Long wait. Sorry!
But here it is, the last chapter!
But I might make a sequel to this...
Scully in the future... Mulder hasn't come back and she is forced to move on with her life... even though her heart still remains with him. Then he comes back... but yeah... it's a bit more complicated than that.
Two days after Mulder left her, Scully was back at work. Earlier that day, Scully had been called to the basement office by Monica. Dogget was off checking sources for a case they had just begun, and Monica was stuck finding other cases that related to the one they were on. Since Scully had been working on the x-files for nine years, she decided to call her in.

As of now... 11:21 (haha, chris carter's wife's birthday) there are 9 more minutes until I see Gillian on the Tonight Show!
Thursday night is going to be the best night of my life!

Lingering Scent

"Hi Dana," Reyes greeted Scully from behind the desk. She was careful to ask her about how she was feeling. When she last saw Scully, she was pouring her heart out in heart-breaking sobs.

"Hello, Agent Reyes," Scully returned the honest smile on her friend's face.

"How've you been holding up?"

"It's been getting better." She lied through her false smile. It had been getting harder the past two days. It hurt every time she idly stared at the glistening ring.

"That's good to hear." Reyes changed the subject, pushing her hair behind her ears, and standing up. "Well, this case we've been on... it's been confusing to me."

"What do you mean?"

"It's mostly the manner of the way the girl was killed. I've never seen or heard anything like it."

"Can I see that file?" Scully outstretched her hand.

"Sure," Monica handed it to her and Scully began scanning through the report and pictures.

"I think, I remember a case... maybe two or three years back," Scully headed for one of the large filing cabinets. "Agent Reyes, will you help me move this back?" Scully asked, struggling with the weight of the large metal cabinet.

"Sure? You kept the case behind it?"

"Something Mulder did." Her heart trembled while using his name. "It was weird," She allowed herself to laugh at the good old days. But then after the filing cabinet slid all the way back a few pictures fell down right in front of Scully on the floor. "Oh," she gasped, picking them up. She bit her bottom lip as she looked at the three pictures. Tears stung in her eyes. They must've been sitting on top of the cabinet. She never thought Mulder actually kept them. They were photos from when they were both on a case together, posed as a married couple, the Petries. Reyes saw the photos she was holding, and she saw the tears falling swiftly from her friend's eyes.

"Dana," Reyes crouched down next to Scully, placing her hand on her back.

"This is a... uhm picture of me and Mulder when we were undercover as a married couple." She wiped away the tears on her cheek. She choked at the word married couple, and she completely broke down. "You know, he said that it wasn't an x-file and that I just wanted to play house. I did want to see what it was like to be married to him, even if it was just work." Scully let Reyes hold her as the tears continued coming. "It was so funny. We even took pictures to remember how funny it was. He even picked a ridiculous name for us. But..." Scully pulled out her cross necklace. Sure enough, her gleaming engagement ring hung.

"Dana... when?" Reyes asked, still holding her friend. Scully looked up at her with glassy eyes.

"Just before he left..." Her sobs became more violent, until Reyes told her to go home and get rest.

--
Scully with puffy red eyes walked into her apartment. The tears continued to flow, but now it was slow, and she had been crying so much that it almost went by unnoticed. Just as normal, she set her keys down at the door, and she took off her light jacket.

"Hi, sweetie," Her mom greeted her cheerfully as she took off her jacket.

"Hi, mom," She said in her sulky tone, her voice cracking. She wiped her tears as she almost ran to her bedroom. She felt like she was fifteen again, running to her room, her mother on her heels.

"Dana... do you wanna talk?" Mrs. Scully asked, carefully from behind the door as she gave a soft knock.

Before answering, Scully thought carefully. She sat on her bed, her knees being hugged to her chest. Usually and almost always, she would talk to her mother about difficult things. But the past two days, she only said that Mulder had left, and that she didn't want to talk about it. Why was it different now? Why was she lying to her own mother? She yearned to talk about it. She wanted to vent and cry, while her mother held her. She wanted to have her mascara smeared all over her mother's shoulder. It was lonely, crying herself to sleep every night like she used to whenever Mulder left her. But now, instead of lying down, hugging a pillow, she hugged her legs to her chest. It was like that position prevented the hole in her heart from tearing wider and wider. And this wasn't metaphorically speaking. No, it actually felt like her heart was being torn. Her breathing wasn't even, and everything was hurting. But Scully let her heart rip; she knew her mother would be there to bandage her once she cried on her shoulder. So she got up.

"Oh, sweetie," Mrs. Scully threw her arms around her tear and make-up stained daughter.

"Mom," Scully began as they walked to the bed, where mother and daughter sat down. "I don't know what happened today. I just let myself break down. I promised myself I wouldn't. But..." Her voice cracked with every word. "It happened. And once it happened... I... I couldn't stop it." She got what she yearned for; her mother was now holding her, allowing Scully to leave stains on her shirt. "Mulder is gone, Mom. I don't know when he is coming back. I don't know if he is coming back. Why is this so much worse than before? I should be getting better at this. He's left me before... and now... I'm so weak."

"Dana, shh, it's okay."

"No, mom it isn't. I love him. William loves him. But he's left us again. I know he had to. But I just ... I want him back so bad."

"He loves you both too, so much. And you know that. Just because you cry over this, it doesn't make you a weak person. Fox wouldn't want you to dwell on the fact that he is gone though, baby. You know that. But to me... it's not as if you have a choice."

"Mom... I have to tell you. I have to tell you that... well," She couldn't exactly find the words to tell her mother that Mulder had proposed.

"Yes?" Scully pulled her necklace out from under her collar. Her mother gasped.

"The day he left, Mom. He promised me. He promised me it for when he got back." Scully unhooked the necklace around her neck and let the ring slide from off the chain. After gazing at the ring for a moment or two she slipped it onto her ring finger. She held out her hand in front of her, letting the light bounce off the diamond setting. "It was his mother's." Scully sniffed.

"It's beautiful."

"I know," Scully mumbled. "I want to wear it so bad. I want to tell the world that I'm engaged to him. But my mind knows better. It knows that wouldn't be the right thing. So I won't. And I can't wear it on my necklace. Someone is bound to see it."

"Are you going to leave it here?" Scully had to think for a moment, thinking if her decision was really a good one.

"Yes, but I am engaged to him none the less... no matter what."

"Do you want me to stay the night, Dana?"

"N-no... Mom, I think I'm okay." Mrs. Scully stood up. "But," she stopped her. "Last time when I thought I was okay... I really wasn't."

"I'll stay. But, you get some rest. William's sleeping right now. I'll see to him while you sleep."

"Mom?"

"Yeah, Dana?"

"Thank you."

"Your welcome, sweetie. I love you," Scully's mom pressed a gentle kiss to her daughter's cheek.

When Mrs. Scully left the room, Scully found herself hugging the pillow which was last used by Mulder. She took in the scent, which was still strong on the pillow. She knew it would soon leave, but she wanted the most of it while it was there. It was kind of like Mulder. She wanted the most of him while he was back with her, even though she knew that he would soon leave. Yes, Mulder coming back was like a lingering scent.

Okay, the end.
SO, did you like it?
What do you think of my idea for a sequel?
PLEASE R&R

I had to proofread myself :(
sorry for any mistakes I missed.
I did it quickly. I have the tonight show in... now 7 minutes!

-A.