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He knows.
He remembers. I’m sure of it, Scully thought as Mulder got ready to
leave. I remember putting the imprint there. I put it there to let him
know he wasn’t alone. So that he might begin healing. But that’s utterly
absurd! How can both of us remember something that couldn’t and never did
happen?
“Hey, Scully,
I’ll be going now. It’s late, and I’m keeping you from some much-needed
rest. Get better soon, okay? Work’s boring without someone to argue with.”
She smiled, despite
the confusion she was feeling. “I’ll try my best. You know, if you miss
it so much, we’ll just argue all day tomorrow.”
“I’ll take a
raincheck on that. See ya, Scully.”
“Bye, Mulder.”
After the nurse
did her nightly rounds, Scully lay in the dark, occupied with her thoughts.
I
know he remembers. But how is that possible? She paused for a moment.
I think he even knows it was me who put it there. But if he remembers
the cross, does he remember what I told him? What we told each other? What
do I do? If both of us know, then what do we do? Do we pursue it? Do we
ignore it and wait until we no longer work together? She stayed awake
for most of the night, pondering what was the best thing to do.
By the time Scully
woke up the next morning, she had come to a decision. She would test if
Mulder really did remember everything. It was the scientific way to go
about it. She had her hypothesis based on a theory she had. Now she had
to perform an experiment and come to a conclusion.
At sunset, she
waited patiently for Mulder’s arrival, and not 10 minutes after the sky
began turning pink, he was there. The visit was very much like all the
others, with him telling her what was going on at work and making wise
cracks at every opportunity. It was 8:37 when he decided to go home.
“Well, Scully,
I gotta get going. The pet store’s closing.”
She frowned.
“The pet store? Why are you going there?”
“Gonna buy some
fish.”
“But I thought
you already had fish.”
“Yeah, I did.”
“Well, what happened
to them?”
“You could say
they went to the big fish bowl in the sky.” He put on his trenchcoat. “I’ll
see ya later, Scully. Feel better, okay?” He gave her a light kiss on her
forehead and headed for the door.
As his back was
turned, Scully began. “Just to let you know, Mulder, I don’t really like
being put up on a pedestal. I’m pretty sure that I won’t reach things over
and above all your dreams and aspirations. Because your dreams and aspirations
are so much higher than anything anyone but you could reach.”
He stopped dead
in his tracks.
“And if it makes
any difference, I don’t think it’s a long shot that you’ll get into heaven.
In fact, I know your chances are a hell of a lot better than you believe.”
He turned around
and stared at her.
There was a deafening
silence that overtook the room. Then, the thick silence broke with two
words: “My eulogy…” He continued to stare in a stunned quiet. “You remember?”
he whispered loudly.
She nodded. “From
the moment you came into the shed to my death, from my funeral to your
deal with an angel.”
He went over
to sit by the bed. “Was that voice in the ambulance and the cross glowing…
was that you?”
“Yeah. That was
me.”
He nodded. “And
what about…” He paused uncomfortably.
“I remember that
too.”
More silence.
“So,” Mulder
began. “Where do we go from here?”
“I don’t know.”
“I think you
were right about things becoming awkward.”
“I know. You
told me. In the ambulance.”
He nodded.
“And if we do
pursue this, we won’t really be able to work together as well,” Scully
said quietly. “I’m pretty sure that would go against FBI regulations. They’d
have to split us apart.”
He nodded again.
“So, what do
you want to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“I’d like for
us to have our friendship remain as always.”
“Me too.”
“Do you think
we can do it?”
“Do it?”
“Yeah. Do you
think we can keep our friendship intact?”
“Oh.” He sounded
disappointed for some reason. “I think so. We’re both mature adults.”
“And at least
one of us acts that way.” She smiled.
He also smiled,
despite himself. “You just don’t know when to quit, do you, Scully.”
“You’re rubbing
off on me. What can I say?”
There was a pause.
“So, does this
change anything? I mean, do I call you by your first name now?” Mulder
asked.
“If you want.
Doesn’t matter.”
“Well, no matter
how close we get, you are not calling me by my first name.”
“Whatever you
want… Fox.” She grinned. He made a sour face.
Another pause.
“I better get
going. They close in about 20 minutes.”
She nodded.
“We’ll talk about
this later, okay?”
“Yeah.”
He kissed her
forehead again. “I’ll see you.”
“Bye.”
As he went out
the door, Scully sighed. She wished she didn’t have to lie. But keeping
their relationship as it was would be for the best. No matter how much
she wanted the contrary.
She knew. She
remembers it all. I don’t believe it, Mulder thought as he drove into
Maryland. I wonder if she remembers what it’s like to be dead. He
parked and went into the shop.
About 25 minutes
later, Mulder was all but thrown out of the store with a water-filled plastic
bag with five fish in it. He sighed. He really shouldn’t have been in such
a rush to leave Scully. They really did need to need to talk. But every
word she said had been tearing him apart silently, no matter how much he
agreed with her. He just couldn’t stay there any longer.
As he approached
his car, he spotted a faint glow and a wisp of smoke rising from it. The
smell of tobacco lingered in the air.
“You know, smoking
is a disgusting habit.”
“Yes, it is,”
an all too familiar and hated voice answered.
“What do you
want?”
“I’d like to
know how Agent Scully is doing.”
“What do you
care? You’ve tried to kill her at least 3 times that I know of. For all
I know, you set this one up too.”
“I like to keep
an eye on situations as they occur. There is a time and a place for everything,
Mister Mulder. And it so happened this is neither the time nor the place
for interfering.”
“What a load
of crap.”
“Perhaps. But
perhaps I am just looking out for the well being of an investment. Be sure
to send her my regards.”
“You stay away
from her, got it? If you so much as go near her, I will rip out your poor
excuse of a heart and maybe your black, smoke-filled, cancerous lungs for
good measure.”
“Maybe some other
time.”
Mulder opened
the car door. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m leaving. My fish are getting impatient.”
Mulder looked in his direction for a moment. “And if you’re ever in England,
you might want to look up a dog named Oscar. He may be able to help you.”
With that, Mulder got in the car and drove home.