Title: Late Shift
Author: Susan
E-mail: touchstone98@tx.rr.com
Classification: Christmas vignette
Episode: How the Ghosts Stole Christmas, a small
amount of dialogue from the episode was used
Archive: No archive without permission.
Disclaimer: On paper, these characters aren't 
mine. In my head, they are.

Summary: And then tonight happened...
***********************************************

Late Shift
by Susan
~~~~

On the wall, the clock struck twelve, signifying 
the official start of Christmas.

On the couch, he sat, alone with his thoughts.

They were a dangerous thing, his thoughts, because 
they were about her again, about what had been 
going on between them lately.

Stolen glances from across the room when she 
thought he was too busy to notice. 

Two buttons unbuttoned at the top of her blouse 
instead of one. 

Wearing cologne and picking out ties to go with 
his suit that he thought she'd like instead of 
just grabbing the first one he saw.

There had been a subtle shift in their relationship 
the last few weeks, a slow and cautious movement 
towards something deeper than what they already 
had, and though he wasn't sure where it would lead, 
he liked it.

And then tonight happened...

Tonight he had tricked her into meeting him at a 
haunted house on Christmas Eve because he wanted 
to be with her.

Tonight she had chosen to stay there because she'd 
wanted to be with him too.

And tonight they'd both shot each other and admitted 
that they were afraid, not of dying, but of being 
without each other.

And then just like that, they *were* without each 
other, each of them driving home alone without 
another word about it.

His shoes and jacket still on, he sank even further 
down into the couch, staring at the black and white 
images on the television but not really watching 
them.

Though he knew that what had happened to them 
earlier at the house wasn't real, so much of it 
had felt real, and it scared him more than he 
cared to admit.

Maurice was right. 

He had been lonely tonight, lonely enough to 
deceive the one person who trusted him with her 
life, and yet in the end, he had ended up alone
again anyway.

Just then there was a knock on the door.

It was too late to be anyone else but her, but 
still, he approached the door with caution, 
preparing himself for the disappointment if it 
wasn't.

And then there she was, still wearing the same 
clothes she had on earlier, her jacket loosely 
hanging on her small frame, her eyes dark with 
exhaustion. "I um... I couldn't sleep."

He immediately put his arm around her then, 
ushered her inside, and closed the door. He 
could feel her shoulders relax almost instantly, 
though the expression on her face was anything 
but relaxed. "None of that really happened out 
there tonight...that was all in our heads, 
right?"

No, they hadn't really shot each other, and no, 
they hadn't really been soaked in blood and 
dying on the floor, but she'd admitted to him 
that she was afraid of being without him.

And that was real.

It was real and honest and unguarded.

And it was one of the most important things 
she'd ever said to him.

"It...it must've been," he replied, wanting to 
say more, but keeping the words to himself.

They talked some more then, their personal 
revelations about what had happened earlier 
hovering near the surface and creating an 
awkward silence between them.

But only for a moment.

"I know that we said we weren't going to 
exchange gifts, but uh...um, I got you a little 
something," he said, walking over to the 
fireplace mantle and shyly smiling as he picked 
up a nicely wrapped gift and held it out to her.

"Mulder..." she said, clearly touched by his 
gesture.

"Merry Christmas," he replied, pleased with her
response.

A sheepish grin spreading across her face, she 
reached into her pocket and pulled out a gift 
for him too. "Well, I got you a little something 
too," she admitted.

The loneliness he felt just a few short minutes 
ago instantly gone, he excitedly took her present 
and shook it, trying to guess its contents.

And she happily accepted his gift to her, the two 
of them hurrying over to the couch with their 
treasures.

Sitting down at almost the same time, the cushion 
beneath them shifted just enough so that their 
legs were now touching.

And then without hesitation, their hands were 
touching too, his fingers softly squeezing hers. 
"Thanks...for this," he said, smiling as he let 
go, then shook the present again. "And for tonight."

"Thank *you*," she replied, her lips curving into 
a mischievous grin as she gently shook her package, 
then suddenly tore a big chunk of paper off of it. 
"Merry Christmas, Mulder."

Taking her cue, he playfully ripped into his own
gift and laughed. "Merry Christmas, Scully."


~end~


Merry Christmas! I hope all of you have a safe
and joyous holiday.:)

possibilities
http://possibilities.bravehost.com/


Originally posted December 2010.