Story 133: "Butterfly" by Oracle
Continuing our theme of early seasons fanfic, Wendelah1 has kindly let me post Butterfly. Apparently Oracle went looking for post eps for Excelsis Dei, and finding none, she decided to write one herself. It was fandom's good fortune that she did. What she wrote is a charming little AU with both a strong emotional arc and a perilous mystery for Mulder and Scully to get to the bottom of - all in just 30K.
Butterfly is the kind of fic Goldilocks would approve of - not too schmoopy, not to angsty, not too plain, not too purple, not too fluffy, not too hard-boiled. Just right. Besides, who doesn't love seeing baby Mulder and Scully be awesome and adorable together?
I read this fic recently for the first time myself, and as you can tell I'm rather fond of it. But that's just me, what do the rest of you think?
Water spills through a crack at the top of the door.
Scully can't think. How many minutes does it take to drown? Five minutes? Five minutes before permanent brain damage, in any case. How many minutes have passed?
The door is a waterfall now. Surely there's enough pressure to burst it open. She starts pounding on it.
"Mulder!"
She's done everything, tried everything. Now she's screaming his name even though he can't answer. He's trapped in the bathroom. He's drowning. Her knuckles are bleeding. Ms. Dawson stands beside her, trying to soothe her, maybe trying to pull her away.
The door creaks. How many minutes have passed? More than five. About ten. Ten minutes. Mulder must have found a way out. Some air vent, some hidden passage. This isn't how it ends, she thinks. This isn't the end.
The door unhinges. Scully pulls Ms. Dawson out of the way as they watch it burst open with a gush of water, two bodies washed in the swell. Mulder and the nurse. Neither of them is moving.
You can read Butterfly on Oracle's website, or, if the pretty blue text distracts you and you don't mind fiddling with the link a bit, you can read it on her Gossamer page instead.
Remember, feedback makes an author happy, and suggestions make us happy.
Butterfly is the kind of fic Goldilocks would approve of - not too schmoopy, not to angsty, not too plain, not too purple, not too fluffy, not too hard-boiled. Just right. Besides, who doesn't love seeing baby Mulder and Scully be awesome and adorable together?
I read this fic recently for the first time myself, and as you can tell I'm rather fond of it. But that's just me, what do the rest of you think?
Water spills through a crack at the top of the door.
Scully can't think. How many minutes does it take to drown? Five minutes? Five minutes before permanent brain damage, in any case. How many minutes have passed?
The door is a waterfall now. Surely there's enough pressure to burst it open. She starts pounding on it.
"Mulder!"
She's done everything, tried everything. Now she's screaming his name even though he can't answer. He's trapped in the bathroom. He's drowning. Her knuckles are bleeding. Ms. Dawson stands beside her, trying to soothe her, maybe trying to pull her away.
The door creaks. How many minutes have passed? More than five. About ten. Ten minutes. Mulder must have found a way out. Some air vent, some hidden passage. This isn't how it ends, she thinks. This isn't the end.
The door unhinges. Scully pulls Ms. Dawson out of the way as they watch it burst open with a gush of water, two bodies washed in the swell. Mulder and the nurse. Neither of them is moving.
You can read Butterfly on Oracle's website, or, if the pretty blue text distracts you and you don't mind fiddling with the link a bit, you can read it on her Gossamer page instead.
Remember, feedback makes an author happy, and suggestions make us happy.