The X-Files: Monday Only Once
By Damandabear 2
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ChApTeR 1 (Mulder's pov)
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"Customers, face down! You know what this is!" yells a man behind me.
Suddenly, a woman next to me screams, "Oh, God," and that's when I see what the man is holding. A gun. Not now, I mentally groan when the moment catches up with me. This is just turning out to be a great day. I'm already late, and now this?
"You! On the floor!"
"Oh, God! Don't shoot us," the woman cries as she sinks to the floor.
"Shut up!" he yells.
I begin to lower myself at his request and say, "You're the boss." Anything you say as long as no one gets hurt. Please. The woman starts to sob. "It's all right," I tell her, knowing it doesn't really help the situation. I just hate to think of what could happen if this woman begins to panic.
"All right, I'm the boss," the bank robber yells. "No silent alarms; no dye packs. Do it just like the insurance company taught you." He moves to one of the windows. "Let's start with the counter money. The quicker you go, the quicker I go. Everybody else, out here on the floor… Ah! Leave the last one. No tricks." The bank is quiet except for the shuffling of paper money. "All right, come on. Come on, come on, come on," he rushes the teller.
"Zip-a-dee-doo-dah," I mutter quietly. This is just great. I look up at the window for no real reason, but through it, what I see makes my heart pound. Scully. This is the first moment I am actually scared. At least, before, it was just a robbery, but if she walks in here, then her life will be in danger.
I hear the man tell the teller, "Now get your keys. We're movin' to the ATM."
No, Scully. Stop. Turn around. Go back to the FBI building. Please don't come in. Maybe I can do something. "Hey, lock the doors," I blurt to the thief, hoping he will get to them before Scully. He looks at me questioningly. "You forgot to lock the front door."
"On the ground," he orders the teller as he heads toward the front of the bank. But it's too late. She walks in, unsuspecting as can be, only to meet his raised and ready gun. She's not ready. I need to take this chance to get my gun out. I need to protect her. I quietly start to rise to my feet and draw my weapon, but the woman (who I just knew would screw things up if she panicked) screams out, grabbing his attention faster than I can aim. My gun is still in the air when I hear his fire, and a sudden burst of pain hits me in the left side of my chest. Not the best of places. Still, all I can think is, I hope Scully's okay.
I can hear her yelling, "Drop it! Drop it now!"
"You drop it!" the man shouts back. A muffled silence becomes the only thing I can hear, and I begin to wonder if I am about to die. It is hard to breath, mostly because of the pain. After that, almost everything goes black. As I seep in and out of consciousness, I can only feel Scully's warm embrace.
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ChApTeR 2 (Scully's pov)
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I barely get inside the bank when I see why Mulder has been taking so long. A scruffy looking man with a bulky coat is holding a gun aimed at my face, and Mulder is rising to his feet behind him. Everything happens so fast. I hear a woman scream, and the next thing I know Mulder is shot. Shot! All I want to do is go to him, but there is one thing in my way. "Drop it!" I demand. "Drop it now!"
"You drop it!" he orders back. I don't move, so he opens his coat. No no no no no, this is cannot be happening. Not now. Not on such a mundane day when we aren't even fighting monsters. Under his coat, he has a bomb wrapped around his torso. "You drop it," he repeats on the verge of further insanity. Oh, God, why is this happening?
He finally allows me to go to Mulder, and it takes everything I have not to cry. I fall to my knees and undo his tie. Then, I rip open his blue shirt, which is partially red from the blood. I hesitate only a second at the sight before firmly laying my hands over his wound. Oh, Mulder…this doesn't look good at all. Hold on. Please.
I can feel my body shivering in fear. I can't lose him. Not today. Not ever. He can't die. With one of my hands, covered in his blood, I cup his cheek and try to comfort him. And myself. He closes his eyes, and my heart falls into the pit of my stomach. No, you have to stay awake. Please don't go to sleep. Don't leave me. I rub my thumb against his cheek and hold his head more securely in my lap. My other hand remains on his wound, applying so much pressure that my muscles ache. He quietly gasps for air, and the sight of it makes me want to kill the devil of a man who put him in this position. Deciding that pleading is the better approach, I look up at that man.
"They're supposed to call, right?" he asks before I can say a word.
"They're not gonna call," I answer with a shaky voice. I look back down at Mulder, and I feel like I am about to be sick. This is a very uncomfortable mix of emotions. Fear, anger, sadness, and pain are all fighting for domination inside me, but in doing so, instead become a jumbled mess. Mulder is fading fast, and there's nothing I can do. "What's your name?" I ask, trying not to cry.
"Yeah," he chuckles nervously.
"Look, I gotta call you something, right? How about Steve? It's a nice, honest name. Steve."
"Bernard," he grimly answers.
"Bernard." Before I can stop them, the tears finally begin to fall, and my voice only goes to prove I am about to break down further. "I have to get my partner out of here." Let the begging begin.
"I'm blowing this freaking place right off the map if they come in here."
"Oh, look, they don't know that." A sob is stuck in my throat, but it's not too evident in my tone. "Don't you realize that? They can't see you. They don't know what your plan is." By now I am almost yelling. Mulder's life depends on me. I have to get Bernard to stand down.
"They better know. They damn well better figure it out."
His naivety is really starting to piss me off. "Look… Just walk in front of the door and show them," I attempt.
"You want to get me killed!" he accuses, aiming his gun at me again.
"Oh, God," I whimper silently. I look at Mulder and realize he is almost gone. My hands are covered with his blood, and his eyes have become almost lifeless. I am failing him. I am failing myself. I rub my thumb across his cheek again, and he closes his eyes. While part of me feels some hope in response to the slight movement, the other part of me wonders if he will ever be opening those beautiful eyes again. "I just want everybody to live," I finally say, taking in a cold, painful breath. "That's all. I just… Just show them." He keeps his gun pointed at my face. "You have control over everything that happens here," I reason. "You do. And it doesn't have to end this way." He looks as though he is about to start crying, himself, shivering with the same fear I am.
Suddenly, the front doors fly open, and a team of armed police flow through them like water from a dam. "Yeah, it does," Bernard grieves harshly.
I cry out as I watch his thumb approach the switch of the bomb. "No!" Please don't do this! His thumb is just about to flick the switch when I duck my head down next to my motionless partner. I think I see a glimpse of a bright, fiery blaze. Then everything goes dark.
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ChApTeR 3 (Mulder's pov)
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"Zip-a-dee-doo-dah," chimes a familiar voice as I fight for consciousness. "How ya feeling?"
I open my eyes to find her sitting at my bedside, as beautiful as ever. "Are you okay?"
"I believe I asked you first," she smiles. All I hear is her voice and the beeping of the monitors.
"I know," I nod, "but my answer depends on yours. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she assures me. "Now your turn. How are you feeling?"
I relax my head back into the deep, soft pillow. "I feel a little sore, but I'll heal. What happened?"
I just notice that Scully has my hand in hers, and part of me wishes I could stay in this moment forever. Always have her here beside me. "Well, after you blacked out, I had a little chat with Bernard. He was hoping the police would call him…ask for his terms…but he made the mistake of not letting them know he had a bomb strapped around his torso under his jacket."
"So no one called?" I ask, pulling her hand closer.
"No," she shrugs. "The police came charging in like bats out-a-hell, and…" She furrows her brow and squeezes my hand. "Something weird happened then, Mulder."
"What?"
"I don't know. It was almost like the bomb went off, but that's obviously impossible."
"I don't understand, Scully. Did the bomb go off or not?"
"Well, I thought it did, but I guess it didn't. It's hard to explain because I saw the explosion, but I didn't feel it…and if there really was an explosion, we wouldn't be alive, now would we?" she reasons.
I try to make sense of what she is saying but can't. "So…the bomb didn't go off?" I endeavor.
"Mulder, I think it did." She looks around the hospital room nervously. "Something isn't right."
"What?"
"Mulder, something is very wrong…I don't remember getting here."
"What?" I ask, even more confused. She seems to be mumbling to herself fretfully as she paces the room from wall to wall. I look up to notice there are no doors. Just one window. "Where are we? What do you mean you don't remember getting here? What happened when the bomb went off?" I panic.
"I don't know!" she finally screams at me. Her voice is shaky with fear and anxiety. "This doesn't make sense…this doesn't make sense…what's going on here?" she goes back to mumbling.
I have never seen her like this before. She looks like a caged animal, and I wish I could free her. "Scully?" I whisper, sitting up in the bed. She doesn't hear me at first. She is too far gone in her own little world, trying to make sense of everything. "Dana?" For whatever reason, this gets her attention much more effectively. I notice she is trembling, and it looks as though she is about to burst into tears at any moment.
"What?"
I pull the tubes from my arms and stand before her in my hospital gown. "Come here," I whisper, opening my arms. She walks into my embrace, and I do my best to comfort her. "Whatever is going on here, at least we are together," I console. She tightens her grip around me. For the first time in a long time, I feel like she actually needs me, and despite our current situation, I love knowing she needs me.
"The window," she whispers, pulling abruptly away. I follow her to it and look outside.
"Now I'd really like to know where the hell we are," I murmur.
Scully, who was already white as a ghost, has just succeeded to get even paler. "Mulder, I don't think this place has anything to do with hell…but rather…" Her breathing starts to hasten, and I have to catch her before she hits the floor. "Please tell me this isn't happening, Mulder. Please tell me it's all a dream. Why is this happening?" I want to comfort her. I want to tell her it's not real, that it will all go away, and that everything will soon be back to normal. But I can't.
"Scully," I whisper in a soothing tone, "I was never sure what to think about the afterlife, but you believe in Heaven. If this is Heaven…" It's not at all what I had expected. "…it must be."
She stops crying long enough for her sniffles to subside. "Why? What makes this so great?"
I look down at her face and dry her cheeks with my thumb. "Because it's just you and me…no one else…in an empty room…with a bed." The look she is giving me mirrors my own disbelief when as I hear the words escape my lips. Surely I did not just suggest what I think I just suggested…did I?
Whether it is out of true love for me or simply the need to be comforted, I don't care. She pulls me into a forceful kiss, and I carry her to the bed. There, with God as our witness…literally…we make love, and it's better than I could have ever dreamed.
I lie awake, holding her sleeping form in my arms, and stare out the window. I see only sky, and I wonder if this is how we will spend the rest of eternity. If it is, I don't mind. But I couldn't bear to watch her spirit die. She misses our lives, her family, and other everyday pleasures of being alive. In a small way, I envy her sadness, knowing I don't share it because I have nothing to miss. The only meaningful part of my life is her, but even in death, I seem to doom her to unhappiness. She stirs slightly, so I stroke her face until she settles once more. God, I love her. I love her so much, but she isn't happy like this. I realize I am talking to God as though I believe he exists. I guess now it would be ignorant not to…so here I am…praying for the first time in my life. For her. She misses her mother most of all. She is worried about her. Even in her sleep, she isn't at peace. How could I blame her? Just thinking about how Maggie must be holding up right now…or trying, anyway…makes my heart ache. What could I ever do for Scully now?
I remember watching one of those DMV documentaries that they show people in driver's education. It was about the MADD group and featured many parents discussing the deaths of their children. I don't know why, but there was one interview that has always stayed with me. In it, a mother mentioned that when she had first found out her son had been killed, she had the desire to make love. At first, I had been taken aback, unsure of why sex would enter her mind at a moment like that, but then I understood that it wasn't about the sex at all. It was the need to be with someone. She had felt so alone that she needed to be comforted and made complete again. She had gone through an experience so traumatizing, so traumatic, that her body naturally craved pleasure and fulfillment.
I can feel tears drip down the side of my face, towards the pillow, as I relate this woman to Scully. Our lovemaking had been perfect…better than I had ever imagined. But I did it out of love. Did she?
"Hi," I hear her whisper. She doesn't look as sad as she did before, but she isn't ecstatic either.
"Good morning," I smile. "Well, since it doesn't seem to get dark here, I guess just hi."
She nuzzles into my neck, and it's warm enough in the room for me to know she isn't cold. She really wants to be close. "I always hoped I'd be waking up to you someday, but I never could have guessed it would be…here," she says, forcing a chuckle to lighten the mood. "It was always just my bed or yours."
"We will get through this, Dana," I promise her. "But for now, let's just stay like this." I close my eyes and just about melt in her arms as I feel her hold me tighter. She really does love me. Knowing this, I am finally able to sleep.
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ChApTeR 4 (Scully's pov)
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The best hours of my entire life, and I'm not even among the living. He was so gentle, so affectionate, so cognizant of my needs and superficial, sexual cravings. I have never had a lover who was more interested in pleasuring me than wanting to be pleasured. Suffice to say, it was…Heavenly. But now…now what? I mean, personally, I could probably go on the rest of my life…or death, rather…laying in his strong, muscular arms…my haven, my comfort zone, my spot…but surely there is more to Heaven than just this. Isn't there? I guess it depends on one's own image of perfection.
I've never really thought about mine, but it makes sense that it would end up being something like this. Simple. No paperwork. No aliens. No paranormal cases that the government is trying to conceal, while, at the same time, trying to force us to solve. No need for scientific proof here. And Mulder. I bet my Heaven could look like hell, and I would still be happy as long as Mulder is with me.
He is very quiet. I think he has finally gone to sleep. I wonder what he was thinking about earlier. Truth be told, his forwardness had startled me when he had explained why this is his Heaven, but I'm glad he felt that way. I hope he really loves me and wasn't just being…a guy. But Mulder's not like that. I mean, sometimes he is, but not when it comes to our relationship. I know he loves me. I know it for sure.
Funny to think we have an actual relationship now. All we've ever been were partners and friends…but now it's more than that. Now, we are lovers. He's right, then. This is truly Heaven.
No clocks to watch as time ticks by. No time ticking by, for that matter. Not really much of anything here except Mulder, who is blissfully spooned up behind me. Flesh to flesh. God must know how much we are meant for each other. He must have created us that way on purpose, all those years ago, knowing that one day we'd finally be together. I have never been so compatible with anyone like I am with Mulder. And our union only confirmed it further. If only we could have had this before.
He mumbles sweet nothings into my ear in his sleep. He is so content, and it mystifies me. How could he feel so unaffected by this? Or rather, affected, but only in a positive way? Then again, what does he have to miss? It saddens me that his life had so little meaning to him that he doesn't even miss it. No one should ever feel that way. Then again, the only goal he ever really had was finding Samantha. He never did get to find her. I start to get restless in his arms and turn to face him.
"Holy Sh…" I gasp when I notice he is awake and staring at me.
"You can't say that here," he chides teasingly. Then, he whispers, "Sorry for startling you."
"No, it's okay. It was getting to be time for my daily scare anyway…not that I'm keeping track." He chuckles at my sarcastic tone and readjusts his arm around my waist. For a few moments, we just stare into each other's eyes, searching for things we already know are there. Love. Comfort. Desire. I reach for his face and trace his mouth with my fingertips. His lips part as he kisses each one slowly and seductively. Now, this is a vacation, I muse, realizing how long it's been since I've actually had one.
He stops to nibble on the last fingertip, and I lean forward to meet his mouth with mine. In the middle of our kiss, I slip my finger out of the way for my tongue. Then, in the heat of the moment, he resets his weight on top of my body, and the passion becomes more than I can bear all over again.
A while later, we float down from our highs for the second time and curl around each other's bodies. With no clocks, I don't know how long it took us to get there and back, but it felt like another hour or so. Oh, God, if Mulder is so perfect for me, why couldn't we be together long ago. I've loved him for so long. Mulder points to the window and whispers, "Look, we're on Cloud Nine." I give him a tired laugh and close my eyes.
I feel as though I am about to sleep again, when I hear a faint noise coming from the window. Mulder hears it too and gets up to see what it is. "Come here," he whispers.
I stand and cautiously join him at his side. "What is it?" I ask before I get close enough to look.
"It's…it's your mom. And Skinner."
"Oh, Mom," I shudder beneath my breath.
He listens closely to the quiet murmur between my mother and our boss. "He must be telling her what happened." My heart sinks into the same pit of despair it had when Mulder was lying in my lap, bleeding to death. "Oh, God, Dana. Look at her." I can tell Mulder wishes he could comfort my mom right now. Whenever something had happened to me, he was always the one there, telling her it would be okay. Unfortunately, he can't do that this time.
As I watch her, my eyes fill with tears. I'm so sorry, Mom. She is crying, too, and Skinner is doing his best, bless his heart. Even he hasn't just lost two agents. He has lost two friends.
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ChApTeR 5 (Mulder's pov)
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"Dana?"
"What?"
"Do you think Skinner has already talked to my mother yet?"
Her eyes leave the window for a moment to glance at me. "I don't know," she says quietly. "If so, I think we would have heard that, too." She looks back to Skinner and Maggie, only to find that the image is gone. "Where did they go?"
"Look," I gasp and point where she is already looking. "It's your mom again and your…"
"Bill!"
"I bet he really wishes that I was never a part of your life now," I mope. She seems to be listening too intently to her family's conversation to acknowledge my muttering. I decide to go back to the bed and lie down. Scully stays at the window, watching her mother and brother. "This sucks," I groan. When she looks at me, she seems almost insulted. "I just mean that we can see and hear these things. I didn't mean…anything else."
Despite the tears in her eyes, she tries to offer a smile. "I know what you mean. How did things go from being so wonderful to so…well, in your words…sucky?"
"I don't know, Dana, but I have a feeling we are meant to see these things."
"I don't understand. What does it matter now? Mulder, we already knew our families love us."
"I know, but why else would we be able to see them like this? There must be a reason, right? I mean, He's your God. You tell me why He would want us to see our families' reactions."
Scully shrugs and eases herself on the bed next to me. "He works in mysterious ways, y'know. You're probably right. I mean, everything does happen for a reason." She sits silently for a bit, but then the corner of her mouth twitches into a lofty half-grin. "Wait a second…correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought you believed that God is just a spectator."
"Putting words in my mouth, are we?" Her expression doesn't soften, so I offer the half-grin back to her. Caught in my own ignorant web of utterances. "Well, I guess my theories have evolved in light of recent revelations." She is enjoying this new side of me all too much. "Don't get too used to this Scully," I warn. "Just because we are suddenly both very aware that I could, in fact, sometimes be wrong doesn't give you the right to get this much pleasure out of it. Leave the pleasuring to my talents," I smirk.
"Your talents are merely the result of a suspiciously disturbing understanding of the female anatomy. Now, tell me more about this evolved theory of yours." Her tone transforms from playful mockery to a serious curiosity. "Do you really think there's a reason for us to see these things we are seeing?"
"I don't know, Scully, but I do know one thing. If there is, He will reveal it to us when we are ready to know it.
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Ok, what do y'all think? I've tOtally been waiting to post this until I had enough storyline for you to know it's going somewhere. I can't promise that I'll be able to add to it right away, but I'm just itching to get this out there. Please tell me what you think, and have no fear b/c I do kinda know where I'm going with it.
Thanx much!
