Separate By RocketMan ===== Rating: G, harmless....um A, I think. Notes: This is something I decided to write after reading, finally, the article that was in US magazine--the infamous picture of them in the morgue on the steel tables. I just admired the pictures for the longest time and never wanted to read the article. But this is what happens when I do read articles. I get sad because they become people.......not Mulder and Scully. Dedication: First to God, of course. Then to Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny who want to be separate but equal. And who said in the article that they didn't want to be identified as M&S. I realize that you are people too. ===== <"Do you hate her? Cause she's pieces of you?"> --Jewel, Pieces of You ===== "Aren't you going to talk to Agent Scully about this Mr. Mulder?" came Skinner's gruff, fatherly voice. Mulder spun around; Skinner's comment had come right after he had been about to leave. "Uh.....no sir. I'm not sure it's her business." A noncommital grunt from the AD. "All right then, Mulder. You're dismissed." Fox Mulder left the office and felt like slamming his fist into something. What had Skinner meant? Tell Scully about this? It wasn't her business; she didn't need to know this. Why did everyone assume they were together in everything? All he wanted to be was Fox Mulder......even Spooky. Not Mulder and Scully. It's not that he didn't like her, or enjoy her company, he was just sick of always being identified either as Scully's partner or with the X-Files. He did do other things, he did have other aspects to his personality. He was not limited to being 'Scully's partner.' He was not a broken piece of her. He was a separate person. ******* "Aren't you coming?" Scully said, looking back over her shoulder at Mulder, who was still sitting in his chair. Did he usually follow her around like a pitiful puppy dog? "No." he said shortly. She withdrew spiritually. He saw her eyes dim as she drew back into herself. "All right." she said softly and left. Jeez. Did he always follow her around? No wonder no one could see them as separate people. They were more tightly woven together than he had first thought. But.....he *was* a separate person. Not pieces of her. Right? ****** "Hey......doesn't Agent Scully do that too?" said the man with a smile, pointing to Mulder's eyebrow, which had involuntarily gone up. Mulder scowled fiercely and made an effort to not raise his eyebrow again. For Pete's sake......he wasn't Scully! He was separate! ****** Scully walked into the office and sat down heavily. She couldn't understand what was going on with Mulder. He avoided her, and he never came over anymore. What had happened? They were beginning to be friends......right? Mulder came in to the office and sat at his desk, pulling his briefcase to the desktop. She eyed him and sighed. Why was he being so odd with her? "Mulder?" "Hmmm?" "Mulder. Look at me." He glanced up with a scowl, a scowl she had seen for three weeks straight. "Mulder, what is up with you?" He shook his head and murmured something indecipherable. "Mulder......." He sighed and hoped he wasn't totally killing something. "Do you ever get the feeling that everyone doesn't know you at all? I mean, like they think you're someone else completely?" She cocked her head. "Where are you going with this Mulder?" "Oh, I just have this........I mean this is really bugging me..." "Identity crisis, Mulder?" He frowned and shook his head. "Maybe." "Well, I do know what you mean, I think. I had two brothers and a sister, Mulder. I was in a big family and a middle child. I hated it when someone would say, 'Oh you're Bill's sister..' or 'Oh Melissa's your sister'..." she said. He nodded. "I.....I feel like that with you." he said softly. She stopped smiling and looked down, her eyes not making contact with his anymore. "Scully.....I don't mean it like that. At first I didn't have a problem with it.....but now......I can't do anything without someone saying something like what you were just saying." She shook her head and gave him a wry look. "Don't worry, Mulder. I....I've been thinking the same thing for awhile now. I can't seem to get away from your influence. Not that it's bad, but sometimes I just wish I could give something to someone and not have them ask me if you requested it, or if you knew about it. It's like you're my keeper......or the other half of me." He nodded. "Yeah.......I just want to be myself.....I want them to see me as me....even if it is as Spooky. I don't care." "I want to be seen as separate from you, not as Mulder's partner." she said just as Mulder said, "I don't want to be thought of as Scully's partner." When they both said partner at the same time they glanced at each other and laughed softly. "I guess," she said, "that we are pretty similiar, even if we don't want to be." He gave her his awkward look and she shook her head. "Maybe we need a vacation. I feel like a piece of you all the time." he confessed. "Yeah.....some time away from each other. I feel like we're married or something." He grinned and stood. "Well, I'm going to request it right away. Coming?" She smiled and stood up too. They left together, walking in synch to the other's gait, inches apart and in tandem. They were partners; partners required some amount of understood silent communication, and they had it. But they were still separate. And they hated that people thought of them as one enitity.......and hated that they hated that, because it was something they needed. They were separate........but pieces of each other, of one big picture that they both could see. They had nothing in common but everything alike............pieces. Pieces. And pieces are only good when they come together to make a whole. They didn't seem to realize that. end. this is just a reminder to everyone that it isn't MulderandScully......it's two separate people and everyone working that closely together gets sick of each other after awhile. (Yes, even in TV.) I know I get sick of my best friends sometime. =-) No offense Jen! Adios RocketMan