Christine Chapel, RN (chapelrn) wrote in thedoorway, @ 2013-07-27 00:16:00 |
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The red eyes flashed across the screen and the executive producer credit rolled in after them. He’d finally made it into cases that he had no memory of after having proven to himself - since no one else seemed to really care exactly - that all of the memories he’d received in a dump were more or less accurate. His version of events that he remembered might not be the entire truth as granted in a television narrative, but it was still certainly possible of being true from a certain point of view, and as post modern as that might sound (post-modern prometheus seemed to be the title of the episode about to start), it still seemed to be right. As he glanced at upcoming episodes he could tell from the titles that those coming up were the latest ones that had happened to Scully. She’d spoken of Emily, and Mulder had no doubt what the episode entitled ‘Emily’ would be about. He closed his eyes for a moment and let out a sigh. He was aware enough of Scully’s moods and tics to know that it had been a huge thing for her, and while Mulder didn’t necessarily believe she needed him to work through the aftermath, he sometimes wished there was more he could do for her. He just didn’t know what that would be - not here, not under the circumstances. And that thought reminded Mulder that he still hadn’t spoken to Christine about certain circumstances. With his working on the business, and Christine studying for exams, and all of the broadcasts and the subsequent action that had taken place as a result of that, Mulder had found plenty of excuses to not say anything, but the longer he waited the more likely it was that Christine might find out from someone else - particularly with protesters just littering the area around the building right now - and if she found out from someone else and found out he’d known, Mulder didn’t know what her reaction would be. Granted he wasn’t certain what her reaction was going to be anyway - but he knew that she deserved to hear the thing from him, and that he cared about her, and that there were certain friendships that were non-negotiable, and he could hope that all of those things mixed together for good, but if they didn’t, he’d just have to figure out what to do with that when it happened. Christine was supposed to come over tonight, and he’d decided that he’d open a bottle of wine, let them both drink a glass, and then he would just out with it - ‘In my future Scully and I have a son, William’ - and whatever else that seemed as if it should follow that statement after he’d drank a glass of wine and had a tiny bit more courage. He glanced at the screen and then at the clock, but he was pretty certain there wasn’t time for another episode, so that did give him time to contemplate how to tell Christine this particular information bombshell. As music started onscreen, Mulder realized that he’d missed half of what was happening - except that there seemed to be Cher playing, and possibly a strange looking creature. And also, oddly, this episode was black & white. He’d have to ask Scully if she remembered this case in black & white. The last few weeks had been insane and Christine felt as if she’d been run over by a bus. Between her studying, the increasing stress at work related to the Mandarin and her concern about Pike, her time with Mulder was limited and when they were together, the last thing she wanted to do was talk. Mostly she just wanted to be in the same room with him, enjoying the company and not having to think about anything more stressful than getting up to go to the bathroom or get something to drink. Because of all this, she was really looking forward to this evening. There had been no sleep at all for her on Sunday night and aside from the time she’d been to the debriefing with Nick Fury, Christine had spent Monday sleeping. She’d also had Tuesday off so most of that day was spent sleeping as well but she felt better now and was looking forward to enjoying some time with Mulder. She stepped off the elevator, smiling to herself as she reached his door. Christine was trying not to think about what it all meant, the fact that just the idea of seeing him made her feel better, and just concentrate on enjoying it. She’d been overthinking everything recently and that was never a good idea. So no thinking tonight. Not about anything serious anyway. She was just going to take things as they came. Knocking on the door, she stood waiting for him to answer and when he did, she simply stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her head in his chest. The last couple of days had brought back a lot of painful memories and she just needed to hold onto to something warm and solid for a minute or two. Mulder had paused the show before going to the door and as Christine stepped in he wrapped his arms around her and held her for a moment until she pulled back. He’d been content to not talk over the past few weeks at least partially because there had been this huge thing hanging over him and he hadn’t known how to bring it up, but tonight he felt that it was time to get the conversation started. He gave her a kiss and a smile and then pulled back. “I was watching some of the show before, but I’ve got wine, and I’ve already ordered some pizza, so I’m yours for the rest of the evening - probably should do something other than the television considering that I’ve spent entirely too much time with it already today.” He stepped out of her arms and made his way over to the kitchen where he pulled out two wine glasses, and a bottle of wine, and stepped back over to the living room. “Also I think Spock is out for the night, or at Kirk’s, who is really to say on that one, so we should have the living room to ourselves for a little while at least.” “Wine and pizza,” Christine sighed as she walked into the room and sat down on the couch. “Sounds absolutely heavenly. The fact that we have the place to ourselves sounds wonderful too. Not that hanging out with Kirk and Spock isn’t fun because it is.” She grinned. With Kirk and Spock now being a couple, it wasn’t uncommon for all four of them to be in the apartment at the same time. Christine had come to find that she enjoyed talking to them and she truly was glad to see the two of them so happy together. “I have no objections against not watching television,” she said. “it feels like that’s all I’ve been doing when I’m not studying or working and Sunday night was....well it was brutal. Being down at the field hospital where the worst of it was? Reminded me too much of the battle when Vulcan was destroyed. I was surprised I was able to sleep when I got home Monday morning but I was so exhausted I just fell on the bed with my clothes on.” Mulder sat the wine glasses on the coffee table and poured two glasses, offering one then to Christine. “I’m not surprised you were so tired you fell asleep. I know they had all of the medical workers working over-time, and when they were asking for volunteers from people like me who knows basic first aid and that’s about it? Obviously those of you who knew something had too much to work on by yourselves.” He reached over and gave her shoulder a small squeeze. “But that’s done and hopefully over with for good. I suppose there’s no guarantee for that, particularly not when we’re living in a world where comic books and thus comic book stories are what counts for ‘reality’, but at the same time we can hope.” He paused to take a sip of the wine himself and settled back into the couch next to her. “How have your studies been going?” She smiled at him as she took the glass of wine from him. “I saw you down there,” she said. “I was running out the door to go downtown though so I didn’t stop to say anything. A lot of people were pitching in, it was good to see that.” Christine paused to take a sip of wine and then raised an eyebrow at him. “Damn. You got the good stuff. I feel special.” She couldn’t resist teasing him a little, it just felt good to be able to make a joke again. “Studying was going well until all this Mandarian stuff happened and then it was hard to concentrate but I feel like there isn’t a whole lot more I can do. There is only so much you can review for a test like this since there isn’t any way of knowing what’s going to be on it.” She shrugged. “I’m going to look through my review books at least one more time and then put it away. The test is August 28th so I’ve got over a month but I’m stopping a week before. My brain is full and all I can do is hope that I don’t go in there and overthink the answers and that when it’s all done, my scores are good enough to be competitive so that I can get into a school somewhere around here.” “I’m sure you’ll do fine,” Mulder reassured her. “You’ve been studying for quite a while, and obviously you’re smart,” he grinned at her. “But beyond that I think you know a lot of this material, and so just letting it sit there for a bit and make certain that it’s all there before the test sounds like a good plan. If you go into it too nervous then that can cause its own problem - so yeah, that sounds good,” he smiled at the wine. “I figured we both needed something a little celebratory considering all the work we’ve been putting in, so yeah, I splurged a little. Cheers,” he added with a grin and a tip of his glass before taking another sip. “I think right now we’ve all been a little stressed out. It’s odd how nothing exactly makes sense in the way it would at home, and yet it’s all not entirely unusual either,” Mulder shook his head. “I am hoping that perhaps things will calm down for a while. Scully and I should hopefully get our licenses soon, and we can start advertising. I have no idea if we’ll get any business or not, but one can hope.” Christine tipped her glass in return and took another sip. “We do deserve something a little celebratory, I agree with you there. Even though I played a very small part in everything that happened, I’m proud that the Mandarin was stopped. I’m also glad that the human bombs didn’t harm more people. I was pretty impressed with the SHIELD agents I saw when I was at the field hospital.” She’d been extremely busy but she’d seen enough to know that they did some amazing things. “I felt like I was living in a comic book which we kind of are, aren’t we? I never looked at it that way but that’s what it is. Can’t say I ever thought I’d be doing that.” She settled back on the couch and curled her feet under her. “I hope you get them soon. I doubt you’ll have any trouble finding business. I’m sure that a lot of people would be thrilled to have Mulder and Scully investigate something for them. I’d hire them but I’m kind of partial to that Mulder guy so what can I say?” Christine grinned at him over the top of her wine glass. “We are, which is something I’ve not quite wrapped my head around, I don’t think,” Mulder grinned. “But I agree, the SHIELD agents I saw at work seemed fully capable, and were quite responsive. I’m glad I could lend a hand just the bit that I did, and I’m glad that I’m not doing SHIELD on a regular basis,” he shook his head with a smile. “While I wondered for a while if I ought to be offering my services more, I think in the end I determined it was better for me to not get involved again with government organizations - comic book or no.” He took another sip of the wine, allowing the conversation to flow. Eventually he’d have to tell her what he’d discovered about his future, but that didn’t need to happen immediately and for the moment he was enjoying simply talking to her. “I need to put out signs, or advertisement or something,” he frowned and wrinkled up his nose. “That’s something I’m not used to doing, so that may be one of the trickiest parts. At least we’ll have some name recognition to go off of, though, so hopefully that will play in our favor. And be careful - your bias may be showing.” “From what I’ve seen of your show, you have every reason not to trust the government,” she said. “I’ve watched some of the episodes where Scully was abducted because I knew you were going to watch them with her. I can’t blame you for having problems trusting people. You both went through a lot.” Christine had been shocked at how manipulative the government had been or whoever was behind what had happened. She was used to the United Federation of Planets and while each planet did have its own governing body, the Federation was the overseer of everything. Not that there wasn’t corruption in the upper echelons of the Federation, there most certainly was but thankfully Christine hadn’t encountered any of it personally. Not before she came here anyway. “I think you’d be happier not having to answer to anyone but yourself anyway,” she want on. “I know I would be if it were me. Not that I want to be a private investigator. I prefer investigating things of a medical nature.” Christine finished her wine and poured herself another glass. “Yes, my bias is showing. I freely admit that. I’d be a pretty lousy girlfriend if I wasn’t your biggest fan now wouldn’t I?” Mulder nodded thoughtfully. “It’s not so much the entirety of the government - there are good people there and I’ve worked with them, but there is a set of men that don’t care about justice or the constitution, or any of the things that makes the country great and it does tend to make me leery of organizations like that because power does seem to attract that sort of thing.” He took another sip of the wine and realized that this was the perfect opening. “Actually, Christine, speaking of the show there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you that I found out a bit ago.” He took another sip of the wine and then looked over at her. “I’m not quite to that point in the show myself, but when Monica Reyes came up, it raised some questions and Scully and I found out some things about our future, that would have come to light while watching the show eventually, but I thought you should probably hear about it from me, and not after having stumbled across it from elsewhere.” She looked at him, curious about what he had found out. Whatever it was, it must be something fairly serious if he wanted to make sure she heard it from him and not randomly. Christine’s heart leapt into her throat because there was only one thing that came to mind and she hoped she was wrong. “You don’t die, do you? Please tell me that’s not it. I don’t think I could stand knowing that if you go back that you go back to die.” It was hard enough knowing that about Pike but if she had to live with the knowledge that both of them might be going back to face their deaths sooner than they should, she wasn’t sure how she could bear it. Mulder was startled for a moment and then he smiled and shook his head. “No, at least I don’t think so - not that I’m aware of at any rate, although I’m certain I do eventually. But no, it doesn’t have anything to do with that.” He realized he desperately wanted another sip of the wine, but for the moment he sat it down on the coffee table and looked over at her. “No, um, I have a son, in the future, well, Scully and I do. “It came a bit of a surprise to both of us, to be honest, but we looked into the episodes, and assuming that the future ones are as truthful as those I’ve watched thus far that I’ve lived, it does seem to be true.” He paused and took a breath. “And I don’t know all of the context around it,” he said. “At least not yet - it’s several years out yet from where I’ve watched too - but considering everything that’s on the internet I felt it was important enough that I wanted to make certain you knew about it from me, and not just stumble across it somehow.” Of all the things Christine had expected him to say, the fact that he had a child with Scully in the future wasn't one of them. She picked up her wine glass and drained it then sat it back on the table. Picking up the bottle and draining it too seemed like a good idea but she knew she needed to keep a clear head. "The two of you....together. I....did not see that coming." Except that part of her could. She knew they were close and with all they had faced as partners and friends, Christine could see how things could tip in the other direction under the right circumstances. "This is in the future? It's not......now...shit I don't want to sound jealous because I'm not. I just need to understand how I....how I fit into this." She was stunned that was for sure and while she knew logically that Milder's feelings hadn't changed, he was still with her after all, Christine was confused. Mulder had expected some reaction similar to this, because well, hadn’t he wondered it as well a bit? Except that it had been the opposite side - it had been him trying to sort through what that meant with him and Scully in this place. Whatever paths could have been taken - well you just didn’t know did you? This was the path that had been taken, and in his home reality a different path was taken, and he couldn’t say more than that. “Well, this is here, and it’s not there. I’ve lived things here that I haven’t lived there, won’t live - however that works, and I think we’ve all spent enough time trying to twist our heads around the ins and outs of alternate realities, but I guess, it isn’t,” he stared at the glass of wine wishing he hadn’t put it quite so far away. “The thing is, Christine, I’m here and I’m in a relationship with you. Even with the memories I’ve gotten I have no memory of anything more than friendship with Scully and she is one of my closest friends, as you know, but that’s where the two of us are now. So that’s Scully and I. You and I obviously have a relationship and you mean a great deal to me and that’s here. That’s you and I. “I won’t be so naive as to say it changes nothing because I think every bit of knowledge we gain about our futures does affect us in some way or another, but those are the conclusions I’ve come to a I’ve thought about it.” He hesitated, wondering if he should stop or say more, and he couldn’t help thinking that for someone who could profile criminals among the top percentage of profilers in the bureau, sometimes he really didn’t know what to do with people right in front of him. “I understand if you need some time to think about it, or I don’t know if you need time just generally.” She listened carefully to him, sorting through what he had said. Christine knew in her heart that Mulder and Scully were just friends but hearing him say that did set her mind at ease. Reaching out she took his hands in hers and took a deep breath. "No I don't need to think about it. Yeah it's a lot to wrap my head around but like you said that's there. This is here." She squeezed his hand. "and I know what I want. You mean a lot to me too and I trust you. That's not easy for me but I believe you. I want you. Right here, right now. We're together and I don't plan on letting knowledge of something that hasn't happened change how I feel about you." She knew that she would have to come to terms with all this in her own way but she didn't have to question Mulder's feelings for her. Letting go of one of his hands she picked up his glass and handed it to him. "You look like you could use this" Mulder half grinned as she handed him the glass and he nodded and took a sip. So that was done, and it was a relief to have it done. She knew, the world hadn’t ended in any way, and they could get on with life as it was in this crazy place. “Thanks,” he said aloud as he put the glass back down and rested it on his knee for a moment. He looked over at Christine and then leaned forward and gently kissed her. “And that’s not just for the wine glass either,” he explained. “I’m still only about half-way through with the show and I’ve only barely gotten into things that I’ve not lived yet, so there may be some other surprises in store for me, but I’ll take those as they come. It’s well, we’ve had this conversation - and you know that it’s odd, knowing what happens to you in the future, but it’s just the academic knowledge, not the emotional knowledge that comes from living it.” She touched his cheek as she returned his kiss. " You're welcome and I know what you mean. I know where I end up but not how I got there. I guess I'll find out if I go back." She tried not to think about it as a definite when, it was just easier. "I guess you're stuck with me then. You told me. I'm still here." Christine leaned over and kissed him again. Mulder smiled, and then took another drink of the wine and breathed out with relief. “I was glad you didn’t just jump off the sofa and run away,” he chuckled and then considered. “You said you watched the abduction episodes, have you watched any of the rest of the show? I’m sorry I’ve been just plowing through it without you, I think I just started realizing that I needed to go through all of it and just keep going - get further in and know what’s coming up whether it was good or bad. Plus I wanted to relook at the memories that I’d received... anyway, it isn’t a problem if you have watched more, I’m just curious, I suppose.” “I’m kind of hard to get rid of,” she said with a rueful smile. “but honestly Scully coming back bothered me more than hearing what happens in the future.” Christine shook her head. “You’d gotten the memory dump, then she came back and we didn’t talk for a few days. I knew about the memories but you hadn’t told me what was in them yet so I was afraid I was going to lose you.” As long as they were talking about this, she was going to be honest. “but after we talked, I knew that wasn’t true and I put it out of my mind. She’s your best friend, I understand that. I was just a little worried.” She reached over and poured herself more wine and took a sip. “I have gotten past the abduction episodes, I’m not sure where I am in relation to you but I understand that you needed to watch and see how things fit together especially after what you found out. I believe I might be at the point where you received the memories because some of the things I’m seeing are familiar and obviously the only way I’d know that would be because you told me.” Talking about the show reminded her of something she’d been thinking about. “I wanted to tell you something too. I think I’ve told you before that I haven’t seen the movie...the one from 2009. I didn’t want to because living through it was bad enough but I realized that there are things that happened that I don’t know about and it’s time I watched it. I can’t do it by myself though, I know I can’t. Besides you’ve never seen it and it might be interesting to you from an academic point of view.” She grinned. “since you’re more familiar with the original. Unfortunately you won’t be seeing me on screen but you get to hear McCoy yell at me so there’s that.” Mulder nodded. “I’m sorry, Christine,” he said finally. “I have a bad habit of going off on my own when I’m trying to sort things out - which, I can see how that might have made you uncertain and I apologize for that. The memory dump was almost more complicated than any of the rest of this has been, because of the fact that there are emotional connections to ‘memories’ that I technically haven’t lived, but that I remember living. It’s a bit of a mess, and although in some ways it could have been much worse,” Mulder didn’t want to think about what would happen if he got a few more years worth of memories overnight, “I still didn’t know quite what to make of it, so I guess I sort of withdrew while I was trying to figure that out.” He nodded though at the idea of watching the first film. “Honestly I had considered watching it when I got through with my show just so I’d understand your universe a bit better. I have, as you say, all this knowledge of the original universe - the one that my roommate is from - but I really have no knowledge of the differences between that one and the one you’re from other than what you’ve told me, so I would be honored to sit down and watch it with you. And we can do that whenever - I’d put it off because I wasn’t certain how you’d feel about me watching it and I didn’t want to do so without discussing it with you - but since you’d like to watch it, I’m willing to do that with you.” “I can understand that. I can’t imagine waking up with memories of things I haven’t experienced. I told you that at the time. It had to be disorienting as all hell.” Since he’d gotten those memories, they’d become closer and she knew him better now, could understand that sometimes he needed to sort things out on his own. “I hope you don’t get any more dumps either. It would be enough to drive a person crazy I imagine.” Christine took a sip of wine and then settled back on the couch, taking his hand and pulling him closer to her. “Thank you for agreeing to watch it with me. I know parts of it are going to be really hard, especially the parts where Pike was being tortured. I saw the aftermath of that of course and I spent a lot of time working with him when he was brought back to the ship but it’s not something he talks about a lot. So while I know the basics of what happened, watching it is going to be really hard for me.” When she’d worked with Pike, it had been easy to keep things professional, she hadn’t known him as a person then. Now she did and he was one of her closest friends. “He and I kind of bonded during all that. I spent a lot of time with him in sick bay even if he doesn’t remember most of it. Then we both ended up here and now that I know him as a person and not just as my commanding officer, I know watching him go through that is going to hit me hard. I feel like I need to watch it though mostly to see the big picture.” “I’m hoping the tesseract is done with memory dumps,” Mulder chuckled. “But I suppose if it isn’t, then I’ll deal with that as it comes along.” He allowed himself to be pulled closer and slid an arm around her shoulders as well. “It’s all right to be worried about watching it, Christine, and it’s all right to want someone there with you while you’re watching it. I do understand that. It was extremely difficult watching the abduction episodes again - seeing all of the things I didn’t know and couldn’t do anything about happening once again. It was difficult enough going through it the first time. But I know you and I know you’re strong enough to watch it, and perhaps you’ll even come out of it on the other side having learned something about yourself, or perceiving something about the situation you didn’t before.” Mulder took a sip of the wine and set the glass down on his knee again looking over at her. Christine snuggled against him, happy to be there, happy to feel close to him. Despite what she’d learned about his future, she couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. She was a bit surprised herself but as he had said, that was there and not here. She rested her head on his shoulder briefly and then looked over at him. “That’s true. I might see something that I had no idea was going on. There were plenty of things that happened that I heard about after the fact, it’s a big ship after all and no one that was there really likes to talk about it that much.” It had been a difficult time for the crew and naturally those who had lost friends, family, lovers...they did the best they could to put it out of their mind entirely. “One thing I can say after having watched more of the original series is that my time is darker. That bothers me because Spock and Kirk’s timeline, well they had their rough spots but overall they seemed more content. From what I’ve heard about the second movie things don’t get a lot better although I don’t know what happens in between them. The Tesseract doesn’t seem to think I need to know which might be a good thing.” She sipped her wine for a moment then leaned forward to put her glass on the table before shifting a bit so that she could see Mulder’s face better. “None of us asked to come here but I can’t say I’m sorry that I did. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have met you so the Tesseract did get one thing right.” She smiled and kissed him, resting her forehead against his when she pulled away. “and even though there’s no guarantee how long any of us will be here, I’m happy with right now.” There was more she wanted to say and she knew that she’d feel better if she came out with it but she was afraid. What if he didn’t feel the same way? Christine might be able to analyze data, she might be able to give a lecture on just about anything related to nursing but admitting her own feelings to someone was a different matter. She worried too much about making a fool of herself. Mulder nodded. “You probably will, in my experience at least, I’ve certainly seen plenty of things from items about the cases themselves that the viewer is privy to and Scully and I were not, to things that happened to Scully that she never told me about,” Mulder still hadn’t asked Scully about Luther Lee Boggs and the connection with her Father. It was so personal, and she’d never mentioned it in any depth to him, but still it had been something he’d not realized that she’d seen until he’d watched the show. “It’s interesting isn’t it? Some of us have so much information - those of us on television shows, or in books I think are more likely to have so many details of our personal lives on screen, but then the films are much less - because I suppose there’s less time and even if you’re a main character you’ll likely have less information out there than if you’re a main character on a television show.” He kissed her in return and reached a hand up to push her hair back as he pulled back slightly so he could look at her. “There are so many mysteries about this place that I don’t know if I’ll ever completely understand what the tesseract’s motives - assuming it has any - really are, but I’ve been thankful to get to know you as well Christine, so I can’t say that I’m sorry for this entire experience.” He was thoughtful for a moment. “In some ways you’ve got more mystery left in your real life, and there’s no reason to believe that what happens to you between the two films is a bad thing. As I understand it, there’s only the smallest reference in the second, yes? It’s entirely possible that whatever happens between those two films is a really good thing: A fantastic professional or personal opportunity. Knowing that it’s you? I’d completely believe that as a much more likely than extreme possibility.” “I’m not sure if it has any motives are not, I think sometimes we all give it too much credit but you and me is a good thing. I certainly didn’t expect to find anything like this when I found myself here.” Her first instinct had been to try and find a way home but it was clear that wasn’t going to happen so she decided to make an effort to get some people on the network. “I don’t know what made me comment to you when you asked on the network about people from other planets or other times. I’m glad I did though. I was pretty amused when you obviously knew my name and couldn’t believe that I was me. It was cute.” She kissed his cheek. “and thank you for believing in me. It’s nice to know that you’re my biggest fan. From what little I know regarding the reference, I end up on the frontier which I can see myself doing. I always wanted to learn more about the rest of the universe and the chance to start working in a new Federation outpost would be something I’d want to do. Did you know that I found out from reading the website I told you about and from Kirk the First that my countepart went on to become a doctor? Since I had no way of knowing that when I made my decision, it does seem that she and I are going to follow a similar path.” “We may, but without knowing much more about it, it’s impossible to say for certain,” Mulder said with a shrug. Despite hundreds of conversations with others who were used to dealing with the paranormal and didn’t find his ideas ‘spooky’, and who knew a thing or two about alternate realities, and portals, Mulder knew he was no closer to really understanding the nature of the tesseract than it appeared SHIELD was. He wondered if he had access to the comic materials in his own reality if it would suddenly be crystal clear - but probably not... otherwise surely someone who had come in from one of the alternate realities where Marvel Comics were a real thing would have recognized that and told, well, everyone. “It’s not difficult to believe that you’ll succeed in whatever reality you’re in. You’re clever and you’re resourceful, and you’re determined - those are all pretty important qualities for success regardless of reality,” he squeezed her hand gently and reached for the wine glass again. “Do you think when you return you’ll do the whole Doctor thing also? I suppose it’s impossible for you to say, but if you’re interested in it here, and your counterpart is interested in it, it does seem likely that you might take it up when you return also.” He considered for a moment. “Hey, maybe you’ll breeze through all of the exams and wonder just why they’re so easy,” he grinned at her. “It’s something I had thought about before I came here. II already had degrees in medical archaeology, bio-research, and endocrinology. I told you I was Geek Girl,” she said with a laugh. “then after Roger disappeared, I wanted to find a way to get an assignment on a ship. Medical was the easiest way to do it. I’d considered medical school once before when he and I were together but he talked me out of it.” Christine had always wondered why Roger had so adamantly refused the notion of her becoming a doctor. “Maybe he was afraid I’d discover something amazing and kick his ass. Anyway I decided to go into nursing because I liked working with people and the degree wouldn’t take as long. I don’t regret going the nursing route though because I love it. So yes, I probably will still go to medical school if I get sent back once I get back from the ass end of the galaxy of course.” She grinned and took a sip of wine, her eyes meeting his over the rim of her glass. “but if you’re lucky, I’ll actually end up going here and you can get free physicals. Which of course you will be properly compensated for.” “You’ve got me out degreed,” Mulder chuckled and shook his head. “I mean, yes, Oxford educated has a nice ring to it, but I’ve only got the one degree from Oxford - not three of them. Are you all over-achievers in the future or was it just you?” He teased, taking another sip of the wine. “And you know, you shouldn’t promise things if you aren’t willing to follow through,” he gave her an arch look. “I’m pretty certain that I haven’t had any physical exam for a while. I might be due for one.” Christine grinned. “It might just be me. Well Chekov finished the academy at sixteen I believe but he’s a prodigy so you can’t really count that. What can I say? I like learning stuff.” She’d been a bookworm all her life and had an insatiable curiosity to learn more. “At least when you tell people you went to Oxford they’re impressed. Tell people around here that you went to Starfleet Academy and most of them give you a look like you just dropped off a dump truck.” She laughed. “And I should think by now my dear that you would know I never make a promise that I don’t intend to keep,” she gave him a wicked grin. “Especially when it involves doing something that both of us are going to enjoy a great deal.” “I suppose that’s a fair point,” Mulder chuckled. “Oxford University seems to still exist in this reality, whereas Starfleet Academy exists only in people’s imaginations. Maybe you’re just telling the wrong group of people,” he raised an eyebrow at her. “Maybe you need to find the right group of people to be impressed by your ‘fictional’”, he air quoted, “schooling?” He sat the glass of wine, mostly empty now, on the table and looked over at her. “Perhaps we should relocate then? I don’t think this is quite the proper location for a physical - particularly should Spock or Kirk decide to change their minds and return earlier than anticipated.” She rolled her eyes. “Believe me it didn’t feel fictional and hey it impressed you!” At his suggestion, a big smile appeared on her face. “That is a wonderful idea. I think that is something best done in private.” For a moment, she grew serious and then leaned over to kiss him, her lips lingering just a bit before she pulled away. “Thank you, Mulder. For caring enough to want to tell me yourself. About the future I mean and for just caring in general. You make me happy, make this all a lot more bearable. I should tell you that more often.” Mulder leaned forward and kissed her in response. “You don’t have to thank me for any of that, you know,” he reached for her hand and pulled her to her feet, taking a step back towards his room. “But I’m glad that I do that for you, and I think I’ve told you, although it’s probably worth mentioning again, that I’ve been grateful for you more times than I can count throughout this experience, so it is mutual.” He squeezed her hand. “Good to know,” she squeezed his hand in return and stepped closer to him. “So I’m guessing that this is the part where I examine you and make sure you are in good health?” She kissed him lightly. “Lead on, Agent Mulder. We can’t have you not being in the best shape you can possibly be if you’re going to be out solving paranormal crimes and all that.” “You know, since I don’t have the FBI to check me out and make certain I’m fit to carry the badge, you’ll just have to clear me. I hope you’re up to the challenge, Nurse Chapel.” Mulder raised his eyebrows and gave her a grin as he led her back to his room. “But I’m pretty certain that you are.” |