title: Bah Humbug! pt 4
Author: Jen the Genie
Disclaimer/notes: see pt 1
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Apartment 42 Hegal Place
Dec 24th 11:30pm Approx
The clock on the video read 11.30pm as Mulder fought to grasp some thread of reality in his currently surreal situation. Only one hour of his pityfully sad existance had passed and already he felt like he'd experienced several life times.
One more visit to come! One more visit to come! The words repeated in his head like a mantra. A mantra that held the key to his tenious grip on sanity he thought wryly. The mocking little demon of his self-loathing had already made it's presence felt with a strong vocal insinuation that he could have spared this ordeal, if only he'd had the good sense and courage to accept Scully's offer of a family christmas. *Too late dick brain!* The demon's caustic tone cut across the comfort of his mantra.
"So how's it going Mulder?" The condescending tone of Krycek cut across the Demon's tormenting words."Suitably enlightened yet?".
Mulder jumped."You're not the spirit of Christmas Future." His eyes focussed on the pile of chains still embellishing Krycek's feet.
"I am tonight Mulder. He's phoned in sick, Emphysema I think." Alex made a sneaky attempt at grabbing the bottle of Tequila still resting, untouched since his last visit, on the low table. His Ghostly fingers passed through the bottle neck three times before he gave up. "Oh man! Don't you just hate it when that happens?"
"So you're moon-lighting then?" Mulder found himself satisfyingly amused by the Russian's frustration. "Hope the union don't find out....I assume there is a Spirit Union?"
"Oh yeah, there's a Union alright. But I have it written in my contract that I must be available to cover any shortfall of personnel." Krycek shrugged "Still, can't complain. I'm on time and half for this shift, double time if we get beyond midnight and into actual *Chrimbo*, plus I get a day off in lieu."
"Nice work if you can get it. Even the Bureau only pays time and half max." Even as insane as the feeling was, Mulder felt a twinge of envy. "Aren't you supposed to have a long black cloak and a scythe?"
"I only get the job, not the uniform...besides Black is just so damn depressing....You ready to go?
"As ready as I'll ever be." Mulder stood up and extended his hand.
"Over my dead body!" Alex stepped back and held his hands up. "Look Mulder, I like you an' all, but there's no way in hell I'm holding your hand!"
"You are a dead body." Mulder pointed out dryly "So how do we do this?"
"You're gonna love this pal!" Krycek grinned evilly.
"Click your heels together three times and repeat after me, *There's no brand like Morleys*" He watched delighted as Mulder's face fell. "Bet you're real glad I showed up now, aren't you?"
With gritted teeth, narrowed eyes and barely able to contain the sudden impulse to wipe the smug countenance off Krycek's face, Mulder complied, somewhat reluctantly, with the instructions. This time instead of the stomach churning swirl of colours, it was a puff of dense acrid smoke and a strong smell of sulphur that enveloped the pair.
As they emmerged, coughing and spluttering on the other side Alex remarked "Remind me to have a word with Christmas Future when we get back....that can't be good for his chest!"
"You really are all heart aren't you?" Mulder wiped his streaming eyes on his sleeve "Let the old bastard do it his way...it might prove fatal with any luck."
"Oh and a Merry Christmas to you as well!" Krycek gathered up his coil of chains and began to march into the darkness "Well come on then, lets get this show on the road."
Mulder took a long, hard look around. It was a parking lot. An underground parking lot if he wasn't mistaken.
He couldn't make out where. Parking lot's were somewhat generic at the best of times and this appeared no different from countless others he'd encountered over the years.
"Mulder will you get a move on!" Krycek was waiting at a nearby elevator. "If you don't get your ass over here PDQ, you'll miss the big show." He pulled a face. "If that happens then I'll have to do a rewind and if I have to do a rewind then when I get back I'll have to fill out a CC 1013 to explain why I had to do a rewind, etc, etc, etc.....I'm really not in the mood for red tape."
"But think of the overtime?"
"Overtime, smovertime! I've got plans for the rest of my holiday....got myself a red hot date with Christmas past...wouldn't want to let her down." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively "Y'know what I mean?"
"You've got a date with Phoebe?" Mulder, although suprised, couldn't help thinking how fitting a pair they made.
"Ah, but you forget. To you she's Phoebe Green, to me she's Natalya Dubrevnikov. A voluptuous eighteen year old prostitute and the only Christmas present I actually enjoyed!" Krycek guffawed loudly "Judging by the look on your face Mulder, perhaps I should explain that I was nearly fourteen at the time and my parents were very liberal....."
"That was more information than I actually needed, but thanks for sharing." Mulder couldn't hide his revulsion at the mental images foisted upon him. He was gratefull for the sudden arrival of the elevator car and stepped inside "Which floor?"
"Pick a button, any button. You're alright it's programmed for where you need to go." Krycek didn't move to join him. "I won't come with you....actually I can't come with you, but you have fun now Mulder...don't forget to write." The doors slid shut and the tremble of gears in motion carried Mulder upward.
"Scully if you can hear me at all, I'm really sorry I ticked you off!" It was the prayer of the damned and he knew it but it was the only thing he could think to do.
As the elevator ground to a shuddering halt Mulder took a deep breath and braced himself. Christmas Future. Well that was an unknown quantity wasn't it? So far on his travels he'd been both emotionally devastated, joyously uplifted then let down once again...what more could the future possibly hold? His edetic memory scanned the original Dickensian text in his mental pending-tray for a quick reference. His experiences so far hadn't exactly conformed to the standard had they! Was he was about get two options? he noted wryly. With Krycek at the helm it was anyone's guess.
The doors slid apart with a *whoosh* and Mulder found himself more than a little bemused as the basement of the Hoover Building came into view. As casually as his adrenaline wracked legs would carry him, he made his way to his office door and pushed it open. When nothing sinister leapt out at him, he proceeded toward the blinking screen of his computer monitor and took a seat.
"You've got mail!" His brow furrowed as he read the screen. "Hmmm, better see what it is then."
He quickly logged in then hit the retrieve button. There was a whirring within as the requested mail was recalled and the real-time player engaged. Mulder leaned back in his chair, tossing his feet up casually on the desk. If I'd known, I'd have brought pop-corn he mused as the screen was suddenly filled with a silent moving image.
The camera work was a bit shakey, the focus a little blurred, but Mulder had a wealth of experience in negotiating the unique pictorial essence of home video. It didn't take him too long to realise that the two figures wrapped in the almost melt-down inducing lip tango were a man and a woman: He and Scully to be precise.
He almost uptipped the chair in his haste to get nearer the screen. With a pounding heart he watched as the kiss continued. Thirty seconds passed...forty seconds. His ears were ringing in oxygen deprived empathy when Scully and his future self came up for air. Wow! It had never occurred to him that their lung capacity was as good as that!
His future self was casually dressed in a dark blue turtleneck and jeans, whilst Scully appeared to wearing
something long, pale and flowing. he couldn't distinguish details as the camera person chose that moment to adjust the focus. The camera angle began to shift, tracking backward to enlarge the shot. Without the accompaniment of sound, the circumstances of the view were a bit difficult to discern, that was until a christmas tree came into frame. He watched entranced as a blushing Scully pushed her hair back from her face, her dainty finger wagging at the camera as if to scold. His future self gave a self conscious shrug and ran a hand through his own hair in a mirror action as Scully clapped her hands and dived beneath the tree, emmerging momentarily with a small but beautifully wrapped gift.
Mulder was on the verge of thumping the screen, his disappointment tangible, when the image before him started to fade out. His interest was piqued to the point of bursting. He wanted to see more. How was he supposed to deduce how far into the future this was with so little information? He toyed with idea of calling on Krycek to fill in missing data but figured even if it was within his guides' capability to do so, he had little doubt the double-crossing rat would love to refuse.
He was about to set the virtual video clip to rewind when another sprang to life. Walls painted generously in yellow and white slipped easily into focus. Walls painted in yellow and white and scattered with bouncing bunnies, pert lambs and fluffy orange ducks.
Mulder's eyebrows drew together to form a large caterpillar of quizzical perplexity.
The camera panned across the room, dodging a cloud of bright, shiny balloons of congratulation tied to the rail of a hospital bed, not stopping until it came to rest on a male figure seated in a chair. Mulder's heart stopped in it's tracks. The Figure looked full into the camera lens with eyes as wide and disbeliving as the one's veiwing the screen. Unmistakeable, rich hazel eyes that were brimming with joyfull tears. Tears that spilled unstoppable from those eyes as they gazed once again on the tiny sleeping bundle nestled in hesitent, yet protective arms.
The figure of a tired but blissfully happy Scully settled herself next to his twin on the screen. Glowing with the radiance of a classically painted Madonna, she leant her head onto his shoulder, her slim hand reaching to wipe away a stray tear. His twin gave a soppy heart bursting grin and turned, pressing his lips against her hair before passing the sleeping bundle to her. Scooping it into her arms, Scully took the baby and snuggled it carefully to her breast.
"OH MY GOD!" Mulders voice gave life to words that he could only recall thinking. "Oh my God." This was a joke surely? A bitter, sadistic Joke! A christmas future that could never be, given what he knew. A twist of Machiavellian cunning, perpetrated, no doubt by his night's tormentors, just to add insult to injury.
Again the vision ended as abruptly as it had started leaving Mulder gaping at a blank screen.
Within the blink of an eye he was back in his apartment, slumped on his battered leather couch. The debris of bottles and empty Nacho packets strewn across the table and the hiss of the static spangled screen an acute reminder of his evenings lonely beginnings.
"That was quick!" Alex was sat in the chair again, his transparent hands carefully wrapped around a ghostly bottle of Vodka. "See anything you liked?"
"Huh!" Mulder was still lost in the virtual video. He and Scully? That he could comprehand. That was the future he always secretly dreamed of. But he and Scully and a baby? That must be a trick, it had to be. Even in the realms of the extreme possibilities that fueled his brain, he knew that was a non starter. A void began to open up within his heart as he realised this was a future conjured more from pipe dreams and futile wishes than hope. A future that had no basis in fact and was therefore redundant
"It must have been good to rob you of words." Krycek took a long swig from the bottle, pulled out a small hour glass from his pocket and checked it. "Well I must say it's been a blast Mulder, but I've gotta dash!"
"Uh...yeah...whatever." Mulder still couldn't wrap his brain around his enlightenment. As what he'd been shown couldn't possibly come to being, could it be an indication he was beyond the future. Beyond time itself.
"What, no questions about the downside?" Krycek drained his vodka, chrushing the empty bottle to a mere stain of stardust that he proceeded to brush from his palms.
Mulder faced his tormentor with a cold smile "Now let me see, what did Dickens predict for scrooge....a vision of his own headstone? The prospect of a death un-mourned... I'm dead aren't I?" He took up the half empty Tequila bottle from the table and made a quick assessment his possible blood/alcohol level. "I drank myself quietely into oblivion this evening and died from alcoholic poisoning didn't I? This isn't a dream, this is a quick tour of all the screw ups of my romantic life so that when I reach the bowels of hell or wherever I'm heading, it'll seem like a walk in the park in comparison? Didn't you say that you'd meet me on the flipside.....C'mon help me out here Alex, am I even close?"
"Close?" Alex held his sides in laughter induced pain.
"Close? Mulder you're so far out of the wood you can't even see the trees anymore!"
"But the future I saw couldn't possible happen...."
"The future is what it wants to be...I can't tell you whether it's accurate or not."
"But I saw Scully with a baby!" Frustrated, Mulder pushed his head into his hands and rubbed his temples "I was there, I was holding it and weeping....Krycek you know as well as I that she can't...besides we haven't even kissed, yet alone.....well you know what I mean." Mulder shook his head.
"You're right, you haven't and she can't. Not here in the present anyway. But that was the future Mulder...in the future anything is possible. I thought you of all people would be able to make that leap! Hard facts have never stopped you before. Maybe it was adopted? Did you think of that!...or maybe the miracle of modern science finally came up trumps for the pair of you."
"So the baby was...is mine?"
"I can't tell you that for certain either, ....What I can tell you Mulder, with concrete certainty, is that the downside of your future is here in this room." Alex cast his eyes around his cheerless, empty surroundings and waived his hands "Is that what you want? A future filled with warped paranoia, mindless tv, tacky porn vidoes and the occasional bit of self induced relief courtesy of a dis-embodied voice at the other end of an 0900 number?"
"No, but..."
"What I'm saying Mulder, is if that's the future you really want then you've got to make a few choices." Krycek grinned "If you really want to get to the Emerald City then you're gonna have to step on a few yellow bricks!..... still think this is an alcohol induced, Dickensian inspired guilt trip?"
"Without a doubt!" Suddenly Mulder felt very, very drunk.
"Figured as much." The Russian delved into his pocket
and pulled out a small, square, untidyly wrapped parcel and tossed it over. "Then you might just need this in the morning......" As the melodic strains of *Somewhere over the Rainbow* began to chorus around the room, the figure of Alex Krycek blinked into nothingness.
With hazy vision Mulder looked down at the package, raised his eyebrow quizically and fought to contain a disbelieving snort . A gift from Krycek? Well that proved his point precisely. A sudden thought struck him...what if this was the final twist of ironic fate? If everything he'd been shown this evening couldn't reduce him to the required suicidal wreck, maybe who ever had instigated this needed to make absolutely sure he never awoke? Bringing the gift to his ear he listened carefully for any signs of ticking, then shook it just to be certain. When it remained silent his fingers edged under the wrapping and peeled it back a little. As the paper fell away Mulder couldn't supress a chuckle as he stared down at the four inch square frame made of wood and glass.
*IN CASE OF HANGOVER - BREAK GLASS* The thick black lettering leapt off the shiny red cardboard above a
couple of large Aspirin.
The chuckle quickly gave way to a manic burst of laughter as he threw back his head. The laughter continued until his ribs ached and he was barely able to draw breath. Gasping and wiping his eyes to blot the tears of mirth, Mulder took another look at the gift then started to laugh again. He was still laughing when the Tequila finally overtook him and he passed out.
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The pealing of church bells awoke Mulder. As his consciousness clawed it's way through his cotton candy brain and a white tipped, high rolling wave of nauseau took possesion of his stomach, it felt for all the world as if the bells were hanging somewhere inside the apartment and not the two miles he actually lived from the nearest church.
He groaned and attempted to sit up. Even the slightest motion caused his world to tip and roll on it's axis. Reflexively he clapped his hand over his bone dry, yet rapidly salivating mouth, not convinced it would prevent the upcoming purge of vomit, but prepared at least to try. He lay back down, shifting as carefully as he dared to relieve the pins and needles dancing through his limbs and tried to force his eyes open.
"Must get up...." Even barely mumbled, the words caused his stomach to free-fall and threaten . Concentrating his effort he tried again.
"must get up and get some Coffee" Grabbing his nauseau by the metaphorical scruff of it's neck, he took a deep breath and swung his legs onto the floor. As they touched down on the rug something tumbled from his lap and fell with glass splintering crash. Mulder blinked curiously as he eyed the shattered object. Wasn't that the gift he'd received from krycek last night? Either he was still drunk and dreaming, or somewhere in the night he'd finally opened that last paper thin door between his normally paranoid psyche and total delusional insanity and tripped gaily through it. Reaching down, his fingers closed around the wooden frame and lifted it into his feild of fuzzy vision. Two large round pills peeled off the card and rolled into his palm.
"Well I'll be damned..." A disbelieving smile tugged at his lips. Yes he had been drunk last night. His current physical state was a sorry and painful testimony to that, but was this the evidence of something far more fantastical? Still absently pondering the truth he popped the tablets onto his tongue, washing them down with a quick gulp of stale, flat beer from a nearby bottle. More bells began to go off in his head as his brain lit up quicker than a pin-ball machine on full tilt.
"Remember Mulder, if you want to get to the Emerald City then you're gonna have to step on a few yellow bricks!"
Krycek's dis-embodied words floated over a quick techniclour replay of the future he'd be shown, as the tablets travelled to the depths of his protesting stomach. Mulder closed his eyes, pushed his head into his hands and waited for the inevitable urge to pray to the porcelain deity...it didn't come. The medication hit his stomach wall and exploded like an internal nuclear device and still it didn't come. Unbelievably he began to feel better. In fact, the longer he sat there the better he began to feel. As the light of the explosion meandered its way into every nook and cranny of his being he felt strangely uplifted. A hereto unknown feeling of joy and hope took hold of his soul and began to dance with it. Mulder smiled, then chuckled then threw back his head and began to laugh.
"I never thought I'd say this, mercenary, double crossing litte rat-fink, but I think I finally get it!"
He leapt to his feet, the shadow of his disbelieving former self cast abuptly to one side. "Scully, I figured it out!" his grin beamed. "Scully? Oh wow I nearly forgot...I have to get to Scully!" With the countenance of a man possessed he dashed to the bathroom.
With a new found zest for the season and beyond, he showered then dived into his closet. After much muttering, considering and tossing of garments, his hands closed on what he was hunting for: A dark Blue Turtleneck sweater. He brandished it triumphantly as he emmerged and pulled in on. The jeans were easy to find after that and as he ran comb through his damp hair and studied himself in the mirror he couldn't help but
smile. The whole ensemble was just as he's seen in the blurry variation of his future. Was he tempting fate or just giving it hand? The latter he decided, as he grabbed his jacket off the peg and opened the door.
With a spring in his step and whistling *Were off to see the Wizard* he waltzed toward the day.
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He was approaching Maggie's neat suburban house when the first nugget of classic Mulder self doubt encroached on his good humour. What if the events of the previous night had been a guilt ridden dream? He shook himself free of the thought. After last night he sorely wanted to believe otherwise, but so what if it were he decided. He'd been invited for Christmas and despite his rather rude refusal there was still time to make amends. If the future he'd seen wasn't ready to present its-self then he could still enjoy the sparkling company of two lovely woman.
He made as far as the drive when the second nugget hit him. If it had been dream, then Bill Scully could quite well be insitue. He took that one and kicked it into touch. Scully was right why should he care what *big brother* thought of him. After all the guy wasn't exactly an ogre...he was just doing what Mulder had done when Samantha was still around. He trying to protect his little sister from the uncertainties of the world. Mulder had failed for a thousand or more reasons way beyond his adolescent control, and although the guilt of that would always colour his life he couldn't hate Bill for trying to do the same. If, and Mulder made a leap of renewed faith and assumed it was a pretty big *if* at this point. If Bill were actually here he would just have to prove his fears unfounded. Taking a deep breath he strode up the yellow Roman brick path and knocked of the dark green door.
"Mulder?" Scully's eyes were still sleepy and her hair had that wonderfully unstructured just-fell-out-of-bed
look but it took Mulder's breath away all the same.
"Mulder,what are you doing here? it's not even 8am...
Is something wrong?" She stifled a yawn as she pulled her pale yellow robe a bit tighter.
"I... umm...well...err.. you did say...what I mean is.." The words wouldn't come and he was reduced to scuffing the toe of his boot against the door mat like a guilty child as he frantically tried to put a coherant sentence together.
"Mulder you're making no sense...as usual." She stood back and waived him in with another sleepy yawn. "Come in before you freeze us both...I'll get us some Coffee and then you can explain yourself." Leaving him to close the door Scully padded bare-foot toward the kitchen.
Mulder shut the door and walked tentatively toward the parlour. If his future was going to start here and now, then he knew exactly where to look for confirmation. He crossed to the mantle chewing his lip nervously. As the two star-shaped holders caught his attention his heart leapt. They *were* there! He reached and freed the one he'd seen Scully use last night from the pool of melted wax that covered it and held it in his hand. He was gazing and stroking it still, when Scully appeared from the kitchen with the Coffee.
"Now what was so important that you had to race around here at the crack of dawn?...it had better not be an xfile....it's the holidays, remember?" She cocked her head on one side, raising her eyebrow in her usual way when she caught sight of what he doing "It's a candle holder Mulder...you put candles in it!"
"And wishes.." he whispered to himself as he gave her sheepish smile. "Not it's not an Xfile Scully....I came to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry we had words, I'm sorry I upset you. I'm sorry if I ruined your evening..Hell, I've probably ruined your whole Christmas and not for the first time I'll bet... " He ran out of apologies and breath almost in tandem and hung his head. "I guess I'm just one sorry son-of-a-bitch all round really."
"I see." Scully sipped her Coffee and regarded him earnestly. "Then I guess I should really accept your apologies...it being the season of Peace and Goodwill an' all."
"It's not compulsory but it would be rather nice..." His face slipped into his trademark *puppy dog* look before he realised he was doing it. "I know I'm pushing my luck
but is the invitation to join you still open?"
"Hmmm I don't know..." A teasing twinkle lit Scully's eyes "Maybe I should go and wake Bill and see what he thinks." Without waiting for his reply she put down her mug and went to move toward the door.
"Wouldn't it be easier to use this?" Pocketing the candle holder still in his hand, Mulder picked up the phone and with an expression of total innocence, held it out to her. A look of pure bewilderment crossed Scully's face as she took it from him.
"I'm not sure he's going to be best pleased though." Mulder looked at his watch and did a quick mental calculation "I mean it's not even 3am in San Diego yet, is it?"
Scully paled visibly then dropped, slack-jawed onto the nearest chair. How had he known that? A jumble of thoughts crowded her mind and she rifled through them until she fell upon the capabilities of the Lone Gunmen. That fired a spark of temper which in turn lit the fuse of fury.
"How did you know.....You tapped into my phone!" The words were sharp and filled with hot disbelief. "You went around to the boys last night and got them to access my answer machine!..."
Mulder stepped back."WHAT?" This certainly wasn't reaction he had anticipated. Maybe it hadn't been a good idea to parade his new found knowledge in the face of her understandable ignorance. " No Scully, no....I didn't..I wouldn't...." He stuttered.
"I phoned your place last night, you were out....I've seen you pull some stunts in your time Mulder but I really didn't think you would stoop this low...." Throwing her hands up wildly, she jumped to her feet and began to pace the floor in front of him. "How could you?"
"I didn't, I swear!...look Scully, you've got this all wrong...let me explain." He words had no immediate impact her pacing and Mulder felt a sudden surge of panic. Had he really had tempted fate just a little bit too much this time? How was he going to explain all this without sounding like a raving basket-case? Come to think of it, how did he ever explain his wild theories and notions without sounding as such?
Throwing caution to the wind he made a grab for his pacing partner, scooping her into his arms and depositing her, wide-eyed, onto the couch.
"Sit there, be quiet and listen to me for minute will you woman."
Scully narrowed her eyes and although she opened her mouth to protest, she quickly closed it again then folded her arms expectantly.
"Thank you. Now if you can stay like that for a couple of minutes I might be able to explain." It was now Mulder's turn to pace the floor,
"You were right Scully. You were right when you said that I buried myself in my work. You were right when you said that it was an excuse to avoid the real world....last night I went home feeling thoroughly sorry for myself, wanting badly to get drunk but thinking about you said about Scrooge finally figuring it out.
Now I know you're not going to believe this...God know's I'm having a hard enough time with it myself, but I had a few visitors last night Scully and they weren't the usual kind."
Scully's eye's rolled heavenward but, to her credit, she didn't say a word. Mulder noted her expression and gave a small shrug. Here goes nothing, he thought as he planted himself next to his partner on the couch and took a deep breath.
He decided to start slowly, giving a blow by blow account of his encounters first with Krycek, then with Phoebe. Wide eyed and attentive Scully had the good grace not to laugh as the story spilled from his lips, althoughhe could see she was sorely tempted. Even when he got to the real gut wrenching parts and reached for her hand, she merely shrugged and nodded.
Spurred on by this action alone, he continued. Through into Christmas present and the visit of Diana. Only when he reached the part where he had witnessed her private wish did his tale start to falter. When Scully caught his attention in askance, he quickly chose to bypass that particular moment and carried on to his second encounter with krycek calling a halt only when he reached Christmas future.
The silence in the room was almost palpable as Scully took the tale he'd just spun and digested it. Mulder chose to stare at the floor. Part of him was waiting for her to explode. Laid out in black and white like that
the story read like something concocted by a mad fanfiction writer. The other part, the hopefull part
wanted her to treat it as just another one of his fancifull but nearly always right theories. It took several more agonising minutes before Scully sighed thoughtfully then spoke.
"Well Mulder, what can I say? That's a good one even by your standards." she pulled her hand free of his and stood up. "Even if I disregard your admitted intake of alcohol and all the laws of physics....what I would have most trouble with is that you would actually trust all the people you said you met last night....I mean Phoebe Green? Diana Fowley? Krycek!!"
"I know..I know...so you don't believe me then?" Mulder didn't look up but harboured a vain hope she did.
"Don't believe you? Of course I don't believe you!" The explosion finally came. "Not only was that the biggest load of alcohol fuelled, guilt ridden, Freudian BS I've ever had the misfortune to come across...but coming from you?...Well...well that's just insulting."
Her words were like a knife to his heart but he couldn't blame her. "I guess there's nothing more to say then.." He got to his feet and made his way painfully to the doorway. "I'm sorry. I never meant to insult your intelligence Scully...I'd never do anything to hurt you."
"If you really mean that then tell me the truth Mulder!"
Scully's tone softened. "How did you know that Bill was in San Diego?"
"I told you. I was here. I saw." as he pushed his hands into his jacket pockets, his fingers closed around the candle holder that stood on the mantle. As a light bulb came on dimly in his head, he withdrew the star and held it out. "Scully, I swear on your mothers life that I sat on that couch last night and watched you light small white candle in this holder and ask that Angel up there to grant you a wish..." His eyes locked onto hers. "I know it sounds crazy, but it's true."
Not for the first time that morning Scully paled.
"Angel high upon the tree grant a little wish for me.."
He moved back to her, reciting her wish chapter and verse and handed her the star. "Look me in the eye and tell me I'm liar." he challenged softly as he cupped her cheek to keep her eyes with his. "Look me in the eye Scully, look me in the eye and tell me I'm insane....that I didn't hear you say you loved me as much as I love you."
Scully began to tremble as she closed her eyes. "I...I can't." she leant into his hand and he felt a tiny tear against his palm "I can't Mulder....I'm so sorry..this is so insane...?"
Mulder rested his forhead against hers and drew her closer. " Hey,it's okay. I'm not sure I would have believed me either." He gave her a squeeze "but please believe that I love you Scully...am in love with you and have been for a very long time." He lowered his head kissing the trail of tears that had sprung from her still closed eyes. Scully wrapped her arms around him and brought her lips to his.
"I love you too Mulder...have down for a long time."
"Then I guess this is okay then." He brushed his lips against hers.
"Oh yes!" Any further words redundant Scully fastened her lips on his fervently. The kiss became more passionate with each passing second. Their bodies melded together as their mouthes tangoed effortlessly. Finger wound into hair, tongues duelled, senses reeled and still the kiss continued. Thirty seconds passed...forty seconds...
From the stairwell an unseem Maggie Scully watched
and smiled. Dana's wish had been granted, as she knew it would be, even if it were by more unorthodox methods than a battered Tree top Angel. Glancing down at the new Cam-corder in her palm an idea struck. The young couple were too engrossed to notice as she snuck into the room to capture the embrace for posterity.
Mulder and Scully came up for air just in time to see a beaming Maggie as she filmed the event.
"Aww Gee!" Blushing furiously Scully swept her hair back and wagged a mock-scolding finger at the lens. "Mom that's really not fair."
"I thought you might like this for the record." Maggie backed up and adjusted the angle "I know how meticulous you FBI agents are about evidence.....Dana honey, didn't you have a little something under the tree for Fox?"
Mulder gave a little self conscious shrug and ran his hand through his own hair as Scully gave a squeel, clapped her hands and dived beneath the branches.
When she emmerged she thrust a small but beautifully
wrapped parcel into his hands then peeped at him from under a stray lock of hair that had fallen back over her face. "It's not much...." she started, her fingers hovering, itching to help him unwrap it. "I hope you don't mind..."
Mulder stripped away the wrapping and the thick layers
of tissue then starred totally gob-smacked at the small
pewter casket in his palm. "Mind?" He gulped down the tears of emotion that threatened to engulf him. "Scully it's beautiful...I don't know what to say..."
"It's pandora's box." she whispered softly as she slid up close to him, her fingers straying to the gift. "When I saw it I just knew that it was the ideal gift....I mean Mulder, after all we've seen unleashed in the world whilst working together what better to sum it all up than this?" She took his finger and lifted the lid "See...it even has the one thing left in it I know you need most in this life:Hope."
All the gulping in the world couldn't stop the tears in Mulder's eyes this time. "Thank you Scully." his words were hoarse "Thank you but I've got the thing I really needed to give me hope...I've got you." He swooped and captured her lips with another searing kiss.
Maggie sighed nostalgically, turned off the cam-corder
and side stepped the lovestruck pair. As their kiss carried then into an unseen, private realm she fished into her pocket and withdrew the very last small white candle that she possessed and approached the tree top Angel.
"Angel high upon the tree, grant a little wish for me."
The Ghostly form of Christmas future sidled up, unseen by all, and with a quick wink at oblivious Maggie asked.
"Wishing for the opportunity to knit baby bootee's Mrs Scully?" He took a quick drag on the cigarette in his wizened hand.
"I think I can arrange that!"
The candle fizzled into flame startling the unsuspecting woman.
Bemused, Maggie shook her head and placed the candle in the holder on the mantle
Fin
******************************************************
Was it too far out of left feild? Did I screw with the
concept a bit too much? The fact that you're still here, reading this, must indicate you thought it was worth sticking with it to the end....Right?
Whatever your thoughts I'd love to know....I'll even accept flames gratefully at this point as my heating is
Kaput and My lamp is freezing.....
Until then I think I'll go and have a long lie down.
If anyone wants me....well, you know the drill!
Author: Jen the Genie
Disclaimer/notes: see pt 1
********************************************************
Apartment 42 Hegal Place
Dec 24th 11:30pm Approx
The clock on the video read 11.30pm as Mulder fought to grasp some thread of reality in his currently surreal situation. Only one hour of his pityfully sad existance had passed and already he felt like he'd experienced several life times.
One more visit to come! One more visit to come! The words repeated in his head like a mantra. A mantra that held the key to his tenious grip on sanity he thought wryly. The mocking little demon of his self-loathing had already made it's presence felt with a strong vocal insinuation that he could have spared this ordeal, if only he'd had the good sense and courage to accept Scully's offer of a family christmas. *Too late dick brain!* The demon's caustic tone cut across the comfort of his mantra.
"So how's it going Mulder?" The condescending tone of Krycek cut across the Demon's tormenting words."Suitably enlightened yet?".
Mulder jumped."You're not the spirit of Christmas Future." His eyes focussed on the pile of chains still embellishing Krycek's feet.
"I am tonight Mulder. He's phoned in sick, Emphysema I think." Alex made a sneaky attempt at grabbing the bottle of Tequila still resting, untouched since his last visit, on the low table. His Ghostly fingers passed through the bottle neck three times before he gave up. "Oh man! Don't you just hate it when that happens?"
"So you're moon-lighting then?" Mulder found himself satisfyingly amused by the Russian's frustration. "Hope the union don't find out....I assume there is a Spirit Union?"
"Oh yeah, there's a Union alright. But I have it written in my contract that I must be available to cover any shortfall of personnel." Krycek shrugged "Still, can't complain. I'm on time and half for this shift, double time if we get beyond midnight and into actual *Chrimbo*, plus I get a day off in lieu."
"Nice work if you can get it. Even the Bureau only pays time and half max." Even as insane as the feeling was, Mulder felt a twinge of envy. "Aren't you supposed to have a long black cloak and a scythe?"
"I only get the job, not the uniform...besides Black is just so damn depressing....You ready to go?
"As ready as I'll ever be." Mulder stood up and extended his hand.
"Over my dead body!" Alex stepped back and held his hands up. "Look Mulder, I like you an' all, but there's no way in hell I'm holding your hand!"
"You are a dead body." Mulder pointed out dryly "So how do we do this?"
"You're gonna love this pal!" Krycek grinned evilly.
"Click your heels together three times and repeat after me, *There's no brand like Morleys*" He watched delighted as Mulder's face fell. "Bet you're real glad I showed up now, aren't you?"
With gritted teeth, narrowed eyes and barely able to contain the sudden impulse to wipe the smug countenance off Krycek's face, Mulder complied, somewhat reluctantly, with the instructions. This time instead of the stomach churning swirl of colours, it was a puff of dense acrid smoke and a strong smell of sulphur that enveloped the pair.
As they emmerged, coughing and spluttering on the other side Alex remarked "Remind me to have a word with Christmas Future when we get back....that can't be good for his chest!"
"You really are all heart aren't you?" Mulder wiped his streaming eyes on his sleeve "Let the old bastard do it his way...it might prove fatal with any luck."
"Oh and a Merry Christmas to you as well!" Krycek gathered up his coil of chains and began to march into the darkness "Well come on then, lets get this show on the road."
Mulder took a long, hard look around. It was a parking lot. An underground parking lot if he wasn't mistaken.
He couldn't make out where. Parking lot's were somewhat generic at the best of times and this appeared no different from countless others he'd encountered over the years.
"Mulder will you get a move on!" Krycek was waiting at a nearby elevator. "If you don't get your ass over here PDQ, you'll miss the big show." He pulled a face. "If that happens then I'll have to do a rewind and if I have to do a rewind then when I get back I'll have to fill out a CC 1013 to explain why I had to do a rewind, etc, etc, etc.....I'm really not in the mood for red tape."
"But think of the overtime?"
"Overtime, smovertime! I've got plans for the rest of my holiday....got myself a red hot date with Christmas past...wouldn't want to let her down." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively "Y'know what I mean?"
"You've got a date with Phoebe?" Mulder, although suprised, couldn't help thinking how fitting a pair they made.
"Ah, but you forget. To you she's Phoebe Green, to me she's Natalya Dubrevnikov. A voluptuous eighteen year old prostitute and the only Christmas present I actually enjoyed!" Krycek guffawed loudly "Judging by the look on your face Mulder, perhaps I should explain that I was nearly fourteen at the time and my parents were very liberal....."
"That was more information than I actually needed, but thanks for sharing." Mulder couldn't hide his revulsion at the mental images foisted upon him. He was gratefull for the sudden arrival of the elevator car and stepped inside "Which floor?"
"Pick a button, any button. You're alright it's programmed for where you need to go." Krycek didn't move to join him. "I won't come with you....actually I can't come with you, but you have fun now Mulder...don't forget to write." The doors slid shut and the tremble of gears in motion carried Mulder upward.
"Scully if you can hear me at all, I'm really sorry I ticked you off!" It was the prayer of the damned and he knew it but it was the only thing he could think to do.
As the elevator ground to a shuddering halt Mulder took a deep breath and braced himself. Christmas Future. Well that was an unknown quantity wasn't it? So far on his travels he'd been both emotionally devastated, joyously uplifted then let down once again...what more could the future possibly hold? His edetic memory scanned the original Dickensian text in his mental pending-tray for a quick reference. His experiences so far hadn't exactly conformed to the standard had they! Was he was about get two options? he noted wryly. With Krycek at the helm it was anyone's guess.
The doors slid apart with a *whoosh* and Mulder found himself more than a little bemused as the basement of the Hoover Building came into view. As casually as his adrenaline wracked legs would carry him, he made his way to his office door and pushed it open. When nothing sinister leapt out at him, he proceeded toward the blinking screen of his computer monitor and took a seat.
"You've got mail!" His brow furrowed as he read the screen. "Hmmm, better see what it is then."
He quickly logged in then hit the retrieve button. There was a whirring within as the requested mail was recalled and the real-time player engaged. Mulder leaned back in his chair, tossing his feet up casually on the desk. If I'd known, I'd have brought pop-corn he mused as the screen was suddenly filled with a silent moving image.
The camera work was a bit shakey, the focus a little blurred, but Mulder had a wealth of experience in negotiating the unique pictorial essence of home video. It didn't take him too long to realise that the two figures wrapped in the almost melt-down inducing lip tango were a man and a woman: He and Scully to be precise.
He almost uptipped the chair in his haste to get nearer the screen. With a pounding heart he watched as the kiss continued. Thirty seconds passed...forty seconds. His ears were ringing in oxygen deprived empathy when Scully and his future self came up for air. Wow! It had never occurred to him that their lung capacity was as good as that!
His future self was casually dressed in a dark blue turtleneck and jeans, whilst Scully appeared to wearing
something long, pale and flowing. he couldn't distinguish details as the camera person chose that moment to adjust the focus. The camera angle began to shift, tracking backward to enlarge the shot. Without the accompaniment of sound, the circumstances of the view were a bit difficult to discern, that was until a christmas tree came into frame. He watched entranced as a blushing Scully pushed her hair back from her face, her dainty finger wagging at the camera as if to scold. His future self gave a self conscious shrug and ran a hand through his own hair in a mirror action as Scully clapped her hands and dived beneath the tree, emmerging momentarily with a small but beautifully wrapped gift.
Mulder was on the verge of thumping the screen, his disappointment tangible, when the image before him started to fade out. His interest was piqued to the point of bursting. He wanted to see more. How was he supposed to deduce how far into the future this was with so little information? He toyed with idea of calling on Krycek to fill in missing data but figured even if it was within his guides' capability to do so, he had little doubt the double-crossing rat would love to refuse.
He was about to set the virtual video clip to rewind when another sprang to life. Walls painted generously in yellow and white slipped easily into focus. Walls painted in yellow and white and scattered with bouncing bunnies, pert lambs and fluffy orange ducks.
Mulder's eyebrows drew together to form a large caterpillar of quizzical perplexity.
The camera panned across the room, dodging a cloud of bright, shiny balloons of congratulation tied to the rail of a hospital bed, not stopping until it came to rest on a male figure seated in a chair. Mulder's heart stopped in it's tracks. The Figure looked full into the camera lens with eyes as wide and disbeliving as the one's veiwing the screen. Unmistakeable, rich hazel eyes that were brimming with joyfull tears. Tears that spilled unstoppable from those eyes as they gazed once again on the tiny sleeping bundle nestled in hesitent, yet protective arms.
The figure of a tired but blissfully happy Scully settled herself next to his twin on the screen. Glowing with the radiance of a classically painted Madonna, she leant her head onto his shoulder, her slim hand reaching to wipe away a stray tear. His twin gave a soppy heart bursting grin and turned, pressing his lips against her hair before passing the sleeping bundle to her. Scooping it into her arms, Scully took the baby and snuggled it carefully to her breast.
"OH MY GOD!" Mulders voice gave life to words that he could only recall thinking. "Oh my God." This was a joke surely? A bitter, sadistic Joke! A christmas future that could never be, given what he knew. A twist of Machiavellian cunning, perpetrated, no doubt by his night's tormentors, just to add insult to injury.
Again the vision ended as abruptly as it had started leaving Mulder gaping at a blank screen.
Within the blink of an eye he was back in his apartment, slumped on his battered leather couch. The debris of bottles and empty Nacho packets strewn across the table and the hiss of the static spangled screen an acute reminder of his evenings lonely beginnings.
"That was quick!" Alex was sat in the chair again, his transparent hands carefully wrapped around a ghostly bottle of Vodka. "See anything you liked?"
"Huh!" Mulder was still lost in the virtual video. He and Scully? That he could comprehand. That was the future he always secretly dreamed of. But he and Scully and a baby? That must be a trick, it had to be. Even in the realms of the extreme possibilities that fueled his brain, he knew that was a non starter. A void began to open up within his heart as he realised this was a future conjured more from pipe dreams and futile wishes than hope. A future that had no basis in fact and was therefore redundant
"It must have been good to rob you of words." Krycek took a long swig from the bottle, pulled out a small hour glass from his pocket and checked it. "Well I must say it's been a blast Mulder, but I've gotta dash!"
"Uh...yeah...whatever." Mulder still couldn't wrap his brain around his enlightenment. As what he'd been shown couldn't possibly come to being, could it be an indication he was beyond the future. Beyond time itself.
"What, no questions about the downside?" Krycek drained his vodka, chrushing the empty bottle to a mere stain of stardust that he proceeded to brush from his palms.
Mulder faced his tormentor with a cold smile "Now let me see, what did Dickens predict for scrooge....a vision of his own headstone? The prospect of a death un-mourned... I'm dead aren't I?" He took up the half empty Tequila bottle from the table and made a quick assessment his possible blood/alcohol level. "I drank myself quietely into oblivion this evening and died from alcoholic poisoning didn't I? This isn't a dream, this is a quick tour of all the screw ups of my romantic life so that when I reach the bowels of hell or wherever I'm heading, it'll seem like a walk in the park in comparison? Didn't you say that you'd meet me on the flipside.....C'mon help me out here Alex, am I even close?"
"Close?" Alex held his sides in laughter induced pain.
"Close? Mulder you're so far out of the wood you can't even see the trees anymore!"
"But the future I saw couldn't possible happen...."
"The future is what it wants to be...I can't tell you whether it's accurate or not."
"But I saw Scully with a baby!" Frustrated, Mulder pushed his head into his hands and rubbed his temples "I was there, I was holding it and weeping....Krycek you know as well as I that she can't...besides we haven't even kissed, yet alone.....well you know what I mean." Mulder shook his head.
"You're right, you haven't and she can't. Not here in the present anyway. But that was the future Mulder...in the future anything is possible. I thought you of all people would be able to make that leap! Hard facts have never stopped you before. Maybe it was adopted? Did you think of that!...or maybe the miracle of modern science finally came up trumps for the pair of you."
"So the baby was...is mine?"
"I can't tell you that for certain either, ....What I can tell you Mulder, with concrete certainty, is that the downside of your future is here in this room." Alex cast his eyes around his cheerless, empty surroundings and waived his hands "Is that what you want? A future filled with warped paranoia, mindless tv, tacky porn vidoes and the occasional bit of self induced relief courtesy of a dis-embodied voice at the other end of an 0900 number?"
"No, but..."
"What I'm saying Mulder, is if that's the future you really want then you've got to make a few choices." Krycek grinned "If you really want to get to the Emerald City then you're gonna have to step on a few yellow bricks!..... still think this is an alcohol induced, Dickensian inspired guilt trip?"
"Without a doubt!" Suddenly Mulder felt very, very drunk.
"Figured as much." The Russian delved into his pocket
and pulled out a small, square, untidyly wrapped parcel and tossed it over. "Then you might just need this in the morning......" As the melodic strains of *Somewhere over the Rainbow* began to chorus around the room, the figure of Alex Krycek blinked into nothingness.
With hazy vision Mulder looked down at the package, raised his eyebrow quizically and fought to contain a disbelieving snort . A gift from Krycek? Well that proved his point precisely. A sudden thought struck him...what if this was the final twist of ironic fate? If everything he'd been shown this evening couldn't reduce him to the required suicidal wreck, maybe who ever had instigated this needed to make absolutely sure he never awoke? Bringing the gift to his ear he listened carefully for any signs of ticking, then shook it just to be certain. When it remained silent his fingers edged under the wrapping and peeled it back a little. As the paper fell away Mulder couldn't supress a chuckle as he stared down at the four inch square frame made of wood and glass.
*IN CASE OF HANGOVER - BREAK GLASS* The thick black lettering leapt off the shiny red cardboard above a
couple of large Aspirin.
The chuckle quickly gave way to a manic burst of laughter as he threw back his head. The laughter continued until his ribs ached and he was barely able to draw breath. Gasping and wiping his eyes to blot the tears of mirth, Mulder took another look at the gift then started to laugh again. He was still laughing when the Tequila finally overtook him and he passed out.
*******************************************************
The pealing of church bells awoke Mulder. As his consciousness clawed it's way through his cotton candy brain and a white tipped, high rolling wave of nauseau took possesion of his stomach, it felt for all the world as if the bells were hanging somewhere inside the apartment and not the two miles he actually lived from the nearest church.
He groaned and attempted to sit up. Even the slightest motion caused his world to tip and roll on it's axis. Reflexively he clapped his hand over his bone dry, yet rapidly salivating mouth, not convinced it would prevent the upcoming purge of vomit, but prepared at least to try. He lay back down, shifting as carefully as he dared to relieve the pins and needles dancing through his limbs and tried to force his eyes open.
"Must get up...." Even barely mumbled, the words caused his stomach to free-fall and threaten . Concentrating his effort he tried again.
"must get up and get some Coffee" Grabbing his nauseau by the metaphorical scruff of it's neck, he took a deep breath and swung his legs onto the floor. As they touched down on the rug something tumbled from his lap and fell with glass splintering crash. Mulder blinked curiously as he eyed the shattered object. Wasn't that the gift he'd received from krycek last night? Either he was still drunk and dreaming, or somewhere in the night he'd finally opened that last paper thin door between his normally paranoid psyche and total delusional insanity and tripped gaily through it. Reaching down, his fingers closed around the wooden frame and lifted it into his feild of fuzzy vision. Two large round pills peeled off the card and rolled into his palm.
"Well I'll be damned..." A disbelieving smile tugged at his lips. Yes he had been drunk last night. His current physical state was a sorry and painful testimony to that, but was this the evidence of something far more fantastical? Still absently pondering the truth he popped the tablets onto his tongue, washing them down with a quick gulp of stale, flat beer from a nearby bottle. More bells began to go off in his head as his brain lit up quicker than a pin-ball machine on full tilt.
"Remember Mulder, if you want to get to the Emerald City then you're gonna have to step on a few yellow bricks!"
Krycek's dis-embodied words floated over a quick techniclour replay of the future he'd be shown, as the tablets travelled to the depths of his protesting stomach. Mulder closed his eyes, pushed his head into his hands and waited for the inevitable urge to pray to the porcelain deity...it didn't come. The medication hit his stomach wall and exploded like an internal nuclear device and still it didn't come. Unbelievably he began to feel better. In fact, the longer he sat there the better he began to feel. As the light of the explosion meandered its way into every nook and cranny of his being he felt strangely uplifted. A hereto unknown feeling of joy and hope took hold of his soul and began to dance with it. Mulder smiled, then chuckled then threw back his head and began to laugh.
"I never thought I'd say this, mercenary, double crossing litte rat-fink, but I think I finally get it!"
He leapt to his feet, the shadow of his disbelieving former self cast abuptly to one side. "Scully, I figured it out!" his grin beamed. "Scully? Oh wow I nearly forgot...I have to get to Scully!" With the countenance of a man possessed he dashed to the bathroom.
With a new found zest for the season and beyond, he showered then dived into his closet. After much muttering, considering and tossing of garments, his hands closed on what he was hunting for: A dark Blue Turtleneck sweater. He brandished it triumphantly as he emmerged and pulled in on. The jeans were easy to find after that and as he ran comb through his damp hair and studied himself in the mirror he couldn't help but
smile. The whole ensemble was just as he's seen in the blurry variation of his future. Was he tempting fate or just giving it hand? The latter he decided, as he grabbed his jacket off the peg and opened the door.
With a spring in his step and whistling *Were off to see the Wizard* he waltzed toward the day.
******************************************************
He was approaching Maggie's neat suburban house when the first nugget of classic Mulder self doubt encroached on his good humour. What if the events of the previous night had been a guilt ridden dream? He shook himself free of the thought. After last night he sorely wanted to believe otherwise, but so what if it were he decided. He'd been invited for Christmas and despite his rather rude refusal there was still time to make amends. If the future he'd seen wasn't ready to present its-self then he could still enjoy the sparkling company of two lovely woman.
He made as far as the drive when the second nugget hit him. If it had been dream, then Bill Scully could quite well be insitue. He took that one and kicked it into touch. Scully was right why should he care what *big brother* thought of him. After all the guy wasn't exactly an ogre...he was just doing what Mulder had done when Samantha was still around. He trying to protect his little sister from the uncertainties of the world. Mulder had failed for a thousand or more reasons way beyond his adolescent control, and although the guilt of that would always colour his life he couldn't hate Bill for trying to do the same. If, and Mulder made a leap of renewed faith and assumed it was a pretty big *if* at this point. If Bill were actually here he would just have to prove his fears unfounded. Taking a deep breath he strode up the yellow Roman brick path and knocked of the dark green door.
"Mulder?" Scully's eyes were still sleepy and her hair had that wonderfully unstructured just-fell-out-of-bed
look but it took Mulder's breath away all the same.
"Mulder,what are you doing here? it's not even 8am...
Is something wrong?" She stifled a yawn as she pulled her pale yellow robe a bit tighter.
"I... umm...well...err.. you did say...what I mean is.." The words wouldn't come and he was reduced to scuffing the toe of his boot against the door mat like a guilty child as he frantically tried to put a coherant sentence together.
"Mulder you're making no sense...as usual." She stood back and waived him in with another sleepy yawn. "Come in before you freeze us both...I'll get us some Coffee and then you can explain yourself." Leaving him to close the door Scully padded bare-foot toward the kitchen.
Mulder shut the door and walked tentatively toward the parlour. If his future was going to start here and now, then he knew exactly where to look for confirmation. He crossed to the mantle chewing his lip nervously. As the two star-shaped holders caught his attention his heart leapt. They *were* there! He reached and freed the one he'd seen Scully use last night from the pool of melted wax that covered it and held it in his hand. He was gazing and stroking it still, when Scully appeared from the kitchen with the Coffee.
"Now what was so important that you had to race around here at the crack of dawn?...it had better not be an xfile....it's the holidays, remember?" She cocked her head on one side, raising her eyebrow in her usual way when she caught sight of what he doing "It's a candle holder Mulder...you put candles in it!"
"And wishes.." he whispered to himself as he gave her sheepish smile. "Not it's not an Xfile Scully....I came to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry we had words, I'm sorry I upset you. I'm sorry if I ruined your evening..Hell, I've probably ruined your whole Christmas and not for the first time I'll bet... " He ran out of apologies and breath almost in tandem and hung his head. "I guess I'm just one sorry son-of-a-bitch all round really."
"I see." Scully sipped her Coffee and regarded him earnestly. "Then I guess I should really accept your apologies...it being the season of Peace and Goodwill an' all."
"It's not compulsory but it would be rather nice..." His face slipped into his trademark *puppy dog* look before he realised he was doing it. "I know I'm pushing my luck
but is the invitation to join you still open?"
"Hmmm I don't know..." A teasing twinkle lit Scully's eyes "Maybe I should go and wake Bill and see what he thinks." Without waiting for his reply she put down her mug and went to move toward the door.
"Wouldn't it be easier to use this?" Pocketing the candle holder still in his hand, Mulder picked up the phone and with an expression of total innocence, held it out to her. A look of pure bewilderment crossed Scully's face as she took it from him.
"I'm not sure he's going to be best pleased though." Mulder looked at his watch and did a quick mental calculation "I mean it's not even 3am in San Diego yet, is it?"
Scully paled visibly then dropped, slack-jawed onto the nearest chair. How had he known that? A jumble of thoughts crowded her mind and she rifled through them until she fell upon the capabilities of the Lone Gunmen. That fired a spark of temper which in turn lit the fuse of fury.
"How did you know.....You tapped into my phone!" The words were sharp and filled with hot disbelief. "You went around to the boys last night and got them to access my answer machine!..."
Mulder stepped back."WHAT?" This certainly wasn't reaction he had anticipated. Maybe it hadn't been a good idea to parade his new found knowledge in the face of her understandable ignorance. " No Scully, no....I didn't..I wouldn't...." He stuttered.
"I phoned your place last night, you were out....I've seen you pull some stunts in your time Mulder but I really didn't think you would stoop this low...." Throwing her hands up wildly, she jumped to her feet and began to pace the floor in front of him. "How could you?"
"I didn't, I swear!...look Scully, you've got this all wrong...let me explain." He words had no immediate impact her pacing and Mulder felt a sudden surge of panic. Had he really had tempted fate just a little bit too much this time? How was he going to explain all this without sounding like a raving basket-case? Come to think of it, how did he ever explain his wild theories and notions without sounding as such?
Throwing caution to the wind he made a grab for his pacing partner, scooping her into his arms and depositing her, wide-eyed, onto the couch.
"Sit there, be quiet and listen to me for minute will you woman."
Scully narrowed her eyes and although she opened her mouth to protest, she quickly closed it again then folded her arms expectantly.
"Thank you. Now if you can stay like that for a couple of minutes I might be able to explain." It was now Mulder's turn to pace the floor,
"You were right Scully. You were right when you said that I buried myself in my work. You were right when you said that it was an excuse to avoid the real world....last night I went home feeling thoroughly sorry for myself, wanting badly to get drunk but thinking about you said about Scrooge finally figuring it out.
Now I know you're not going to believe this...God know's I'm having a hard enough time with it myself, but I had a few visitors last night Scully and they weren't the usual kind."
Scully's eye's rolled heavenward but, to her credit, she didn't say a word. Mulder noted her expression and gave a small shrug. Here goes nothing, he thought as he planted himself next to his partner on the couch and took a deep breath.
He decided to start slowly, giving a blow by blow account of his encounters first with Krycek, then with Phoebe. Wide eyed and attentive Scully had the good grace not to laugh as the story spilled from his lips, althoughhe could see she was sorely tempted. Even when he got to the real gut wrenching parts and reached for her hand, she merely shrugged and nodded.
Spurred on by this action alone, he continued. Through into Christmas present and the visit of Diana. Only when he reached the part where he had witnessed her private wish did his tale start to falter. When Scully caught his attention in askance, he quickly chose to bypass that particular moment and carried on to his second encounter with krycek calling a halt only when he reached Christmas future.
The silence in the room was almost palpable as Scully took the tale he'd just spun and digested it. Mulder chose to stare at the floor. Part of him was waiting for her to explode. Laid out in black and white like that
the story read like something concocted by a mad fanfiction writer. The other part, the hopefull part
wanted her to treat it as just another one of his fancifull but nearly always right theories. It took several more agonising minutes before Scully sighed thoughtfully then spoke.
"Well Mulder, what can I say? That's a good one even by your standards." she pulled her hand free of his and stood up. "Even if I disregard your admitted intake of alcohol and all the laws of physics....what I would have most trouble with is that you would actually trust all the people you said you met last night....I mean Phoebe Green? Diana Fowley? Krycek!!"
"I know..I know...so you don't believe me then?" Mulder didn't look up but harboured a vain hope she did.
"Don't believe you? Of course I don't believe you!" The explosion finally came. "Not only was that the biggest load of alcohol fuelled, guilt ridden, Freudian BS I've ever had the misfortune to come across...but coming from you?...Well...well that's just insulting."
Her words were like a knife to his heart but he couldn't blame her. "I guess there's nothing more to say then.." He got to his feet and made his way painfully to the doorway. "I'm sorry. I never meant to insult your intelligence Scully...I'd never do anything to hurt you."
"If you really mean that then tell me the truth Mulder!"
Scully's tone softened. "How did you know that Bill was in San Diego?"
"I told you. I was here. I saw." as he pushed his hands into his jacket pockets, his fingers closed around the candle holder that stood on the mantle. As a light bulb came on dimly in his head, he withdrew the star and held it out. "Scully, I swear on your mothers life that I sat on that couch last night and watched you light small white candle in this holder and ask that Angel up there to grant you a wish..." His eyes locked onto hers. "I know it sounds crazy, but it's true."
Not for the first time that morning Scully paled.
"Angel high upon the tree grant a little wish for me.."
He moved back to her, reciting her wish chapter and verse and handed her the star. "Look me in the eye and tell me I'm liar." he challenged softly as he cupped her cheek to keep her eyes with his. "Look me in the eye Scully, look me in the eye and tell me I'm insane....that I didn't hear you say you loved me as much as I love you."
Scully began to tremble as she closed her eyes. "I...I can't." she leant into his hand and he felt a tiny tear against his palm "I can't Mulder....I'm so sorry..this is so insane...?"
Mulder rested his forhead against hers and drew her closer. " Hey,it's okay. I'm not sure I would have believed me either." He gave her a squeeze "but please believe that I love you Scully...am in love with you and have been for a very long time." He lowered his head kissing the trail of tears that had sprung from her still closed eyes. Scully wrapped her arms around him and brought her lips to his.
"I love you too Mulder...have down for a long time."
"Then I guess this is okay then." He brushed his lips against hers.
"Oh yes!" Any further words redundant Scully fastened her lips on his fervently. The kiss became more passionate with each passing second. Their bodies melded together as their mouthes tangoed effortlessly. Finger wound into hair, tongues duelled, senses reeled and still the kiss continued. Thirty seconds passed...forty seconds...
From the stairwell an unseem Maggie Scully watched
and smiled. Dana's wish had been granted, as she knew it would be, even if it were by more unorthodox methods than a battered Tree top Angel. Glancing down at the new Cam-corder in her palm an idea struck. The young couple were too engrossed to notice as she snuck into the room to capture the embrace for posterity.
Mulder and Scully came up for air just in time to see a beaming Maggie as she filmed the event.
"Aww Gee!" Blushing furiously Scully swept her hair back and wagged a mock-scolding finger at the lens. "Mom that's really not fair."
"I thought you might like this for the record." Maggie backed up and adjusted the angle "I know how meticulous you FBI agents are about evidence.....Dana honey, didn't you have a little something under the tree for Fox?"
Mulder gave a little self conscious shrug and ran his hand through his own hair as Scully gave a squeel, clapped her hands and dived beneath the branches.
When she emmerged she thrust a small but beautifully
wrapped parcel into his hands then peeped at him from under a stray lock of hair that had fallen back over her face. "It's not much...." she started, her fingers hovering, itching to help him unwrap it. "I hope you don't mind..."
Mulder stripped away the wrapping and the thick layers
of tissue then starred totally gob-smacked at the small
pewter casket in his palm. "Mind?" He gulped down the tears of emotion that threatened to engulf him. "Scully it's beautiful...I don't know what to say..."
"It's pandora's box." she whispered softly as she slid up close to him, her fingers straying to the gift. "When I saw it I just knew that it was the ideal gift....I mean Mulder, after all we've seen unleashed in the world whilst working together what better to sum it all up than this?" She took his finger and lifted the lid "See...it even has the one thing left in it I know you need most in this life:Hope."
All the gulping in the world couldn't stop the tears in Mulder's eyes this time. "Thank you Scully." his words were hoarse "Thank you but I've got the thing I really needed to give me hope...I've got you." He swooped and captured her lips with another searing kiss.
Maggie sighed nostalgically, turned off the cam-corder
and side stepped the lovestruck pair. As their kiss carried then into an unseen, private realm she fished into her pocket and withdrew the very last small white candle that she possessed and approached the tree top Angel.
"Angel high upon the tree, grant a little wish for me."
The Ghostly form of Christmas future sidled up, unseen by all, and with a quick wink at oblivious Maggie asked.
"Wishing for the opportunity to knit baby bootee's Mrs Scully?" He took a quick drag on the cigarette in his wizened hand.
"I think I can arrange that!"
The candle fizzled into flame startling the unsuspecting woman.
Bemused, Maggie shook her head and placed the candle in the holder on the mantle
Fin
******************************************************
Was it too far out of left feild? Did I screw with the
concept a bit too much? The fact that you're still here, reading this, must indicate you thought it was worth sticking with it to the end....Right?
Whatever your thoughts I'd love to know....I'll even accept flames gratefully at this point as my heating is
Kaput and My lamp is freezing.....
Until then I think I'll go and have a long lie down.
If anyone wants me....well, you know the drill!