Title: Remember When?: Photographs
Author: Jen Zoromski
All other information is in first chapter.
Author's Note: Okay, now after this it will really be two weeks…lol…but I guess I'll give you this chapter…so be ready for more in two weeks after my vacationJ All righty enjoy! And please R&R
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Bethesda Nursing Home
June 9, 2052
"Who is John and Jane Doe?"
"Friends of ours."
Catherine picks up the picture that the older Dana Scully showed her with the young man with red hair next to the aging couple.
"What about in this picture? Who are these people?"
Dana Scully looks at the picture. She smiles actually remembering the day that the picture was taken.
"Dana you should be in this," the man with dark hair, slightly pointy ears, and piercing blue eyes tells her.
"Come on, Scully, you know that you want to be in the picture with William," Mulder urges her. He's aged a lot at nearly fifty-eight years of age, but he still has that look in his eyes, like he's up to something, but won't let on.
"Oh all right, but then we'll take one with John and Monica," she replies giving in.
William places his arm around her, grinning down at her. He stands nearly six feet two, just as tall as his father maybe even a little taller. He also looks just like him, except for the reddish brown hair and bluish hazel eyes.
"What's the matter Aunt Dana? Are you going to miss me?"
Scully looks up at him with tears glistening in his eyes. "You have no idea."
"Okay, Scully, William, smile," Mulder says snapping the picture.
"We lost another picture in a fire."
"What are you talking about?" Catherine inquires, confused.
"I think -- remember dear, my memory is not what it used to be, but when we took this picture, we also took another. One of William and I, but we lost it in a fire."
"A fire?"
"Yeah, just a year after William graduated."
"Then who are these people?"
"John, Monica, you two need to get in this picture, now," Scully tells them herding them towards William.
"This must be what a celebrity feels like," William quips.
"You wish, dorkweed," an auburn haired fifteen and a half year old girl teases him.
"At least I get to leave you behind," William replies.
"You two quit fighting!" the fifty-two year old Monica Reyes tells them.
"But Mom! He's been teasing me since day one!"
"No buts about it," John interrupts.
"Dad!"
"No, Megan, go find Marc."
"Dad, why do I always have to keep track of him? He's seven years old. He should be able to find his way by now."
She struck a chord with John, one that hasn't been struck in a long time. It brings back horrible memories from another time when he lost his seven year old son.
"Megan go to your room," Monica scolds her.
"I'll go find, Marc," Scully tells them.
"All right guys, let's take this picture," Mulder says.
John stands on one side of William while Monica stands on the other. Snap. A memory that will last forever.
Scully rounds the side of the house and finds Marc sitting in the sandbox, playing quietly with his toys. The child has intense blue eyes, much like those of John Doggett, but the child has raven black hair, resembling Monica more than John.
"Marc what are you doing out here? Your dad is worried about you,"
"Aunt Dana, how come you and Uncle Fox don't have any kids?"
"We--"
"William and Megan look just like you two," the seven year old tells her. Smart kid. Very smart kid to notice the similarities.
"Mrs. Mulder! Are you okay?" Catherine asks her shaking her awake.
"Where's Mulder?"
"In your memories, Dana," Catherine tells her.
"What happened?"
"You closed your eyes and I thought you quit breathing."
"I didn't, dear, I'm good now."
"So do you know who these people are?"
"John and --"
"But I thought you said that John Doe was a pseudonym."
"It is, it was -- I don't remember. But we'll figure it out. Telling you this story has been jarring a lot of my memories. Memories that keep coming from different parts of my life."
"And to think that they have tried to find a medication to cure Alzheimer's -- maybe all they needed is to talk."
"Now dear, you know as a doctor or a nurse or whatever you call yourself that that isn't true."
"But it might give you some hope."
"Mulder gave me hope a long time ago."
"Where did you meet him?"
"At the FBI. I was assigned to debunk his work. To reign him in, to shut him down, but I saved him and he saved me as well."
"I've been thinking more about joining the FBI."
"But I thought that you're uncle doesn't want you to."
"He doesn't, but a buddy of mine from college has found a very interesting project, outside of the FBI mainstream."
"Sounds interesting."
"It's a project that was shut down years ago."
"I'd watch out for those kind of projects. They just seem to suck you in and never let you leave."
"It's getting late. I'd better let you get some rest," Catherine replies getting up.
"But I might not remember what we talked about," Scully worries.
"I guess we'll just have to wait until tomorrow."
Catherine walks out of the door and leaves Scully to sit in her room. She closes her eyes and for the first time in a long time prays to God that she will wake up tomorrow -- that if he decides to take her into the 'great beyond' that he waits until she's done telling her story. Because deep down she feels that she has to tell this nurse her story. For some reason. Some connection.
June 10, 2052
Scully wakes up, aches and pains going through her body. She's still alive -- she didn't die in the night. After three years of praying that she would just silently pass into the night she has actually found a reason to live another day.
"Dana, how are you feeling?" Catherine asks as she comes into the room.
"Dear, do you want to hear more of the story?"
"You remember?" Catherine inquires, amazed.
"I left off where we had received a letter from a Jane and John Doe, a couple who knew about our son. Who had him -- a couple who we recognized."
"What happened?"
"We were within twenty minutes of them and of our son. Only twenty months."
"Go on."
"I'm trying dear, you've got to learn to quit interrupting!"
"Sorry."
"It's all right. Let's see. It was ten at night, the stars and the moon were absently gone from the dark sky, but we were on a mission to find our son, and to find a couple who we thought that we'd never ever see again."
TBC
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More to come! Please R&R
Thanks
~Jen
