Chapter 1: Mulder’s Note
Sometime in the future
Dana Scully rapped hard on the door of her partner Fox Mulder’s apartment but received no answer.
“Mulder, it’s me.” She called out, just loud enough to be heard beyond the door, but no one came to answer her. At length, she drew out her key and let herself in. Cautiously she advanced through the room, noting the masking tape cross on the bottom right corner of the window. Where on Earth had Mulder disappeared to this time? The note was propped up on the computer keyboard and her own last name screamed at her in red marker ink. Scully picked the sheet of paper up as if she were afraid that it might bite her, and opened out the folds. Mulder’s strong handwriting screamed up at her.
“Sorry. I have to do this alone. I know that I promised, but I really couldn’t involve you this time. You deserve better than me as your future.
Mulder.”
Scully frowned at the words. What did he mean that she deserved better than him as her future? Dropping the note back onto the desk, Scully pulled out her cell-phone and dialled his number. It rung only once.
“Hi Scully.” Mulder’s mildly amused voice came from the other end of the line.
“Where are you?” She asked without preamble. She could almost hear his shrug.
“I’m in ‘The Big Apple’.” Scully began pacing, when she spoke her tone was resigned.
“Why are you in New York?”
“There’s something I have to do.” He replied cryptically.
“And are you going to tell me what that is?” She retorted sarcastically.
“No Scully, I don’t think so. You’ll find out soon anyway.”
“Damn right I will. I’m coming to find you and you know that I always do.” His soft chuckle was warm in her ear.
“Yeah, you always took care of me.” Scully frowned <took – past tense>, but Mulder hadn’t finished. “Do you have any regrets Scully?” She was momentarily thrown.
“I…um…regrets about what?”
“Since you were assigned to the X files a lot of things have happened and I wondered if you had any regrets.” Scully bit her lip.
“Sure I do. Missy . . .” She said softly.
“Yeah.” Mulder echoed in the same tone.
“But Mulder…if you’re asking if I regret working with you, then I’d have to say no.” She could hear the smile in his voice.
“That’s good Scully.”
“What about you?” She asked softly.
“I regret a lot of things Scully,” He sighed. “But when it comes down to it, the thing I regret most is never having kissed you.” The words were spoken so softly that for a moment Scully couldn’t believe that she’d really heard them. “Since I’m never going to see you again, I guess it’s finally okay to tell you that I love you.”
“Mulder….” Scully began with a frown. “…what do you mean? Why will you never see me again?” His laugh was mocking.
“What a woman! I tell her I love her and she ignores it.”
“Mulder, I didn’t ignore it I just want to find out why you’re saying it now.”
“Right now Scully I’m in a taxi cab on my way to a meeting and I’m fixing the result.”
“Mulder you’re still *not* making sense.”
“Wait a second Scully – we’re here.” He spoke to the cab driver for a moment. “Okay,” He said, finally returning to her. “I’m gonna leave the line open when I go in and I want you to listen.”
“What will I be listening to?” She demanded and heard him swallow.
“The truth, I hope.” He answered firmly. “I love you Dana.” Scully bit her lip and said nothing. “Are you gonna add anything here?” The disembodied voice asked somewhere between humour and desperation.
“What do you want me to say?” She covered, knowing exactly what he wanted her to say. He laughed bitterly.
“That’s a rejection!”
“Oh no, it’s not!” Scully inserted quickly.
“Then what Scully? It’s truth time, on all fronts.”
“Of course I love you.” Scully blurted. “But what good does that do either of us?”
“It justifies my reasons for doing what I’m about to. Keep listening.” His voice was already drifting away and Scully realised that he had moved the phone away from his mouth. She spoke anyway.
“Mulder! Mulder, what’s going on?”
“Just listen. Say nothing.” His voice quickly hissed and the phone was taken away again.
Scully stood alone in the green light of Mulder’s fish tank in the quiet of his apartment and heard his steps as he ran lightly across concrete. She assumed that he was going up steps to a building. He knocked firmly on a door, which was swiftly opened.
“Fox Mulder.” His distant voice told the woman who had asked for his name.
“You’re expected.” Her voice replied, then after a moment. “I can’t let you inside with that phone like that!” The voice said sternly.
“Oh, it’s not an open line.” Mulder’s voice lied smoothly. “I fell and broke the phone.” The woman must have bought the feeble lie, because Mulder was apparently admitted to the building. His and a second set of footsteps echoed as they walked down a corridor. They stopped and Mulder was shown into a room.
“Mr Mulder.” An elegant-spoken and familiar voice acknowledged. Scully recognised the man she’d first seen at Mulder’s fathers funeral.
“Hello Fox.” A woman’s voice spoke.
“I didn’t expect you to be here.” Mulder said in a flat tone.
“It seemed appropriate.” The soft voice of Samantha Mulder replied smoothly. Scully scowled into the darkness as she remembered Mulder’s pain when he’d found out about his sister.
“Maybe you’re right.” He said in the same flat tone.
“We’ve allowed you this meeting.” Cancerman’s voice came from a distant corner. “I assume you asked for it with a purpose.”
“Yes I did. I want to end it. I’m willing give up everything. The X Files, Scully, everything.”
“In return for?” Came the husky voice of yet another familiar face. Scully had a flashback to the man standing against the light at the end of a boxcar in a place that had been Hell on Earth.
“The truth.” Mulder said simply and there were several hushed laughs.
“And why should we give you that?” Cancerman demanded. “Assuming that we could.”
“You can try to pretend that in continuing my work on the X Files I’m not a threat to you, but we’re all well aware that I am.”
“The X Files are nothing.” Came the elegant voice.
“They’re a pointless quest Fox.” Samantha added.
“No.” Mulder said bitterly. “Spending most of my life looking for you was a *pointless* quest.” Scully’s heart was breaking as she heard the pain in his voice. He’d been hell to live with when he’d found out about Samantha, but he’d never broken down to her as she’d wanted him to. He’d kept the emotions to himself as he had always done.
“Okay.” Mulder’s voice continued. “How about I narrow it down and just ask for the truth about what happened to Scully?” She heard his words and sank down onto the couch. She closed her eyes and listened as Cancerman laughed.
“Would you truly be content with surveillance work for the rest of your life in return for that particular truth Mulder?” He asked.
“The rest of my life.” Mulder answered smoothly and Scully’s flesh crawled at his tone.
“Very well,” The husky voice replied. “But from now on we’ll take it that you work for us.”
“Agreed.” Mulder stated.
“And you have no further contact with Miss Scully.” The elegant voice injected.
“Agreed.” He answered flatly without hesitation. Then Scully listened in horror as, between them, the people in the room recounted a story which made her flesh crawl and her blood chill in her veins.
“Then she’s going to die.” Mulder’s voice wavered only slightly, but the tremor *was* there.
“Yes.” The elegant voice stated.
“Once the process is started the tumours are inevitable.” The husky voice added.
“Are you happy with the truth Fox?” His sister asked.
“It’s not me that you need to ask that.” Mulder replied and his voice got louder. “Did you hear all that Scully?” He asked into the phone. Scully licked her lips and attempted to force back the moisture into her mouth.
“I heard it.” She managed to get out.
“I’m sorry.” He said softly. “This is the end for all of us.” He said firmly to the room. Scully heard a scraping sound, which she only realised was a gun when she heard his next words. “My briefcase contains a bomb, which is on a timer . .”
“No.” Scully said into the phone in a reflex action.
“Scully, I’m going to close the line so that you don’t have to hear this.”
“No Mulder. Please don’t do this! Mulder!” The line went dead. “Mulder!” She yelled down the line but he was gone. A clock ticked seconds off loudly inside Scully’s head. She found herself counting them, but realised her foolishness. In an attempt to calm herself, she switched on the TV.
“. . . no survivors. That news again, a bomb has gone off . . .” She heard no more as, for only the second time in her life, Dana Scully fainted.