From: taffyxf@yahoo.com   
      
   Title: Shadows in the Starlight   
   Author: Taffy Northwood   
   E-Mail: taffyxf@yahoo.com   
   Summary:  Getting together was the easy part. Making   
   it work was harder than either of them imagined.   
   Spoilers:  Season 6   
   Rating:  NC17   
   Category:  MT, MSR   
   Archives:  I'd be honored.   
   Feedback: Please?  With a cherry on top?   
   Disclaimer: Mulder, Scully, Skinner and any   
   other XF characters are on loan only.   
   Author Notes:  "Shadows in the Starlight" is a   
   sequel to "Let No Star Shine."  It isn't necessary   
   to read that story first--you just need to know that   
   after a wild weekend at a FBI seminar, Mulder and   
   Scully are now in a romantic relationship. Hugh Davis   
   is a world famous forensic expert and friend of   
   Scully's from college who was at the seminar where   
   he met Tim McCloskey, an idealistic young FBI   
   agent.   
      
      
   This isn't a WIP--the story will be posted as   
   parts are edited. I'll try and post every day or so--   
   depending on how RL goes   
      
   Shadows in the Starlight (part 2)   
      
   There was very little they could do once they got to   
   the hospital.  Scully stuck by Hugh's side, lending   
   an ear when he needed to share his fears or lash out   
   in anger.   
      
   Hugh was an extremely dynamic individual.  A leader in   
   his field, he'd been used to giving orders and being   
   catered to.  When the two men had first become involved,   
   Scully had feared that the younger, less experienced Tim   
   would be dominated by Hugh.   
      
   Hugh had found that concept rather amusing as Scully   
   recalled.  Hugh had informed her that Tim had a will   
   of iron and a strong moral compass and if anyone was   
   going to scramble to keep up, it would be Hugh.   
      
   Regular progress reports from the operating room   
   also helped Hugh keep his cool.  The news was not   
   particularly reassuring, but at least he didn't   
   feel totally in the dark.   
      
   Mulder managed the tricky task of shielding Tim's   
   private life without seeming to do so.  It was the   
   same fine line that Tim tried to walk; his sexual   
   orientation was not a secret, but he didn't feel   
   that it was anyone's business, either.   
      
   It was simple enough with the press; once they had   
   their answers about the shooting and Tim's prognosis,   
   they were satisfied.   
      
   Scully detected curious stares aimed at Hugh by some   
   of the FBI agents who circulated around the waiting   
   area.  She just hoped that they would treat him with   
   respect, as she and Mulder were doing.   
      
   Around six in the morning the OR reported that they   
   were "closing."  That meant that the damage to Tim's   
   body had been identified and repaired.   
      
   Tim wasn't out of the woods yet, but he was a step   
   closer.   
      
   "I'll be able to see him soon," Hugh said.  "Thank   
   God."   
      
   Scully pressed the heels of her hands over her eyes,   
   trying to relieve the gritty feeling of a broken   
   night's sleep.  Her cell phone rang and her fingers   
   felt stiff as she flipped it open.   
      
   "How's McCloskey?" Skinner asked.   
      
   "Holding his own," she answered.  "They're closing   
   now--we'll know more after the surgeon comes out."   
      
   "I won't be able to get to the hospital until later   
   this morning--things are still a mess down here at   
   the warehouse."   
      
   She could only imagine the scene of a bust gone   
   bad.  Skinner would earn his paycheck from the   
   damage control alone.   
      
   "How did the McCloskeys handle the news?" she asked.   
      
   "I think they're in shock.  They're flying out this   
   morning--should hit Dulles at 2:30."   
      
   Loud voices on the other end of the phone made it   
   hard to hear Skinner.  "I have to go," he said after   
   a few muffled moments and the line clicked into silence.   
      
   Scully's head ached with stress and fatigue, and   
   Mulder tried to get her to rest.   
      
   "Why don't you stretch out," he said indicating the   
   fake leather sofa.  "You'd barely take up half of   
   it."   
      
   With a sharp look, she refused the offer, so instead   
   Mulder went to get coffee for the group.   
      
   "I don't understand you people," Hugh said with an   
   edge of bitterness.  "Do you think this is normal?   
   Getting shot, shooting people... This is not normal,   
   Dana."   
      
   How could she answer?  Normal or not, it was part of   
   her world... and Mulder's... and Tim's.   
      
   "We were going to go to Hawaii," Hugh mused.  "He's   
   never been there."   
      
   "You'll go," Scully said.  Tim had made it from the   
   scene to the emergency room, and from the emergency   
   room to the operating room, and now it appeared he   
   would make it out of the OR.  His chances were   
   improving with every minute.   
      
   Shortly after that the surgeon appeared, looking   
   tired but confident.   
      
   "Mr. Davis?  Tim came through well and he seems to   
   be holding his own.  I'll take you to see him, but   
   it will have to be a short visit."   
      
   Hugh nodded numbly and followed him, not even   
   bothering to correct the surgeon that he was "Dr.   
   Davis" rather than "Mr. Davis."   
      
   Alone in the waiting room, Scully said a silent prayer   
   for Tim and Hugh.  The days ahead would be difficult,   
   but a good outcome would make it all worthwhile.   
      
   Scully took a moment to call Skinner and update him   
   on Tim's condition.  Her boss seemed relieved at   
   the news, suggesting that she and Mulder take the   
   morning off to get some rest.   
      
   When Mulder returned with the coffee, he was   
   accompanied by a man who looked as rumpled as she   
   felt.  He was African American, about Mulder's height   
   but broader across the shoulders.  When Mulder   
   introduced him as Tim's partner, Agent Webster, she   
   understood his haggard, disheveled appearance.   
      
   "Tim's out of surgery.  So far, so good," she informed   
   him.   
      
   "Thank God," the man said, giving Scully the distinct   
   impression that he didn't use those words lightly.   
      
   "Webster's review is scheduled in a couple of hours,"   
   Mulder explained.  "I've been telling him not to   
   worry.  His use of deadly force was clearly   
   justified."   
      
   "Is this your first kill?" Scully asked   
   sympathetically.   
      
   Agent Webster looked dismayed.   
      
   "My last, too, I hope."  He dropped into a chair   
   across from Scully, his broad shoulders sagging with   
   fatigue.   
      
   "It doesn't get any easier," she told him.   
      
   "Bottom line, agent.  You saved your partner's life,"   
   Mulder said.   
      
   Far from looking comforted, Webster all but flinched.   
      
   "I should have been quicker.  I should have been   
   closer," he said.   
      
   There were no easy answers to the thoughts that were   
   plaguing Agent Webster.  He was right to review and   
   rethink everything that had happened and to learn from   
   it if he could.  In the end, though, he would have to   
   accept the terrible responsibility that came with his   
   job.  Sometimes he would be forced to make   
   split-second decisions that spelled the difference   
   between life and death.   
      
   "You save your partner's life," Mulder said again.   
      
   Webster spoke slowly, and Scully wondered if he'd   
   gotten any sleep at all.   
      
   "Ten years with the bureau, and this is the first time   
   I ever drew my gun off the firing range. It wasn't   
   supposed to go this way."   
      
   "Things can go wrong, even with the best of plans,"   
   Scully said.   
      
   Webster took a sip from his coffee.   
      
   "How well do you know Tim?" he asked.   
      
   "He's a good guy.  A friend," Mulder said.   
      
   "You know, the first time we met was when they made us   
   partners.  I heard he'd had some trouble in his old   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)