Story 185: "Through the Fire" by Jordan

[amyhit.livejournal.com]

Our second Halloween fic this year is "Through the Fire," a very distinctive AU that basically incorporates a little bit of everything into the mix.

In this universe Mulder has been imprisoned for several years on false charges, and Scully has continued their work in his absence. Now she must cope with a dangerous case - an MoTW with its roots at the heart of the mytharc - while also coping with a sudden change in Mulder's circumstances. It's a tense, unusual, and downright creepy fic with an M/S dynamic that's intense and quite lovely. Diana, Jeffrey Spender, and Skinner also have parts to play.

Through the Fire

Oh my god, you guys, I'm SO SORRY! Anyone who downloaded the text file of the fic missed chapter 6! My face is literally in my palms. I read the whole fic and didn't even realize I'd missed an entire chapter, and from the looks of things an important one. I only just realized it now.

That is, from what I can tell, the only place the fic is posted. If the format (which is seasonally cute, but also rather visually loud) bothers you, I've uploaded the fic as one complete Word file, which you can download here.

Happy Halloween, everyone! And season's greetings to anyone who doesn't celebrate.

Comments

[wendelah1]

I do like how she handles Teena Mulder, however.

"I'm sorry about your mother," she said.

He made a slight gesture as he walked away from her, towards a larger room she presumed was the living room. "Skinner told me you were a great comfort to her when she was in the hospital."

Skinner. Scully ducked her head to hide her smile. It had taken this terrible thing to show Skinner for what he was, and the Gunmen, and Tina Mulder. And maybe her, too. Mulder's imprisonment had brought out the best in each of them; they had been tried by fire and found worthy. Skinner may have been right; she may actually have been a comfort to Mrs. Mulder, as she had called Mulder's mother right up to the day she died. But in her quiet strength there had been a kind of passion that had amazed Scully, a love for her son that wasn't manifested in hugging and kissing and family dinners, but rock solid in its own way.

She had brought the lawyers in, turned over everything to Scully in her living will, listed every last condition in case Samantha was ever found, and made completely sure that her son's assets were safe before she allowed death to take her.

"Some people make their peace with God," Frohike had said later; "She made hers with her accountant."

That sounds much more like the woman on screen than most of the writers in the fandom have managed.

I like the opening lines to Chapter One. "Sometimes the only thing the dead have left is the poetry of their bones. The exquisite architecture of the human form, speaking of the potential for grace and motion. The basic plot of the human story outlined in perfect detail, awaiting only the right person to come along and decipher its meaning." It sounds like it could have been written for the show, only better, and it even sounds like it could have come from Scully's brain. The story is very atmospheric, full of spine-tingling details, like the opening lines to Chapter Four. "Something red and demon-like darted from the shadows of the trees across the road, and Scully hit the brakes sharply. A small, agile child, not in a mask but in some kind of red makeup, cut an insolent look at her. It bobbed its head as if laughing, then scrambled up onto the curb and dashed away. It happened so quickly Scully almost thought she imagined it."

The sex scenes. I really dislike the Scully/Skinner sex scenes in her earlier work and I don't like these any better for being Scully/Mulder. I get what she was going for, too, but this version of Mulder is repellent to me and this version of Scully is way too swoony for my taste. I want her to walk out the door and come back in the morning with the notary, walk out again and get on with her life. Instead we get the distaff version of the healing cock. They have sex and look! It's magic! He's all better now! He's coming back to the FBI! I think Jordan found this scenario as ridiculous as I do, which accounts for the Mulder erection being described as a cucumber and rest of the over-the-top style and tone. Mulder and Scully having sex was a required element, not something she put in because she wanted it. For readers who like their sex scenes overly long and on the Gothic romance end of the spectrum, this probably worked just fine.

God, I'm cranky today. What a party-pooper I am.