NEW Exaiphnes III: God Rest These Very Gentlemen
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 1999

TITLE: Exaiphnes III: God Rest These Very Gentlemen
AUTHOR: Rachel
E-MAIL: oakgirls@yahoo.com
DISTRIBUTION: Gossamer and Xemplary okay, others please ask.
SPOILERS: None, really, but set post FTF and in Homicide season 7
RATING: PG-13
CLASSIFICATION: Crossover - Homicide: Life on the Street
KEYWORDS: slash; Mulder/other romance
SUMMARY: Followup to Exaiphnes I and II. Check them out at
http://www.oocities.org:80/Area51/Dimension/3568/Exaiphnes/Exaiphenes.html
Mulder and Tim Bayliss spend their first Christmas as a couple separated
and confronting old demons.

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on the characters and situations created by
Chris Carter, the Fox Network and Ten Thirteen Productions as well as NBC
and Baltimore Pictures. As such, the characters named are the property of
those entities and are used without permission, although no copyright
infringements are intended. The following work is for the distribution and
entertainment of fanfic members only. Any further distribution of this
work without the authors' consent is in violation of international law.

AUTHORS' NOTES: This vignette was originally written in December to deal
with my long-term questions about what happened between Tim Bayliss and his
former partner Frank Pembleton. I pulled it back off the hard drive and
dusted it off exanding it to include the new man in Tim's life, Fox Mulder.
Feedback will be fawned over, saved and responded to at
oakgirls@yahoo.com

God Rest These Very Gentlemen

Christmas Eve
Fells Point

Tim Bayliss walked out of the station house and looked across the street.
Mulder had left for his mother's that morning. It wasn't the first time
they had been apart, but it felt different this time. It was worse, more
deliberate. Maybe it was the holidays. He crossed the street, heading
toward the Waterfront for a quick one before heading to his mom's house.
He looked left for on-coming traffic and saw Frank Pembleton standing about
fifty yards away, leaning on his car. He could hardly believe it, after
all these months. What would Frank be doing there? Why tonight, of all
nights? He took a deep breath and walked over.

"Hey, what are you doing in this neck of the woods?" he asked, approaching
him with the cool restraint of a formal greeting rather than that reserved
for a long lost friend.

"I figured if I was turning over all these new leaves I might as well turn
over one more," Frank answered, holding out a small package.

Bayliss looked at the package for a moment and then took it. "What's this?"

"It's Christmas, dammit. Don't people usually give presents at Christmas?"
Frank asked, his lip curling against the words.

"Presents are for friends. I thought you were a person who doesn't have
friends, Frank."

"Dammit Bayliss, I haven't seen you for months and you have to start by
giving me attitude."

Bayliss turned and started walking away. His former partner ran to catch
up to him. When Frank grabbed his arm, Bayliss shrugged it off, but
Pembleton tightened his grip and pulled the tall man around.

"I walked away. I was wrong, but I'm not going to excuse that with letting
you run away. I'm trying here, Tim. This is hard for me. Can you at
least listen to me," Frank stated. Tim stared at him for a moment, then
his face softened slightly.

"Okay, but it's too damn cold out here. We'll have to do it at Jimmy's."

"Fine."

The two men walked silently to the neighborhood diner, Bayliss staring
ahead stoically while Pembleton regained a little of his customary swagger.

*****

"So you going to open this up or what?" Pembleton asked.

"You start shopping, Frank? Is that what you're doing with all your free
time?" Bayliss asked, toying with the ribbon on the box.

"I'm spending time with the kids, that kind of stuff. What about you,
Bayliss? How are you spending your time these days?" Frank asked, leaning
across the table like he cared what Tim would say in response.

"No, seriously, what's going on here?" Bayliss asked as he picked up his
cup of coffee. He wasn't going to get into his new relationship. Things
had changed, and things he once would have shared with his partner, he
could not share with this man sitting in front of him. "What are you
doing, Frank?"

"Would you believe it's an ultimatum from Mary?" Pembleton answered, laying
the menu aside. Why did he even look at it? He always ordered the
special. Half the time the waitress didn't even ask what he wanted.

"It's the first reasonable thing you've said. But why now? Why at
Christmas?"

"It's the season of peace? Good will among men," Frank answered.

"Good try, but you'll have to do better."

"So, how are things going? That interior decorator didn't redo the box,
did she?"

Bayliss just shook his head. This was almost worse than not hearing from
Pembleton at all. The man didn't make small talk. He didn't have time for
it.

"Frank, you came here to tell me something or hear something. Would you
spit it out? We've got bodies falling in this city and I'm not going to
leave them all to Munch."

"Munch? They've got you partnering with Munch?"

"Yeah, and he isn't half bad. At least he doesn't harass me every moment
of the investigation. He has an appreciation for my keen investigative
genius."

"We're moving."

Bayliss' jaw dropped. He knew Frank had come to tell him something
important. Maybe some part of him had hoped that Frank was coming back to
Homicide. He still walked into the squad room every morning expecting to
see that bald pate awaiting him, but every morning it was Ballard at
Frank's desk. "What, what do you mean you're moving?"

"Chicago. Mary's been asked to become the mayor's chief of staff. She's
wanted to get off the Hill for sometime, especially now with all of this
impeachment shit, and this seemed like the right opportunity. It's still
a big city, but you know, maybe a better place to raise the kids,
Midwestern values and all that crap."

"Chicago? Do you know what lake effect snows are like? It's cold out
there, Frank. The Midwest? You'll die out there," Bayliss said, unable to
comprehend what Frank was saying.

"It's a done deal. I need to get out of here, Tim. I can't stay in
Baltimore and not work homicide and I can't work homicide anymore, you know
that. This is better for everybody."

"Why can't you? That's the one thing you've never told me, Frank. You owe
me that much. I don't give a damn what's in this box. You want to give me
a present. You want to be my friend. You tell me what the hell happened
and why I haven't seen you since that night at Georgia Rae's." With that
Tim got up, threw down a few bills and stormed from the restaurant, leaving
behind the small package. Frank picked it up and followed his former
partner back into the street.

******

Out on the street, Frank immediately picked up the pace. How quickly he'd
forgotten how much longer Bayliss' legs were and how much faster he walked.
He tracked his former partner as he turned onto Thames Street, another
right onto Fell Street and finally out onto one of the piers that populated
the area. It was winter and most of the boats had been pulled for the
season. It was an empty, desolate place. The perfect place to finally put
this to rest once and for all.

"Tim, I'm going to chase you all the way to Delaware if I have to, but will
you stop and listen to me?" Frank called out.

"Listen to you, why should I listen to you? I need you, I ask for you and
where the hell are you?" Bayliss said as he turned to look at Frank. For
so many years he had looked up to this man, his mentor, his friend. When
Frank had his stroke, where had Tim been? Right by his side. Helping him,
encouraging him. Where had Frank been when the same thing happened to Tim?
Nowhere, he was gone. Munch razzed him now and again for not sharing any
of the wisdom of Frank Pembleton, for keeping it all to himself, but the
fact was Tim couldn't bring himself to talk about Frank. It was the only
way he could deal. The only person he could talk to about it was Mulder.
Unfortunately he was in Connecticut.

Frank stood on the pier, looking cold and alone in his long wool coat, his
hat perched on his proud head. He raised a hand to wipe away the sweat
that had beaded up on his forehead during his pursuit of Bayliss.

"Can't we take this somewhere else? Do we have to stand out here on this
godforsaken pier, unprotected from the elements so you can prove a point?"

"The only thing godforsaken out here is you, Frank. You either talk to me
here, or we don't have this conversation," Bayliss answered. Frank sighed
and then seemed resigned to the situation.

"Where was I last summer? That's a good question. I knew you wanted me to
come around. Mary told me. She told me so many times I thought she would
leave again. Man, for all I knew she would take Livie and Frank, Jr. and
move in to take care of you. I knew what I was doing, but I couldn't stop
myself. I was there, once. I was there that night."

"Yeah, my mom told me that. You were there in the emergency room, too. In
the ambulance. I remember that. You were screaming. So why were you
there then? Why weren't you there the day I had to learn how to use the
walker or how to get in the bathtub, take a piss by myself? Why weren't
you then, when it might have mattered. Why the hell weren't you there the
day I came back to work? I have yet to get a satisfactory answer from
anybody, you, Gee, Meldrick, Munch; none of them will tell me what the hell
went down. All I know is you're gone and Kellerman is gone. I have to
assume the two are related."

Pembleton turned and looked out over the water. The gentle waves slapped
up against the remaining boats, rigging clanking against the mast of a
sailboat nearby. Bayliss reached up and pulled Frank around to face him.

"Frank, you came and found me. You started this. You are damn well going
to finish it."

Frank turned and looked at him, swallowing deeply. "I did it. I got you
shot. I froze and that . . . that perp shot you."

"That's old news, Frank. Do you remember the day you froze, when you and
Mary were trying to get pregnant with Livie? I threw my back out. We've
done this scene. That's not good enough."

"No, I might have been able to live with that, but it wasn't just me. It
was all of them: Kellerman, Stivers, Lewis . . . Gee. Even Gee was a part
of all of this. I couldn't tolerate it. I had been party to it, I hadn't
stopped it before it got out of control."

"You hadn't stopped it? When did you become the conscience for the whole
world, Frank? When did the world begin to revolve solely around Frank
Pembleton? You know what? The board, it still has red and that red still
turns to black even though Frank Pembleton's name isn't on it. Nothing is
as big as you, Frank," Bayliss said, his voice shaking. The two men stood
looking directly at one another, their bodies trembling. "That might be a
valid excuse for why you quit the force, but it doesn't get you off the
hook with me, Frank."

"Do you remember that day we went looking for Georgia Rae? You asked me if
I smelt the death in the squad room. I said I didn't and I honestly don't
think I did. That night, when you were in my arms, I started to smell it
then. I smelled it outside that room and I smelled it in the hospital. I
could smell you dying. No matter what I did, I couldn't get that off of
me. Is that why I quit? I don't know, I just don't know, Tim. I can't
explain why I left, why I didn't come back."

Tim looked carefully at the man in front of him. He had never seen this
side of Frank Pembleton. Something had happened that night to both of
them. Something that hadn't happened before no matter what life laid in
front of them. "You lost your nerve," Bayliss said slowly.

"Yeah, maybe I did. Maybe I just got tired of all the dying. I don't know
what it was, I just know that I couldn't go back and for whatever reason,
that included you. After what Kellerman and Gee did, I lost my taste for
it. I'm not sorry about that. What I am sorry about is hurting you. I
got so caught up in cleaning up for Gee I forgot what really mattered, I
forgot about you."

"It's a little late, Frank," Bayliss said, turning to walk away. He
stopped and turned to look at his former partner, his former friend. "You
know, I saw Kellerman a few weeks ago. He apologized for what he did, for
how it all shook down. I had no problem forgiving him. It's water under
the bridge, but you, you were my friend. I had no expectations from Mike;
at the end of the day, he was just a guy I worked with. But you, you were
my partner. I told you things I never told anybody else."

"Would you have come back? If I had been there all summer, helping you?
Would you have come back to work without me?" Frank asked.

Tim looked down at his feet. It had suddenly become more clear to him. He
looked up slowly, taking in Pembleton's face, his stance. "No."

"That's why. You're a good detective. You have a lot to give this city,
the squad. My time was up. I had to cut the cord, clean and neat. I'm
sorry, but I didn't know any other way to do it. I'm sorry I wasn't there
for you, Tim. Goodbye," Frank said, holding out the package again. Tim
reached out slowly and took it. Frank didn't let go, pulling Tim closer,
hugging him tightly for a moment. He let go and walked back down the pier.

Tim watched him go. Four months ago he would have given anything to have
this conversation. Now it seemed a little bit hollow. Pembleton was gone,
that was clear. Gone from Homicide, gone from Baltimore, even gone from
Tim's life. He hadn't even mentioned Mulder, the most important thing that
had happened since the shooting. Tim turned and slowly began walking back
toward Thames Street. He would have to hurry if he wanted to get a hold of
Mulder before he went over to his mom's for her traditional Christmas Eve
dinner.

**
One hour earlier
Greenwich, Connecticut

Fox Mulder sat on the couch in his mother's living room, attempting to read
the latest issue of the New Yorker. He looked up as his mother entered
with a glass filled with amber liquid.

"I remembered you didn't like egg nog. I hope Scotch and water is okay?"
his mother asked, handing the glass to him. He nodded, took the glass and
lifted it to his lips for a quick drink. His mother sat across from him in
a wingback chair.

"You've been busy?" she asked. He had been home for nearly twelve hours,
but they had managed to avoid any serious conversation. Neighbors had been
in and out with gifts, his aunts had called, he did some last minute
shopping. There hadn't been much quiet time, until now.

"Yeah, lots of cases. Domestic terrorism stuff, not my preference, but it
keeps the gas on," he said, setting his glass down on the coaster. It was
always difficult to talk about work with his mother. It eventually brought
up issues neither one of them wanted to discuss.

"And Miss Scully, you're still working with her?"

"Most of the time. They've let us stay partners in the new division," he
responded, leaning over and grabbing a handful of the mixed nuts. Where
was she going with this?

"So, do you see her outside work?" his mom asked.

"Sometimes, not too often. Why?" he asked.

"You're my only son, I'm curious. It seems like I have no idea what goes
on in your life. You call me on Sunday afternoon and we discuss the stock
market and the President's latest activities, but we don't ever talk about
anything important."

"That's a minefield I don't think I want to get into tonight," Mulder
responded.

"What do you mean?" Teena Mulder asked, getting up to stand near the fire.

"You know my life is about figuring out what happened to Sam. There isn't
anything else worth mentioning, but yet, you and I talk regularly and we
never even speak her name. She's been gone so much longer than she was
ever here. At what point does she stop being the elephant in the middle of
every room?" Mulder asked, his voice cracking at the end.

Teena turned and looked directly at her son. She had not intended the
conversation to turn this direction. "That wasn't what I was talking
about, Fox. I know you are focused on your sister and I love you for it.
I am jealous of your dedication. I fear that I may have given up. What I
wondered about was your personal life. I . . . I called last Thursday. I
needed to confirm your flight number. You weren't there. I thought I had
a wrong number."

Mulder stared at her. Thursday. Tim had been there for the night. He had
gone out to pick up Thai. When he got home Tim said there was a hang-up.
He had dismissed it as a crank. Why had Tim picked up the phone?

"I just thought maybe you had a new friend. Someone I didn't know; maybe
Miss Scully has a brother who comes to visit you."

Mulder chuckled at the thought of Bill Scully hanging out with him. He
knew what she was reaching for, hoping for, but he also knew that it would
have to come out sooner rather than later.

"That was my friend Tim," he said slowly. "He's . . . he's special in my
life. He's . . . he's significant."

"Significant. Like . . . " Her voice trailed off.

"We're together," Mulder answered, getting off the couch and walking to the
window. He looked out the window, the room filled with silence. Finally
he turned and looked at his mother. "He makes me really happy. Mom, I
don't remember the last time I was really happy. It hasn't . . . it hasn't
always been this way. I haven't always . . . before Tim there was never --"

"But I thought, you and Miss Scully," his mother said.

"You, me, Scully -- hell, the whole FBI, I'm sure. I don't want to be
there when her mom finds out about my situation. The thing is, I love
Scully. She's irreplaceable to me and that was the thing that held me back
with Tim, but I care about him. I hope you can accept that."

Teena stood for a moment and then walked over to him, taking him in her
arms. "I think we could both stand a little happiness." She pulled back
to look at him. "I won't pretend to understand it, but I have to be happy
for you. You're my son."

Mulder smiled and pulled her close to him again.

"But I'm not marching in any of those parades," she added.

**
Mulder set down the freshly rinsed glass and turned to pick up the ringing
phone.

"Mulder residence," he answered.

"I was hoping you would answer," Tim said. Mulder smiled. "How's
Christmas, your mom?"

"Good. You?" Mulder asked.

"Good. Good food, lots of family." He paused. "I miss you."

"So do I," Mulder responded.

"Merry Christmas, Mulder."

"Merry Christmas, Tim."

FINIS

I'd love to know what you thought at oak_girls@hotmail.com

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