Subj: New: Beyond Reason (1/1)
Date: 8/11/99 5:51:43 AM Central Daylight Time
From: shoshana1013@excite.com
Sender: owner-x-files-fanfic@lists.x-philes.com
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TITLE: Beyond Reason (1/1)
AUTHOR: Shoshana
EMAIL ADDRESS: shoshana1013@excite.com
DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT: Anywhere
SPOILER WARNING: None
RATING: PG
CONTENT STATEMENT: MSR
CLASSIFICATION: VR
KEYWORDS: Mulder/Scully romance
SUMMARY: A conversation in the car.
DISCLAIMER: These characters do not belong to me.
Beyond Reason
By Shoshana
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sometime this summer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Mulder?"
"Hmmm, what?"
They were travelling down the interstate in western Ohio, scattered trees
dotting the flat, rock-strewn plain outside their windows.
"Have you ever been in love with someone beyond all reason?"
Mulder's hands clenched at the wheel, a lump clogging his throat.
She waited patiently for him to reply, watching as his mouth opened and
closed several times. He was suddenly inarticulate, unable to process this
question through the flowchart of his mind.
"Uh, uh, Scully. Why, why do you ask?"
"Just curious," she said, still cool and collected on her side of the roomy
Crown Victoria. Finally, a decent car for road trips. Good riddance Ford
Taurus, hello luxury.
She almost thought that he wasn't going to answer her, that he was just
going to evade the question and change the subject.
But after a few minutes, he said, "Yes, Scully I have been in love with a
woman beyond all reason."
"Did she ever know?" she asked, innocently.
"I don't know." He paused, eyes still on the road, as they had been ever
since she'd posed her inquiry.
"Did you want her to know?" Scully's voice was gentle, probing.
"I think I did."
"Did. You don't want her to know now?"
"I'm not sure. I'm not sure I can tell her how I feel. There's more
involved than just the two of us."
"What would that be, Mulder?"
"Other people in our lives, tasks to complete. It's a ongoing complex
equation. My mathematics skills are sorely lacking since high school..."
"Does she have arithmetic ability of her own?"
"Yes, yes. She certainly does."
"Then, why not let her complete the equation? Sounds like you haven't given
her the opportunity to know what the variables are, where x and y take up
residence in the scheme of things."
"X and y stay in constant communication, but they rarely get too close to
one another. They have to maintain a certain distance from one another to
function."
"Function as?"
"As individual variables. They're changeable, not static. They value their
independence, their autonomy. And their value can differ from day to day,
especially to one another," he said.
"So x and y value one another."
"I think they do, Scully."
"What do you think determines that?"
"Day to day interaction. Fluidity to their lives. They're never quite sure
where or why they exist some days. Other days, they're absolutely certain
of their own validity, their reason to go on..."
He sighed deeply, wondering how much longer she could draw out this
conversation.
"Could they go on without one another?"
"I don't think so, Scully. I think one needs the other to exist."
"So, they would cease to exist without one another?"
"I think so." His voice was soft, frail now.
"Is that reasonable?"
"No," he said faintly.
"So they need each other in order to exist. And there is no valid reason
for that need, that need that assures their continued existence?"
"I guess."
"So, Mulder... There's no valid reason for x and y to remain together. So,
why *do* they stay with one another?"
She was pushing the argument to its one logical conclusion.
He knew that, but had no choice in how he should answer her.
"They are together beyond all reason."
"Oh," she said quietly.
He slowed the car down gradually, pulling over to the smooth shoulder of the
interstate.
The sun was sinking in the west, coloring the world with a beautiful summer
kaleidoscope of color, a little red, a little orange, a little dove gray.
Fluffy cirrus clouds puffed their bellies out, all bluster, no threat, just
gentle expansion.
He brought the car to a stop and left the keys in the ignition, still not
glancing her way. He opened his door and stepped outside, his legs a little
wobbly after numerous hours of driving.
He wove around the back of the car and pulled at her car door. Extending
one hand, he helped her steady herself on the pavement, smiling down at her
as she wavered slightly.
Fingers wound around one another and he led her out to a stand of trees,
thirty feet from the road. Leaning against the tallest of them, he gathered
her into his arms, so comfortably and closely that she could witness the
setting sun alongside him.
They stood like that till the colors faded with the day and the night
settled on the deserted highway.
Slowly, carefully, they made their way back to the car, stepping lithely
over natural debris, small rocks and stones scattered along their path.
Their hands never parted, as he entered the car from her side, pulling her
along beside him.
They waited several minutes, silently listening to their own heartbeats.
Then he brought her close beside him, tugging her his way.
He was rewarded with an arm around his waist, a soft cheek on his shoulder.
He started the car and they drove away.
fin
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From: shoshana1013@excite.com
To: xff@lists.x-philes.com
Subject: New: Beyond Reason (1/1)
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Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1999 03:45:53 PDT
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