TITLE: Choices
AUTHOR: Seulement Moi
RATING: PG.
CATEGORY: MSR, before the case in IWTB.
SUMMARY: Short little fic that crawled into my brain.
SPOILERS: Hints to The Truth, Agua Mala, The Pilot and IWTB.
DISCLAIMER: I'd be delusional if I thought they were mine.
FEEDBACK: Cherished, at: seulementmoi101@...

***

Mulder was having trouble deciding which clippings to put up and
which ones to leave for another occasion. He had gotten great
material from tabloids all across the country as they drove to
their new destination, yet he missed the old ones. They were
classic and held meaning for him. Most were lost in the fire,
others on re-decoration and some simply in transit.

He held one out that was eerily similar to the flukeworm case they
had worked together on and which Scully was so particulary wary of.

"Hey, Scully." He held the paper for her to see. "Personal
favorite."

She arched an eyebrow in disapproval.

"Do you mind?" He wiggled his eyebrows endearingly.

She sighed and gave him a nod. "It's your own personal bulletin
board of weird, Mulder."

His smile broadened, but she was not looking anymore.

Her full concentration was on a box. Her hands lay on her hips as
she hovered over the rebellious object. She had been fighting with
it, trying to open it first with her keys and then with soft-
pointed scissors. She was surely considering a knife, though she
wasn't sure that it wouldn't damage the contents.

He smiled. She looked adorable in her pants, and it was not very
often he got to see her like that. Her hair had grown a lot and
she wore it in a lazy ponytail, the kind where all the tips of
hair are pointing in different directions. It made her look
younger. As when they first met.

She had looked so small and cute, but her demeanor spoke of her
professionalism and no-nonsense attitude. And he had liked that.
He had loved the way she had reacted when he teased her about her
credentials. She was completely qualified, he was sure. He felt
giddy in a way, having a new partner like her. Medical doctor, an
skeptic and oh-so-serious. He had been alone in the office for so
long. She would have fun with her, tease her to the death. See her
take on things.

But he thought she was a spy then.

He had worked so hard for the X-Files, that he didn't know what to
expect at first, albeit her apparent confidence and honesty.

When he had found the X-Files, somehow everybody had stayed clear
of him. Nobody wanted to be part of it. Some pitied him, others
mocked him, and a handful feared him.

A few powerful ones wanted to hinder him at all cost.

And then there was Scully. His one in five billion.

She was there to help him. She respected him. She put up with
him, and he could tell she even cared for him.

She was the best thing that had happened to him in a very
long time. In many levels.

Dales had once said maybe he would've stuck to the X-files if he
had had a partner like Scully.

Mulder hadn't thought much about it then, for he was angry at her
at the moment.

But now he wasn't. And now he knew. If he had survived with the
knowledge he had now it was because of her. There was no doubt
in his mind.

She had not only saved him. She had saved the X-Files.

And with them, the Truth.

He stared at her from across the room. She had figured out
a way to open the box with small pointy scissors she usually
used for her nails. He felt slightly bad at interrupting her
moment of utter concentration.

"Hey, Scully."

"Yeah?" She stopped fidgeting with the box and looked at him.

"I was just thinking about Blevins."

She looked at him funny. "Okay. Why?"

"Actually, not really him, but his decision when he assigned you
to the X-Files."

She still didn't know where this was going, so she just nodded
for him to continue.

"I mean, now that we're here with full knowledge of the project
and the truth and solved dozens of X-files I figured out something."
He pointed at her in accusation. "You were supposed to debunk my
work."

"Are you complaining?"

He smiled then. "No, not really. But when they were looking for a
partner for Spooky Mulder, they needed someone who could invalidate
his work into the paranormal, so the X-files would be shut down and
they wouldn't have a constant headache or have their project
exposed."

"Well, yeah...but...what's your point?" She stood staring at him,
her arms crossed over her chest. She was curious now.

"Well, you must know you were the worst choice ever."

She smiled at the weirdest compliment she had gotten in her life.
"Well, thank you, Mulder."

****

The End

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