#he’s so incredibly loyal to m&s (making the deal with csm on Mulder’s behalf for Scully’s life for example)

[pookie-mulder]

Season 8 AU I will never write (feel free to steal this idea for a fic):

Instead of Doggett becoming Scully’s new partner, the Powers That Be decide to punish Skinner by demoting him and banishing him to the x files

a Bad Guy (Kersh? Someone new?) takes Skinner’s place as AD, causing conflict

(An alternate version: Doggett gets promoted to AD. Scully and Skinner hate him at first, but he slowly proves to them that he can be trusted and ultimately becomes an ally.)

Skinner is honestly kind of relieved because now he gets to protect Scully and her baby and focus all his energy on finding Mulder

At the same time, he’s angry that his leadership position was taken away from him and wants his old job back

Skinner is wrestling with his newfound belief in the paranormal and what that means. He feels guilty that he wasn’t able to save Mulder.

Scully wants to resent him because he’s not Mulder (and he didn’t stop Mulder’s abduction), but at the same time, she’s secretly relieved to have someone she knows will watch her back and is as dedicated to finding Mulder as she is

Plus we all know Skinner has a bit of a crush on Scully — he’s happy for the opportunity to work closely with her and keep her safe, but he respects Mulder (and Scully) way too much to ever act on his feelings.

Skinner just wants Scully to be happy. He knows the only way that will ever happen is if they get Mulder back, so he throws himself into his work, trying everything he can to ensure Mulder’s safe return

His feelings for Scully aren’t his only motivation though. He finds himself caught up in Mulder’s search for The Truth and feels a responsibility to continue his work

Once Mulder comes home, the Powers That Be recognize that Skinner was instrumental in bringing him back, so they reinstate him as AD (maybe with an endorsement from Doggett). He’s overjoyed, of course (with his job and with Mulder’s return), but he misses being out in the field with Scully

It hurts to see the agents together, but he never had the expectation of anything More with Scully. He’s just glad they’re happy together

Idk how it would end. Maybe when William is born, M&S introduce him to Skinner as “Uncle Wally” or something ridiculous and sappy. Skinner knows he did the right thing