TITLE: His and Hers Alone AUTHOR: Kasey Miller EMAIL: AllThingsX1013@yahoo.com CLASSIFICATION: VR KEYWORDS: MSR all the way RATING: G SPOILERS: Season nine, I suppose. DISCLAIMER: Not mine. FEEDBACK: Of course. AUTHOR'S NOTES: This was written about mid-season nine, before "William" aired. It's how I'd have liked to see it end. SUMMARY: "I'd rather live in his world, than live without him in mine." ----------------------------------------------------- It was time. All the planning, the achingly difficult decisions had been made and put into action. All the resignations, the reasonings, and the goodbyes had been said and done, and it was time. She had subleased her apartment and wasn't too sure her landlord was too upset to see her go. Obviously paying her rent on time didn't make up for all the violence that had occurred over the years. She had donated most of her belongings to the parish pantry and aid society, and was staying at her mom's house to give the three of them time together before she left. Naturally, Maggie was taking her decision hard. Her friends at the Bureau - all three of them - were sad to see her leave, but certainly not surprised. Monica even went as far to say that she was more surprised that the choice hadn't been made earlier. Now she sat on her mother's porch swing, idly rocking back and forth watching the multitude of hues develop in the sleepy western sky while Maggie fed Will his supper. She thought about how easily the decision to leave came, and how quickly the subsequent arrangements had fallen into place. No regrets, she told herself, and there were none. No regrets for the path she had chosen. No regrets for the things she had done or left undone. No more frustrated and helpless tears - those had all been cried out in the past year. All that was left was this warm, tingly, wonderful sense of hope that radiated from her heart. Hope for the future, for her child and for the world. Hope for herself, in finding her rightful place in the universe with the man she loved and the son that served as a constant reminder of that love. As the sun sank slowly behind the trees and the red- gold brilliance of the sky gave way to a dusky dark blue, she pushed away the last shreds of doubt and uncertainty in her head. The screen door creaked, and Maggie came to sit with her on the swing, offering a cool glass of lemonade. "He went down easily tonight," Maggie said. "He'll need the rest for tomorrow." Maggie smiled and put her arm around her daughter. "I told him the faster he went to sleep, the sooner he'd get to see daddy." Scully chuckled and leaned her head against her mother's shoulder. They sat in silence, watching the stars come out one by one. She could tell Maggie wanted to talk, maybe wanted to try to talk her out of leaving one more time. "You know, mom, it's going to be okay," she said. "I know, Dana. You need to be together. I've been selfish, wanting to keep you close...trying to talk you out of it." "I can understand. I would probably do the same thing in your position." "And I would probably do the same thing in your position as well." They sat silence again, a mutual understanding and unconditional love flowing between them. Finally the bugs got to be too much and they retreated into the house for a late, light supper and more conversation. When Scully climbed the stairs for bed that night, she realized that she wasn't really tired. She was too keyed up to sleep, but somehow she forced herself to close her eyes and drift off into slumber. The faster she went to sleep, the sooner she would be with Mulder. ----------------------------------------------------- I'd rather live in his world, than be without him in mine. All aboard - one world - her man - his girl ----------------------------------------------------- AUTHOR'S NOTES: This story was based on the above lines from The Indigo Girls' rendition of "Midnight Train to Georgia." When a song speaks, you have to listen. Props to my fan fiction idols: Shannon Kizzia, Bonetree, Susan Frankovich, Char Chaffin, and Donnilee. Thank you for sharing your many gifts with us. Shout-out to my girl Adrianna - stay real and be true to yourself. And finally, no author's notes of mine would be complete without acknowledging the wind beneath my wings, my one in six billion, my constant, my touchstone, the Scully to my Mulder: Aimee. I know you don't like "Midnight Train to Georgia" - something about the unfortunate timing of the "woo woooo!" - but I love you bunches anyway. Thanks for everything.