I'm not a fan of heavy-handed angst. I think angst hits the very best notes of poignancy and sadness when told with short and gentle strokes. I think these stories, told through the eyes of a variety of characters eyes, strike all the right chords.


General


The Slender Line
Experimental retelling of the Cigarette Smoking Man's descent into madness.

Before I Walk On Fire
Follmer/Wainwright tie-in with XFVCU and Prism. An elaboration of a scene between Brad and Yolanda. This can probably be read on its own, although it works better in the context of Prism. NC17.

The Beginning Of The Long Goodbye
Bittersweet Follmer/Reyes NIHT II post-ep. Brad Follmer was a habit she needed to break.

Wonderment
Post-episode, William, vignette. She will wonder. A walk through the mind of Mrs Van De Kamp, the woman who adopted William.

whisperjack
Post-episode, Jump The Shark, PG vignette. "She watches the world through barred windows and thinks of raising little Jimmys and teaching them a better way. It seems so...inadequate. So miserable a contribution to a fight she can no longer bear to lead." Yves/Jimmy.

Four Minutes
Missing scene, Fight The Future, R-rated vignette. SAC Darius Michaud has four minutes to live. Funny how that changes your point of view.

The Wrong Man
Post-episode, One Son, PG vignette. "The only things betraying her calm facade are those compulsively twisting hands." Jeffrey, Krycek/Marita.



Knowle/Shannon


Evolution
R-rated post-col vignette. As the lights go out over a dying world, the spark of human life lives on. Knowle/Shannon.

Caro de carne mea
NC17 pre-XF Knowle/Shannon vignette. Eight years after the change, Shannon finally learns the identity of her counterpart. "It occurs to you that it was an act of war, an assault waged on loneliness and need." See also Like Glowing Embers.

Like Glowing Embers
R-rated pre-XF vignette, set after Caro de carne mea (stands alone). "You're a stranger. And yet you know me better than anyone."

Don't Stop Swaying
Post-episode, NIHT II, PG13 vignette. She can live with the changes in the wind, she thinks, as long as she keeps on swaying. Knowle/Shannon.

Hybrid Kisses
Pre-X Files, PG vignette. Good friends. Good wine. The night before the change. Knowle/Shannon.

Act Of Contrition
R-rated vignette, and a missing scene to novella-length Eschaton (can stand alone). She always comes back. Knowle/Shannon.

The Hubris Of Theodora
Post-episode, The Truth, PG vignette. "She was Theodora. He was her Justinian, pure of heart, but weak of mind and spirit." A post-modern legend. Knowle/Shannon.

Down With The Marked
Post-episode, NIHT II, PG vignette. "He doesn't love her - not the way the humans mean it. But he's marked with her, and she with him." Knowle/Shannon.



Krycek/Marita


I Believe
Post-col PG vignette. On faith, friendship, love, loss, grief, fear, honour, dignity, and truth. A speech about the fallen, delivered to the tattered remnant. Krycek/Marita, others.

The Anointed
Missing scene, Patient X, PG. Krycek wants to rest. Marita wants to make the hurt go away.

Signs Of Life
Post-episode, One Son, PG vignette. Allies in war share a companionable moment along the way. Krycek/Diana friendship, shades of Krycek/Marita and Mulder/Diana. See also Can't Outrun The Dark Man.

Can't Outrun The Dark Man
Missing scene, Amor Fati PG vignette. How can she sleep? Who knows? Maybe she just knows you can't outrun the dark man. Krycek/Diana friendship, shades of Krycek/Marita and Mulder/Diana. See also Signs Of Life.

Dream A Crystal Moon
R-rated vignette. Alex and Marita are caught in a dance that can only lead to one outcome. See also Trace A Random Star.

Trace A Random Star
R-rated vignette. A stolen moment in the eye of the storm. The timeframe for this is non-specific but is probably post-Requiem. Krycek/Marita. See also Dream A Crystal Moon.

Silent / Mark Of Cain
Missing scenes, Requiem, R-rated vignettes. Alex contemplates Forj Sidi Toui, Fort Marlene, and Marita, then gloves, hands, and deeper things.

Waiting In Tangier
Post-episode, Existence, PG13. "He says that he loves her, but maybe it was just the breeze." Krycek/Marita.

Hands
Missing scene, Patient X, NC17 vignette. Marita reflects on what the loss of Alex's arm means to her. Krycek/Marita.



Krycek/Diana


Tell Me A Story
"They told each other stories, little lies to make it all okay." Shades of Krycek/Marita and Mulder/Diana.

The Cold White Room
Christmas is cold for the lonely. Shades of Krycek/Marita and Mulder/Diana.

Signs Of Life
Post-episode, One Son, PG vignette. Allies in war share a companionable moment along the way. Krycek/Diana friendship, shades of Krycek/Marita and Mulder/Diana. See also Can't Outrun The Dark Man.

Can't Outrun The Dark Man
Missing scene, Amor Fati PG vignette. How can she sleep? Who knows? Maybe she just knows you can't outrun the dark man. Krycek/Diana friendship, shades of Krycek/Marita and Mulder/Diana. See also Signs Of Life.

Walk In Darkness, Not In Light
Post-episode, One Son, R-rated vignette. Sometimes, when the world is upside down, you have to take whatever comfort you can get. Krycek/Diana.



Companion Stories


Caro de carne mea
NC17 pre-XF Knowle/Shannon vignette. Eight years after the change, Shannon finally learns the identity of her counterpart. "It occurs to you that it was an act of war, an assault waged on loneliness and need."
Like Glowing Embers
R-rated pre-XF vignette, set after Caro de carne mea (stands alone). "You're a stranger. And yet you know me better than anyone."


Act Of Contrition
R-rated vignette, and a missing scene to novella-length Eschaton. She always comes back. Knowle/Shannon.


Signs Of Life
Post-episode, One Son, PG vignette. Allies in war share a companionable moment along the way. Krycek/Diana friendship, shades of Mulder/Diana.
Can't Outrun The Dark Man
Missing scene, Amor Fati PG vignette. How can she sleep? Who knows? Maybe she just knows you can't outrun the dark man. Krycek/Diana friendship, shades of Mulder/Diana.


Dream A Crystal Moon
R-rated vignette. Alex and Marita are caught in a dance that can only lead to one outcome. See also Trace A Random Star.
Trace A Random Star
R-rated vignette. A stolen moment in the eye of the storm. The timeframe for this is non-specific but is probably post-Requiem. Krycek/Marita. See also Dream A Crystal Moon.


Silent / Mark Of Cain
Missing scenes, Requiem, R-rated vignettes. Alex contemplates Forj Sidi Toui, Fort Marlene, and Marita, then gloves, hands, and deeper things.