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Disclaimer: "The X-Files" and the characters of Mulder and Scully are not mine. They belong to Chris Carter, Ten-Thirteen and Fox Television. I'm just borrowing them for the fun of it. No copyright infringement intended.
Category: S, H
Summary: Mulder starts dating someone, and it isn't Scully. She, in turn, decides that two can play the dating game. Plenty of MSR and UST in this one.
Author's Note: This occurs shortly after the events of "Szygy" and prior to "Grotesque". Some other episodes are also mentioned. I knew that they never really resolved the implied UST in "Szygy" and this is just my interpretation of the turn of events prior to "Grotesque".
********************************************
8:35 a.m.
April 12
J. Edgar Hoover Building
Dana Scully pulled her car in the parking spot. She kept looking at her watch as midtown traffic made her 25 minutes late for work.
God, she thought, I hope Mulder isn't pissed at me. After those ridiculous turn of events in Comity, I'm surprised we've still been in any kind of speaking terms with each other.
Scully rushed down towards the basement as she passed fellow agents trying not to look as though she was in a hurry. She noticed Assistant Director Skinner down the hallway talking to one of the female accountants.
If I didn't know any better, she thought, it looks as though he was flirting with her. Scully pushed that thought out of her mind as she made her way towards the basement. Who cares, she thought, it's none of my business and I'm too late to worry about Skinner's social life.
She practically burst through the door half expecting Mulder to glare at her as he had been doing the past few days. Being late, she wouldn't be surprised. Instead, she was greeted with laughter.
What in the world, she thought.
Mulder was sitting at his desk with his feet propped up talking on the phone. By the sound of his voice and the flirting banter, Scully knew that he was talking to a female. But who?
She headed towards her desk and started taking things out of her briefcase pretending not to listen.
"So 7:30 okay for you then?" Mulder asked with only a hint of apprehension. After a moment, he must have gotten his answer because he was smiling and said, "Okay, I'll see you then. (Pause) I would, too, but I've got to get back to work. (Pause) Stop that!"
Scully wanted to puke.
"Okay, okay, I really have to go," Mulder hung up the phone.
Scully smiled at him. "Sorry I'm late," she started. "Traffic was a real bear this morning, and my alarm didn't go off for some reason."
Mulder smiled back and mumbled, "Don't worry about it." and went back to the files on his desk.
Well how do you like that, Scully thought. He didn't even bother to give her a famous Mulderism for God sakes! This must be one hell of a date tonight.
The next few hours involved megaloads of paperwork. They were still processing stuff from Mulder's escapade with the supposed alien/human hybrid on the train. Most of this involved Mulder, but she ended up doing the bulk of the work.
Scully glanced over at Mulder a few times only to turn around when he looked up. If he wants to say something to me, she thought, he better be the one to start, because I have nothing to say to him.
Why was she so angry with him? Just because he all of a sudden decides to get a social life after the case in Comity, what does that have to do with you, she thought. Yet, I still can't get that damn image out of my mind seeing him laying there with the leggy (and fake blonde) "Detective White" on top of him ready to do the wild thing. What in the world had gotten into him anyway?
"Scully?"
I mean, it's not as though he hasn't been alone in a room with an attractive female before. Of course, that's if he found the woman attractive to begin with.
"Scully."
Was that it? Did Mulder think that he was losing his masculinity hanging around with me that he has to go and try to boink the first leggy, fake blonde he came in contact with?
"Scully!"
"Huh?"
"Are you okay?"
Embarrassed, Scully gave the usual, "I'm fine, Mulder." response.
"Did you file the report on...."
*******************
6:15 p.m.
Scully's Apartment
Work was soooooo tedious today, she thought. Scully just collapsed on her couch without even taking her coat off. I'm a damn forensic pathologist and F.B.I. agent. I didn't expect to be spending 10-12 hour days in front of a computer screen. I would have been a computer geek like Pendrall.
Scully felt ashamed of that last comment. Pendrall is a nice guy.
He had helped her immensely with that metal whatever it was in her neck.
Queequeg hopped on the couch next to Scully. He was always excited when she came home, because he was alone in the apartment all day. Dogs aren't known for being solitary animals. Scully was smiling at him and started to scratch his head.
The phone rang.
"Scully"
"Hello, dear," came a familiar female voice.
"Oh, hi Mom. Is something wrong?"
"No, I was just wondering if you had any plans tonight. I felt like going out to dinner and wanted some company."
"Mom, I would love to, but I really don't feel like it tonight. I had a rough day at work and would just rather take a long, hot bath and vegetate the rest of the night."
"Is there anything you want to talk about, honey?"
"No, Mom. Another night?"
"Okay. Have a good night, Dana.
"You too, Mom. I love you."
"I love you, too." Scully hung up the phone and felt a pang of guilt instantly hit her.
Are you going to pity yourself the rest of the night, she thought.
"Oh, what the hell..." Scully picked up the phone.
******************
7:45 p.m.
Fellini's Italian Restaurant
"Are you kidding me?" Mrs. Scully asked her daughter incredulously.
"Yeah, there he was with that leggy fake blonde on top. I swear, I know Mulder has hormones like any other guy, but did he have to be so ....uninhibited? We were in the middle of a case for Pete sakes!"
Mrs. Scully carefully listened to her daughter. She had noticed how excitedly emotional she became when Mulder's name came up in their conversation. There was obviously more than meets the eye on their last case.
"Dana," she asked "did you knock on his door before going in?"
Dana looked at her Mother for a moment, and then started to blush.
"Well....no, but it was slightly open, so I guess I assumed that he was in the room alone."
"Oh honey, I'm not even going to begin lecturing you on proper etiquette, but why are you so upset with Fox? He may have had bad indiscretion with this Detective White but you seem to be taking this whole incident a bit too seriously. Is there something you're not telling me?"
"What do you mean, Mom?"
"Well, I hear that partners tend to be very close, sometimes. Even closer than married couples."
Dana thought over what her Mom just said but couldn't really reply.
Her Mom continued, "Think about it, Dana. You and Fox get into so many different, sometimes life-threatening situations. It's only natural to have strong feelings for him, just as one would for a spouse. Except you two never chose to be together. Yet, I don't think I've ever seen most married couples as committed and trusting with each other as you and Fox."
After a moments pause, Dana said, "I guess I took it for granted that Mulder was *always* going to be there for me. That whole case in Comity made me feel...I don't know...vulnerable? It's as though I felt Mulder didn't want to be with me anymore, either as a partner or a friend."
Mrs. Scully listened and nodded, but her motherly instincts told her better.
"Are you upset with Fox for how he treated you or how he didn't treat you?"
Scully looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"Okay, let's start with how did you feel when you first saw Fox with this Detective White?"
Dana slowly started, "I don't know...shocked...confused..."
"Upset?"
"Well,....yeah."
"Jealous?"
Dana eyed her mother, "Mom, I'm starting to understand where you're heading with this. Mulder and I are not romantically involved."
"Maybe you're just afraid to try."
"Mom, I really don't want to continue this conversation any further."
"Honey, why don't you...." Mrs. Scully noticed Dana's eyes get larger and a light gasp escaped her lips. Dana seemed to be peering at something over her right shoulder, so Mrs. Scully turned around and saw...
******
...Mulder opened the door for Caroline Armstrong. He originally wanted to go for Chinese, but she wasn't in the mood. Funny he thought, I'm used to Scully agreeing with my culinary suggestions. But he had to remind himself that she wasn't Scully.
He had met Caroline when they were both in the Violent Crimes Unit, though he never had the guts to ask her out. She did as much as she could to encourage him, but he never followed through. Thankfully, they did remain in touch over the years. Caroline was one of the few people in the Bureau that respected his views that many considered "spooky" to be taken seriously. Of course though, that was before Scully....
******
....Of all the restaurants in D.C., Scully thought, he *had* to walk into this one tonight! He's even put gel in his hair! I never knew he owned any other hair products other than shampoo and a brush.
Mrs. Scully watched her daughter's face slowly become flushed. And she thought to herself, I don't think it's because of the heat in the restaurant, as a smug look crossed her lips.
My God, Scully thought, he's gorgeous! Mulder was wearing a navy blue double-breasted suit with a rather conservative red tie, considering Mulder. They had been working together all this time, and she has *never* seen that suit before. Makes me wonder what else he's been keeping secret from me, she thought.....
******
....Mulder felt like he was cheating on someone. What a ridiculous thought, he told himself. After all, that strange case in Comity made him realize how stupid he's been all these years, especially after Phoebe, in denying himself the company of an attractive woman. Detective White had "opened his eyes" to the possibilities.
Even though he's talked with Caroline on the phone and had a few lunch "outings," this evening was their first official dinner date. He actually felt nervous like some giddy hormonal teenager.
"So Mulder, is this where you take all your girls to?" Caroline asked.
"Only the ones who think I'm spooky," Mulder replied.
She laughed at the reference. Even though she heard the whispers during their days at VCU, she never really took them to heart. There was more to Mulder than that strangely fascinating analytical mind of his. She promised herself a long time ago to find out.
"Sorry that it took this long for us to get together. I've been rather busy...," Mulder began.
"...with the formidable Agent Scully," Caroline finished for him. " Yes, you two are well known within the Bureau."
Mulder wasn't exactly sure how to take that comment. He tried to change the subject, "Shall we order?"
Scully found herself staring at the woman with Mulder. She was everything Scully thought Mulder would like: tall, brunette and gorgeous. Yet, there was also something about the woman that made Scully think that she had seen her somewhere before.
It was obvious the way Mulder appeared to be ogling the woman that he was giving her his utmost attention. That's another thing that I've never seen Mulder do before with me, Scully thought, look "smitten."
Mrs. Scully felt as though she were a fourth wheel.
"Dana," she started, "I know Fox and his date being here is not exactly what you had in mind for a quiet evening. We could leave if you want. I'm finished eating."
Dana felt a bit embarrassed.
"No, Mom," she replied. "This is your night out. My problems are best left at the office."
Somehow, I don't think that will happen, Mrs. Scully thought. Oh well...
******
...I feel like a criminal on trial, Mulder thought to himself. Caroline had been asking him really personal questions, especially concerning his relationship with Scully.
"...I heard that the two of you were involved with that whole Tooms scenario," Caroline continued. "I tried to get in contact with you on that, but they had me going out to California for another one of their numerous serial killer cases."
"Yeah," Mulder replied. "I lost *another* gun and had one of my best suits covered in grease and bile. It was a real hoot."
"And then there was Scully's disappearance..." Caroline paused. "Do you feel comfortable talking about that?"
Mulder felt his face twitch.
"Caroline," he began. "To be honest, I didn't take you out to dinner to talk shop." He had said it a bit more harshly than he intended. Scully's abduction was an unsolved mystery that still eats at his very core, largely because, he never forgave himself for not coming to Scully's aid in time.
She looked at him closely. There was an uncomfortable silence between them until the waiter came with their dinner salads.
"I'm sorry, Caroline," Mulder apologized. "I didn't mean to jump on your case. That whole Duane Barry situation left a sour taste in my mouth, and I would rather just not talk about it."
She nodded.
"Okay, then," she smiled at him. "I've always been fascinated in your cases, because they're always, well,....so different! I can only look at so many dead bodies for so long, before I'm not affected anymore by them. That's kind of a scary thought to me. I guess, well,..."
Mulder raised his eyebrows with a questioning look.
"...you know," she stammered. "I....I always thought that we would be partners again."
"Caroline, we were never partners at the VCU."
"Yes, I know," she looked down at her food. "We did work together rather closely, and I meant that I thought you and I would get together on the X-Files one day. I almost put in for a transfer before they promoted me. Then, I heard about Scully."
Mulder wasn't sure how to reply to that. He played with his lettuce during another moment of uncomfortable silence.
"You and Scully aren't...," Caroline started.
"Scully and I aren't what?" Mulder asked.
"You know...involved?"
He looked at her. He wondered if that was a question people at the Bureau bet on in an office pool.
"If you mean involved as in other than professionally, no," he replied.
"Oh," she looked shocked. "I guess I've heard rumors..."
"Yeah, well don't believe in those rumors, Caroline. As usual, they're unfounded."
She smiled at that, and Mulder smiled back at her....
******
....Scully grimaced. They *smiled* at each other, she thought.
"You're in love with him, aren't you?"
Scully was thinking of borrowing a few surveillance items from "The Lone Gunmen" after dinner. Mulder was on the other side of the restaurant, so her lip-reading technique left something to be desired.
"Dana, did you hear me?"
Yeah, Scully thought, I'm sure if I promise Frohike a date, he would bug the White House for me.
"Dana?"
Dana broke out of her reverie.
"I'm sorry, mom, I was thinking about something."
"Obviously."
"What were you saying?"
Mrs. Scully thought about asking her question again, but she decided against it. Her daughter was hurting right now, and it was unmotherly to add salt to a wound.
"I was just saying that I'm feeling tired," she said instead. "Why don't we go?"
Dana almost said "No" but knew better. This whole dinner scene was leaving her with a bad taste....
******
...in his mouth. The beer Mulder ordered wasn't giving him the desired effect. As much as he was enjoying the company, he had yet to feel comfortable and thought a little inebriation would work, but not really.
"Penny for your thoughts, Mulder?" Caroline asked.
Mulder didn't realize that his mind had been drifting.
"Sorry. I just realized that it's been awhile since I've had any kind of life outside of the X-Files. It takes some getting used to."
Caroline brought her hand across the table and laid it gently on his arm.
"I know that you've been through the ringer in the past couple of years. You know that you can always talk to me if you needed to vent or whatever," she softly told him.
Mulder felt a weird sensation emanating from where Caroline touched him. It wasn't exactly sexual, but it was *something*. He just nodded to her and let the moment pass. There really wasn't any reply he could give.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked.
Caroline nodded.
********************
April 13
7:45 a.m.
J. Edgar Hoover Building
Mulder was still contemplating the previous evening's events when he opened the door to the basement office. He found Scully already at her desk working. He had hoped to get in before her so that he could catch up on some paperwork.
"Good morning, Scully," he said in his most cheerful "Mulderesque" voice.
"Good morning," she replied without turning around to look at him.
That's curious, he thought. She must have had a bad night. Mulder went to his desk to see that Scully piled up files for his review and approval. Very efficient, he thought. I only wish...
******
...that he didn't sound as though he enjoyed himself last night, Scully thought. She came to work at 5:30, because she wasn't able to sleep after getting home last night. The image of Mulder with *that* woman was seared in her memory. Mulder may blame the cosmos for the fling with Detective White, but he certainly was himself last night.
"So Scully, did you have a nice evening?" Mulder asked.
Scully tried to regain her composure.
"It was rather....uneventful," she replied as she turned around to look at him. She tried to control her emotions as best as possible and gave him a slight smile.
"Are you feeling okay? You look tired."
"Yes, I'm fine. I just had some trouble sleeping last night."
"Well, I hope you're not getting some bug. I'm meeting Skinner at 10. I think we have another case coming up. I know that I would rather have you healthy if we were to head out of town."
God, she thought. Is he such an insensitive bastard?
"I just need to get to sleep early, that's all," she gamely replied. You're the freakin' reason I feel like processed road kill, she thought. I should have just called in sick.
"If you need to go home, Scully, you can," Mulder said.
Gee, she thought. Thanks for the concern, Mulder.
"No, I'll be fine. I'll get some more coffee and maybe get something to eat," she replied.
He nodded at her then proceeded to tackle the files on his desk.
Scully looked at Mulder with pain evident in her eyes. If you only knew how much it hurts, she thought to herself. Why does it feel as though you're slowly slipping away from me? After all we've seen and been through together in the past four years, I would have thought you would at least confide in me. Now, it looks as though you found someone else to confide in. I feel like the old horse being replaced by a shiny new car.
The phone rang.
"Mulder," he answered then a smile slowly creeped across his face.
*It's her!* she thought.
"Hi, Caroline. It's kind of early, isn't it?"
*Caroline* So that's the name of the little bitch, Scully thought. She used to think that was a very pretty name, but *not* anymore. Strangely, it also sounded very....familiar.
"I'm sorry, but I might be tied up with a case for the next few days," he said. "I'll give you a call when I get back, okay?"
Caroline....Caroline.....Caroline....of course!
"I know," Mulder said. "It goes with the territory. You should know that by now....okay, I really have to get back to work, Caroline. I'll talk to you in a few days, okay?"
Caroline Armstrong, Scully thought. Caroline had been at one of her classes on forensic medicine at Quantico about five years ago. She was with the Violent Crimes Unit at the same time as Mulder. From what Scully had heard, Caroline was reputed to be a top-notch agent and profiler in the VCU until Mulder came along. It seems that their rivalry sparked more than a professional competitiveness.
"Was that your big date last night, Mulder?" Scully had to ask out of both curiosity and normality.
Mulder blushed.
"Uh...yeah," he finally blurted out.
"I guess that video collection of yours will start to collect dust," she jokingly told him. Yet, Scully could feel the tears slowly welling up.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Mulder innocently replied. He went back to the folder on his desk still blushing.
Well the day wasn't a total loss, Scully thought. Mulder told me *something*. She plugged away at the paperwork in front of her as a tear slowly trickled down her face.
*****************
April 19
7:50 p.m.
Scully's Apartment
Dangling her keys in front of her as she tried to balance her luggage, Scully fumbled with the lock on her door.
Home, she thought. I never felt more relieved to get home from a case.
She and Mulder had just returned from Marietta, Georgia, where local farmers found mutilated human bodies similar to cattle mutilations in their fields. The bodies were so badly decomposed that Scully's forensic findings were inconclusive at best. As usual, Mulder had some wild theory or another that involved alien abductions, which turned out to be totally unfounded. It appeared that locals, affiliated with clandestine violence groups, provoked the murders. It was *her* profile that helped capture the people involved to which Mulder never even vocally acknowledged to her.
I'm basically back to the shitty relationship we had after Comity, she thought. I forgot how Mulder has such a huge ego to bruise. He always seemed to be up to the challenge of my rational, scientific theories but not lately. He didn't even say anything to me during the flight back. Just a usual "See you tomorrow, Scully." He was obviously eager to get back to *Caroline*.
She dropped her bags on the floor as she noticed several messages on her answering machine. Queeque was jumping near her feet as usual, excited that she was home. At least someone is happy to see me, she thought. A couple of the messages were from her mother, another one from her building superintendant, and the last one was from someone she hadn't heard from in quite a while.
"Hi Dana," the male voice said. "I'm glad that your number is listed. I'm in town for a few days for a convention and thought that we could get together and catch up. This is David Ralston, by the way, if you don't recognize the voice. My number is 555-3938, room #23. Give me a call whenever, okay?"
Oh my God, Scully thought. David Ralston. I haven't heard from him since...when was it?...right before she entered the F.B.I. Academy in Quantico. It's been that long?
She picked up the phone. Now what was that number again?
************
April 21
8:30 p.m.
Heisei Restaurant
Mulder was sitting at his table waiting for Caroline. Even though she admitted to hating Chinese food, she loved Japanese food, which Mulder found rather odd. He had been to Heisei a few times and found the food edible. He was never a big fan of Japanese food, but willing to tolerate it for tonight.
He looked at his watch. Caroline was already half-an-hour late. Where can she be, he thought. She could have at least called me on my cellular. Irritated, he ordered another drink. At least Scully calls me if she were running late, but Caroline isn't Scully.
Speaking of whom, he was wondering what had brought the amazing turnaround in Scully's demeanor the past couple of days. That case in Marietta wasn't one his finest hours as Scully proved to him. He had been upset with both himself and her almost smug attitude upon disproving his theory. They hadn't been talking again after that case was over. Just like after Comity, he thought.
Something must have happened from the time he dropped her off at her place to the next morning as she had a big grin on her face. In fact, she wore that grin all day without mentioning to him why. She must have a big date planned, he mused....
******
....Scully felt very nervous sitting in the car. She had called David to set up this "date" for tonight as his schedule was much more booked than he had anticipated. Tonight was the only free time he had before going back to Detroit the next afternoon.
She looked over at David as they both sat in uncomfortable silence. This, she thought, was something that *never* seemed to happen between Mulder and me. It's so weird!
"I hope you don't mind Japanese food, Dana," he started.
Actually....she thought to herself.
"No, it's fine," she replied instead. She was lying. Her Dad first introduced her to Japanese food when she was in junior high school. She just couldn't muster the urge to eat anything *raw*. Mulder knew that, she thought, but he isn't Mulder.
David pulled up into a spot right in front of Heisei Restaurant where....
******
....Mulder ordered another drink. Where the hell is she? He had been obsessively looking at his watch and knew that if Caroline didn't show up soon, he might be too drunk to take himself home.
It was at that moment that he saw a very attractive redhead walk into the restaurant. He was on the other side of the room, so she never saw him.
My God, Mulder thought. Scully's *gorgeous*! He noticed that she wore a strapless turquoise dress which showed every curve on her very trim body. He remembered that body very well from their first X-File case together in Oregon. How could I forget, he thought, I have a photographic memory and she looked so....Whoa! Watch it, Mulder. You are starting to stray into some rather "unprofessional" thoughts about your partner.
Scully also had her hair up with some strands strategically falling into her angelic face. Mulder had never seen her look so... lovely. He then noticed the guy she was with.
He looked to be about Mulder's age, very distinguished, and tall. Of course, he thought, he's with Dana Scully, who could make a Smurf look tall. Oh God! I can't believe I just thought that.
From the looks of their conversation, it seemed like a first date. Scully was fidgeting with the napkin in front of her while the guy kept looking around for the waitress. Mulder could see that he was trying to position himself under the low table and didn't appear successful. In fact, his knee hit the table and startled Scully.
Mulder never saw Caroline come in though he didn't think that she would notice him staring at someone across the room.
"I'm soooo sorry I'm late," Caroline said approaching Mulder's table.
"I had company," he said while showing her his drink.
"Henderson had me staying late filing this report, she said, "and then my stupid cellular battery decided to die on me on the way over here, so I couldn't reach you."
"Uh huh...." Mulder mumbled as he kept his one eye focused over Caroline's left shoulder to Scully's table.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Uh...," Mulder fumbled some words. "No! I....had a rather busy day. Scully and I were trying to sort out that mess down in Georgia. I guess...my mind's been wandering."
"Okay," she replied as she looked at the menu.
Mulder wished that he could read lips. Scully appeared to be....
******
....feeling like some stupid, giddy high schooler, Scully thought. She had been giggling at every joke he was telling her. I must be having an out of body experience, she thought. I don't want to sound like some pathetic loser who has no life.
David was very sweet. They had both served their residency at Georgetown University where they had met. He had asked her out a few times, but she never stepped over that line. Just like Mulder and me, she thought. How pathetic!
"So, how is the life of an F.B.I. agent?" he asked.
"Well, the workload is comparable to an E.R. doctor sometimes," she said. "I get a call in the middle of the night, figure out why someone died and fill out mounds of paperwork."
"Yeah, but you do get to travel to some nice places," he said.
"Sure, if you think visiting gravesites, county morgues and motel rooms as 'nice places'."
"Sorry. I guess I'm a bit naive when it comes to police work."
"Don't worry about it," she consoled him. "If everyone knew what F.B.I. agents did, they might never join."
"Is it that bad?"
"Well...," she thought for a moment. "My biggest regret is not having some kind of stable home life. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy my career, but when there's that lag time in between cases...well, let's just say my gun gets cleaned a lot!"
David laughed, which put a smile on Scully's face.
"So I guess you're not seeing anyone on a regular basis," he said.
"No," Scully said but a bit more hastily than she intended. She saw that he smiled at her response. Hmmm, she thought, things might be picking up....
******
....Mulder saw Scully and her date laughing together. She hasn't laughed like that with me in quite a long time, he thought.
"Mulder?"
"Hmmm."
"Are you feeling okay? You don't seem to be eating much," Caroline said.
"Oh, well I guess the before dinner drinks have affected me more than I thought."
"Do you want to go home?"
Mulder thought for a moment as he saw Scully laughing again. I should go home, he thought, but I don't want to miss anything.
"No. I'm fine," he finally replied. I doubt that I'll be able to get much sleep tonight anyway, he thought.
"Are you sure, Mulder? It's my fault that you've been sitting here for almost an hour waiting for me," she said. "I want to make it up to you."
Caroline was trying to give him a hint by putting her hand on his leg.
"No, I want to stay," he said. Mulder felt something on his leg and swatted it away without taking his eye from Scully's table.
I'm fooling myself, he thought. Even though I'm sitting here with Caroline, all I can think about is what the hell Scully is doing with that guy. She never mentioned that she was seeing anyone. Of course, it's none of my business. She's probably doing this as a favor or something. Right! Like Scully needs to go on a blind date. I mean, she's gorgeous! Any guy in his right mind would...what? Why in the hell am I thinking about this anyway? Scully has her own life, and I have mine. It's really none of my business.
"You're upset with me aren't you, Mulder?" Caroline asked.
"Why do you say that?"
She looked closely at him.
"Did something happen between you and Scully?"
He looked back at Caroline taking his gaze away from Scully's table. The question was simple enough, but he wasn't sure how to answer. *Did* something happen between Scully and him? He wondered what Scully was thinking as he peered back towards her table and saw...
******
...Scully was really enjoying herself. The dark funk that she felt for the past couple of weeks was starting to look more like a bad dream. David was a breath of fresh air that she desperately needed.
"...You mean to tell me that he tried to clear a wart with a potato?"
She nodded while trying to contain her laughter to no avail.
"And Mulder said, "We're exhuming...your potato," she laughed out loud. It took a few minutes for them to recover.
"I'm glad you haven't lost your sense of humor," he said.
"Yeah, well in this job, one's sanity can easily be lost without a bit of levity."
"And no social life?"
She blushed.
"Believe it or not, this is the first time I've been out socially in well over three years."
David looked at her incredulously.
"I find that hard to believe," he finally said.
"Well, some men feel threatened that I'm an F.B.I. agent."
He reached across the table and took her hand.
"This one certainly doesn't," he said as he smiled at her.
Scully was blushing even more. She only wished....
******
...Mulder couldn't believe what he just saw. The guy was holding Scully's *hand*!
"Is there something you're not telling me, Mulder?"
Damn, Mulder thought, I wish I had that small surveillance dish that "The Lone Gunmen" had. I'm sure Frohike would bug the White House if I promised him Scully's phone number. There were too many people moving in his field of view to even try to read their lips.
"Mulder?"
Even though Scully and I had our differences, he thought, she wouldn't be foolish enough to have some wild sexual escapade with the first tall stud who hit on her. Would she? God, with the way I've been acting around her lately, I'm surprised she hadn't killed every male agent in the J. Edgar Hoover Building just to spite me.
"Mulder!"
Whoops, he thought.
"I'm sorry, Caroline," he started. "I didn't mean to ignore you."
She looked at him and noticed that he really wasn't paying attention to her but something over her shoulder. So she turned around.
Mulder knew he was in deep shit when she turned back to him.
"So that's why you're mind was *wandering*," she began. "Well I know when I've become a third wheel, but from the looks of things over there, I think I'm the fourth wheel."
"Look, Caroline, let me explain..." he began.
"Never mind," she said as she gathered her things. "Don't worry about getting a hold of me. I think I'm heading to another case real soon. I should have known better than to believe those rumors about the two of you were false."
"Caroline!"
"*Good night*, Agent Mulder," she icily told him as she left.
He watched her storm out of the restaurant and knew better not to follow her. People in the tables around him were speaking in hushed whispers and staring at him.
Great, he thought. I finally try to get a social life and it fails miserably before it ever took off. I think she might have actually wanted to stay over at my place, too. Good job, Mulder.
He left some money at the table as he put his shoes on. Over at Scully's table, they were laughing away having a good old time. They weren't aware of the ruckus just a few minutes before.
Mulder went around people to avoid Scully from seeing him. At the door, he took one last look at Scully, who looked more happier than he ever remembered her to be.
"Good night, Scully," Mulder whispered as he mentally recorded Scully's beauty in his thoughts. He then opened the door and walked out into the cold and lonely night.
********************
April 21, 1996
10:16 a.m.
J. Edgar Hoover Building
Scully typed away on the computer. Sitting at the edge of her desk is a bouqet of flowers that were delivered to her office. She stopped typing and smelled the flowers again. They were from David. The note read: "I would have rather said goodbye in person, but this is the best I can do on short notice. I had a really great time last night. Don't be a stranger, and I'll give you a call soon. David." Scully smiled.
She *did* enjoy herself last night. David had always been sweet to her, but she never bothered to think of him as anything more than a "friend". Kind of the situation I'm in now, she thought.
The phone rang startling her.
"Scully," she answered.
"Agent Scully, this is Assistant Director Skinner's Office," his secretary said. "He would like to meet with you and Agent Mulder at 10:30. Is Agent Mulder there, too?"
Scully looked over at his desk to see nothing but files and an opened bag of sunflower seeds with the detached husks nearby.
"No, he stepped out awhile ago," Scully finally replied. "But I'll inform him."
She hung up the phone. Now where the hell is he, she thought.
******
Mulder looked through the sights of his Glock and started firing. It didn't take long to unload the entire magazine as he scored perfect hits in the chest and head area. He took off his protective glasses and headphones and recalled the distant sillouette.
This was a way for him to unload some stress. Since he couldn't just change into running gear and sweat out a two mile run, he usually "killed" away his frustrations. The sillouette came closer and two words were written on top of the sheet: "Scully's Date". Mulder smiled.
He had trouble sleeping last night. Caroline leaving the restaurant was one thing, but the image of Scully laughing and enjoying herself with that *guy* irked Mulder in ways that he wouldn't want to admit on a lie-detector test.
Mulder thought of some rather obscene actions that might have gone on between Scully and this *guy*. Why is this bothering me so much? I know that our relationship has been rather strained lately, but she is entitled to her own life, right?
His cell phone rang.
"Mulder," he answered.
"Mulder, it's me," Scully replied. "Where are you?"
I knew that I should have left my phone, Mulder thought.
"I'm down at the armory," Mulder answered.
A slight pause. "Are you okay, Mulder?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just had trouble sleeping last night."
"Well, Skinner's secretary just called informing us that our presence is requested in his office in ten minutes."
*************
10:36 a.m.
Skinner's Office
Skinner sat at his desk looking over a request as Mulder and Scully took the two chairs in front of him.
Mulder was still distracted, and it didn't help that Scully, who was wearing one of her usual form-fitting professional dresses crossed her legs in the seat next to him. He noticed her smiling to herself....
"A request came down to me about an hour ago from the Violent Crimes Unit," Skinner began.
...Scully was distracted as Skinner briefed them. The scent of the flowers that David sent her and the previous evening's events were still fresh in her mind. She glanced over at Mulder, who had his hair nicely gelled and wearing his usual unreadable mask. He looks just as gorgeous as he did that night I saw him with Caroline, she thought.
"...It appears that they are currently in the middle of surveillance of a suspect from the Freely Triad," Skinner continued.
"Freely Triad?" Scully asked while trying to look interested.
"It's named after the three attackers of the Richard Freely family," Mulder answered. "About four months ago, Richard Freely, a prominent Boston physician, was sleeping in his home along with his wife and five children, ages 13, 10, 7, 5, and 3. According to eyewitness accounts from neighbors, a group of masked "vigilantes" dressed in all black broke in and gunshots were heard. They killed the children first, which awoke Freely and his wife. He owned a revolver and was able to hit one of the the three assailants leaving the only evidence: Type B-positive blood. Freely and his wife were beaten to a comatose state. They were in the news last week; Mrs. Freely died."
"Right, I remember hearing about it," Scully said. "And Dr. Freely?"
"He's still in a coma," Skinner answered.
"So what does this have to do with us?" Mulder irritatingly asked.
Skinner gave Mulder a look but ignored his tone.
"As I said before...," he continued while still staring at Mulder, who noticed Scully fidgeting in her chair.
"Sir," Scully interjected. "I understand that this is an F.B.I. matter, but it doesn't sound like an X-File. Why us?"
"Because," he said handing the file to Mulder, "the agent in charge of the case requested you two."
Mulder looked up from the file.
"Who is that?"
Skinner looked at the request, "An Agent....Caroline Armstrong."
He noticed Mulder blush while Scully's eyes started to become as large as silver dollars.
....Caroline Armstrong! Scully began to feel nauseous.
Mulder was in a state of shock. He barely had time to recover from the previous night's escapade and now *this*.
"Is that a problem, Agent Mulder?" Skinner asked.
Mulder just shook his head too embarrassed to even respond.
Scully tried not to sound surprised,"Was...was there any particular reason why we were specifically requested, sir?"
"From what I understand," Skinner answered,"Mulder was able to profile bizarre murders such as this with relative ease when he was with the VCU. Armstrong expressed extreme interest in the two of you to help them with this case."
Scully didn't know what else to say, while a dark cloud was starting to emanate above Mulder's head.
"Sir," he began, "I don't think that we are the right agents to be involved in this case. There are many good profilers in the Bureau and any one of them would be more than qualified to help the VCU with surveillance. Scully and I were preparing to fly out to Colorado on a new case."
"Yes, I know," Skinner said. "I have your request on my desk ready to go prior to this new one. But since Dr. Freely is a prominent citizen in Boston and has several "acquaintances" on Capitol Hill, the Director specifically put a priority on this one. Agent Armstrong's request is granted. Yours will be put on hold for the time being. That is all."
**********************
April 22
7:35 p.m.
Boston, MA
Mulder looked at his watch. They had been sitting in their rental car outside the residence of the suspect, Matt Ricker, for a couple of hours with absolutely nothing out of the ordinary happening. Fortunately, there were more than enough agents assigned to do surveillance, they only had watch for six hours, which was half of the standard twelve.
Scully busied herself looking over Ricker's file as well as the Freely Triad case. He already had it memorized. One thing he wished that he could forget was the dinner scene a few nights before with Caroline as well as the earlier conversation he had with her.
"You should be having an easy time on this, Agent Mulder," she had said. "At least, you can keep an eye on Agent Scully as well as Ricker. Two for the price of one, ay?"
Phoebe was tough on him, but at least she was in another country. It was obvious that Caroline wanted to rub their "relationship" in his face. With Scully in tow, she would get double the fun.
"It doesn't look as though Ricker is planning to go out for the evening."
Mulder looked at Scully.
"Did you have dinner plans?" Mulder asked.
"Yeah, I thought a cheeseburger and a coke," she quipped.
Mulder reached in his pocket.
"I've got the appetizer," he said while holding up a bag of sunflower seeds.
Scully smiled.
This is a nice change, she thought. After the foul mood he's been in the past couple of days and that little exchange with Caroline earlier, I assumed he wouldn't be too talkative. She was talking with another agent about the surveillance when Mulder was in another room talking with Caroline. It was obvious from his facial expression after he left that it wasn't entirely about the case.
"Are you okay, Mulder? I mean, you have been in a rather dark mood in the past couple of days."
"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered. "I have just had a few things on my mind."
Scully nodded. She didn't want to hint anything to him.
"There has been something that I wanted to talk to you about," he continued.
She waited.
Mulder looked at her wondering if he might be sticking his foot in his mouth.
"Well," he started, "I know that we have been rather tenuous with each other since that case in Comity..."
Scully wanted to stop him from continuing. Don't go there, Mulder, she thought. But a part of her was curious as to what he was thinking.
"...then that 'fiasco' of a case in Marietta last week. You were right, Scully. I was just too damn stubborn to admit it. After all," he smiled at her, " it's not often that *you're* right."
Scully had to laugh at that. It was true. For a while there, it seemed as though every case they took defied any kind of rational explanation she could come up with. It was a nice change when a case took earthly rationale to solve.
Mulder liked that he could still make Scully laugh. He had been such a jerk to her lately.
"I really don't want you to think that I don't respect your point of view, Scully. It means more to me than you can realize."
Scully blushed slightly and looked at the files on her lap.
"We've both been through so much," Scully replied as she turned towards him. "I can understand that when you get so close to the truth, and the door just gets slammed in your face every time,...well, I guess some venting of rage is in order."
Mulder listened intently to his partner and smiled. Man, he thought, what I would sacrifice just to...
...have him kiss me, Scully thought.
There was a silence between them. Both turned away as they realized that they had been staring at each other for longer than necessary.
God, Scully thought, I hope my face doesn't match the color of my hair....
....Four and a half hours is a long time to wait for a cold shower, Mulder thought.
Mulder's cell phone rang. Irritatingly, he grabbed the phone out of his jacket pocket.
"Mulder," he answered.
"Why Agent Mulder," came the taunt from the female voice,"I do hope you and Agent Scully still have your minds focused on the case. After all, I'm not running a dating service."
A smirk ran across Mulder's face as he turned towards Scully.
"Ah, Agent Armstrong," he replied, "You didn't have to check in on us. I believe Scully and I are over 18."
*Bitch*, Scully thought.
Ignoring Mulder's smart-ass reply, Caroline continued.
"I wanted to touch base with you two as to how the evening's 'events' are going."
"Well," Mulder said, "the horses aren't running well and the room service leaves much to be desired. Basically, there's nothing new to report. It looks as though Ricker is shacked up for tonight."
Caroline could feel the tension over the phone, so she thought it best to end the conversation.
"Alright, Agent Mulder. Keep me informed of any new developments."
Mulder hung up and put the phone back into his pocket. He looked towards Ricker's house but his mind was somewhere else.
Scully looked at him to see if there was a hint of the moodiness that he displayed the last time he talked with Caroline.
"Mulder..." Scully started to say, but she wasn't sure how to approach the subject.
Mulder turned around and gave her a questioning look.
"Is...is this the real thing?"
He kept looking at her. "Is what the real thing, Scully?
Oh well, Scully thought, I might as well stick my foot in my mouth.
"You and Caroline," she finally said. "I assume that she was the 'Caroline' from all those phone calls you've been getting the past few weeks."
Mulder's face confirmed her statement even though he never knew that Scully had seen them together on their first date.
"If you mean *the real thing* as in 'Is Caroline the one?'...well, I don't know, but the way it's been going lately, I highly doubt it," he replied.
Scully nodded while smiling inwardly.
Now Mulder saw an opening...
"Speaking of *the one*," he began, "I assume the flowers you received yesterday were from..."
"A friend!" Scully interrupted a bit more quickly than she intended.
"Oh..." Mulder said while smiling inwardly.
They sat quietly after that not really having to say much else. The bond that had been strained lately was reestablished if not strengthened as the rest of the evening passed without incident.
********************
8:05 a.m.
April 24
J. Edgar Hoover Building
Scully screeched into her parking spot. She barely made it out of bed that morning and was again stuck in early morning traffic. Even though Mulder wouldn't mind her being late, Scully hated having to make excuses.
She rushed into the basement office to hear Mulder's laughter as he was tied up on the phone.
"You'll never let me live that down, will you?" he said.
That has to be Caroline, she thought.
After two nights of no new developments, Skinner recalled them back to Washington. Caroline had no concrete reason for them to remain on such a frivolous assignment. However, it did appear as though Mulder and her were on better speaking terms.
"I'm sure you'll have better luck soon," Mulder continued.
Scully smiled at him as she went to her desk. She was definitely curious as to what was going on between them, but she didn't want Mulder to know that.
"I'll fax you copies of our reports in the next day," Mulder said.
He looked at Scully sitting at her desk. She was wearing a dark burgundy suit, which made her hair look even more fiery than usual. She looks so *nice*, Mulder smiled to himself.
"Mulder?"
Scully heard Caroline's voice on the phone calling Mulder's name. She turned towards him to notice that he had been staring at her. His eyes looked at her's.
"Mulder!"
He almost jumped out of his seat.
"Oh, sorry Caroline," he began, "I was uh...looking at a file on my desk."
Scully tried to stifle her giggling.
"Yeah, right," Carolyn said. "I gather that a certain redhead just walked in the room."
"No comment," Mulder replied. "I have to go."
"Fine, Agent Mulder. Hope you two will be very happy together."
Mulder looked at Scully.
"Yeah," he smiled, "I'm sure we will."
He hung up the phone.
"So how is Agent Armstrong today?" Scully asked.
"In her usual fine spirits, of course," Mulder replied.
"That's nice to hear."
Mulder looked back at the file on his desk while Scully scanned her notes so that she could input them into her computer.
"So, Scully..."
She looked up.
"Big plans, tonight?"
"Oh, I don't know," she replied. "My gun needs cleaning."
Mulder smiled.
"Need any help?"
Scully smiled back. Maybe one day, Mulder, she thought. Maybe one day...
***************
THE END
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