111: the_lucky13 29.1
Thirteen wishes you've made.
01. September 1996, San Diego: The moment she goes into that alley after Marissa Haber, Stark knows something bad is going to happen; there's a feeling in her gut that she's going to have to shoot this woman, and she wishes it didn't have to be this way. But when the other cop draws on her she has no choice, nor any idea that moment is going to unravel everything she's ever worked for.
02. January 1997, Washington D.C.: She's so nervous about her first day with the FBI that she didn't sleep the night before. Her nerves keep her in the car a good five minutes after she's parked it in the garage. The walk upstairs to her new department seems to take forever. She only hopes that she knows what she's doing, that she can be a good federal agent; she wasn't even a very good cop, and if she doesn't do this, she doesn't know who she'll even be for the rest of her life.
03. September 1997, Baltimore: The Orioles have just clinched the Division Series, and the entirety of Camden Yards is bedlam. In the midst of hugging people she doesn't know and probably embarrassing John while she's at it, Stark takes a moment to lean back and pray that maybe they'll win a World Series and get her brother a ring on his finger. They don't. They lose the Championship Series and haven't seen the playoffs since.
04. June 1998, New York City: She's sitting in a hospital waiting room scared to death. Lisa has made it through surgery, the doctors tell her, but it's still a waiting game to see if she'll make it through the night. Stark has no idea what to do with herself. She knows her partner is there by her side and her brother is on a plane from Seattle but it feels like she's alone. She prays to a God she doesn't really believe in to save her sister, and something in her dies when the monitors flatline.
05. April 1999, Tacoma: The gun is jammed into her throat now instead of her ear, which is even less comforting. Standing there she has no idea what the hell this guy is on about, not anymore, because she's convinced she's about to die at twenty-eight. It's her own damn fault, really, if she thinks about it. She wishes she'd listened to her partner and the tactical scene commander and not exchanged herself for the hostages. Now she's got to trust in her partner to save her life, and when the bullet grazes her cheek she knows she's incredibly lucky to still be breathing.
06. November 2000, Washington D.C.: At first she thinks he has to be joking, but she knows that her partner knows her and her protective ego well enough not to joke about anything like that. It's in his eyes, she can see the pain and the regret. Especially after the case they've just worked it seems like even more of a sucker punch in the gut. He hugs her and tries to apologize, but she won't let him. It's not his fault. It's just that these have been the best three years of her life and she wishes he didn't have to go.
07. January 2002, San Antonio: Everyone in the field office knows Stark is like a dead woman walking, utterly lost and enraged at the same time. Part of her is leading the search for her missing best friend and the other just wants to fall apart somewhere until he can put her back together again. It's in one of these latter moments, curled up in a ball in a chair in someone's office, unable to even see straight through the tears, that she tells Victor all she's ever wanted for the last five years is just for John to be okay, and all she wants now is to see him again.
08. March 2002, Washington D.C.: Her partner's in a coma and the doctors have told her he just might never wake up again. She's been through every emotion in the book. She's beaten herself up for not being able to warn him in time for him to avoid the accident. She's bitched at anyone and everyone in particular for the fact this happened only two months after he had anmnesia and before that when she ended up in the hospital. Stark really thinks one of them is going to pay a high price for this line of work someday, but she just rests her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat, and wishes he'd wake up and tell her to stop being so hard on herself.
09. May 2001, Washington D.C.: It goes without saying Dana Scully is not about to walk back in that door. Not with a child to take care of and not after everything she's been through. They know that it falls on the two of them now. Realizing that they've gone from complete skeptics to being the entire X-Files Section in less than a year, Stark and John exchange a look. This wasn't what they ever expected or wanted but it's what they have to do. She only hopes that they can do well by Scully and Mulder, somehow.
10. May 2002, somewhere in New York: She's standing on the hill, leaning against his truck, watching the waves roll out. This isn't her moment. None of it is despite the fact that she's always felt his pain, been unable to keep herself from feeling responsible. Stark knows now, having walked through this by his side, having put all the pieces back together again, that this is what it was all for. She only prays that her partner and his ex-wife find the closure that they've always needed, and that now maybe everyone can move on. Even if she's the last person who should be talking about learning to let go.
11. May 2002, somewhere in New Mexico: She doesn't turn tail and run on her loved ones. Not for any reason. So when Mulder tells them to get the car and go, Stark about throws a fit. She refuses to leave him and Scully to an unknown fate. But they don't have time to argue. She feels sick, but they do as they're told. She isn't sure if she'll ever see these two again, the two people whose cause and truth changed her whole life. She just wishes that they'll find what they're looking for and be happy together. They deserve that.
12. September 2002, Washington D.C.: Stark has never asked Scott Keller for a favor in her life. On most days, they didn't even get along, him aiming for this job and her bitching at him for not being John. Everyone still remembers the shouting match they had in the conference room. But this is a different time now, and they're different people. She goes in and tells him straight, that it's not about him or the team but she wishes every day she was back with her partner, and when he comes to her the following morning and tells her he's gotten CID to take her back, she actually hugs him. She'll owe him for the rest of her life.
13. October 2008, Arlington: This was never supposed to happen, or maybe it was always supposed to happen. Whichever way you want to look at it, their wedding day is still the biggest step she's ever taken in her life. Stark is thinking about how she never even moved in with her boyfriend of two years, how she thought she'd never marry, how kids never seemed part of the idea. Yet as she says "I do" to the man that maybe she was always meant to be with, she only hopes she can be the wife he deserves for her to be. After all, they've been through more together than anyone will ever know.
Muse: Stark Patrick
Fandom: The X-Files (OC)
Words: 1309
01. September 1996, San Diego: The moment she goes into that alley after Marissa Haber, Stark knows something bad is going to happen; there's a feeling in her gut that she's going to have to shoot this woman, and she wishes it didn't have to be this way. But when the other cop draws on her she has no choice, nor any idea that moment is going to unravel everything she's ever worked for.
02. January 1997, Washington D.C.: She's so nervous about her first day with the FBI that she didn't sleep the night before. Her nerves keep her in the car a good five minutes after she's parked it in the garage. The walk upstairs to her new department seems to take forever. She only hopes that she knows what she's doing, that she can be a good federal agent; she wasn't even a very good cop, and if she doesn't do this, she doesn't know who she'll even be for the rest of her life.
03. September 1997, Baltimore: The Orioles have just clinched the Division Series, and the entirety of Camden Yards is bedlam. In the midst of hugging people she doesn't know and probably embarrassing John while she's at it, Stark takes a moment to lean back and pray that maybe they'll win a World Series and get her brother a ring on his finger. They don't. They lose the Championship Series and haven't seen the playoffs since.
04. June 1998, New York City: She's sitting in a hospital waiting room scared to death. Lisa has made it through surgery, the doctors tell her, but it's still a waiting game to see if she'll make it through the night. Stark has no idea what to do with herself. She knows her partner is there by her side and her brother is on a plane from Seattle but it feels like she's alone. She prays to a God she doesn't really believe in to save her sister, and something in her dies when the monitors flatline.
05. April 1999, Tacoma: The gun is jammed into her throat now instead of her ear, which is even less comforting. Standing there she has no idea what the hell this guy is on about, not anymore, because she's convinced she's about to die at twenty-eight. It's her own damn fault, really, if she thinks about it. She wishes she'd listened to her partner and the tactical scene commander and not exchanged herself for the hostages. Now she's got to trust in her partner to save her life, and when the bullet grazes her cheek she knows she's incredibly lucky to still be breathing.
06. November 2000, Washington D.C.: At first she thinks he has to be joking, but she knows that her partner knows her and her protective ego well enough not to joke about anything like that. It's in his eyes, she can see the pain and the regret. Especially after the case they've just worked it seems like even more of a sucker punch in the gut. He hugs her and tries to apologize, but she won't let him. It's not his fault. It's just that these have been the best three years of her life and she wishes he didn't have to go.
07. January 2002, San Antonio: Everyone in the field office knows Stark is like a dead woman walking, utterly lost and enraged at the same time. Part of her is leading the search for her missing best friend and the other just wants to fall apart somewhere until he can put her back together again. It's in one of these latter moments, curled up in a ball in a chair in someone's office, unable to even see straight through the tears, that she tells Victor all she's ever wanted for the last five years is just for John to be okay, and all she wants now is to see him again.
08. March 2002, Washington D.C.: Her partner's in a coma and the doctors have told her he just might never wake up again. She's been through every emotion in the book. She's beaten herself up for not being able to warn him in time for him to avoid the accident. She's bitched at anyone and everyone in particular for the fact this happened only two months after he had anmnesia and before that when she ended up in the hospital. Stark really thinks one of them is going to pay a high price for this line of work someday, but she just rests her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat, and wishes he'd wake up and tell her to stop being so hard on herself.
09. May 2001, Washington D.C.: It goes without saying Dana Scully is not about to walk back in that door. Not with a child to take care of and not after everything she's been through. They know that it falls on the two of them now. Realizing that they've gone from complete skeptics to being the entire X-Files Section in less than a year, Stark and John exchange a look. This wasn't what they ever expected or wanted but it's what they have to do. She only hopes that they can do well by Scully and Mulder, somehow.
10. May 2002, somewhere in New York: She's standing on the hill, leaning against his truck, watching the waves roll out. This isn't her moment. None of it is despite the fact that she's always felt his pain, been unable to keep herself from feeling responsible. Stark knows now, having walked through this by his side, having put all the pieces back together again, that this is what it was all for. She only prays that her partner and his ex-wife find the closure that they've always needed, and that now maybe everyone can move on. Even if she's the last person who should be talking about learning to let go.
11. May 2002, somewhere in New Mexico: She doesn't turn tail and run on her loved ones. Not for any reason. So when Mulder tells them to get the car and go, Stark about throws a fit. She refuses to leave him and Scully to an unknown fate. But they don't have time to argue. She feels sick, but they do as they're told. She isn't sure if she'll ever see these two again, the two people whose cause and truth changed her whole life. She just wishes that they'll find what they're looking for and be happy together. They deserve that.
12. September 2002, Washington D.C.: Stark has never asked Scott Keller for a favor in her life. On most days, they didn't even get along, him aiming for this job and her bitching at him for not being John. Everyone still remembers the shouting match they had in the conference room. But this is a different time now, and they're different people. She goes in and tells him straight, that it's not about him or the team but she wishes every day she was back with her partner, and when he comes to her the following morning and tells her he's gotten CID to take her back, she actually hugs him. She'll owe him for the rest of her life.
13. October 2008, Arlington: This was never supposed to happen, or maybe it was always supposed to happen. Whichever way you want to look at it, their wedding day is still the biggest step she's ever taken in her life. Stark is thinking about how she never even moved in with her boyfriend of two years, how she thought she'd never marry, how kids never seemed part of the idea. Yet as she says "I do" to the man that maybe she was always meant to be with, she only hopes she can be the wife he deserves for her to be. After all, they've been through more together than anyone will ever know.
Muse: Stark Patrick
Fandom: The X-Files (OC)
Words: 1309