From: stilldevout2david@yahoo.com   
      
   TITLE: THE LAST GOODBYE – part 6   
      
   AUTHOR: devout2David   
      
   RATING: R for foul language and explicit description of a   
   character's   
   death (?).   
      
   CLASSIFICATION: Angst, angst and even MORE angst!   
      
   DISCLAIMER: Absolutely nothing that has to do with the X-Files   
               belongs to me. And I mean NOTH-ING!  I just wanted to   
               borrow Mulder and Scully and everyone else from the show   
               for my own little sadistic pleasure.  I solemnly promise   
               to return them unharmed and in one piece to 1013 and   
               Chris Carter the way I got them.  No stretch marks,   
               bruises, welts, or teeth marks.   
      
   SPOILERS: None, as we all know what happened in the Season 8 Finale   
             anyway, right???  So, there isn't anything to worry about   
             anymore.  Seen it all and tha-that's all folks!   
      
   KEYWORDS: Aside from Mulder and Scully's names?  Not-a one.  Not   
             anymore!   
      
   SUMMARY:  Is Mulder still alive?  Will he be the same after this?   
             Will Scully get to tell him how she truly feels?  Read on   
             and find out!  I'm not telling!  Nah, nah, nana, nah!   
      
   AUTHOR'S NOTES:  I want to thank everyone who has read and   
   enjoyed   
                    The Last Goodbye.  Part one was actually my original   
                    idea to end the Series but because it left too big   
                    of a gap for some I decided (with some serious   
                    nudging from my Masto-Sistahs) to keep it going a   
                    little bit more.   
      
   ARCHIVE: I don't mind at all!  In fact, I'll feel honored by   
   it. Just   
            let me know where it will be so I can visit your site!   
      
   DEDICATION:  This part is dedicated to my husband, who loved me all   
                of these years and continues to love me in spite of my   
                crazy love-struck addiction to David Duchovny, the X   
                Files and anything to do with the X Files.   
      
                And also to my son, Alexander, who is teaching me a new   
                level of unconditional love.   
      
                I love you both, my Poohs!   
      
      
      
   *****************************************************************   
      
      
   His skin felt so cold inside her warm palm as she took his limp hand   
   in hers.  His skin color had improved dramatically in the few hours   
   since he had been brought to the hospital.   
      
   That was a good sign.   
      
   Though his lips still had a faint hint of blue to them, his face had   
   gradually pinked up to a better color than when she had found his   
   body, cold and unmoving, hanging limply from the...   
      
   She shivered.   
      
   She didn't want to think about how she had found him and   
   swallowed   
   back the bile that was trying to creep its way into her throat.  The   
   whole memory made her sick just thinking about it.   
      
   She smoothed the wisps of hair back from his forehead.  His body was   
   having a bit of trouble regaining some of its temperature back for   
   some reason and despite there being five blankets on him, he still   
   seemed like he was already…   
      
   *Stop it!  He's not dead!  He's still alive and he's   
   going to live!*   
   She told her pessimistic conscience.   
      
   "You're going to be just fine, Mulder," she whispered to   
   him as she   
   leaned forward to kiss his smooth, cool skin.   
      
   Not once had she left his side in the hours since he had been brought   
   to the hospital and although her stomach growled a bit to remind her   
   of its need to be fed, she refused to think about her own needs until   
   she was sure he was well on his way to being  Mulder again.  But at   
   this stage, she didn't know if he would ever be Mulder ever   
   again.   
      
   His doctor had told her there was very little hope that he would ever   
   make a complete recovery and even if he did, there was a very good   
   chance that he'd suffered irreparable brain damage.   
      
   "So, what ARE his chances?" she remembered asking him.   
      
   "Slim to none," had been his flat reply to her.   
      
   "I don't believe that.  He's a fighter.  He won't give up.  He'll   
   pull through this," she had told the   
   doctor.   
      
   "Doctor Scully, in all my years in medicine I have NEVER seen nor   
   heard of ANYONE recovering completely from a suicide attempt as   
   brutal as Mr. Mulder's.  Quite honestly, I think not even God himself   
   could help Mr. Mulder at this stage of the game."   
      
   "You don't understand, Doctor.  Mulder isn't just anyone, he's   
   special and you'll see.  He WILL recover," she had told him   
   defiantly.   
      
   But Scully knew all too well that the doctor was right; that the man   
   who lay quietly in this hospital bed might not ever know her again.   
      
   She shuddered at her words to the doctor.  Had she said those things   
   because she knew Mulder would recover?  Or had she simply said them   
   to convince herself he would be all right so she wouldn't believe the   
   truth… that he would forever be in a vegetative state, lying in a   
   ward somewhere, being fed through a tube and drooling on his pillow?   
      
   The thought scared her more than anything else.  Mulder's   
   long-term   
   care never occurred to her since she had never pictured anything like   
   this for either of them. She had always figured the end would either   
   come swiftly in the form of a lone bullet or a peaceful death during   
   sleep years from now. But certainly not like this!   
      
   She rubbed her thumb across the top of his hand in soothing, rhythmic   
   pattern.   
      
   She would stay beside him for as long as it took to bring him back   
   from the other side.   
      
   She would never let him go.   
      
   She prayed he'd never let go either.   
      
   She needed him.   
      
   She never realized how much until just now.   
      
      
   * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *   
      
      
   A warm and gentle touch on her shoulder made her jar awake violently.   
      
   The quiet, gruff voice of Walter Skinner called to her softly, close   
   to her ear.  "Hey, it's me," her former boss, soothed.   
      
   Scully relaxed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, forcing herself to   
   wake from the nightmare she had been having.   
      
   "I didn't hear you come in," she said tiredly, "Have   
   you been here   
   long?"   
      
   Skinner shook his head, "No, I just got here.  When I heard about   
   Mulder…  I-I had to make sure you were all right and to see if   
   there   
   was anything I could do ... or need?"   
      
   Scully's eyes began to tear as she looked from Mulder's   
   peaceful   
   expression to Skinner's brow, furrowed with concern.  "No,   
   there's   
   nothing anyone can do at this point but wait."  She choked out.   
      
   They stared down at Mulder's lifeless body silently for a while   
   before Skinner spoke up again.   
      
   "Is he going to be all right?" he asked her.  She could hear   
   the fear   
   in his voice as he asked the question.   
      
   "The doctor doesn't hold out much hope," she said   
   honestly, her voice   
   beginning to crack slightly.  Skinner's hand gripped her shoulder   
   softly.  "It really doesn't look good."  She said with a   
   small, weak   
   smile.   
      
   Her tears fell of their own accord and Skinner could do nothing but   
   stand there beside her like a stolid protector.   
      
   He really didn't know how he should comfort her. It would've   
   been   
   different if they had some sort of closeness other than a long   
   running work relationship, but they didn't.  A hug seemed   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)