Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
AU ficlet for the end of The Truth because William should have been there with them.
This was meant to be written for the X-Files Bingo. Then everything went to hell, and I didn't finish it in time. I've decided to finish it and put it out in the world as it is.
Tagging @today-in-fic
~
The rain patters against the roof outside, but inside, it’s quiet. Mulder barely dares to breathe too loudly, to move too quickly, to make a single mistake. He’s made too many of those already. His hand is on his son’s stomach, rising and falling with the boy’s even breathing. It’s everything he’s dreamed about these last couple of months. What kept him going.
When he closed his eyes at night, he pictured Scully and their son, just doing everyday life things. All the things he was missing. He pictured them smiling, just living. And that’s what kept him alive, too. Hoping that one day he could return, be with them again.
His son has grown into a solid form, bigger than Mulder expected. When he left, when William was only a few days old, he felt light in his hands, but took up all the room in his heart. His reddish tuft has turned a darker shade, as have his eyes. The ghost of Scully’s features is there on the boy’s face. As well as his own. They’ve always been a perfect team, working well together. Their son, however, is their masterpiece.
The bed dips and Mulder lifts his eyes from his son. Scully is smiling at him. Soft and gentle, tired but happy. Her hair is still wet, her complexion rosy from the hot water. The white fluffy robe almost swallows her. She doesn’t seem to mind. She scoots closer, on the other side of William, who sleeps through it all. Mulder watches him, curious to see if the boy wakes.
“He’s a deep sleeper,” Scully says, reading his thoughts.
“Wonder who he gets that from.” He smiles at her, and her answering smile is a balm on his beaten soul.
“He gets his appetite from you,” she says, her fingers tracing his, careful not to disturb their son. “He’ll be awake before you know it.”
“I can’t wait to get to know him,” he whispers, the words feeling heavy on his tongue. His son doesn’t remember him. When he opens his eyes to look at him, he’ll see nothing but a stranger. For Mulder, holding him when he was a few days old, it meant the world. He missed everything in between then and now. How can he ever make up for it?
“You will,” Scully says. The voice of reason, the sound of hope.
But is there hope for them? For any of them? With what he found out, the future has an expiration date. The date’s set and he can’t do anything about it. Neither of them can. He looks at his son, sleeping peacefully. Unaware of what’s happening around him. He lives in certainty that his parents will keep him safe. Mulder promises it, manifests it. They will keep William safe. His eyes find Scully’s. There’s no resentment; she did all of this on her own. She kept going. Maybe, he thinks. Maybe there is a sliver of hope when she’s by his side.
“What are you thinking?” she asks him in a soft voice. He’s not ready to voice it yet. His fears, his hopes. No matter how much she deserves to hear both.
“I’m thinking… I’m thinking about the last time we sat like this. When our journey started.”
“You told me about Samantha.” Scully puts a hand over his and he’s back there in that hotel room, nine years ago.
“You thought I was crazy.”
“I still think you’re crazy.” She smiles at him, and he laughs.
“Did you think we’d…,” he trails off. Of course she didn’t think this is where they’d end up. Him on the run from the government. Her by his side. Their son, too. Mulder touches the boy’s hand, needing to assure himself that he’s real.
“Did I think we’d be here?” Scully asks softly. “I couldn’t have imagined any of it, Mulder.” He nods at her. “But I’ve told you before,” she says, touching his cheek. “I wouldn’t change a single day. And I’m not giving up. We’re not giving up.” She emphasizes the we.
“You and me, huh?” He grins. “And William. This is all I want, Scully. All we have is each other. I don’t care if we… I won’t give up. I can promise you that. You and Will. But all I want is for us to have a life. Together.”
“Then we want the same thing.” He reaches over, touches her lip. She kisses his thumb without taking her eyes off of his. The determination in her expression fuels him. His spirit. She’s the love of his life, the reason he keeps going. A smile cracks over her face, like the sun breaking through clouds.
“I love you,” he whispers.
“Good,” she replies. “Because I love you too. But we need to sleep if we want to save the world.”
He won’t remind her that she’s already saved the world. His, anyway. Instead, he just nods. Careful not to wake William, he scoots closer, wrapping his arm around the two people who make up his whole cosmos. He hears her sigh and tightens his hold on her. Tomorrow they will have to make a plan. They don’t know where they’re going yet. They don’t know how it will work. If it will. But there will be a tomorrow.
“Maybe there’s hope,” he says, looking at her. The words finally slipping from his lips.
“I know there is,” she replies after a beat. He watches her, soaks up as much of this moment as he can. Exhaustion tugs at him, and before he knows it, his eyes drift closed. He falls asleep with a newfound confidence that they can save the world after all.
She had gone to Philadelphia and come back changed—he feared irrevocably. Sure they had newfangled lasers that might starch ink from skin but this wasn’t about that. It was about the cool level way she looked at him across their desk, the way she’d not met his eyes in the hospital, and how he’d thought he missed her, then.
They confer professionally with long silence. Scully’s raw with bruises and rough handling. He recalls how, in Graceland, he had addressed her a postcard but not gotten it sent. Scully — scrawled, and that was all.
4x6 sentiment. The square footage of them. If they got another desk she’d have to stand in his shadow to reach anything of value. Her face is familiar, and silent, and WISH YOU WERE HERE! is what the card had had to say before he’d ever touched it.
The quiet grows to the size of the room.
“I may be in love with you,” is how he chooses to fill it.
After he’s said it, he knows it is true. Before he’d only had his hunches.
Scully says nothing. Impassive. But he sees it, a kind of wince, to the right of her eyebrow, with the bruise, like he, too, has caused her some pain. She leans forward and slides a file off the desk, tucks a paper clip to it, then looks down to her brief case and neatly puts it away.
Had he spoken? Mulder blinks at the place where a moment ago her face had been, absent now as she ducks about her business. “Scully?”
Half-rising. “Hm?” The smooth, unflinching side of her face. It’s astounding. He blinks again at nothing. “Did you hear what I said?”
Scully gives him an absent, midweek smile. A Thursday night, reports done, let’s call it early crimp. Then it’s gone. “Been a long day,” she says. “Night, Mulder.”
The door shuts behind her, and on Monday, he knows, she will come in with her face powdered, and her mouth closed. The postcard stuck in a motel drawer with the Gideon Bible.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
(MUSIC: “HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS” — FRANK SINATRA)
It could be 1999 and it could be 2029. It could be the beginning of the world because he’s finally gotten her back and safe in his arms, or it could be the beginning of the world, again, because the last spaceship has left Earth.
He could be 38 or 68. This could be the first morning or every morning. Just another one for him and his Scully.
It’s snowing, again. It hasn’t snowed in ages. The weather is strange, but it’s always been strange. Is it still global icing?
Mulder’s feeling vulnerable today. He thinks about all the choices he has made to be here, right here. What if he had accepted Samantha’s disappearance like most brothers? What if he had pursued that psychology PhD like he had planned in the early 80s? What if he had not jumped down the rabbit hole that was the X-Files and stayed as Violent Crime Division’s Golden Boy?
What if he had made his move on Scully when they first met? What if he had kissed her when she hugged him in relief of the confirmed mosquito bites? What if he had let her call him Fox since 1994? What if he had taken Scully away, away, away from all of it after she was returned from her abduction?
How many universes have his choices created? A hundred? A thousand?
Scully is on his side of the bed tonight, and he is on hers. Just because it had happened that way, and they were tired. They really aren’t young anymore.
He would have her in every universe, wouldn’t he?
Instinctively, Mulder tightens his arms around her a little.
I love you in every universe, he thinks. As much as he believes in having Scully in each and every universe where he exists, he is as certain that he will love her.
“Aren’t you sleepy?”
Scully says, looking at him tenderly. Her hair looks shorter than a week ago. When did she get it cut? He hopes he’s made a comment about the hair. Scully always smiles when he comments about her hair.
Mulder suddenly remembers the Scully on that ship, the USS Ardent, which is now at the bottom of the Norwegian Sea. Her hair was the same color, wasn’t it? Or was it lighter?
Mulder reaches out a hand and wraps a lock of Scully’s hair around his finger. It’s soft and fine and cool to the touch.
“If you keep thinking,” she begins, “Santa Claus will never come. And the only thing you’ll get is coals in your stocking.”
“You got me coals for Christmas?” He touches her cheek with his nose, “thank you.”
She giggles, her hand stroking his forearms.
“Will you love me until you die?”
“Mulder, you don’t believe I will ever die.”
“So? Will you? Love me until you die?”
“Yes.” She says, smiling. “Yes, Mulder.”
When they open their eyes, it’ll be Christmas.
2030
482. love the best
(MUSIC: “WHICH WILL” — NICK DRAKE)
He’s been sitting in the lifeless-looking hospital room for nearly an hour, waiting for her to wake up while contemplating the conversation he had this morning.
William doesn’t think he’s ever seen her like this. He can’t imagine her fear when the house crumbled from the earthquake, her grabbing the children nearest to her and shielding them with her body. It’s a wonder that she came out with only bruises and two broken ribs.
William feels his brain cells throbbing furiously—at the lack of sleep he’s been enduring, the dehydration, and the hunger. They’re also sad, his brain cells, too sad to process anything.
He’s also angry—angry at her, angry at himself, and angry at anyone who might have known this even though he has no right to be angry at anyone. He’s nearly lost it in front of the senior and very respectable nun this morning.
It has taken him nearly three decades, but at age 29, William feels like he has a good control of his anger. He seems to have inherited the very dominant gene of both his parents’ quick temper. Maybe when they made him, their bodies believed that he would be the only one, the last one, and wanted to showcase the most outstanding traits of the two bloodlines, which, ironically, was the anger.
His sight falls onto the patient in front of him. William’s known her for nearly 12 years. He wonders if that counts for anything, anything at all.
He waits.
.
When the young woman finally wakes up, his lips are too dry to speak. He passes the immediate opportunity to set the tone of the conversation by speaking first, and he silently curses.
“William!” She calls him, her face warm and happy. “I didn’t—”
“Hush.” He orders. “Tell me it isn’t true.”
Her face grows sullen, and her lips hang slightly open. From her eyes, he knows that she knows exactly what he’s talking about. Her mouth closes in a soundless admission.
William grips the wooden armrests of his chair, so hard that the tips of his fingers turn white.
“I saw Master Qing this morning. She’s aged.”
The young woman agreed, “78 this June.”
“I heard it from her; now, I need to hear it from you, M—” Not knowing how to address her, he tries again. “She told me out of the 49 years she’s been a nun, she’s never met anyone who became a monastic with your reasons, but she chose to believe you because she’s known you since you were 7. Now, tell me it isn’t true.”
“I can’t.”
“You can’t tell me, or you can’t tell me that it isn’t true?” He presses on. “Tell me that you did not become a nun because of me.”
William’s voice is no longer unwavering; he keeps holding onto the armrests.
“You were not the only reason, but you were a big part of it.” She says it painfully slowly, “I was 16 when you first showed me what you can do. And... I believed in your visions. After Their first attempt, I saw that you and your family have what it takes to stop Them.”
“Had you stayed, you would’ve been a great help.” He murmurs.
“No, I would’ve been a distraction for you. Remember that Christmas Day when the sky went all dark? And instead of being at the underground station with your parents, you came to get me?”
“I’d have done the same for Cricket, but that doesn’t mean my little sister was a distraction for me.” He argues. “I’d... always go back for you.”
“Besides,” she gives him no time for mushiness. “I had no skills to offer there, whereas at the temple, I took care of people. I was able to keep Cricket safe, as well as the dozens of children who lost their parents... We helped all the Runners that stopped by; I was doing my part, Will. No one bothered us at the temple. And if I got to do my part in putting up the fight, why did it matter how I looked or who I was when I did it?”
She reaches up to touch her head and is surprised to find her hair being longer than she expects.
“Where did you speak with Master Qing?” She asks, her eyes dark and serious.
“At the garden on the 4th floor.” William answers while attempting to read her expression. He dares not read her mind; it's been too long. He identifies hurt and sorrow, and anger, among other things.
“You were meant for great things, Will. The Savior. Had I stayed... I’m so proud of you. I’m proud to call you my friend, I am, but at the same time, I’m honored that I’m a nun so I could take care of all those people. It was meaningful work.”
Her voice is nearly sobbing, but William is not done. “You became a Runner too; you kept that from me. My parents could have taken you in, then you would always be with us. They wouldn’t even need to pull any strings to get that done.”
She gives him a scoff so similar to the ones she gave him when she was a teenager. “You would’ve been happier for your parents to take me in and list me as your adopted sister? ‘Cause that’s what you just proposed.”
“Fine.” He spits, eyes sullen and sharp, like a player with a plan. “Tell me why you won’t get ordained. Explain to me why you’d rather look and live like a nun but you keep from getting ordained. Explain to me why you hadn’t gone through with it.”
The young woman is silent, and William breathes a hopeful yet forceful question: “Is it for me?”
“No.”
“You liar!” William’s tears escape, and he wipes them off angrily. Calling her a liar devastates him.
She doesn't know William can hear the thoughts of those he loves when they also love him back. She hesitantly raises a hand, not certain if she should touch him, not certain if he will break.
“Do you have... any idea how much I’ve loved you?” He asks, bitterly.
William finally softens his tone, and his hand goes to cover his mouth. “Now, Master Qing told me that she foresees her journey will end. She asked if I want to take you home because you have no one. I told her that it is your choice. I’ll always welcome you.”
She does not answer.
“Do you know what happened to the new monastery?” He asks.
She nods sorrowfully, but he goes on, “They’ve relocated the remaining children. I think they’ve sent home all of the novices; of course, there were only a few. I’ll take you home if you want to come home. I believe that’s what Master Qing wants to happen, too, which I gotta say, I’m surprised.”
“She can read people’s past and future, you know.” She states in a low voice and runs her hand through her growing hair. “She would’ve shaved my head for me if she wanted me to stay with her. I can take care of her...”
“You... can take care of me.” He pleads softly. “I can take care of you. Please.”
A knock comes through the door, and both of them jump a little.
“Hi,” Cricket pokes her head into the room, “I’m coming in.”
“Oh, Cricket!” The patient opens her arms to embrace the girl, and William wonders when they will be normal again.
“I got some things for you, Shifu, and your doctor says you can come home tomorrow. Daddy says you’re staying with us, and Bullfrog can visit, but he’s not allowed in the girls’ room.” The tween stays in the embrace, already half-sitting on the bed.
William remains, oddly feeling like he’s been defeated. He watches his sister talk to his friend, his friend, and wonders if what he heard this morning was a dream, or if the time she’s lived as a nun was a dream. Maybe they are both dreams. Or maybe they are both realities. His poor brain is too tired to argue, even with himself.
“Bullfrog, how come you never read her mind?”
It takes many seconds before William catches the question from his sister.
“Dad says if I wanted the relationship to work, I gotta stay out of her mind.” He says dejectedly.
Cricket rolls her eyes. “I wouldn’t take relationship advice from Daddy.”
“Stay out of my mind, Scamoo.” Her use of his high school nickname jolts him like a bucket of ice water.
“No one’s called me that for years.” He snorts, “What do I call you now?” He asks carefully.
“Hum... Give me some time?” She says weakly with a smile. “Please?”
William looks into her brown eyes. It’s been a long time since he’s allowed himself to see her as a friend, and he considers all the things that have happened in the past three years. Life is impermanent, that’s what Millie always said when they were young.
But that seems like such a long time ago.
-----
thanks for reading. Tagging @today-in-fic & @mulderscreek, thanks!
Another old poem from an out-of-print collection that I rewrote to fit a MSR theme. I can hardly bear anything post-S7, but here we go.
It's on Ao3, too: https://archiveofourown.org/works/85942206
On the Run
There is a photograph of him
asleep on a bed
in a motel room,
his head resting on the pillow
– a dark cloud in the semi-darkness
of a hot July afternoon
(dandelion clock
ticking our time away,
make a wish, make a wish
that will save us before it’s too late).
He’s far away
in his own space,
in this moment
that will not repeat itself
in the years to come.
I can see the boy he once was,
an innocence no one can judge.
In that room in New Mexico,
or Utah, or Colorado,
I still believe we’ll be like this
from now on, one and separate.
And there is one thing this picture
will not reveal to anyone but me
because it happens outside its edges:
in his sleep he has placed
his hand on my leg
both claiming and protecting me --
Love does not diminish with time and age,
with the fear that will follow
nor be altered by pain,
the gaze of others
who cannot see what a photograph
recounts of love, of who we were,
what it discloses,
nor the secrets it keeps to itself.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
Journey to the Truth - tangent: Housekeeping (Misc Fic Recs)
As any avid fic reader knows, fic recs somehow just accumulate. How I happened upon the work, when, etc... who knows? But if I read something that really hits, I can't help but screenshot it as a reminder to shout it out into the fandom. The creator gifted us with something that I love, and maybe you will too. This is how I say thanks.
Post-episode: One Breath (S2 E08)
"Please Come Back" by sagan_starstuff - this was the first of sagan's that I read, and it is just...
Mid-episode: 731 (S3 E10)
"The X Between Us/Season 3, Chapter 10: E10 - 731" by Atths2 - a series by episode that I am hoping to catch up on in order to add to my rewatch regulars; the insight on this one is fab
Mid-episode: Herrenvolk (S4 E01)
"The View from the Outer Office: Herrenvolk" by Lara Means - I enjoy all of these fics written from Kimberly's POV, but this one in particular. I think it's because it's the setup for that scene in the hospital hallway? (M&S move through the crowd as if no one else were there)
Set After Terma (S4 E09), But Before Tempus Fugit (S4 E17)
"Bright Time (It's the Right Time) by sospooky (backintimeforstuff) - I am not big on Christmas fic, but here we are
"The Haiku Files" by geekgirl25 - a series of poems by episode that is currently at the same point that I am with my rewatch (S5 complete with FTF coming up). Here are a couple of my favorites from Volume Four: "Chapter 20: Small Potatoes" (S4 E20) "Chapter 25: Custody" (S4 E18)
Mid-episode: Demons (S4 E23)
"In Times of Trouble, Chapter 6: Demons" by stolendreams - I previously recommended from this series on my Scully's Cancer Recs and believe it is still in progress; his and hers angst here
Five Years In - Unspecified Timeframe
"It Just Happened" by beagentlesoul - current work-in-progress where M&S cross that inevitable line; explicit
General, Unspecified Timeframe
"Escape Speed" by Punk - short with early season feels
"Destined Reckoning - a Journey through The Stand" by Spark_a_Flame1013 - an msr set in Stephen King's post-apocalyptic world, but it is an independent story. This one's a long journey. I may have a thing for journeys.
xxxxx
Beyond the Pale: These fic are set in Season 6 or later, beyond where I've posted in my rewatch blog. Newbies be warned. Here there be spoilers.
Set sometime after Triangle (S6 E03)
"The Lake" by MSR_Pusher - from this past MSR Bingo challenge; this is unspeakably good
Set sometime in Season 6, Unspecified
"The Darkness Within" by Fox_sync - another current work-in-progress, this one features ProfilerMulder on the hunt, and Scully gets to see the dark side up close and personal. It's a psychological angst-fest, not for the faint of heart. I'm addicted.
Set sometime after All Things (S7 E17)
"You, Me, and The Rain" by Baroness_Blixen - from this past Fluffuary, I can't resist the Mulder spin on this scene. The timing doesn't really matter, but M&S are in an established relationship.
"Yes" by TabithaJean - from Fictober 2025, early relationship; super-short, it cuts straight to the truth
Pre-Revival (S10)
"I believe in us" by Baroness_Blixen - revival breakup makes me bawl. This is no exception, but I love the way BB writes Scully's insistence on hope
I don't really know which writers are on Tumblr. If you see your name, I'm happy to tag you. Just let me know. Thanks again for writing and reading and dreaming of the msr with me.
But he did ruin her life. He’s the reason her sister is dead and the reason she had cancer and can’t have children.
It's amazing that you can ascribe total control over the universe to Mulder and not an ounce of self-determination or autonomy to Scully, who could have quit at any time but wanted to be there and chose to continue the work because it fascinated and compelled her as a scientist and spoke deeply to her sense of justice as a military kid and a person of faith. That really speaks to your understanding of and deep care about women. Isn't it just great when someone claims to love and defend a character and in so doing reduces them to just a Little Lady who couldn't possibly be making these decisions on her own?
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
origamiaround
titsay
yousharknotpass
stormborns
kaledo-art
snowghoul
