#fic: no requiems

[fernegirl]

never coming home | prologue.

↳ summary:

Summoning ghosts, fistfights, shredding on guitar, murders, running from the law, cheap motel rooms, and seeing beyond the veil of the afterlife: what would you do to keep those you love the most? For Sal Fisher, the answer is simple—he'll do whatever it takes, till the very end of the line.

A rewrite of Sally Face's ending beginning at ep. 4, in which some things are different and others are not. Sally and his friends face down the Devourers of God while struggling to hold onto their minds—and one another—despite the odds. This fic reimagines the story of SF while doing its best to remain true to the canon material in terms of lore, tonality, and plausibility.

↳ read it on ao3 here [x]

↳ parings: sally/ashley/larry, todd/neil · genre: canon-divergence/fix-it 

↳ warnings: 18+ ONLY, minors DNI + just as dark as canon, same triggers apply

series masterlist [tba] | next chapter [tba]

The longer she stands outside, her breath forming small clouds in front of her face and the rain creeping beneath the collar of her jacket, the more Ash reconsiders whether coming to this party was a good idea. Sure, at the time that she—well, her roommate—had been invited, it seemed fine. Now though…not so much. She knew it would be big, all of the ragers in the warehouse district are. The promise of live underground music, cheap beer, and substances that she couldn’t spell brings in all sorts of people. 

“Are you sure about this?” She asks, glancing over at Tara who is far more absorbed in her cellphone than the surroundings. 

She glances over at her and nods reassuringly, her blonde bangs bobbing with her head. “‘Course I am. Have I ever steered you wrong?” 

Ash bites back the quick response of ‘yes, absolutely’ but she knows nothing good will come of it. Tara’s sweet. Normal. A  regular girl dipping her toes into a world like this in the name of some boy she’s talking to and she’s bringing Ash along with her. Not that she really minds. The girl is trying. She’s always done her best to connect with her, despite their contrasting interests. Plus, she’d mentioned this being a ‘roomie send off’’ or something like that. A final epic excursion for the two of them before Ash finishes packing her worldly possessions and leaves campus. 

A viking funeral, college-girl-style. 

The gesture had been thoughtful enough to her Ash this far, out this late. Even though now it feels less worth it by the minute. 

“Come on. Didn’t I tell you about the rumors?” 

Tara had. “You did. This is some kind of underground show or something?”

Tara bobs her head again, reminding Ash of a chickadee, golden and fluffy. “Yep. No idea if it’s true or not, but Jared says heard that some band is friends with the guys that are hosting–they might make a special appearance or something.” 

“Any idea who it is?” 

“Sanitary Filth?” 

The name is awful. Perfect for the type of band that would play this venue. “Never heard of them.” 

“Me neither,” Tara shrugs. “Doors should open soon at least.” 

Her phone pings and she returns her attention to it, an excited smile on her face. It’s sweet and thankfully Jared seems to be a half decent guy. She’s happy for Tara, really. Or at the very least relieved that there’s something to distract her from Ash’s departure. 

Really, she’d give anything for the same. It’s not that she’s explicitly not looking forward to her return to Nockfell. She is. It’s been far, far too long since she saw her friends, her family. The familiar trees, cracked streets, and the distinct crooked shape of the Addison Apartments building. 

She misses it. She swears she does. 

Which doesn’t explain why every time she looks at her calendar, at the date next week, circled in red for her homecoming, a pit opens in her stomach. 

Not that she’s looking to self-analyze. No thank you. She’d rather do anything else. 

Which is exactly why she’s here, with Tara, in the pouring-ass rain at nearly midnight, waiting to get into what will no doubt be an underwhelming rock show. 

“This has got to be the stupidest thing we’ve done in a while,” a dry, familiar voice says. 

Ash shivers, skin going somehow clammier. There’s no way that it’s who she thinks it is. 

She stretches up onto her tiptoes to peer over the shoulders of the group in front of her. 

“Really?” A deeper, slightly more nasal voice replies. “Of all the things, this? Come on, man.” 

“Pneumonia no laughing matter, dipshit.” 

“Whatever you say. ’s totally worth it in my book.” 

She knows. In her heart of heart’s she already knows. To see it with her eyes is just a formality at this point because those voices are emblazoned in her memory, resurfacing in her sweetest dreams and most bone-chilling nightmares. 

The crowd shifts and she catches sight of them, her heart stuttering to what feels like a standstill. 

A tall man with long dark hair stands beside a shorter man with electric blue hair.  Fucking hell. They turn, looking at one another as they break into laughter. They’re different from the last time she saw either of them. Both are taller. Larry’s put on muscle and a bit of facial hair. She’s never seen Sally with his hair down before. His mask is the same. Still white except for the pink patched piece. It looks like there’s eyeliner smudged on it, no doubt for the show.

As if it could be anyone but the two of them. She shrinks down, slouching to ensure the crowd covers her, while her mind races to figure out why the actual fuck they’re here. 

Oh. Of course.

“Tara,” she swallows hard, and does her best to keep the shakes out of her voice. 

Tara looks up from her phone, her smile bleached bright under the streetlamp. “Any chance you got the name of the band wrong? Could it have been Sanity's Fall?” 

Her eyes light up wide with recognition. “Yes, that’s exactly what it was, how did you figure that out?” 

“Lucky guess.” 

She smiles again, and is distracted once more in moments. Not that it bothers Ashley. No, she’s grateful that she’s invisible to her soon-to-be-former roommate at this moment. Means that Tara doesn’t notice as she cranes her neck to catch another look ahead.

They don’t notice her. Why would they? The sidewalk is packed. Then again, she doubts that makes any impression on either of them. They’re laughing at a grainy picture that Larry is showing Sally on his phone, their shoulders pressed against one another. They seem…happy. Content. At least more so than the last time she’d seen them. 

Maybe this is why she doesn’t want to go back. Because even in the final days she’d been there, she could feel this…distance. A separation that she couldn’t pretend was either of their fault. 

No. It was her. She couldn’t make the leap of faith into the belief in the supernatural the way that they did. Couldn’t brush off the soul-deep terror that took root in her after she fell into that pile of bones below the apartment building. 

It wasn’t them. The boys were the same as ever. Or maybe they’d grown up. And she hadn’t grown with them, but rather away. 

Still. It’s not as though she doesn’t want to see them. Not as though she won’t go back. She will. They’ll accept her, that much she’s certain of. With warm hugs and dumb stories. Rock music, bean bag chairs, scary movies, and too-salty popcorn. 

She’s just so fucking scared that this time…it won’t feel like home. That instead of a ghost from the past haunting them, it’ll be her. Just a faded version of who she was. 

Her hands shake as she wrestles her cell phone free from her jacket. Fingers numb from the frigid rain, she finds Sal in her contacts. 

To Sally: hey, srry. can’t come back this week, xtra covers at work :( :( 

He might not buy it. She’s told them about her crappy bartending job and what a pain in the ass it is. He won’t question it though, won’t push. 

She stares at the message for a moment before hitting send. She’ll go back. She just can’t tomorrow.  

An obnoxious alert plays somewhere in front of her–a snippet of an overly-loud guitar riff that sounds like it’s been recorded on a tin can. 

She waits, breath held. Nothing good can come from this–from waiting for her message to elicit a response. There is none. Sal and Larry’s conversation about some nonsense involving Gizmo never halts.

Logically, she knows that Sal’s too polite to take out his phone while talking. He’ll check it later, and tell her that it’s alright. That it is too bad, but he’s still so excited to see her the week after. She’ll text the same thing to Larry and get an almost identical response, except with more expletives. 

Like clockwork. No, the boys hadn’t changed. So why is there a pit forming in her chest? 

“Hey, Tara?” She waves her hand in front of her phone to catch her attention. “That boy of yours was going to give you a ride back to ours right?” 

Tara nods, her plastic jewelry clicking together. “Yep, Jared’s driving me.” “Cool, then I might bounce,” Ashley rubs the back of her head, trying to shove down the guilt rising up at Tara’s disappointed expression. “Migraine has been trying to set in all day and I think going to a rock show might actually kill me.” 

Of course, because she’s a good person, Tara’s disappointment morphs into genuine concern in moments, which somehow only makes Ash feel worse. She reaches out, smoothing her hair back from her face, a habit that often makes her wonder if Tara sees her more as a cat than a roommate. 

“Of course, that’d be the worst thing for it. Jared’s almost here. I can ask him to give you a ride ba–” 

“Don’t worry, I’m alright to drive,” she says firmly. “Just don’t want it to get worse.” 

She doesn’t look fully convinced, but doesn’t bother arguing. “Alright, but promise me you’ll text me and let me know you got back safe, ‘kay?” 

“Promise.” She bumps their knuckles in a weak fistbump that makes Tara giggle. “Catch you later tonight, I expect a full report.” 

“Sounds good.” 

She turns, hurrying away from Tara before she can second guess the decision. 

Distance will make it easier–will clear her the cobwebs in her head. Sure, a migraine had been an exaggeration, but she can feel a bit of an ache in her temples that will no doubt bloom into something irritating. 

When her bike comes into view at the far side of the parking lot, it’s accompanied by a rush of relief. She really needs to name it before she sees them, or else Larry will ask and then blurt out something stupid that will stick forever. Just like how Sally’s mask got nicknamed Samuel somehow. 

For a second, she contemplates going back. She could talk to them. It’s not like they’d be anything less than thrilled. They’d hug her like old times–squeezing her so tightly that her ribs would ache–they’d ask about her haircut and her motorcycle. It could be good. 

But she can’t. Not yet. Not tonight, when the perfect moment already seemed to exist in front of her. Without her. 

She pulls her helmet on, exhaling heavily. Nothing left to do but go. 

So she kickstarts her bike and peels out of the parking lot, a little too fast, but it’s not like there are any cars to hit this late.

The rumble of the engine and the rush of the frigid air around her does a good job of driving the thoughts from her mind. 

She’ll go home again. Just not today. 

a/n: thank you for reading the first chapter! i hope you enjoyed it! reblogs are much appreciated and please let me know if you'd like to be added to the taglist :3

[runningfrom2am]

requiem masterlist

“will you still love me when i’ve got nothing but my aching soul?

i know you will.”

summary:

according to coriolanus snow, his best friend had the most beautiful voice in all of panem. she had been training her whole life constantly to get where she was; being up for a residency at the most elite opera house in all of panem. singing was her passion. her true love; and when that got stripped from her in a second, his world became a whole lot quieter. he loathed every minute of it.

based on this request

tags/warnings:

opera singer!mentor!reader (blink and you'll miss it), she's kind of a prodigy!! p cool imo, mute!reader, bestfriend!coryo, friends to lovers trope ooo, mentions of graphic violence early on (particularly the prologue) but after that it's pretty safe, depictions of ptsd/trauma, mental illness and minor suicidal ideation but at least she's not entirely alone, descriptions of minor medical treatments and use of medication.

authors note: i can hear you already- “omg raye, another coryo series? are you crazy?” yes. yes i am. anyway welcome back! third times the charm (not that the first two aren’t a massive success for me) but now for REAL i’m completely departing from the plot of tbosas and doing something totally new. thank you so much to @puredreamagination for sending in the request that inspired this whole thing! i can’t wait to get into this one :). it won’t be as long as the last two probably, but still i think this will be fun as a kind of mini series!

important disclaimer!: okay so let me make something clear from the beginning bc the playlist for this is already flowing- in this au their idea of “opera” music is slightly skewed. the main idea is that it’s old, and takes a very powerful and talented singer to do it justice. aka, if you see adele or celine dion on the playlist or mentioned in the fic, don’t come at me hahaha i know that’s not technically “opera” music but i thought it would be so fun to include. those are just some songs that i think survived the test of time and r would absolutely eat up.

prologue

main series

one, two, three, four, five, six, seven

pinterest board // playlist // moodboards

all your thoughts // let’s talk ab it

masterlists // fic recs // nav (please read!)

follow my library and turn on notifs for updates when i post this!!

-> @runningfrom2am-library

tagging some of my faves!: @that-veela-girl @soulessjourney @keziahcore / @winterrrnight @becauseseaotters @fantasticchaosthing

[chthonicarcher]

btw you can still send me asks on here if you have any requests for these!!

[1/2/3/4/5/6]

[randomfoggytiger]

Collector's Edition: Reworking Requiem and Mulder's Return (Part II)

Ahhhh, Requiem. The episode that drove me to read fanfics after Season 8 wrapped up.

Loose chronological order below~

@amplifyme/wonderland/Lydia Bower (Tooms Gossamer)

“New year’s resolutions?”

Mulder looks over at her with one of his sidelong, appraising glances. “Do I look like the type who makes resolutions?”

“Come on, Mulder. We’re stuck in this car on New Year’s Eve on what is most assuredly a dead-end stakeout all because you’re convinced that one Herman Jiménez is preparing to escort his family to a new home somewhere in the heavens, compliments of a spaceship steered by little green men. Humor me just this once and play along. And yes, I do think you’re the type to make resolutions.”

“Well, see, that’s where you’re wrong. I don’t make resolutions at the beginning of a new year. I make promises instead.”

Pre-Requiem: There is, in fact, no Requiem-- only a stakeout, a debate, and New Years promises.

@cecilysass's Pause (Ao3)

“Mulder?” she repeats.

Very slowly he turns, allowing her to see his face for the first time.

His expression is flat, without affect. He blinks.

“Hi,” she tries again. She scrambles to stand up. “I didn’t mean to startle you. It’s just me. I’m…I’m having a rough time. I don’t have any idea what’s going on. I don’t remember what’s happened.”

He takes a step towards her, and she sees how terrible he looks. He needs a haircut and a shave. There are deep purple smudges lining the bottom of his eyes.

His eyes dart over the scene in front of him: her clothes, her hair, the half-eaten lasagna on the plate in front of her, the coffee table with no dirty dishes.

Something like fear flickers across his face.

Pre-Requiem: Scully is presumed dead for a year, only to be returned missing a chunk of her memories (and unaware she is pregnant.)

@leiascully's (Ao3) Imagine Other Worlds - Chapter 7

She can feel it. She knows there’s no medical reason she should be able to. But she knows, somehow. When she goes to see her doctor and she touches Scully’s shoulder with that expression, it isn’t difficult to gather herself. She’s been through this before.

Pre-Requiem: Not only is Scully pregnant, but her cancer is back. There is no Bellefleur, only a hope that she'll pull through.

Variations on a Requiem

Scully wondered, just for a moment, what had ever happened in Bellefleur. She hoped that Theresa Nemman no longer got nosebleeds. She hoped that Billy Miles had found some peace. Maybe nobody saw lights in the sky anymore and the tourists just enjoyed the salmon and the peace of the deep woods. She didn’t mention any of it to Mulder. He’d want to revisit their first case, sifting through the pine straw for any evidence of the ashy dust she’d found. Some things were better left alone. A town like that needed its motels, and she and Mulder were inadvertent firestarters. But she looked up across the rows of manila folders and smiled at him, and he smiled back, and the magic was still there, just like it had always been.

Pre-Requiem: Mulder and Scully live their lives gently growing older together... until a late-life pregnancy shocks their routine.

@msrafterdark's (Ao3)

Could you write something in which Scully tells Mulder she's pregnant in the afterglow?

He stares at you for a beat longer and you watch as his gaze darts back and forth across your face. To your immense shock his expression nearly crumples before you, his eyes glassy with immediate tears.

Pre-Requiem: Scully tells Mulder about her pregnancy.

I'm not sure when you're accepting prompts but can you do one where Scully has a pregnancy scare with Mulder?

“Well, I just…you told me once that you had little desire to start a family…”

“Yeah, Scully—awhile ago.”

Pre-Requiem: Scully is shocked Mulder is happy at her news.

MSR Ficmas

He looks down at the note again, the one he found on his desk after he came back from a morning financial meeting. He was already in a testy mood about their budget being further tightened, now he just feels ill.

@ Doctor appointment, 11 am. Will call. Do NOT worry.

Pre-Requiem: Mulder and Scully are married; and Mulder is panicking over Scully's latest doctor's appointment.

Ficlets (Tumblr Prompt) - Chapter 103 (Ao3)

Content with his reasoning (oh what a rarity), she relaxes, nods, her eyes immediately growing heavy as she leans against his shoulder. She’s excited to see that house tomorrow, with its beautiful deck and an office and that gorgeous master bedroom…She’s trying to keep an open mind, but her heart has already been sold.

Post Requiem/Mulder is returned early enough to make pampering little first trimester nests for Scully.

@sigritandtheelves/DarlaBlack's

Canticle (Ao3)

She wakes sobbing in his arms, saying “No, Mulder, no!” And when he tries to tell her everything is okay, she rushes to his tiny bathroom to vomit.

He pounds on the door. He calls her Dana until she unlocks it and looks at him with haunted eyes, holding a cold washcloth to her face.

“We’re taking you to the doctor,” he says.

“You can’t go near the ship,” she says. “It’s you it wants.” Then she collapses against him.

Requiem: Mulder listens to Scully's dream and flies home with her.

Ground

 It was science and mysticism and love-magic, combining like a perfect syzygy. It was the history of them, their lives, their suffering, their work, their love, emerging of some dark alchemy into a perfect future person, housed now beneath his palm. “The baby will be like Gibson,” she said: a weapon and a target and a key.

“But it’s ours,” he whispered—it was a question and a statement.

“Yes,” she said. “Only ours. Of that I’m sure.” And therefore so much more than merely weapon, target, key.

Post Requiem: Mulder is returned in the desert two months later, to revelation upon revelation.

@mldrgrl's (Ao3)

MSR 38

Skinner was already on the phone calling for an ambulance.  The gunmen hovered, giving orders to each other to give her air, get her water, find a pillow.  Marita knelt down next to Mulder and put a hand on Scully’s ankle.

“Alex,” she said.  “Find a blanket.”

Requiem: Scully passes out in the Bureau.

Resignation

Mulder had a nagging feeling about returning to Bellefleur even before he boarded the plane. It had actually started when he'd told Scully he was leaving and she was going to stay.  He expected her to put up more of a protest than she had, but it was the look on her face that gave him the first sense of foreboding - like she didn't expect to see him again.  

Requiem: Mulder, acting on a gut instinct, resigns on the plane.

Not Again: Part 1 and Not Again: Part 1 - Gone

“Sir.”  Mulder stops Skinner from turning away and squeezes his upper arm.  “What did that man, Agent Doggett, mean when he asked if it was about the baby?”

Skinner takes off his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose.  He hesitates before he hooks them back over his ears and looks Mulder directly in the eyes.  “Agent Scully used the bureau labs yesterday afternoon to run some bloodwork on herself,” he says.

Post Requiem: Scully is abducted, instead; and Mulder is forced to work alongside a task force that suspects him.

@o6666666's

au where Mulder didn't go....

He picks her up like a bride. “We’re going to the ER.”

“What, no, Mulder, you need to—your flight.”

“Ha ha,” he says. “Very funny.”

“Mulder, I’m—“

“Scully,” he tells her, jostling her around a little to get the car keys from his pocket, “shut up, will you? I’m taking you to the hospital.”

He can tell he’s moved her when she leans her head on his chest.

Requiem: Scully faints in the garage before they even leave the FBI.

Lapsed_Scholar’s Variations

“I must have fainted,” she tried, shakily. “I was feeling a little bit strange, just now. I should be fine in a moment.” Her mouth felt peculiarly clumsy around the words.

Exasperation flared across his eyes, but he kept his voice steady and gentle. “I don’t think so, honey. I had the airport staff call an ambulance. It should be here in a moment.” Honey? In public? It was apparently worse than she thought. When she found that she didn’t have the energy to call him on it, she knew it was worse than she thought.

Requiem: All the many, different ways Mulder could have been kept from Bellefleur-- from heartfelt to frustrated to comic to close shave.

@baronessblixen's (Ao3)

Fictober Day 11 Ao3 Fictober 2020 - Chapter 11

“You let him go alone?”

“No. I- um, I might have caused a slight ruckus at the airport and, um, we were asked to leave. He drove me here.”

“What kind of ruckus, Mulder?” Scully asks, amusement in her voice.

Requiem: Mulder crashes through the hospital, determined to get to Scully's side.

Fictober Day 12 Ao3 Fictober 2020 - Chapter 12

Hesitation drips from her voice. What happened to being ready? He turns his head and rests his chin on her stomach.

“Nothing is going to go wrong, Scully,” he says.

“It might.”

“It won’t.”

Post Requiem: Scully tells her mother the good news (without having Mulder halfway out to space.)

isamariposa's Bullfrogs and Jello

He smiles, and then he's so tired of this.

Requiem: Mulder is too worried to leave, so Skinner calls up Doggett to take his place.

@moonprincess92/Moonprincess92's Are you up for writing some season 7 fluff?

And as it became more and more likely that they would be shut down, Mulder knew that now all Scully had to do was ask him, and he’d walk away in an instant. He wouldn’t risk their lives for anything. 

He certainly wouldn’t risk hers.

Requiem: Mulder leaves Skinner at the airport, afraid Scully's cancer has returned.

@rationalcashew/RationalCashew's Dark is the Way; Light is the Place (Ao3)

He moved quickly to her, barely registering the note in her hand until she handed it to him. Mulder felt the blood drain from his face when he looked at it.

Take your chance. Wave and grin. So many guys just play with sin.

Underneath the typed note was something new: an incredibly detailed eye, drawn in black ink.

Devil eye.

Requiem: Mulder returns from Bellefleur, surprised and delighted at Scully's news. The two barely have time to process before they are thrown into a Deadly Sins case.

@frangipanidownunder/Frangipanidownunder's Already Special

Diana stands, pulls out a file from a drawer. Holds the Manila folder up. “This is a contact list of all the women who have been, and who will be, used as hosts for the experiment. They are all patients of the same pair of doctors. Lev and Parenti.”

There’s a sharp silence in the room. Lizzie Gill spreads her fingers flat on the desk. Scully presses a finger under her nose.

“I know about the IVF,” Diana says and Scully scrapes her chair back across the floor. The door slams behind her.

Post Requiem: Mulder was never abducted; and he and Scully tackle Per Manum and one Diana Fowley head-on.

@ghostbustermelanieking/skuls's

oregon forest

Skinner finds them. They’re somewhere in the desert, and they’re still together. They’re shivering. Scully’s teeth are chattering. Mulder is wrapped around her, his face in her neck, his fingernails digging into her back desperately. She’s gripping him just as hard, and she squints as someone shines a light into her eyes. She’s frightened all over again until she hears Skinner’s panicked voice: “Scully? Mulder?”

Relief fills her, suddenly, and she nods, a little whimper bubbling in her throat, as her head falls limply to Mulder’s shoulder.

Skinner drives them to the hospital. Mulder won’t let go of her hand. He won’t stop touching her face, her hair. He whispers it again, the things she remembers from the ship; he whispers, “I’m sorry, Scully, I’m so, so sorry.”

Requiem: Scully runs after Mulder, catching up just in time to get abducted along with him.

AU where scully finds mulder in the Arizona desert during within/without

He and Doggett seems equally stunned at the whole thing; Mulder had never really expected her to hear him. 

Within: Scully sticks to her instincts and finds Mulder in the ship.

s8's roadrunners AU where it's mulder instead of doggett

She tells him on the bus. After Doggett is finished cutting the slug out of her, because she’s shouting that it needs to be cut out and Mulder wants to do it but he can’t. His hands are shaking too badly. So he holds hers, lets her squeeze the life out of them as she screams, as the cultists pound on the bus, as Doggett pulls out the slug and shoots it. The cultists are dismayed. Mulder can see the flashing lights through the dusty window of the bus. As Doggett runs outside to deal with it all, Scully collapses woozily against his chest. He presses a quivering hand over the bloody wound at the back of her neck, and he realizes only then that she is sobbing. “It’s okay,” he whispers in frantic reassurance, pressing one hand against the wound and wrapping his free arm around her shoulders.

Roadrunners: Mulder is returned in time to rescue his partner.

@wexleresque/hellsteeth's

lost time (Ao3)

“What now?” he says, though it may be to just himself.

“I want to look at the files you set aside for me.” Scully says.

“Do you want to be alone? There might be some upsetting stuff in there. I didn’t see a lot but…you don’t end up in the x-files for just having a really great time.”

Scully shakes her head. “No, I want you to be there. You lived this through it all, too.”

Requiem: Mulder and Scully are abducted together, and returned with seven years of memories erased.

DeadAlive Switch (Ao3)

Mulder never gets the chance to beg Scully to stay in DC. She collapses on the forest floor, wakes clammy and nauseous, eyes glassy. He runs for help, yelling desperately. When he returns, she is gone, stumbling into the forest against her will. 

Requiem: Scully is abducted instead; then returned, "dead." Months after she's buried, Mulder claws her up from the ground.

stellar_dust’s (Ao3)

Threnody 01 - Divested (Ao3) and Threnody - Domani Non Viene (Ao3)

Some time later, empty of tears and drained in his soul, Mulder rose and quickly, deliberately, packed up all of his things.... As he grabbed clothes off the floor, he couldn't bear the thought of pulling his and Scully's apart, of taking hers next door and zipping them into her own suitcase, so into his they went, together.

Requiem: Scully is abducted instead. Not only is Mulder the primary suspect, but he must also grapple with his worsening brain disease and the sudden revelation of Scully's pregnancy.

Threnody - Indelible (Ao3)

With a deep breath, she got a grip on herself. All roads lead somewhere. Eventually, there will be a town, with a phone. She raised herself on shaky legs and began to walk.

Two steps later, Dana Scully disappeared.

Post Requiem: Mulder and his new partner Doggett drive up to Skyland Mountain after a ghost sighting. The ghost happens to be someone very different than he'd been expecting.

amorfati3215/Amorfati32’s (FFN)

Unnamed 1 and Unnamed 2

“We’ll find him,” replies Mulder, his smile faltering. “The Gunmen and their friends are monitoring everything. As soon as there’s any sign of him or the other abductees we’ll know.”

“That doesn’t stop me from feeling guilty.”

Requiem: Skinner, not Mulder, is dragged off to parts unknown.

@writingwell/RocketMan/Darkstryder's (xffics) Second Coming

He was weaker than he'd led them to believe. His head rolled along the seat when Bear spun the ATV around, but Scully was holding him up, trying to keep him from falling asleep.

Post Requiem: Scully and Krycek make a deal over Mulder's return.

@lotsoforangesoutside/@lotzzoforangezoutside/ lots_of_oranges_outside's

Impossibilities (Ao3)

She has half-expected Skinner to stick her with a new partner like he did to Mulder six years ago. That didn’t happen. She’s also thought her mother would freak out about her being an unwed mother and demand a wedding before her stomach starts to show; that also didn’t happen. So many things have been happening that really shouldn’t be happening; talking to her unborn babe is pretty low on the list of things she’s never imagined happening.

Post Requiem: Scully makes a wish upon a genie's ocarina.

@cauldronoflove/thegoodthebadandthenerdy's Gravity, Oh Gravity

the first thing he sees is not scully, but rather the stars. they're a comfort--they're still there and still bright and still patterned how they should be. they burn his eyes and slide down his throat like top shelf whiskey. but they don't even come close.

because the second thing he sees is scully. scully in a shirt he's had to have seen her in a thousand times, the one he thinks is green, but isn't sure because his eyes have always betrayed him. his eyes have to be betraying him. scully and-

and         and                  and

(and his heart stops beating.)

it thunders back to life as he stumbles forward, legs feeling like they've been chopped from his body and reattached in the wrong direction. 

Post Requiem: Mulder is returned as he was taken.

@onpaperfirst's Ao3, LJ) For the first sentence prompt

He’d been pushed out the back of a truck on the side of the 5, just north of Eugene, wearing a thin t-shirt and scrub pants. His tenure on the ship itself had been short. They’d all been taken to a warehouse just across the border on the outskirts of Juárez where he had proven surprisingly adept at levitation but had refused to cooperate when asked to mind read.

Post Requiem: Mulder has been abducted, and returned, by the government.

@enigmaticdrblockhead's AliveDead

Out of some sick inner desperation, his body continues on. Blood still pumping and heart still beating, by definition he is alive. Life. To him it is nothing but lying down.

His right hand almost seems stiff. Fingers are curved upward to show a gray palm. He begs for whatever they can give. He is never lucky.

Post Requiem: Skinner finds Mulder, sick and amnesic, on the street.

@pinebluffvariants/@flukemen/scienceandmysticism's

An idea: scully becomes pregnant but mulder never "dies"

They spend their time in silence, but it’s comfortable. His pupils focus easier and easier and she wheels him around the hospital grounds. He looks up at her from his wheelchair, sadly and adorably rumpled but alive, and she bends down for a kiss. Of course their first kiss in public will be far from home, one of them just this side of peril. It only strengthens her resolve to do it again.

Post Requiem: Mulder is returned two months later, aphasic.

@virtie333's (Ao3)

Dream a Little Dream - Chapter 4

While Aldrich took them on another tour, chatting away, Doggett knew Langly and Frohike were tapping into the building's security systems. Tonight, after dark, he and Byers would sneak in, with the assistance of the computer geeks in the van outside, and do a little search and rescue. 

Post Requiem: Mulder is rescued by Doggett and TLG, and the three take down the Alien Bounty Hunter and speed off to help Scully.

The Hunter

For that past week, however, the Prey had been hunting as well, and the trail had finally stopped here, in Savannah. A beautiful town, if one cared about those things. But the Hunter was single minded. He only wanted one thing. And tonight, he was about to get it.

Post Requiem: Mulder escapes, and is returned in time to save Scully and Doggett.

@suitablyaggrieved/ScullyLovesQueequeg's Ignorance

The backseat occupant made a noise of delight upon making eye contact with Mulder, and Scully steals a glance at her partner, to see a small smile on his otherwise somber features. It was gone as soon as it had arrived, however, and his eyes shift out the window again. The backseat occupant was satisfied with this outcome, and he too turned his attention to the slow moving blurs that paint the window as the car moves along the side streets.

Post Requiem: Mulder is returned a year later, and suspiciously reacclimates to his new life.

@contrivedcoincidences6/Spooky66/geektime66’s AU 5 HC

“Hello Ms. Scully, this is Amy from Holy Cross Hospital, we’ve been trying to reach you from your other numbers.”

Scully’s brows draw together. In years past she would have thought they were calling about Mulder.

“Yes?”

“A man was checked in a few days ago with no id. Today he started talking and asked for you before he fell back asleep, we were unable to get a name.”

Scully’s heart beats in her ears. She knows it’s not Mulder but she doesn’t know who else it could be. 

Post Requiem: Scully tries to move on... until Mulder is returned a year and a half later.

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

[ampleappleamble]

these relationship webs in the style of ryōko kui's for her dunmeshi characters seem to have become somewhat popular, so i was inspired to do a few for Axa and her companions in PoE and Deadfire (with bonus Vela web)! unfortunately i am irrepressibly verbose so mine aren't quite as succint as the others i've seen but c'mon you knew what you were getting into when you married me

[a-cloud-for-dreams]

Omg this just inspired another WIP brb !!

[simonsquest]

After saving Selena from Dracula's castle.

[lionbearfox]

Finally finished this one!! I love these two and their dynamic i wish we saw more of them in game (+ a bonus below the readmore)

[acoraxia]

Su Daji and Erlang Shen being together is not the power couple you think it is. The way that Su Daji comes back from the dead like a crawling corpse and has her own body — granted to her by a god she despises — and now announces that she will never owe him by freeing herself of the chains that would bind her to Erlang.

So what then?

He could let her go and have her be killed by some other god (Nezha, Muzha or Jinzha) and just go on with his life; he asks her to go home with him and when she laughs and spits in his face she's knocked out and taken there anyway. Because he can't let her go out there and be killed again.

And it's toxic in the way that she doesn't pause to ask if he's okay and he doesn't laugh when she's in trouble or anything — they're toxic because she presses up against him and calls him Yang Jian a name that's been dead since he's been called Erlang Shen. Since he fought in the war. Since he watched her die.

And then she has the fucking galls to call him that and then grin wickedly because he is glaring at her and wishing he could stab her and kill her and get rid of her but instead he leans in and says, "Do not call me that unless you want to choke on blood, spirit," and then moves past her. Doesn't shove past her. Doesn't kick her or scream or shout and she hums, satisfied, and will move on to torment him during dinner.

It's not girlboss x malewife it's a fucking huntsman itching to grab his bow again and a fox taunting him by saying she's the last of her kind and her fur would look lovely on a coat and he knows it's true and he knows he wants her dead but he also knows he wants her and she knows that, too, so she abuses it and manipulates him and drapes on top of him from behind and brushes her lips against his ear—and calls him Yang Jian.

And Erlang's sworn brothers come back because Xiaotian Quan is barking loudly and terrified and they walk in to find Daji heading to bed and Erlang coated in blood of silver and red and he tells them he'll be turning in to bed early.

They share a bed.

It might as well be ruined now.

[luckywolfsbane]

I'm playing Hyrule Warriors for the first time. Ya'll. I'm so sorry. All those fics with Cia being fuckin bonkers and pursuing Link/Warriors like a crazy ex girlfriend or something? I didn't believe ya'll. I thought "It's a Zelda game. She couldn't be that bad."

I was wrong. I concede.

I was all "I should play the game to be able to write Warriors better. Maybe I can plan a subplot with it for Requiem." Ha ha. Ya'll, I haven't been giving his trauma enough thought. I knew he had big T trauma. I knew. But I didn't *know.* I have so much work to do. Fucking hell. I have to finish the main plot to plan anything. Fuck. I might have to finish this before finishing chapter 11. Fuuuuuuck

[agent-troi]

Eight Nights of Mulder, Night 5: Miracles

Summary: Scully finds out she’s pregnant… but this time, Mulder is there to share her joy.

@eightnightsofmulder @today-in-fic

ao3 link

“Scully, they’re taking abductees. You’re an abductee.”

She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “Do you want to become one yourself, Mulder? Because that’s what could happen if you go back out there.”

“I can’t let it happen to you again. I won’t. I’m not gonna risk…” he paused to swallow around the lump in his throat. “...losing you.”

Her eyes welled up with tears, and he could feel his doing the same. In unison, they moved into one another’s embrace.

“Don’t go back,” she whispered. “Please.”

Before Mulder could respond, he felt her suddenly go slack against him. He stumbled as he caught her limp body in his arms. “Scully? Scully!”

He saw her eyes twitch beneath half-closed lids. “M’ld’r…” she murmured sluggishly.

“I’m here, Scully. I’m here, and I’m not leaving. You hear me?”

“Mmmm…” There was a light sheen of sweat on her forehead. His panic escalated, and he bent at the knees to scoop her up in his arms and cradle her against his chest. She’s so small…

“Agent Mulder?” Skinner had emerged from the conference room, followed closely by the three Gunmen. Their eyes widened when they saw Scully. “What happened?” Skinner asked.

“I don’t know, I think she fainted.” Mulder could barely hear his own voice over the sound of his heart hammering in his chest. “I’m taking her to the hospital. You guys stay here with Krycek and Marita and see what else you can find out.”

He made it to the hospital in record time, Scully regaining consciousness along the way but still weak enough not to raise more than the faintest objections when Mulder told her where he was taking her. When he told the admitting nurse that he was her boyfriend, Scully raised her eyebrows at him but didn’t say anything. Thankfully, the nurse believed them, so he was allowed to wait with her while they ran a series of tests.

“I know it’s technically true, since we’re together now,” she remarked as she sat on the examination table, her legs swinging back and forth as they were too short to reach the ground. “But ‘boyfriend’ just sounds so… juvenile. No, that’s not the right word. It’s just not… enough… to describe what you are to me.”

Mulder sat in a chair which he’d pulled up right next to the table, squeezing her hand gently as he looked up at her. “If I’d said I was only your ‘partner’, they wouldn’t have let me in here.”

Scully chuckled. “Half the time people assume we mean that in a romantic sense anyway. I think it’s fitting. It describes every aspect of our relationship, personal and professional.” She paused to let out an adorably enormous yawn, and Mulder couldn’t help but smile despite his lingering concern. “And it would’ve described…” 

Her voice faltered as she suddenly looked away from him, down at her feet. “If we’d gotten our miracle, we would’ve been partners in that too.”

Regret and agonized longing pierced his heart, just like it had back in Oregon when he’d watched Scully hold Teresa Hoese’s baby. He’d wanted that for her– with her– so much, but whatever cruel God was in charge of dispensing miracles had decided it wasn’t meant to be.

The door to the exam room opened, and in walked the doctor, who looked like she was trying not to smile. “Miss Scully?”

She handed her a manila envelope, which Scully immediately opened. Mulder looked at the doctor anxiously, too afraid to read it himself. “What is it? Is she okay?”

A gasp caused him to turn his attention back to Scully, who was pressing one hand to her mouth as if she were trying to hold in laughter or tears, or both. “Scully?”

His partner looked up at him with an unreadable expression. “I’m… I’m pregnant.”

She laughed softly as tears of joy slid down her cheeks. “I’m having a—”

“We’re having a—”

“A miracle,” they finished in unison. Mulder pulled Scully into his arms and spun her around, laughing and crying with her. 

“I told you not to give up, Scully.”

“You did,” she murmured into his shoulder. “I’ll never doubt you again.”

He snorted. “Liar.”

Scully laughed again. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

“I thought you believed in miracles?”

“I thought you didn’t?”

Mulder smiled and kissed her forehead, cradling her face as she gazed up at him with wide-eyed joy and wonder. “Well, maybe now I do.”

[winterinhimring]

Harry and Peter, hanging upside down from Harry's glider outside the Oscorp tower: LET'S DO THAT AGAIN BUT FASTER!! *beat* *loud crash* Peter: I'M OKAY! Harry: I'm okay. Wanna try that again? Peter: Yeah! Norman, in a meeting: *eye twitching*

[ellalalala]

It's almost 2 am and I'm exhausted but I wrote 1.4k words... hoping I'll be done with this one tomorrow

[okamirayne]

Wait... There's more btb? What did I miss? Tell me more, please?

Hey there, luv! Not sure which parts you might have missed, so I'm posting all the links below for you. 💜 Here is the totality of the BtB series so far:

◆:*:◇:*:◆:*:◇:*:◆᯽◆:*:◇:*:◆:*:◇:*:◆

༺BtB Masterlist༻

In order from BtB through to HHU

Break to Breathe (BtB part 1) COMPLETE

BtB on ff.net Break to Breathe on AO3

On the Cusp (BtB part 2) COMPLETE

OtC on ff.net OtC on AO3

Requiem (BtB part 3) COMPLETE

Requiem on ff.net Requiem on AO3

Under These Scars (BtB part 4) COMPLETE

UtS on ff.net

Bonus series add-on:

Heaven Hold Us [Post War] WIP/ONGOING [Contination of BtB Series | Can be considered as part 5]

HHU on ff.net

◆:*:◇:*:◆:*:◇:*:◆᯽◆:*:◇:*:◆:*:◇:*:◆

~᯽~ PROFILE LINKS ~᯽~

FF.NET PROFILE LINK: Entire series posted here, HHU updated here.

AO3 PROFILE LINK: BtB parts 1 - 3 posted here.

◆:*:◇:*:◆:*:◇:*:◆᯽◆:*:◇:*:◆:*:◇:*:◆

Hope this helps! 💜

[randomfoggytiger]

Collector's Edition: Reworking Requiem and Mulder's Return (Part I)

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, Requiem. Dear, sweet, why-you-gotta-do-this-to-me, Requiem.

Here are some old school-y AU fics.

Loose chronological order below~

jeri's (mulderscreek)

Whatever It Takes

The Alien Bounty Hunter came to me in a dream. He told me that he knew I was dying; the abductees from Oregon were victims of the same cancer. He told me that he had offered them a deal, and that he would offer me the same deal: I would be abducted. They would gather some tissue samples for tests. Then they would save me.

Of course, I was skeptical....

He told me Scully was pregnant.

Then I woke up.

Requiem: Mulder went willingly, hoping to be cured of brain cancer for his, Scully's, and the baby's sake.

Forte's (Gossamer) Half an Hour

"What's her chart say?" Mulder demands, oblivious to any need for quiet.

Langly gestures toward the nurse's station and scowls. "They've got her chart back there practically under lock and key," he whispers. "We haven't been able to get a look at it. I hacked into their computer system about an hour ago and there was nothing there for her yet except that she was admitted."

Requiem: Mulder corrals Mulder and TLG into good behavior when Scully is unexpectedly hospitalized.

Namarie's (LJ, mulderscreek)

All I Will Remember (mulderscreek)

I hadn't really worried that he would react to this news with anything but happiness, but it feels wonderful, anyway. I am so glad that he's here right now... wherever here is.

Almost as if he has heard this last thought, Mulder sighs and reluctantly lets go of me. "Well, I think we should try to figure out where we are."

Post Requiem: Mulder and Scully wake in the forest, disoriented.

Livia Balaban's Cunegund's Restoration (or, The Best of All Possible Worlds, Really) (1/2) and Cunegund's Restoration (or, The Best of All Possible Worlds, Really) (2/2)

It was all very dramatic, with the sun going down behind the ship, brilliant and gleaming orange behind the slowly lowering cherrypicker....

I camped out at the base of the apparatus, looking up into the ship, trying to learn as much as I could from the ground, but I couldn't see anything. It wasn't until the bucket lowered again that I saw the top of Mulder's head peek out from one edge of the circular opening. As soon as his eyes met mine, he leaned all the way forward, and flashed the most beautiful smile I'd ever seen. I forgot completely about the press, or the slight hollowing of his cheeks, or the dark circles under his eyes. All I saw was pure joy.

Post Requiem: Scully, TLG, Skinner, Krycek, and Morris Fletcher all rescue Mulder and the Bellefleur captives-- live, on national tv. Mulder has a surprise for Scully, too; but the little family can't catch a break before more Syndicate drama kicks up.

Meredith's (Tumblr) Brave New World

Her hand gravitated toward the Fruit & Fiber, but stalled inches from the box when an old memory surfaced of Mulder joking about her "nuts and twigs" breakfast. What would Mulder choose? She thought hard, but couldn't come up with anything. She'd never seen him eat cereal. He might not even like cereal.

She tamped down a wave of sadness. She knew him so well, and yet not at all. When she pulled him back to this world, their new lives would be uncharted territory, spent either together or apart. She tried not to admit the latter was a possibility.

Post Requiem: Scully stays within 50 miles of Bellefleur where she works and waits for Mulder's return.

aka Jake/aka 'Jake'/aka_Jake's

So This is Agent Mulder... (Gossamer)

Agent Mulder smells...bad. The odor reminds me of a place I visited years ago, back when I was serving warrants -- a torched animal shelter. You don't forget a stench like that. Burnt hair. Cooked flesh. Animal excrement. The whole building reeked. The same terrible air of death clings to Mulder now and the stink sets my teeth on edge.

Post Requiem: Mulder is returned 8 weeks later, determined to leave again to help the Rebels. Doggett, more than anyone, gets it.

Widow Orphan (Gossamer)

"Bill was my second husband." She could see this news surprised him. He nodded, eyebrows rising toward his hairline while she continued. "I married a man, a boy actually, named John Parker when I was seventeen. I married him because I was pregnant. Don't look so shocked, Fox. Unmarried girls get caught all the time."

"I'm not judging."

She leveled a glare at him. You better not be, young man. You've got a little surprise of your own waiting back at home.

Post Requiem: Mulder is returned to Maggie's house, insisting she go on the run with him. Turns out, she's rather good at duck-and-diving.

Lara Means's (Ao3) Rescue Mission 01 and Rescue Mission 03 - Comrades

She turns back toward the jet's doorway and extends her hand, then he comes out to join her at the top of the stairs.

Mulder.

Now it's real.

He's thin, too thin. And he looks weak. Scully slides an arm around his waist and he drapes his arm around her shoulder -- he has a cane in his other hand. Together they move slowly down the steps, helping each other.

Post Requiem: Krycek and Scully rescue Mulder from Ellen's Airforce Base.

spookycc's At What Price?

"*What* does he need?" she pushed.

"As I said," Cancerman went on calmly, "Something *we* cannot provide him with."

"Tell me," Scully asserted.

"Something only *you* possess."

Post Requiem: Scully sacrifices her baby to save Mulder's life.

Avalon's In Dreams

She shut the drawer, still holding the picture, and set it on top of the dresser, pulling the little stand out from behind it to prop it up. It looked nice, she thought, sitting there next to the picture of Mulder and Samantha. It looked like it belonged.

Post Requiem: Mulder's psychic childhood friend drops in to help Scully find Mulder.

Jen's (mulderscreek) and Lauren's (mulderscreek) Introspection: Return

Her hands turned to ice at that moment as she greedily drank in the message.

"He's at Georgetown Memorial, Scully, I feel it. We sent Byers to check it out. Hope you're awake to hear this."

Post Requiem: Mulder is returned four months later, chipped. Acting on a hunch, Scully takes hers out, realizing it had, somehow, glitched.

Vulpecula (Vulpecula 01 - 08 and Vulpecula 09 -14) and Phoenicia (Phoenicia 01 - 05)

And then, he's there. His head bobs lightly with his familiar gait, and his eyes seem to be searching for something. For someone?

I start walking toward him, and he turns away from me, still looking. I begin running, and I hear my voice calling out his name. He spins around, his eyes wide with surprise, and then our eyes lock. His face splits into an enormous smile, and he starts running towards me with, I'm sure, the same desperation that I'm feeling.

Post Requiem: Scully limps by with the support of her whole family; and runs into Jose Chung, Phoebe Green, and even Gibson Praise before Mulder's return. When he does, happier endings unfold from there.

Mummy Dearest

Slowly but surely, the bandages were removed. Scully was immeasurably relieved to see his legs again; they were still nicely tanned and scar-free. He was even free of the scar from the bullet that got him all those years ago. Scully thought that was a bit odd, but didn't really care too much.

Post Requiem, Crack: Mulder is returned, wrapped up in bandages.

Lolabeegood's (mulderscreek) Five Months Lost (Gossamer)

"Okay, before that…how did you get here?" she said as she looked him over for strange markings.

"Scully, you're starting to scare m…"

"Mulder!" she snapped.

"Here in the bedroom here?"

"Here in my apartment here!" she snapped.

"I have a key, remember?" Mulder looked at her strangely.

Post Requiem: Mulder is returned, five months later, with false memories.

T. Griffen's Faith

All I wanted was to be alone, to grieve and feel ill in the solitude of my apartment, but Mom turned this into the event of the year. A large party was planned for December twenty- third, with every Scully and Harper family member known to man in attendance, and then just the immediate family on Christmas Day.

Post Requiem: Scully trudges along, trying to keep up her faith, while finding surprising sources of support and comfort from her family (and Mulder, after his return.)

Ten's (xffics) A Fuller Canvas

The man in the bed felt his breathing and heart quicken, and not just because of the details filling his mind.

Scully.

He knew who he was and he knew who she was.

And she was pregnant.

Mulder was very glad that he was lying down. It saved a shocked collapse.

Requiem: Mulder is returned 6 months later; and takes a peek before Scully can break her news to him.

Ambress's Tidings

Scully thought she would crack in two when, in the car, Mulder put his head down on her shoulder. She had sat in the back with him without thinking about it. At first, she thought he was asleep, but then she caught the flash of light reflecting off his open eyes in the rearview mirror.

He was watchful, prepared for fight or flight.

Post Requiem: Mulder is returned, mute and barely responsive, in a park bathroom. Scully helps coax him back to himself.

Lorri's (mulderscreek) Wait Until Your Father Gets Home and Your Father Came Home (MC) and Your Father's Child (MC)

I call Skinner every hour until he can tell me when Mulder will be home. His plane won't arrive until nearly noon, but I am dressed and waiting for him by 6 a.m. At 7:15 my phone rings again. I answer it and hear a long pause, then "Scully it's me." I feel like I am going to pass out. My arm instantly drops to my belly and I cradle you in an unconscious gesture. Mulder tells me he is on the airplane, on his way home. There are so many things to ask him, but they can all wait. Right at this moment all I can do is savor the sound of my name in his voice. "Hurry," I tell him. "Hurry."

Post Requiem: Scully talks to her baby as the months bleed into one another, Mulder flies home, and her due date fast approaches.

Alcott's Exit

Mulder was in tears now, wrapping his arms tightly around his body, retreating deeper.

...There was no response.

"Listen to me," Byers said, with more firmness than he felt. "Are you listening? If you want to see her, you have to get better first. Do you understand?"

Byers was desperate; he had no idea how he'd arrange him to see her. But the spark in Mulder's dead eyes seemed to make the deception worth it.

Post Requiem: TLG are able to intercept and retrieve a wounded Mulder right before Scully goes into labor. Reluctantly, they figure out a way to work him into the secret plan.

Lee Burwasser's (mulderscreek) Quis Custodiet (1/2) and Quis Custodiet (2/2) (mulderscreek)

At last Langly sat back and angled the laptop to give Mulder a view of it. The rest got up to gather behind the two. There was a crude figure in robes and long hair behind a tall rectangle with a shorter one beside it. Langly did something with the cursor that made the robed figure flash. Mulder looked from the flashing figure to Langly, who made a solemn face and mimed banging with a gavel. Mulder nodded.

...Langly sat down and moved the black-circle figure back to its table. Another figure from the opposite table then moved to take its place. Now Byers got to loom over Frohike and do the bridge guardian routine. When Byers sat down, Langly restored the figures to their places and glanced at Mulder, who nodded and punched the blond's shoulder. Then he looked around, finally went over to Scully's desk and brought the desk calendar back to show to Scully. He riffled the sheets and gave her an eloquently questioning look. Scully spread her hands and tapped the judge figure. Mulder nodded again, shrugged resignation and put the calendar down.

Langly flung up his hands. "Ya got it."

Post Requiem: Mulder is returned with aphasia; and Scully fights tooth and nail to prevent his relative from winning caretaker rights in court.

ML/ML_is_me’s (Ao3, Gossamer, DW, Invidiosa) 

Another Gray Morning, Transfigured Night, Comes the Dawn, and Beloved Protector

"HOW IS SHE?" Mulder repeated loudly. When Skinner didn't reply right away, he added, "What aren't you telling me?"

Then all at once, he *knew*. "Scully had a baby, didn't she?" he said slowly, words and images forming in his mind as he spoke.

Post Requiem: Mulder is returned a year later, face first in the dirt. Skinner and TLG find him, and decide to surprise Scully without forewarning.

The Secret Language of Babies

I couldn't even be with her during the delivery.... The best I could do was an audio monitor from the delivery room....

When I heard Will's squall for the first time, I cried. In front of Skinner and everything. I think he was crying, too. He took his glasses off and polished them vigorously, turning away from me as he did so.

When they finally brought Scully and the baby to see me, I cried again. But that was in front of Scully, and she's seen me cry before. I wanted to touch them both so badly I would have broken the thick glass separating us with my own hands. But at the time, I could barely lift my head from the pillow.

Post Requiem: Mulder reminisces on his return, slow recovery, and happy reunion.

Age Cannot Wither and Nor Custom Stale

Washington, DC, is one of the last stops they make before their ultimate destination. All of the usual monuments are there, plus more. The Esplanade and all the other open areas display more statuary and symbolic sculptures and fountains than ever before.

The most meaningful monuments to them are the personal ones. Scully directs Mulder to a small park he remembers from years ago. This is where Melissa Scully is buried, and now so is Margaret Scully. The surprise to him is that Walter Skinner also has a stone nearby.

"He could have been buried at Arlington," Mulder says.

"He wanted to be among friends," Scully replies simply. She wordlessly points out another stone, a small obelisk with three names inscribed on it....

It's not until later that it occurs to Mulder that there is no stone for their son, and by then he's unwilling to bring it up. He can see that this trip is already taking a toll on Scully.

Post Requiem: Scully is immortal-- watching her son grow up, live a life like his father's, grow old, and die-- until Mulder suddenly appears, barely aged, in a Bellefleur hospital.

Invisivellum's (Tumblr) Surreal Thing (MC)

I studied him carefully, letting Scully's words settle down like rain upon me. I knew that, if I stayed silent for a moment, she would explain. I chewed on my lower lip and focused on the baby. He was still trying with all his might to drag my hand closer to his open mouth.

I looked at his eyes.

I blinked, put my finger under his chin and tilted his face up so I could have a better look. He raised fine reddish brows at me and clamped his mouth down on the knuckle of my thumb. Something about his eyes...

I think I stopped breathing.

Post Requiem: Mulder is returned 15 months later, waking to Scully and a baby that, he assumes, is another Emily.

mrkeller/Mary Ruth Keller's (FFN) Lux Perpetua

"Don't try to move too fast, you've been unconscious for a week now."

She seemed *more* than content. His partner was distinctly at ease. As more memories flooded back, he seemed to know the reason why. "Motherhood suits you, Scully."

"What?" She had cocked her head at him.

Post Requiem: Mulder returned a year later to no baby, an expanded X-Files office, and Scully promoted as its A.D.

Ellie/EllieL's The Rusted Wheel of Things

Scully pulled away, turning to sit between him and the cocoa, handing him his cup just as four girls, all with hair in braids and bows terribly similar to the dog's stylings, marched into the living room, led by Hannah.

"Mommy, where's the Ouija board?"

Mulder did his best to stifle a laugh, unsure of whether he found their hair or the question funnier. 

Post Requiem: Mulder is returned 7 years later to an adoring little ballerina.

Keleka's Heart Turned Inwards 01 and Heart Turned Inwards 02

"Agent Mulder, I'm Dr. Andrew Scully. I'm the doctor who admitted you."

Mulder was confused for a moment and then realized the mistake. "Oh, I meant Dr. Dana Scully. My partner at the FBI. Is she here?"

Dr. Scully said nothing for a moment and then stepped away to pull the curtain around the bed, offering them some privacy. He pulled up a stool and sat down next to the bed.

Post Requiem: Scully waits 30 years for Mulder-- but he's actually found by his son.

Shoshana's Almost Home (4/4)

Ironically, Mulder hadn't ended up in any medical facility they'd been monitoring; he'd hitchhiked his way to Portland, flying home in a comfortable jet. He'd been shell shocked the entire way home, gazing with disbelief at the date on all the newspapers he could muster.

His worries had been far from over, of course. Life had thrown him another curve ball on top of his seemingly extreme case of amnesia--a red-headed partner three months shy of her due date.

Post Requiem: Mulder is returned with a few handicaps and mild amnesia; but other than that, he makes a recovery in time for quick wedding prep and another Syndicate kidnapping.

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

[cha-mij]

Imagine a third Plague Tale where the plot is forward in time and instead of the black death it's trench rats during the First World War.