TITLE: The Darkest Day
AUTHOR: Erin M. Blair
E-MAIL: eblair@sonic.net
CLASSIFICATION/CATEGORY: SRA--Story, Romance, Angst
CONTENT: Mulder/Scully Romance
RATING: PG
DISTRIBUTION/ARCHIVE STATEMENT: OK to Gossamer,
Ephemeral, MSR Fanfic Cheerleaders Archive, etc.  This 
story will be posted on ATXC through ALL-XF. 
AWARD ELIGIBILITY: Spookys 2004 
SPOILERS: This is Not Happening
SETTING: Season 8.
DATE: Completed September 2, 2004.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Thanks to Jen for beta reading
this story for me. As always, I appreciate your help and 
your support. 
DISCLAIMER: Mulder and Scully belong to Chris Carter. 
SUMMARY: The visions kept Scully awake all night. The 
visions of seeing Mulder on the spacecraft, laying on the 
alien table, looking as though he were dead.


------------------------------------
The Darkest Day
Written by: Erin M. Blair
------------------------------------

The visions kept Scully awake all night. The visions
of seeing Mulder on the spacecraft, laying on the 
alien table, looking as though he were dead. A 
long, mournful moan tore from her throat: "Mulder!" 
That piercing scream made her voice rough because 
it hurt her throat.

She wished she could stop those horrible visions.
The visions she had been having lately kept roaring 
through her mind all night long. She got up because she 
couldn't sleep. She wanted so much for him to come 
back to her and their unborn child. 

It was nightfall. 

It had only been eight months earlier that she was with him,
standing beside him and looking up at the nighttime sky. 
She remembered him telling her that there are old souls
looking for new homes.

How innocent those times were. How she wished she 
was close to him -- still.  She had sworn to Monica Reyes
that she'd seen him...as a ghostly figure. He was ghost like,
similar to what Amber Lynn LaPierre's parents had seen in 
their bedroom on that night long ago. 

And how Mulder described his visit among the ghost
children when he saw his sister one last time. Like Mulder,
she wanted her closure and wanted all the chasing around
for shreds of the truth to end. She wanted him back even 
though she feared the worst. 

She missed him so much. Her heart plummeted to the
depths of heartwrenching pain when she came 
into Skinner's office day after day, only to be told that 
there were no leads. No clues to come by.
 
It was hard for her to keep going every single day and 
she didn't want to face the possibility of Mulder not coming 
back. 

But those visions...

It made her fear the worst for him. 

She prayed to God every single night to beg of Him not
to shatter her dreams of finding him alive. She feared that 
there wouldn't be anymore miracles for them. She was
gently touching her stomach as she feared the truth.

The truth that sent shivers up her spine. 

She wanted Mulder. 
She needed Mulder.

She walked outside to look at the sky. She wanted
to think of the things she had seen. Those visions had 
made her rethink her dreams. Now she didn't know how to 
go on without him. She wanted their child to grow up 
with the both of them. She looked up at the midnight
sky filled with the stars that Mulder told her that were old 
souls. "I need another miracle, God. Please bring Mulder 
home to me." 

And she prayed some more to the midnight sky.

-- the end --

Feedback: Much appreciated and loved. Send to:
eblair@sonic.net 

Author's Notes:

This story has got to be the saddest story of mine
yet. I recently watched "This is Not Happening" a
few months ago. I wanted to capture the sad imagery
that Scully must have felt when she saw those visions
of Mulder dead. However, like always, there's always
hope around the corner. I guess that's what I've been
feeling for awhile. 

I hope you enjoyed reading this fic. I would like to hear
what you thought. I would like to thank my readers for
your feedback -- it's always treasured. You're one
of the reasons why I still keep writing. That -- and the
simple fact -- that I truly love writing. 

Most of all, I would like to thank my beta reading/
writing mentor, Jen, for her honest feedback, proofreading,
and letting me know what she thinks of the story. Her
guidance has truly helped me over the years and I strongly
thank her. 

-- Erin M. Blair
September 2, 2004