Title: Travelers: Just Outside of Fate Author: Susan E-mail: susanf34@comcast.net Rating: G Classification: post-ep vignette for The Truth, first in an occasional series Spoilers: brief references to Fight the Future, Detour, and Paper Clip Archive: No archive without permission. Disclaimer: These characters belong to each other, not me. Author's notes at the end. Summary: Is it fate that's continued to lead them down this path all these years later, or is it something simpler? ******************************************************** Just Outside of Fate by Susan ~~~~~ 1:08 am Interstate Highway 30 In front of them the moon hangs just beneath the clouds, its soft orange glow illuminating the sky. It seems rounder than usual tonight, he thinks as he clutches the steering wheel and drives on yet another highway through yet another town. They're in Texas tonight, and she's been beside him dozing for the last fifteen minutes, her head awkwardly rolling to the side, then forward and back again. He likes that she can so easily relax in the car this way, but hates that she has to, just as he hates that they have to drive in the shadows like this every night now. It's been three days since they became Jack and Anna, a newly married couple on their way to Memphis, Tennessee for their honeymoon. Three days since they became partners and lovers again, since they wept over the loss of their son. Three days since they became fugitives. "Mulder?" she says, her voice drowsy with sleep as she shifts in her seat. "Go back to sleep, Scully," he whispers, turning to look at her. "Where are we?" she asks, rubbing her eyes and yawning. "A few miles northeast of Dallas," he replies, tightening his grip on the steering wheel as he thinks back to what happened to them the last time they were in this same area. He'd almost lost her twice because of this place. The bombing at the FEMA offices, and then there was that damn bee that got inside her shirt. The same damn bee that nearly cost them both their lives. "You okay, Mulder?" she asks, noticing the subtle change in his demeanor. "Yeah, I'm just a little tired, that's all." "Let me drive. You've been at it for awhile." "You need to rest, Scully," he protests, though he knows he really should get some sleep while he can. "And you need to stop being so stubborn. Now pull over at the next stop so we can switch places," she says firmly as she sits up straighter, brushes her hair back. "I guess I could get off at one of the next exits," he says with a yawn. She thinks for a moment, then asks, "If I do take over the driving for awhile, are you actually going to sleep, or are you just going to close your eyes and pretend to so I won't bug you anymore?" He smiles at the woman beside him, the woman who's given up everything for him, the woman he can't live without. The woman who knows him better than anyone. He pats her thigh, squeezes her knee, letting his thumb brush over the outside curve of it, then replies, "I'll sleep...but if you get tired, you wake me." She places her hand over his. "I won't get tired." He remembers when she said the same thing to him the night they were stranded out in the Florida woods. How she talked to him about her cancer and the possibility of it raining sleeping bags. How she held him in her arms and sang to him. Nearly five years have gone by since then, yet he remembers it as if it happened yesterday. Just as he remembers so many other things from their life together before they became Jack and Anna Fleming from Cheyenne, Wyoming. "You sure you're okay, Mulder?" Of course, he isn't really okay, and he hasn't been since the trial, but he won't tell her that. He won't tell her that he wishes for his life back again, that he misses all the mutants and monsters, the late night stakeouts, the budget motels. That he misses getting the chance to be a father. And he won't tell her how afraid he is of not being able to stop the world from ending. No, he won't tell her such things, not when she's already given up so much for him. Instead, he'll simply answer the way she usually does, then tuck his emotions back into those dark faraway corners he never lets her see. "I'm fine, Scully." "Okay," she says quietly, though he knows she wants to say more. "You know, I think I see something ahead about the next exit coming up," she remarks, gently squeezing his fingers. "I think you're right. I see it too," he says, brushing his thumb on her knee again, then putting his hand back on the steering wheel. He drives a little farther, and slows as they both read the sign at the same time. Fate Exit 1 mile Of all the cities they've driven by, of all the small towns they've spent time in over the years, how appropriate that when their lives are in such chaos they would stumble upon this one right now. Fate. Such a little word, but one that has played a large part in their lives over the years. Seven years ago, he remembers crouching down beside her in a hospital room and telling her that he didn't think the things that happened to them were about personal choice, that they were about fate. At the time, he believed it to be true. But is it fate that's continued to lead them down this path all these years later, or is it something simpler? He doesn't know, and maybe he never will. But he knows that right now he's with the person he's meant to be with. Just as he knows that no matter what happens in the future, no matter how much their lives change, he won't let them be separated again. Ever. Suddenly feeling more hopeful than he has in days, he looks ahead to the upcoming exit ramp, then flips on the turn signal. "So, what do you say, Scully? Should we stop here for the night and take a chance on Fate?" he asks, slowing down as he approaches the turnoff. Leaning back in her seat, she considers the implications of his question, then looks over at him, and smiles. "I think we already have." ~end~ *Yes, there really is a town in Texas called Fate, and yes, it really is northeast of Dallas.:) You can read more about it here: http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/FF/hlf9.html Thanks so much for reading. Your support means more than I could ever say. possibilities http://possibilities.bravehost.com/ the bare essentials http://www.geocities.com/filesfan34/ Originally posted November 2004.