Title: Essential
Author: TLynn
E-Mail: fallingsky@comcast.net
Feedback: yes, please.
Rating: PG
Category: MSR

Inspiration: That now-infamous picture from 'People'.

Disclaimer: Not mine, never have been, never will be.

Thanks: To Circe for housing my fic at 
http://tlynn.invidiosa.com and for being an all-around 
awesome person.

Note: It's been a while since I've done this, so I'm 
starting small.

* * *

This is it. This is the moment. It's an old, familiar 
feeling, one that brings back memories of a different time 
and place. She's not the same person she was six years ago, 
ten years ago, fifteen years ago. Neither is he. Yet this 
thing has followed them, lying dormant, waiting for the 
opportunity to resurface. She hasn't yet had time to decide 
if she is relieved to see it or not.

The cold, icy wind that pierces through her layers of 
clothing is insignificant compared to the pull of his 
eyes, is no match for his steady gaze; it takes all her 
strength not to meet it.

She's terrified. She doesn't want him to see it, doesn't 
want to have to acknowledge it. But she can feel it taking 
over, can feel it rising to the surface and surely it will 
spill out if he takes one look into her eyes. It took some 
time to adjust to this new life, to overcome the fear and 
uncertainty, to stop looking over their shoulders at every 
turn. But days passed and turned into weeks, weeks into 
months, months into years. They found a certain normalcy 
together, found some modicum of peace, even if was at the 
expense of living in the shadows. The uncertainties were 
still out there, to be sure, but she had felt she'd 
regained some semblance of control over her life. Now, 
though, she can feel what little control she has slipping 
through her fingers even as he takes her hand into his. 
Even his touch is different, is reminiscent of a man she 
once knew and she can feel her heart pound more forcibly in 
her chest. 

She thinks these years have been harder on him than her. 
She wouldn't be able to say when it happened, but somewhere 
along the way, he changed. He's been stifled, forced to 
become someone he's not. The fire once in his eyes had 
reduced to embers, the need to search for an answer had 
waned with each passing year. Her soul ached for him. But 
this new thing he's stumbled upon has awakened something 
inside him again. His renewed energy, almost tangible in 
the air, sends a shiver down her spine. The risks are 
greater than she cares to acknowledge, the stakes are 
higher and the potential losses are enough to paralyze her 
with fear.

For a split second, she considers running. But the thought 
is gone as quickly as it came as his forehead gently 
presses against hers. His love, his need, radiates from 
that point and coats her slowly, filling her entire being 
with warmth; her toes tingle with it.

"Scully..." he whispers.

He is as essential to her as breathing. How can she deny 
him? She once told him she'd follow him all over again. So 
back into the lion's den she'll go, at his side. He hasn't 
given up, so neither will she.

She finally opens her eyes.

"Okay, Mulder," she says. "I'm in."

* * *