Work Text:
The City and the Stars: Skinner
No one would have believed in the last years of the twentieth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water.
How fitting, then, that it was, finally, a woman with a microscope who discovered the key to their destruction.
For years I didn't believe it. I was surrounded, hemmed in by men who knew the truth; only with a minimal shred of credulity, a back-up plan, if you will, did I find and nurture one man with an infinite capacity for belief.
And thank God, thank God, that I did.
When I finally saw, with my own eyes, and understood - it was nearly too late.
In the distance, the city smolders, like the sleepy regard of a watchful red eye, or the dying gasp of one man through his last cigarette. Reyes is in there, somewhere, cut off from the others in their mad dash back to safety.
She'll be back. It won't be long now.
In the second decade of the twenty-first century, no one can afford not to believe.
I swipe my sleeve across my brow; it's hot out here. It's hotter still in the tent behind me, where Mulder and Dana, John and Alvin and Will and the rest are holding a subdued celebration, anticipating the chaos when the effects of Scully's virus begin to manifest themselves in the Overlords. No, it won't be long.
They've let Will have a beer. He's a man now, a soldier at thirteen, veteran of his first campaign, and for an instant, that saddens me.
"Have a drink, Walter?" It's Mulder at my elbow, hand on my shoulder, passing me a bottle. Trust him to know when a man wants to be alone. I snort and
accept it.
"Hard to believe, isn't it?" he gestures, encompassing, well - everything. There's a breeze that stands his hair on end, flash-dries the sweat on my neck. If I had a poetic soul I might say changes were a'comin'. I take a swig.
"I don't know, Mulder. I was just thinking that I believe in more tonight than I ever have before."
He looks at me closely for an instant, then away. "I know what you mean."
We stand there, in companionable silence, suspended in the darkness between the burnt city and the stars, until Scully appears and herds us off to bed.
Tomorrow's another big day.
The General's Secret: Skinner
There was a time when I thought I could organize freedom.
I had administrative experience, military - I'd build and orchestrate the resistance cells, Mulder would handle intelligence, Scully'd keep working on a cure - in no time an insurgent structure would enmesh the country, and in a matter of months we'd set this nation free.
It didn't work that way.
Four years later, we barely have our foot in the door.
In this brave new world, the road to freedom is a twisted path through anarchy.
Most of the time, I'm out of my element.
But that's what friends are for.
Into the Lion's Den: Mulder
We've made our way carefully into the city, avoiding patrols and traps that we've painstakingly mapped out over six months of surveillance.
Before us now is the huge Fortress, the administration/assimilation/incineration compound erected by the Others. It covers the entire National Mall, stretching higher than the Washington Monument used to. None of us has been inside.
I count the seconds, then signal Doggett forward to the door. In no time it's open, and he waves us ahead: Scully first, then Will, then Monica, finally me.
The door hisses shut behind us. All's quiet and dark. We made it.
So far.
Lambs to the Slaughter: Will
I try not to take my eyes off Mom's shoes as we crawl through the ventilation ducts. I wish I'd never begged to come along, how could I have been so stupid, Walter was right, I'm not *nearly* old enough for this ...
I glance through a grating in the floor and stop, wiping sweaty palms on my sleeves. It's a waiting room; people are sitting on cold plastic chairs and smiling at the receptionist. I shiver.
"Why don't they fight?" I whisper. "Why don't they run?"
"They don't know any better." Monica sounds close behind me. "That's why we have to help them, Will."
I look down again. A young girl glances up. Her eyes are terrified. She knows, I think. She knows what's up.
"Come on, Will." Dad's voice is soft and gentle, urgent and darkly amused. I love his voice. "We'll have time to gawk on the way out."
With a deep breath, I nod and move on. I'm young, but I can do this.
I'll do it for the girl who knows.
Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: Scully
My hands shake as I ready the injection; I can't stop thinking about Monica. The gate came out of nowhere, crashing down before her, separating us. I was horrified - John was frantic - she only smiled in that serene, knowing way and said she'd see us later.
I need that confidence now. What if it doesn't work? What if I screwed up a decimal point? What if they know we're here? What if Monica dies?
I'm shaking too much. "Mulder," I croak, and he's there behind me, steadying me, closing my hands on the syringe.
"Hey," he whispers, holding me tight. "It'll work. Everything will be okay. It has to be."
I opposed it, but right now I'm so glad he let Will take his place with John on guard duty.
I take a deep breath, leaning into him, calming down.
I close my eyes, and squeeze the plunger.
It's done.
In Starlight: Mulder
When I was young, I had a ritual: every night I'd close my eyes, walk into Samantha's room, and pretend she'd be there when I opened them.
Decades passed before I stopped walking into that room.
I have a different ritual now.
Skinner looks at me wryly and heads back to camp. I finish my drink and tear my eyes from the city's glow. No clouds tonight; the cosmos reels dizzyingly around me as I fall up, infinitely through time, and every constellation has her face.
Samantha's room is the universe; she's always there. I'm content.
Tonight, she's smiling back.
Vespers: Scully
I still pray.
That might seem strange. But after all I've seen and lived through, it'll take a lot more than a simple alien invasion to shatter my faith again.
I admit, some days are harder than others. Today's one of the easy ones.
I don't have an altar or a cross, and I lost my necklace years ago somewhere in Mexico; but the muscles remember, and my hand still creeps to my throat as I kneel beside the pallet. I give thanks for our success, thanks for my breakthrough that led us there; I pray for Monica's safety and that William never ceases to make me as proud as he did today.
And as I pray for Mulder, I feel his arms around me and his lips against my neck. I finish hastily and pull him down beside me on the floor, rolling on top of him and crushing our lips together.
Today we've accomplished what we started two decades ago. There's much more work to come, but right now - it's time to celebrate.
Ruins: Doggett
It's been a month, and we haven't found Monica.
Thinking those words hurts.
We've got a base just inside the city limits, working our way, street by street, clearing out alien corpses and rounding up survivors. It's tough work.
She's not in the Fortress. We checked there first.
Is this how Dana felt when Mulder was abducted? 'Cause God damn, I thought I understood - losing Luke was hell.
At least we *knew*.
So every day, after dinner, I hike to the rubble that used to be her apartment building. Sometimes I find a trinket I recognize. Mostly I just hope.
Justify: Mulder
Doggett clatters to a halt under the makeshift awning, wild-eyed and waving a piece of paper around.
"They found her," he pants. "Must've got a group o' prisoners out just before the virus. Tiny compound - North Carolina."
"Monica?" My chair clatters to the ground behind me. "Well, we've gotta get down there, we'll have to put a team together, we can take some people off patrols and - "
"No, Mulder." It's Skinner's gruff voice behind me. "We can't spare the men. Not right now."
"But - " Doggett glances back and forth between us, shaking. "It's *Monica*!"
I set the chair back up and shrug into my jacket. "Guess it's just you and me then, John. We can leave as soon as you're ready."
"No."
I spin in frustration. "Sir - "
Skinner's hands are raised. "Mulder, you're needed here." He nods outside, where Will and Scully are playing catch. I shake my head. Of course I don't
want to leave them, but -
"That's why I'm going." Skinner steps blithely around the table and propels John out into the sunlight.
Astonished, I can only stare. "Sir?"
He nods at me once. I shut up and let them go.
I can hear Will's laughter on the breeze, mingled with Scully's teasing scolds. I don't ever want to think of losing either of them, again.
Skinner's ratty old pick-up starts with a sputter. "Bring her back safe," I whisper to the air.
Caught: Skinner
Took us two days to get here, but finally we're in position. I'm going in from the west end; John's taking the beach. Any aliens inside are keeping to themselves, probably in the largest building at the center - with skill and a little bit of luck we'll take them out quickly, find Monica, and get all the remaining prisoners to safety.
I wonder how many more enclaves like this there are, leftover around the country. Taking them all out sounds like a job I could handle.
With one deep breath, I check my supplies and start to scramble through the cut in the fence. I'm caught up short, and shit! My jeans are snagged in the barbed wire. Snagged pretty damn well, too, I can't -
Well, there are certain sacrifices I'm prepared to make, and if I have to storm the compound half naked - I shrug and start to unzip my fly.
"Hey, mister, you need help?"
I have my gun out and fired before I register that I'm looking at an ally.
Morning: Reyes
I wake with a start at the sound of gunfire. Assuming that *was* gunfire; it's been awhile. Who would be - ?
Can't think about that now. I rush to wake the others and herd the children into the administration building - not used for much anymore, but it's the safest place in the compound.
I'm staring uncertainly out the window, wondering if I've finally started to hallucinate, when the last person I *ever* expected to see turns the corner into the street.
I'm out the door and hugging him in a flash. "Walter! How is everyone? I wanted to come back and find you, but after we took over I realized I had no idea where we are, and here at least there's food, but - "
I lean back and look him over. "I'm glad to see you."
"Well." His eyes crinkle when he smiles. "I have to say this is not what we expected to find, but I think we can get everyone settled somewhere safe. Where's Doggett?"
"John's - ?"
"He was coming in from the beach side, I expected him to beat me - "
I've never run so fast in my life.
Kiss: Doggett
My chest hurts like hell. Something's on my mouth and I can't breathe. I remember lots and lots of water and the fence went a hell of a lot deeper than I expected ... Am I dead?
If I open my eyes will Monica be waiting for me?
Wait, wait, no, I should hope to see Luke, damn, I can't think straight -
I cough and the pressure on my mouth subsides, my eyes flutter open -
Monica. She's giving me CPR.
Fuck that.
I force my arms up and pull her down on top of me in the shallow water, twining my fingers in her hair to make sure her lips don't move a millimeter. She grunts in surprise but I'm too busy kissing her to care; she chuckles a little and responds, moving slowly and carefully against my body, nipping at my tongue, turning the kiss of life into the kiss of *my* life ...
Skinner might be laughing out loud as we roll over and over, tangled together and splashing in the sun. I'd never notice.