Tell Me I'm Not Your Her: Ending 1

And then she heard the word that transformed her universe -- irrevocably, eternally.

"What?"

With the one word, with his incomprehension, a cold bleak mass of hopelessness lodged itself in the pit of her belly. It's not you....

"Scully?"

"Never mind," she managed to choke out.

It's not you.

She didn't know what she was doing until suddenly she was doing it: snatching up her purse, her coat -- she heard Mulder speaking to her angrily, but it was as if he were a million miles away, and she couldn't make sense of the words, nor did she try.

The cold air slapped against her face, bringing her roughly back to the here-and-now as she ran down the avenue, knowing that driving and parking would never bring her there in time. It's not you. Which meant that there was a Mark out there, waiting for his Lisa -- and suddenly the need to see him, to know him, burned within her like the sole spark illuminating an endless void.

How hurtful it was, to have her hopes so cruelly dashed -- and at the same time, liberating: freeing her to hope anew.

She was breathless by the time she reached the restaurant, looked around frantically -- no one was waiting outside; she thought about checking inside, but no, he said he'd be here, and if she went inside she might miss him, if she hadn't missed him already... and caught up in the sudden churning miasma of worry, she almost didn't hear the small, hesitant voice that spoke up from behind her. "Lisa?"

Slowly, Scully turned.

He was tall. He was dark-haired. But there the resemblance ended, for his was a face that seemed made for smiles and laughter, eyes that seemed to want to sparkle, even when they were clouded by a fear and doubt that mirrored her own...

Looking into those eyes made something happen within her, something huge, something overwhelming, something that would have been frightening if it hadn't felt so good; and Scully, who had never believed in love at first sight, found herself suddenly doubting that certainty.

"Mark," she said softly.

For what seemed a lifetime, they stood there, looking at each other. "Today, my partner said something," he murmured, breaking the silence, "and... and I called her Lisa, just to see... and then I knew. I knew it wasn't you." A short beat. "You know, suddenly I'm glad?" and his hand reached out, fingertips brushing against her cheek -- then pulling back sharply, in startlement, as if suddenly realizing what he'd done.

"Coincidence again," she heard herself say. "Me, too." His eyes, his eyes, they were dark blue like twilight, and seemed to capture her... "On all counts."

It seemed as if their eye contact was some sort of conduit, silent energy flowing between them, weaving them together... He shook his head, as if to break the spell. "My name's not really Mark," he said sheepishly.

She smiled. "My name's not really Lisa."

"I'm Joe," he added.

"I'm..." Scully, she almost said; but Scully was Mulder's partner, and a different person entirely. Scully was the one who had believed that Mulder might love her. "I'm Dana," she said. "Hi, Joe."

"Hi, Dana." He glanced past her, at the crowded, lively watering hole. "We should go inside, I guess," but his voice was doubtful.

She turned to look. "Not there," she decided. "Someplace quiet. Somewhere we can talk."

"Yes. I... I'm looking forward to talking to you," and in the dim light she could barely see the faint flush that colored his face.

"Me, too," she whispered, not understanding the odd surge of emotion rising within her, and not caring.

Joe offered her his arm, in the manner of a century past, and she took it; and together they walked down the street. It felt comfortable to walk with him -- it felt right, in some way she couldn't quite define.

She had the feeling that she wouldn't be returning to the office to help Mulder with that report. He would be furious with her for that...

But she didn't care. For once, for a change, it didn't matter how Mulder felt about her.

And that gift, which Mark -- Joe -- had given her, was a gift beyond price, regardless of what else happened... and anything might happen, from here.

Together, arm in arm, Mark and Lisa headed off on their grand adventure, into the unknown.