Please Archive... grin...

All Characters copyright of TenThirteen Productions and Chris Carter. No
infringement intended on any part... go ahead, take me to court...
I'm using the insanity defence... heh, heh, heh...

and Jackie St. George is my lawyer... take it up with her...

Comments, complaints and just plain talk to sheryl_martin@goodmedia.com

Summary: ah... the usual seven day stuff...
Spoilers: The Beginning...
Rating: G, story... plenty o'fluff and a few serious thoughts too....

Author's Note: Although I've managed to do seven parts in seven days
before, work lately has been quite hectic in that I'm working 10 hours a
day - so this series might take a bit more than just the usual seven days
- sorry, but I'll do my best...


Downtime V: Day One (1/7)
by Sheryl Martin

6:28

6:29

6:30.

The radio hummed to life, the low music drifting out into the room.

A single eye opened; peering through reddish-brown strands to stare at the
offending object. 

Snaking out from under the covers her hand landed on the snooze button
instinctively, then travelled over to the OFF button.

She wasn't getting up today.

Or maybe not even tomorrow.

***********

6:59

7:00

The alarm clock went off in a clanging rage; shaking all over the top of
the  table as it danced for it's owner.

Who reached over with a heavy hand and grabbed ahold of the offender;
tossing it in the general direction of the kitchen.

"Not even a basketball game on tonight." The low grumble came from the
couch.

***********

9:45 

The Canadian Embassy, Washington.

Jackie St. George grinned as she propped her feet up on an open desk
drawer, squeezing the foam rubber ball in one hand. "You know, I kinda
like this..."

Rosie smiled from the doorway. "A stress reliever. Good idea."

"Well, Devon figured that after giving those seminars this past week, I
should take some of my own advice and channel the anger into something
less... destructive."

The blonde woman nodded. "And less work for me to clean up."

The Canadian smiled. "Hey, I'm getting better..." Reaching for a mug of
tea sitting on her desk, she took a mouthful. "What's..." Her voice
trailed off as two people appeared behind her assistant.

"Hello..." The clipped polite tone sent a shiver down St. George's spine.
Getting to her feet, she watched as the two agents walked into the office.

"I'm Agent Fowley - this is Agent Spender." St. George took the offered
handshake automatically, motioning for them to sit down; nodding at Rosie
to shut the door.

"So... what can I do for you?" Jackie kept her voice low and neutral.

"We were wondering if you could help us out with a few... details..."
Crossing her legs, Diana Fowley smiled. "As you've probably been informed,
Agents Mulder and Scully are no longer assigned to the X Files."

"No, I haven't." St. George glared at the two agents. "I've been out of
town for the past two weeks on assignment."

"Well, they're gone and we're here." Jeffrey Spender broke in, his voice
low and gravelly. "And we want to know what the hell you were doing with
them."

Raising one eyebrow, the Canadian looked back at Fowley. "Good trick. I
didn't even see your lips move."

The edges of Diana's mouth twitched; signalling a near-smile. "From what
we've recovered from the remains of the files, it seems that you were
involved with quite a few cases. We'd like you to perhaps update us on
what you actually did - the details are rather vague on what we've found."

"Really." St. George smiled. "I'm disappointed in their reporting. Mulder
always kept such meticulous files." She looked from the scowling man back
to the cool woman seated in front of her. "Is this an official request?"

"Does it have to be?" Spender growled. "You were involved in Bureau
business when you had no right to be."

"Tell it to A.D. Skinner." She grinned. "Walt and I had an agreement..."

"Which is negated by the fact that Mulder and Scully are no longer under
his command." Fowley interjected, flipping open a notebook. "So if you're
ready to start, we'd like to take it from the beginning back in... I
believe it was 1994."

"Bite me." 

The pen froze in midair. "Excuse me."

St. George smiled wider. "Bite me. It's a quaint expression you Yankees
use, I do believe. In French, well... I'm not going to be that impolite
and insult you in a foreign language... yet..."

"Look..." Spender leaned forward, his face flushed. "You've got..."

"I've got to do nothing for you, Spencer or Spender or whatever your name
is." Getting to her feet, the Canadian put her hands on the desk and
stared at the two agents. "My involvement with your Bureau is none of your
business. Period. End of discussion."

"Maybe we should try that in front of a judge." Spender shot back, getting
to his feet. "A few days in a jail cell might change your mind."

St. George looked at Fowley. "This nit doesn't understand international
law that much, does he? Or was he having his diapers changed during that
little bit about diplomatic immunity?"

Putting his hands on his hips, the man stared at her. "You have no idea
what we can do to you."

"No, you have no idea what I can do to you." The reply came out in a low
chuckle. "And in this case, I'd consider it insecticide to take care of a
leech like you..."

Standing up, the dark-haired woman sighed. "While we can't force you to
help us out, it would be a great help to the work that we're doing. After
all, I thought you supported Fox's work."

"I support my friends." Jackie smiled again. "So, Mrs. Robinson - take
your Fairy Queen here and go out and chase your own little grey men
without me."

"Green." Fowley corrected her. "Little green men."

The Canadian nodded. "My point exactly. And don't slam the door on your
way out." Sitting down again, she reached for the foam ball and began to
clench it in her hand. "And don't try to come back here again, okay? I
hate telling the cleaning staff to bring the special mixture to get blood
off the carpets..."

With a quick jerk of her head to Spender, Fowley walked out. Shaking his
head with a low curse, he followed her; closing the door.

Rosie watched the two as they disappeared down the hallway; letting out a
sigh.

Suddenly the sound of crashing glass came from behind her, intermixed with
cursing and swearing as the foam ball bounced around the small office
collecting victims.

***********

11:30

11:31

Dana Scully peered out from under the covers again, finally tossing them
back with an annoyed sigh. Swinging her feet out and down onto the floor,
she padded to the bathroom and turned the shower on.

*A very special lab rat.*

The words reverberated around in her mind as they had been for the past
day or so - ever since she had allowed Gibson to be taken again.

*You're just like the other doctors.*

Stepping under the steaming hot water, she lifted her face to let the
water spray over her. 

He was right. In a way.

And she hated herself for it.

Finally finishing her shower, she got out; wrapping the white terry cloth
robe around her as she headed for the kitchen, trying to banish the small
voice.

The rapping at the door startled her. Crossing to the hallway, she peered
through the spy hole.

"Come on, Dana... hell, do I have to get Mulder to let me in?" St. George
snarled at the closed door. "And I've been out here five minutes..."

Swinging the door open, Scully nodded. "Come on in - I was in the shower."

"Yah, I guessed... for about an hour... I tried to call on the way over."
Tossing her jacket over the chair, the Canadian walked into the kitchen;
following the petite redhead as she began to prepare a pot of coffee.
"So... what's going on here?"

"What?"

"I get a visit from Tweedledum and Tweedledumber at my office, asking if
I'd like to help them out on the New, Improved X Files."

"And?"

"I told them both what they could do with their badges."

Despite herself, Scully smiled. "I can see that. Fowley isn't known for
her tactfulness."

"Or that creep. Man, he looks like such a brown noser..." Taking a seat at
the kitchen table, St. George frowned. "And then I call up Walter and he
tells me that not only are the two of you reassigned to this new guy
Kersh, but you had to take a week's mandatory vacation? What's with that?"

"Rules. Regulations. Things that Must Be Done." Sitting across from her,
Scully shook her head. "I'm not in the mood for this today, Jackie... I'll
call you later on this week, okay?"

"What's Mulder doing?"

"I don't know. I don't want to know." Digging her fingernail into a groove
in the tabletop, Dana sighed louder. "It's just not a good time..."

"Oh."

"Oh, what?"

"Oh, what what?"

"That 'oh'. What did you mean by that?"

"That you had a fight with him."

"You get that from me?"

"I get that from you." Jackie chuckled. "Next question?"

"Then tell me what you get from this - Go Away." Dana let a small smile
slip free. "I'll call you later on when I decide what to do with the rest
of my week or my life. Whatever."

"Okay, okay..." Grabbing her jacket, the Canadian headed for the door.
"Just don't leave me in the dark, hmm? Although I love the idea of having
Fowley's head mounted on my wall and Spender as a floor rug..."

************

3:55 

*Well now you've done it, Fox...* The mocking tone on the last word made
him grimace as he stared at the ceiling. 

*Oh, yah - not enough that you lose the X Files to Spender and to Diana,
but then you piss off Scully. Anything else you'd like to destroy before
Christmas? Steal some kid's toys?*

Rolling onto his stomach, he inspected the wooden floor intently; trying
to ignore the inner discussion.

*And Diana was covering for YOU? Man, you must have caught something from
that slime you were dipping your hands into without plastic gloves, I
might add - no way Scully would have let you do that...*

Groaning loudly, Mulder got to his feet and headed for the bathroom.

*Action talks, BS walks... Fox...*

************

6:39

The phone rang, interrupting Scully's scrutiny of her medical magazine.
Picking it up, she tucked a stray strand of hair behind one ear and
adjusted her robe.

"Scully, it's me."

"Yes?"

"I was just wondering what you were up to." The weak excuse almost had her
smiling. Almost.

"I've been catching up on my reading. You know, that science stuff."

"Oh." Point for Scully. "I was wondering if you were going to stay in town
for the week, stay around - you know."

"Why?"

"Because I... ah... I just wondered."

"Why, Mulder? Want to go back to Texas again?" Getting to her feet, she
began to pace around the room. "Or better yet, take your friend Diana..."

"Scully..." A sigh. 

A soft knock came at the door. 

"Hold on, Mulder..." Crossing the room she swung the door open. 

"Boom..." Mulder smiled, standing in front of her.

She smiled.

And slammed the door shut in his face.

And hung up her phone.

"Aw, come on Scully..." Rapping lightly on the door, Mulder tried to look
inconspicuous standing in the empty hallway in his leather jacket and
jeans. "Open the door..."

Down the hallway another apartment door opened; the senior citizen poking
her head out to see what fuss was happening at the FBI agent's place.
Rewarded with the sight of an abandoned man at her neighbour's door, she
closed it again quickly.

"Scully..." Pressing his face to the door, he raised his voice. "I'm
making that face again..."

Suddenly the door swung open, letting him fall forward for a second before
catching himself. Scowling, Scully crossed her arms in front of her and
stared at him.

"Get in here before the neighbours notice."

"One already did..." Stripping off his jacket, he walked into the living
room and sat down on the couch. "Bet she has some great tales to tell..."

"Well, I haven't been evicted yet..." Pausing at the entrance to her
bedroom, Dana looked back. "I'll be out in a minute - I need to get
dressed."

"Oh, don't fuss on my account..." He beamed as the second door of the day
slammed in his face.

Ten minutes later she emerged; the oversized Quantico sweatshirt hanging
over the matching track pants. "So - what did you come over for?"

"Ah... good coffee..." Taking a sip of the mug he had gotten from the
kitchen, he stared into the dark liquid. "I thought I'd just check on my
partner."

"Before or after you called Diana?"

His grimace showed her barb had hit home. Sitting in the chair across from
him, she tucked her feet up under her and sighed. "Mulder, give me the
truth for once. Why did you come over?"

"I don't know." He mumbled into the mug. "I just don't want you to be
upset with me. Not that much, anyway."

The last sentence brought a soft smile to her lips. "What makes you think
I'm mad? And why would you care?"

Rolling the mug around in his hands, he let one side of his mouth curl up.
"Because you're always mad at me when I don't agree. And I do care."

"You don't agree when it's not what you want to hear."

"Maybe..."

"Mulder..." Reaching over, Scully pulled a thick file folder out from
under the stack of magazines. "You want me to tell you that the claw was
from an extraterrestrial? I'll tell you that - but then I won't be true to
myself and my science. And my father always told me that lying to yourself
was a greater sin than lying to anyone else."

"Scully..." Taking another mouthful, he swallowed slowly before speaking.
"I just want you to be more... open to my ideas."

She shook her head. "What do you think I've been doing for five years?
Just debunking your theories without listening to them? What do you think
I want out of all this?"

"You..." He started, but was cut off.

"Mulder, I'm willing to stand beside you and tell any OPR board that there
are aliens among us - IF I can back it up with scientific evidence. As it
was, I had nothing to show them than the fact that the DNA sequences were
abnormal, but not extraterrestrial."

"They are." He mumbled under his breath, staring at the floor. "You saw
them."

"I was unconscious somewhere in the Antarctic where you found me and saved
me. I remember nothing but a lot of blurry pictures and hallucinations and
the cold." Her voice rose slightly. "I believe that you saw something,
Mulder - but I can't go on just your word alone."

"Why not?" He snapped back. "Why not just take my word for it? Trust me
when I say what I saw..."

The words hit her like a slap across the face. Taking a deep breath, she
inspected a loose thread in the FBI logo on her shirt before continuing.

"Because then all I have is my faith in you. And I need more than that."

"More?"

Leaning forward, she stared at him. "Mulder, I can take a lot on faith.
God knows I've done so in the past. But to make this leap, this jump
across the chasm to join you - I don't know if I can do that without
making a bridge of my science."

He smiled awkwardly. "So now I'm the religious one and you're the
agnostic?"

"In a way." She confessed. "I believe you saw what you said. I believe you
believe in what you told the board. But I have to have the scientific
proof to make others believe or we're just another pair of paranormal
quacks running around waving our hands and yelling that the sky is
falling."

Nodding, Mulder looked into his coffee mug. "And Fowley?"

"Well, I don't think she agrees with my methods..." The redhead smiled at
Mulder's soft chuckling. "But I say she set you up in the plant, Mulder.
And I'm going to watch her carefully."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want her to hurt you." The words were out of her mouth
before she realised the full impact of them. 

"Diana and I..." He ran a finger along the rim of the mug, making circles.
"I don't want to think that she would do that to me. After all these years
I don't want to think that she'd sell me out for the X Files."

"Then don't think about it." She offered. "At least not right now."
Getting to her feet, Scully walked into the kitchen. "I bet we can find
some good movies at the rental store and not think about work for one
evening." Opening the drawer, she pulled out a stack of flyers. "There's a
new Thai food place nearby that delivers. And I have a single bottle of
wine." Her head poked around the corner. "And yes, you can sleep on my
sofa if you want - I don't want to have to worry about you driving drunk
or fighting to get into a cab."

"Oooh, Scully - are you coming onto me?"

"In your dreams, Mulder..."

"Always..." He whispered under his breath, too low for her to hear.
Putting the empty mug down on the table, he nodded. "Yah... movies would
be good. Maybe Men In Black..."

"Will Smith would kick your butt, Mulder."

"Oh, like you'd take out Tommy Lee Jones..."

*****************

Gibson looked at her, his eyes sad and large. 

"I'm just a special lab rat, you know." Standing in front of her, he
raised one hand to scratch at the bandages that covered his head. "You
know what they are, but you're just afraid to believe."

Turning away from her, he reached out and took the hand of the large dark
creature that had materialised behind him. "I believe. Because I can be
safe now."

Scully shook her head; reaching out to grab his hand. "Gibson..."

Suddenly she was holding Emily's hand and the child looked at her with the
same sad expression Scully had burned into the back of her mind.

"Let me go, Mommy.. please, let me go..."

Dana Scully looked up into the blank face of the creature holding one of
the child's hand then down to Emily's face again.

"Please let me go..."

Balling her fist, Dana Scully swung at the monster; screaming as she made
contact with the mysterious darkness...

... and suddenly came awake, disoriented and lost.

She was on her couch. Where she had dozed off after a spirited argument
with Mulder over the weaponry used in Men In Black.

And Mulder was lying on the floor, both hands covering his face as he
peeked out at her through bloody fingers.

"Gee, Scuddy... I thid you brod my node..."

Scrambling to her feet, she pulled him upright; pulling his hands away to
reveal a bright red stream trickling out of his nose. "Not yet, Mulder..."

Leading him to the bathroom, she began to run water in the sink; having an
eerie sense of familiarity as Mulder stripped off his blood-stained t
shirt and dropped it in one corner of the bathroom.

"Don't tilt your head back." She warned. "I'll get some ice for that
eye..." 

"Yah..." He mumbled, leaning over the sink. "You done good, G-woman..."

Guiltily she retreated to the kitchen, letting him finish his own cleanup
as she filled a ziploc bag with some ice.

Mulder reappeared, holding a washcloth to his nose. "It stopped
bleeding... but it still hurts like a sonnuva bitch..."

"Yah, well..." Handing him the ice pack, she sighed. "I'll start some
coffee if you sit down and put that on your eye - help bring the swelling
down as much as we can."

"Remind me never to make a pass at you if you don't ask first..." He
mumbled as he gingerly applied the pack. "And what the hell were you
dreaming of? First thing I wake up to is a screaming frenzy of you
clobbering the hell outta me..." 

Standing over the counter in the kitchen, she closed her eyes; remembering
the children. "Nothing."

"Nothing my ass, Scully..." The mumbled yell came from the living room.
"Something must have spooked you badly - or do you always wake up like
this?"

"I... don't..." Pulling down two fresh mugs from the cupboard, she leaned
on the counter and tried to catch her breath. "I just had a bad dream."

"So... tell me..." The snorted reply. "Hey, I am a doctor..."

"Then next time you can take care of yourself."

"Thanks, partner..." Mulder mumbled as he inspected the ice pack.

Looking up, he watched carefully as Scully put a steaming mug of coffee
down in front of him on the table, next to the remnants of their dinner
from last night. Tugging on the oversized sweatshirt she still wore, the
petite redhead curled up on the opposite end of the couch, away from him.

"So... about your dream."

"What dream?"

"Oh, just the one you clobbered me on..."

"Maybe I wanted to clobber you, Mulder..." Dropping her eyes down, she
inspected the stitching on the Academy logo again.

"Scully..." Dropping the pack on the table, he looked at her; squinting
slightly as his left eye tried to open. "Was it Gibson?"

Her head shot up. "What makes you say that?"

"Because I know you. And I know how you act around children. Since
Emily..." His voice was low and soft. "I know you've been hurting."

She shrugged off the last comment. "I'm like a lot of other women, Mulder.
There are thousands of women out there who can't have children."

"Not that many who have one and then lose her the way you did."

"I thought you said I was thinking about Gibson." She shot back.

"You were, weren't you?"

"Yes." The quiet confession. "I just don't know why I left him alone in
that hospital for a second. I wasn't thinking clearly, I just had to take
a breather and get a cup of coffee. It was unprofessional and wrong."

"You and children and hospitals don't mix too well anyway." He quietly
argued. "Besides, Gibson could have yelled or something. I can't
understand why he just went quietly with that man."

"I do." Scully reached over and picked up the mug. "Because he wanted to
go. He wanted to leave all of us."

Mulder frowned. "I don't get it."

"Mulder, he saw me as just another doctor. Just like the rest of them,
wanting to get something from him. Another lab rat but for me instead of
the Consortium." A deep swallow. "And I did exactly that, putting him into
the hospital for tests again."

"He was running an infection. You yourself said that he needed to be in
the hospital."

"I was right. But he knew that eventually the tests would be done again
and that it would be the same thing over and over again." She took another
sip. "I'm sure the doctors who did that surgery had the same thoughts as
me; had the same feelings - but they justified it by saying it was for the
best. Who was I to do the same thing to him saying the same thing?"

Mulder shook his head, confused. "So he wanted to leave us? Scully, he
came to us..."

"Yes, and I think he hoped it would be a change for the better..." She ran
her hands along the warm sides of the ceramic mug. "But in the end the
only place he felt safe was with that other... thing."

"The alien."

"Whatever." She slyly smiled. "Let's not get into that too early in the
morning, hmm?"

"It's about noon. We can talk about it in ten minutes."

"Noon?"

"Yep..." He nodded. "Staying up until three arguing semantics with you
will do that."

"Well..." She paused. "He still chose to go with whatever was in that
plant instead of being with us. Humanity."

Moving a bit closer to her, Mulder frowned. "You think he really chose to
go there?"

"I think he figured out that the man he was with would be killed. He must
have seen the creature and not bothered to warn his captor."

"You mean he sensed him telepathically."

She held up a warning finger. "I'm not saying that I agree with your
theory that Gibson was telepathic. I'm saying that he was a very
perceptive young boy."

He grinned. "Okay... go on..."

"I think he chose to go with the creature since he didn't trust us or the
Consortium to stop hurting him." Shaking her head, she sighed. "That
surgery..." 

Mulder nodded. "I see what you're saying..." Reaching past her for the
television control, he punched the set on. "So you're feeling guilty for
all this?"

"I should have protected him, Mulder..." She paused. "I was sloppy."

"You were acting in the only way you knew possible, Scully... If you had
called security to protect him they would have wanted to know why and from
who - and these people aren't afraid to kill to get what they want. They
would have gotten him despite anything you could have said or done."

"I'd like to believe that, Mulder..." A weary sigh. "I hope I can."

"Well, I think the best thing to do is first, get me a new shirt..."
Scratching his bare chest, he forced a weak smile onto his face. "Nothing
personal, but it's a bit cold outside to be parading around in just jeans
and my jacket."

She couldn't help but smile at the mental image; letting him take pleasure
in the small victory.

"Second, return this movie - and hopefully not get hit with any extra
charges. Third, I promised the Gunmen that I'd stop by today."

"What for?" Getting up from the sofa, Scully walked into her bedroom and
began to rummage through her drawers.

"I... I asked them to double-check your results."

The oversized tshirt hit him in the face, making him grimace from the pain.

"You what?" The icy tone shattered any hope of survival.

"I asked them to recheck your results. About the DNA." Pulling the shirt
on gingerly over his face, Mulder shrugged. "It's possible that your
conclusions were based on tampered data."

"Oh, right." She waved one hand in the air. "Like everyone is out to get
us and planting false data to make me look even more foolish?"

"Scully..."

"Mulder, just leave. Right now. Before I reconsider my aim." Striding over
to the door, she swung it open. "And next time, you could ask. I would
have given it to them anyway."

Picking up the videotape from the table, he paused at the exit. "You're
right." Looking down at the box in his hand, he let out a sigh. "I just
had to make sure. You understand."

"Yes, I do." Her tongue flitted out to wet her lips. "But you don't have
to do everything without me, you know. Sometimes it's nice to be asked."

"Right..." Waving the tape, he walked into the hallway. "I'll give you a
call later, okay?"

"Sure..." Stifling a yawn, she nodded. "I'm going to be home anyway."

*********

Frohike looked up from the computer screen as Mulder entered the dark
room. "Hey, spend the night with our Dr. Scully?"

"Not in that way." Seating himself next to the Gunman, he smiled. "And how
did you know?"

Langly appeared from the back room, nursing a large bottle of pop. "We
tried to call your place. Got no answer."

"You could have tried my cel phone."

"Yah, but that's really an insecure line." The blond man shook his head.
"Not a good thing."

"Right. Well, what do you have on this report?"

Byers handed the thick folder over Frohike's head to the agent. "She's
right. All the data points to the DNA being human with a few deviations."

"Deviations?"

Crossing his arms, the man nodded. "Basically what she told you was right.
The results do not support the theory that your alien was involved."

"Unless your alien is also a distant cousin." Langly interjected.

"Okay..." Mulder flipped open the folder. "Any ideas as to what belonged
to that claw I found?"

"Man in a rubber suit." Byers dryly said. "It's been done before. A set up
to make it look like something totally different to disguise the obvious."

Mulder pursed his lips, frowning. "So you're supporting her theory that
the entire scenario was set up to look like an alien attack but was really
just some government operative running around?"

"Did I say that?" Byers replied.

"Well..."

"What I'm saying, and I agree with Scully, is that this is no direct
evidence of extraterrestrial life. Foreign DNA is not automatically ET's,
Mulder."

He nodded. "I just thought..."

"What?" Frohike looked at him. "You and Scully brawling again?"

"Not really. Just over the little things."

"Like?"

"What she believes. What I believe." He sighed. "She doesn't even remember
most of what happened in the Antarctic."

"Did she call you a liar?" Langly interrupted.

"No."

"Then she believes you saw what you say you saw. But she was pretty out of
it, Mulder. You can't expect anyone, especially a scientist like Scully,
to just put something together out of a set of blurry images and feelings."

He shook his head angrily. "She was there, she saw the containers, she was
in my arms as we fell off the damn ship..."

Byers looked at Langly before responding. "But she was in a state of
shock, according to your own account. And with heart failure, I'm
surprised she survived, never mind having any coherent memory."

"But she believes that you saw something." Frohike again. "And she hasn't
asked you to explain or refute that."

"Not yet, anyway." Mulder smiled. "Thanks for the double check, fellas..."
Getting off the stool, he headed for the door.

"Just let me know when I get your video collection, okay?" Frohike called
after the retreating agent.

***************

Scully glanced around the empty apartment with a weary sigh. She didn't
know quite what to do, but she knew she had to get out of there. 

Picking up the phone, she dialled a familiar number.

"Mom?"

A few minutes later she was packing an overnight bag.

*********

Mulder frowned as he let the phone ring and ring, waiting for the machine
to pick up. Lying on his couch, he poked a finger at the thick folder
sitting on his chest.

"Hello, this is Dana Scully..." The message began to drone in his ear. 

"Scully, if you're there - pick up." A few seconds passed. "Come on,
Scully..."

Nothing.

Putting the phone down, he sighed. Reaching for the television control, he
punched the power button and began to flick up and down the channels. 

***********

"Thanks for letting me stay here overnight, mom..." Tossing her overnight
bag onto the spare bed, Scully turned to her mother.

"No problem - you know you're always welcome here." Maggie Scully paused,
then continued. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I just..." She sighed. "I just need a change of scenery."

Mrs. Scully nodded. "I understand. I'll wake you up for breakfast at the
usual time, if that's okay."

"Sure, mom..." She looked around the room. "That'd be just fine..."

***********

Maggie Scully looked across the table at her youngest daughter.

"You always told me it was impolite to stare, Mom..." Dana glanced up from
her scrambled eggs with a hint of a smile on her face. "And yes, I can
tell. I am a Federal Agent, after all."

"I know." Propping her chin up with one hand, the older Scully nodded; her
face solemn. "But I am also allowed to worry about you whether you have a
badge or not."

"There's nothing to worry about."

"Dana..." The warning tone in her voice brought back memories of that
first stomach-churning bad report card. "You never just show up at my door
without a good reason. And given all that you've been through lately, I
know it's got something to do with Fox."

"Mulder."

"Whatever you want to call him is fine. But I'm right, aren't I?"

Tipping the container of orange juice to refill her glass, the redhead
shrugged. "Maybe..."

"Dana..." The last syllable was drawn out like a long string of toffee.
"Don't try and play this game with me." A sad smile appeared on her
mother's face. "Melissa was the best, and I always caught her."

Crossing her knife and fork on the near-empty plate, the petite redhead
looked up at the wall - at the small family pictures dotting the surface. 

"I just don't know..." Gathering her thoughts, Scully tried again. "I just
don't know what to believe these days. Or what not to believe, to be
truthful."

Maggie frowned. "Are we talking issues of faith here or about your work?"

"It's the same thing, mom..." Getting to her feet, she picked up her plate
and headed for the kitchen; grabbing the teapot on her return. "I mean, I
don't know when my science stops and my faith has to start. Or the
opposite. Or neither."

Offering her mug for a refill, the elder Scully nodded. "Should you be
talking to Father McKuen about this? Or will I do?"

Dana smiled. "I think the good Father might have some problems with my
interpretations at times."

Pushing a greying strand of hair behind one ear, Maggie chuckled. "You
always were the stubborn one. Took after your father in that aspect."

Suddenly serious, Scully began to draw circles in the table cloth with one
finger; tracing the delicate lace designs. "Mom... when do you just have
to take things on faith? When do you stop asking for answers and proof?"

"Well..." Sipping her tea, the woman sat for a second before responding.
"I'll assume we're dealing with work here."

"In a way."

"Hum..." Another sip. "Seems to me that if you accepted things without
demanding your 'proof' as you call it makes you less of you. That's not
the way you are, Dana. You're a professional who needs the facts."

"But when do you stop asking?"

Maggie Scully pondered this for a second before responding. "When you know
the answers. And maybe you just don't like them."

*************

Mulder stared up at the small house as he locked the car door; shaking off
the first autumn chill as it circled around him. Walking slowly up the
stone steps, he rapped lightly at the door; a part of him wishing that
there would be no answer.

The door opened. "Fox?" His mother smiled, then stepped aside. "Come on
in... I haven't seen you in ages..."

"Yah, well... been busy..." Kissing her lightly on the cheek, Mulder made
his way into the familiar house; stopping to hang up his jacket in the
closet. 

Wearing a light blouse and cardigan, his mother watched him closely.
"You've come about something, haven't you?"

"What makes you say that?" He tried to make it sound light.

"Because you're always so focused in everything you do, Fox..." The
knowing tone almost had him smiling. "And a mother knows her son..."

***********

"Is it about Emily?"

"Partially... and about another child I let..." Scully frowned. "I can't
say die, because I don't know. But I still failed again."

Rubbing her chin, Maggie nodded. "I know about that case Father McKuen had
you work on. And he didn't have to tell me how it turned out - I read the
paper."

Scully looked up at this revelation.

"Oh, yes - it made the local edition. Although it was vague enough that
you really couldn't tell anything, I could read between the lines, knowing
both of you." Taking a deep breath, she continued. "Dana, having faith in
what you believe doesn't destroy your credibility to pursue things in a
scientific way. It just makes it harder."

"Yes, I know..." She looked down at the afghan she had pulled off the end
of the couch she was sitting on; balling it up into her fists. "But I
don't know when to toss out the facts and go on my belief. Or my
partner's."

**************

"Mom..." Sitting on the sofa, he put down the cup of tea; careful not to
chip the delicate china. "I was... told something about Samantha and about
Dad."

Her hand froze as the cup wavered towards her mouth; the saucer sitting in
her lap ignored. "Really..." Finishing the motion, she shrugged. "I don't
remember a lot since the stroke, Fox - you know that."

"Yes, I do." Another sip of the lukewarm tea. "I was told that Samantha
was taken away to be saved." The words were carefully measured out like
gold as he watched her carefully.

The saucer slipped off her lap; smashing on the floor into a thousand
shards of sharp white clay. "Oh, my..." Standing up, she put her cup down
on the table. "Let me get something for that before we cut ourselves on
those pieces..."

As she scurried around the corner and disappeared from sight, Mulder shook
his head. 

*********

"Your father once told me he had a young lieutenant come to him; worried
about how to resolve his ethics about not killing anyone with the problem
of having all this firepower under his control." Maggie Scully smiled at
the large framed portrait of her husband sitting atop the piano. "Bill
told him that no matter what decision he made, in the end he had to follow
what his inner spirit told him was right - and that was dictated by God,
not by rules and regulations out of a handbook printed by man."

"But when do you toss out the handbook? I mean, forget the science and
just go by what you feel is right?"

"When you have to ask, you know the answer."

"Now you sound like Jackie."

"Speaking of such, I have to call her and bother her about that darned
wedding..."

**********

"Mom..." Mulder stood in the kitchen doorway, watching her sweep the last
fragments of the saucer into the garbage bin. "I think I know what
happened to her."

"Fox..." She stared into the container. "It's not important to know what
happened. What's important now is to know why it happened." Looking up,
she locked eyes with him; suddenly the fiery woman he remembered from his
childhood. "And in the end if it makes a difference..."

************

"Don't think you can run away from everything that scares you." Maggie
Scully passed a wet dish to her daughter who dutifully dried it and put it
into the cupboard.

"What makes you say that?"

"Because you're here." She wagged a finger at Dana. "You remember the
first time you nearly flunked a test in med school? You came home that
weekend and I had to fight to get you out from under the quilt on your bed
to talk to you." She smiled. "You might be a bit older, but still the same
daughter."

Scully chuckled. "Maybe. I just don't know how to deal with Mulder when he
asks me to believe blindly in his theories."

"You stay true to yourself, unfortunately..." Maggie pulled the stopper
from the sink, letting the water run out. "Besides, if you change then you
wouldn't be the same woman to him..."

Dana blinked, but said nothing as she finished the last glass.

************

Mulder sighed as he descended the hill to his car, noting absentmindedly
the sunset over the top of the trees.

Standing on the porch, his mother waved to him for a few minutes before
retreating back into her sanctuary.

Sitting silently in the car, Mulder looked up the hill again; as if to try
and conjure up some long forgotten image of childhood happiness.

Only problem was, he couldn't remember any.

Instead he put the car into gear and moved away from the curb, reaching
for his cel phone.

*******

"I don't know, mom..." Dana sighed, taking a cookie from the plate on the
table and nibbling on the oatmeal circle. "Ever since we came back it's
been like nothing's changed. But everything's changed - everything had to
change with what we knew and what we know now..." The repetitive beeping
caught them both off guard.

With a puzzled glance back at her mother, she retrieved the cel phone from
the pocket of her coat; jabbing at the receive button.

"Scully..."

"Scully, it's me." The familiar voice was soft and tired, the weariness
echoing through the air. "Where are you? I tried your apartment but..."

"I'm at my mother's." Maggie frowned, then smiled as her daughter mouthed
the word Mulder at her. "I came over to visit last night..."

"Oh. Okay..."

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, I..." Turning the steering wheel, he let out a deep sigh. "I just
wanted to talk to you about something. I'll..." He muttered something
under his breath.

"Mulder... hey, Mulder..."

"It's okay. Say hi to your mother for me." The connection broke, leaving
her dazed and more than slightly annoyed.

********

Pulling over to the curb again, Mulder stared up at the Scully home. Even
at this distance he could imagine the warm atmosphere inside the wooden
structure - probably exaggerated in his mind to a large extent, but right
now that was all he could think of. A normal family.

Sitting there quietly in the dark he watched the outside porch light come
on as Margaret Scully walked out, her arms crossed in front of her.

Suddenly the passenger door opened, admitting Dana Scully as she slipped
into the seat. Rubbing her hands together, she stared at the startled
agent.

"Think I wouldn't notice you sitting out here? I didn't sleep through my
Academy classes..."

Mulder grinned. "Neither did I - the teachers I had were too good
looking." 

"Turn the engine on. It's freezing in here." Rubbing her hands together
again to emphasise the fact, she stuck them into the pockets of her coat.

"Okay..." Turning the key in the ignition, Mulder revved the engine;
turning the heater on full blast.

A few minutes later she pulled her hands free of her coat. "That's better.
So what was so important for you to drive all the way over here and yet
not come up to the door?"

"I... I didn't want to disturb you." The excuse sounded lame to his own
ears. "You sounded like you were having a good visit with your mother,
and..."

"And you decided to sit out here and catch pneumonia because of that?
Mulder..."

Maggie Scully suddenly appeared, rapping lightly at Mulder's window.
Rolling it down, he sheepishly smiled at her.

"Fox Mulder, I never let any of my daughters sit in a car in the dark with
a man in front of my house before. And I'm not going to let it start now.
You park this vehicle and get up to the house, both of you. I'll dig up
something for you to munch on." Without waiting for a response she
disappeared up the steps and into the house.

Mulder chuckled. "I bet your father was just as bad, hmm?"

Opening the door, his partner smiled. "Worse, if you can imagine it."

Shaking his head, he turned the engine off; pocketing the key as he opened
his own door. "With good reason..." He mumbled under his breath as he
followed the redhead up the stairs.

A scant ten minutes later he was seated on the couch with a large mug of
hot chocolate, his leather jacket hanging up in the closet and Scully
beside him. Margaret stood on the steps, glancing once at her daughter
before disappearing up the stairs with a sly smile.

"So..." Taking a cookie from the plate, Scully broke it in half and put
the other piece back. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I went to go see my mother today."

"Oh."

Picking up the half cookie, he looked at it carefully. "I tried to talk to
her about what I think happened to Samantha. She wouldn't listen."

"What did you tell her?" Moving closer to him, she tilted her head to one
side. 

"I told her that I suspected that Sam was taken to be cloned - to be able
to survive the alien virus in some sort of form. I wanted to, I mean..."
Taking a bit of the cookie, he shook his head. "She didn't want to hear
it. She just wants to keep on living without knowing anything about the
truth. She..." His voice trailed off as he took a sip from the mug. "The
truth doesn't matter to her anymore. She doesn't care."

"I'm sure she does, Mulder."

"Maybe. Maybe not. I just don't know what to do anymore, what I want to
accomplish if it won't make a difference. If no one will listen."

"I'm listening, Mulder." 

He chuckled, taking another bite of the cookie. "You always listen,
Scully. And you always keep me thinking of ways around things. That's the
best thing about you..." Tilting his head back on the sofa, he sighed and
closed his eyes. "I'm just so tired of it all..." A deep yawn. "I'm just
tired of fighting..."

*******

Descending the stairs a few minutes later, Maggie Scully watched as her
daughter carefully removed the mug from the dozing man's hand; pulling the
blanket up over his sleeping form. Glancing back at her mother, she nodded
with a soft smile as she dimmed the lights in the living room; settling
down on the sofa besides her partner as he began to let out a low snore.

Shaking her head, the older Scully smiled as she ascended the stairs
again; leaving her daughter to her lonely vigil on the couch.

**************


Mulder opened one eye slowly; his senses being assaulted by a variety of
smells and sounds.

All food-oriented, as his stomach growling attested to.

Pulling off the thick blanket he staggered to his feet; grimacing as
various aches and pains made themselves known. 

"Sleeping in the upright position is not a good thing..." He mumbled to
himself, rubbing his eyes wearily as he staggered towards the kitchen.

Maggie Scully looked up from the stove, careful not to ignore the pancakes
that were cooking in the pan. "'Morning, Fox..."

"Uh..." He waved a hand at the cornucopia that was evolving on the kitchen
table. "Adopt me." The juvenile moan brought a grin to the elder Scully's
face.

"Not a chance." She waved the spatula in his direction. "Get upstairs and
get washed and changed before you even consider sitting down at my table.
Dana's in the shower right now, but if you wait I found a clean shirt of
Bill's - it's sitting on the counter beside your towels."

"Yes, ma'am..." Retreating with a smile, he wearily lumbered up the
stairs; each step sending a shooting pain up his spine as he made another
mental notice to stop sleeping in any position other than horizontal.

Previous visits to the Scully household had acquainted him with the
bathroom and it's location. But the mystery that had always occupied his
mind was how any Scully man survived having only one bathroom and three
women in the same house.

Must be an X File.

Leaning against the door he yawned again, putting one hand up to cover his
mouth as he waited.

Fortunately for his bladder, it wasn't long.

The door slowly opened; the steam escaping in thin wispy trails that
swirled around him and out into the corridor. Amidst the storm he saw a
familiar figure walk towards him; the thick oversized robe almost
swallowing her up.

Her wet hair lying on her shoulders in long damp trails suddenly reminded
him of another time, another place...

*Breathe, Scully... breathe...*

He blinked, suddenly aware that he was crying; the tears racing down his
face as he stared at her, barely breathing himself.

"Mulder?" Reaching out a hand she touched his shoulder, startling him out
of his inner nightmare.

Instead of speaking he wrapped his arms around her; burying his face in
the warm terry cloth as he tried to banish the horrific memory.

"Mulder..." Softly she repeated his name over and over again, feeling his
legs begin to crumple. Unable to support him, she went down to her knees
as well, cradling his head on her shoulder as they sat awkwardly on the
wooden floor outside the bathroom.

"Dana, I..." Maggie froze as she spied the pair. Her daughter looked at
her with deep mournful eyes as she rocked the sobbing man back and forth,
mumbling into his hair.

The elder Scully retreated after giving a supportive nod, leaving the two
alone.

"Mulder... my knees are going to never be the same..." The weak joke
snapped the mood, causing a mischievous snort into her robe. Finally he
lifted his face, releasing the grip he had on her.

"I'll have to remember that next time Skinner calls me in..." His face
changed as they both remembered that at least for the time being, there
was no Skinner.

Smoothing a damp strand of hair away from his forehead, Scully tried to
smile, close to crying herself. "What... what were you thinking of?"

"You. When you were in that... thing and you had your eyes open and you
were so... trapped..." His eyes were deep and mournful. "And I didn't know
if I was going to save you or kill you..." Unable to look directly at her
anymore, he leaned forward; putting his head down in her lap. "I didn't
know if we would both make it out, but I wasn't going to leave you..."

Running her hand through his short dark hair, she sighed. "Whatever you
did Mulder - it saved me. And I'm here now." She sniffed the air. "And mom
is going to be upset if her pancakes get cold and/or burnt before you and
I get down there to eat..." Manoeuvring herself back upright, she pulled
him to his feet. "Go in and get cleaned up - I'll be here when you come
out."

He nodded, his lower lip jutting out like a child who had to be promised
that Christmas would happen every year.

"You'll be downstairs?"

"As soon as I get dressed." She smiled. "No Scully gets fed in this house
without doing their fair share of work."

"Okay..." Retreating into the bathroom, he reluctantly let go of her
sleeve. "Okay, Scully..."

As the door slowly shut she let the tears break free as she turned towards
her bedroom.

*********

Putting the last stack of pancakes on the table, Maggie looked up as her
daughter entered; the cream-coloured blouse and jeans formal but informal
enough for her liking.

"Is he all right?"

"Yes... I think so..." Reaching for the pitcher of orange juice, the
younger Scully tried to smile. "Although if you keep feeding him like
this, he may want to move in."

With a chuckle Maggie nodded, pouring the two of them large cups of tea.
"Well, I do have the extra room... although I think Bill Junior might have
something to say about that."

"Yes, well..." Taking a sip of the juice, the redhead shrugged. "Bill does
what he thinks is right. Not that I agree with the way he treats Mulder,
but..."

"The way who treats me?" The male voice startled the two of them.

Wearing a goofy smile Mulder entered the kitchen, the extra large shirt
hanging off his lanky frame as he took his seat at the table. "Your
husband was a bit larger than I was."

"He ate like this every day, that's why." Passing a stack of pancakes to
the bemused man, she shot Dana a knowing wink. "I taught all my girls that
the best way to a man's happiness is to keeping him full and satisfied..."

"Hmm..." Reaching for the maple syrup, Mulder grinned. "So, Scully... will
you let your mother marry me?"

**********

"Maybe not..." The surly grumble came as he dipped his hands into the hot
soapy water up to his elbows. "You didn't mention that I had to work for
my food..."

Snickering, Scully took the first wet dish from the drying board. "No one
gets anything around here for free, Mulder... especially not if they can
work for it."

"Funny..." Dabbing at a plate with his cloth, he smiled. "Betcha the boys
would love to see me now - the best I do in my place is scratch n'sniff
for the clean utensils..."

"The 'boys', as you call them, have a fully functional kitchen and a
dishwasher." She enjoyed the surprised look. "I checked when I was there
once. Along with a microwave that they have to keep reassembling as they
keep adapting it to other purposes that I was too afraid to ask about..."

"Hey, don't knock their abilities to make something outta nothing..." He
flung a sprinkle of water at her playfully. "After all, they do help out
in their own way..."

"Never said they didn't. But their methods are a bit... extreme..."

"Your point, Scully?"

Maggie walked into the kitchen. "Before the two of you get into another
one of these long discussions that I'm not supposed to hear, I might
remind you..." This was directed at her daughter. "That you're supposed to
be getting Christmas presents soon for your nieces and nephews. And today
is as good a day as any other if you're going to be on vacation now
instead of when the big sales are going to be on..." With a nod towards
Mulder, she walked out of the room.

"Christmas shopping? It's only November..." Mulder said. "I mean, it's
best doing it on Christmas Eve when you get to run around like a..."

"Shut up and keep washing dishes. And then you can accompany me to the
mall, since you seem to have nothing better to do today..."

"As you wish..."

***********

"How's your eye?" Scully tactfully asked as he manoeuvred the car into a
parking spot at the far end of the lot. "And why are we parking all the
way out here?"

"First, it's fine..." He scratched at the thin purple line under his eye.
"The fellows didn't even ask me about it. Or assumed that I got it trying
to pick up some woman in a cheap bar. As for the second..." He turned the
engine off and smiled. "Less chance of being hit by some crazed driver if
we park here."

"Fine. But then you're carrying half the packages." She winced as the cool
fall air whipped around her.

"Figured I'd be carrying them all anyway..." He joined her, muttering
under his breath as he jammed his hands into his pockets; matching her
brisk pace as she headed for the mall doors.

"Right..." Pulling a scrap of paper from her pocket, the diminutive woman
scanned the crowd. "I need toys..."

"Ooohhh..."

"Not THOSE type of toys, Mulder..."

"Spoilsport...

The toy store was filled with children and their parents, all making pleas
to each other as to the size, type and price of this and that.

Stopping at one shelf, Mulder pull off a box and displayed the contents to
his partner.

Scully looked at the alien plastic figure, tastefully wearing a police
uniform for a heartbeat. "For you?"

"Actually, I wanted to illustrate how the media is manipulating the
consumer public by putting out such innocent images like this - depicting
aliens as friendly, kind pals."

"So..."

"So when the invasion starts, the majority of people will be more kindly
inclined towards them because of the media's influence."

A woman who had been standing nearby gave the pair a worried glance and
moved discreetly away, tugging her six year old with her.

"I can't take you anywhere, Mulder..."

"What? What?"

"Okay, keep your eye out for a Furby..."

"A what?"

"A Furby..." She pointed at a large poster. "That..." 

He squinted. "Those aren't due in for a week. And there's a waiting list."

Scully sighed. "And I need two of them..." Turning around, she almost
collided with the large Godzilla Mulder was proudly displaying, tapping
the plastic button to produce the creature's roar.

"Cool, hmm?"

"Mulder, there's no way that any mutation of any animal would produce
something that large, not to mention the problem with the military being
able to kill or contain it..." She noticed the same woman who had
overheard them a few minutes ago staring at her intently.

"Just put it down, Mulder..." Scully tugged on his sleeve. "I think we
should leave..."

Outside the store the redhead shrugged. "Okay. Clothing." She chuckled at
Mulder's downcast expression. "Stop that - you look like Charles used to
do every year when he got underwear from Mom..."

"Hey, I always got underwear too.." He moved closer with a grin. "Care to
know what size?"

"Not in the slightest, Mulder..." Disappearing into the next store, she
ducked in and out of the aisles, leaving him behind.

Content to stand out in the main section of the mall, Mulder wandered over
to the jewellery store, admiring the various earrings and chains laid out.

Twenty minutes later a harried woman appeared, pushing an armful of boxes
into his hands as she sighed. "Let's find a coffee shop before I use my
weapon for distinctly illegal purposes..."

Chuckling, he followed her through the crowd until she stopped at a small
cafe.

After giving the waitress their order, Scully smiled across the table.
"Thanks for helping out. You really didn't have to come along."

He shrugged in reply. "Beats hanging around at home bemoaning the
basketball strike." One eyebrow waggled mischievously. "Or reviewing my
tapes..."

"Well, thanks anyway." Refusing to rise to the bait, she dabbed at a water
spot on the table with her finger. "Mom likes it when you stop by. It
makes the house less empty.."

Mulder nodded. "I know how that feels." He looked out into the bustling
crowd. "Christmas after Sam was taken was awful. Mom cried the entire time
and Dad just drank and smoked." He shook his head. "It never got much
better after that for anything. Thanksgiving, birthdays.. they were all
the same bad experiences."

Scully reached over, putting her hand atop his with a light squeeze. "I
might be able to convince Mom to let you come over for Thanksgiving - if
not Christmas as well..."

He forced a smile onto his lips. "I'm sure that Bill would love that."

Pulling her hand away as the waitress arrived with their sandwiches, the
woman snorted disdainfully. "Mom told me he was a bit... rough with you
last year. I won't stand for that if I'm around..."

"My protector..." He murmured with a sly wink.

"Just let me know if you want to come... to Thanksgiving." She finished
rapidly, seeing the childish glee in his eyes. "Mom would be glad to have
you there. And Bill has nothing to do with it."

"What else do you have to get?" Taking a large bite of his club sandwich,
he peered at the list. "Tell me that doesn't say 'Elmo'..."

********

"I hate Elmo..." Staggering towards the car with the few parcels, Mulder
chuckled at his partner's expression. "I wasn't that bad..."

"If I get a note banning me from this mall, I'll forward a copy to you."
Unlocking the trunk, she snorted grumpily. "And stop making out like the
parcels are that heavy. You know they're not..."

Standing up straight, Mulder smiled as he dumped the light boxes into the
trunk. "But I really thought the Santa looked like the memo that got
circulated last week..."

"Yes, but did you have to say it so loud???"

***********

Maggie Scully looked up as the car drove into the lane way, the couple
getting out and retrieving the packages from the pack. Wiping her hands on
her apron, she opened the door and met them in the hallway.

"Thanks ever so much for helping out, Fox..."

Dana smiled, mouthing her partner's first name under her breath. For his
part Mulder almost blushed, but recovered sufficiently to stack the boxes
on the couch. 

"Thanks for an interesting day, Scully... I better be going now..."

Maggie frowned. "You're not staying for dinner?"

Shaking his head, he avoided their intensified Scully glare. "I've got
some work I need to do at home. And feed my fish." He grinned. "But I"ll
be going in to the office tomorrow to get some work for the weekend - can
I pick you up anything?"

Dana shook her head. "I can't think of anything. I'll probably just go
home tonight or tomorrow and collapse for the weekend."

"Okay, then..." Touching his forehead in a farewell to the two Sully
women, he quietly exited the home.

Maggie watched him drive away. 'He's got nothing to do tonight, you
know..."

"Probably..." The younger Scully admitted. "Mulder's like that - needing
his own space."

"Still.... it's a shame..." Turning her attention from the now-empty
street, Maggie looked at the heap of boxes. "So... show me what you got
and for whom..."

*********

Mulder tipped the pizza delivery boy two bucks, flipping the cardboard top
open on the extra thick, double cheese and pepperoni special as he
returned to his couch and the television.

"Tonight on NOVA - the continuing debate over crop circles and their
creation..."

*********

"What's this?" Maggie Scully extracted a small box sitting almost unseen
in the pile of presents. "Is this yours?"

Dana frowned, shaking her head. 'No..." Picking the small plain box up,
she peered at it. "There's already a card taped to the top of it." Pulling
the small square from the unwrapped white box, she read it aloud.

"To my partner - thank you for not changing."

Suddenly speechless, she flipped the box open to reveal a small set of
earrings - dainty pearl studs that she could wear almost everywhere and
with everything.

Maggie smiled, seeing the astonished expression on her daughter's face.
"He knows you better than you do at times..."

Admiring the earrings, she could only nod in agreement.

*********

Mulder yawned, tapping the power button on the television control as he
closed his eyes.

And dreamed of a house filled with the smell of pancakes.

***********


The familiar hallways of the J. Edgar Hoover building seemed strange to
Mulder, but he put that down to walking around in a sweatshirt and jeans
instead of the mandatory suite and tie. And coming in at noon instead of
eight in the morning.

Secretly he was waiting for someone to stop him and comment on his
clothing so he could sound off about being forced to take a vacation week
when he didn't want it, but either everyone knew already or no one wanted
to talk to him.

He figured it was probably the latter.

Either way, he made it into the small closet he and Scully had managed to
appropriate as their office space instead of being in the Pit, as the
general gathering of desks was called.

Turning on the small desk lamp, he unlocked the bottom drawer slowly,
making sure that nothing had been disturbed.

The remnants of his files lay here, the ones he had been able to restore
so far.

"Agent Mulder..." The strange voice brought his head up with a sharp jerk.
A.D. Kersh stood in the doorway, having opened it so silently that it
hadn't been heard by the ever vigilant agent. "May I come in?"

Shutting the drawer quickly, Mulder waved the man to the single chair.

"Sorry for the appearance - we haven't had much time to decorate yet. Get
one of those plants and all." He replied sharply.

Taking his seat, Kersh studied him for a long moment before continuing.

"I understand you're still on vacation. Might I ask what brings you in
today?"

Mulder shrugged, leaving back in his chair with his legs spread out
defiantly in a childish pose. "Just an urge to do good work, sir..."

The irony wasn't lost on the A.D.

"Agent Mulder, I'm not your enemy. But I can be one if you so desire."
Stretching out his legs he stared at the agent. 'I've been going over your
personnel file and Agent Scully's. Quite impressive, if I do say so. The
two of you have cracked a few hard ones for the Bureau."

Mulder nodded in reply, rubbing his fingers along the edge of the desk.

"At this time I wouldn't see no reason to split the two of you up - unless
you give me a reason." Leaning forward, the man stared at Mulder. "Look, I
know how good the two of you are and I don't want to impair that
efficiency. But if you persist in stepping on toes, I will have to do
something. Don't leave me that option."

Mulder looked up at him, his lower lip jutting out as he weighed the words.

"Do your job, Agent Mulder... and we won't have anything to worry about."
Getting up, Kersh opened the door. "And then we'll see about your... other
interests."

The door closed, leaving Mulder in near darkness. 

Opening the drawer again, he let out a weary sigh as the outside light
shot across his desk again, signalling yet another open door.

"Sir, I..." He stopped on seeing the familiar figure of Diana Fowley
silhouetted in the doorway. Unasked, she walked in and sat down, crossing
her legs as she faced Mulder."

"What, can't figure out my filing system yet?" He sat back in the chair
with a frown, one hand touching his lips.

"Fox..." He grimaced inwardly, but didn't let it show. "I didn't come her
to pick a fight - so let's not start one."

He nodded. "Okay. You came here to..." The last word lilted upwards into a
question.

"To ask you if you would be able to convince this Canadian friend of yours
to tell us what participation she had with your cases."

Mulder smiled. "Am I to assume that she was less than totally forth coming
with her information?"

"You could say that. She was quite.. pointed in her reply to myself and
Agent Spender."

Mulder spread his hands in the air. "Hey, no one tells her what to do. Ask
her fiance. Ask Skinner. Ask Scully."

"I realise that, but I thought you might have some... insight into her
involvement with your cases."

Dropping his chair back down onto the floor, he stared at her. "No more
than was mentioned. And barely that, reported when only necessary."

Sitting back, Fowley shook her head. "I thought you'd be a bit more
helpful."

"To say what? What's there is there. No more, no less. And all authorised
and approved by Skinner, I might add..." He did so with a distinct chuckle
in his voice.

"Mulder..." Her voice dropped lower, to almost a whisper. "Work with me
here... I know there's something about her that's different - something
that we could use."

"'We' as in you and Spender?"

Her head tilted to one side as she glared at him. "Is this what it's all
about? I walked into your sandbox and now I don't get to play with any of
your toys?"

He looked up at the ceiling, shrugging. "I didn't say that. But if you
think I'm going to be happy about turning over all of my research to you,
then you know me a lot less that I thought you did..."

"I think the same way you do, Fox..." Another stomach cramp. "We're after
the same goals, and I don't understand your reluctance to share anything
with me. It's not like I'm going to be debunking you like Scully..."

Picking up a stray pencil from the desk, he pointed it at her. "Don't
discount Scully's effect on the X Files. She's been a major part of it for
five years and a good partner to me..."

"But she's a disbeliever. A scientist. You don't need that, Fox..." Her
voice was almost a purr now, draping over him with a touch of silk. "You
and I were good together, and I wasn't in any way the skeptic that she
was..."

"And look how far we got." Sitting upright, he jabbed the pencil down into
the top of the desk. "My preference at this point is to keep working with
Scully and then get my X Files back..."

"I could get you a transfer back, you know..." She smiled at the sudden
gleam of interest in his eyes. "You can come work with me and Spender...
it'd take a bit of doing, but I think it could be managed..."

"Working on your knees again, Diana?"

"Working for our best interests."

"And that would be..."

Crossing her legs again in the opposite way, she stared at him. "Mulder,
work with me here. The Files are a mess and we could use your help."

"Without Scully."

"Without Scully." She shrugged. "I don't think she cares much for me, and
I don't see how I could work with her."

"That is the difference between you and me, Diana..." Getting up from
behind the desk, he crossed the room and opened the door. "I want someone
to poke holes in my theories and make me work for the truth. You want it
handed to you on a silver platter with lots of dip on the side."

Getting to her feet, the tall woman shrugged. "Okay, Fox... just remember,
my door is always open to you..." Strutting through the doorway, she
touched his hand lightly. "Always..."

Letting the door fall shut, Mulder let out a pained sigh and retreated
behind his desk again; putting his head down on the cool wooden surface as
he tried to regroup his thoughts.

*********

Walking down the corridor, Diana Fowley stopped suddenly at the sight of
Dana Scully approaching her. Stepping to one side, she waited until Scully
was practically alongside her in the crowd of agents before speaking.

"Agent Scully..."

Afterwards Scully would wonder why she hadn't pulled her weapon and fired
at the thick voice suddenly appearing in her ear. As it was she felt at a
disadvantage from the start.

"I assume you're on... vacation as well." Fowley drew her eyes up and down
the casual wear Scully had on; consisting of a black turtleneck sweater
and jeans, accompanied by a thick jacket. "Or are you here for a meeting
with Assistant Director Kersh?"

"Yes and no." Putting her back to the wall to keep out of the crush of
agents, she stared back at Diana. "I came in to do a bit of work."

"Well, so did your partner..." The last word was dragged over iron spikes.
"I don't suppose I can talk to you for a few minutes about this Canadian
friend of yours?"

"What do you want to know?" Scully glanced down the corridor towards
Mulder's office, hoping for a reprieve.

"Oh, just what she's got that the two of you keep hiding. And don't tell
me to go ask her, she already told me and Spender where to go..."

Dana smiled. "Well, she saved me the trouble, didn't she?" Taking a step
away, she turned her back on the woman.

"Scully..." A hand landed on her shoulder, making her flinch as she
twisted away from the touch. Facing Fowley again, she glared at the woman.

"Scully, I'm only doing what's best for Fox. And the work he's put so much
into for the past five years." Looking down at the floor, she sighed. "I'd
hate to see him hurt more than he's been already by your refusal to help
me out..."

"I think you've done quite enough, Agent Fowley..." Scully stood her
ground, the stern clipped tones smashing through the cool front. "If you
have any questions for Agent Mulder, you should be asking him yourself."

"I already did. I offered him a transfer back to the X Files."

Barely able to contain her surprise, the petite redhead responded with a
shrug. "And..."

"He said no." The disappointment in her voice was obvious. "He said he'd
have some problems working with Agent Spender."

"I see."

"And for some reason he doesn't want to change partners."

"Well, I guess that leaves you in a rather bad position..."

"Quite."

The two women stared at each other for a long minute, each waiting for the
other to make a move.

"Agent Scully..." The male voice startled them both. Assistant Director
Skinner appeared at their side, interrupting the exchange. "Can I speak
with you for a minute?"

"Certainly, sir..." Stepping around Fowley, she paused. "Good luck, Agent
Fowley..."

"Yah. You too." With a cursory nod to the A.D., she walked down the
corridor and disappeared.

Skinner let his breath out slowly. "You just can't stay quiet, can you?"

"Sir?" Scully blinked.

"Picking a fight with Fowley is not going to get you and Mulder reinstated
to the X Files any faster."

"With all due respect, sir - she initiated the meeting here..."

"I believe that." Glancing after the retreating woman, he nodded. "Look,
Mulder's not impressed with me right now. And I expect you're not either."

Her stony expression confirmed his sentence. "Sir, you did vote against
reassigning us to the X Files."

"My... vote was not a condemnation of your work, Agent Scully. What it
was... I can't tell you. But I think it's important that you and Mulder
remember that the two of you work best together and doing what you do best
- and that's not bucking the system or telling stories of major
conspiracies without any proof."

"Sir..." She looked at the floor before meeting his eyes. "We have
proof... of a sort. The DNA analysis of the samples taken in Arizona prove
that there is something out there. I don't know if I'm ready to present a
theory as to what, but you sent us out there. You knew there was more to
that story than a random attack."

"What I know, Agent Scully, is that you and Mulder are now responsible for
covering and watching your own backs. And I remind you that I answer to
someone above me - as you do now with A.D. Kersh." He took a step away
from her. "Watch your back, Scully... and watch Mulder's as well..."

Then he was gone, lost in another crush of bodies as a wave of agents came
down the corridor.

***********

Closing the door slowly, Mulder turned the key in the lock and heard the
bolt slide home with a satisfying click.

"Mulder..." He froze, preparing for another assault before he placed the
voice.

Turning around he smiled in relief as Scully appeared in the hallway, her
hands resting comfortably in her pockets as she stared at him.

"I thought you were working today?"

"I was going to..." He sighed, dropping the keys into a pocket of his
leather jacket. "But I kept getting interrupted... nice earrings..." He
smiled at her as they walked down the corridor.

"Thanks..." She touched the pearl studs. "Got them from a good friend..."

As they rounded the corner, Mulder frowned. "What are you doing here
anyway - I thought you were going to take it easy..."

"Thought I'd take Jackie out to lunch. And also check on the retesting of
my results." She bobbed her head at a few familiar faces as they passed
by, ignoring Mulder's look.

"You're checking your original results..."

"Mulder, a good scientist never discounts that there might be an error..."
She looked up at his hopeful expression. "But, as I'm sure your friends
told you, there was none. The DNA is most definitely human-based."

Shoulders slumping, he led her out into the parking lot. "Well, could have
been worse - could have the two reports at odds with each other..." He
stopped. "Did you tell Jackie you'd be there?"

"No... I thought I'd just show up. Not like she's ever busy..." Scully
laughed softly. "Why?"

"Let's go see a movie." Mulder offered. "A real matinee with real popcorn
with plenty of artery-clogging melted butter on top and chocolate bars
that stick to your fingers and malt balls that make you thirsty for the
mega-size drink you just finished a minute ago..." He looked at her, his
eyes bright."What do you say?"

She paused, chewing on her lower lip. "Only if I get to choose the movie."

"Maybe..." Taking her hand, he led her towards his car. "But no chick
flicks. I don't understand women now, a movie would only make it worse."

"How about 'Meet Joe Black'?"

"'John Carpenter's Vampires'."

"'The Mighty.'"

"'Antz'..."

**********

"You know, I kinda like the flying monkeys..." Mulder put his hand up to
hide a yawn as they exited the theater. "And if you look at it in
historical perspective, it says a lot about society..."

"Shut up, Mulder..." Scully chuckled. "Sometimes a movie is just a
movie..." She let go of his arm to open the passenger car door. "Why can't
you just enjoy things for what they are?"

He looked at her for a second, the puzzled expression on his face sending
a sad shiver through her bones, then shrugged.

"Just the way I think, I guess..." He fastened his seat belt. "So... pizza
at your place or mine?"

"Since my car is still in the FBI parking lot, it better be your place,
Mulder." The redhead replied. "And there's enough of the night left to
rent a movie if we want to... or do you have something else in mind?"

"Ouch!" Mulder swore as he jabbed his thumb into his mouth. "Cut it on the
dammed key..." He mumbled around the appendage.

"Right"

"I'll pick the movie, though..."

*******

Setting the slice of cold pizza down on the plate, the redhead yawned
loudly. "Mulder... you tell me this is scientifically sound." 

"Hey..." He protested. "I happened to like the original Lost In Space."
Looking at the screen, he turned his head to watch as his partner curled
up on the other end of his sofa, her bare feet tucked under his thighs.
"Besides, the science isn't that bad..."

"Whatever..." The weary yawn came as she drifted off with a final wriggle
of her toes against his jeans.

Ignoring the flickering images on the screen he finally turned the
television off, resting his head on the back of the sofa; watching her
sleep for a few minutes before dozing off beside her.

**********

Scully wriggled her toes, feeling the warm blanket give way as she
stretched out to her full length, cat-like. 

Mumbling to herself, she wetted her lips with a touch of her tongue,
rubbing her feet up and down the soft and bumpy surface of the pillow at
the foot of her bed.

Except, as her slowly waking mind screamed at her, she didn't have a
pillow at the foot of her bed.

And therefore, she was not in her bed.

Slowly opening one yes, she stared down the length of the couch to the
sleeping man.

And her bare feet rubbing up against his crotch and over his thighs with
unabashed enthusiasm.

And the result of her wriggling and rubbing.

Oh.

My.

God.

Closing her eyes again Scully began to contemplate various means of
escape. Good thing she didn't wake up kicking, another part of her mind
commented wryly. That would have been a Very Bad Thing.

Unfortunately all escape plans she could think of involved moving her
feet, and right now she didn't dare do anything. Already she could feel
her left foot begin to cramp up as it rested against the coarse jean
material.

Mulder let out a low whisper between his slightly open lips, pulling his
hands up from his sides onto his lap.

Landing heavily on her feet.

Scully bit her lip, but stayed still.

His hands began to move; travelled over her slender toes, up the shallow
arch to her ankles and then back down to rub at her heel in the lightest
of touches.

Dana Scully had never believed all the romantic notions of how erotic
having your feet touched could be. Usually she reserved such thoughts to
fetish studies and profiling discussions. There was nothing sexy about
rubbing your feet, as she had discovered after years of scrubbing them
with a sponge while sitting in a hot bubble bath.

She didn't believe.

Until now.

His hands took a firm grip on her toes; the fingers running up and down
the digits with a surprisingly gentle touch.

She was going to scream.

Then he began to moan, taking ahold of her big toe and rubbing it;
squeezing the slender appendage with his right hand.

Oh.

My.

God.

Her mind raced through possibilities as he began to increase the pace;
pushing her foot down into his lap. Another louder part of her mind
registered a slight complaint at the definite lack of truth to this.

After all, she had seen him naked.

And he wasn't the size of her big toe.

Not. A. Chance.

Mulder was moaning louder now, his head rolling from side to side as he
stroked her foot.

Suddenly one eye popped open, staring at the shocked and startled woman.

"Had you big time..."

He grinned.

Wrenching her feet free from his grasp, Scully swung them out onto the
floor; standing up with a loud yelp. 

"You..."

"Ah-ah..." He waved a finger. "Your mother wouldn't like you to say those
words to me, Scully..."

"You..." She gestured wildly at the couch. "You..."

"I was merely taking advantage of a situation to return a favour."
Stretching out his arms along the back of the sofa, he grinned wider.
"Mind you, I wasn't the one rubbing their toes into my crotch..."

"I thought you were a pillow!" She retorted, scrabbling on the floor for
long-lost socks.

"Well, I've been called a lot of things... but pillow ain't exactly my
favourite..."

"Shut up, Mulder..." Forcing her shoes onto bare feet, the enraged woman
reached for her jacket. "I am out of here... and don't even think about
apologising for the next millennia..."

"Who said anything about apologising? Unless you want to admit that you
were somewhat enjoying yourself to a degree..."

With a huff the front door slammed shut, leaving Mulder alone.

Turning to the fish tank beside him, he looked at the goldfish. "So what
do you think, Starbuck? Playing hard to get or what?"

************

"I can't believe he did that..." Rapping hard at the apartment door,
Scully let out a low curse that her father would have been shocked at.

Slowly the door opened, a bemused Jackie St. George stifling a yawn as she
tightened the belt on her bathrobe. "Dana..."

Charging by her the enraged woman stomped into the living room, hands
flying as she let out another Navy curse.

"Right..." Closing the door, the Canadian turned around. "So let me guess
- you had another fight with Mulder..."

"That... man..."

"Right..." Padding past her, Jackie paused as a man appeared at the
entrance to her bedroom; tugging on a pair of sweat pants. "False alarm.
No one dead."

"Not yet..." Scully grumbled loudly, plopping herself down on the sofa.

"I'm going to make some tea..." Forcing back another yawn St. George waved
at her fiance. "Why don't you get into the shower..."

"Without you?" He winked slyly.

"Go." The command sent the downcast man into the bathroom, muttering loud
enough for the women to hear.

"'Hi, Marty - how are you doing? Why Dana, what a perfect time of the
morning to come bursting into our apartment? Yes, I do love being woken up
and having to take a shower alone...'"

Scully paused in her ranting as the door slammed shut. "What time is it?"

"Pacific or Eastern?"

She glanced at her watch. "Eleven o'clock?"

"On a Saturday." St. George sat back on the couch. "And you're darned
lucky I woke up in a good mood or you'd be still banging on the door."

"Sorry..." A sheepish smile flashed across Dana's face. "I just had to
vent and I guess you were the closest. Sure can't go tell Mom this one."

"Really?" The inquisitive tone gave way to a smirky grin. "Do tell..."

*********

Pressing his ear to the wooden door, Marty squinted as he tried to hear
over the splashing water of the shower.

"You WHAT with your feet?" The shriek of laughter from his fiance only
convinced him that the shower was perhaps, after all, the safest spot for
him right now.

*********

"I didn't do anything..." Scully groused as she took the mug of tea from
her friend. "I mean, if he hadn't been so stupid I would have been just
fine..."

"So what are we talking about here? That you're upset that you got caught
playing footsie with him and not knowing it or that he got you back?"
Ducking her face down into the large housecoat, the Canadian chortled
loudly at the woman's expression. "Dana, I've been around long enough to
know that half the stuff you do in your waking moments are pretty well
connected to what you wanna be doing in real life..."

"Shut up."

"But..."

Scully put up a finger, silencing her. "I will not listen to you spin
romantic tales about me and Mulder."

"Bu..."

"Because even IF I were talking to the man again before Monday, and then
after that we'll have to see, there is no chemistry between us. None.
Nada. Zilch."

"The kiss in the hallway?"

"I am leaving now..." Grabbing her coat up from the couch, the redhead
headed for the door. "Sorry I bothered you..." She swung the door open...

... causing Mulder, hand raised to knock, to stagger forward as he missed
the wood.

"Great... a foursome..." St. George mumbled, sitting back in her chair and
taking a deep mouthful of tea. 

"I thought you'd be here - I couldn't reach you at home..." The breathless
man nodded to the Canadian. "Hey, Jackie... where's Marty?"

"You know, that's a good question. Lock up when you leave." Stepping
between the two agents, she went to the bathroom; glancing back once
before closing the door. "Oh, yah... what happened to your socks?"

Scully opened her mouth to say something, then stopped as she caught
Mulder's smirk out of one corner of her eye.

"So..." Crossing his arms, he waited patiently. "Want to tell me what this
is all about?"

"What 'this'?"

"You tell me..." Taking a few steps to the edge of the sofa, he balanced
himself precariously on the edge. "Scully, you were freaking this morning.
I know I'm not exactly Dennis Miller, but still..."

"I just... you took advantage of a weakness and exploited it. That's not
nice in the first place..."

Mulder's eyebrow rose as he grinned. "'not nice'? Scully... talk grown-up
talk to me, please. Where's the scientist I was arguing with a few hours
ago?"

"I'm still here..." Pacing back and forth in front of him, she shook her
head. "It's just that..."

"You remembered, didn't you..." He murmured.

"Remembered what?" Her eyes gave her away, locking with his for a brief
second.

"You remember saying it to me. In the ship. In the middle of those things
bursting out of the pods and you spitting out goo and crap and almost
dying on me..." The mournful gaze sliced through her anger as he looked at
her. "You remembered..."

"I..." She waved her hands in the air before crossing them in front of
her, realising that any basic knowledge of body language was giving her
away. "I don't remember anything clearly, Mulder. There was a bee sting
and then the oxygen mask..." Her voice dropped; became tinny and pained.
"And then men were there and suddenly they were gone and I was cold, so
cold..."

Standing up, he moved to be in front of her; seeing the shiver run through
her body.

"And then you were there and yelling at me and I couldn't speak to you or
do anything but think about how cold I was..." Wrapping her arms around
herself, she closed her eyes. "And then you were yelling again and we kept
walking and moving in the darkness..."

"And then you stopped." He prompted, exhaling the words to her.

"And then there was nothing but darkness and you were yelling again..."
The redhead whispered. "And I was so cold... all I could think about was
about how Sister Agatha told us that hell was hot, and I couldn't be in
hell... because you were there with me..."

Taking a step forward, he enveloped her in his arms; rocking her back and
forth with a chuckle. "There are some that would beg to differ..." He
whispered into her hair. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. I wish I
could have made it different."

She mumbled something into his shirt then pulled back out of his embrace
to speak clearly. "I don't blame you. I blame them." Dragging her sleeve
across her nose, she shook her head. "I'm just overtired, Mulder... I want
to go home."

"Sure..." Picking up her jacket, he handed it to her. "I'll drive you..."
He paused, a half-smile on his face. "Forgiven?"

"Maybe..." Scully sniffled, pulling a Kleenex out of her pocket to swipe
at her nose. "Although Jackie may not be forgiving us if we don't get out
of here..."

Leading the way, Mulder closed the apartment door behind the two of them;
making sure the lock caught.

The bathroom door opened a crack.

"Whatta think? Mulder's off the hook?" A male voice.

"Maybe. But, hey - it's better than hiding in here all day..." Stepping
out into the abandoned living room, St. George yawned again. "Shower later
- back to bed..."

"As you wish..."

***********

Scully sat quietly the entire drive back to her apartment, her hands
crossed sedately in her lap. The silence wasn't lost on Mulder, who kept
glancing over at her between running red lights and missing other cars by
a few inches.

"Want some coffee..." The usual offer came out of her mouth as she opened
her apartment door.

"Scully..."

"I'm fine, Mulder..." Walking around the couch, she kicked off the shoes;
feeling the cool wood under her bare feet again. "I'm just... out of
sorts. We women get that way, you know."

He chuckled. "And a great legal defence it is too..." Looking closely at
her, he sighed. "Want to talk about it?"

"No." Stepping into the kitchen, she opened and closed the fridge door. "I
don't, as a matter of fact..."

"It was pretty bad for you..." Shuffling his feet, the man looked down at
his own booted feet. "I forget that at times..."

"Yes, well..." Sitting down, she looked up at him. "We all forget a lot of
things when it's inconvenient to remember."

Taking a spot beside her, he shrugged off his jacket; tossing it across
the room to miss the chair by a few inches. "See, that's what happens when
the NBA's on strike. My entire game's off..." Putting his hands together
in front of him, he focused in on the tips of his fingers. "Scully... I'm
sorry. I forget that you've been through things that... that aren't that
easy to forget. Or forgive."

She stared at him for a second before closing her eyes with a sigh. "I
never forgive, Mulder. Or forget. That's why I'm here, remember?"

Nodding, he sat back and slipped one hand behind her back; pulling her
close. Not resisting, she laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes. 

"Try and get a bit more sleep..." The low rumble under her ear droned.
"I'll be here when you wake up..."

"And then?" She put one hand over her mouth as she yawned.

"Then we get more movies, order in Chinese and I pay and you tell me that
I pick crappy movies and we fight over the last shrimp because they always
send an odd number. Then we fall asleep again and wake up cramped because
we're too stupid to go to bed like regular people. Or one of us stays out
here on the couch and we keep up appearances."

"We're becoming quite domesticated, Mulder. This is frightening."

"Tell me about it. On the other hand, we could surf the porno web sites..."

"City of Angels and Armageddon. And a double order of shrimp."

"Deep Impact?"

"None of those movies, thank you..."

"What? What?"

**********

Mulder was having a nice dream. A pain-free dream, a floating dream that
really was too darned nice to wake up from. 

The phone ringing was not a nice thing.

Wrenching his eyes open he reached for the offending white receiver;
jabbing at the button. "Mulder..." He mumbled.

"Fox?"

His eyes flew open as he recalled where he was and who he was with. And
who was on the phone. "Uh... hello Mrs. Scully..."

"Is Dana around..." The unasked question hung in the static-filled air.

"Uh... she's right here..." Putting out a hand, he rocked the body lying
next to him on the couch; her back to him as her head rested against his
legs. "Scully... it's your mom..."

"Hmm..." Rolling over with a wince, she took the receiver from him. "Hi,
Mom... what? No, I'm on the couch, that's why I'm sore..." A faint blush
came over her cheeks as he watched, a smirk on his face. "Yes, he's
here... uh..." A glance up at the wide grin. "No, I hadn't looked at the
time. Noon already? Ah... no, I don't think I'll make it to Mass today.
Yes, I'll call later. Bye..." 

Dropping the phone on the floor, she glared at the man. "You are to never
answer my phone again when you are here. Never."

"Not my fault..." Gently getting up, he stretched his arms upwards towards
the ceiling; his tshirt bunching up his stomach. "Besides, I have a
reputation to uphold..."

"At my expense."

"As ever." He grinned. 

Sitting up, she cupped her face in her hands with a groan. "It's Sunday
already - I don't even want to think about what Kersh has for us to do
tomorrow..."

"It might not be all that bad, Scully..." Padding around the kitchen in
his socks, Mulder opened the refrigerator. "I mean, domestic terrorism
must have some good things about it..."

"Maybe... but still, it doesn't get us back to the work at hand.
Specifically how to track down that virus and create the vaccine. Or
recreate it, to be exact..."

"Is this cheddar cheese?" The shout came from behind her. "And do you mind
if I make up the eggs this time? You always burn them..."

"Excuse me?" Strutting into the kitchen, she stared at him. "Usually
they're well-done. Not the raw yolks that you claim to call scrambled
eggs..."

"Hey, each to their own..." Holding his hands up, he backed away from the
counter. "Or we can just go out to eat..."

"Your call - my car's still over at Jackie's..."

"Oooh... Grand Slam at Denny's is a-calling me..."

***********

"So..." Mumbling around a mouthful of hash browns and scrambled eggs,
Mulder looked across the table at his partner. "Ready to go and be truly
one of the FBI's Most Unwanted?"

Shaking her head, she dipped the spoon in the cup of coffee; twirling it
around. "Mulder, you don't know it'll be that bad. Besides..." Scully
looked out the window into the bright sunshine. "It might be nice to get
out of the basement once in a while..."

"I'll remind you of that when you're sick of sitting in the Pit with the
rest of the Lost Boys..."

"Do that and I'll rat you out on the closet space you're hiding the files
in." She retorted with a grin. "Besides, I'm not going to condemn Kersh
until we have a bit more information on him."

"Have it your way..." Taking a piece of toast, he waved it in the air to
punctuate his words. "I still think that the faster we get back to work on
the X Files, the faster we'll find the answers."

"To what?" The question came out quickly as she stared at him. "And are
you ready?"

"For what?"

"Mulder..." Taking the mug in her hands, she twisted it around and around;
marking the table with the wet smear. "If we find out in the end that
there are no aliens; that this is all just a cover up by the government...
will you be ready to accept it?"

"I like the way you toss that out. 'Just a cover up by the government'."
He chuckled. "Can you imagine yourself even saying that five years ago?"

Scully let a soft laugh escape, her eyebrows arching. "No, I can't. And
that should prove that you've had a definite effect on me."

"Why, thank you Agent Scully..."

"I didn't say it was for the good."

"I did." He grinned again, reaching for the second piece of toast. "But as
for the answer to your question - let me toss it back at you. Are you
ready to accept the evidence of extraterrestrial life?"

Crossing her arms, she sat back in the small booth. "Well..."

"Hmm?" He waved a forkful of eggs at her. "Tell the truth, Agent Scully..."

"If faced with proven scientific evidence..."

"Go on..."

"That I myself have verified and have satisfied all the scientific
standards..."

"Yes?"

"..."

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear your response, Agent Scully..." Cupping his ear,
Mulder leaned in closer. "Remember, you are under oath..."

"..."

"Agent Scully, you can be held in Contempt of Partnership if you don't
answer the question clearly..."

"..."

"You know, I almost think I heard a yes..."

"You're buying, Mulder."

"Oooh..." He put one hand to his chest in mock pain. "Winning is such
sweet sorrow..."

**********

"I wonder if they got out of the shower yet..." Mulder chuckled as they
walked down the corridor towards St. George's apartment.

"You're incorrigible." His partner rapped lightly on the door. "I'm
surprised she didn't toss us both out the way we were acting in here
yesterday..."

"It wasn't my fault..."

"What?" She spun on him. "Don't even think of denying your part..."

The door opened, St. George smirking widely. "I already had your car
towed."

"You what?" Scully's jaw dropped.

"Just kidding..." Waving the pair inside, the Canadian snickered at her
friend's expression. "Hey, after ruining yesterday for a few hours I had
to say something like that..."

"Where's Marty?" Falling onto the couch beside Scully, Mulder looked
around the apartment. "Still stuck in the shower?"

"Actually he's out shopping for my Christmas present."

"And he didn't take you along?" Mulder grinned. "Thought he wouldn't pass
up a chance to have you model the nightgowns..."

Sitting down opposite the pair, Jackie sighed. "Oh, Mulder - you're so
juvenile..." Grabbing a slipper from the floor she tossed it at him,
letting him deflect it easily. "So... everything's okay now?"

"As okay as it ever is." Scully sighed. "Back to work tomorrow. Without
Skinner's buffering influence it might be hairy..."

"Hey, we do accept political refugees in Canada." St. George smiled. "And
heck, I could always retire and open up a detective agency..."

"Sounds like a bad sitcom." Mulder offered. "Besides, who'd hire you?"

"Get out, Mulder..." Standing up, she chuckled loudly. "And next time you
two get into trouble like this at least leave a message. I do have email,
you know. Or stick a bloody Post-it on my office door so I don't get geeks
like that Fowley broad and Spender goof poking around..."

Scully frowned. "Can they cause trouble for you? I mean, we've done a
pretty good job of keeping your name out of most of the files, but..."

Jackie shrugged. "In the first place I have no qualms about hiding under
the diplomatic immunity tag. In the second I have no qualms about pulling
Fowley's lungs out via her nasal passages. In the third I have no qualms
about extracting Spender's intestines through his ears."

"Someone's been watching The Learning Channel again..." Mulder laughed as
he opened the door. "Just let me know where to hide the bodies, okay?"

"You got it... just call first next time, okay?" With a smile and a wave
she shut the door behind them.

"So... now what?"

"We collect my car and then I go home. And you go home to your place. And
we pretend that this was a meaningful week of vacation time instead of the
waste that it was..."

Mulder paused at the elevator, jabbing at the button. "I wouldn't say it
was a waste, Scully..." Looking at her sideways, he winked mischievously.
"Really?"

Ducking her head down, she chuckled softly. "No... not all of it..."

"Can I call you tonight?" He asked quietly as they entered the elevator.

"Maybe..."

***********

A few hours later Scully sat soaking in a hot bath, nearly swamped by the
mounds of bubbles that travelled over every inch of open water.

"Another week gone." She announced to the tiled walls, hearing the slight
echo come back to her.

The phone rang.

Stretching out one dripping arm, she retrieved it from the top of the
toilet where she had placed it for such an emergency.

"Scully..."

"Hey, G-woman..." Mulder paced around his apartment, phone in hand.
"What's happening?"

"I'm soaking in a hot tub. I am relaxing on probably one of the last
stress free nights I will have this year."

"Hmm... are you implying that working with me is stressful?"

"Why did you call, Mulder? My water's getting cold..."

"I just..." He paused, stepping over the basketball to sit on the couch.
"I just wanted to thank you again."

"For what?"

"For not being Fowley. For being Scully."

"I suppose that's a compliment. Although how I could be Fowley is beyond
me, and in any case..."

"'Night, Scully. Sweet Dreams."

"Sweet Dreams, Mulder..." 

*************

the end...

and thus ends another masochistic writing exercise of seven parts in seven
days - although I beg forgiveness for lack of continuity in any case that
might pop up, given the schedule...

'till next year...

"If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended.
That you have but slumber'd here,
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend:
If you pardon, we will mend..."

A Midsummer's Night Dream

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