TITLE: Sara Mulder Stories: Resolution AUTHOR: Lara Means E-MAIL: LaraMeansXF@aol.com WEBSITE: http://larameansxf.tripod.com CLASSIFICATION: SAR; MSR RATING: PG ARCHIVE: NO to Gossamer, Spookys; I'll submit directly to both. YES to Ephemeral. YES to mailing list auto-archives. Anywhere else, please ASK. I'll say yes; I just like to know where the kids are at the end of the day. FEEDBACK: Please? DATE POSTED: 01/19/02 DISCLAIMER: I don't own them. Heck, I don't even own my name. It all belongs to 20th Century Fox. No infringement intended. SPOILERS: Requiem. Alternate Reality after that. SUMMARY: Miss Sara Anne Mulder is overjoyed to finally announce the marriage of her parents... AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is the sixth in the "Sara Mulder Stories" series. It would probably help if you read the first five -- they can be found at http://larameansxf.tripod.com/sara_mulder_stories.htm . This one is probably schmoopier than the others. (More notes at the end.) This story takes place on December 30 and 31, 2013. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RESOLUTION written by Lara Means To: wsskinner@omega.net From: SAM-31501@aol.com Subject: The Wedding!!! Date: 12/27/2013 Dear Uncle Walter, Mom & Dad said you weren't coming to the wedding?!? I can't tell you how incredibly sad this makes me. I was really looking forward to seeing you -- it's been *ages*! So I thought I'd write and see if I could change your mind. Can I? Please? Love, Sara - - - - - To: wsskinner@omega.net From: SAM-31501@aol.com Subject: The Wedding (again) Date: 12/28/2013 Dear Uncle Walter, Haven't heard from you yet. Really thought I would by now, if only to say no. Mom & Dad would really love to see you, too. Daddy says he hasn't seen you since you retired from the FBI right after he came home. Please come. It would mean a lot to them. To me too. Love, Sara - - - - - To: wsskinner@omega.net From: SAM-31501@aol.com Subject: It's tomorrow... please come Date: 12/30/2013 Dear Uncle Walter, I guess the subject line says it all. The wedding's tomorrow. We all want you to be here. Please come. If you need a place to stay, we can put Uncle Charlie's kids on the couch and you can have the guest room. Please? Love, Sara ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I click 'send' and turn off the computer -- that's all I can do, really. If he's going to come, he'll be here. If he isn't, no amount of pleading from me will change his mind. Of course, Mom and Dad don't know I've been e-mailing him. They just assume that his 'no' from when they talked to him was his answer. But I couldn't just give up. Uncle Walter was so important to us when I was little, even after Mom married Ethan. He was always there for us no matter what, and dammit, I want him here for their wedding. Their 'why don't we get married on New Year's Eve' wedding. Yikes. It's been an interesting week, that's for sure -- starting with Christmas morning. They were up before I was, which was a surprise, and Daddy had hung mistletoe all around the house so he and Mom were very... affectionate all morning. Then, after all the presents were unwrapped, Daddy handed me a flat, square box and said it was from Santa. Uh-huh. So I opened it, and inside was a folded piece of paper covered with his unique handwriting... "Miss Sara Anne Mulder is overjoyed to finally announce the marriage of her parents..." After all the required screaming and hugging and kissing, we started talking details, with the when-and-where being the top priority. It was Daddy's idea to get married on New Year's Eve -- it's the anniversary of their first kiss. Incredibly romantic, but less than a week away! The rest of the day was spent making plans and phone calls. By the time dinner was over, everything was either set or in motion: they'd get married at our church here; our minister would perform the ceremony; they'd spend two nights at the Vineyard Inn as an abbreviated honeymoon; Grandma and Uncle Charlie's family would spend those two nights here at the house with me; Mom and I would go shopping the next day for dresses while Dad took care of the florist, caterer and car service. The only really difficult things we did that day were the phone calls to Uncle Walter and Mom's brother Bill. The call to Uncle Walter was especially hard for Daddy, because they haven't stayed in touch. Daddy always says he meant to, that he ought to call him just to catch up, but he never does. I don't think they don't care about each other anymore -- I think they just don't know how to be around each other. Uncle Walter was their boss, but he was a friend too, and he took care of Mom and me when Daddy was missing. After Dad came back we saw less of him -- I think it's been a couple of years now. But he's always answered my e-mails before. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Downstairs I hear Mom on the phone with Uncle Charlie, and I know they're talking about Uncle Bill. I shouldn't really call him that -- I've never even *met* the guy. The Gunmen are more like uncles to me than he is. "...to coerce him, Charlie. If he doesn't want to come..." Mom spots me coming down the stairs and smiles, but it's a sad smile. "All I'm saying is, it's his choice." There's a long pause, and Mom closes her eyes, shakes her head. "Charlie, do what you want. We'll see you guys tomorrow." She clicks off, and I get the feeling she could use a hug. So I give her one. Dad comes in through the back door with Spooky, who's enjoying her last day of freedom before she has to go to the kennel tomorrow since Uncle Charlie's wife Charlotte is allergic to dogs. He spots Mom and me, and he frowns. "Scully?" Mom just shakes her head and sniffles, so I answer for her. "She's been talking to Uncle Charlie about Bill." "*Uncle* Bill," she corrects me. "I've got plenty of uncles. None of them ever made you cry except him." "Sara." Dad's tone is enough to force a resigned sigh out of me. I head for the kitchen to make Mom a cup of tea, and Dad goes to her. I try to hear their conversation, but they've perfected whisper- talk -- I see them standing close together, his lips moving next to her ear, then he kisses her forehead and she goes into their bedroom, closing the door behind her. I duck back into the kitchen just as Dad's gaze wanders toward me. I busy myself with the teabag and kettle until I can't stand his eyes boring into the back of my head anymore. I turn around and he's just leaning there in the doorway, watching me. "I expected better than that from you, Sara." I don't respond -- I don't really know how to. "He may not be like your Uncle Charlie, but he's still your mom's brother and she loves him, no matter what's gone on between them in the past. I want you to treat him with respect." I nod, and he goes on. "And I want you to apologize to your mother." "I was thinking I should do that anyway," I tell him, hesitating a little. He gives me a smile and a nod. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I tap on the bedroom door and hear her muffled "come in," so I do. Mom's just coming out of the bathroom -- her eyes are still a little puffy. I hold out the cup of tea I brought, like a peace offering. "It's peppermint," I tell her. She smiles a little, takes it from me. "Thanks." "Mom, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I did about Uncle Bill." She sits on the end of the bed, motions for me to join her. "I know I've never really talked to you much about him..." "I just don't understand how he could hate Daddy so much, or how he could hurt you by hating him." "Bill met Mulder under the worst possible circumstances. I was dying, and as far as Bill was concerned, it was all Mulder's fault. Mom and I tried, but he wouldn't listen. He's carried that grudge all these years, never letting himself feel anything but contempt for Mulder." "That's a long time to hate someone." "But it wasn't *just* Mulder. See, sweetie, Bill grew up as the oldest son in a Navy family, and it was drilled into him from the time he was a little boy that when Dad was away, he was the man of the house. So he felt it was his duty to supervise the rest of us. When I decided to join the FBI, Bill was more disapproving than my father was." "So he's always been like this? I'm so glad I don't have siblings, it's just too complicated." Mom gives me another sad smile and slips an arm around me. I rest my head on her shoulder while she strokes my hair. "The last time I talked to him before this week was right after you were born. I told him I had a beautiful baby girl... and all he could do was ask where her father was. He never accepted that Mulder had been abducted -- he assumed he'd run out on us." "But you want him to come to the wedding anyway, don't you?" She doesn't say anything for a moment. "Yeah. I do." Even if I knew how to get in touch with him, I don't know if it would do any good. I can't even get Uncle Walter to answer my emails. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The rest of the day is spent checking and double-checking things for tomorrow -- food, flowers, reservations at the Inn... Dad decided he wanted to be traditional about the whole 'can't see the bride before the wedding' thing, so he'll drop Spooky off at the kennel tonight on his way to their suite at the Inn. I think that's the only really traditional thing they're doing in this wedding. Well, they're exchanging rings, too. But that's about it. All too soon, the car is here for Daddy. I get Spooky into her carrier while the driver takes the bags to the car. By the time he comes back for the dog, Mom and Dad have kissed so many times I've lost count. One last kiss and a whispered "I love you," then Daddy gives me a big hug. "Take care of Mom tonight," he tells me. "I will." From the way they're looking at each other, even while Dad's hugging me, you'd think they'd be apart for another twelve years instead of just twenty-four hours. "Hey," I say as I playfully poke him in the stomach, "we'll see you at the church tomorrow, right?" That gets a laugh from him. "Right, right..." He kisses me again, and I get my own whispered "I love you." "Love you too, Daddy." Mom and I watch out the window as he gets in the car and it drives away. We sit there for a long time, holding hands and watching the light snowfall. We do have things to do tonight -- our hair, our nails, girly stuff like that -- but neither of us is in a big hurry to move from our spot at the window. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ "Sara, can I ask you something?" Mom says as she braids my hair. It's a little damp still, so it'll be all wavy for tomorrow. We're sitting on their bed, having decided we'll sleep together tonight so we only have to change one bed for our guests tomorrow. "Isn't this usually the other way around?" I ask, and she laughs. "When you first got in touch with your father back in July... is this what you hoped would happen? That we'd get married someday?" "I hoped... I wanted us all to be together. The three of us. It didn't matter to me if you got married or not." "Did that change later on? As you got to know him?" "Of course not," I tell her, then I reconsider. I always tell my mother the truth. "Well... when he told me he'd asked and you said no. It changed then. Like when you're told you can't have something, that's all you want." Mom nods and finishes up with my hair. "Scoot under the covers, and I'll check the alarm." "Don't want to oversleep on your wedding day, huh?" I grin, crawling under the comforter. Mom joins me, rubbing her cold feet against my legs, and I let out a yelp. She did the same thing the last time we slept together -- the night of Ethan's funeral. Then, it was to comfort each other. Tonight, I think it's a mother-daughter bonding thing. Or a bookend maybe, an ending and a beginning. "Mom, can I ask you a question now?" "Sure, sweetie." "Is this what *you* hoped for?" She doesn't answer right away, just tightens her arms around me. When she finally does answer, I hear the tears in her voice. "I didn't dare hope... but I wished. I wished very hard... That he was still out there. That he still loved me. That he would love you. That he would want this." "And he did." Sniffling, Mom says, "Yes, he did." "Don't cry, Mom, your eyes'll get all puffy." "Can't have that," she laughs. "Night, sweetie." "Night, Mom. Love you." "Love you too." ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ We're both up before the alarm goes off -- no danger of oversleeping here. Still, it seems like we're barely out of bed before stuff starts happening -- food deliveries, flower deliveries, people deliveries... Grandma, Uncle Charlie, Aunt Charlotte, Kevin and Jessica arrive around noon -- and after all the hugs have been given out, Mom and I realize there are three more people with them. "Tara?" Uncle Bill's wife. Mom goes to her, throws her arms around her, and soon they're both crying. Mom's going to end up with puffy eyes after all, but I guess it's okay, since they haven't seen each other in something like fourteen or fifteen years. I prefer to look at the tall blond guy standing next to her, even though he's probably a cousin. Mom and Aunt Tara finally separate, and introductions are made -- sure enough, Tall Blond Guy is my cousin Matthew. There's a smaller ten-year-old version of him too, James, who Mom's never met. But no Uncle Bill. "I hope it's okay that we came..." "Of course it's okay -- Tara, God, it's been so long..." "I'm so sorry I couldn't get Bill to come..." Mom shakes her head. "His choice, Tara." "He can be so damn stubborn sometimes..." "Just like his father." This from Grandma. And this is what I love about my Grandma -- she always speaks her mind. I go over and give her a hug. "Dana, I thought we could put Tara and Jessica in the guest room, and the boys can sleep on the sofas," Uncle Charlie says. I like Uncle Charlie -- he's hyper-organized, like me. He and I had already decided that Grandma would sleep with me, and he and Aunt Charlotte would take Mom and Dad's room. Mom nods her agreement with this change in plans, then hugs Aunt Tara again as I begin to show people to their assigned places. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The day only gets more hectic the closer we get to six o'clock. By the time the car comes for us at five, Mom's so nervous she's trembling. I thrive in this sort of chaos, so I take charge of getting her together and ready to go to the church. As I'm on my way out the door, Grandma pulls me into a tight hug. "You did it, baby girl. I didn't think it was possible, but you did it." I give her a shrug. "Nah, I just helped things along." Grandma kisses my cheek, which means I'll have to check it for lipstick when we get to the church. I turn back to shout a last instruction to Uncle Charlie about what to do if the car isn't there for them in half an hour, then we're on our way. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ It's a good thing they do lots of weddings at our church -- there are special rooms set aside for the couple to get ready. I get dressed in the bride's room, then get Mom started, then go off in search of Dad. When I don't find him in the groom's room, I start to worry a little. It's irrational, I know, but still... Finally I go out the back door of the church and there he is, not wearing a coat, hands shoved into his pants pockets, pacing the gazebo. He looks up as I come outside and gives me a lopsided grin -- it must've been that grin that made Mom fall in love with him. I step up under the gazebo roof and just watch as he continues to pace. We're getting another little dusting of snow, and it's just plain cold out here, so I tell him, "You know, getting pneumonia on your wedding day isn't a really good idea." "Hey, I've been to both the North and South Poles, and survived just fine." "There's always a first time." He smiles and opens his arms, enveloping me. "You look beautiful, sweetheart." "Thanks. I'm freezing." Doesn't work -- he just holds me tighter. But that's okay... for a few more minutes, anyway. "In case I forget later... thank you, Sara." "For what?" "For July eighth." I draw back a little and look up at him, puzzled. "The day I first got an e-mail from my little girl." "Daddy..." I'm starting to tear up a little, which I really don't want to do right now... "And for July twentieth -- the day we finally met. And for March fifteenth, 2001..." "The day I was born," I whisper, and he nods. I let the tears come now -- I couldn't stop them anyway -- and he brushes them away with his thumbs. He presses his lips to my forehead for a long while, then murmurs, "I love you so much, Sara..." "I love you too, Daddy." ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ With everybody tucked away -- Dad pacing the groom's room, Mom fidgeting at her dressing table -- I stand in the vestibule with Reverend Barbara and greet our guests. My friends and their parents all say they're looking forward to getting to know Mom, and Dad's friend Dr. Newman tells me to remind her to call him in a few days about maybe coming to work for him at the hospital here. Grandma and the rest of the family finally arrive -- the car was late, Aunt Charlotte tells me, and it hits me again that if she ever loosened up enough we could call her Aunt Charlie, but she doesn't have much of a sense of humor. Several of my friends, especially Lindsey McCallister, stare open-mouthed at Matthew -- understandable, because he's a definite babe -- and I know they'll all be insufferable at the party later. "Hey, kiddo," I hear and immediately spin around -- the Gunmen are here! I throw my arms around Uncle Frohike, surprised to find I'm almost as tall as he is now. "Wow, look at you," he says, holding me at arm's length. "You're all grown up!" "Yeah, but you're not," I tell him with a smile. He's my favorite of the Gunmen -- Uncle John always seems afraid he'll do or say something wrong around me, and about all Langly and I have in common is a love of computers. Uncle Fro sort of looked after us while Daddy was missing, a lot like Uncle Walter did, but he also wanted to be a friend to me, and always treated me like a person instead of a kid. I say hi to Langly and Uncle John and they go on into the chapel. Uncle Frohike looks at me and smiles. "You really do look gorgeous, Sara." "Thanks. Mom picked it out. Wait'll you see her, Uncle Fro, she's so beautiful." "She's always been beautiful. They nervous?" "Well, she's fidgeting and he's pacing, so yeah, they're nervous." "Won't be long now. I better go keep Langly and Byers out of trouble." He hugs me again, kisses my cheek, and whispers, "Congratulations, kiddo." He heads into the chapel -- so does Reverend Barbara, closing the doors behind her. It's almost time. I knock on the groom's room door and Daddy comes out. Then I knock on the bride's room door -- Mom comes out, and like I told Uncle Frohike, she's beautiful. Radiant, really. Her dress is perfect, a cobalt blue silk that makes her eyes sparkle. Daddy can't take his eyes off her. Neither can I. Until the outer door opens. His hair is whiter than I remember, and there are more wrinkles around his eyes, but it's him. It's really him. "Sorry I'm late," Uncle Walter says. He looks a little apprehensive, like he thinks we might send him away because he didn't tell us he was coming. Daddy moves first, reaching out his hand. Uncle Walter takes it, then Daddy pulls him close and hugs him. "You're right on time, Walter," he says, and they stand together like that for a long time. Mom joins them after a minute, hugging him too and adding a kiss on the cheek. "Dana, you... you look..." Mom squeezes his hand as he trails off, then he looks at me. "Hi." "Hi," I whisper with a smile. I'm trying not to cry because I've used up all my tissues, but I have to at least give him a hug. Uncle Walter leans down and murmurs, "I'm so sorry..." I shake my head. "Later, okay? Let's get you seated." ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ With Uncle Walter seated near the back, we finally open the doors and enter the chapel -- Mom on my left, Dad on my right, me holding their hands. When Reverend Barbara asks who gives this couple to be married, I say "I do," give them both a kiss, and join their hands. I sit next to Grandma for the rest of the ceremony, which is simple and elegant. Their vows are heartfelt and emotional -- I don't think there's anybody in the chapel who isn't crying. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The party is rowdy -- I never knew grown-ups could be so loud! But everybody's having a great time. The Gunmen are actually being social, which is highly unlike them, but I figure they're doing it for Mom and Dad. Uncle Fro and Reverend Barbara seem to be hitting it off really well. My friends are falling all over Matthew, who just looks bored. I chat with Aunt Tara, who seems really nice and a little embarrassed over the whole Uncle Bill thing. I find out that they live in Annapolis, that Uncle Bill teaches at the Naval Academy, and that she really likes Daddy. Mom and Dad spend a long time with Uncle Walter, talking and hugging and talking some more. When they finally head off to visit with some of our other guests, I follow him into the kitchen. "Hi," I say. He's pouring a cup of coffee and turns around when he's done. "Hi." "I'm glad you came, Uncle Walter." "I'm sorry I didn't answer your e-mails, Sara, I... I had some thinking to do." "It's okay. You're here, that's what matters." "I wasn't sure I'd be welcome, despite what you all said. I feel like I just remind them of the past, things they'd rather forget." "Know what I remember most?" He shakes his head. "The zoo." "Sara, you were three years old when I took you to the zoo." "The monkeys scared me, and you picked me up and held me, made me feel safe. Nobody but Mom had ever made me feel safe before -- but you did." I put my arms around his waist and hold him tight, and after a second or two he hugs me back. "You've always made me feel safe, Uncle Walter. I miss that. I miss you." He kisses the top of my head and whispers, "I miss you too." ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ It's about eleven-thirty when I wander upstairs to the study in search of Mom and Dad. I find them sitting together on the leather couch, Mom wrapped up in Dad's arms. They move over so I can sit with them, and Mom puts her arms around me. "We're going to be leaving soon," Mom tells me. "Before midnight?" "Before the New Year's Eve kiss," Dad says. "We don't want a fuss when we leave, so we'll just slip out the back. Say good night for us?" Mom asks. I nod and stand up, holding out my hands for them. "You'd better put in an appearance before you go, or else you won't be able to sneak out." "We're not sneaking out," Dad protests, but he grins as he says it, which means we both know exactly what they're doing -- sneaking out so that their first married New Year's Eve kiss is a private one. My dad can be such a romantic sometimes. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ As it gets closer to midnight, the servers we hired start to pass out the champagne and sparkling cider. I spot Grandma sitting all by herself on the sofa, so I join her. It's been a *very* long day, so I curl up on the sofa and lay my head in her lap. "Tired, sweetheart?" I give her a sort of half-nod/half-yawn, and she combs her fingers through my hair. "Me too. But a good kind of tired." I hear someone, Uncle Fro probably, wonder loudly where Mom and Dad are. Somebody else, I think it's Uncle Charlie, starts the midnight countdown. From where I'm lying on the sofa I can just see out the window to the back porch. They're standing in the shadows, very close. He leans down, she stretches up... Five... four... three... two... One. I smile. Happy New Year. END ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AUTHOR'S NOTES: Dedicated to Jean Helms -- thanks for your gentle stalking. (I still owe you e-mail from the last one, and I hope you'll forgive me for that.) Major props to jeri, Mel and Lori for outstanding beta services. Thanks to IWTB and the Secret Squirrels for constant inspiration and support. The feedback I've gotten on these stories has been amazing, and has sustained me through some difficult times. Thank you all for that. I have to say, though, that I'm honestly not sure where I want to take this series now. I may do a honeymoon fic, I may jump ahead a few years into their lives together, or I might let this be the end. I just don't know right now. So I think I'll let it sit for now and concentrate on some other stories I want to write. Thanks again to everyone for your support and encouragement.