UNTITLED, PART IX
Jared lay awake in his bed in the guest room, arms folded under his head. In the dim light, he could faintly make out the pattern that had been carved out in the ceiling. It was late -about 3 am, and he just couldn’t sleep. Not with so much happening to him all at once. He was faced with all the decisions and thoughts that Scully had been faced with when she accepted her pre-ordained position. The only difference was that Dana harbored a deep, subconscious hatred for the government, and this hatred had been acquired over the years. And no wonder. She had been through so much, only to be thrust back into a job where she would have to fight for a country that had tried to annihilate her more than once. He had never heard so much about corruption and crime in his own government before this night, and never had he heard it from so reliable a source. His heart had been moved, and he found himself questioning the real motives that drove him to accept their offer. He sighed. His partner was like no other person he knew. In a matter of days, he had developed a strong attachment to her, and his feelings of affection had grown deeper. He felt a stab of guilt at this last revelation. She had only lost Mulder a little over a month ago, and probably wouldn’t ever be able to move on to someone new, so why was he letting himself even entertain the thought? He yawned, suddenly aware of how tired he was, and decided to try for some sleep after all. It was better than thinking about something that could never happen.
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Some time later, he awoke to the sound of floorboards creaking gently. He opened his eyes slowly, and looked sideways. What he saw made his heart leap. Bathed in glowing moonlight stood a man with his hands clasped behind his back, facing the window. He quickly glanced over at the other bed in the room, only to see Byers sleeping peacefully. Jared could only just make out the man’s profile, and he gasped when he realized that it could be none other than Mulder himself.
At the small sound, Mulder’s image turned and faced the bed. “Jared Crighton. We meet again.”
Jared sat bolt upright. “How...how...?”
“How am I here? I’m here because my Scully is still here. She and William are my connection to the living world.”
“Well...well...then, why are you in this room? Oh my god...why am I asking? I’m dreaming, right?”
“No, Jared, you’re not dreaming. I’m here, in this room, because I need to talk with you. It’s about the work.”
“What about it?”
“I know that Scully and Skinner have asked you to join them. I’m pleased with their decision, because I suppose you know now that I wanted to involve you a short time ago.”
“Yes. Thank you for your confidence in me...” Jared, still half asleep, still wondered if he was dreaming. But Mulder seemed so real...it was impossible to tell. He decided to go along with it as if the other man were really there.
“You’re more than welcome. I actually want to thank you for all your help. And for keeping her safe...I can rest at ease now that I know you’ll be protecting her and William. I appreciate it a great deal.”
Jared looked at him, then looked down, still feeling guilty over his newest realizations. “It was nothing...she’s a wonderful person and I know she’d do the same for anyone, including me.”
“She would. My Scully has a big heart, and I see that she already cares for you.”
Jared glanced up. “She cares for a lot of people.”
Mulder tilted his head in thought for a moment. “Don’t worry, Jared.” He smiled wryly. “I’m not going to haunt the rest of your days because you care for my wife. If anything, I’m grateful. She means so much to me, and I don’t want her to be lonely when I have to leave. I will always love her, and I know she’ll always love me, but she has a lot of time left here, and it will be hard for her sometimes. I know this all too well. The work is dangerous, and you must be careful. However, nothing else will ever teach you so much patience and care. Keep Scully and my son safe for me...please...from everything...”
Jared looked down again, and said softly, “I will...I promise.” When he looked up again, Mulder had faded away into air again. He looked all around, knowing that he was awake, and yet still not really believing that he hadn’t been dreaming. He drifted off again, pondering what Mulder had said to him.
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The morning sun woke him up. He glanced at the alarm clock next to him, and was surprised to see that it was almost 10 AM. He rarely slept in, and almost always went for a morning jog, but after last night, he was happy to get the extra hours in. Thank goodness it was a Saturday.
Glancing over at the other bed, he realized that Byers was already up, since it was unoccupied. He sat up, thinking again about how he had spoken with Mulder’s spirit the night before, and though he wasn’t certain it had really happened at all, he still felt shaken. He stood in front of the mirror, yanked his shirt on, ran his fingers through his hair, and made his way into the living room of Dana’s apartment. The Gunmen were watching the morning news, and Dana was in the kitchen, cooking.
“Well, well,” said Frohike, “Look who finally decided to get up!”
Jared blushed. “How much later did I sleep?”
“Just kidding. We all only woke up about ten minutes ago.”
“Oh, okay...” He walked into the kitchen to greet Dana and say to good morning.
“Hey. Good Morning.”
“Good morning to you...did you sleep okay? And how's your hand?”
“My hand's okay, just a little stiff. I slept like a rock. Thanks again for having me stay.” He was dying to ask her about Mulder’s visit the night before, but remembering what had happened earlier in the hallway, he was afraid to mention it. “Umm...would you like some help cooking?”
“Sure, if you want. It’s just eggs and bacon.”
“Cool. I used to cook with my mom all the time.”
“Yeah. William loves ‘helping’ with the meals. Last time I talked with him, he was all excited because he gets to help my mother make dinner some nights. It’s the funniest thing to hear him talk about it.”
“Yeah. Kids are funny like that.”
She smiled, even though she heard something in his voice that made her a little uneasy. He sounded like he wanted to be paying attention, but his mind was miles away. Maybe he just wasn’t a morning person...
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m alright. Yesterday still has me a little shaken up, is all.” He didn’t mention what else had shaken him up during the night.
“Oh. I understand.” She was quiet for a few moments, then ventured to dig a little deeper. “Are you sure? I mean, if you’re not okay with all of this, you can still back out...”
He looked up, walked over to her, clasped his hands tightly around her arms, looked deep into her eyes, and said, “I never, ever go back on my word.” It came out close to a low growl.
She gazed at him for a long moment, trying to figure out if he was angry with her or just getting his point across. “I...I’m sorry...” she stammered out, not knowing what else to say.
“Don’t be. I just want to make it clear to you that I’m not leaving you to finish this by yourself.” He relaxed his grip on her arms and stalked off in search of the bathroom. She stared after him, not sure what to think about what had just taken place.
He made his way into the guest bathroom and shut himself in, then stood leaning against the sink, staring into the mirror, and wondering what he had hoped to accomplish by startling her like that. He sighed deeply. It was only that Mulder’s visit had made him more than a little nervous. He was also more aware than ever about what he had to do now, and he wasn’t sure how to handle that. Life had never been so complicated before, and now, all of a sudden, he had no idea what to do or who to turn to. No...that wasn’t quite true...he had Dana and AD Skinner, as well as the Gunmen. The thought strengthened him, and by the time he had cleaned up a bit, he felt much better.
He walked back into the kitchen, where Scully was finishing up breakfast. When she heard him enter, she turned and smiled briefly, then went back to what she was doing.
“Dana...”
“Yeah?” She didn’t turn around.
“I’m sorry for before...I’m just still a little freaked out, I guess. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you...”
She turned to face him. “Hey, it’s okay. I understand. I’m still not sure I *want* to do this, but I have to. You have a choice, and it’s a tough one, but it’s still a choice.” She smiled again.
He nodded, even though his involvement was only a small part of what was making him anxious.
“Anyway. Before that whole ordeal with Krycek, I had been speaking with Skinner. As you know, these people know where I am now. That means we have to act quickly. There isn’t much time for us to finish this.”
“What are we supposed to do? I was under the impression that everything was going to work itself out.”
“It still is, but our people are going to be working twice as hard to track the smoking man and his allies. We’re also going to try and get as much out of Krycek as we can, since we have him in custody.”
Jared started setting out plates and anything else they would need for breakfast as she continued. The Gunmen wandered in, sat down, and they began discussing what would be happening within the next few weeks.
Before she set breakfast out, Scully picked up her cell phone and dialed Skinner’s number to get the most recent news from him. As she hung up with the AD, she turned to face the four men in front of her and began briefing them.
“Okay. According to Skinner, Krycek is being held in maximum security, and under his instructions, no one is to visit or speak with him except those he has authorized. That would be Jared, himself, and me. Skinner spoke with him this morning, but gained no information. Krycek isn’t talking. Skinner believes that Krycek thinks his life is in danger, so the less he says the better. Saving his own skin, as usual.”
By this time, Jared had already dished out breakfast for all of them, so they began eating as Scully finished up.
“What we need to do is go see him as soon as possible while the Gunmen find out the latest information from our sources. I know it’s a Saturday, but is that alright with everyone?”
“You said it, boss-lady, so we do it.” This came from Frohike, and all the others nodded in agreement. They quickly finished breakfast, and everyone left to begin their various activities, the Gunmen taking Jared back to his car. Before they left, Scully stopped them.
“Remember, Jared, meet me back here in an hour, and I’ll see the rest of you guys here at 6 PM.”
After everyone left, Scully sat back and relaxed for a few moments before she cleaned up the breakfast dishes. When she was done, she stretched and slowly made her way to the bathroom, slowly getting herself worked up into excitement over their first real assignment. The only thing that stopped her from enjoying the feeling was the fact that her first assignment was to question Mulder’s murderer. The thought made her stomach feel like a chunk of lead, and she ran the rest of the way to the bathroom, thinking she would be sick.
When she relaxed her nerves enough to will herself from vomiting, she took a deep breath and stood herself back up, then hopped in the shower and finished getting ready in the small amount of time she had left.
By the time she had finished, Jared was already waiting in his car in the parking lot. Donning a pair of sunglasses, she allowed herself a few moments to admire him from a distance. As she did so, she wondered where his previous reaction had come from, when she told him he didn’t have to take all this on. Maybe he had truly been offended. She decided not to mention it again.
“Hey,” he greeted her, as she walked toward his car. The day was unusually warm compared to the earlier coldness the previous weeks had held, and his windows were rolled down.
“Hey yourself. Ready?” She climbed into the car and buckled up as he turned out of the lot and headed toward the prison.
“Yeah. Are you going to be okay with this?”
“I think so. It will do me some good to confront him, even though there’s no solid proof against him.”
“Just remember that I’m here for you. If you feel like you can’t do it, I’ll talk to him.”
She smiled gratefully. “Thanks. I appreciate that a lot.”
“No problem.”
They drove the rest of the way in silence as she thought about the challenge ahead of her. She didn’t want to do this, but she knew she had to. It was time to start getting used to the idea that Mulder simply wasn’t here in his earthly form anymore. He’d be leaving her soon; she felt that strongly, and she needed to be okay when it was time.
End, Part IX.
