Category:  VA
Rating:  G
Spoilers: Redux II
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Synopsis:  A scene from Redux II we never saw after Scully's cancer is in
remission.  Takes place between Mulder's nailing of Blevins and the final
scene of the Redux II)

Disclaimer: All characters belong to 1013 and the actors who portray them
onscreen.  No copyright infringement intended.  Just trying to fill in the
blanks, guys.

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"It was her, Scully.  I'm sure of it."

"How?  You've seen her before...and it wasn't.  So, how could you know for
certain?"

"Because, after all these years...all this time..."  Mulder sighed wearily.
 He wasn't sure *how* he knew.  He just did. It had been a rollercoaster of a
week.  Bittersweet, but like bittersweet chocolate, more sweet than bitter.
 It was good news for Scully.  The best news.  He was elated, soaring, and
suddenly the issue of Samantha, in and of itself, was not that important at
the moment.  Yes, he still needed to know.  Know who and what they had done
to her and to Scully.  And it was important to nail those sons of bitches.
 But that was for another day.  Not today.  Not when for the first time in
weeks he'd not considered blowing his brains out.  Not when Scully was alive
and in remission.

He looked away, down to a spot on the floor.  He did not want to be doing
this.  Not now.  "I guess...I guess now I'll never have proof it was her,
Scully.  I'm just so tired of this.  Right now, I'm just grateful that you're
alive and in remission.  I don't even want to know why.  I don't even care."
 He grinned, looking seriously into her eyes.

"What?"  Scully gazed back at him inquisitively.

"Maybe I'm learning, Scully.  Learning to question.  Learning not to
question."  Mulder looked older, suddenly.  Perhaps it had been the toll of
the last several days, the lack of sleep, the emotional roller coaster he'd
been on.  Fine lines creased the corners of his eyes, that were bloodshot and
moist.  He blinked, a tear nearly escaping when his eyes opened again.
 Scully's heart was suddenly in her throat, and tears welled in her own eyes.
 She reached for his hand across the hospital bed, grasping it tightly,
pulling him from his bedside chair to sit on her bed.

"C'mere."  It was all she could say without her voice shattering into sobs of
relief for herself; of empathy for Mulder.  She fell against his chest as he
grasped her tightly.  Mulder's eyes closed as he was wrapped in Scully's
presence.  He caressed her hair,  a flood of emotions invading his every
sense, causing him to tremble slightly.  Scully looked up to see him, eyes
closed, face wet.  She said nothing and returned her head to his chest,
giving Mulder this moment of privacy.

Mulder bit his lower lip, valiantly trying to hold back years of pent up
sorrow, yearning for a lost sister who wished not to be found; for a lost
childhood never to be regained; for the losses suffered at the hands of those
who persecuted the truth seekers, the innocents.  But interwoven within the
strands of anguish were tears of gratitude for leaving Scully whole and
unharmed; for giving him the strength to hold onto his own integrity.  Mulder
prayed to some higher presence for the strength to continue the fight,
renewed in purpose, reunited with his other self, his better self.

He kissed Scully atop the head, cherishing her for all she had become to him,
holding her even tighter as if never to let go, drawing within him, through
the embrace, an energy that had been sapped.  Placing a hand gently along her
jawline, he lifted her face to his, searching her eyes to silently thank her
for being Scully, for being part of him, hoping she would know without words,
for he was unable to speak.  He kissed her again, gentle kisses whispered on
each eyelid.  And without thinking, without understanding why, impulse caused
him to place a gentle kiss, a brush of the lips, really, upon her upper lip.
 Doing so, he froze, understanding, shocked by his own action and breach of
unspoken rules.

"Scully, I"m...I..." he said, breaking the silence, pulling away, glancing
once again at the floor.

"Don't be."  The words, barely audible, a whisper, a caress.  Scully sought
his eyes, conveying the truth of her own words, drawing him back into their
intimate space.  This time it was she who caressed *his* face, brushing a
tear from the dark hollow beneath his right eye.  And with more than impulse
she returned the gentle kiss; placed unflinchingly on his lips: a seal on a
vow, solemnly made in silence.  They withdrew from their embrace, maintaining
the physical contact only by holding onto each other's hands, hesitant to
fully break the contact fully.

A knock on the door broke the moment as the Margaret Scully entered the room
with Bill and Father McCue.

"I think this is my cue, Scully."

Scully shook her head imperceptibly to all but Mulder.  "No.  Stay?"

"I think I need to give your family some time."  In truth, Mulder did not
trust himself with Scully's brother Bill.  Mulder gave Scully a final caress,
brushing a stray strand of hair from her forehead.  "I'll be right outside."

"Promise?"  This was hard.  Mulder's resolve was fading as he hated the idea
of leaving Scully's immediate presence.  He closed his eyes briefly.  He took
her right hand into both of his, holding her arm in the crook of his neck for
a moment.  He stood to leave, giving her hand one last kiss, gentle but
intense, causing them both to tremble in its intimacy, made moreso by the
presence of the others in the room.  He flashed her an electric smile.

"Promise.  Right outside." His voice, hushed and breaking, promising.

Suddenly remembering the family in the room along with them, Mulder looked
awkardly past them, making his way from the room.

The end.

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