Author: Daydreamer
Posted: Weekly beginning October 2002

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: Pilot

Trust

The robe slid down and he was staring at a smooth expanse of creamy white skin. Fearful eyes peered over a dangerously bare shoulder and his breath caught. He reached out tentatively, gently stroking the silky skin, pretending to examine the two small bites, but really relishing the chance to touch something so soft, so smooth, so willingly entrusted to him.

No

She threw herself into his arms. Absolute faith in him, total trust. It amazed him. But he couldn't act on it. So his arms were slow to respond, his body stiff, and he patted her awkwardly in the candlelit room.

One

He lay in his bed, senses still reeling. She was gone now, but her essence remained. Somehow, this brief encounter of revelations had changed everything. They were partners now. Together.

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: Deep Throat

"Get in the car, Mulder."

He stumbled slightly as he tried to obey her command. Something was wrong. He felt weak, disoriented. But he trusted Scully.

"Get in the car."

Some man spoke to him, something about protection and acting inappropriately, but he couldn't really focus. Something important was missing, but Scully was here, so he got in the car.

"You ok, Mulder?"

Was he? Ok, that is? He shook his head slowly, not sure of how to answer. They'd taken something from him, but he couldn't do anything about it now. And Scully was looking at him, worried about him, and he had to answer.

"I think so. Scully, I ..."

"What?"

I need you. Want you. You saved me. Thank you. The words stuck in his throat.

"How did I get here?"

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: Squeeze

"It seemed like you were acting very territorial."

Territorial? Jeez! He was amazed at the jealousy he'd felt, watching her with that ass Colton.

He stared at her, indecision crossing her face.

"I don't know."

She didn't know? They'd only worked two cases together, yet he felt like he'd come home. She respected him, liked him even. She listened when he talked, didn't make fun. How could she not know he had fallen under her spell?

"Forget it."

Never. He reached out, stopped her, gently tugged the necklace -- lucky necklace! -- that lay nestled between her breasts. If territorial meant he cared for her, that she'd slipped into his heart and he wasn't going to let anyone hurt her or take her away, then damn straight, he was territorial.

"Of course I was."

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: Conduit

A girl had been taken -- again.
A boy was left wondering -- again.
He'd been unable to help -- again.

His life was full of agains.

He'd discovered something real -- again.
But he had no evidence -- again.
No one would believe him -- again.

How could he escape the agains?

He was on his knees -- again.
He was praying -- again.
And his prayers were unanswered -- again.

Or were they?

He wiped at the tears as he stared at the picture of the girl who'd been taken, leaving him alone.

But he wasn't alone now.
He had a partner now.

And she was there for him. She focused him, forced him to be sharp, brought out the best in him. She kept his faith alive.

"I want to believe."

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: Conduit 2

"This is a longshot Mulder, they could be anywhere."

Her words are meant to remind me not to invest too much of myself in this search. She doesn't want to see me hurt. Yet despite her qualms about the validity of the search or the reasons for my insistence, she is here. With me. Always with me. I look at her and I want her to know.

"You know when I was a kid, I had this ritual. I closed my eyes before I walked into my room, cause I thought that one day when I opened them, my sister would be there. Just lying in bed like nothing ever happened."

She's quiet; I know she understands.

"You know I'm still walking into that room, everyday of my life."

But now, I'm not alone.

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: The Jersey Devil

"Who was that on the phone?"

Be cool. Nonchalant.

"A guy."

"A guy. Same guy as the guy you had dinner with the other night?"

Don't let her know you care.

"Same guy."

Sick. Dizzy. How can she miss it? Don't stutter. Keep it together.

"You gonna have dinner with him again?"

"I don't think so."

YES! Be cool, now. Don't blow it.

"No interest?"

"Not at this time."

Not now. Not ever. Turn away. Don't let her see the sheer delight in your eyes. Feelings you can't hide.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going with you to the Smithsonian."

YES! Hold on, Mr. Smooth ...

"Don't you have a life, Scully?"

"Keep that up, Mulder, and I'll hurt you like that beast-woman."

Hurt me any way you want, Scully. Don't you know I'm yours?

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: Shadows

Howard Graves. Lauren Kyte. Love so strong, even death couldn't end it.

"Hey, Scully. Do you believe in the afterlife?"

"I'd settle for a life in this one."

You have a life. My life. Don't you know it belongs to you? My life, my liberty ...

"Have you ever seen the liberty bell?"

"Yes."

Keep talking. Convince her.

"You know, I've been to Philadelphia a 100 times and I've never seen it."

"You're not missing much. It's just a big bell with a big crack, and you have to wait in a long line."

Stay, Scully. Don't leave me alone.

"Yeah, but I'd really like to go."

"Why now?"

Because you're here. Because I need you. Because I don't want to be alone.

"I don't know. How late do you think they stay open?"

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: Ghost in the Machine

He came by today. Supposedly to say hello, but really just for help. I'd always considered Jerry a friend as well as a colleague, but having him seek me out just so I could give him new insights on his case ... Well, it was embarrassing. Is Scully my only friend?

~*~*~*~*

He stole my work today. Presented it as if it were his own. And when I confronted him, he said he didn't think I'd mind. It was why he came to me to begin with. I was embarrassed again. Scully would never do that to me.

~*~*~*~*

He died today. I let him go alone and the machine killed him. I should feel sad, and I do, but I'm mostly glad that it wasn't Scully. Nothing else matters, as long as it wasn't Scully.

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: Ice

"Scully, get that gun off me!"

She pulled her gun on me! I put my life in her hands, give her my soul, and she pulls a gun on me. Of course, the fact that I haven't told her how I feel may be coloring her judgement, but still ...

~*~*~*~*

"In here, I'll be safer than you."

She locked me in a storage unit. I should be pissed, but all I am is worried. She's out there and I can't do anything to protect her. I'll never forgive myself if something happens.

~*~*~*~*

"I wanted to trust you."

She wants to check me. I turn and feel her hands, strong, capable, yet gentle, as they run across my neck, my shoulders, down my spine. People are dying and I am lost in her touch ...

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: Space

I wanted to be an astronaut -- what boy didn't? It was the ultimate in exciting. Star Trek and Lost in Space. I really thought I could do it. The military was my first choice out of Oxford. Who knew they wouldn't take someone who was color-blind? And my shot at the shuttle was gone. I was ready when the FBI gave the same tests.

Now, here I am. Houston. Mission Control. Meeting Colonel Belt. And Scully, bless her, is right beside me. Laughing at my hero-worship, but in a nice way. Like she enjoys seeing me happy. Like she wants to share this with me. I shake his hand and I can't sit still, but Scully smiles at me, and this time, with her here, it's okay for me to be happy.

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: Fallen Angel

Enigmatic. Max called her enigmatic. That means puzzling. Deliberately veiled in meaning. She tries to maintain this strong, scientific, logical front, but she's full of emotions. I often wonder what triggered that dichotomy in her. I mean, she comes from a loving home. Her parents loved each other and they loved their kids. She's close to her sister and her brothers. So the emotion is there.

She just -- controls -- it so well on the job. She's a woman, and she's small, so she's had to work much harder to earn respect from others. But not from me. I saw from the beginning that she was what I needed. She challenges me -- makes me work harder -- just to please her. It keeps me honest. Hell, I think it keeps me sane.

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: Eve

She's in my room again. I mean, we do this all the time now. Get together in my room or hers to talk about the case. But tonight, I can't focus on anything but her. She has to go before I ruin everything. I push her gently toward the door.

"I'm going to sleep on it and we'll talk about it in the morning."

I'm going to jack off to dreams of you because there's no way a cold shower will fix this.

"Mulder, you're rushing me out of the room."

Yes, I am. Perceptive lady.

"No, I'm not."

"You got a girl coming over?"

You. Only in my dreams.

"What's a girl?"

Go. Please.

"No, I have... there's a movie I want to watch on TV. Sleep tight. See you in the morning."

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: Fire

Phoebe and her games. The story on the tape. She opened the door. Scared the shit out of me. Scully was not amused. I think it bothered her to see me with Phoebe.

~*~*~*~*

I agreed to help Phoebe. But Scully is still not impressed. I think she's worried about me.

~*~*~*~*

I told Scully I was afraid of fire. She didn't laugh.

~*~*~*~*

I couldn't get to the kids. I hared out. But Scully was there. I woke up and she was with me. And she had even brought new information, despite the fact that I've been acting like a prick.

~*~*~*~

She's playing with me now. Phony English accent. I can't believe she hasn't written me off after the way I behaved. I think she cares about me. I'm a lucky bastard.

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: Beyond the Sea

Her father's dead and she's here. Does she need to stay busy, or does she need to see me? I want to say the right thing, but I prattle on about the case.

"Anyway, I leave for Raleigh this afternoon."

"I'll go with you. The funeral's at noon."

She wants to come with me? I'm going to say the wrong thing. I always do.

"I think you should take some time."

"I need to work."

I understand that. Just work and don't think about reality. But that's my way, not hers.

"I'm sorry about your father."

I reach out, cup her face in my hand and fall to pieces. I don't know what to do. So I run.

"I'll see you later."

I leave her standing there. She whispers.

"Okay."

God, I'm a prick.

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: Genderbender

He touched her. She was lying there. He was on top of her. She wasn't making any move to stop him.

I am furious.

At him. At this case. But mostly at her.

She's shaky and I pick her up. Now she starts to fight. I put her down and she stumbles outside.

They're waiting and I'm more than ready to give them a fight. But they let us go. So I turn on Scully.

"What the hell were you doing back there?"

"I don't know."

She's weak, confused, but I don't care.

"You don't know?"

"No."

She trips, coughing, and my anger turns to fear. What if she's hurt?

"You all right?"

She's sick now, but I hold her and when she's done, she smiles at me, and suddenly, it's all right again.

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: Lazarus

She was involved with him. Jack Willis. He was her instructor at Quantico, and she was involved with him. I don't know whether I should be insanely jealous or secretly pleased to know that she's willing to consider someone she works with an option for romance.

~*~*~*~*

He was killed in the robbery, but she doesn't believe me. Just because his body is still walking and talking and breathing, she thinks it's him. And she's going to get hurt, one way or the other. I can't stop it.

~*~*~*~*

I found her! She's cuffed to a radiator and all I want to do is set her free, but she's not even looking at me. She's only got eyes for him. I tell myself to be patient. He's definitely dead now. And I can wait.

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: Young at Heart

I used her as bait. What the hell was I thinking? I used her as bait and that bastard shot her. I thought she was dead, and still, I kept on doing the job. I don't know why she even tolerates me.

"How're you feeling?"

"Like somebody kicked me in the ribs."

I know, Scully, I know. It hurts. I used you as bait and you're hurt. I'm sorry.

"That bullet went through eight layers of kevlar; you're lucky to be alive."

I'm lucky you're alive. If you die, I'd be dead, too.

She asks about Barnett and I answer, but I don't really want to talk about him. I want to talk about her.

"Mulder, I know what you did wasn't by the book."

"Tells you a lot about the book, doesn't it?"

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: EBE

I took her to see the Lone Gunmen. If she didn't think I was nuts before, I'm sure she does now. And Frohike ... It was amusing at first, the way he sorta swirled about her. I mean, I know the guy. That's just how he is. But then it started getting on my nerves. It was bothering me more than it was bothering her. I finally had to tell him to settle down. I gave him a look and I think he got the message.

Mine.

Taken.

Don't go there.

And now she's talking.

"Those were the most paranoid people I have ever met. I don't know how you could think that what they say is even remotely plausible."

"I think it's remotely plausible that someone might think you're hot."

Yeah -- me!

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: Miracle Man

She was a Catholic -- and I think she believed. If her faith was less now, I could tell it had been sure at one time. What challenge had yielded such a firm skeptic who needed hard evidence and concrete facts?

She watched me carefully all through this case. She could tell I was distracted -- the Hartley boy almost had me daring to believe he could produce Sam.

But the boy was dead -- or at least gone from my reach and I needed to understand.

"What exactly do you think?"

"I think people are looking hard for miracles ... so hard that maybe they make themselves see what they want to see."

I look at her and I see a miracle. I believe in her. And I think she believes in me.

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: Shapes

She's challenged me every step of the way. It both frustrates and impresses the hell out of me. But now, my heart is pounding and I'm terrified. She's in there, with that -- thing, and she has no idea what it is she's dealing with. The house is dark, there are gouges on the walls. I find her flashlight and there's ice in the pit of my stomach. Don't you know I can't go on without you? I've got to find her!

"Scully?" My whisper is loud. And then it roars. I'm firing but I miss. I still can't find Scully. It goes upstairs and I follow. Then I hear it again and I jump.

"Augh!"

"It's OK, it's me. It's me."

And she's here again, by my side, and it really is OK.

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: Darkness Falls

She was afraid. I mean, I've gotten used to Scully as the brave one, ready to face down anything. But these bugs really got to her. She panicked in the cabin, but I was able to calm her down. I grabbed her and held her, and she settled for me. She trusted me enough to listen and let me help her. I could have held her all night.

But now, she's unconscious. Burned. Bandaged.

"How is she doing?"

"She's still not out of the woods, so to speak. She lost a lot of fluids. Two or three more hours of exposure, she might not have made it."

Something inside me shrivels up and I wish it was me. Not her.

"I told her it was going to be a nice trip to the forest."

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: Tooms

I'm exhausted. No one believes me, no one will listen. I'm the only thing keeping this monster from killing again. Scully tries. She went with me to talk to Briggs, worked on the identification of the body. It wasn't enough to put Tooms away. But she tried. No one's ever been willing to try for me before.

And she's here. Worried. Wanting me to rest.

"Fox..."

I can almost bear it, coming from her. But ...

"I even made my parents call me Mulder. So... Mulder."

She smiles. Maybe she even understands.

"Mulder, I wouldn't put myself on the line for anybody but you."

I'm gonna say it. I'm too tired not to. In a minute it's all going to be out there.

"If there's an ice tea in that bag, could be love."

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: Born Again

She's irritating the hell out of me on this case. It doesn't matter what I say, what I show her, she just keeps coming up with other reasons, other possibilities. Always grounded in her science. I know it's what I appreciate about her, but damn, it's annoying at times.

I'm still trying to figure out what's going on with Fiore when she speaks.

"Did you notice her hands?"

"What?"

"He said she was sleeping, but her hands were dusted with baking flour."

I've always been so smart, so sharp. Nothing gets by Spooky Mulder. Even before he became Spooky. It may help me close cases, but it tends to have an isolating effect as well. Irritates everyone I come in contact with.

Good to know Scully's got it, too.

God, I love this woman!

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: Roland

"Keep my stars."

That was what Roland told Tracy. IQ of 70 or not, he knew what it meant. His way of saying 'I love you.' Here was this man, who couldn't even survive without assistance and he had a better grip on the intricacies of love than I could ever hope for. Even with an IQ of 170, and an eidetic memory, I'm hopeless.

I look at Scully and I see everything I want. Oh, I'm still driven to find Samantha. Still intent on understanding our government's part in all the strange things I've seen and learned. Still sure there is life out there, and some of it is visiting. But, the biggest thing, the most important, is knowing that Scully is here, working with me, believing in me.

Keep my stars, Scully.

Crystalship 134 Word Challenge
Episode: The Erlenmeyer Flask

"Hey, Scully. It's me."

Who else would call you this late?

"They're shutting us down, Scully."

They're taking it away from me. I'm losing everything -- again.

"They called me in tonight and they said they're going to reassign us to other sections."

I'm losing you. How am I going to go on without you? I used to be strong. I'd been alone for so long, I'd learned how to do it. But I can't any more. I can't be alone again.

"It's over, Scully."

But I'm not going to let them win. Now that I've found you, I've found my truth. And I won't let them take you away. But you need more ...

"I'm... not going to give up. I can't give up. Not as long as the truth is out there."