I agree with maybe_amanda that Richard is not someone Scully cares overly about. We know that he met her slumped in a lawn chair at a party, beer in one hand, cigarette in the other ... thin and sad. So I imagine that he was Mr. Nice and Normal, and since she'd uprooted her entire life for normalcy she probably felt she ought to seize normalcy when it presented itself to her. Which seemed harmless until they'd been seeing each other for a couple of months and there was still no real feeling in it for her. But Scully's never been a quitter so she just kept trying anyway. At least that's the sense I get from the way they treat each other in the fic.
Her primary reason for being with him has turned out to be empty, yet she's stayed this long, presumably because she hasn't yet been able to admit to herself that she can't be 'normal'. So I can see why she would feel some misplaced anger towards Richard, because he represents her failed attempt at a normal life. As Richard reflects: I didn't like the idea that her anger with me was in some way dependent upon her anger with [Mulder].
It would have been more considerate for her to have had a sit-down conversation with Richard and told him it was over, but he would have wanted answers she couldn't give. Also, Richard doesn't seem all that devoted to her either. He seems intrigued, but not in love or anything. If this was how she wanted to live, I couldn't do anything to change it. I could only decide it wasn't the way I wanted to live. That sounds as if he's prepared to move on, if that's what it comes to. Tough as Scully is, she's also vulnerable in ways Richard isn't. She's cold to him, but I don't think she's cruel. He's not a victim here.
The main thing I do wonder, though, is why she left no message whatsoever - not even her house key on the table. Any sign at all that she'd decided to leave him would be sufficient. It flat out makes no sense, unless she was taken from the house after all, as zinnia03 suggests.
Or what about another chip-activation incident, like Skyland Mountain? Maybe Mulder came to tell her there'd been a rash of such incidents in other locations and he was worried it would happen to her again. *shrugs* Just a theory. This fic really does have me wondering where Punk originally intended to go with it.
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Her primary reason for being with him has turned out to be empty, yet she's stayed this long, presumably because she hasn't yet been able to admit to herself that she can't be 'normal'. So I can see why she would feel some misplaced anger towards Richard, because he represents her failed attempt at a normal life. As Richard reflects: I didn't like the idea that her anger with me was in some way dependent upon her anger with [Mulder].
It would have been more considerate for her to have had a sit-down conversation with Richard and told him it was over, but he would have wanted answers she couldn't give. Also, Richard doesn't seem all that devoted to her either. He seems intrigued, but not in love or anything. If this was how she wanted to live, I couldn't do anything to change it. I could only decide it wasn't the way I wanted to live. That sounds as if he's prepared to move on, if that's what it comes to. Tough as Scully is, she's also vulnerable in ways Richard isn't. She's cold to him, but I don't think she's cruel. He's not a victim here.
The main thing I do wonder, though, is why she left no message whatsoever - not even her house key on the table. Any sign at all that she'd decided to leave him would be sufficient. It flat out makes no sense, unless she was taken from the house after all, as
Or what about another chip-activation incident, like Skyland Mountain? Maybe Mulder came to tell her there'd been a rash of such incidents in other locations and he was worried it would happen to her again. *shrugs* Just a theory. This fic really does have me wondering where Punk originally intended to go with it.