Improv2000 #
A Halloween Story
by LRuth

Spoilers: None 

Rating: PG - absolutely tame

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Scully had spent the afternoon surfing the "net", and her eyes were tired. That was the only explanation she could think of for seeing a little green alien peeking over the edge of the office computer at her. Taking off her glasses, she rubbed her eyes and looked back. Amazingly enough, the alien was still there -- and now it had a falsetto voice.

"Yoo-hoo - Agent Scully, calling Dana Scully . . . are you in there?"

Scully smiled as the top of her partner's head appeared behind the finger puppet, followed by his irresistible eyes.

The falsetto continued. "Does Agent Scully know what tomorrow is? Is she ready for a trick -- or a treat?"

"Knock it off, Mulder," she laughed. "Where did you get that?"

He handed it to her. "Found it at the gas station--I thought it would lend some class around here."

She stuck the alien on her finger and used it to scratch her nose.

Mulder looked on in amusement. "Well, Scully, did you find anything? Do we have a challenge?"

Scully leaned back in her chair and sighed. "Not really, Mulder; it looks like we've done it all. What did you find?"

Each year for Halloween, the partners had challenged each other to find a case that contained unique situations, the stranger the better.

Mulder unfolded a napkin from the building cafeteria. Squinting at the words, he finally fumbled in his pocket for his reading glasses. Ignoring Scully's grin, he began to read.

"My Stepfather is an Alien . . . "

"Nope, I read that one. He's from South Africa."

"Teacher Finds Cryptic Messages . . ."

"It's a postcard from Singapore."

"Strange Bones Found in Abandoned Building . . . "

"Those are chicken bones in a derelict magic shop. Come on, Mulder, you can do better than that."

"Fox Mulder to Receive Trophy . . . "

"Whoa, wait up, what was that? I think we have a winner!"

Mulder grinned, eyes twinkling over the top of his glasses.

"Strange enough Scully? Are you interested in accompanying me to the gym tonight, where you can munch on popcorn and drink Diet Pepsi, while watching a bunch of middle aged fools slap each other on the ass and give out bogus trophies?"

"God, Mulder, you do know how to entice a girl. Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Absolutely, Agent Scully. But there's only one thing . . . "

"And what would that be?"

"Could I get you to lose the black suit and wear that cute little tight green sweater . . . ouch!" Mulder rubbed his forehead where the alien puppet had landed.

Later that evening, Scully found herself perched on hard wooden bleachers, watching Mulder and his gym buddies, as they, indeed, slapped each other's behinds. She shared groans and stories with the other bleacher occupants as the award ceremony digressed into a pick-up basketball game. Mulder jogged over and handed her his award to hold. As he ran back onto the court, she read the inscription: Awarded to Spooks for the Best Improved One-on-One Game.

Finally, the game was over. As Scully gathered up Mulder's award and several empty popcorn buckets, Mulder approached.

"Hey Scully! Some of the guys are going out for a burger. Want to join them?"

"Mulder, I really wanted to run by the market and get a pumpkin. You go ahead, I'll see you later."

"No, no, Scully, that's okay. I'll be glad to help you pick out Jack!"

Several dozen pumpkins later, Scully was ready to give up. All of the good pumpkins were already taken, or had been carved for display. Scully picked up one carved with an alien face.

"Mulder, look at this one! I wonder if they will sell it to us?" At that, Scully's hand slipped and the jack-o-lantern fell to the ground, bouncing on her left foot on the way.

Mulder looked at the mess on the ground. "Yeah, Scully I bet they will sell that one to us. Are you okay?"

Through gritted teeth, Scully muttered, "I'm fine, Mulder."