Title: Devil's Claws
Author: Foxhunt2blue
Summary: Temptation is different for each man,
for each woman. In time we may wonder if it were
the guidance of fate or the devil that led us down
our chosen path.
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: all things
Keywords: Scully angst, M/S UST 
Feedback: Yes! Desire it, need it, want it :)
E-mail: foxhunter2blue@yahoo.com or
           Kitsunegari2001@aol.com
Disclaimer: Nope don't own them! CC & Fox does.
Author's Note: Written for the After the Fact "all things"
challenge February 18, 2003. Inspired by the song
"Stroke of Luck" recorded by Garbage

~~~~~~
Devil's Claws
~~~~~~

She had never really believed the stories that the nuns
and priests had told her as a child. 

Angels fighting over control of heaven only to be banished 
to the depths of hell, rearing their heads in defiance, hoping
to claim the souls of those most beloved by God. To destroy
humans on the most basic level, claiming their souls for
the eternal fires.

There was a mythological quality to it all.

No more believable than Zeus transforming into a shower
of gold or a swan to seduce a mortal woman.

Perhaps she was wrong, she thought, as she studied her
reflection in the water spotted mirror above the sink.

Turning she moved into the dark room, her eyes adjusting
to the change from harsh light to cool shadow. Beyond
the glass the wind whipped tree branches, sending the
shadows cavorting like tiny demonic imps across the rumpled
sheets. 

Bittersweet temptation.

Or was it meant to be?

Slowly she stepped through the shadows, closer to what might
be her downfall or her salvation.

A length of muscled, sleek calf.

Even from here she could sense the soft beating of his heart,
each faint breath, as the sheets lifted with his expanding ribcage.

A chill gripped her as she stood there, frozen, watching him
sleep. He was more to her than she had ever wanted to admit
to herself.

A gift from God.

Perhaps another chance at happiness, amongst all the grief she
had suffered. When she had felt the walls falling in he had been 
there to push them back. Even when she pushed him away, he
was there, watching over her.

Spine curving softly, lean muscles, silken skin.

Even as she pushed she was pulling.

Fighting an eternal battle inside between temptation and what
was right. What path must she chose?

It was never easy.

She had always wondered why the devil was portrayed as
a hideous creature with horns and cloven hooves. If he were
there to tempt us from the path wouldn't he be beautiful?

Most beloved of God's angels.

The "Bearer of Light".

Morning star.

The tears that filled her eyes were blinding.

How could anyone believe that if God existed he would
deny anyone happiness? 

Was it so wrong to want? To desire that which every
soul needed? Their other half.

Dark hair, silken strands of night, spread across worn
cotton sheets.

It's easier to give in, but does that make it wrong?

Be strong, she told herself, as she headed for the bedroom
door. This isn't right...it can't be.

With each step her thoughts drifted back. Back to Daniel,
to the fact that she had been his temptation. A temptation
that had left his life in ruins.

Temptation is different for each man, for each woman. In 
time we may wonder if it were the guidance of fate or the 
devil that led us down our chosen path. 

But what path to chose?

Turning back she let her eyes caress the soft outline of
her temptation beneath rumpled sheets. 

Without conscious thought she found herself kneeling on
the floor beside the bed. She had fought the good fight,
but always it came back to the two of them.

Samson and Delilah.

She had been sent to betray him.

Bonnie and Clyde.

They had fought long and hard.

Adam and Eve.

Their path had torn them from an Eden of ignorance.

Lifting her eyes from where her fingers were digging
into the mattress, she looked into sleepy eyes.

Beautiful eyes that could tear down that wall she had
been building with but one glance. That could bore 
into the depths of her soul. 

Temptation in one glance.

Without a word she leaned in capturing his lips.

There would be no turning back from this temptation,
from this path less travelled.

As she lost herself to his taste she could feel the rake
of the devil's claws as he sank back into hell.

Sometimes even temptation was a gift from God.

"Mulder...," she whispered.

The End