TITLE: End Detour: Revisited
AUTHOR: Susanne Barringer
EMAIL: sbarringer@usa.net
ARCHIVE: Anywhere okay, as long as these headers stay intact.
SPOILER WARNINGS: Up to "Detour" (5th season)
RATING: PG for language.
CONTENT WARNING: MSR
CLASSIFICATION: SR
SUMMARY: An immediate sequel to "End Detour," an alternative
"Detour" episode.
DISCLAIMER: These characters belong to Chris Carter, 1013, and Fox.
No infringement is intended.
**********
End Detour: Revisited
by Susanne Barringer
The ride back to the seminar was in silence. Mulder was glad. His head
was spinning from the events of the day. It wasn't like anything earth-
shattering had happened exactly, but he felt like his whole life had changed
with just a few words from Scully. At least he had a clue what was going
on with her now, and it was far better than he ever expected, or than he
had hoped for that matter.
He had been really freaked out since she returned to work. He wasn't sure
what was going on. Their time together when she was in the hospital, and
then after, had been so perfect. He had loved every minute of being with
her, of holding her, of touching her. Although there were moments when
he realized he wanted even more, those simple pleasures had been enough.
His dreams of someday becoming Scully's lover were separate from what
they lived out--a sort of unrealistic fantasy, like winning the lottery, that
hovers at the back of the mind but only rarely comes under scrutiny as an
actual possibility.
The two weeks he spent living with Scully under the guise of wanting to be
there in case she had a relapse was, to put it simply, the happiest time of his
life. He watched the clock tick toward 5:00 everyday and then rushed
"home," his anxiousness to see her surprising him. Every evening, she
looked as though she was waiting for him, like some kind of ideal wife.
Boy, she'd shoot him if she knew he even momentarily thought about her
like she was June Cleaver, but he could definitely get used to the idea of
coming home to Scully every night.
He left Scully's on the night before she was to go back to work. He had
done it for her sake. He figured she didn't want him hovering around
constantly now that she was recovered. He had been a wimp and left while
she was taking a bath because he was afraid of what would happen if he
had to say goodbye to her face; he wasn't sure he would be able to hold it
together. Later, he regretted that cowardice because then he had no idea
how she had handled it. He suspected she was glad to be rid of him, but he
wasn't sure. That Monday at work she seemed fine, back to being his no-
nonsense, business-as-usual Scully. He knew then that they had to return
to the way they were before she had gotten sick. That was the way she
would want it, professional and distanced. He had convinced himself it
was the only way that their partnership could survive.
Still, it had been so incredibly difficult for him. There were a surprising
number of moments during their average working day when he wanted to
hold her hand, put his arms around her, just be with her. He struggled to
stifle those urges and cursed himself for being so self-centered, for not
being able to respect their professional relationship. He had promised
himself, and God, and whatever other forces were out there that if Scully
survived, he would do whatever it took to make her happy, even if that
meant distancing himself from her again. She had survived. She was alive.
She was in remission. He could have absolutely no complaints.
And now, well, now she had opened the door. He had been wrong. She
was not happy with their current distance. She, like him, missed all those
hours they had spent together, absorbed in the feelings they had for each
other. He loved her. He knew that without a doubt, and had for a long
time. He knew Scully loved him too, but he never dreamed that she could
love him any more than as a friend, as a best friend. Now there seemed to
be that possibility, and just the thought of it made him feel so incredibly,
indescribably lucky. Just the thought of it made tears spring to his eyes.
God, could she really love him? It seemed so impossible.
Mulder glanced over at Scully staring out the passenger window. She had
trusted him today, told him her feelings, and he still couldn't believe it. He
had just needed to know that she felt the same way he did about the
closeness they had established during her illness. He had been sure that she
would never tell him, but there was no way he would ever ask. Then, this
conference came up. As soon as he read the questions in the partner
exercise, the words had spilled out of his heart and onto the paper before
he could second-guess them. He had filled the page with all the feelings,
desires, and frustrations that had built up over the four years of their
partnership. Sure, in the end he hadn't read them all to her, but writing
them down made him intensely aware of the reality of what he felt. He had
never faced it head-on before. It should have scared him, but it didn't.
Afterwards, they spent that incredible afternoon together and he felt like he
would burst from sheer happiness. Then, the unbelievable had happened.
She told him she missed him, like *that*, like how they had been together--
close, affectionate, inseparable. He loved her for telling him. He respected
her for telling him. He knew how hard it was for her to admit it because to
Scully it was a weakness. It was a weakness that only he could bolster,
just the kind of thing she would never, ever ask for help with. Now that he
knew, though, they could work on it. Now that she wasn't dying, they had
time. All he had needed was to know. That's what he told her, and it was
true. She had told him and now he had to live up to it, live up to what she
asked from him. He had no intention of letting her down.
As they got closer to the retreat where the team-building conference was
being held, Scully finally shifted in her seat and turned toward Mulder,
pulling him out of his contemplation. She had been so still for so long that
a part of him was beginning to worry that she was over-analyzing what had
happened, that she was letting her rationality overcome her belief in them,
in herself. He was relieved when she reached out her hand to cover his
hand resting on the armrest between them. He turned to look at her and
she smiled the cute, shy smile she occasionally adopted. He loved that
look. He loved it even more at that moment because he knew it meant she
was okay.
"We're almost there," he said softly, his voice seeming loud after so much
silence. "Should we go with the witnessing an accident or the flat tire?" he
asked with a smile. It was a long-running joke between them. They had a
series of stories they used whenever they needed an excuse for being late to
something or for disappearing after running off to investigate an
"unofficial" lead. It was just another reason they didn't need a seminar on
team-building. Everything they needed as partners was already worked out
between them. It was the non-partner stuff that they needed to work on,
and there was no seminar for that, at least not one the FBI would pay for!
Scully squeezed his hand and paused. "We're screwed no matter what,
Mulder. We've been gone for more than seven hours." Then she giggled,
like a child who was in on a secret, he thought.
Mulder turned off the main highway onto the small rocky road that led to
the retreat. He had been driving slower than usual, feeling like they both
needed the time to digest everything before they had to face their
professional obligations again. Now it was almost seven-thirty. They were
really going to be in hot water for having disappeared for so long, and
Scully was right--no story was going to cover their butts. When they
pulled up to the parking area, Mulder chose a space farthest away from the
cabins. His motives were simple; it would give him an extra thirty seconds
or so of walking with Scully back to their cabins. He wanted every second
he could get with her; the day had been so perfect it was hard to let it end.
He turned off the engine but Scully didn't move, so he waited. Finally, she
turned toward him with a questioning, concerned look on her face.
"Mulder?"
It was a question laden with so many other questions. What did this mean?
Where was their relationship heading? How were they going to deal with
it? How would they balance it with their partnership? How would they be
able to survive all the changes? Mulder knew the questions because he had
them too. He couldn't answer them for himself yet, let alone for her.
"We'll find a way, Scully." All he was sure about right then was that. "We
will."
It must have been enough for her because Scully's questioning look
disappeared and she reached for the door handle. Mulder got out and
joined her on the far side of the car.
"Ready?" he asked. Ready for what? Again, a long list of questions
implied in the one. How *were* they going to deal with all the layers and
layers of their newly complicated relationship?
"Ready as ever," Scully shot back. She grabbed his hand and they walked
that way until they were in easy sight of the cabins. Then she dropped his
hand and they walked the rest of the way apart. This was how it was going
to be now, always alternating between being partners and being whatever
else it was they were becoming. It was time to put on the professional
face.
"May I walk you to your door, Dr. Scully?" Mulder joked with a flourish of
gallantry, but he wasn't totally kidding.
"I'd be honored," pronounced Scully and flashed the beautiful smile he'd
seen at least a dozen times that day. That was maybe more than in the
whole last year.
As they approached the cabin Scully was sharing with Agent Stonecypher,
Mulder noticed lights blazing inside and a general commotion outside.
Agents Kinsley and Stonecypher were talking to Mel. Yep, they were in
deep, deep trouble. Upon catching sight of the two wayward agents,
Stonecypher shrieked, "Oh my God, are you guys okay? We were worried
sick!" She ran up and hugged Scully, much to Scully's surprise Mulder
observed.
"We were just discussing calling the FBI." Mel's sarcasm was mixed with a
seriously accusatory tone. "Where were you? Why did you leave?"
Mulder took the initiative to answer. He didn't like to lie, but this time he'd
do it to protect Scully. He wove a story about leaving for a quick break, a
four-car pile up, serious injuries, having to go to the highway patrol station
to give a report, Scully tending injuries and accompanying the injured to
the hospital where he and Scully stayed until they were sure all the involved
parties were out of the woods. It was lame and he knew it. Scully stayed
quiet but then finally added her part.
"We're sorry. We should have called. We didn't mean to worry you."
That part was true. Besides, how could anyone not forgive Scully, Mulder
wondered.
"Hey, no problem, we were just worried ya'll had been hurt or something."
Yep, Kinsley definitely fell for Scully's charming apology. Mel didn't seem
so easy. He was checking his watch and Mulder could see him mentally
calculating, comparing how long they had been gone with how long it
would take to give a police report, save a few lives, etc. It wasn't going to
add up, and Mulder knew Mel wouldn't buy the story. It didn't really
matter anyway because Mel would tell Skinner and Skinner would check it
out and quickly discover there had been no accident. They'd have to face
the music with Skinner no matter what; he just hoped Mel and Kinsley and
Stonecypher would buy the story enough to leave them alone. He didn't
want anyone grilling Scully about where they'd been. She'd taken a leap of
faith by leaving with him that afternoon. He didn't want anything to punish
her for that trust.
Finally Mel spoke up. "Well, I expect you to be at the problem-solving
exercise tomorrow morning right on time." He directed his comment to
Mulder, and Mulder figured he was the one Mel blamed for their
disappearance. "Eight a.m."
"It sounds like it's going to be so much fun," chimed in Stonecypher.
Mulder saw Scully grimace. He would put his best into it, for Scully's
sake, but nothing could beat what they'd been through today.
"Alright, well, I guess I'd better go rest up for tomorrow then," Mulder
commented. Mel shot him a glare, assuming he was being sarcastic, which
he wasn't. He just wanted to get out of all the commotion. Kinsley and
Mel began to walk away, then stopped, apparently waiting for Mulder to
join them. Mulder hesitated. He wanted a private moment with Scully to
say goodnight and to check that she was okay with everything, but it
looked like he wasn't going to get it without creating an awkward situation.
On an impulse, Mulder reached into his shirt pocket and removed a piece
of folded paper, then pressed it into Scully's hand. There really wasn't
anything more to lose at this point, and he wanted Scully to know how
much her honesty had meant to him. "Read it later," he whispered close to
her ear. Then he stepped away. "Goodnight, Scully. See ya' in the
morning. Good night Agent Stonecypher." Scully just smiled and
Stonecypher gave a little wave. Mulder turned and joined up with the two
men for the walk back to his cabin.
**************
Scully went back inside the cabin, dreading having to face the third degree
she knew was coming from Stonecypher. No way was an FBI agent going
to buy that lame story Mulder had dished out.
"So," Stonecypher snagged her immediately, "is something going on
between you and Agent Mulder?" Stonecypher raised a blond eyebrow.
Leave it to her to get right to the dirt.
"There's nothing going on between me and Mulder. We're just partners,
and friends." It was a statement she had made at least a hundred times--to
her mother, her sister, her brothers, her friends, other agents, even to
herself. This time, though, it was a lie. She was a lousy liar. She hoped
Stonecypher wouldn't notice. "We just needed to get away for a bit, so we
did, but then the accident happened, and . . ."
"Yeah, I know, you had all those lives to save." Stonecypher looked
doubtful, but Scully didn't care enough to bother to try to fix it. She
figured she'd turn the tables.
"So what about you and Kinsley? Anything going on there?" Scully knew
it was an unfair question. She hated when people assumed she and Mulder
were sleeping together just because they were of opposite sexes. She
vowed she would never make those kinds of assumptions, but she figured it
was the only way to end the conversation.
"Of course not," protested Stonecypher. "We're just partners." Scully
knew that story. "I'm tired," Stonecypher announced suddenly, a little too
suddenly Scully thought. She wondered if she had ever reacted so
obviously defensive when people asked her about Mulder. "I think I'll hit
the hay. You know, you missed a really great session this afternoon on
non-verbal communication."
"That's unfortunate," said Scully, but she smiled thinking of the private
session she and Mulder had had. Their non-verbal communication was
going quite well, thank you very much.
Scully turned to her luggage to dig out pajamas and suddenly remembered
the folded paper in her hand. She placed it in the pocket of her pajama top
and quickly changed clothes. She grabbed a flashlight and a book from out
of her suitcase and slid into bed. "Go ahead and turn out the lights," she
told her roommate, "I'm just going to read for a while."
Scully opened the book and then pulled the paper Mulder had given her out
of her pocket and unfolded it in front of the book. Propping the flashlight
against her side, she looked at the paper. It was the assignment from the
exercise that morning--Mulder's answers to the questions. He had written
so much, filled the entire page in fact. She wondered what he wanted her
to see.
She skimmed down Mulder's quirky handwriting. It was difficult to
decipher, but she had seen it so much now that she had learned its
characteristics and could read it better than he could. The answers were
about the same as what he'd told her. All that stuff about her not asking
for help and not telling him how she was, and the answer that had hurt her
so much, that he felt she didn't trust him. As much as it hurt, though, she
knew there was some truth to it. Then she got to the last question: "I wish
. . ."
That was the question Mulder had fudged that morning, that he had
changed because he had seen her getting angry. It must have been
important or else he wouldn't have given her the paper to read. She took a
deep breath, adjusted the flashlight, and read.
"I wish you would tell me what you're feeling, what you feel about me. I
wish I knew what you think about what happened between us when you
were sick. I know it was probably nothing to you--just Mulder being
annoyingly overprotective again--but it meant everything to me to be near
you, to hold you, to touch you, to love you, to know at those moments that
you needed me. I know you did need me then. I wish I knew if you need
me now. I would be there for you no matter what, no matter when. Do
you need me, Dana?"
Scully was floored. She felt a sob rise from her throat and hoped
Stonecypher was asleep. This was Mulder? This was Mulder who was
expressing his feelings for her so eloquently and so beautifully and so
freely? And my God, what feelings they were! All this time she'd been
thinking that he had pulled back from her because that's what he wanted,
when all along he had pulled back because he thought that's what *she*
wanted. Now it hit her with sudden clarity what had happened that
morning. Mulder had answered the questions and addressed both sides of
their partnership--the professional side and the personal side. Then he'd
made her read her answers first and every single one of them had been
about their professional partnership. She'd talked about him challenging
her and ditching her and treating her like she was sick. She hadn't said a
single word about what was really between them, what was more than just
a business relationship. No wonder he hadn't said anything after she
finished. No wonder he had been so silent. Here he had laid his heart wide
open in writing, and she had played the FBI agent to the hilt. She had
unintentionally hurt him, as she probably often did, because she didn't trust
him with her emotions and feelings. She was an idiot, plain and simple.
As the tears fell down her face she felt the realizations break over her, one
after the other, as if all the details of a complex picture had been revealed
to her. She had been silent on the way back from their adventure because
she needed time to recover. She felt like she had taken a huge risk at the
waterfall, that she had risked everything by telling Mulder that she missed
him. But she was not the one who had taken the risk; it was Mulder. He
was the one who put it all on the line because even though she had treated
him like a partner and nothing more, he had still been honest with her. He
told her during the exercise that he missed being close to her, and then at
the waterfall that he wanted to make her happy, even though he probably
suspected that she wanted nothing like that. He had opened up the
discussion so that she could take her big, huge risk of telling him she
missed him. Big fucking deal. He had laid his heart out there for her to
stomp all over and she had nearly done it. She was such a coward. She
would have gone on as they had done for four years just to avoid telling
him how she felt, out of some sort of misplaced fear that he wanted things
the way they were. And now, now he had gone so far as to give her this
paper with all his feelings spelled out in black and white. She believed, too,
that he would have read those answers out loud to her in that room in front
of all those agents if she had given him the least hint that she wanted to be
more than just his goddammed partner.
Mulder was so, so right. She didn't trust him. She had held back even
mentioning her unhappiness with their return to a strictly professional
relationship because she didn't trust that he would understand. He was
waiting for her to say something, waiting for her to give him a clue about
what she wanted because he respected her too much to assume anything or
to do anything to make her uncomfortable.
"I'd do anything to make you happy, Scully. Anything." That's what he
had told her at the waterfall. She knew now what that meant. He would
do what she wanted, whether that meant being partners, being friends, or
more. But she had to tell him what that was; she had to ask for his help,
his support, his love. He would not give her anything he wasn't sure she
wanted. That's what he had meant when he said she had to talk to him.
The ball was in her court; he had offered her everything. All she had to do
was take what she wanted.
What did she want? They would need to move slowly, she knew, because
of her own cautiousness and because they had to make sure they were both
on the same plane, both coming from the same place. That was the only
way to make a relationship like this work without losing their professional
relationship. There was too much at risk to just jump in without thinking.
She knew Mulder would be okay with taking it slow. He would do
whatever she wanted. That was so clear. He had only kissed her today
*after* she said she missed him; he would never have made that move
without her confession. The memory of that simple, chaste kiss settled
over her and warmed her through. She would have to get up the courage
to call the shots because if she didn't, Mulder would never push it. She
promised herself and made a silent promise to Mulder that she would not
deny him her honest feelings anymore, even though she was still sorting out
what those feelings were, and what she wanted to do about them.
One thing she was sure of was that she wanted more of those kisses! Lots
more! She'd work on that when they got back to D.C. As tempting as it
was to slip out of the cabin and go tap on Mulder's door, this was not the
place to do it. For the rest of this conference they were FBI partners;
everything else could wait a few days.
Scully closed her book and re-folded Mulder's paper, slipping it inside the
cover of the book for safekeeping. She turned off the flashlight and rolled
into her favorite sleeping position. The tears she had shed turned into a
smile that wouldn't quit. For the first time in a very long time, she had
something wonderful to look forward to.
**********
In the morning, Scully stopped by Mulder's cabin to meet up with him for
breakfast. She rapped on the door, but it was several moments before he
opened it. Her heart was pounding nervously. The one thing Scully most
dreaded was that things would be awkward between them this morning.
That might even have been the one thing she had always dreaded about
getting close to Mulder. They had a partnership that worked perfectly;
they couldn't afford any awkwardness or sudden shyness around each
other. The communication lines had to stay open, no matter what.
Mulder finally opened the door. He was obviously running late and had
thrown on his clothes just before he answered the door. His belt buckle
was undone and he was wearing a white dress shirt, but just barely. The
shirt was untucked and unbuttoned all the way down.
Scully felt suddenly at a loss for words. "Breakfast?" was all she managed
to get out. She felt her eyes move of their own volition from Mulder's face
to his Adam's apple, then down the strip of bare chest revealed by his open
shirt. She skimmed down the tanned muscles of his chest, then his
beautifully defined abs, toward the open belt buckle and the line of dark
hair just above it. Her eyes paused there, she wasn't sure how long, before
slowly, slowly, slowly making their way back up his chest again. She'd
seen him shirtless and near naked many times before, but this time
something was ticking inside of her, some undefined need to run her hands
where her eyes had just been. Damn. This was new. Very new. Very,
very nice.
Something in Scully's brain registered that Mulder had said something to
her. She found her way back to his face, to his eyes, only to see him
smirking at her. Oops.
"Should I repeat what I just said? You seemed distracted." Mulder's eyes
sparkled as brightly as his smile, teasing her without words.
"Um. Yeah. Please." Scully knew she was blushing. She felt it over her
whole body.
"I said," he drawled, putting a strong emphasis on the word "said" just to
rub it in a little, "that I'll meet you there. I need a few minutes to finish
getting dressed." He motioned to his open shirt. There was that smirk
again.
"Um. Okay. Yeah." Scully's capability for language seemed to have
disappeared. She snapped herself out of it. "Okay, I'll see you at breakfast
then." There, that sounded normal. Mulder still had that grin on his face.
Well, he knew now--there was nothing she could do about it. She turned
and walked toward the main cabin, the image of half-dressed Mulder and
the words she had read last night burning into her brain and flushing her
cheeks.
Mulder caught up with her a few minutes later; she was sitting with Kinsley
and Stonecypher. "Morning, Scully." His hand brushed her shoulder as he
sat down on the bench next to her. She knew he had done it on purpose to
assure her unobtrusively because they had an audience. "Sleep well?
Sweet dreams?" The questions came with a broad Mulder grin.
"Yes." She smiled back, feeling a surge of . . . something. Something
powerful, scary, wonderful. Mulder winked, and she knew everything was
going to be okay. If they could survive this first "morning after" without it
affecting their professional partnership, they could make it through
whatever else changed between them.
The potential tension between them was aided by the final workshop of the
conference. They were teamed with another pair of agents, and the
problem-solving exercises were involved and complicated, so there was not
much time for Scully to think about everything that happened. She was
relieved for the distraction. The ride to the airport with Stonecypher and
Kinsley would also, she had no doubt, be distracting.
**********
Mulder and Scully were back in D.C. by 5:00. Mulder had left his car at
the airport, so they drove home together. He pulled up in front of Scully's
building, moving the car smoothly into the no parking zone just in front of
the door. He left the engine running, and Scully found herself
disappointed. She had been hoping he'd come in for a while. Then she
remembered that she had to call the shots. He wasn't going to assume
anything, no matter how difficult that made it for her. She almost didn't
ask, her usual fear seeping in. What was she afraid of? What was she
afraid of from Mulder? Rejection? Hardly. She had little doubt that he'd
take her up on the offer. She had to be bold. She was a bold person; she
had just never been very assertive in the romantic arena of her life. That
had always been her problem.
"Do you want to come in for a while? I could whip up something for
dinner. You must be getting hungry." She tried to make it sound like a
casual question, in case Mulder wanted to get home or something.
Mulder didn't answer, but he peeled out of the no-parking zone so fast the
tires squealed. He whipped the car into the first available space and
jumped out of the car immediately. Scully laughed at his endearing
anxiousness. Mulder popped the trunk and pulled out her luggage, but she
took it from him. Having him carry her luggage was a bit too much. He
didn't argue, just handed it over and followed her into the building.
**********
Mulder was in rare form once again, keeping Scully laughing over dinner.
He seemed to be able to do that now in a way he hadn't before. Scully had
thrown together a quickie chicken and rice dish which Mulder devoured
with delight. He was slowly but surely charming her, wooing her, and she
loved every minute of it.
After dinner, they retired to the sofa to see what was on t.v. Scully sat
down close to Mulder, very close in fact, and he put his arm around her.
She was relieved she wasn't going to have to do it all herself. The situation
was so familiar after the two weeks they'd spent together like this during
her convalescence, but it was different now also. There was a very
promising electricity in the air. Mulder flipped channels and finally settled
on a news channel report on a proposed satellite defense system.
After a few moments of silent togetherness, he turned to her. "Are you
okay, Scully?" The question was a common one, but she knew that in this
case Mulder meant much more than the usual.
"I'm fine, Mulder," Scully remarked, then decided she'd better clarify that
so Mulder didn't think she was being her usual dismissive self. "I'm actually
*incredibly* fine." Mulder smiled at her and tightened his arm around her.
They settled into a comfortable silence again, but Scully felt like there were
things she needed to say. Mulder had shared so much with her, yet she still
hadn't said much to him. "Mulder, about this. About us." She noticed that
the word "us" caught his attention. "I'm not really sure where we're going,
or how. I just don't know what to do."
Mulder gazed at her with such tenderness that she closed her eyes
momentarily from the sheer intensity of emotion she felt. "Don't *do*
anything, Scully. Don't analyze it. Just go with it, one day at a time.
There aren't any decisions that have to be made now, tonight. What we
have right at this moment is all that matters at this moment. Don't worry
about later."
That sounded very practical, like something she would say. "I just need
time, Mulder. I need to take things slow." She felt she needed to say that
so he wouldn't misunderstand her hesitancy, her lack of taking the
initiative. Time. It had been little more than a month since she thought she
had run out of time. Now that it had been given back to her, there was no
way she was going to squander it with fear and doubt.
"Take as much time as you need. We both need it. We have things we
have to work out. I'll wait." He moved his hand below her chin and
pushed her head up so her eyes met his, his unbelievably beautiful, honest
eyes. "I'd wait a lifetime for you, Scully." He said it with such
assuredness, such confidence, and his sincerity touched her soul. And his
words--oh my, what those words did to her! If she had heard them from
anyone else she would have thought them sickly sweet and sappy, like a
tacky romance novel. Somehow coming from Mulder, though, they
seemed deadly serious. He was doing it again--laying it all on the line,
opening himself up to her without hesitation, without doubt. Would she
ever be that bold? Could she ever be that trusting? Even with him?
"It won't take that long, I promise," she teased. He laughed with what
seemed like relief and kissed her on the cheek. That wasn't going to cut it
anymore, not now that she had experienced his lips on hers, even if only for
a brief moment. Time to be bold!
"That won't cut it anymore, Mulder," she announced with a sly smile.
Mulder looked at her quizzically. She turned in his arms and brought her
hand to his face, stroking his cheek, then running her hand lightly across
that tantalizing bottom lip.
"My goodness, aren't we forward, Agent Scully?" he stammered in feigned
shock, but she saw the sparkle of laughter in his eyes. She smiled at him
and then pressed her lips to his, softly and briefly. It lasted no longer than
the kiss he'd given her at the waterfall, but its intensity was familiar. How
could she not love this man? He was so unselfish with her, so patient, so
incredibly caring. There was so much she wanted to say to him to answer
all he had said to her over the past two days, but she wasn't ready for the
words yet. Instead, she moved closer to him and kissed him again, this
time letting passion overrule her brain which thought way too much for her
own good.
When they finally separated, Mulder's eyes were dancing and he had a grin
on his face the size of a small country. Then he laughed. For an instant,
Scully was offended, and worried, but then she started to laugh too. It was
funny, after all--she and Mulder kissing on the couch after everything
they'd been through, all the years they had spent together. She was happy,
and she could see Mulder was too. Why shouldn't they just laugh
together? Mulder's laughter grew and enveloped her, drawing her in to
that moment, them, together, with so much promise for the future. Sure,
they had a lot they had to work out, decisions to be made about how to
deal with the changes, and compromises to ensure the health of their
professional relationship. At that moment, though, there in Mulder's arms,
Scully believed that they could have it all.
END
_____________
All my fanfic is available on my webpage:
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sbarringer@usa.net
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