"Mulder... what's going on?" Scully questioned, confused.
"You'll see," Mulder promised. He opened the door, and the two walked into a darkened apartment, lit only by the light coming from a street lamp outside through the window at the far end of the room. To Scully, it vaguely looked like Mulder's place, but she couldn't be sure.
"This is crazy... we're... we're supposed to be on a stake out!" she said, beginning to turn around. Mulder quickly shut the door behind them.
"Scully, we'd been there for a good six hours, and seen what?" he said.
"Nothing," Scully conceded. "But something will probably happen, now that we're gone!" she added, eyes wide, and beginning to feel annoyed with her partner.
"If you ask me, we were staking out the wrong house. I bet you anything the VCU got it wrong. They've messed up big time, and it's not our fault," Mulder said, grinning slightly. Scully reached up to flip the light on, but he stopped her. "Don't..."
"Why not?" Scully asked, feeling puzzled.
"You'll see," Mulder replied knowingly.
"Mulder... even if we are in the wrong place, we'll still get in trouble for desertion, and..." Scully began.
"What I came here for won't take long. Well... it depends," Mulder said, grinning.
"Well hurry up, so that we can get back!" Scully replied, folding her arms.
"If I'm right, you won't want to head back either, after I..." Mulder started.
"After you what, Mulder?" Scully questioned. She was starting to get really annoyed, now. Even though the stake out had, in all honesty, been completely boring, it had been wrong of her to allow him to persuade her to take a break. "I only want to go back to do something," he'd told her. She sighed, and ran a hand through her short, red hair. Mulder shut up. He looked a little hurt.
"C'mon Scully, calm yourself. We'll not get in trouble. I promise you. Besides, would I ever get you in trouble?" he questioned, his face the very picture of innocence. Scully sighed again.
"Yes," she muttered darkly.
"Not knowingly, I wouldn't," he replied.
"Oh sure," Scully answered sarcastically.
"You're really beginning to spoil the mood, you know," Mulder complained.
"Mood?" Scully questioned, not knowing what he was going on about.
"Oh, to hell with the mood. If I don't do this now, then I probably never will," Mulder said, suddenly pulling her into an unexpected embrace. They remained like that for a few seconds, until the now very puzzled Scully drew back.
"Mulder, are you feeling quite okay?" she asked, suddenly beginning to smile in amusement.
"I'm fine. If you'd just keep quiet, instead of complaining..." Mulder retorted, looking somewhat embarrassed. Scully laughed.
"Really Mulder, sometimes..." She didn't get to finish the sentence however, for Mulder then leaned down, and kissed her fully on the lips. She stepped back, shocked. "Mulder..." she began. He looked down at the floor, and shoved his hands in his pockets.
"I only wanted to at least try," he stated, looking upset at her rejection. However, Scully smiled.
"It was just a surprise, that's all," she replied, still smiling. She placed her arms lightly round his neck, and leaned up to kiss him back...
"Beeeeeeeeeep!!!!!!!" Scully woke up with a shock, and rolled over and groaned. Sighing, she reached over with one hand to silence the offending alarm clock. "Stupid thing," she muttered, before sitting up and yawning. She looked forward, seeing her reflection in the dressing table mirror opposite the bed. Her short red hair was in complete disarray, and she looked like she'd seen a ghost. Sighing, she lay back down again, closing her eyes. She couldn't be bothered to get up. Last night, she'd been up until 2am typing up a report, and now she was suffering for it. Five hours sleep was simply not enough. Stop it Dana! she told herself harshly, before sitting up once more. She quickly climbed out of bed, and ran into the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face. Dana Scully was a special agent working for the Washington DC branch of the FBI. For six years, she'd worked with her partner, Fox Mulder, in a special section called, The X-Files. It dealt with any paranormal, or bizarre cases, that other agents were unwilling to take on. She was the more sensible one of the pair, the scientist. Mulder was the believer, and Scully sometimes had to keep him on the right track. In recent years however, she admitted, there had been some things that defied all rational explanation. Science didn't always help, and she was beginning to lose her faith in it. Although their section had been closed several times, and both of them reassigned, they'd fought to keep it open. They were onto something big, and although the answer always evaded them, they kept going. No amount of government, or enemy intervention was going to stop them this time. Bad things had happened to both of them, members of their family had both been killed, and they'd had some pretty fatal moments themselves. But, the drive was still there. They would discover the truth, no matter what happened. Having said that, things had been relatively quiet of late. Nothing exciting had happened. For once, they weren't actually getting into some sort of trouble. She smiled ruefully at the thought. She and Mulder were pretty close, best friends even, but nothing more. Originally, she'd been assigned to debunk his work, and to spy on him, but she'd got caught up in the whole weirdness of the cases, and grown to like Mulder, and eventually, she'd stopped working against him, and began to work with him instead. They were laughed at by most of the FBI, nicknamed 'Mr and Mrs Spooky', and their office was almost shamefully hidden away in the basement, but Scully had learnt to ignore the jibes that Mulder had long grown accustomed to.
Glancing into the bathroom mirror, she thought back to the dream she'd been having, before the alarm clock had rudely awakened her. You're an idiot, Dana, she thought to herself, sighing. Fancy having a dream like that! It's not the first time it's happened either, another voice reminded her. She sighed again, then set about brushing her teeth and washing her face. So what if she did have a couple of dreams like that every now and again? It didn't necessarily mean anything. Besides, considering she saw Mulder almost everyday, it was inevitable that she would dream about him every once in a while. Even in that context. But maybe they actually meant something. She mulled it over, whilst applying her make-up. She liked Mulder a lot. He liked her, too. Just, not in a romantic context. He was also very attractive, what woman wouldn't like him? And she understood him better than most people, too. "It doesn't mean anything, it doesn't," she said to herself sternly. Now was not the time to be thinking such things, after all. Scully walked back into her bedroom and grabbed a clean suit from the wardrobe, changed into it, then set about on brushing her hair straight. If anything were to have happened, it would have by now. Besides, it wasn't professional to begin such a relationship with a colleague, and the FBI especially frowned upon it happening between partners. Although during cases, Scully had gone against FBI protocol often enough, this was one rule that she wasn't going to breach. But sometimes, she did feel curious as to how it might be. Sometimes she even wondered if Mulder wondered too. Smiling wryly, she dismissed the thought. Most of the time, Mulder's head was full of paranormal musings. He probably never thought of her. Well, of course he did, just not the way she sometimes thought about him. Glancing at her watch, she realised that she'd better go and get some breakfast, instead of standing around thinking pointless things.
***
"Good morning, Scully," Mulder remarked, as Scully walked into the office, a short while later. He had his back to her, and was studying a piece of paper.
"How'd you know it was me?" Scully questioned.
"No-one else ever comes down here. Simple as that," Mulder replied. He span round in his chair, and grinned. "Great deduction, or what?"
"Impressive," Scully stated sarcastically. Mulder placed the piece of paper down on the desk. "New case?" Scully questioned hopefully. He shook his head.
"Unfortunately not. However Scully, I must say, you're looking especially smart this morning," he said, still grinning.
"And what's that got to do with anything?" Scully questioned, looking down at herself. She was wearing a midlength cream skirt and fitted matching jacket, with a black silk top underneath. She didn't think she happened to look any smarter than usual. She glanced back at Mulder, who was looking rather pleased with himself.
"Oh, nothing much. Are you trying to impress Skinner or something, so he'll give us a case?" he asked, still grinning.
"Oh, sure, Mulder," Scully replied, starting to smile a little.
"Oh, I know, you're trying to impress Pendrell instead, aren't you?" Mulder joked, almost laughing. Scully frowned at this particular comment.
"Mulder, that's not funny!" she said.
"Oh, but it is. C'mon Scully, he likes you, and you like him. What's stoppin' ya?" Mulder questioned, his hazel eyes sparkling.
"Of course I like him, but.... but..." Scully stammered, embarrassed. Ben Pendrell was one of the FBI's lab assistants, and was known to have a long standing crush on Scully.
"C'mon, you'd make a real cute couple... with that nice red hair you both have, and that interest in all things sciencey," Mulder remarked.
"I'll decide who I date, thank you very much!" Scully replied, folding her arms.
"I was just trying to give you a push in the right direction. See if I ever help you again," Mulder said, pretending to be hurt. Scully leaned against a filing cabinet, and ran a hand through her hair, sighing.
"I'm doing fine by myself," she stated. Mulder smiled again.
"Then again, maybe he's not the man for you. Besides, I might get a bit jealous, if I had to share you," he said, smirking somewhat.
"You're funny Mulder," Scully replied, frowning again.
"Yeah well, maybe I should strike while I still have the chance," Mulder grinned.
"What?!" Scully said, nearly falling over at this particular comment.
"Calm down Scully, it's not that exciting. Really," Mulder stated, waving his hand.
"I am calm," Scully said resolutely.
"Good. Now, how about taking a little trip with me?" Mulder asked.
"Mulder..." Scully began warningly.
"Oh, it's nothing like that. Nothing devious or trouble ensuing. One of my old uni friends is having a bit of an engagement party and she's invited me. It's so dull around here, I think I might just go," Mulder replied.
"Well, you go ahead. I think I'll just stay here," Scully said, not keen. She'd already met one of Mulder's 'old uni friends', Inspector Phoebe Green. Scully hadn't liked her one bit.
"Fine. But I mean, Tammy's got this fabulous castle apparently, down in Cornwall. Imagine it Scully, staying in a 'castle'. Wouldn't that be great, or what?" Mulder said, smiling hopefully at her.
"Oh, how romantic," Scully replied.
"Precisely my point," Mulder joked.
"I'm not coming, not matter what you say," Scully stated firmly.
"It has a ghost," Mulder grinned.
"Definitely not going," Scully said.
"And lots of antique furniture," Mulder added.
"Get lost, Mulder," Scully retorted.
"Please Scully, c'mon. You can even pretend to be my girlfriend if you really want to," Mulder suggested, grinning at her.
"Not on your life. I'm not going to make you look good in front of your friends," Scully replied stubbornly.
"Scully, what's better? Sitting here, day after day, without my wonderful company, and dying of boredom, or coming with me to England, and getting a taste of the past?" Mulder questioned.
"A day without you would be heaven," Scully replied, suddenly grinning.
"Liar," Mulder laughed. Scully smiled.
"Alright, you've won me over. When do we leave?" she asked.
"Tonight, if that's okay by you," Mulder replied.
"Well, let's go and get leave, then!" Scully said, heading outside.
***
Fox strolled into the office of his superior, Assistant Director Kersh. He glanced at the secretary, who was busy with a telephone call.
"Is he in?" asked Fox, nodding at the door. The secretary looked most annoyed at his interruption and quickly ended her call.
"He's in a meeting," she informed him pertly. Mulder nodded,
"Who with?" he asked. She shrugged.
"I don't believe that has anything to do with you, Special Agent Mulder," said the secretary. Mulder sniffed, and looked at the closed door. He glanced at his watch.
"How important is this meeting?" asked Mulder. Before the secretary could inform him, the door to the office opened. Mulder waited, and then saw a blue haze of smoke emerge, followed by Cancer man. He turned away and paused.
"Ah, Agent Mulder...good to see you haven't been quite so...troublesome lately," said Cancer man from behind him. Mulder turned and said nothing.
"Can I go in now?" he asked. He didn't wait for an answer, and walked past the open door.
"Agent Mulder?" question A.D. Kersh. Mulder gave his superior a charming smile. Kersh looked less than impressed.
"Sir, I came to request some well deserved leave," said Mulder, giving the African-American A.D a level stare. Kersh raised an eyebrow.
"What exactly for, agent Mulder?" questioned Kersh.
"A short holiday," said Mulder. It was a perfectly reasonable request. Mulder hadn't taken a day of leave in years, unless absolutely necessary.
"Yes, that would be a good idea," said a low voice from behind Mulder. Mulder turned and saw Cancer man. Cancer man took a drag from his cigarette, handing Mulder a casual smile. Kersh looked up and nodded.
"Well, I suppose there isn't much for you to do presently," he agreed. Mulder turned to face Kersh again.
"Well sir, I'll see you in a few days," said Mulder. Kersh nodded. Mulder pushed past Cancer man and left the office. He gave the secretary outside a short smile and exited into the passage where Dana Scully stood waiting. She looked at him expectantly. "Your turn," offered Mulder.
"He gave you leave?" asked Scully. Mulder nodded.
"I can only try," she sighed.
"Don't sound so excited," said Mulder, giving his partner a lazy grin.
"I've met some of your old friends before Mulder. I hope they aren't going to be as patronising as she wa..." began Scully. She stopped mid-sentence and looked at Mulder, who wore an amused grin. "What's so funny?" she demanded. Mulder just shrugged, his smile vanishing, but his eyes still twinkling.
"You two didn't like each other?" he asked. Scully gave him an exasperated look.
"I'm going to see Kersh, go get me a coffee," ordered Scully, sounding slightly amused, yet a the same time, looking faintly annoyed. Mulder nodded.
"Okay, I'll see you in five," said Mulder, before getting up off the wall (he had taken a casual lean against it) and wandered off down the corridor. He stopped and turned, "Oh, and watch out for old smoky lungs, he's in there," warned Mulder. Scully rolled her eyes, then steeled herself, and walked into the office.
Mulder held up a styrofoam cup as Scully entered his basement office.
"You coming?" he asked, as she took it from his hand. She gingerly lifted the lid, and then took a sip. Seemingly satisfied (just) she sat down opposite Mulder.
"I've got leave, but you know, considering, there could be other stuff I could do," said Scully thoughtfully. Mulder grinned, taking his feet from the desk and leaning over it.
"What, like hook up with a certain forensic assistant?" jibed Mulder. Scully raised her eyebrows, looking anything but amused. Her face was a picture of utter in-expression. Mulder leaned back, throwing a carefully sharpened pencil at the ceiling. Scully's gaze followed it as it went up, and stayed there. Her gaze snapped back to Mulder.
"Okay, you wanted to do a bout of spring cleaning?" suggested Mulder. He took a sip of his coffee.
"No, actually I was thinking..." began Scully.
"Wait, I know what it is! You want to..." cut in Mulder enthusiastically. Well, as enthusiastically as anyone with his accent could. Scully gave him a very expressive look. It was one of dis-amusment. Mulder paused. A pencil fell from the ceiling, and bounced off the desk before him.
"No. I really need a holiday," said Scully. Mulder grinned and nodded.
"I knew you couldn't turn me down. Besides, you'll enjoy the plane ride," said Mulder, his face breaking out into one of his charming smiles.
"You said there was a ghost," said Scully cautiously.
"Ah, you know these English. Probably just some nut in a sheet," said Mulder passively. Scully nodded then stood up.
"How long are we staying?" she asked.
"A few days," answered Mulder.
"Mulder, could you just be a little more precise?" asked Scully.
"A week at the most," finally conceded Mulder.
"Well, my leave starts as good as now, I might as well go and get some packing done," she said, standing.
"Yep, you could do that," said Mulder, sounding not particularly bothered. Scully raised her eyebrows.
"I'm sorry. Is my small talk boring you?" she asked.
"Boring me? How could you ever bother me Dana Scully?" asked Mulder, looking back up at Scully, the corners of his eyes creasing. Scully smiled faintly back.
"Maybe I'll go see Pendrell first," suggested Scully, her hands on the back of her chair. Mulder looked interested at this comment. "To see that he holds the fort while I'm gone," she finished. Mulder raised his chin, taking a sunflower seed from a ripped-open packet on the desk.
"I'll get our tickets," he reassured her. Scully nodded.
"You're paying?" she asked, slightly surprised. Mulder removed the empty sunflower seed from his mouth.
"You can owe me one," he said. Scully nodded, then lifted her hands from the chair, turned and walked out.
"I'll call you later!" he shouted after her.
"Sure," he heard her call back. He watched her leave, then popped another sunflower seed into his mouth and picked up the phone.
***
Scully walked into the laboratory and smiled at Pendrell as he looked up in surprise. "Hey Dana, nice to see you," he said, smiling hopefully back.
"You too," Scully agreed. She wandered over to the table to take a look at whatever he was doing. "Looks interesting," she noted, seeing the various test tubes scattered about, and bottles of chemicals.
"Just a bit of substance testing, nothing special," Pendrell replied, turning away from his work to look at Scully. He smiled at her again.
"Well, I'll sure be glad to get away from it for a little while," Scully stated, grinning.
"What? You're leaving? A case?" Pendrell questioned. Scully shook her head, still smiling widely.
"I'm taking a holiday," she said.
"A holiday?" Pendrell asked, somewhat surprised.
"Sure am," Scully smiled.
"Well you deserve it. You work really hard, after all," Pendrell acknowledged.
"Thanks. Mulder's taking me to England," Scully replied.
"You're... you're going on holiday with Mulder? I... I would have thought you'd have been wanting a break from that guy," Pendrell remarked, looking a little jealous.
"Well, it was his idea, actually. His friend has this castle in Cornwall..." Scully said, smiling somewhat wistfully.
"Jeez, is there nothing Mulder hasn't got?" Pendrell said, sounding slightly sarcastic.
"Huh?" Scully was surprised at his tone. "What are you talking about?"
"Uhh... nothing," Pendrell answered, quickly looking away and blushing. Scully raised her eyebrows.
"Nothing? Is something wrong, Pendrell?" she asked, eyeing him carefully.
"Nah... er, enjoy your holiday then Dana," Pendrell replied, waving her away with his hand.
"I'm sure it'll be great," Scully smiled.
"Er.... Dana?" Pendrell questioned nervously.
"Uhuh?" Scully asked, looking expectant.
"Er... well... would you.. er..." he trailed off, blushing bright red. Scully smiled in amusement.
"Really Pendrell, it can't be that hard a question," she joked.
"When it comes to you Dana..." Pendrell answered. Scully clasped her hands together, and smiled at him encouragingly.
"Tell me, and then I have a favour to ask of you," she stated.
"Well, er... right. Ummm... would you care to... er... go to dinner... with me?" Pendrell questioned hopefully, still blushing furiously. Scully bit her lip, suddenly as nervous as him. She liked him, but...
"I, uh..." she began.
"No, it's okay, doesn't matter," Pendrell suddenly said briskly. "I'll never be able to compete with Mulder, so..." he added, a touch bitterly.
"What?!" Scully exclaimed, for the second time that day.
"Look Dana, I really like you, but, well, I know you like him, so..." Pendrell said. He pretended to be looking at the test-tubes, just so he didn't have to face her.
"That's crazy! Jeez... really... now I mean... that's so... so..." Scully stammered, blushing, feeling slightly flustered at Pendrell's insinuation.
"True?" he offered helpfully.
"We're just friends! And that's all!" Scully said, in the most assertive tone possible. After that dream, she was having a hard time convincing herself that Pendrell was wrong in his assumption at the present moment.
"Well, what did you want to ask me?" Pendrell asked, switching the subject.
"Uh... just to you know, keep things working round here, while I'm gone," Scully said ,starting to feel a little uncomfortable.
"Sure, no problem," Pendrell agreed, shrugging.
"Um okay... well, er, the flight leaves tonight, so I'd better go get packing," Scully stated.
"Alright, have a nice time," Pendrell said.
"Uh, yeah. I'll send you a postcard," Scully replied, before quickly walking out of the lab. Pendrell sighed. It looked like he'd once again, stupidly messed up, where Scully was concerned. she probably thinks I'm a fool, no wonder she prefers him, he thought sadly.
***
Mulder glanced out of the aeroplane window as the plane continued over the Atlantic ocean. He turned back to Scully.
"What'cha reading?" he asked, peering over her shoulder.
"Nothing that would interest you," assured Scully. Mulder shrugged.
"You never know," he said.
"Oh, but I do know Mulder," argued Scully a faint smile appearing across her face.
Mulder turned in his seat, to fully face Scully. He made a grab at her book.
"You want to bet on that Agent Scully?" he challenged. Scully kept the book from him. She held it up. Mulder raised his eyes to the ceiling, and sagged in his seat. A few moments later, a slight grin crept across his features. His eyes looked at an expectant Scully. "You were right," he agreed. She smiled in a self-pleased fashion, and folded the page at which she was at, closing the book.
"You aren't the only one," she sighed, placing the book in her bag. A more visible grin broke out across Mulder's face as he leaned back in his seat.
"So, how do you propose we make this flight a little more interesting?" he asked. Scully shook her head, running a hand through her hair.
"I thought I'd catch some sleep," she said, giving Mulder a slightly apologetic smile.
"Nah, you don't want to do that," warned Mulder.
"And why is that?" questioned Scully.
"Because...if you do that, you'll get even worse jet lag," said Mulder, glancing out the window, whilst loosening his collar. Scully shut her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, Mulder had his stare directed back at her.
"Is that a fact?" she asked.
"You go to sleep now, you won't be able to sleep when we get there," he reasoned.
"Is that a bad thing?" asked Scully, giving her partner a mischievous grin. Mulder looked at her in mock horror.
"I don't know what to say," he admitted. Scully smiled to herself, looking at the seat in front.
"Seriously though, I'm tired," she said. Mulder shrugged.
"Ah well, you can just leave me to the sea," he said.
"I think I will," agreed Scully, shutting her eyes. Mulder watched her for awhile, before carefully leaning over and picking up the book from her bag. He read the title. Something scientific. Mulder smiled somewhat wistfully, before turning back to watch the view from his window side seat. After a while though, he opened the book, scanning the first few pages. He could never sleep on planes, at least not without an aid of some sort.
***
