The Legend Series. . .VI
Parting Legends
By: Jenn Nistor


Disclaimer: The characters Fox Mulder, Dana Scully and Walter Skinner are the property of Fox, Chris Carter and 1013 productions. No copyright infringement intended.

Note: This was originally going to be titled "The Legend Continues", but after reading the last few stories in this series I decided to switch this title with the last title. . . This is now "Parting Legends" and the very last story, which is about 10 stories from now will be known as "The Legend Continues".

SUMMARY: Choices have been made. . .
RATED PG13 for Language

T H E X - F I L E S ~present~

***The Legend Series*** Part 6
Parting Legends
By: Jenn Nistor (Jenn6092@aol.com)
Classification: MSR, A, S

***************
March 27th 1999
5:15 P.M.
Kingston Falls, New York
Rt. 189 off Hw 140

He knew something was bothering her. She hadn't said a word to him since they had left the police station and that was well over an hour ago. Things just weren't going well between them. Sure they'd gotten back to their routine, but the distance between them was never so far. It seemed like she was always in her own world and he wasn't invited. "Scully." he said, glancing at her in the passenger side mirror. "Shit!" he noticed a small streak of red running down her nose, slowly.

"Scully!" he cried again, this time swerving off the road and into a ditch.

"Wha---what the fuck are you doing!" she screamed angrily as they rolled to a stop. "Damn it Mulder are you crazy! Are you trying to get us killed?"

Mulder shook his head and reached out and gently wiped the blood away. "Scully--." he held out his blood streaked hand to let her examine it. "Scully you were bleeding."

Scully pushed his hand away and struggled to open the door. They were in the middle of no where and it was ten below freezing outside, but she didn't care. She wanted to get as far away from him as possible. He was smothering her with concern and she couldn't take it any longer. She didn't know how much more she could take from him with out turning him back to the bottle or swallowing a few bullets from her gun. She was just about fed up with it all.

Turning back to face him she clenched her hands into tight fists and climbed silently out into the snow filled ditch. 'I won't kill him yet.' she told her self calmly. 'Who cares if he's got us stuck in a ditch. I won't kill him. If I kill him it won't look good. I can't kill. I won't.'

"Scully you were bleeding!" he yelled as he examined the damage to the car. "Excuse me for caring whether you live or die." he couldn't look at her. He kept his attention focused on the car as he continued. "I'm sorry for caring about you, but you can't expect me not to worry about you. You won't let me help you for Gods sake!"

She took a deep breath and and wiped the blood away with the back of her hand. "I'm all right, Mulder." she said soft and calmly. "But I won't be when I'm thrown into jail for murdering you!" she grabbed her jacket from the back seat and pulled it on. "I have to get away from you before I do something I'm going to regret."

"Dana!" he cried, trying out her first name in nearly three years. "Scully I'm sorry, the car's fine." he scrambled after her and grabbed her arm. "Please don't be angry. I just saw the blood and I got scared. I don't think I can handle this anymore. I know you are getting used to the fact that you have cancer, but I'm not. I can save you and you won't let me and I don't understand why." he looked into her eyes. "You act like you hate me most of the time and yet you won't even let me help you. You do know that if I agree to Cancer Mans offer you will never have to see me again, right? That's what you're pushing for isn't it?"

Scully sighed and shook her head. "I don't hate you Mulder. I'm just tired." she spoke softly almost too softly for him to hear. "I'm tired of seeing you being torn up because I can't give you what you need; because I can't return you're love the way that you want me to or the way that I want to." she sunk to her knees in the snow and let her eyes fall to the ground as she spoke. "I'm just fooling myself. This job is too much and it's getting so hard to keep facing my killer each day. I think that at one time in my life this was all that I needed, but now." she looked back up at him. "Now I need rest and most of all I need you to tell me that it's okay to die."

Mulder could feel the cold air stinging his cheeks as he watched his partner sink deeper and deeper in to the snow. She looked like an angel, watching over the world. He didn't want to lose her, but he knew he was. Slowly, he reached out and placed his hand on the top of her head. "You want me to tell you it's okay to die?"

Scully's eyes rose to meet his and as they did tears formed. "I don't want to die, Mulder, but it's inevitable." she wrapped her arms tightly around her chest and closed her eyes. "I feel my body dying, Mulder. I feel the years ticking away like a heartbeat and yet the days seem to be streaming by so slowly." she looked up at him sadly. "I'm running out of time, Mulder. The time I wanted to spend with you, but can't. I need to know that you'll continue even when I'm gone. Mulder promise me that my death won't destroy you."

Mulder's breath caught in his throat. There it was again. He had the power to save her and yet he still didn't want to turn her over to THEM. "Your not going to die!" he cried angrily, pulling her up to her feet. Even with out the help of Cancer Man there was always hope. "You aren't going to die, Scully. I won't let you die so stop acting like you are."

Sobs shook Scully's frail body. She needed his comfort, not his anger. "I'm dying Damn it! And I don't need you telling me I'm not going to. I've tried to live, Mulder. I've tried so hard, but I've always known my cancer was there, silently killing me. Waiting to explode like a time bomb." she pulled away and looked up into his teary eyes. "I rather die quickly, like a bullet in the head or a quick death in a plane crash. I know I could die now, here in the snow. My body would let me, but my heart won't stop until I know you'll be all right and you won't give me that. You just keep telling me to live and I do, you never say it's all right to die."

"No, I'm not going to say it's all right to die, because it's not." he knew his words were harsh but he was angry. He tried to stop them but they kept coming. "No, damn it! No your are not going to die. I'm not about to lose you again. I've already lost you twice and each time I've wanted to die. You want to know what will happen to me when you die." he grabbed her hand and pressed it tightly against his racing heart. "My heart will break and I'll keep praying to God, every night, to die. To let me be with you."

"I knew you'd say that." she whispered jerking her had away from his chest. "And that's why I'll continue to suffer until either my heart finally gives out or I die in the line of duty, which ever comes first."

"Why won't you let me save you?"

"Because!" she screamed. "Because I'll be alive without you to be with me. Then when I die I'll still be alone because you will have sold your soul." she took his face in her hands and locked eyes intensely with him. "I can't let you damn your soul and risk the chance of never seeing you again. I love you." the words just flowed like a glass of spilt milk through the cracks of a table. "God help me Mulder, I love you. I love you. I don't know how many more times I can say that with out you actually hearing me."

"I hear you." he started to pull her back to the car but she refused. "Come on, please, we need to talk about this like two reasonable adults and not two idiots who are going to die standing in the snow."

"No Mulder." she jerked away.

"Why?"

"Because I don't think you are capable of talking about anything serious in a mature and rational way." she paused. "You never could before and I don't think you've changed quite that much. You say you hear me, but once again you aren't listening."

Mulder was about to protest when suddenly he realized she was right. Every time things had begun to get serious between them he'd always crack a joke or change the subject. This was his own doing and she had every right to be angry. All he could do now was listen and he watched sullenly as his partner stumbled off into the opposite direction of the car.

He remembered the time she had just been released from the hospital after that tattoo incident. She had said to him that her life was only her own and that not he or anybody else could control it. It was simply her life. He had wanted to jump in saying, 'Well, you're a part of my life, you can't ruin your life or you'll be ruining both of ours.' but instead he had said. 'Was this all because I didn't get you a desk.' Once it was out he had wished he could have taken it back, but it had been too late.

"You're right, Scully." he said to softly for her to hear over the roar of the wind. "But I'm not going to let you die." he turned around and headed back to the car. Once he had reached the car he quickly popped the trunk open and grabbed his over night bag and threw it into the back seat. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Scully standing under a tree about a hundred yards away. He knew she was crying but he refused to go after her. He had hurt her enough and seeing her in tears made him crazy.

"Damn you!" he growled climbing into the front seat and slamming the door. Then reaching into the back seat he rummaged around in his bag until he found what he was looking for. He sighed in relief as his fingers brushed against the cool, smooth surface of a bottle. 'I promised.' he thought, glancing out the back window to see what Scully was doing. But after a minute of debating, and watching Scully sob into her hands, he wrapped his slender fingers around the small bottle and pulled it out. What could one small sip do.

Nothing he thought, or at least he wanted to believe. Before he knew it, nearly the entire bottle was gone and he was half way in and out of consciousness. He didn't know how much time had passed before he heard the door opening and felt someone pushing him into the passenger seat.

"Mulder. . . " he heard Scully say softly into his left year. "You have to stop doing this to your self." he felt her grab the bottle and tossed it out into the snow. "You have to stop drinking. Ever since Kicker told you I was sick you've been acting this way. This isn't going to help make me well."

He forced his eyes open to look at her. "I'm sorry." he whispered. "Please don't be mad. . ."

"I'm not mad." she said laying a soothing hand on his arm. "I'm just scared that you have a problem that you refuse to admit to. You have to quit drinking Mulder. Promise me you'll stop drinking."

"I promise." he said grasping her hand tightly. "If you get us out of the ditch."

Scully laughed and grabbed her phone off the dash board. "What would you do with out me, Mulder?"

"I can't be with out you." he muttered and drifted off to a restless sleep.

***************
March 28th, 1999
The Officer of AD Skinner
Washington DC
10:30 AM

"Agent Scully why isn't your partner here again?" Skinner asked impatiently. "I thought we came to the understanding that he would be at every single meeting from now on or else he was going to be sent back to Quantico for immediate evaluation."

"Ugh--, he isn't feeling well." Scully lied, deciding that she better not mention the fact that he had gotten drunk on the job and she had to spend half the night holding his head over the toilet. "I told him to stay home and get some rest. He was up all night finishing up the last of the paper work on our case and when he came in this morning he looked awful."

"Really?" he quickly opened the file and scanned through it. "Then would you care to explain why everything is in your handwriting and not Agents Mulders?"

She nodded. Why did he have to know her so well? She used to be able to lie to him so easily, but now it was getting nearly impossible. She shifted uncomfortably and cleared her throat. 'Damn you Mulder.' she thought. 'This is the last time I'm going to cover your ass.'

"Agent Mulder was up all night finishing up the paperwork on his computer and when he gave me the file this morning I just added a few comments of my own." she pointed to the typed statements. There was no way he could tell that wasn't from his lap top.

"Very well Agent Scully." Skinner said with out additional comment. "Please tell you partner that I hope he feels better and that I want to see him first thing tomorrow morning for a briefing." he paused. "Agents Cameron and Chase will be back in your division as of tomorrow so you and Agent Mulder should have so long awaited rest coming up. I hope Agent Mulder will be using that time to pull himself back together."

Scully nodded. "Of course, sir. All he needs is some sleep. He hasn't been getting much of that lately." she stood up. "Thank you for being so understanding."

"Have a nice day Scully." Skinner said and watched as she left his office.

***************
March 30th, 1999
Basement Office
1:35 PM

Scully stared blindly at the 'I Want to Believe Poster.' hanging loosely over Mulders desk. Earlier that morning she had received the message from Mulder saying that he was going to get out of town for a couple of days and not to worry he'd be back soon, but how could she not worry. She had a terrible feeling that where ever he was, he would be going out every night and getting drunk.

"Stop looking so gloomy." Dani said, as she and Kicker walked into the office. "Mulder is fine. He just needs a couple of days to himself."

"Right." she mumbled, not bothering to even look up at the other agents. "Just like he needs a gun to his head and I bottle of cyanide to mix with Vodka."

"Scully." Kicker sat down in the chair across from her desk. "You don't look well. Dani, Skinner and I think you should take a break too." he reached out and lifted her chin with his pointer finger. "We aren't going to take over the X-Files while you're gone, we're not going to take your place. . . we just think that you need to get away."

She looked up at him sadly. "I don't have much time left and I don't want to spend it at home, wasting away, alone."

"Then don't." he leaned back and smiled softly. "Find Mulder and spend it with him. I personally think that you two need to just go with the flow, kiss and see where it goes from there. You both need to stop running, hiding, telling each other 'I love you, but--', and just hold each other."

Scully smiled. "Okay."

*******************

April 3rd, 1999
2:18 AM
Mulder's Apartment

Scully made her way silently down the hall to Mulder's apartment. It had been over four days since she had heard from him. She had become so worried that she sent Frohike out to find him. She had never been so surprised to find out that he hadn't gone anywhere. He had stayed home, in his dark apartment, probably doing nothing but drinking.

As quietly as she could she placed her key to Mulder's apartment into the lock and slowly unlocked the door. Then glancing around to make sure nobody was watching her, she pushed the door open and stepped into the dark apartment. The only light in the room came from the unattained fish tank in the kitchen. Not knowing if she should turn on the lights or not, she fumbled along in the darkness until she found Mulder's couch. She listened carefully for Mulder's breathing and when she heard no sound she quickly turned on the small table lamp.

The apartment was a mess. Papers were scattered all over the floor and table. Empty bottles of beer and liquor were strewn carelessly about the room. Dirty dishes were stacked on the kitchen counters and the freezer door hung open while it's contents lay cast around the kitchen. "Mulder." she said softly. She knew he was there. She had seen his car in the parking lot.

Slowly but surely, she headed towards a closed door in the far end of the apartment. She feared what she might find on the other end of the door. She half expected to find her partner crumpled on the floor laying in a pool of his own blood, but as she quietly opened the door she found him curled up in his bed. A rare sight for anyone to see.

* * *

Mulder awoke suddenly from his drunken haze. Something felt different. Forcing his eyes open, he saw Scully staring at him from the door way of his room. He shook his head as if trying to clear away a bad dream or a nightmare, but with no such luck she remained there, watching him.

Her eyes weren't full of anger and betrayal like he thought they would be. He half expected her to say "You lied to me Mulder!" or "You told me that you'd never touch another drop. But what did you do? You stopped and the first liquor store you saw on the way home." Those words didn't come, but felt like he still had to defend himself.

"I just had a sip." he whispered sitting up so that he could look at her.

Scully sighed helplessly. "That's all right." she watched as he stumbled out of bed and came towards her. "But I am sorry Mulder, I can't keep covering up for you. If something were to happen to me and I had to depend on you. . . . " she shook her head. "I can't trust you when you are drunk. I can't work with someone who has a problem like this."

"I don't have a problem." Mulder cried angrily.

"Yes you do. . . " she whispered. "And if this is your way of getting back at me for not seeking treatment, you can stop now!"

With out thinking, Mulder reached out and grabbed her arm roughly. "Not everything is about you Scully." he whispered, pressing his lips tightly against her right ear. "And your wish has come true, you don't have to be my partner anymore."

Scully could smell the liquor on his breath. She wanted to pull away, but he held his grip to tightly for her to budge. Tears stung her eyes as she realized that their relationship had gone beyond the boundaries of love and partnership. They had reached the outer realms of obsession and dark passion, something neither of them was ready to deal with. She had thought coming here to suggest that they just leave together, and forget about the bureau and the X-Files would solve everything. If she had only opened her eyes to the real problem. They were beyond help.

"Mulder, please." she pleaded hoarsely. "Please let me go."

He did not loosen his grip at the sound or her pleas. In fact he held on to her tighter. "You don't understand anything." he growled.

Through a blur of tears, Scully lay slack in his arms, finally giving in.. . . " You can't keep doing this to me." she whispered. "You need to forgive yourself, Mulder. You can't keep taking every ounce of your anger out on me."

"I haven't done anything thing to you.. . . ." he hissed. "Why can't you just leave me alone? I left you alone like you wanted me too, so why can't you leave me alone." he held her tighter.

Crying out in agony, she fell to her knees, "Because!" she cried. "I hate seeing you in this much anguish. I hate thinking that I've caused this!" she felt her arm being pulled from it's socket. As sobs shook her body she finally realized the real reason she couldn't leave him alone, just like he couldn't leave her alone.. "I love you damn it! That's why I can't leave you alone and. . ." she took in a deep breath. "And I know that's why you won't leave me alone. I never saw it before. I thought you were being selfish, but I know you love me."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Mulder let her go and fell to the floor, sobbing. "God!" he cried. realizing what he had just done. "What's wrong with me? I could have broken your arm." he could hardly speak. He was begging to see all that he was doing. "I am selfish."

"Mulder. . . . " she rubbed her arm trying to take away some of the pain. "You're not selfish." she studied his face carefully you're my soul mate."

"No!" he cried. "You are making this so much harder."

"What am I making harder?" Scully asked softly.

Mulder knew he couldn't hide it any longer. Looking directly into her eyes he began. "I thought it would be easy. . . " he whispered. "I never thought I could just make the choice and never tell you." he shook his head. "But now I know it's all over."

"What's over, Mulder? What choice?" Scully asked kneeling down to comfort him.

He pulled away quickly. "Don't!" he cried, "Let me finish! The only way to save you is to go work for him. I want to help you Scully." he took a deep breath. "I thought it would be easy to drive you away from me. I thought that making you hate me would help you forget. I gave myself to THEM." he placed his hand over her mouth so that she wouldn't interrupt. "I figured I could drink my self to death so that I didn't have to choose. I wanted to hate you, I wanted you to hate me." he shook his head and looked up into her eyes. "I didn't want to believe in *us* anymore, . . . only I couldn't let you die. I had to say yes."

He was quiet. "If you were any other person I wouldn't have done it. I would have betrayed whoever you were, but you're not some other person. You're my partner." he paused. "You're my soul mate, Scully."

Those words hit her like a ton of bricks. She didn't know what to say so she remained quiet.

"I tried to believe that I didn't love you. I believed it was the truth" He smiled. "But until now I didn't realize that my real truth was here, with me, all along. I couldn't escape from it. Cancer Man gave me a week to get everything in order before I have to report to him and before you get your treatment."

Taking one of his hands in her own, she shook her head. "Your truth has been and will always be your dreams of knowing the truth. Giving into them may help you find your truth, but you'll be selling your soul to the devil at the cheapest price. Is that what you want?"

"No, you don't understand. You're my truth and knowing that I could have saved you but didn't would sell my soul to the devil at the cheapest price." he was silent for a moment. "I could die not knowing the truth about Sam or about UFO's, but I couldn't die and rest peacefully knowing that I didn't save you . . . "

Scully stared up at him in shock. "But, but. . .Mu. . . "

He cut her off. "Damn it Scully! Let me finish." he stood up. "I WILL NOT LET YOU DIE."

She smiled and reached up to run a hand over his cheek. "How must longer do we have?" she asked. "I mean how much time do we have left together?"

"What?"

"The reason I came here tonight was to tell you that I wanted to spend my last remaining days before I die with you." she paused. "Now I want to spend my last remaining days sick, with you." her eyes met his. "You've given me back my life, Fox Mulder. . . I only wish I could give you something."

"You can." he whispered, kissing her softly. "You can."

****************
3:48 A.M.

Scully awoke with a start. Mulder lay beside her, curled up at her bare side. He was sleeping so peacefully, but something was wrong. Sitting up she saw a pool of blood on her pillow. 'Not now.' she thought. She groaned as she saw the dried blood on the palm of her left hand.

Touching her nose, she felt the hot sticky blood pouring from both nostrils. "Mulder." she cried, jumping up. She ran to his bathroom and flipped on the light. Her hair was matted with blood, her face was caked. . .

"Dana?" Mulder knocked on the door.

Scully closed her eyes. "I'm all right." she said picking up a towel off the counter. "GO back to sleep I didn't mean to wake you up."

"Scully." he wasn't that easily persuaded. He wrapped his hand around the knob and tried to push the door open, but it wouldn't budge. "Scully." he pounded on the door. "Damn it let me in." He could hear her muffled tears, but she didn't open the door. To tired to argue, Mulder slid down the wall so that he was sitting just outside the bathroom door. He could hear the shower running and her sobs in the distance, but knew he could do nothing. It didn't take him to long to figure out what had happened, all it took was one glance at her pillow.

* * *
4:25 A.M.

Creeping silently out of the bathroom, Scully slipped off her robe and crawled back into bed next to her partner. He had changed the sheets, but the stain on her pillow case had seeped through and she could just make out the faint sign of blood through the light blue case. Pulling the sheet above her breast, she moved in closer to Mulder, trying to capture his warmth. They had less than two days left with one another. Two days before he'd be gone. Two days before they had to say good-bye. Two short days that would pass like a heart beat.

She rolled onto her side so that she was facing him, then gently, she traced the outline of his lips with her thumb. Pulling back the sheet she studied his lean torso and as her eyes fell on his shoulder they filled with tears. A thin noticeable scar rested on his there. With shaking hands, she reached out and gently ran her fingers over the abrasion. It really hadn't been all that long ago since she had shot him and sowed up.

"You do know you had to do it, right?" Mulder asked softly, opening his eyes so that he could look at her.

"What?" she asked, trying to hide her embarrassment. She had thought he was asleep, never in a million years would she have. . . She closed her eyes, praying to God she wasn't turning red.

He reached and took her hand, then placed it on the scar. . . "This, you had to shoot me." he kissed the palm of her hand. "I don't think I ever told you that I would have shot you to if you were in the same situation." he grinned.

"That's good to know." she said, laughing slightly. Then more seriously she said, "I'm sorry about earlier. . .I didn't want you to see me with blood caked in my hair and all over my face. That's not how I want you to remember me. It looked a lot worse than it was."

"Do you fell all right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, just a little scared."

Mulder sighed and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm not going to let you die. You'll die if I don't do this.." he kissed her forehead tenderly and look deeply into her eyes. "Sometimes I wish that I'd never gotten you involved in my crazy quest for the truth. I almost wish that you were never brought to me."

"But I was." she whispered softly. "And I was for a reason." she pulled away and sat up. "You should know by now that everything happens for a reason. . .that is wasn't just a mishap that we were put together. We were meant to be, and we can't change it." she paused. "So. . it's not working out the way that we want it to. . .life never does. We just have to keep on going, praying and trying. We can't let our enemies win or the whole point of our existence won't make any sense. We'll just be two lost souls, trying to figure out what we are supposed to be doing with the rest of our lives. What do you think life would have been like if we hadn't met?"

Mulder thought about it for a minute, then pulled her back down into his arms. "I don't want to think about it." he whispered, then without hesitation he kissed, long and hard.

**************

April 5th, 1999
2:10 AM
Dear Mulder,

In less than seven hours you're going to be giving your resignation
to Skinner and I don't k now where you'll go after that. Will you keep
the apartment, will you move? Will you stay in DC or will they be
sending you away? When will they come for me? I know we said we
were going to wait and say good-bye at the bureau, but for me, it's easier
this way. As you know saying 'good-bye', for me, isn't easy, especially when
I'm the one causing our separation.
I never thought the day would come when I'd be staying with the X-files
and you'd be leaving. I always thought I'd be the one to leave. Promise me
this, Mulder. Promise me that you'll never become one of those black lunged
sons-of bitches, who sits lurking in the shadows, watching, waiting, and
conspiring. Don't become one of them that waits for the Armageddon. You
could do so much better, but because of me you have to join them.
I love you, Mulder. I will always love you and I pray that you will
one day come back to me. Back to our legacy, to our legend. And even
if the day never comes. Even if one of us dies before we can return, we'll
find each other. . . in death we'll find each other. We're solutes,
Mulder. . . Don't ever forget that. Don't forget that you were a good
guy. Don't forget that you were one of the few good men left, fighting
for a cause that most people have forgotten even exists. You're fighting
for truth.
Thanks you. . . You have given me the greatest gift. You've given
me my life. If they truly cure me I won't waste. I'll continue fighting for
what you have spent your whole life trying to win. Some day, love, some
day.
All My Love,
Dana Katherine Scully


*****************