Title:     The Choice
Author:    Revilo Witts
Rating:    G
Category:  VA
Spoilers:  Two Fathers/One Son
Keywords:  Post-colonization, Mulder Angst
Feedback:  Please. revilowitts@yahoo.com
Summary:   After colonization, Mulder makes a visit
           to a fallen friend he could have saved.
Archive:   Sure, anywhere. 
Thanks:    To Maureen for the wonderful beta.



He stood over the grave, tugging his jacket tighter
around his strong shoulders. His heavy boots were
slightly moist from the sludge of melting ice on
the ground. His jeans were faded, caked with earth,
and barely kept the chilly air from his muscular legs
anymore.


The temperature was much warmer than in the previous
months, when leaving the warmth of the dorms meant
risking frostbite or pneumonia. But it was still cold
enough to force his visit to her final resting place
to be a short one. He wanted to stay as long as he 
could, as there would be no more visits. The warmer
temperatures allowed the creatures a livable environment,
and the camp would begin preparations to head north.


It all had happened so quickly. With most of the
Consortium dead, he thought colonization had been
put on hold, that maybe the discovery of the men's
duplicity had thrown the colonists for a loop. No
such luck. Within a few months the invasion had
begun, and left in its wake death and destruction.
The creatures that formed from the bodies couldn't
survive for long once gestated, but packed a mean punch
during their short existence. And with an endless
supply of human incubators, the creatures were
everywhere. Everywhere, except for the very cold
climates. Northern Canada became the home for
many survivors, offering safety from both the creatures
and the alien race that was beginning to make Earth their
new home.

He had tried to save them, to save himself and the woman
buried beneath his feet. Save them both from a death
at the claws of something not human. Save them
from a death of starvation in the cities, where
food was rare. He wanted to save them both from that
horror. 

He had always been selfish, self absorbed to a
fault. Everything around him seemed to happen as
a result of his own actions, at least in his mind.


It was because of his selfishness that he 
stood there, and she lay in the cold earth
below. His partner, in the old life. He had wanted
to save her. He wanted more than anything to be
rid of the guilt that ate at him every day like the
cold air outside. The journey to Canada had been a
terrible one. There were so few rations, so few
necessities. Pure will and determination alone were
not enough to survive in these new times. If he wanted
to survive, he had to choose. His life, or hers. 

He loved Scully. She was his world. And he had waited
so long for that love, so unbelievably long. He
finally had her, and knew that without her,
he couldn't, wouldn't, go on. 

So he chose. His life, over hers.

The wind picked up as he kneeled before him, placing
 his hands on the cold dirt.

"Good bye, Diana," he said, and returned back to the dorms, 
and to Scully.


- e n d -
*********

Thanks for reading my first story. 
I hope you enjoyed it! 
All comments appreciated. :)

revilowitts@yahoo.com