TITLE:           NEW BEGINNINGS
AUTHOR:          FATCAT
E-MAIL:          fatcat33047@yahoo.com
RATING:          G
SPOILERS:        NONE
CATEGORY:        MSR
CLASSIFICATION:  V
SUMMARY:         Sometimes you have to admit when it's over.


Fox Mulder stumbled from the bedroom grumbling.  A sharp 
knocking sounded again before he could throw open the 
offending door.

The woman on the other side was looking down, searching for 
her keys when the door flew open.

She stood there and gaped at him, licking her lips in 
appreciation as her eyes slid from the top of his head to his 
toes.  He had obviously been asleep and he was delightfully 
rumpled.  His hair was askew, his feet bare.  However, it was 
what was in between that made moisture pool between her legs.

He had on a pair of pants that obviously was part of one of 
his suits.  'Probably Hugo Boss or Armani,' she thought to 
herself.  They were zipped, but the button was open and they 
were riding low on his lean hips.  His white dress shirt had 
been crisp and pressed earlier in the day, but was now 
rumpled and hanging from his shoulders, completely 
unbuttoned.  The white of the fine Egyptian cotton glowed 
softy against the golden brown of his sculptured chest and 
abs.

He waited for her to speak, gently smirking at her open 
approval.

"We need to talk," she said as she tried to enter the 
apartment.  

"There's nothing left to say," he said gently as he stepped 
in front of her to block her entrance.  "We both made our 
positions clear earlier in the office."

"I ... I know, but I can't let it end like this," she implored.

"It's over.  It has been for some time.  I think it's best if 
you leave.  We still have to work together but that's all we 
have now."

"No!  I ... I love you.  I've always loved you.  You don't 
understand how hard it is for me to tell you that."

"I think I do," he rumbled gently.  "Thank you for telling 
me.  Don't think that I don't know how hard it is for you to 
admit your need for another person.  It's just too late.  
I've moved on and I think you should too."

"I don't know if I can," she said honestly.

He inhaled deeply, closed his eyes for a second and finally 
sighed, shaking his head.  "You have no choice."

She stood mutely, staring at him, wanting him so badly she 
thought she would die, but realizing that she had really lost 
him.

"I think it's better if you return your key to my place now."  
At her stricken look, he held out his hand and said, "It's 
better this way."

She pulled her keys from her purse and removed the key marked 
'Mulder', wrapping her fingers around his as she placed it in 
his hand.  She drew his hand to her mouth and kissed it, 
knowing that was the last personal touch she would have from 
him for the rest of her life.

"Thank you," he said.

"I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"For everything.  For not being open with you about my 
feelings for you.  For not being able to give you what you 
need."

He stepped back and said, "I'll see you at the office 
tomorrow."

Tears scudded down her face and she nodded as he began to 
shut the door.  "Wait!" she said.

He pulled the door back slightly and looked at her, waiting 
for her words.

"Did you ...?"  She inhaled deeply to give herself courage for her question.  "Did you ever love me?"

"Yes," he said immediately.  "Oddly enough, I did.  And your 
love was good for me."

She looked at him curiously, "Good?"

"I was broken when we met, had too many bad experiences with 
women and life in general.  You helped heal my heart enough 
so that I was capable of loving again."

"But you don't love me now?" she challenged bitterly.

"No, I don't love you anymore, but I will never be sorry I 
did for a while."

"Thank you for that," she said as she stood taller, pulling 
her dignity around her like a cloak.  She turned and walked 
for the elevator.

Fox Mulder watched her until the doors to the elevator 
opened.  He shut the door and leaned against it, inexplicably 
sad.  For years he had loved the woman who had just left.  An 
era of his life was over.   
 
He looked down at the key in his hand as he walked down the 
hall to the bedroom, thinking about what it represented.  He 
tossed it into the top dresser drawer that housed all his 
junk.

The sound of the shower turning off caught his attention as 
he shed his clothes to climb back into bed.  He watched as a 
towel swathed woman walked out of the bedroom towards him.

"Was there someone at the door?" she asked as she dried her 
hair on a towel before crawling onto bed with him, naked, 
warm and clean.

He spread his arms to embrace her as she slid up against him.

"Who was it?" she probed for information again.

"Just an old friend, my ex-partner."

"Should I be jealous?" she tensed.

"No.  She was my past but you're my future."

"Good," she said vehemently before relaxing against him.

Fox Mulder laughed as he looked down at the woman in his 
arms.  "Not inclined to share, are we?"

"No," she growled.

He leaned over and kissed her passionately.  "You have 
nothing to worry about, Scully.  I love you."

THE END