TITLE:    Tears Of Pain
AUTHOR:   xphilernj
E-MAIL:   xphilernj@aol.com 
RATING:   PG 
CLASSIFICATION:  V 
KEYWORDS: Angst 
DISCLAIMER: Not mine.

SUMMARY:  It broke his heart when she opened her eyes and all 
he could see was pain.

~*~*~*~*~*~


The dark clouds were about as ominous as the shadow of dread 
that weighed heavily in his chest.

*Something's wrong*

Mulder picked up the phone and dialed Scully's home number. 
When he heard her answering machine click on, he hung up and 
called the basement office. Getting no answer, he quickly 
showered, dressed and headed out the door.

* * *

Mulder swiftly entered the office a few minutes past eight, two 
cups of coffee in his hands and a bag of bagels held between his 
teeth. Mulder felt a chill crawl up his spine as he set his offerings 
on Scully's desk next to the case file by which she seemed to be 
captivated.

Spread out across the desk were crime scene photographs and 
plastic bags of evidence of a "cold case" file - one that had never 
been solved. There was a photo of the taped outline of a small 
body with a little girl's doll sitting on the carpet next to a pool of 
blood. A plastic evidence bag which held three bullet casings 
completed the picture.

Mulder set his cup of coffee down, walked around her desk and 
knelt beside her. He didn't need to see her face to know that she 
was upset.

"Scully." His voice soft and gentle as he cupped her cheek with the 
palm of his hand.

As her tears began to fall, she reached for him and pulled him close 
as the rain began to softly fall against the window panes.  It broke 
his heart when she opened her eyes and all he could see was pain.

He reached out with his other hand, cradled her face and softly 
brushed his lips across hers. He looked into her teary eyes and 
whispered, "I love you."


THE END.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Brevity II Challenge Response to Caroline's Elements: a broken 
heart, rain, a child's toy, carpet, bullet casings

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