TITLE: The Other
AUTHOR: Erin M. Blair
E-MAIL: eblair@sonic.net
CLASSIFICATION/CATEGORY: SRA--Story, Romance, Angst.
CONTENT: Mulder/Other. Mulder/Scully Romance. Scully angst.
RATING: PG
DISTRIBUTION/ARCHIVE STATEMENT: OK to Gossamer,
Ephemeral, EMXC, After the Fact, etc. 
AWARD ELIGIBILITY:  Spookys 2004
SPOILERS: One Son
SETTING: Season 7. No Requiem, Seasons 8 and 9.
DATE: Written and edited on November 24 thru November 26, 2003.
The story was completed on November 28, 2003.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Thanks to Jen for your support 
and for your beta. 
DISCLAIMER: Mulder and Scully belong to Chris Carter. The
character of Sarah McConnell belongs to me. 
SUMMARY: Scully fears the unthinkable. Is she right?
Will their love survive? 


------------------------------------
The Other
Written by: Erin M. Blair
------------------------------------

The red panties were a dead giveaway to 
Scully. She held the smooth satin material 
in her hands. It was sleek to the touch, but it 
wasn't hers. 

It wasn't hers...

What was going on? She was supposed
to be Mulder's touchstone, for goodness
sake. 

Not someone else.

She tried to be brave. She tried to hold back
those tears, but she couldn't.

She let it go. The wall had crumbled and she 
needed to get away. Far, far away. 

She could feel his arms around her. She 
wanted to pull away from him, but she 
couldn't. 

"Scully?"

"These panties don't belong to me," she said.
Her tears threatened to break, but she made 
certain she wouldn't break down in front of him.
"Who do they belong to?"

"These panties belong to Sarah -- an old neighbor
who used live across the street from me in Chilmark. She's 
been staying with me until she gets her own place," he 
said. He turned around to face her. "Scully, I would never 
cheat on you."

"You wouldn't?"

"No, I would never do that to you."  He could see
the tears flowing down her face. He knew she was
hurt by the panties and for him not telling her about
Sarah. "She just came back in my life and
didn't have a place to go. She's divorcing her husband
because they couldn't make the marriage work. She didn't
want her presence to be known."

"I thought you discovered another woman to replace
me," she said as she tried to gain control of her emotions.

"Scully, you have me for the rest of your life. Barring any
alien abductions and death, you have me." He took her in
his arms, feeling the warmth of her body next to his. He
leaned in to kiss her on the lips. "You're my touchstone.
Never forget that."

"I won't," she said as she murmured against his chest. "Are you
sure you didn't cheat on me?" She pictured Sarah as a tall,
graceful woman with blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and with
a toned body. She already hated her.  

"Do you believe me?" 

His eyes looked pleading for understanding. "Please, Scully,
believe me." 

"I want to believe you, Mulder. I really do. Finding another 
woman's panties equals cheating in my book," she said.

"Scully, listen to me. I know you're hurt. I -- "

She walked out of his apartment. She had to 
escape. It was the old 'Fight or Flight' mentality 
kicking in. She needed to get away but she knew it
was impossible. She loved Mulder, even though he did
hurt her deeply. She knew she couldn't stay away for 
long but she had to for now.

She was at her apartment when she heard a phone 
ring. It was a young woman. "Dana Scully?"

"Yes, this is Dana Scully."

"My name is Sarah McConnell. I'm an old friend of 
Fox Mulder's. You found my panties at his apartment?"

"Yes, I did."

"I can understand what would it look like to you. Believe
me, that's why I left my husband," said Sarah. "I saw him
actually cheat on me." She paused. "Dana, are you still 
there?"

"Yes, I am. Did you have sex with Mulder?"

"With Fox, absolutely not! We are friends, nothing
more. We used to go out to the beach together on
the Vineyard. But other than that, we're good friends.
I never saw him so devoted to you. You're all he could
talk about." She paused. "Dana?"

"He talked about me?"

"Yes, he did. I'm sorry for the inconvenience about 
my panties. I wondered where they were."

***

She went back to Mulder's apartment. She saw him
staring at the ceiling, despondent. "Mulder?"

"Scully? Is this a dream?"

"No, it's not a dream," she said. "I had some time
to think about everything. I know you didn't cheat 
on me."

"I could see why you would have thought that,
Scully," he said dully. "I know how you felt
about Diana Fowley. This isn't that different." He
paused. "How could you love me?"

"Mulder, I do love you. I was hurt that you would
cheat on me. I thought you did but I know I'd jumped
to the wrong conclusion. I'm so sorry that I ran out
on you. Can you forgive me?"

Mulder nodded. "Yes, I forgive you." He pulled her
close to him. "And I would never cheat on you, Scully.
You're my everything. My touchstone. My reason for
living." 

They stood holding each other in silence, a much needed
silence for their hearts to mend.


--the end--

Feedback: Yes, please! Send to: eblair@sonic.net 


Author's Notes:

I never thought I would write this kind of story - I'm 
always thought myself as the total happy MSR fic
writer. ;) This story came out of me after I read the 
first chapter of dtg's Dreamcatcher. I would like to 
thank her so much for recharging my muse. :) 

I would also like to thank Jen, my beta reader, for
her support and her discussions with me. :)