Sir…" Mulder started.
"Aram, please," he interjected.
Mulder nodded, wiping his cheeks and clearing his throat. "Aram, I know it was wrong of me to drag your niece into all of this, and I don't think I can apologize enough for that, but I hope you will not punish her for…"
"She's not in any kind of trouble. I no longer have a grudge against you; therefore there is no fault on her part. She's a smart girl and would have pieced it together eventually anyway."
They both glanced at the redhead and she blushed slightly.
"If all is forgiven," Aram continued, "I hope we can put this all behind us, and build something Lidia would have wanted."
"There's nothing to forgive," Mulder replied, a happy smile teasing the corners of his mouth. He outstretched his hand, and Aram took it, a firm shake followed that made a wide, happy grin grow on Dana's tear stained face.
Aram smiled as the darkness lifted and he let go of Mulder's hand. "Now, you said that Lidia gave you some of her poems?"
"Yes."
"Do you mind if I read them?"
"Of course not. I can bring them over later and you can have them. I have a boxful. I would've…" He trailed off as tiny footsteps could be heard creeping down the stairs.
All three looked over to see twin girls appear wearing identical white nightgowns.
"Good morning, girls," their father said. "We have a visitor today. This is mommy's friend, Fox."
They turned their gaze toward the younger man and smiled.
"Mommy's friend?" Madelynn asked, her brow pursing in an inquisitive manner.
Leslie said nothing and left her sister's side, slowly approaching Mulder. She was soon standing directly in front of him. She cocked her head to one side, sweetly grinning.
"Beautiful?"
The tears and laughing and joyous squealing and screaming that followed was surly the equivalent of angels.
Author's Note: Not leaving one, but I will say I won't post the next chapter without getting some reviews from this one. Thanks for reading!
