Title:  When the Time is Right 
Author:  Tess 
E-mail: tnv099@aol.com 
Spoilers: I have to admit this is inspired by a 
spoiler I read about Sein Und Zeit which is scheduled 
to air in February.  That spoiler is the catalyst for 
this story, but I seriously doubt that much of what 
you read here is gonna make it to the screen. 
Rating:  [MA] 
Content:  A, S, R 
Classification:  MSR 
Disclaimer:  The characters herein are the sole 
property of CC, 1013 Productions, Fox, DD and GA.  I'm 
making no money from this. 
Summary:  A time of crisis brings about a big change


When the Time is Right (1 of 1) By:  Tess

She had begged him not to make her do it.  

"Please, Mulder don't ask me.  It's too hard."

"Scully you've got to do it.  There's no one else who 
can."

"There are plenty of qualified..."

"But no one that I can trust.  It has to be you.  
Please Scully."

In the end, as always, he had prevailed and now she 
found herself in the autopsy bay looking down at the 
lifeless body of Teena Mulder.

"I never knew you very well," she murmured.  "And I 
certainly never  understood your motives--why you did 
the things that you did, made the  decisions you made.  
But your son is a wonderful man and surely you deserve  
some of the credit for that."  

She paused and then continued.  "You can rest easy 
Mrs. Mulder.  I promise  that I will take care of 
him."

Scully wiped a stray tear away with one gloved finger.  
"I love him very  much," she whispered.

She turned to the tray of instruments waiting next to 
her.  She lifted the  scalpel, preparing to make the 
Y-incision that would begin the autopsy.  She  
worried, as she sometimes did, that the work she did 
was somehow  disrespectful to the dead.  She smoothed 
Teena Mulder's hair back.  "I'm  sorry, but he needs 
to know."

*********

Scully took a cab back to the motel.  There was no 
sign of their rental car.   She entered her room and 
just to be sure, opened the connecting door to  
Mulder's room.  It was empty.  She sighed and moved 
toward the bathroom.   Weary beyond belief, she peeled 
off her clothes and dropped them in a heap on  the 
floor.  Stepping under the scalding spray of water she 
leaned her head  against the shower wall.  

<Oh, God> she thought.  <How do I tell him?>

Hot tears rolled down her face and she wept 
uncontrollably.

*********

She was wearing her robe, combing the tangles out of 
her wet hair when she  heard the car pull up outside.  
A minute later Mulder was tapping on the  connecting 
door.

"Come on in," she called.  She had splashed cold water 
over her face  repeatedly trying to erase the ravages 
of her tears and while she didn't look  great, at 
least she had restored some of her normal composure to 
her features.

Mulder walked across the room and sat down on her bed.

"What did you find?" he asked without preamble.

"Evidence of a massive overdose of sleeping pills," 
she told him gently.

He began to shake his head in denial.

"I did some research and found the name of your 
mother's pharmacist.  He  confirmed that he did refill 
her prescription.  She told him that she had  left 
hers behind on a recent vacation."

Mulder was shaking his head more forcefully, staring 
at her in stunned  disbelief.

"I'm so sorry, Mulder," she whispered. "It was 
suicide."

Mulder jumped to his feet.  "No!" he cried out.  
"You're wrong!  My mother  wouldn't..."

"Mulder," Scully cut him off gently.  "There's no 
evidence of any other cause  of death."

"Scully it was THEM!  My mother was strong, she would 
never take her own  life."

"Mulder, there is nothing to indicate anything other 
than suicide.  Your  mother was in good physical 
condition for a woman her age, despite having  
suffered that stroke a few years ago.  No sign of foul 
play.  No bruising, no  needle marks, nothing but..."

"THEN YOU MISSED SOMETHING!" he roared.

"Mulder, I--I didn't.  I..."

He grabbed her by the arms and yanked her close.  
Their faces were only  inches apart.

"*They* did this and once again, you are refusing to 
believe!  You were  reluctant to do the autopsy in the 
first place and you did a half-assed job.   You missed 
something Scully!"

He shoved her away from him and sank back onto the 
bed.

Angry words sprang to her lips as she prepared to 
defend herself.  She  stopped and her shoulders 
slumped.  He was holding his head in his hands.

"She wouldn't she wouldn't she wouldn't," he repeated.

Scully dropped to her knees in front of him and put 
her hands on his legs.   He lifted his eyes to her, 
his lashes spiky with tears.

"Why, Scully?" he sobbed.

"Oh Mulder, I wish I knew."

He banded his arms tightly around her.  She lifted her 
arms around his neck,  stroking his hair and holding 
him close.  He wept bitterly against her  shoulder and 
she cried with him.

Finally the storm of tears seemed to lessen. He 
exhaled shakily and turned  his face into her neck.  
She continued to hold him, feathering her fingers  
through his hair whispering soothing nonsense until he 
quieted in her arms.

He was sagging against her quietly now.  She was 
startled to feel him press  his lips against her 
throat.  Long seconds passed and then she felt his 
mouth  again.  She shivered and tightened her arms 
reflexively around him.

"Scully," he whispered and then he opened his lips and 
traced his tongue over  the pulse point just below her 
jaw.  He nudged the collar of her robe aside  and 
began to suck lightly on her collarbone.

"Mulder," she moaned.  "Don't."

"Please don't send me away," he pleaded.

She lost her struggle to think coherently when he 
cupped her breast through  the thin silk of her robe.

Mulder lifted her onto the bed and stretched out next 
to her.  His fingers  fumbled with the belt of her 
robe but she was distracted by his roving lips.   She 
gasped as the cool air hit her overheated flesh.  Her 
face flamed as she  realized that he had bared her to 
his gaze.

"Mulder..." she began but her protest was choked off 
when he closed his hot  mouth over the tip of one 
breast.

She groaned again as a wave of sensations threatened 
to overwhelm her.   Summoning all of her willpower she 
pried his lips away from her breast.

He looked up at her panting.  His eyes were dark and 
hot; his lashes still  slightly damp.

"I *need* you Scully," he ground out before lowering 
his mouth to her other  breast.  His hands were 
stroking over her flesh feverishly.  She was lost in  
a haze of want and need and was dimly conscious of him 
fumbling with the  fastening of his jeans.  

She felt rough denim scraping against the soft skin of 
her inner thighs and  gasped as he settled his weight 
on her, pushing his way into her body.

He groaned and buried his face in the pillow under her 
head as he began to  move over her.  Scully wrapped 
her arms and legs around him and held on as he  
struggled to find his release.   He cried out and 
shuddered, then collapsed  in a sweaty heap into her 
embrace.

She held him close, running soothing hands up and down 
his back and waited  for him to speak.  When he didn't 
say anything, she nudged him gently.

"Mulder," she called.

He sighed against her neck and she realized that he 
had fallen into an  exhausted slumber.  Her arms and 
legs ached from being wrapped around his  large frame.  
She called his name a few more times, hoping she could 
get him  to roll off of her, but he didn't stir.  
Finally, she gave up and tried to  relax under his 
crushing weight.

About thirty minutes had passed when she felt him 
begin to awaken by degrees.   She continued to stroke 
her hands along his back.  Finally, she felt him  come 
completely awake.  His body stiffened over hers.  She 
heard him take a  deep breath and then he moved, 
pulling the last few inches out of her body.   He 
pushed himself into a sitting position, his back to 
her and she winced as  she lowered her sore limbs to 
the mattress.

He stood and refused to meet her gaze as he began to 
fasten his jeans.  She  flushed as she realized that 
he had never undressed.

Sorrowful eyes met hers briefly and she reached for 
the sheet to cover her,  clutching it protectively 
over her breasts.  

He stuffed his feet into his shoes and scooped the car 
keys into his hand.

"I---I'll.  I'll talk to you later," he muttered as he 
rushed out of the door.

Scully fell against the pillows dejectedly.  She bit 
off a sob.  

"He never even kissed me," she whispered into the 
pillow.

*********

 Mulder cracked open the door and peered into Scully's 
room.  He crept into  the room and settled himself 
lightly on the bed next to her.  The light from  his 
room spilled over the bed.  She was curled in the 
fetal position, hugging  a pillow tightly against her 
chest.  The sheet had slipped down a bit  revealing 
the strong line of her back and he struggled not to 
reach out and  touch her.

Mulder dropped his head into his hands and moaned 
softly.

Scully opened her eyes and peered at him blearily.  
She had wept  uncontrollably after he had left and her 
head was pounding.

He turned to look at her.  "Scully, we need to talk," 
he began.

"You should just go, Mulder," she said dully.

"All right.  I need to talk. You can just listen, then 
I'll leave."

"Please go," she implored him.

"I'm so sorry, Scully," he said.

"Look Mulder, let's just agree we made a mistake and 
try to forget about it."

"No," he said fiercely.  "I need to make you 
understand."

"Mulder, I understand perfectly.  You were upset, you 
were looking for the  comfort of human touch and 
things got out of hand."

"Yes.  No!  Please let me explain," he begged.

She stared at him silently for a moment and then 
closed her eyes in  acceptance.

Mulder dropped to his knees next to the bed so that 
his face was level with  hers.

"I've wanted you for the better part of the last seven 
years.  And there were  plenty of times when I thought 
that you wanted me too," he began.

"But the timing never seemed right.  There were 
moments when I thought it  would finally happen, but 
it...I...never."

He dropped his head to the mattress for a second and 
then lifted his head to  stare at her.

"I love you Scully.  I've been in love with you for 
years.  I've wanted to  make love to you for as long 
as I can remember.  I just didn't want it to be  at a 
time of crisis.  I...God is this making any sense?"

He took a deep breath and continued.  His eyes were 
clear and honest.   "I  don't regret making love to 
you, Scully.  I just regret the way it happened.   I 
wanted it to be perfect and romantic.  I wanted it to 
be joyful.  I wanted  it to be fun.  And I wanted to 
make it beautiful for you."

He hung his head dejectedly.  "I'm so sorry, Scully, 
so sorry.  I hope you  can forgive me."

He felt her fingers brush his chin and he lifted his 
head to look at her.   Scully's eyes were swimming 
with tears.

"Why did you run away?" she asked.

"I was ashamed.  Scared.  You deserve better than 
that."

She fidgeted with the sheet for a few moments as she 
pondered his words.

"Don't ever leave me like again."

His eyes widened hopefully.

"Do you really love me?" she asked in a tiny voice.

"I've always loved you."

She nodded and relaxed into the pillows.  He thought 
he saw an invitation in  her eyes and he moved to act 
on it.

Scooping her up in his arms, he sat on the bed, 
propping his back against the  headboard.  He wrapped 
the sheet around her and settled her in his lap.   
Scully tucked her head into the crook of his neck and 
wrapped her arms around  his waist.

They sat in comfortable silence for a long time.  
Scully slumped against him  sleepily.  She yawned and 
snuggled closer.

"I love you too," she murmured.

Mulder's arms tightened in response.

"Next time, you can make it beautiful and fun."

He smiled against her hair and vowed to do just that.

The End

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