Title: San Francisco - The Not So Evil Dead Author: Hummbugg E-Mail: hummbugg@hummbugg.com Website: www.hummbugg.com Rated: NC-17 GRAPHIC Disclaimer: Credit to CC and Co as always. Notes: I hate Diana and I love how everyone loves to slam her in their stories. This time I wanted to play her off as not so evil. She's just a victim of circumstance, family history and uninformed decisions. I thought it might make for a nice change. Don't worry Charlie gets to have a dig at her ;) X I make a rich woman beg, I'll make a good woman steal I'll make an old woman blush, and make a young woman squeal I wanna be yours pretty baby, yours and yours alone I'm here to tell ya honey, that I'm bad to the bone George Thorogood & the Destroyers X "You know I don't know too many other couples who still lust after each other after almost twenty years together." Michael's breath panted against her exposed breasts as she braced herself against the wall over the bed head with her palms. "Who says I lust after you? I'm in the middle of my sexual peak remember?" Charlie's hips maintained a fairly upbeat pace over him. It was two o'clock in the morning. They were supposed to be asleep. The wee ungodly hours were the only time during the week that they were alone together and she had taken full advantage of that tonight. "You really know how to stroke a man's ego O'Neil." She laughed softly and tilted her face down to press a kiss to his lips. "Let's just pretend for a minute that we agreed to have one night with someone else. Who would you choose?" His enthusiastic upward thrusting slowed. "Is this the kind of question that's going to get me in the dog house if I answer?" She giggled and playfully bit his chin. "When are you ever in the dog house? You know exactly how to wriggle back into my good books when the need arises." "Alright I'll answer.. who said you could stop?" He playfully smacked her ass and she increased her dwindling pace. "Your question is too broad. Are we talking about celebrities or random notions of what we'd want this other person to be like or are we talking about people we know in the real world." "I'm talking about people we know. I already know what kind of woman you would dream up." "Enlighten me." "She would look suspiciously like Chasey Lane." He threw his head back and laughed. "You think I'd dream up a common porn star?" "Don't get off track c'mon who would you choose?" He idly caressed her breasts for awhile as images of the woman he'd been curious about lately sprang to mind. "You promise not to get pissed off? You know I'd never act on any thoughts I may have about other women?" "Of course I know. I'm curious that's all. It's only natural that we'd think of other people. It's just human nature." "Okay.. Don't get weird about this.. I'd choose Dana." "You would choose my original? Michael that's like saying you'd choose me! If you're trying to worm your way out of what you think will be an unpleasant situation just stop. You don't have to stroke my ego or spare my feelings. I'm not going to be hurt. I just really want to know." "Actually I'm serious. I've uh I've thought about her on the odd occasion." "It's Dana you're curious about? Why? You pretty much have 'her' whenever you want. Don't you want other things? Other qualities? Other kinds of women?" "You asked if we were to agree to allow each other a night with another person who would I choose. I would choose her. I'd choose Dana Scully. There's something about her.. She is completely familiar and yet not familiar at all. Do you know what I mean?" "It feels the same with Mulder. When I see him I see you but he's not you he's someone else entirely." "Then I can ask you the same thing. Don't you want other qualities and other kinds of men?" "Well I've often thought someone a little shorter wouldn't go astray.." He laughed and pinched a taught nipple playfully. "That night in New York when we had our little mix up. I think they hadn't been intimate with each other before then." It was Charlie's turn to laugh. "That was so funny." "I was wondering why you were so different. You were so responsive, at first I thought you must have been exaggerating a little for effect. Then again that's not really you, we may do a lot of things in bed but we don't mislead each other. I put it down to the freedom we had without the kids just down the hall. The way you moved and the sounds you made.. You were carrying on like I'd never touched you before. It all made sense when I discovered that it wasn't you after all." "And since then you've been curious about her?" "Yeah.. are you curious about him?" "Yeah." Michael's pelvis was back in action. He gripped her hips securely and rose to meet her. He was rewarded by her soft moan. One hand slid from her hip to draw lazy circles over her sensitive clitoris as they moved against each other fluidly. "You know it's a turn on that you're attracted to a man that could be me." "Yeah.. wait tilt that way a little.. yeeeah." "You know what I think could be more fun than choosing someone else to spend a night with?" "Oooh.. mmm.. what's that?" "Choosing someone to include in a night with both of us." "I think.. oooh Michael you're killing me.. I think I teased her so much about having a threesome with us that I actually brought this on myself." "You know if you were to ever seriously consider-." "You'd actually have both of us at the same time?" "Hell yes." If she had a clue that the thought of herself and Dana together turned him on before, she certainly had proof now. "Would you want us to touch each other?" His hands left their positions on her hip and between her thighs to slide around her body and establish a firm grip on her ass. "Would you want us to suck at each other's breasts?" "Yes." He held her ass firmly in place and began to pound relentlessly inside of her. As much as he loved his wife taking the reigns there were certain times when all he wanted for her to do was sit tight, hang on and enjoy the ride. He felt her rise up a little higher on her knees then spread her thighs wider to accommodate the back and forth snapping of his hips. "Would you want to fuck her while she eats me?" "Yesss.. I want to fuck you while you eat her too." Unexpectedly he flipped her over and rolled her beneath him. He dragged one of her legs up and hooked it over his shoulder; the other leg gripped his waist. He was painfully engorged and she felt him bottom out against her cervix with each thrust forward. She bit her lip to keep from crying out. The last thing she wanted was to wake one of the kids when their father was in the middle of making her toes curl. "I think I'd come on the spot if I saw your face between her legs." Her fingers came to rest on his chest and she began a slow journey south with her fingernails raking along his skin. He felt trails of pleasure happily dancing along in her wake. He was so hot, their bodies were positively radiating. The whole room felt warm and oppressive with body heat. He felt a small drop of sweat roll down the back of his neck. Charlie was gasping quietly beneath him. He made a mental note to plan a vacation or at least a dirty weekend away. The times he got to hear her express her pleasure without restraint were few and far between. Whispered conversations, low chuckles and barely audible gasps were the only low sounds they made. No one standing outside of their room would be able to hear what was going on inside. Like most parents they were extremely adept at being discreet. Discreet got boring. Boring needed fixing. All of a sudden he slowed down. He concentrated on keeping his pace rhythmic and mellow. "Michael?" "Shhh." He continued with his hypnotic cadence, eventually she settled into it, steadying herself against the edge of passion they had been teetering on seconds before. "You're so beautiful Charlie do you know that?" Her hips undulated in time with his agonizingly slow torture. "You think I'm beautiful that's all that matters." He slid from her and smiled at her frustrated sigh. "I stopped for a very good reason I promise." He reached out for two pillows and stacked them on top of each other. "Lie down on your stomach with your hips here." He patted the top of the pillow. Charlie slid into his requested position and rested the side of her face on the arm she had folded beneath her head. He nudged her legs open wide and settled between them on his stomach with his legs hanging over the side of the bed. His forehead came to rest on the sweet flesh where her ass joined her thigh. His tongue ventured between her folds to find her small swollen clitoris. "You're right this was a very good reason." She didn't realize it was going to get even better. Michael continued to lap at her sparking bundle of nerves until she was helplessly writhing against her little mountain of pillows. Her hands clenched at the bed sheets as waves of giddy pleasure rolled up from her lower half. Using her knees for leverage she pushed back against him so his face was pressed tightly to her aching flesh. "Oh.. Yes.. I'm gonna come." He felt her writhing increase and deliberately ceased all contact with her fraught clirtoris. "Michael I'm going to kill you!" She barely managed to keep her volume to a hiss. He laughed at his frustrated wife and plunged his tongue deeply past her entrance. He could taste and feel the wet heat of her arousal surrounding and overwhelming his taste buds. He remained inside of her for a few moments, swirling his tongue around her interior before darting rapidly in and out. "Michael please.." He shook his head against her and withdrew his tongue to slide slowly through her folds and over her sensitive perineum. She froze when she felt his tongue there. She knew exactly what he wanted to do. Her stomached clenched in sweet anticipation. He wetly caressed the line of flesh between the edge of her core and her ass. She felt a moan begin to make it's way up her throat and bit down on her arm to stifle it. He remained on that one particular sweet spot for long drawn out moments. He was deliberately taking it slow, they hadn't engaged in this particular act for quite some time. His tongue slid a little further upward and rapped lightly against her tight puckered entrance. Her gasp encouraged him. He traced slow circles over her and smiled when he felt the small ring of muscles fluttering beneath his tongue. He began to deliver light upward strokes across her quivering opening. Gradually she relaxed and the soft clenching motions began to decrease. She felt his hands come up to cup an ass cheek in each palm. He spread her open further and his tongue swept freely over her yearning flesh. He began to make trips down to gather moisture from her slick center and spread it out over her tight anus. "Jesus Michael." "Mmmm." His answering moan was muffled against her ass. The tip of his tongue worked at her small entrance and slid partly inside. He peppered her with small darting motions, in and out, in and out. He made his tongue long and hard and slid a little further into her relaxing passage. He heard her whimper against the mattress and her lower half rose a little higher to encourage further penetration. Two of his fingers slid inside her slick front passage to rub against her upper wall. He was going for a repeat performance with his wife after his experience with Dana Scully in New York. His fingers danced around inside of her until he found what he was looking for. He started up a smooth rhythm as his tongue began to plunge in and out of her other opening. She was writhing within seconds. An explosion of nuclear capacity caused streaks of flaring light to dance behind her closed eye lids. Her mouth was open on a silent scream as wave after wave of pure sensation pummeled her pleasure wrought body. In the midst of her orgasm she felt his tongue withdraw from her body. Moments later after riding out her frenzied thrusting with his hand she felt him draw up to his knees and settle himself between her thighs. The two lubricated fingers that had successfully stroked her in just the right place nudged gently against her anus. She felt the gentle slide of them into her as his cock imbedded itself inside her quivering core to coat himself with her wet heat. She marveled at the speed of her body once again returning to the edge. Tonight her head would surely explode from the pleasure he easily seemed to bestow on her. "You want more Charlie?" She knew what he was asking. "More." His now glistening rod slid from her body. Gentleness had always been always been the number one criteria on her list for this rare but much loved act. Michael was large and she couldn't take all of him. She stretched enough to accommodate roughly three quarters of his length. The first time had been a little painful. All the necessary preparations had been taken. They were armed with a tube of lube, a bottle of wine and Otis Redding crooning in the background. Despite the slight discomfort she had discovered new levels of pleasure and a new way to make Michael's eyes roll back into his over stimulated head. She came back from her memories to feel the head of his throbbing package pressing gently against her anus. She took long deep regulated breaths and relaxed the muscles in her lower body. He popped past the elastic ring of muscles and remained like that for a long moment. His hands caressed her back and sides in long soothing motions as he waited for her body to adjust to his impending penetration. When she was finally ready she told him. "More Michael." He pushed forward a couple more inches. His eyes closed as he felt the unbearable tightness engulf his cock. They both moaned softly as he pulled out and pushed forward again to sink even further inside of her. He knew her body only allowed him so far inside. He stopped when he reached that point not wanting to cause her any pain. "Get on your hands I want to get rid of the pillows." She obliged and placed her palms flat on the mattress and rose so she was on her hands and knees. He reached beneath her and pushed the pillows away. When his fingers were settled firmly against her clitoris he began to rock in and out of her in a gentle and unhurried rhythm. Her body tugged hard at his stiff flesh each time he pulled back almost as if it didn't want to relinquish him from its grasp. He desperately wanted to speed up but he knew it was wise to take it easy for a few minutes. Charlie's desire coated whisper reached his ears. "I take back that stupid question from earlier. Mulder might be hot but I'd never trade you in, not even for one night, not even for a man just like you." "Me too; I get the feeling Dana Scully would slap my face if I suggested this." Charlie giggled and rose to take her full weight on her knees. His arms slid around her to anchor her small frame to his chest. Her arms rested lightly on top of his and she tossed her head back to lean against his shoulder. He buried his face in the fragrant blonde waves as his pelvis worked behind and slightly beneath her. He ran his hands over the breasts just above his arms and pulled hard on her nipples. "Michael I'm so close.. but I can't quite get there this way." "I know I know just a little bit longer." His lips descended to favor her neck with wet warm kisses. She felt the restrained urgency behind his controlled pace. "Michael I'm okay you can go harder." Instantly his thrusting became insistent and entirely too persuasive. She felt a shudder of desire make its way down her spine. His body coaxed her a little closer to the edge. She opened herself up to the intense feelings caused by their joining and pushed herself back into him each time he pushed forward. She knew he wasn't going to hold out much longer, she could tell by the precarious hold he had on his restraint. As much as she was enjoying the exquisite desire of having him fill her in a different way, she ached to have him where he belonged. "Michael please. Make me come." He slid from her rear passage and they both moaned at the momentary loss. Before she could think to pout he was driving back into her slightly neglected core. A spike of pleasure shot straight to her heart as he buried himself to the balls. "Oh fuck." The words escaped him as he basked in the ease of movement within her drenched accommodating interior. It only took a few hard thrusts and a few well time strokes to her clitoris and she was bucking in his arms once again. Her low gasps urged him on to his own release. With a strong hand in the middle of her back he pushed her upper half back down to the bed and gripped her hips tightly in his hands. He savagely pulled her to him with each brutal thrust forward. Her wet interior contracted at regular intervals with the decline of her orgasm. She milked the orgasm from him as his hips pounded frantically against her ass. She felt his cock expand impossibly further and a beat later he spilled into her hotly. He sagged against her and they hit the mattress. His long heavy frame pressed her into the soft bed but she was too content to complain. As long as he didn't fall asleep on top of her everything would be just perfect. X "Guess who's back from the dead?" Mulder watched as Charlie breezed into their kitchen and dumped her purse on the bench. She favored both of them with a wide smile. Thanks to his lovely wife he knew Charlie's various smiles. The one plastered to her face meant only one thing; she'd been laid and she'd been laid good. Despite the crappy news she had to deliver nothing could kill her joy this morning. "Who?" "Diana Fowley." The name hung in the now silent air uncomfortably. "She's obviously a sore point for you two as well." Charlie opened their fridge and perused the contents. Finally Mulder spoke up. "How do you know it's her?" "She's a big consortium player. She's been sighted at a few different crash sites over the last couple of months. According to our contacts within the consortium they staged her death. They wanted her to go underground after your brain surgery. They couldn't risk you tracking her down and pumping her for information. It seems like she has a soft spot for you Mulder. If it hadn't been for her you'd probably be a dead man right now. That being said she still belongs to the consortium and she's still a deceitful bitch." Charlie swiped a carton of orange juice and helped herself to a glass, she watched as Mulder and Scully shared a long silent gaze. She had a feeling Dana disliked the woman also. "World War Three will seem like a blip on the radar compared to what I'm going to do if I bump into her. She better be smart enough not to come anywhere near the organization, her ass is mine if she does." Scully regarded Charlie with interest. "Why do you hate her so much?" Charlie threw a sour look at Scully. "When I was abducted she was twenty five and working for the NYPD. She was on my case. She was covering evidence and cleaning up after the consortium. She told Michael that we lived in a dangerous city where people went missing and got murdered everyday. She had him convinced I was dead, long gone and never to be found again. She brings so much misery to people's lives then just walks away and wipes her hands clean of her mess. You can ask Michael about the rest. I don't want to ruin my morning." She screwed her face up in disgust before taking a swig from her glass of orange juice. Scully had a feeling she knew what the rest of the story would be. Michael in his grief had believed Diana. He had been alone; he had no one to trust. He was young and naive. He hadn't known about the consortium and their plans back then. He hadn't believed in aliens and government conspiracies. Diana had been the only person in that terrible time to give him any answers. That had been his first taste of dealing with the consortium; a tall pretty brunette feeding him lies about the woman he loved while they tested her and raped her with their scientific ways. Scully's curiosity was begging to be satisfied. She had plans to find out the unabridged version of events when she was alone with Charlie. If all of this didn't prove to Mulder how wrong he'd been about Diana then something would be seriously wrong with him. Scully glanced over at him to find him looking rather uncomfortable. He was silently drumming his fingers on the kitchen bench, his eyes remained locked on his hand and he didn't bother to look up at either woman as they continued their conversation. "So yeah prepare yourself for a full scale after school show down with guns and all. No hair pulling, scratching or tearing each other's clothes off allowed. I'll get back to you on the price for the tickets." Charlie giggled. "Well it's nice to dream. I wouldn't take her on. She's untouchable. If someone from the Organization knocked her off The Consortium would declare war." X Been a whole lot easier since the bitch left town Been a whole lot happier without her face around Nobody upstairs gonna stomp and shout, Nobody at the back door gonna throw my laundry out She hold the shotgun while you do-si-do She want one man made of Hercules and Cyrano Been a whole lot easier since the bitch is gone Little miss, little miss, little miss cant be wrong. Spin Doctors X Mulder didn't have too many real friends. The Gunmen and were about the only people he'd lump into that category. Scully managed to play an odd game of twister amongst the filing cabinet of his brain, she had a piece of herself everywhere. Scully was too ingrained in his heart and soul to be able to assign her to one particular classification. She was simply 'Scully'. He'd honestly thought that Diana had been his friend. He hadn't wanted to listen to Scully's suspicions about the woman. He chose to believe in Diana. What a mistake that had been. He remembered collapsing and calling her for help. Some help she had been. He would always remember seeing her standing over him while they operated on his overtaxed brain. Her face may have been obscured by surgical garb but the eyes had been unmistakable. Diana had betrayed him plain and simple. Whether or not she left her access card for Scully was moot point. It was Scully who had been there to haul his ass away from certain death. It was her face he saw when salvation had rained down on him. She really was the only one who would never betray him. He likened her to a loyal puppy with the utmost affection. It hadn't mattered how many times he kicked her in the gut she still returned to his side whenever he called. There were so many reasons why he loved her and needed her. He'd come so close to pushing her away for good with their experience with Diana. He had vowed even before they had become lovers that he would never let anyone drive a wedge between them again. It simply wasn't worth it. No one and nothing was worth sacrificing Scully for. He glanced at the bedside clock. 12:34am. Since living with Scully he found himself developing a regular sleeping pattern. Not that he got much sleep; insomnia had set in for him after Samantha had been taken. He'd lived with it for so many years he was accustomed to it. Most nights he stayed in bed for the full eight hours catching only a couple of hours of real sleep for himself. The ability to hold her warm body while she breathed deeply against him was a good enough reason to stay in bed. Scully wasn't a perfect sleeper either. This worked well for him because the whispered snatches of conversation and the lazy love making that took place during her sleep intervals filled the long wakeful nights. Back in D.C. he had occasionally wondered how Scully would react if he slipped into her apartment in the dead of night and crawled into bed beside her. Would she help him stave off the loneliness or would she have pulled her gun on him and kicked him out? He snorted into the pillow at the thought. He felt her roll over. He hadn't meant to wake her. "Mulder?" "Shhh go back to sleep." She cleared her groggy throat and yawned deeply. "Whatchoo thinkin bout?" He grinned at her sleep slurred voice. "You." "Why? You want sex?" He laughed and nuzzled his face into her hair. "No I was just thinking about you that's all." He felt her throw a warm leg over him. She rubbed her chin over his collarbone. "Tell me." "If I had tried to initiate something between us a couple of years ago how do you think you would have felt about it?" "That's what you were thinking about?" She was amused but he could tell it was affectionate and gentle humor. "I'm curious." "I wouldn't have turned you away." "Really?" "Yeah." "What about before a couple of years ago? When did you decide you would permit an overture from me?" She was silent for a moment and he waited. He casually stroked her back through the material of her pajamas. No more naked Scully flesh. It would be Christmas in a couple of months, the night air had begun to turn cold. It was different to D.C. but he could feel it nonetheless. "What does it matter? It's all in the past, we're here now." "I'm curious." "So you said." "I'll show you mine if you show me yours." He felt her shake her head and he delivered a soft pinch to her ass. "Give it up woman." "Fine. After I was returned from my abduction." "Are you serious?" "Yes." "Why? Why then?" "I don't know, it was odd. The most logical thing for me would have been to bid the x-files farewell and pack up my toys and go home. But I couldn't do that; I wanted more. I wanted answers, you were the only one that could help me find them. I wanted more from you but I knew not to ask. You told me when we first met that nothing was more important to you than your work. I didn't want to be in a relationship where I would come second all of the time. Those were early days; I learnt over the following years that I don't necessarily come second. I think I co-exist with the work. I am the work in a way." He pulled her into a snug embrace. "You're a brave woman Scully. It took me a lot longer to sort out what I wanted." "Tell me." "I used you as a substitute for Samantha for a very long time. I'm sorry that I put you in that position. An ideal family would give without expectation and help without having to be asked. You always felt like family to me. I took from you what I wanted from my sister. Each time something horrible happened to you it tore me up inside and out because they were fucking with my family. They were torturing someone else I loved. I didn't see you in a new light until they tried to take you from me again. The night you came to tell me about your transfer to Salt Lake City brought it all home. I couldn't let you walk away, not when I realized how much I truly need you. When we got back from our little trip to the spaceship in the snow the time didn't seem to be right. There was too much going on. Then there was the whole thing with Diana.. It just wasn't meant to happen. I don't think I was really ready for more until just before we received John's tape." She was silent for a long time. Mulder began to worry that he may have hurt her feelings. They didn't normally sugar coat things for each other but considering she had been open to the idea of a union a lot longer than he had it might have been a good idea to gloss over his answer a little. "You know Mulder I thought you'd never entertain the idea of a life with me outside of work. Sometimes I think I'm going to wake up back in D.C. and Michael and Charlie and our life here will be nothing more than a nice dream." "I'm sorry that I didn't pull my head out of the sand sooner. I'm sorry I let you believe I didn't want you." "It doesn't matter anymore. We're here now." She repeated her words from earlier and pressed a kiss to his chest. "Yes we are. You ready to go real estate hunting tomorrow?" She laughed. "I miss chasing monsters with you Mulder." "Real Estate Agents are fairly evil. Bring your net and your gun tomorrow Scully and we'll see if we can't catch us monster." X They were at another Society Dinner. At first it had been fun to do the rounds; rubbing shoulders with powerful people and pumping them for information through polite conversation. These days it was just plain boring. Mulder much preferred the hands on assignments they occasionally threw his way. Breaking in to high security compounds and following suspected consortium members was more in line with his field of expertise. He quickly surveyed the room to see where everyone was at. His eyes scanned over a brunette standing along the far wall with a glass of champagne in her hand. He did a double take and found himself staring at Diana Fowley. What the hell was she doing here? This night involved organization members only. Exchanging organization information behind the guise of a fancy dinner for the wealthy and powerful was not something a consortium member should be a part of. Diana had obviously been sent to spy. Scully had obviously noticed Diana also. He watched as her jaw clenched into a firm line. Her eyes had narrowed slightly and he saw a barely restrained snarl tugging at her upper lip. Scully hated the woman plain and simple. Mulder wasn't a fool he knew Scully had felt threatened by this woman in the past. Scully had worried the woman might take her place. She had feared Diana would lure Mulder away from her with her web of lies and enthusiastic agreement to every word that fell from his lips. His willingness to follow Diana after everything they had been through over the years felt like a cold hard slap in the face. He should have reached into her chest, ripped out her heart and stomped all over it. That probably would have been less painful. Mulder loved her now, things had to be different. They were married; surely he wouldn't jeopardize that to follow up on whatever tale Diana was sure to spin. He knew the truth now, he had to believe it. He couldn't not believe it; for Scully's sake at the very least. Diana had spotted them and instead of making a quick get away she began to head toward them. Michael and Charlie had spotted her as well and hurried over to join Mulder and Scully as Diana approached. As she stopped before the four of them the corners of her mouth twitched into a sardonic smirk. "Well I see the four of you have met." "Welcome back from beyond Diana. I didn't expect to see you so soon." This came from Mulder. Diana turned her eyes to his and chuckled. Each of them could feel the fraught tension underlying the small talk. Causing a scene at one of these events would be a very bad idea. "We never got to finish what we started the last time I saw you." An image of Diana sliding off her blouse and walking into his bedroom as he lay sick and sweating in bed came to mind. "Last time we saw each other you were standing over me while they made tepannyaki with my head." She flinched. "I had hoped you wouldn't remember that." "Well we can't all get what we wish for." "Look it was me who left Agent Scully the access card. I didn't agree with what they were doing; I wanted to help you. I wanted to make sure you'd be okay." "You should have thought of that the day you came to the F.B.I. It was you that encouraged me to pursue the x-files. They wanted me involved in this crazy battle for earth. They assigned you to the x- files to 'steer me in the right direction'. The consortium wanted me on their side didn't they? When they realized it would never happen they reassigned you to Europe and not long after they sent Scully to join the spooky patrol to make sure I didn't uncover too much." Mulder was laughing bitterly as her involvement in his life clicked into place. "They sent you back when Scully and I were getting close. They wanted to dredge up the past to distract me from the present. Good move on their part I must say. I really didn't see the syringe coming when I called you for help after I collapsed." "Look I wont lie to you and deny my involvement in what happened-." "Quit with the damn melodrama. Jesus you get on my nerves. What the hell are you doing here?" This came from Charlie. She didn't want to sit around a listen to the bitch rehash her past with Mulder. She was pretty sure Dana would appreciate being spared the bullshit too. Diana's eyes flicked over to Charlie and she looked the smaller woman up and down. "I really don't know why they ever bothered performing the tests on you. You're so common. Thankfully these days they're improving their criteria." Charlie's eyebrow crawled up her forehead as her chin rose to jut forward defiantly. "If you want to get personal Diana we could always point out that most of your assignments involve whoring yourself out to men the consortium are trying to control. A little sex has never gone astray as a weapon of distraction. I think calling me common is a little hypocritical of you." Scully felt the strongest urge to high five her venom tongued clone. Instead she brought the situation back to the issue at hand. "Enough with the small talk. Let's get to the point. Diana what are you doing here?" "I'm here on official business." "What kind of official business?" "I'm not able to reveal that to you. It's confidential." Scully's hand slid slowly into her small clutch purse and she positioned her hand in a nice secure grip over her gun. "I'm packing Diana and you know I'm capable. You better start talking or your pretty dress is going to get ruined real quick." Mulder's eyes widened. Scully always clicked into bitch mode when Diana was around but this was awesome. She looked totally hot. Diana's eyes flicked to Scully's hand then back to her eyes. The woman meant business. "The Organization is in possession of a clone created by the Consortium. We want that clone back. I have been sent to negotiate a deal. I can't reveal any more than that. You're going to have to kill me because I'm not talking either way. If I reveal the specifics to anyone they'll hunt me down like an animal." Scully kept her gun trained on Diana through her purse. "If I let you walk away are you going to reveal our involvement with the Organization?" "They already know you're involved. They know if they lay a finger on either of you the Organization will declare war. CGB thinks it's better for everyone if you two keep your mouths shut and focus on the fight no matter which side you're on. He had hoped Mulder would eventually want to join our ranks. It didn't pan out that way obviously but at least you're not creating waves in the F.B.I anymore. They're one of our major supporters." "So we're relatively safe from them?" "You're untouchable. Sure someone could easily kill you but no one wants to upset the balance this far along in the game." "What do you get out of this Diana?" "This was my father's business as it was Bill Mulder's business. I was involved at a young age. Just like Fox. Now if you'll excuse me?" Scully lowered her purse and nodded her consent. Diana slid away to meet her contact. The four of them stood quietly for a few moments. Michael didn't like to see the woman. She reminded him of a time when the world was black and gray and he didn't know if he could find his was through the despair. Selfishly he had clutched at Diana's fake concern and allowed himself to mourn for a life without Charlie when she had been alive all along He grinned down at his wife trying to break the tension. "Come on O'Neil lets get back to our common life in our common trailer park with our backward children." He slung an arm over her shoulders and dropped a quick kiss to the top of her head. She grinned up at him through her lashes. "You wanna go on Jerry Springer?" "Are we going to beat the shit out of each other or are you going to repeatedly flash your breasts at the audience?" "We're so common we'd probably do both." "Bring it on." Mulder looked down at Scully. "Do you think we should tail Diana or are you happy with her story?" Scully's eyes met his. "You know her better than I do. Do you think she's lying?" Teamwork is what they did best. Last time they dealt with Diana they had been coming from opposite directions, constantly butting heads. This time they were willing to consider how the other felt about the situation. Living together had honed that particular skill. "I honestly couldn't say. I thought I knew her once.. Obviously I was wrong." "We've been safe so far. If they had wanted us out of the picture we'd be dead by now. I think she's telling the truth. No matter how much I hate the woman I have to give her credit for making the right decision in the end. She helped me save you. She wanted you to survive. In the end she looked out for you. I think you need to consider that." He reached out to grasp her hand. "Your capacity for forgiveness always catches me off guard." During the course of their conversation Michael and Charlie had headed over to a waiter bearing a tray with champagne. Scully squeezed his hand and smiled. "I hope I never stop catching you off guard." "I don't think you ever will." X "Guys this house is awesome!" Dana and Dani were checking out the recently purchased charming old Victorian home Mulder and Scully had finally decided on. You guys have got an attic and a basement! This is so cool! It's like right out of a horror movie!" "Yeah. Poltergeist." Charlie and Scully were flicking through a furniture catalogue at the kitchen bench and Michael was checking out the backyard. "So when do you guys move in?" "Not for another month. Right before Christmas." "Oh speaking of Christmas do you guys have plans?" They glanced at each other briefly. Their first Christmas together hadn't been discussed. She had a feeling it would be the first Christmas he wouldn't have to spend alone for the first time in a long time. "We haven't really made any plans, I'm not sure what my mother and brothers are doing." "Well I was thinking of inviting you guys over to our place, but if you're going to be moved in by the time Christmas rolls around it should be you guys that have Christmas at your place. Think about it. It could be fun to have your first Christmas in your new house. Invite your Mom and your brothers oh and the Lone Gunmen. I love those guys! TLG is the best conspiracy publication out there. Don't worry I wouldn't suggest it and leave you stranded in the kitchen Dana. Tell your Mom to arrive a few days earlier. I'm sure the three of us could whip something up." Scully was smirking at Mulder. "Can you imagine my brother spending Christmas with the three stooges?" "I don't think it sounds like a great idea." "Oh come on guys. Christmas is a time for forgiveness and acceptance. It's not like you two ever really made it official before your loved ones. It might be nice to invite all of them into your home so they can see what you guys have achieved together. Maybe some old grudges can finally be put to rest." Charlie had a point. It would be nice to finally bury the hatchet with Bill. Hopefully he could find it in himself to accept the happiness and love Mulder freely and unselfishly showered her with. "What do you think Mulder?" "It's entirely up to you." She frowned at him. He pouted petulantly in return and she laughed. "Fine. If you have any objections you better state them now." "Wait you actually want to do this?" "It might be nice to have a normal Christmas." "A normal Christmas? With your brother and the lone gunmen?" "Don't forget your clones" Charlie put her two cents with a smirk. "If you don't want to do this Mulder we wont do it. It's okay I don't mind. I know it's a little weird. More than a little. It's very weird." Her nervous laughter indicated her discomfort and he quickly made up his mind. "You know what? You're right, it could be fun. I'd really like to catch up with the guys. I get the feeling Dani is itching to take on Langly in a Mortal Kombat death match. If you're brother wants to rain on our parade that's his problem he doesn't have to come if he feels completely repulsed by the situation. No pressure." "Are you sure?" "Yep. We can even invite Skinner too." "Skinner?" Scully's eyes widened in surprise. "Why not? He was a friend to us in a time when we needed all the help we could get. There's no need to forget about him now that we've moved on to bigger and better things. I don't think he has much family. It might be good to get the A.D. away from his desk. Besides, John has expressed some interest in Skinner. He's thinking of offering him a place. Inviting him out here would be perfect." "Charlie." "Yeah?" "We've got a lot of work to do." "Uh huh." "You think you can handle it." "I'm not a Professor, Mother of Four and Wife for nothing." "Good now grab those car keys we've got furniture to look at." X