Novels The Damascus Files In The Interest of Science Other Stories A Deafening Silence Finding Zuzu's Petals Into The Mystic Je T'aime Knockin' On Heaven's Door Knowing Korena, Korena Matthew 19:14 Nightwing Sweet Dreams Symbiosis A Texas History Lesson This Could Be Heaven,   or This Could Be Hell Timepieces Your Soul in My Heart Other Info About Kat Linkage Feedback   Knockin' on Heaven's Door Text Only Rating: G Categories: Humor Summary: Mulder finds a reason not to walk through the Pearly Gates. Dana Scully sat by Fox Mulder's bedside relishing the sound of his voice, thankful that he was still alive. There had been too many touch and go moments the past ten days. His heart had stopped on the way to the hospital. It had stopped once again, on the operating table. Twice, his first couple of days in the ICU, he had stopped breathing. But, ten days after being shot in the chest, here he was, sitting up in bed, telling her about his near-death experience. Scully was so grateful just to have him here. She promised herself she would not debunk anything he told her. She swore she would not raise a brow or roll her eyes. She would hear the tale he had been so eager to relate to her since he had regained consciousness, and she would keep all doubts and scientific theories to herself. That was how she felt, before he had started talking. Later, after he had finished his tale, well --let's just say Mulder's version of 'crossing the bar' was a bit different from any she had ever heard. "Scully, you know, I was awake when they put me in the ambulance. You were there. I heard the sirens start up. I could hear the EMTs talking about my condition. I knew you were right at my head, watching every move they made. I felt you there with me. I knew when things started going south. I heard you yell at the driver to stop the ambulance. When my heart stopped, I rose up, out of my body. I watched them that first time they tried to jump-start my heart. Suddenly, I was swallowed up by a light and the next thing I saw was a man walking toward me..." "Your father?" she asked expectantly. Scully had heard hundreds of these stories. She had even experienced one herself, a few years back. She knew the popular scientific explanation for them, that lack of oxygen to the brain caused the hallucinations. But, Scully had her faith and it was strong, so on this matter she chose to admit -- she really didn't know the truth. "Not hardly," Mulder answered her question with a grin. "As soon as he got close enough, I discovered he was singing..." This was a new twist to the common tale, one she'd never heard before. Scully leaned forward and asked her partner expectantly, "What was he singing, Mulder? Did you know the man?" Mulder's smile was pure bliss as he remembered the sound of that heavenly voice. "Oh, yes. He was singing, "It's Now or Never". Scully, it was 'The King' -- it was Elvis." Scully really and truly tried not to laugh. She bit her lip ‘til it almost bruised. But she couldn't help herself. Peals of bawdy laughter burst out, coming from clear down to her toes. She watched as Mulder's face fell in disappointment, but she just couldn't contain her mirth. Scully giggled so hard, she was afraid she was going to wet her pants. Mulder's expression slowly began to change; shifting from hurt, that she didn't believe him; to anger, that she somehow found this momentous experience funny. "Scully," he cried indignantly, once she had regained some semblance of control. "Please." Scully wiped the tears from her face, struggling valiantly to compose herself. "Scully, I have an epiphany and you laugh," he scolded in disappointment. "You had an 'Elvis Epiphany'?" she started to snicker and her battle was now lost. She ran into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. It took a while, but after several long minutes, Scully came out - her face washed, a stoic expression locked firmly in place. She took her seat beside her partner, the picture of composed calm. Mulder turned away. "Mulder, please. Go on, tell me the rest." Scully knew he wanted to be begged, so she complied. "I won't laugh, I promise. You just caught me by surprise. I never expected Elvis to meet anyone at the Pearly Gates. Please, go on." He eyed her suspiciously, sizing up if she were baiting him, then nodded to her that he would go on. "Elvis walked right up to me and asked me my name. I told him. He smiled and said -- 'Well, son, it's your call,' " Mulder related, doing a fairly passable imitation of his idol. " 'You wanna go on up, or you wanna go back?’ " "I really didn't know what I should do. I mean things weren't looking too good for me as I remembered. So I shrugged. Elvis smiled at me and said, 'Doan worry, you got time. They jus' took you into surgery. You could still go both ways.' We had been walking while we talked and we made it to this big white room. A waiting room. Elvis and I sat down on a bench to talk." " 'How's thing's goin' down there?' he asked. It kind of surprised me that he didn't know and I told him so. 'I'm pullin' this duty for another few years. It's not so bad. I meet a lot of interestin' folks. But most of them's in a big hurry, 'cause they already made up there minds where they wanna go. So we doan really get much chance to chat. So, tell me, things goin' okay down there?' " "Well, Pricilla is a movie star now. She's doing pretty good with it, I guess. She's got a great head for business. She opened up Graceland to your fans. I went a while back and the place looks great. It's just like you left it." "Elvis smiled at me. I think he was glad that she was doing so well. He really loved her, you know?" Scully nodded that she did know. "Then he asked about his daughter. I told him that Lisa Marie had married Michael Jackson. He looked shocked. 'That little, high voiced, black kid, singer?' he asked. Well, I told him -- he grew up. He isn't black anymore, but his voice is still high. The marriage didn't last and the last I heard, Lisa's going to start singing. She's got a contract, I heard.” Elvis smiled again and shook his head. 'My boy, My boy,' he laughed, giving his leg a slap. 'Kid's are somethin' aren't they?' Just at that moment a clipboard popped into his hand and he looked down to check it. ' Looks like your window's closin', Mulder.' Scully, can you believe it. Elvis called me Mulder," Mulder bragged, giving a contented sigh. Scully gave a mute nod and a smile to let him know she was happy for him. "I just sat there, trying to decide what I should do. I asked Elvis if he would go back if he got the chance. He shook his head, 'No, my Mamma's here, an' my Daddy. We got a pretty good band goin', what with Janis an' Buddy an' Stevie Ray here. Th' foods great an' you can eat all you want an' you never gain a pound. I kinda like it here. Say, you got anybody here?’ " "I told him, my father might be up there, but I explained that we never really got along. Elvis thought for a moment, then asked me, 'Okay, let's try looking at it this way, then. Do you have somebody that you'd want to go back to?' That was all it took, Scully. I made up my mind -- the light came and the next thing I saw was you. Sitting beside me like you are now..." "You came back because of me?" Scully asked softly, wiping a tear from her eye. Mulder grabbed her hand and gave it a light squeeze, he nodded. Scully swallowed hard before she spoke, "I'm sorry I laughed, Mulder." "That's all right, Mama," he drawled. THE END DISCLAIMER: "The X-Files" and its characters are owned by FOX and its related entities. All rights reserved. This website, its operators and any content on this site relating to "The X-Files" are not authorized by Fox. No copyright infringement is intended. This site created and maintained by Wasatch Design and Consulting.