Title: "Piece of Mine II: If All You Have To Do Today..." Author: Iaman A. Lien Rating: PG-13, language, and implied stuff. The language gets a little strong, like 2-3 steps above TV swearing. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ "PIECE OF MINE" THIS WILL NOT MAKE MUCH SENSE TO YOU, BUT YOU ARE VERY WELCOME TO TRY! Spoilers: Not much References: Mulder's time on the BSU, his twice guest starring wedding ring, and Scully's cancer, the fact that its in remission, the whole green/gray thing in Squeeze, a little bit of Phoebe Green, Tom Colton, and Angela White, and Scully's kick boxing moves, AND "Piece Of Mine." Category: MSA up the wazoo! Summary: We pick up after Scully is transferred, so it has been two years... Disclaimer: Mulder, Scully, The X-Files, and Samuel L. Jackson's dog are not mine! Three of the aforementioned belong to Chris Carter and FOX. Guess which one doesn't? The RENT lyrics used within this were written by Jonathan Larson (who died too young! But "Non Dies Sed Hodie" for those of you who don't speak Latin, "No Day But Today!"), who without which I might not have my second obsession, "RENT" e-mail about it! I'd looooove to talk! And the lyrics I stole for the title belong to Catatonia. Yes, (shamefully) I bought that CD explicitly for the song titled "Mulder & Scully" but I soon discovered that the whole CD kicked patootie! So, the lyrics are from: Catatonia International Velvet "Road Rage" If all you have to do today is find peace of mind, come here, you can have a piece of mine Homage: Notice how people always do hero worship in the disclaimer, well I am doing it here, in homage! I love Chris Carter! I love Vince Gilligan! I love Darin Morgan! I love Frank Spotnitz! I love Mulder! I love Scully! I love Gillian Anderson! I love Dav- oh wait, he is a self important guy who thinks he is the best thing since sliced bread, unfortunately he is really gorgeous, and as I have said many times, I am a fan of the Fox Mulder "Pusher" collection...the tight white shirt, flak jacket... Chronology: Okay, this could take place at anytime after Redux II, but before this season (US5) finale. The way that I did this was my own ending for Paper Hearts after Mulder shoots Roche on the bus. In my chronology, Paper Hearts happened sometime around the time of Mind's Eye, and All Souls. So the whole cancer thing has happened. Get it? Got it? Good. Author's Note: Thank you Elisa, for your advice on how to get these two yahoos talking! Holly, thank you for proofing, things make less sense when I write them down than when I think them. That sentence was a perfect example! Thank you for much e-mail after "Piece of Mine" it was inspirational. I tried to finish typing as fast as I could! Those of you who know me know that I write it all out on paper during exciting classes like Geometry and then type it. I have an extra exciting class Wellness! So I can edit even more this quarter! Also- does anyone want to make a webpage for me??? I am webpage-html-deficient and cannot do it myself. I would love you forever and keep any and all of your mailboxes full at all times... Distribution/Archive: Thankyouverymuchmr.spiffy! Wherever Whatever Whenever; just keep my name on it. Feedback: Why not? If you love me, hate me, whatever, just write. Send feedback to: iamanalien42@hotmail.com Dedication: I dedicate this second half to the Mulder and Scully dolls that I used for my Latin honors project, they are now happily clothed in the traditional Roman dress...togas ~~~~Catch My Lines From The Gift From God Himself (no, not CC)~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"RENT: An American Rock Musical" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~You Win A Special Prize, like a link to a goat cheese webpage!~~~~~ **ANYONE WHO DOESN'T HAVE A REALITY PROBLEM SHOULD GET ONE! JUST GET OVER THE FACT THAT THIS CAN NEVER HAPPEN, AND PROBABLY WON'T EVER HAPPEN, PERSONALLY, I HOPE THAT THEY DON'T GET TOGETHER ON THE SHOW, BECAUSE, THAT WOULD RUIN IT ALL. rEaLiTy Is OvErRaTeD! Have fun! XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx ______________________________________________________ "Piece of Mine II : Peace of Mind" By: Iaman A. Lien ______________________________________________________ XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx 2 YEARS LATER... SUNDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2000 Mulder stood next to her grave. It was cold, his trench coat didn't keep out the icy winter wind. He thought about her, what she'd done for him, how she'd been there for him. The preacher snapped him back into reality. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to say our good-byes. Here she lies! No one knew her worth, this late, great, daughter of Mother Earth. This woman was a beloved family member, and co-worker. She served her country well through many years of service at the Federal Bureau of Investigation." Mulder watched as the women cried, and children threw flowers on the casket. He'd miss her a lot. "Ruth Daniels will be sorely missed." Those cookies. Scully had tired, but - He'd almost gotten Scully out of his thoughts, For the day. Then he saw her, at least he thought he did. There was a woman at the top of the hill, the rows of cars fell behind her. Her black trench coat danced around her ankles. She turned her head slightly and that's when he knew it was her. The sun shone off her red hair. It could have been someone else, but he *knew* it wasn't. She turned towards him, and even from a distance, their eyes met. Her jaw dropped, and she backed up towards her car. Mulder stood there for a moment, before starting up the hill to where she had been standing. A few people at the funeral watched him disapprovingly. He didn't care, it had to be Scully, no one else would have bolted like that. He caught the dirty looks he was receiving from the older people at the service, but Ruth would've understood- He had woman troubles, Scully troubles to be exact. * * * was the only thing going through her mind. She hadn't meant for him to see her, she had been telling her self the whole way there that she was going to the funeral to pay her respects to Ruth. She knew she'd come to see him, of course she had *seen* him, but he always had a glazed look on his face. She had missed him, and she knew he missed her too, but she wondered if it was the same way; pathetic and hopeless. She looked in her rear view mirror and saw him finally reaching the top of the hill as she pulled away and started out of the cemetery. * * * Mulder stood after Scully had sped away. He watched her drive away, and after about 5 minutes of hoping she might have forgotten to...do...something at the cemetery, and have to come back; but she didn't. His arms fell slack, and his head against his chest. Mulder walked to his car, got in, and started it. * * * He looked at his clock, 4:15 PM. Mulder knew he couldn't just stare at his ceiling all day, and he sat up. His eyes roved around the apartment looking for anything interesting. Nothing. He threw himself back into his couch, still the same black leather couch that had always been there. The only that had remained after everything fell to pieces. Not just Scully, mostly Scully, but the X-Files, Ruth, everything. Then he saw his answering machine blinking. He stood up to it, and let his hand lazily fall on the button. "Yo, Mulder, man, we're thinking about going to a Star Trek Convention, you at all interested? Erase this after you've heard it." Oh yeah. "Hi, this is Sprint calling to inform you that if you change to Sprint, you get a copy of the 11 academy award winning, romantic epic, TITANIC free. Absolutely free, just call 1-800-TITANIC." That is just what I need, I'll watch it with the girl I hired to feed my fish. "Mulder, this is ( long pause, deep breath ) Scully, I was just...bye." That one might just warrant a response. Mulder had picked up the phone before the message had even finished, and hit speed dial 0, he hadn't taken her off. Ring. Ring. Please pick up. Ring. Please, please pick up. Ring. Scully? Rin- "Hello?" "Scully?" he answered almost sounding too excited. "No one's called me that in a while, is that you Mulder?" "One and only." * * * "So, what have you been up-" she stopped herself mid-way, "Mulder I called to apologize." "About the cemetery?" "About the cemetery, I don't know I guess I saw you," "And bolted, am I that ugly?" She smiled just a little, but not enough hat he would know, "Seriously, I just was surprised, I came for Ruth," there was a slight wavering in her voice. "You came for Ruth?" he asked, knowing just how to push her to get her to talk. "Yes, I - no." "Why did you go." "I," "I knew you'd be there." "That's why you wanted to come, you've seen me places." "I wanted to watch you." "Why are you being so honest?" "I'm not being honest, I lying compulsively." "Scully, could we um, get," he took a deep breath this time, "Get together for dinner tonight?" "Mulder, I don't know-" "You got a date?" "No, I-" "Nother funeral? Someone I should know about?" She giggled, "No, its," "What?" Silence. "I'm not sure if I want to." She finally replied. "Well, I guess, if you don't want to-" Silence. "Mulder, its just," another pause, "You know what? I'm a little scared about seeing you again." "Scared?" "Old feelings," "Scully, I'm sorry I called, bye." "Mulder wait-" He had already hung up. * * * Muler was half way though his thoughts when he heard a knock on the door, unfortunately, it only needed a knock and it was open. "Mulder, you here?" It was Scully. "Yeah, in here. Why did you come over?" "You hung up on me." "I said good-bye, and then I hung. There's nothing wrong with that." She watched him sit up and rest his elbows on his knees. His hands came together, folding, to let his face fall against them. "Can I sit down?" He looked up at her, she stood across the room in a pair of old blue jeans, and a sweater, she walked over to his coat tree and hung up her navy blue P-coat <*She's* 36?> She sat down in the corner of the couch opposite him. "Wow." "What Scully?" "Nevermind," she said out loud. "Oh," he pulled back. "I didn't want to come here, I hate seeing you-" "No one is keeping you," he replied coldly. "I'm sorry, that isn't what, it is what I meant, but its not-" He interrupted her again, "Scully, I want to hear this again, once was enough. You've apologized, I've accepted, you can leave now." "I don't-" "I would appreciate it if you would leave." Her mouth opened and she sucked in her breath. "I'm sorry," she stood up and grabbed her coat. She got out as quickly as she could, she didn't want to cry again. She shut the door behind her and leaned back against the wall. "I still love you Mulder," she whispered through the beginnings of tears. * * * * * * 2 MONTHS LATER... FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2000 < How could I have been such an asshole? No wonder she hates seeing me! I still can't believe I sent her away like that.> Mulder had been reveling in the fact that he had pushed her off like that, for about 2 months. He hadn't gotten up the guts to call her, and seemed like she had the Lone Gunmen on her payroll. She wasn't ever in the office when he happened to be "passing by", and when he walked down her halls, she was never there, he never saw her in the places where he used to see her by his office, she had to show up there every once in a while. But, no. She wasn't anywhere. * * * "Agent Scully?" Scully's head snapped up from some paper work, her boss stood before her, his hands were clenched at his sides. "Yes sir?" "I have just been informed that you will be collaborating on a case with an agent from ISU." She gulped, . "Scully!" "Sorry sorry." "You need to go and see Agent Fox Mulder at 10 o'clock this morning, he has received similar information." "Agent Mulder?" she said with a slight cringe in her voice. "Yes, is there a problem?" "No." "Good then." "Sir, uh-" but the man was gone before she even got to ask a question. * * * "Mulder!" "What?" he replied, not bothering to look up from the report he was reading. "I am your SAC, and you" "Can it Sarden." He let out a deep breath, he hadn't ever gotten Mulder to respect him, "You have a new assignment, everything pending will be passed of to other agents." "I don't think you have enough agents to handle my workload." "Oh you aren't that good Mulder, this one is definitely gonna throw you for a loop, guess who you're working with?" "No one, I told you no partners." "Her," Sarden replied smugly, Mulder stopped, his face paled. "Her?" "Scully you dipshit." "Why her?" "Its some freakish case like what you two used to work on." "An X-File?" Mulder's eyes widened. "Yeah, whatever, just play nice this time." "Go fuck yourself." "Just did, 15 minutes ago." Sarden smirked and began towards his office, letting Mulder roll around in what he'd just said, "Oh yeah, she'll be here in 20 minutes.' "Thanks for the notice." "My pleasure." Mulder still didn't understand why they were putting him back with her, he could handle an X-File on his own, it was almost like a reward. * * * Scully went quickly to the rest room before she met Mulder downstairs. The door creaked slowly as she cautiously walked in. She listened for a minute to see if anyone was in there. She let out a deep sigh when she realized the place was empty. She touched her faced and lined the wrinkles with her finger. Scully's 36 years hadn't treated her well. As far as she thought. She smoothed out her skirt, and centered her jacket. she thought. On her way out, her heel caught on a tile, and she fell on her behind, at first wincing, then cradling her face in her hands. * * * Mulder sat up in his chair, pushed up on the armrests. He straightened out his tie, and ran his hand through his hair, trying to clean it up, he felt his stubble. He was lucky he'd actually bothered to shave that morning. He put his jacket on and sat back down rearranging himself in his seat endlessly. He glanced at his watch again, 9:58:46. One minute and fourteen seconds. He could see the elevator from his work place desk. He still had his basement office, but they made him come up here once a week. She walked out of the elevator at 9:59:12. He squirmed some more, until he looked "cool". "Hello Mulder." She said, a bit uneasily. "Hi Scully." People had started to look at them, Sarden was watching from his office when he noticed that nothing was being done on the main floor. "Mulder! Take it to the dungeon! We need to get work done up here!" Mulder grabbed his things and Scully followed him silently down stairs. Mulder opened the door and let her through first. The place was a mess. "Clean much?" she asked. He chuckled, putting his things down, "I really don't have time." "You're busy?" "Yeah, I am actually. You-sound surprised." She thought a moment, and spoke, "Oh, its just, I don't-you were never busy before." "I had help before." She looked at the ground. "Sorry Scully, that was uncalled for, I didn't mean-" "Yes you did, and I deserved it." "No, I really don't mean it like that." "Okay." There was an awkward silence, he wanted to say something, but he couldn't, then they both started at the same time. "Go ahead Scully," "No, you," "Please," "All right," she paused. He had no idea what to say, "Do you," she got up and walked around the office, "What is this case on?" she finally beseeched. "I thought you had the file." "No, they just told me to come, I assumed you had it." Mulder sat for a moment, "Sarden." "Well, call him and see if he'll have it sent-" "He won't send it down, he wants me to have to go all the way up." "Then lets go." "You don't," "Come on," she said, motioning towards the door. They went up to Sarden's office. "Mulder, Scully, what?" he queried, first falsely enthusiastic, and then rude. "Where's the file Sarden?" "Oops," he feigned. "You are such a prick David." Sarden slapped the file down on his desk, it was labeled "X". Mulder and Scully each smiled to themselves. "What's with the grins?" he mocked. Their smiles quickly faded away, Mulder picked up the file, and they left. As they walked, he flipped through the file, "Well," he started, "We're going to Iowa." * * * Look for "Piece of Mine III: Find" COMING SOON or as fast as I can type it up and write during Wellness class! FEED ME BACK! iamanalien42@hotmail.com The Gossamer Project Author - Title - Date - Spoilers - Crossovers - X-Files - Adventures - Stories - Vignettes Download Other stories by Lien, Iaman A. /Please let us know if the site is not working properly. Set story display preferences . Do not archive stories elsewhere without permission from the author(s). See the Gossamer policies for more information. /