Okay, so I admit that I'm really struggling with my story 'Seeking the Opposite'.
I've completely lost track of where I was going and my muse has left me! haha
I wouldn't abandon it, so I'm just placing it on hold until inspiration strikes.
In the meantime, I came across this unintentional prompt and thought it would be fun to write, and a way to get me going again!
I love a nice trip to the forest...

Mulder looked back over his shoulder and smiled.

"Come on, Scully…it's not far!"

Scully shot him a blank stare and hoisted her bag up a little on her shoulder.

"Please explain to me again why we're here…?" She glanced at their surroundings.

The sky was blue, the sun was high, and there was a stunning waterfall cascading down some nearby rocks – suddenly Scully began to forget why she was so irritated that Mulder had dragged them out here for yet another 'nice trip to the forest'. She smiled in spite of her self and when Mulder looked back again she knew he had caught her.

"Not so bad is it, Scully?" Mulder teased.

"You've certainly brought me on worse wild-goose chases," Scully conceded.

Mulder chuckled softly and looked straight ahead as they continued walking.

"So these 'creatures' that have supposedly been seen out here, they're what now? Werewolves? Mothmen? Are we talking Sasquatch here? " Scully quizzed distractedly as she tugged on the strap of her backpack.

Mulder hummed and she could hear a smile in his voice when he called back, "Careful, Scully – you're turnin' me on!"

Scully smirked and rolled her eyes, Yeah right. "I still don't understand how you got Skinner to sign off on this; there are no bodies, no official reports - are we just hunting for monsters in a forest?"

Mulder didn't answer.

"Mulder?" Scully asked sharply.

Silence.

"Mulder, please tell me you got Skinner to sign off on this!" Scully stopped walking and stared in shock at her partner's back. After a couple of beats, she knew the answer. Seeing a nearby rock she sat down heavily and sighed. "Mulder, exactly where does Skinner think we are right now?" She asked, resignation flowing through her tone.

Mulder turned towards Scully and winced, "He might think we're at a partnership seminar in Seattle..."

Scully raised an eyebrow, "And he would assume that because?"

"I might have led him to believe that was where we were going…" Mulder bit the inside of his cheek and looked down at the oh so fascinating dirt track as he dug his heel into the earth. He looked like a kid who'd been caught skipping school.

Scully almost laughed. Almost.

"Mulder! We could get reprimanded for this…technically, we could even lose our jobs!" Scully gasped.

"If we get caught I'll take the blame, Scully. Everything, I swear! I'll tell Skinner it was all me, that you had no idea!" Mulder argued.

Scully just looked more furious now, "How is that meant to help? So what, my partner gets benched? Reprimanded? Worst case scenario, he loses his job?!"

Mulder shrugged, "You know it won't come to that, Scully. I got the boys to go online and hack into their systems. As far as the Bureau is concerned, we have checked into a hotel in Seattle and are currently in attendance at..." he paused and checked his watch, "…a seminar on Effective Communication Strategies."

Scully looked pained, "Mulder, I think we could have benefited from attending that seminar!"

Her partner laughed and sat down next to Scully on the rock, "Are you really mad?"

Scully sighed and looked at him out of the corner of her eye, "I'm frustrated...with you, and with myself. I can't believe I actually fell for this, I didn't even ask to read any of the details."

"Maybe you wanted to fall for this?" Mulder asked with cautious optimism.

She smiled in spite of herself then leaned a little into his side on the small rock. "So this case?"

Mulder was silent again for several seconds. "Doesn't exactly exist…" He admitted.

"Mulder!" Scully exclaimed. She looked at him in shock, "Is there anything else you'd like to share? Is your name really Archibald Higginbottom?"

He laughed happily, rested his hand just behind her on the rock, then looked down at her carefully, "You really aren't mad?"

Scully smiled and rolled her eyes, "I'm getting over it. So why exactly are we here?"

She looked around their stunning surroundings with new appreciation.

Mulder leaned in close and whispered almost conspiratorially in her ear, "Dana Scully, when was the last time we had a vacation?"

TBC...