Each segment of this series is a single vignette; though they need to be read in sequence for the story to make sense, I prefer to think of each as its own individual piece. For this reason they have all been given their own subtitle, are labeled in single parts, and are individually rated. If you're counting, there are 21 parts altogether, and I'm sending them out in groups of 7 at a time. Here comes the required information: Title: CHIAROSCURO 20: REUNION (1/1) Author: Blueswirl @aol.com Classification: V,A, MSR Rating: PG Keyword: Mulder/Scully Spoilers: 4th Season, Pre-"Leonard Betts" Summary: The past cannot help but have an irrevocable effect on the present. Distribution: Please distribute to the EMXC, XF Fanfic List, ATXC and Gossamer. Feel free to post this story on any other archive or web page as long as my name remains attached. Watch out -- Disclaimer ahead: The characters of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully belong to Chris Carter and 1013 Prods., Fox Inc. and most importantly to David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. I'm using them for this story without permission. So sue me. Feedback: I love it more than you could ever know. Please drop me a line -- good, bad, whatever! -- at Blueswirl@aol.com. CHIAROSCURO 20: REUNION (1/1) Blueswirl@aol.com 6/98 chiar-oscu-ro: the quality of being veiled or partly in shadow (Webster's, definition #5) "I want to go on a business trip." At the moment, there wasn't anything that Ryan Mulder wanted to do more. The way he saw it, business trips were kind of like your birthday and Christmas all rolled into one. When you came back from a business trip you got to go to the hospital and lay in one of those cool beds that went up and down when you pushed a button. His bed at home wasn't nearly as much fun. And then after the hospital there was cake. When his daddy came home they had chocolate cake for dinner, and today his grandmother had been in the kitchen all afternoon making a yellow one. There wasn't anything Ryan loved more than cake, and he didn't want to have to wait until his next birthday to have more. And if he got to lay in one of those special beds all by himself it would be the best thing ever. But that didn't seem like it would happen unless he went on a business trip, so he decided he'd better get started. "Grandma," he repeated, "I want to go on a business trip." "You will, sweetie," she called to him from the kitchen. "When you're all grown up, you will." "But I want to go on one *now*." Ryan frowned. "I'm all grown up now." Uncle Walter laughed, putting down the newspaper that he had been reading. "You're not grown up enough." "Yes I am," Ryan insisted, holding up his red backpack as evidence. "I'm all grown up and I packed all my stuff." His backpack was full of everything he needed. Two of his favorite model trains, his very best crayons, his basketball, and his bunny rabbit. The backpack wouldn't shut all the way with the bunny at the top but Ryan didn't care. He wasn't going anywhere without George. "You won't be all grown up until you're as tall as me," Uncle Walter declared, rising from the chair until he was as big as a giant. "And you're not quite there yet." "I am," Ryan declared. "Almost. By tomorrow, I will be." "Well then," Grandma said as she walked into the room, "you can leave tomorrow. How's that?" Looking up, Ryan saw his grandmother and Uncle Walter share a smile. He didn't think they were being fair but they seemed really happy so he decided not to argue. If they stayed happy he could probably get a second piece of cake, and that would be almost as good as a business trip. "Okay," he answered. "I'll go tomorrow." He dropped his backpack on the floor and looked around the room. It was decorated with streamers and balloons and a banner that he had colored with his magic markers. The banner said 'Welcome Home, Mommy' in big letters -- Ryan couldn't print them yet, but he could read them just fine. Grandma had done the printing and he had filled them in with all of his favorite colors. "I like our sign, Grandma," he announced. "Do you think Mommy will like it?" "I think she'll love it, sweetie." "I'm not a sweetie." Ryan stuck out his tongue and crouched down on his hands and knees. He took a deep breath and then tried another handstand. He'd been practicing them forever but he still couldn't do them the way that Jenny could. Jenny was the best handstand girl in his kindergarten class. Taking a deep breath he shifted his weight to his hands and pushed his body forward. He was up, up, up.....and then he came crashing down. "Ryan! Stop horsing around in the house!" Ryan fell over onto his back with an anguished groan. It really made him mad that Jenny was better at handstands than he was. And his grandmother just didn't understand how important it was to practice. "Gr-and-ma...." "Just sit still for a few minutes," Grandma ordered, and Ryan tried as hard as he could, climbing up on the couch and sinking down in the cushions. He tried to sit still like a real grownup and was doing a pretty good job until he heard the sound of the car in the drive. "Mommy's home!" As sad as he was that his mother was leaving the hospital and its wonderful magical bed, he was very happy to have her back home. Now maybe he wouldn't have to spend every afternoon with his grandmother. Now maybe things would go back to normal and it would just be the three of them together all the time. "Mommy's home!" He was so excited that he ran straight for the door and stood there watching as it opened. His father was the one who pushed it open, holding the knob with his keys still in one hand. His mother was standing right beside him, a happy smile on her face. "Hi Mommy!" Ryan was so excited that the words just tumbled out of his mouth. "You're home! We made you a banner -- see? And Grandma made cake." "That's terrific!" His mother stepped through the doorway and leaned over to give him a big hug. "Did you help Grandma with the cake?" "No," Ryan replied. "I had to practice my handstands." He tugged on his mother's hand insistently. "You have to look at the banner, Mommy. I colored on it with all my best pens." "You did a great job," she announced after looking closely at the sign. "It's beautiful. I think it's probably the best banner ever." "It is." Ryan grinned, happy that she was pleased. It was then that he noticed the cane in his mother's hand, and the way that she leaned on it as she made her way over to the couch. "Hey, Mommy -- did you steal that cane from the hospital?" "No," she said, shaking her head. "I'm just borrowing it for a little while." She sank down on the couch and smiled at him. "Just for a little while." "Cool," Ryan announced. "Can I see it?" Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed it from where she had leaned it against the table and raised it in his hand. "Ryan, put that down," his father demanded. "It's okay," his mother said. "He can play with it. Just be careful, Ryan, and don't hit anything with it." "I won't," Ryan promised, already thinking about what a good sword it would make. As his grandmother and Uncle Walter gave his mother hugs and kisses, he raised the cane off the ground and twirled it in a little circle. It was almost as tall as he was, which would make it a really mighty sword. Maybe if he was really good Mommy would let him take it out to the backyard. "Hey, big guy." Ryan looked up at the sound of his father's voice. "You want to go and get your surprise for Mommy?" "Oh!" The surprise. Ryan grinned. He had almost forgotten. "Okay," he replied, dropping the cane to the floor and racing towards the stairs. Halfway there he turned around and added in a loud whisper, "Daddy, which one should I bring?" "Whichever one you want," his father answered, giving him a wink and a smile. "Okay," he said, and ran up the stairs as fast as he could. When he reached his bedroom he went straight to the bookshelf by the window and pulled out three of his favorite books. He looked at the shelf, and then yanked out a fourth one, and put one of the first ones back. These were the best, he decided. He would bring these, and let Mommy choose. When he got back downstairs, Ryan found everyone sitting down in the living room except for Uncle Walter, who was standing and twisting the top of a big green bottle that he held in his hands. The bottle top came off with a loud pop that made everyone laugh, probably because the stuff in the bottle was running out and down the sides in a rush of clear bubbly liquid. It was dripping on the carpet, but no one seemed to care, which made Ryan feel a little better about the fingerpaint he had spilled earlier on the rug in his room. Ryan watched as Uncle Walter finished pouring the contents of the bottle into tall skinny glasses and passed them around. "Can I have one?" he finally asked, curiosity having gotten the better of him. "Not one of these," his father replied. "But you can have some apple juice, if you want." "Okay," Ryan agreed. If everyone was going to have a glass, he wanted one too. He was a little disappointed when his father brought him his juice in a plastic cup, but his good spirits returned when his mother patted the spot on the couch next to her. "Come up here," she said, "and sit next to me." Ryan dropped his books on the carpet and climbed up on the couch, taking the plastic cup from his father. "Everybody ready?" Uncle Walter asked, and when everybody nodded, Ryan did the same. "Let's hear it for happy homecomings and safe returns," Uncle Walter declared, and raised his glass. Ryan watched as his mother and father and grandmother did the same, so he raised his cup as well. All of the glasses clinked together with a tinkly sound that was just a little bit hollow where they hit his cup. "Cheers," Grandma said, and Ryan heard his parents say the same thing. Then everyone drank, so he did too. There was nothing better than apple juice. Well, except maybe for cake. After that there was just a lot of staring and smiling and Ryan felt a little silly. "Can we do the surprise now?" "Of course," his mother replied, putting her glass down on the coffee table. "What's the surprise?" Ryan put down his cup and gathered up his books. "This is the surprise." He handed her the books. "You have to pick one." She gave him a suspicious glance. "Why do I have to pick one?" "Because!" Ryan beamed. He couldn't help it. He was too excited. "Because I always pick the ones for you to read to me. So this time *you* get to pick, and *I* get to read." "What?" His mother's blue eyes opened wide and Ryan knew that the surprise had worked. "I can do it, Mommy. I can read, at least these books." He looked up at his father and saw the approval in his grin. "Daddy's been helping me." When Ryan turned back to his mother, he saw that there were tears in her eyes. "Mommy!" he said with some alarm. He hadn't meant to make her cry. "You don't have to pick, if you don't want to. Really! I can pick one for you." "I don't want you to pick one," she told him, her words coming out all sniffly and small. "I want to hear you read them all. Every single one. But first, I want you to give me a hug." "Okay," Ryan agreed, and leaned into his mother's outstretched arms. She kissed him on the forehead and squeezed him tight and it felt good, soft and warm and safe. He was pretty sure that his Mommy gave the best hugs in the whole world. When she finally let him go, he could see that she was still crying, but the smile on her face made them seem like happy tears. "Mommy," Ryan declared, "I'm really glad you like your surprise." "Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn't people feel as free to delight in whatever remains to them?" - Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Thanks for reading. Feedback *always* appreciated at Blueswirl@aol.com. = The Blueswirl Stories = Revolving Satellites Platonic Tangible Inadequate Chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro 2: Interlude Chiaroscuro 3: Covenant Chiaroscuro 4: Inversion Chiaroscuro 5: Courage Chiaroscuro 6: Devotion Chiaroscuro 7: Simplicity Chiaroscuro 8: Supplication Chiaroscuro 9: Commencement Chiaroscuro 10: Terror Chiaroscuro 11: Resurrection Chiaroscuro 12: Exploration Chiaroscuro 13: Contemplation Chiaroscuro 14: Patience Chiaroscuro 15: Fortitude Chiaroscuro 16: Veracity Chiaroscuro 17: Absolution Chiaroscuro 18: Desperation Chiaroscuro 19: Deliverance Chiaroscuro 20: Reunion