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Other stories by Leigh, Christine
From: "Christine Leigh"
Date: Tue, 28 Dec 2004 14:09:37 +0000
Subject: Story Revision - Hooks
Source: revision
TITLE: Hooks
AUTHOR: Christine Leigh
E-MAIL: leighchristine@hotmail.com
SPOILERS: None.
RATING: PG
CATEGORY: V
KEYWORDS: Mulder/Scully romance.
SUMMARY: A Christmas story.
DISCLAIMER: All characters are the products of
Chris Carter. They also belong to Ten-Thirteen
Productions and the Fox Network. No copyright
infringement intended.
Hooks
By Christine Leigh
Christmas Day 2001
1:15 a.m.
The service was over and the church emptied
except for the people filing up to where the
Nativity was displayed to the left side of the
altar. Surrounded by pine boughs and
white poinsettias with tiny white lights
threaded throughout the branches, it looked
beautiful. This scene, combined with the scent
of incense provided a few moments of calm to
Scully, as she watched from the pew where she
sat holding William. The two of them were as
quiet as the unexpected snow that had fallen
earlier in the evening.
Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve was a ritual
from the past that Scully had kept observing
through her adulthood, and since her cancer had
gone into remission she had returned
to attending Sunday Mass on a fairly regular
basis as well. She would never be as devout as
her parents had been, or as her mother and
brothers were still, but her faith was
important to her. She didn't know how she
would have survived the year that was winding
down without it, and had offered up her thanks
tonight to God for bringing Mulder back and for
giving them William. But mostly she prayed for
Mulder's safety, and for the reunion of their
little family.
She and William were each other's sole company
this Christmas, Scully having persuaded her
mother to go to San Diego. Maggie hadn't
wanted to go without Dana and William, and
didn't fully understand Dana's wanting to
remain at home, but in the end agreed that it
might be for the best. She knew that Bill and
Tara would have welcomed Dana and their new
nephew, but also realized that the strain of
having to cope with things that were by
necessity left unspoken, was something that
Dana didn't need right now. So, Maggie
had hugged them both tight, and left on the
plane yesterday afternoon.
Scully was feeling lonely tonight, but the only
person who could alleviate that wasn't
available. There were many pretty packages
under her tree at home, but the one thing she
wanted wasn't there. She bundled William up
and they rose and worked their way toward the
Nativity. She stood there for a moment taking
in the familiar scene, and then knelt, offering
one more prayer. Then she kissed the top of
her son's head through his little woolen cap,
and rocked him gently. They would get through
this night, somehow.
*****
2:00 a.m.
There were two messages on the machine when
they returned home. Scully hit the play button
and went to turn on the Christmas tree lights
while listening to her mother's voice.
"Honey, I know you've probably left for Mass,
but I want you to know that we all miss you,
and want to be the first to wish you and
William a Merry Christmas. Love you. Here's
Bill."
"I'm sorry you couldn't come, Dana, but hope
you know that you were welcome. We all look
forward to meeting William. Let's do it before
he's old enough for kindergarten, huh?
Tara and Matt send their love. We'll call
again tomorrow. Merry Christmas."
"Scully, Melvin Frohike. I know it's late, but
also know you're most likely out giving
worship. I have the hooks. Gotta
finish decorating that tree. Give me a call if
you get in before three."
The second one was unexpected, not to mention
perplexing. The guys had come by on Saturday
to deliver gifts and spread holiday cheer. She
hadn't thought she'd be hearing from them again
until after the New Year.
"William, what is he talking about? Do you
know? Has Mommy finally lost it?"
"gaaa, grrrr, GA"
"Okay, I hear you sweetie. But what are you
saying?" Recently William had taken to
finishing his vocalizations with an emphatic
'GA.' Scully hadn't figured out yet what it
meant. She punched in the Gunmen's number. It
rang six times before Frohike answered, to the
strains of "O Holy Night," playing in the
background. Go figure, she thought.
"Hello."
"Frohike, hello. Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Scully. Thanks for calling
back, and with an hour to spare."
"Is there a deadline?"
"Well, I don't know about you, but my folks
always did the Santa thing while I was asleep.
I know William's young, but we should start him
off right, don't you think?"
She paused for a second, but then thought, why
not? It was better than just sitting here
feeling sad or trying unsuccessfully to sleep.
What was with the hooks, though? They'd seen
her fully decorated tree on Saturday.
"Of course, I don't know why I asked. So,
you're coming over, and you have the hooks?"
"Scads. The tree won't know what hit it."
Scully looked over at the tree, which had been
up for almost two weeks now.
"I'll expect you then, what, in half an hour?"
"I'll knock six times."
"Okay. See you then." She hung up.
"gaaa, grrl, gaa, GA!"
"Well, Mr. William, if we're going to play the
Santa game, you have to go to sleep. Can you
go to sleep for Mommy?"
"GA, GA, GA!"
"I'll take that as a yes." Scully picked
William up and carried him to his corner of the
bedroom. His area contained his crib, changing
table, and a small chest of drawers for his
ever growing wardrobe, on top of which Scully
had placed a framed photograph of Mulder that
she'd taken the morning he'd left on that
too-long-ago day. She'd had it enlarged, and
every day she would spend time with William
looking at it and telling him who this was in
the photo. It was the most important part of
each day for the two of them.
She checked his diaper, changed it, and laid
him down in the crib. He fussed for a few
minutes, but then started to drop off as Scully
hummed "Silent Night" to him. She continued
for a few more minutes, and then headed for the
kitchen to put some coffee on and fix a cup of
tea for herself.
*****
2:45 a.m.
Scully opened the door after listening to the
sixth knock and looking through the peephole.
Frohike entered.
"Merry Christmas again, Scully." He handed her
a medium-sized red box with a green bow.
"What's this? You were already so generous
with the gifts on Saturday."
"Just a little something more. It's his first
Christmas; spoiling kind of goes with the
territory. Is he asleep?"
"Yes. He settled down just a few minutes ago.
He was wide awake when we got back from Mass,
and raring to talk. I still haven't figured
out what he's trying to say, but he's been
very persistent in saying it."
"Sounds like someone we know." This was out of
his mouth before Frohike thought the better of
it.
"I'm sorry, Scully. I didn't mean to remind
you."
She placed a hand on his arm. "It's okay.
It's pretty hard to not be reminded. Please,
sit down." She motioned him to the couch.
"The coffee's almost finished, or can I offer
you something else to drink? I'm afraid there
isn't much, but Mom brought some eggnog over
and I think there's brandy on a shelf
somewhere."
"Coffee's fine."
Scully went to the kitchen and returned in a
few minutes with a tray bearing the coffee, her
tea, and a plate of her mother's cookies. She
set this down on the coffee table and
joined Frohike on the couch. She was suddenly
very grateful for his company. She sipped her
tea.
"I'm glad you're here. Thank you for the gift,
and all the others, too."
"You're welcome. I know he won't remember this
Christmas, but the first one is important. And
I know you'll take pictures, and I'd say from
the look of it, that William should
be impressed when he sees them one day."
She'd already shot five roles of film just
during the past week of William here in the
apartment by the tree, at the mall with his
grandmother by the big Christmas tree, and at
various other stops they'd made around town
during the week. Scully was determined that
Mulder would see as much of his son's
first Christmas as was possible without him
actually being there.
"Yes, there will be pictures." She took a
cookie from the plate and nibbled a minute.
She had told her mother that she'd never eat
all these cookies and that the eggnog would
just get thrown out eventually. Now she was
glad that Maggie had been so insistent.
"So, did you bring the hooks?" She tried to
sound savvy, but was in fact, clueless.
Frohike grinned, and then gave a little sigh.
If she lived to be 102, and if it were possible
for him to be alive to see it, he'd still think
she was hot. He'd never met another woman
like Scully before in his entire life. And he
knew he never would. Mulder was one lucky dude.
"Yes."
"Good. Nothing like running out of hooks in
the middle of decorating the tree. You don't
know how irritated I was. I could have
finished doing it before going to Mass if I'd
had enough on hand."
"The tree looks great. It doesn't really need
more ornaments, does it?"
"No, probably not, but I want to put them all
on this year. I want it to shine all the way
to the moon. It needs to be the best tree I've
ever had." She was starting to get into this.
Frohike reached into a pocket inside his jacket
and pulled out a small rectangular box which
did indeed appear to contain hooks for hanging
ornaments, and handed it to Scully. Then there
was a knock at the door. Scully looked up from
the box she'd just been handed, a small
expression of worry on her face. Frohike got
up and went to look through the peephole.
"Elves." He opened the door to let Byers and
Langly in. They were dusted in white. Langly
was shivering.
"It's snowing again. It'll be gone by morning,
but it's too cold out there for man or beast
right now." He moved over to the fireplace.
"Can we light this?"
Scully had set it up for tomorrow, but it
looked like she'd be building another one for
then.
"Go ahead."
"Thanks." He grabbed a match and lighted the
kindling beneath the big oak log. Soon there
was a blaze going.
"Can I offer you coffee or eggnog?" Scully
asked Byers, and the thawing out Langly.
"Eggnog sounds good." This from Langly.
"Coffee would be wonderful, Scully. Thanks."
This from Byers.
"Would you like some brandy in the eggnog,
Langly?"
"No thanks, I'll take it straight."
Scully went to get another coffee cup and the
eggnog. Upon returning to her impromptu party,
she found the three of them huddled by the fire
in a discussion that ended the minute
they heard her footstep. She poured Byers a
cup of coffee and crossed to hand it to him,
and the eggnog to Langly. Then she sat back
down on the couch. Nothing was said while they
all sipped at their respective beverages.
Finally Scully broke the silence. "We were just
about to finish decorating the tree when you
two arrived. I guess we should get on it. I
hope Santa has this down for his last stop.
Byers looked at her quizzically, and then said
"Scully, the tree looks completed. What else
is there, do you mind my asking?"
"She ran out of hooks before she finished,
remember?" Frohike was sounding a trifle
anxious as he asked this. There was a pause in
the room. Then Byers looked as though
he'd just remembered a long-forgotten secret.
"Oh, I see. I wasn't aware of all the details.
Guess that's what I get for leaving town for a
day."
Scully was bemused by it all, but she could
feel herself starting to fade. It was time to
get this show on the road.
"Well boys, are we going to hang some
ornaments, or shall I save the hooks for next
year?"
Before an answer could be given, there was the
sound of a thud. They all looked at each
other. That had definitely been a thud. Where
had it come from? They all had heard it.
"Oh my God." William. They could hear him
shouting his word, at the top of his lungs.
Only it was different this time. Afterwards,
she was amazed that she'd processed that fact.
Afterwards, it occurred to her that if she
hadn't been happy almost to the point of
delirium, she might have been angry.
She retrieved her weapon, and was through the
bedroom door in a split second, shaking all the
way. And then she laughed like a crazy person.
And then she cried. And lowered her gun.
"daaa, daaaa, daaaa, da, DA, DA, DA!" William
directed this toward the tall, tired looking
man who now held him, and who was grinning from
ear-to-ear.
Someone besides Santa had come to town.
Or, as Scully wrote under the photograph that
would soon be situated next to the one that
inspired William's first vocal acknowledgment
of his father:
"The most wonderful man in the world came home
for Christmas."
*****
7:30 a.m.
"Does he usually sleep this long at one
stretch?" Mulder couldn't believe that they
hadn't heard a sound besides breathing from the
crib for the last couple of hours.
"Four or five hours is the longest so far.
This was a big night for him. Or early
morning, rather."
After Scully recovered from the shock of seeing
Mulder standing there with William in his arms,
the two of them stood there just hugging each
other and crying and holding their small son,
who apparently recognized his father. After
she'd taken a picture of father and son,
William let it be known that he was hungry, so
they went to the living room where Mulder sat
and watched Scully feed him. He'd seen this a
few times in the short period he'd had with
them after William's birth, but he was awed by
watching them now.
As for Scully, the last couple of hours had
been among the happiest in her life. She
looked at Mulder as though he were a ghost who
would disappear if she blinked. They were
laying facing each other on the bed, a quilt
covering them. After they had finished with
the crying, laughing, and feeding, they'd all
gone to sleep for a bit. Now she and Mulder
were staring at each other and speaking softly
so as not to awaken William.
"Mulder, tonight during Mass, I prayed that
we'd see you again soon, but I didn't dare hope
it would be tonight." Her voice started to
break. "I needed to see you so badly, and now
to have you here." She couldn't go on without
crying again, and she didn't want to spend
however much time they had together in tears.
She placed her hand on his cheek. He was
really here.
Mulder took her hand and turned it over, gently
placing a kiss on its palm. Then he took it
and held it against his heart. When he'd
received the message two days ago that it was
going to work out for him to be here today,
he'd had to move fast. So much had to be
covered in so short a time. He hadn't said
anything to Scully yet, but he had to be out of
here by tonight.
"You must be hungry, Mulder." The look in his
eyes told her yes, but not for food. But the
growl in his stomach indicated that food might
be a wise first choice.
"I have some chicken left over from last night
and plenty of stuff in the freezer. Or maybe
you would prefer some breakfast food?" She got
up from the bed, reluctantly. She wanted
to stay here in this room forever with Mulder
and William. She wanted to pretend they were
safe here for the remainder of time.
"Chicken sounds good." Mulder got up, too. He
was hungry, not having had time to eat since
yesterday morning. They wandered to the
kitchen, Scully stopping to collect the tray
of cups from the little party that had started
this whole thing off. The guys had disappeared
as suddenly has Mulder had reappeared. The
fire was still going faintly, and the tree was
on; all in all, it looked like Christmas
morning. It wasn't snowing any longer, but it
looked to be a dark day, with the sky remaining
gray. Scully put some more coffee on, while
Mulder just sat there at the kitchen table
taking it all in. The smell of the coffee was
wonderful, and the woman moving about preparing
the food even better. He felt at peace. He'd
be living off these scenes for some time to
come.
His life since he'd left hadn't been harsh in
the physical sense, but the drain on his
emotions had been bad. He'd known it would be
hard being separated from his new family, and
he'd thought foolishly that he'd deal with it
the same way that he'd dealt with all the other
misfortunes that had come his way. He'd always
been able to handle things. But this was
different. He was different. A solitary
existence was the last thing he wanted now.
The coffee was finished brewing. Scully poured
them each a cup and sat down at the table. The
chicken was heating in the microwave and a loaf
of bread was warming in the oven. And there
were plenty of her mother's cookies left, which
they nibbled on while drinking their coffee.
"Mulder, the last several hours have been so
strange, but in the best way." Scully smiled
as she said this. She didn't want to focus on
the fact that he looked significantly more thin
than when he'd left. Or that he looked as
though he could use a few months of rest.
Mulder had always been able to function
without a lot of sleep, but it was showing on
him now, more than it ever had in the past.
Still, he was the most beautiful sight to
behold, and she didn't want to waste one minute
on the negative aspects of their situation.
"When did Frohike contact you, yesterday?"
"No, tonight. There was a message on the
machine when we got home from Mass. I didn't
know what to make of it, but figured having
company was better than sitting here the rest
of the night by myself feeling sad, so I was
glad to have him come over."
Mulder set his cup down and took her hand in
his. "I didn't want to be apart from you and
William today. I didn't know that being here
would be possible until two days ago, and
then we had to move fast. The guys outdid
themselves on this one." He paused and looked
at her face for a moment. Oh, how he
loved her. What would he do without her? He
didn't want to go there, ever again. "I'm so
happy, Scully. I know that doesn't sound much
like me, but it's true." She closed her eyes
for a second. She loved him so. How would she
ever let him leave again?
"How long do we have, Mulder?"
"Until tonight."
"I see." She got up. The food was ready. She
served a plate of chicken for Mulder and took
the bread from the oven and sliced it. She set
the plate before him and watched as he ate.
They didn't say anything until he was finished.
"You aren't hungry, Scully?"
"Not particularly."
"William might wake up, in what, another hour?"
"Probably. He was pretty tired when he finally
settled down after you surprised him, so I
don't think it will be any sooner."
"Scully, do you really think he was trying to
say 'daddy?'"
"I know he was. He's been going on like this
for the past two weeks. It was only tonight
that I realized what it meant though. And, I
could swear he was saying it as 'ga' with a
hard 'g,' before now, but frankly Mulder, I
don't know what I was hearing. But tonight it
was definitely 'da.'"
Mulder grinned. "Scully, we're sitting here on
Christmas Day, together, discussing what our
infant son is trying to say."
She didn't say anything, couldn't really.
Given where they'd started all those years ago,
the reality of their situation was as strange
as any X-File had ever been. She just looked
at Mulder. He was here. That was enough. She
rose from her chair and walked to where he was
still sitting, and bent to kiss him. He pulled
her onto his lap all the while never
breaking contact with her lips. Death had been
lousy the first time, but if it happened again
this minute, he'd go out the happiest that he'd
ever been. He stood, picking her up. Now she
grinned, her arms around his neck. Wordlessly,
they headed for the bedroom.
*****
Noon
Mulder awoke to the sounds of William, and
running water. He got up and put on the
bathrobe that had mysteriously appeared across
the foot of the bed. It was new and
luxuriously comfortable. He crossed to see
William.
"Da." Mulder extended a finger, which was
immediately grabbed, and then noticed a note
from Scully posted to the wall above the crib
that said:
Mulder, I'm in the shower. Care to join me?
"Will, your mom is one fantastic, beautiful
woman, do you know that? You spend so much
time with her; I sure hope you do."
William seemed to be contented with these
comments, so Mulder went into the bathroom,
where through billows of steam, he located
Scully and joined her under the pouring water.
She'd just lathered up her hair and he couldn't
resist putting his hands into it. Scully
smiled as her head was massaged from behind by
his hands. His hands. God, what would she do
without those hands in the days and weeks
to come? No, she thought. I can't think about
that now. He's here now.
"Mulder, that feels so good."
"I wasn't going to tell you, Scully, but I've
been working in a beauty salon. I think I've
found my calling. Close your eyes." He rinsed
the shampoo from her hair, and found the bottle
of conditioner. He applied some and worked it
in thoroughly. He loved doing this for her.
He knew that the conditioner needed to stay in
for a few minutes, so he turned her around gave
her a long, deep kiss. He hoped the hot water
would hold out. He wanted to stay here awhile.
Oh yeah. Then, through the mist that filled
the bathroom, he heard an amplified cry.
Scully pulled away from him and rinsed her hair
quickly.
"It's okay, Mulder. He's probably just ready
to be fed."
"Why is he so loud?"
"It's the baby monitor." She motioned to where
it was sitting on the counter. "You stay and
finish your shower." She got out and toweled
off. It had been heavenly while it lasted.
*****
3:00 p.m.
Scully had tossed a salad, and they'd eaten
more of the chicken and bread. Now, she and
Mulder were sitting on the couch looking at the
tree. Christmas trees had always been
important to Scully. Despite an absence in her
life of almost every other traditional domestic
activity, she always put a tree up. Sometimes
it was only a tabletop, and sometimes it was
like this year's -- a little more than six feet
and decorated to the nines. It would stay up
through the first week in January.
"There sure are a lot of presents here,
Scully."
"Yes, there are. I think that William will
look back on this as a banner year for
presents. Everyone has been very generous."
"I thought that you would have gone to San
Diego."
"Mom and Bill wanted me to, but in the end I
couldn't bring myself to leave here. Even
though you may have been in California for all
I knew, the last time you were with us
was here, so this is where I wanted to be this
Christmas."
Mulder was quiet upon hearing this. He
understood what she said; he'd have done the
same if their situations were reversed. He was
rather overwhelmed with emotion though, at
hearing it. After sitting there a few minutes
more, he got up from the couch and knelt,
facing Scully.
"Scully, I'd have found a way to get to you in
San Diego if you had gone there. I want you to
know that. I wasn't going to let Christmas
pass without seeing the two of you." She
reached down and stroked his cheek again.
Today she seemed to be rendered speechless much
of the time.
"Scully, there's something else I need to
discuss with you."
"What is it?"
"I wanted to talk with you about it before I
left, but the moment just wasn't there. And
now may not be quite the time either, but I
don't want to let it go any longer."
Now her curiosity was peaking.
"Mulder, what is it?"
"Scully, have you thought much about where we'd
be now, if I hadn't had to leave?"
"Do you mean, would we be living here, still?"
"No, I mean us. Where would we be with each
other?"
"Oh." Now she knew where this was leading.
"Mulder, so much has happened in the last year.
It was such a Jekyll and Hyde year. I'd like
to forget at least half of it, but that would
mean forgetting that I was carrying your
child during that time, so I can't do that. I
never allowed myself to think even a day ahead
while you were gone. I'd have been insane by
now if I had. And after you returned, I had to
focus primarily on the final weeks of my
pregnancy, and then things happened so fast.
That you were alive and well was enough."
"Scully, I'd do anything to give you back the
past year if I could. That I wasn't here
during that time is something I'll always
regret. On the other hand, I feel I'm the
luckiest man alive to have had you in my life
for the past nine years. I know there were
times when you were ready to leave, and
probably should have, and I love you all the
more for sticking around. The life I had
before knowing you, and then loving you was
nothing, and the life I have now is so much
more than I deserve. I want to come back to
it, and to live it every day. To see you every
morning, and to hold our child and watch him
grow, that's what I want. And, Scully, no, I'm
not crazy. I'm just crazy in love." He
stopped and took hold of her hand.
"Scully, will you promise, one day, to marry
me?"
She looked him in the eye as he asked this. It
was heartbreaking almost, to see the look on
his face. It was so earnest and tender. He
looked about ten years younger as he spoke
these words.
"Yes, Mulder. Of course I will." Then she
threw herself into his embrace. This isn't a
dream, a voice inside her head kept saying.
You're with the man you've loved for so long
now, and you've just agreed to marry him. This
is the real thing. Now she was crying. So was
he. What a fun couple they were. She laughed.
"Scully, was it a funny proposal?" His voice
was teasing.
"Mulder, it was a beautiful proposal. I'm just
on emotional overload right now. I don't know
much of anything. Just keep holding me."
"I never want to stop. But a little variety is
good." And with that, he kissed her. It was a
kiss that could have gone on forever. But
being that they didn't have much time left in
this most precious day, he then stood, picking
her up, and then laying her down on the couch.
He then knelt again beside the couch, and
gently started to untie her robe. He kissed
her throat.
"Scully," his voice was low and soft. "I want
to make love to you." He'd never seen her eyes
so blue before; they shone brighter than any of
the lights on the tree. She leaned up
to whisper in his ear.
"Mulder, I forgot to tell you."
"What?"
"I love you."
*****
8:00 p.m.
He'd left an hour ago. After they'd showered
again and dressed, they alternated taking
photographs of each other with William in front
of the tree. And when Byers arrived, he
took one of the three of them. The farewells
this time were even more difficult, but so much
had been borne that day, that it was impossible
for either of them to not feel hope for their
future, even as they were parting again. Years
later, their memories of this first Christmas
together would remain among their happiest.
There was never enough time to do everything,
however, and as Scully sat by herself now, she
remembered the gift that Frohike had handed to
her when he'd arrived earlier that morning.
She picked up the red box. It wasn't very
heavy. She slid the bow off and removed the
lid. It was something wrapped in a lot of
tissue paper. She continued to unwrap,
and then found it. It was an ornament; a
silver bell, about four inches high in size.
It was beautiful. She held it for a
moment, and then felt that there was engraving
on the side next to her palm. She turned it
around and read what it said:
To Scully and William,
You are my life.
All my love, Mulder.
Christmas 2001
She sat there for a few minutes, strangely, not
crying. Perhaps she would later. She could
still feel his arms around her and she wanted
to savor that, so she didn't move for a bit.
He hadn't known when his next visit might be.
Soon, she could only hope. She picked up the
box of hooks and took one out and put it on the
bell. There was a spot near the top of the
tree that would be perfect. Then she got up
and went to see if William by chance, was
awake. He was. She picked him up and carried
him to the living room and then hung
Mulder's ornament on the tree with the
inscription facing outward.
"Daa, daaa, DA."
"Daddy will be back, sweetie. I don't know
when, but he will, just as soon as he can. We
were very lucky to see him, weren't we?"
William didn't say anything. Now he seemed
mesmerized by the scene before him. Scully
envisioned future Christmases and a little boy
who couldn't wait to see what Santa had
delivered, waking his sleepy parents. She
would hold onto that. Today was just the
beginning. And what a glorious one it had
been.
- end -
http://cleigh6.tripod.com
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