TITLE: Walking The Line (1 of 1)
AUTHOR: Rhetta
RATING: PG-13
CLASSIFICATION: Vignette; Skinner POV
DISTRIBUTION: Anywhere, just let me know.
FEEDBACK: pindaran@hotmail.com
SPOILERS: 'Blessing Way'
DISCLAIMER: Skinner and Scully aren't mine. Unfortunately neither is
Mulder. They, and the rest of The X-Files, belong to Chris Carter,
1013, and Fox. You'd think they would treat them a little nicer. I
sure would.
SUMMARY: I walk the line. The line between two opposing sides.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Written for the After The Fact 'Blessing Way' Episode
Challenge.

**********

I walk the line. The line between two opposing sides.

One side could get me killed.

The other could destroy my soul.

I may stray from the line from time to time. Sometimes to help,
sometimes to hinder, but I always return to it. I have too many ghosts
from my past not to return.

But one of these days I know I'm going to have to make a choice.
Choose a side and stick with it. Hell, fight to the death for it if
it comes down to it.

The question is, which side will it be? Which side is worth dying
for?

I've always been a firm believer in justice. In doing the right
thing despite the costs. I wish things were that cut and dry here.

The problem is, I see both sides. I don't agree with all the things
one side does, but I see it. I see the necessity of some of the
things they have done. Other things they've done, on the other hand,
are too dark to even contemplate.

And frankly, what can one lone agent, even a brilliant one, do against
them? Against a powerful group that's intent on stopping him from
uncovering their truths at any cost?

What could I do?

Of course there's always Agent Scully to factor in. She's the variable
here. The one thing neither side truly planned on. Until recently I
thought she walked the same line I did. Maybe more on his side of it,
but still on the line.

I no longer think that. Not after what happened in my office. After
what I saw in her eyes.

Agent Scully has already chosen a side.

The side of a dead man.

I know there was a bond between her and Mulder. Anyone who had any
type of contact with them could see it. In the course of their
partnership she's lied for him, gone to the ends of the earth to find
him, even put her own life on the line to save him. I figured it was
mostly because of her integrity. Her personal code.

All this time I never knew. I never even realized that there was
something more behind it. That at some point Mulder's quest had
become hers.

Have long have I been blind to it? How much of what happened to
Mulder could I have prevented? Could I have saved his life? Can I
save Agent Scully's?

Would she even believe me if I tried?

One thing's for sure, she's definitely going to listen to me. I'm
meeting up with her tonight whether she likes it or not.

I've finally decided to get off that damn line and choose a side.

For how long I don't know. The past has a way of coming back to haunt
you when you least expect it.

I do know though, that if I ever do return to it, return to walking
the line, I'll be more on one side than the other.

I only hope it's a side worth dying for.