TITLE: The Wall AUTHOR: Lara Means E-MAIL: LaraMeansXF@aol.com WEBSITE: www.geocities.com/larameans_2000 CLASSIFICATION: VA RATING: PG (slash implications) ARCHIVE: NO to Gossamer, Spookys; I'll submit directly to both. YES to Ephemeral. 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: 12/20/01 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: Existence, Nothing Important Happened Today. SUMMARY: We stand together, side by side. AUTHOR'S NOTE: At the end. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE WALL written by Lara Means I knew where to find him -- at the apex of that deep black slash of marble. He doesn't look up as I approach, but he knows I'm here. Neither of us speaks right away, the shouting match in his office still too fresh. "In the end, it was easy," he finally murmurs. "Almost second- nature. Like it was back then." Krycek, Viet Cong. He sees little difference now. "That's how it is in a war." "That how it was for you, John? In Beirut?" "Strictly speaking, we weren't combatants, we were peacekeepers." "Yeah, I've seen how well that worked out for you." Our first time together. Comparing scars, swapping ex-Marine stories. "He didn't give you a choice, Walter." Krycek or Mulder, he told me. "You did what you had to do." There's a long silence before he speaks again. "I know." We stand together, side by side. Soldiers then. Soldiers now. Only the enemy has changed. END ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AUTHOR'S NOTE: Written for a Scullyfic challenge: Skinner in 155 words. My first attempt at sorta-slash, to soothe those on Scullyfic who were worried about Skinner & Doggett breaking up.