Eleven 'O Clock
By: Rae
This story was written for the IWTB Ima Believer challenge
Keywords: Scully/Other
Note: Ima took some artistic liberties with the category. Sometimes, the story writes
itself.
10:35am
Saturday
Dana Scully stood before the mirror and looked long and hard at her reflection. The
image staring back at her was not one she recognized. Gone was the coifed, reserved,
self-assured woman she expected to see. In her place stood someone frozen by fear. She
could see it in her eyes - the hollowness clearly visible underneath the shadow of the
foundation cream she had recently applied to her face.
As she lifted a hand to brush an errant strand of hair back, she saw the trembling in her
fingers and immediately grabbed the basin of the sink. As she gripped the porcelain, she
shuddered as she felt a trickle of cold sweat slip down her back in between her shoulder
blades.
Color. She needed some color on her face. She rationalized that the light foundation had
washed her out. Steeling herself against the panic that flooded her body, she gently
brushed the rouge across each cheekbone. As she snapped the compact closed, she had to
keep from laughing in mock derision when she noticed that the splash of color was garish
and harsh against her pasty skin.
She picked up the tube of lipstick lying on the rim of the sink and carefully applied a
modest amount of the make-up to her lower lip. The stain of red was a stark contrast to
the paleness of the other lip. She hurried to complete the job. Only because it was an
exercise perfected over time, was she able to keep from marking outside the lines of her
outer lip.
Surprising herself, she was able to apply the mascara without poking one of her eyes out.
Once the routine was complete, she stepped into her bedroom and stood before her open
closet with a look of devastation on her face.
Scully pulled a suit from the rod and held it up for inspection.
She re-hung the outfit, only to realize that ALL of the suits hanging in front of her were
not going to measure up. Not today. Today called for something softer. Maybe a dress.
Or perhaps a pair of khaki pants with a blouse would do. Jeans? Once again she turned to
the closet and grabbed one of the dresses she usually wore to church on Sunday
mornings. She let out a heavy sigh and decided it would have to do.
He'll probably be in his baseball uniform, his mitt lying on the car seat beside him. She
knew he played for a team close to his home. Was it even baseball season? Maybe they
could go to a game together. Maybe she could go to one of HIS games. She would love to
sit in the stands and cheer him on as he jumped up to catch a fly ball, or slid home to
score the winning run.
Maybe jeans would be a better choice. He'll most likely want pizza or a burger, not some
stuffy restaurant where you need reservations, a dress and a tie to be seated. Who wants
that kind of pressure? Better to go the casual route. Something laid back and non-
restrictive would be the best choice. Besides, sneakers were easier to run in, regardless of
how easy it looks to run in heels. And if this doesn't go right, she wants to be prepared to
run. He might be frightened by power suits and linen-clad tables. She had no idea what he
was used to or what he expected.
IS she what he's expecting? Is she even what he wants? She wondered what he had been
told about her. Would she live up to his perceptions of other people's words - the people
she trusted to tell him the truth? When his mind created a picture, was it anything close to
who she is?
Scully pulled on her jeans and fumbled with the button. It was hard to get dressed when
your entire body was shaking. She pulled on the blouse and gave one last look in the
mirror. She grabbed her jacket that was lying on the couch where she'd left it earlier
today. She stepped out onto the front step and looked up and down the block for any sign
of an approaching car.
11:01am
Saturday
The phone call had come at 9:00. She had just walked in after having coffee with her
mother. It was the same stilted conversation they have over breakfast every Saturday.
Scully had run to catch the phone before it stopped ringing and was greeted with a
moment of silence. As she moved to hang up, a voice came alive and told her that she
was to be ready by 11:00; that a car would be there to pick her up. No, the caller had said,
there was no other information. The driver would know where to take her, just make sure
she was ready by eleven 'o clock. A stupid fucking phone call and her entire world is
turned upside down. A voice telling her that the meeting she had wanted had been
arranged and to be ready in exactly two hours.
11:07am
Saturday
Pacing is a great stress reliever. Who was she kidding? Maybe now would be a good time
to take up smoking again. No. Not a good idea. He'd frown at the nasty habit. Maybe he
changed his mind. Shit! She couldn't take this much longer. Her nerves were on overdrive
as it was. She wonders if she'll get a phone call telling her its been called off. She
considers going back inside in case the call comes, but decides it's a message she'd rather
have the machine get. Haagen Dazs is healthier than Morleys. Oh shit, a car just pulled
up to the curb. This is it.
1:42pm
Saturday
Where the hell was he taking her, Idaho? They'd been driving for hours. There had been
no words between them. She had climbed into the back of the limo and had barely closed
the door before he took off and turned the corner. Before long, they were on the heading
south on the highway. She looked out the window and watched as the mileposts flew
past. 58.124.172... She had nothing to indicate that they were getting close to the
destination.
3:00pm
Saturday
The car finally stopped moving. As the highways had turned into residential streets,
Scully has started paying more attention. She had seen a sign a few miles back
welcoming her to Beautiful Smithfield, Virginia! She looked up to see that they parked in
a lot across the street from a large city park. Children played on the swings and ran in
between the jungle gyms. She gasped as another pang of panic seized her as she opened
the door and stepped from the car. The driver pointed and Scully followed his direction
until her gaze landed on a lone figure sitting under a large maple tree. She gathered her
courage, waited for a break in the traffic, and crossed the street.
Scully walked across the grass and stood before him. As she looked at him for the first
time in ten years, the trembling stopped, the panic ceased and calming warmth suffused
her body. She smiled softly when he looked up from the book he'd been reading. She
stopped breathing and waited a moment until she saw recognition in his eyes.
She summoned courage she wasn't aware she had and spoke the first words that came to
her mined, stumbling a bit as nervousness returned.
"Hi. Do you re-remember me?"
She saw determination set in his jaw and thought back on all the times she'd thought it
was stubborn-ness when she had seen the same spirit in someone else. He looked up at
her and studied her face with a fierceness she remembered in someone else's eyes. She
looked past the icy blue depths and saw the uncertainty he was floating beneath the
surface.
He stood and took a step towards her so that they were only inches apart.
"No." He said. " I've never seen you before. Not even a picture."
She felt her face fall; the tears fill her eyes and the uncertainty wash over her at the
harshness of his words. She took a step back and watched as he took a step forward,
keeping them at an equal distance. As she took a breath to apologize and make excuses
for an early exit, he cut her off and gave her hope.
"I may not remember you, but I know who you are."
"Of course you know who I am, you were told I was coming."
"That's not what I mean. I would have known you if we had passed each other on the
street yesterday. I would have been able to pick you out of a crowd of people in the
busiest city." He dropped his head and as he continued. "I swear I would have known it
was you. I couldn't have been wrong. I'm never wrong about things like this."
She stood quietly waiting for him to continue and was surprised to see that he had started
crying.
"You're the vision I pictured in my head whenever I thought the word MOTHER."
She then felt the tears slip down her own cheeks, first slowly and one at a time. And then
all of a sudden, they came faster and she had no hope of trying to hide them - all of her
silent regrets. One fell for each lost year. His first step and the first word her baby uttered
that she hadn't been there to hear. One fell for each new tooth and the teeter-totter of his
first step. One for each baseball game, and rainy, lazy days at home, science projects and
school plays that she'll never see. Scully took a breath to calm herself.
"William..."
"We have so much to talk about. I have so much to ask you. But first...."
"I just wanted to know....and you can say no if you want.or if you feel uncomfortable,
but" "could I give you a hug?"
She waited an endless second until she saw the slightest movement of his head. She saw a
tentative nod, and Scully rushed to embrace her son. She pulled him close and held him
tight, whispering words of love and devotion in between sobs.
Epilogue
11:00pm
Saturday
She had told the driver she wouldn't need a ride back to DC. Then, Scully and William
sat beneath the maple tree until long after the sun had set, catching up on each other's
lives. When the rain started falling, they walked the short distance to the modest house
her son had spent all but two days of his life in. As she stood in his doorway watching
him sleep, she felt a peacefulness settle over her.
She would eventually have to return to DC, if only for a brief time to pack up personal
belongings and tie up loose ends at work. But for right now, Dana Scully was exactly
where she needed to be.
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