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Title: Another Year Summary: It's another hard Christmas for Mulder. "So many 25th's of December Just as many 4th of July's And we're still holding it together It only comes down to you and I... "Fox, Fox, wake up!" Fox Mulder opened his eyes to see his little sister Samantha bouncing on the end of his bed. "Fox, it's Christmas!" Samantha announced happily. Fox looked over at the clock, which read 5:15 a.m. "Sam, we're not supposed to get out of bed until seven," he reminded her regretfully. Their father had told them not to get out of bed until seven at least, or they would *not* have a Christmas. Her bright smile faded."Well...I guess we can at least look!" Fox relented. If they were quiet, Bill Mulder wouldn't know they were awake. Fox grinned, and slid out of bed onto the cold floor. He followed Samantha out of the room they shared onto the staircase. The brother and sister peered over the railing at the Christmas tree, which cast a soft glow over the room. Fox saw the presents under the tree, and wondered if he'd gotten the baseball glove he'd wanted. Bill had hinted about it..."Fox, can we at least look at the presents?" Samantha whispered. Fox bit his lip. He really didn't want his dad to get mad, but...it was Christmas! How mad could he get? "Yeah," Fox answered, so they snuck quietly down the stairs, making sure not to step on the creaky one. When they reached the bottom, Samantha dashed forward, eager to see all the gifts. Fox followed close behind. "Ah-hem!" Fox gasped, and turned slowly around. Bill was standing in the living room doorway. Samantha dropped the package she was holding. "What did I tell you about this morning?" Bill asked angrily. "You-you," Fox didn't know what to say. He didn't want to make it worse, but his dad hated lying. "You said we couldn't get up until seven." "And what time is it?" Bill continued. "Five thirty," Fox muttered. "Why did you disregard my orders?" Bill asked. Samantha's eyes widened, and she looked terrified. "I said it was okay. I told Samantha we could come down early," Fox tried to explain. What was the problem? They had just gotten up a little early on Christmas, he thought. "Samantha, go upstairs," Bill commanded icily, and Fox's sister obeyed. She ran up the stairs, almost tripping, and disappeared into the room the siblings shared. Then Bill turned to Fox. "Why?" Fox thought frantically. "I thought it would be okay. It's Christmas..." "So you disobeyed me because it's Christmas? What did I tell you I would do?" "We wouldn't have a Christmas at all," Fox said quietly. "Did you believe me?" "Yes, but-" "So you didn't listen to me because you thought I would go easy on you?" Bill didn't give his son a chance to answer before hitting him squarely in the face. Fox closed his eyes, waiting for his father to continue. He did. Blows rained down on his chest and arms, and Fox tried not to scream. His father would just think he was a weakling, and that would make it worse. Finally, he was finished. "Go upstairs with your sister," Bill told him. Fox nodded and trudged up the stairs, trying to ignore the pain all over his upper body. He entered his room and collapsed on his bed. "Fox?" Samantha said softly. Fox held in his tears, not wanting to scare his little sister. "Yeah?" he asked raspily. "I'm sorry," Samantha broke down into sobs, her small body trembling. Fox sat up painfully, and went over to her. "It's okay, Samantha. It's okay," he tried to comfort her. She looked at him, face streaked with tears. "I ruined Christmas," she sniffled. Fox smiled wearily. "No, you didn't," he told her. "And you still have one present." "Really?" her face brightened. Fox dug under his bed, and pulled out a wrapped box. He handed it to Samantha, who tore it open. "Stratego?" "I'll teach you how to play, okay?" Fox offered. Samantha smiled, and gave him a hug. He winced. "I'm sorry, Fox, I'm sorry!" Fox smiled through tightly gritted teeth. "I'm fine." "I know you can still remember Mulder sighed. He was sitting alone in his apartment, watching black and white reruns of old Christmas movies. That had been the last Christmas they had had as a family, before Sam had been taken. He grimaced, and poured himself another drink. It wasn't fair. He missed her so much...It was hard at this time of year, especially. Watching everyone have fun, all the families... The movie ended, and the silent credits rolled. Mulder switched off the TV, and sat in the growing darkness. He was so alone...Even Scully had things to do a family party the next day. The small apartment was so quiet. He turned on the radio, dreading the sugary Christmas carols that they always played. They all seemed so ironic tonight, and every one reminded him of Samantha, and things he had lost. Why did this happen to him? Whenever he found something, someone, he lost. His life was so lonely...his only friend was his work partner. Scully. Why did she stay with him? Didn't she get tired of chasing all the aliens, the conspiracies, that never came true? Didn't she get sick of sacrificing so much for a quest that wasn't even hers? But if she really cared about him, wouldn't she be here tonight? Wouldn't she see how hard this was for him? No, Mulder thought. She has her own life...I'm lucky she stays with me as much as she already does. He decided to do something, rather than wallow in his despair. He stood and crossed shakily over to the computer. The internet greeted him with a cheery "Happy Holidays!" He typed in the address to the chat room he usually went to, doubting that anyone would be there. They were all of having Christmas celebrations, most likely. Chat# 10131121 Spooky1 has entered the room "Another year has gone by Scully opened the door to find a dejected looking Mulder standing in the hallway. "You okay?" she asked, inviting him in. "Yeah. I'm fine," Mulder answered, trying not to sound rude. "I thought we could watch some Christmas movies or something," Scully said. "That works," Mulder agreed, even though that was one of the last things he wanted to do. Right after returning to his empty apartment...He sat next to Scully on the couch, and they started watching yet another sappy Christmas movie with a heartwarming plot. Evidently the man had three days to prove that he really loved his wife or something. It was one of the most boring movies Mulder had ever seen... Halfway through the movie Scully looked over to find Mulder slumped against the side of the couch, fast asleep. She quietly stopped the movie and stood up, careful not to disturb her partner. She wondered if he knew that she knew how hard it was for him...and she was the only person he had. Smiling sadly, Scully covered Mulder with a blanket, and whispered, "Good night Mulder. I hope you don't dream tonight." "I've never been much for occasions "Mulder, wake up!" Mulder opened his eyes to see Scully standing in front of him, holding a steaming cup of coffee, which, after he sat up, she handed to him. "Sleep okay?" Scully continued. "Uh, yeah. Thanks," Mulder answered, trying to ignore the pain in his head. "What time is it?" "Ten thirty," Scully informed him. "You missed your...family thing! I'll get going so you can be on your way," Mulder felt guilty. He hadn't really wanted Scully to miss out on her life for him. He stood and stretched. "Mulder," Scully began. "I'm not going." He stopped. "What? Why?" "I'm going to stay with you," Scully answered softly. "Scully...you don't have to do that. Really. I'm fine," Mulder protested. "Yeah, but you're my best friend. So I want to spend Christmas with you," Scully said. "Anyway, we have to open presents!" Mulder noticed a small tree in the corner of the room. He gave a half-grin. "Scully..." Mulder began. "Hm?" Scully was walking over to the tree. "Thanks." "We're partners...this is what we do." Mulder grinned in response and joined her in front of the tree. "And we're still holding hands when we're walking The End Author's note: Sigh. I know the song didn't fit with the story perfectly...just pretend it does, okay? The Christmas movie plot is real...my *darling* sister taped it over one of my X-Files tapes. I was rather annoyed. So I wrote this instead of watching it. Please review! glass_november@hotmail.com If you really have the urge, you can flame. I'll take it like a woman... "And I dream one day I'll find the one Who lives inside my mind They feel the same way too We've all been used." ~Catatonia, "Dazed, Beautiful, and Bruised"
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