Sorry for the delay. Had to work on Russia project…:-/
Chapter 4: Lost Time
Brenda, Maryland
May 4th
9:01am
Mulder sipped on a cup of coffee, watching his sister over the rim. They were in the large kitchen, seated across from each other at the breakfast table. The huge bay windows looked out over Seneca Creek, letting in the bright May sunshine. Plants adorned the sills, the floors, and the counters, their blooms casting pleasant scents over the room.
Samantha Mulder held her mug tightly, eyes following its swirling contents.
"To think that you've been here," Mulder whispered, "twenty minutes away from me for all these years…"
Samantha smiled a little. She waited for the questions.
"What happened?" Mulder asked finally.
Samantha looked up and met Mulder's eyes. "They took me, twenty-seven years ago. I think we were in California at first. I don't remember much about those days, except for the tests…"
Mulder looked angry. "Tests? What did they do to you, Samantha?" he demanded.
"Fox, it's okay," Samantha said, a little taken aback by Mulder's murderous tone. "I'm fine."
They were silent for a few moments. Then Samantha said hesitantly, "I think they were trying to help people."
"Help people?"
"Yes. I heard things about saving mankind. The tests hurt, sometimes so much that I thought I couldn't take any more. But then I kept telling myself that the world would be a safer and happier place because of them. They were good people, Fox; they took good care of me."
"Samantha, they were not good people. They were bent on saving only themselves," Mulder said. "I think the tests were to hurt people, not help them."
Now it was Samantha's turn to look angry. "No, Fox, you're wrong. They're only trying to help. I don't know why you would think that their intentions are anything but honorable," she said defensively.
Confusion crept across Mulder's face. Here was his sister, taken from him almost thirty years ago, admonishing him for the beliefs that he had lived by for half of his life. Had he been wrong? All those years, had he been wrong?
Samantha's expression softened. "Oh, Fox, I'm sorry. It's just that Casey's uncle is so different from Dad. He really cared about me, and doted on me. He bought this house when I was fifteen, and he promised me that once the tests were done, the house would be mine."
"Casey's uncle?"
"Yes. He was like a father to me…Casey and I met after I moved here…"
Mulder listened to the lilts of her voice. He lost track of her words; he strained only to catch the patterns in the sound. His sister, alive and well, telling him stories. It was a miracle.
"Fox?"
Mulder blinked. "What?"
Samantha smiled. "I thought I'd lost you—"
"You will never lose me again, Samantha," Mulder broke in. "I'm not going anywhere."
10:50pm
The house was silent. Moonlight played across the ceiling as Mulder snuggled deeper into the covers. For once he felt comfortable sleeping in a bed—a bed in his sister's house.
They'd spent the day catching up, their conversation broken by intervals of warm silence. Samantha had been living in Brenda since 1993, after her graduation from UCLA. Mulder was continuously appalled throughout the day that his lost sister had been so close to him for seven long years. They had not dwelled long on the medical tests, mainly because Samantha assured him that they were not so bad, that she was fine, and Mulder couldn't dispute that, as she was very much a healthy woman.
Mulder smiled into the pillow. Now that everything was resolved, he couldn't wait to tell Scully. He knew Scully would like his sister, and vice versa, and they would all be one big happy family. He sighed contentedly.
Sometime in the middle of the night, Mulder woke to find a woman standing in the doorway. She was so beautiful—in the moonlight she looked like an angel. Her silky brown hair framed her face, and as Mulder's eyes traveled down her body, he saw that she was wearing a low-cut, very provocative satin nightgown. The woman padded softly over to the bed and sat down. She gently touched Mulder's cheek.
"Hi, Fox," she whispered.
"Diana," Mulder whispered back, feeling a stir in his groin.
Diana took one of Mulder's hands in both of hers and drew circles on his palm.
"What are you doing here?" Mulder asked.
Diana shrugged. "To be with you."
Mulder was pleasantly surprised. Over the years, contact with his former partner had been minimal, and when they did see each other, it was under dangerous circumstances. This was something he did not expect.
Diana continued caressing his hand. She looked out of the window at the moonlit creek. "I love you, Fox. I've loved you for so long. Too long." Her voice was silky, alluring, hypnotic.
Mulder blushed, glad for the darkness. For a moment he felt disoriented. Him, blushing? Something was wrong. But his doubts melted away as Diana leaned down and kissed him on the lips. His heart fluttered deliciously. He smiled into her mouth and returned the kiss, deepening it, his tongue probing passionately.
As they parted for breath, Diana looked him in the eye. "I am yours, and you are mine."
The Cigarette-Smoking-Man watched it all from his the basement across the street. He smiled with satisfaction. Everything was going as planned. He could taste the victory. He allowed himself a moment to indulge in the genius of his plans. Soon. Very soon.
6:30am
Mulder left Diana sleeping peacefully, curled up on her side. He walked downstairs and into the kitchen, wearing only boxers. Something in the back of his mind had prompted him to leave the warmth of his bed and the comfort of Diana's arms. Even though his life, his mission, had changed in the past day, and the past night—he smiled at the thought—he still had a job, he still had a partner, he still had his apartment in Alexandria with the overdue rent and the tapes that weren't his. He set about making coffee and some semblance of breakfast.
"Fox?" Samantha said from behind him.
Mulder turned around. He flashed a bright morning smile. "Good morning, little sis."
"What are you doing?" she asked as she walked over to him.
"Getting ready for work," he replied.
Samantha sighed loudly. Mulder looked at her, puzzled. She led him to the breakfast table and they both sat down.
"What?" Mulder asked. "Is something wrong?"
"No, no, of course not."
"Well, then, I need to get to work." He began to get up.
Samantha clutched at his wrist and pulled him back down. "Fox. Fox, no. No."
"No what?" Mulder was very confused.
"Fox, it's over now. It's all over. You don't have to put yourself through any of this anymore. You've found me, you've found love, you've found family. What else could you possibly want?"
"But Sam—"
She cut him off. "I'm just afraid that if you go back, you'll be reminded of the pain, open old wounds…I don't want anything to taint the happiness you've sought for for so long. Stay here, Fox; forget about your old life. Start a new one, with your family, with people who love you."
Understanding dawned. "I know what you're saying, Samantha, but what about Scully, what about my quest for the truth? I can't just leave it all behind. Just like that."
"There has never been a quest," Diana said from the bottom of the stairs. She came to the table and sat down. She took Mulder's hand. "Fox, you've been hurting for so long, so much, you've forgotten what it's like to be truly happy. Your quest was just an illusion to help you through it all, and eventually became an ill-begotten obsession. This is the truth, Fox. Your sister is fine. Your 'quest' prevented you from knowing that sooner. Do you really want to go back? Go back to the confusion and the darkness?"
Mulder shook his head. He felt strange. But what they said made sense…didn't it?
"All these years you've been looking in the wrong place, Fox," Diana continued. "Answers are found in this life, this reality, not in the heavens, not up there."
"And not in the heart," Samantha added. "This is what's real. So stay with us, Fox, if not for yourself, or for Diana, then for me. I need you here. I've missed you so much." She looked at her brother beseechingly.
Mulder was convinced. "Okay. Okay. I'm ready. I'm ready to start over."
A/N: Okay, that's that. What do you think?
P.S. Thanks for the reviews! :-D They've inspired me to go on. :-)