Disclaimer: No infringement intended.
Timeline: Just days after the episodes "Two Fathers", "One Son" and "Agula Mala".
A/N: This installment picks up where my first story "What's normal to me, is not for you" ended. Mulder meets up with Driscoll and Nester for 'guy's night out' at a bar near work. For those who don't remember Dris and Nester, I've given a quick reminder in the first paragraph. In this story, Mulder has some flashbacks to events that occurred during the "Two Fathers" and "One Son" fiasco…. I have added some missing dialogue to make it more interesting.
Trust and the Fowl
Mulder entered his favorite watering hole down the street from the Hoover Building a little after eight p.m. He scanned the crowd quickly, and spotted his pals Jeff Driscoll and Nester Yung sitting at a bar table at the far end of the establishment. Driscoll and Yung were fellow agents, and shared cubicle space with Scully and Mulder in the bullpen at work… or the Flunky Corner, as Driscoll often referred to it. The four had become fast friends and partners and worked a few cases together on occasion.
Mulder walked through the crowd and made eye contact with some other agents he was acquainted with from work. Agent Fritz passed Mulder on the way to the restroom and shook his hand.
"Glad to see you back at work …. At least one of us was lucky enough to get out from under Kirsch's thumb," Fritz groveled, and patted Mulder on the back as he walked away.
Mulder finally got to the table and found that Dris had ordered him a shot of scotch and a beer. Mulder downed the scotch in one swallow and settled on to the bar stool.
"Dude, what happened to your neck?" Nester asked him as he caught a glimpse of the "rash" that was partially hidden under Mulder's mock turtleneck shirt. Nester's expression told the tale that whatever it was …. it looked disgusting.
"Oh … ummmm….. I had a close encounter with ah….a sea creature," Mulder mumbled as he adjusted the collar of his shirt. The sores from "the whatever" it was that had attacked him in Florida had almost healed, but were still slightly visible. He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "It was an X-file… sort of."
"Ewww …. No wonder you've been dressing like a seventies college professor all week!" Nester said as he raised his eyebrows.
"Where's Scully?" Driscoll asked Mulder, changing the subject. He had to raise his voice over the bar noise that surrounded them. "I thought she'd be with you."
Mulder shook his head and took a swig of his beer. "She's…ahhh…not coming," he replied just trying to avoid the whole conversation. Things weren't exactly okay between them and he wasn't in the mood to get into it. This was guy's night out.
"Why?" Driscoll asked him as he flagged the server for refills.
"Do we really need to talk about this?" Mulder growled and took another drink of the beer.
Nester just shook his head in disgust and laughed at Mulder. "After all we did to play matchmaker with the two of you ….what happened?"
Mulder sighed in frustration and sat back in the chair. "We broke up."
"What? What did you do?" Driscoll asked.
"What make you think I did something?"
"Because," Nester butted in. "If Scully had done something to piss you off, you would have just had a fight….but you would have still shown up here together."
Mulder pursed his lips and took another swallow of his beer. "It wasn't exactly anything that I did," he started as he shifted in the chair. "It's more like what I didn't do and who it involved."
"Huh?" Driscoll and Nester questioned in unison
Mulder leaned over the table and fiddled with the matchbook that was sitting in the ashtray. "I can explain it in two words... Trust and the Fowl."
"Dude, what is wrong with you?" Nester implored. "Nothing good will come from that combination."
"Yeah, well… I think that's a moot point," Mulder mumbled and finished his beer.
Driscoll looked across the table at him and held out his hands. "So what gives? Ante up, pal … the dealer is waiting for you."
Mulder continued to fiddle with the matchbook cover while gathering his thoughts. After all, these two did to get Scully and me together … why are they now my jury and judge?
Mulder leaned back into the chair and re-capped the events that had led them to that fateful moment. Everything had gone south when the CDC and Diana had stormed his apartment claiming that Cassandra Spender was infected with an unknown virus. Anger didn't adequately describe the emotion that had played across Scully's face as she stared Mulder down in the patty wagon on their way to the quarantine facility.
Not all the memories of that night were unpleasant. There was that shower incident, he thought to himself as the moment replayed in his mind. Despite the fact that she gave me that death look of hers, I did manage to sneak a peek of her beautiful breasts, and her hard nipples while she was facing me.
"Mulder!"
Mulder looked up and realized that Driscoll and Nester were staring at him. "What?"
"I said," Nester repeated. "I've never been through a CDC quarantine. What's that like?"
"Oh, it's just like going to the spa," Mulder replied sarcastically and then rolled his eyes. "The triple S treatment is the best … Spray, Shower and Scan."
"That doesn't sound that bad," Nester replied. "You act like getting mugged at gun point would be better."
"Did I mention all that happens after you're stripped naked and three CDC staffers in moon suits, two of which are female, are standing there staring at your 'nads?"
Driscoll and Nester burst into laughter at his comment, and reluctantly Mulder joined in.
"Oh, well, when you put it like that," Nester replied sheepishly.
"Okay, all that being said … you still haven't explained how or why you and Scully broke up," Driscoll remarked.
Mulder sighed and ran his hand over the bridge of his nose. "Well after we were scanned for what seemed like the hundredth time, Diana came into the room and begged our forgiveness, claiming that she was given an order to call in the CDC," Mulder began. "Things got ugly when Scully charged Diana with some pretty wild accusations, and Diana tried to justify and defend her actions. I tried to get Scully to calm down, but she wasn't listening. The fight ended when Diana shoved our administrative leave in Scully's face and Scully marched out of the room."
Mulder paused and took a drink of his beer. As he retold the story to his friends, little details stood out in his mind that made the break up more understandable to him. He remembered the expression on Scully's face when he tried to calm her down in the locker room. She was scared, and not just for Cassandra. Scully was scared because of what had happened during her abduction and was concerned about what the implications meant for her. He could see why she wanted to look out for Cassandra, because she knew no one had Cassandra's back. So instead of reaching out to Scully and comforting the woman that held his heart, he defended his ex girlfriend. Brilliant Mulder, he thought to himself. Just friggen brilliant.
"Scully ambushed me at the Gunmen's loft later that night," Mulder continued after a few minutes. "She had coerced the boys to dig up dirt on Diana to try and convince me that I couldn't trust her. It didn't work… the only thing that was solidly accomplished was that she royally pissed me off. We got into an argument and …. that's when we broke up." Mulder looked down at the table and decided it was time to go to the restroom. "I'll be back in a minute," he said as he stood up from the table.
Mulder walked back to the Men's room and stood in line outside the door. The memory of the confrontation at the loft was seared in his memory and re-played in his head like it was happening for the first time.
"Mulder, you ask me to trust no one and yet you trust her on simple faith," protested Scully.
"'Because you've given me no reason here to do otherwise," he replied impatiently.
"Well, then I can't help you anymore," she retorted. She walked around the desk and headed toward the door with a determined expression plastered on her face.
Mulder rolled his head and turned around to face her, hooking her arm to stop her as she passed. "Scully, you're making this personal."
She whipped around to face him. "Because it is personal, Mulder. Because without the FBI, personal interest is all that I have and if you take that away... then there's no reason for me to continue." Scully glared at him for a moment and then snatched her arm away from him. She turned on her heel and walked out the door.
Mulder stared at the wall after Scully walked out and said nothing for several minutes. He turned to face the boys with a bewildered expression on his face. "What just happened?" he asked them quizzically.
Frohike, who was never one to mince words, laid it straight on the line for him. "Sounded like you got dumped there, Mulder."
Before leaving the restroom, Mulder splashed some water on his face and tried to clear the memory from his thoughts. Just my fricken luck, he thought as he reached over for a paper towel. It takes one magical week in the middle of po-dunk Iowa to finally admit my feelings to the woman I love and convince her that nothing is going to change when we get home. Then she dumps me over an irrational bout of jealousy that was brought on by her fear of an impending alien invasion. Mulder wiped his face and hands off with the towel and tossed it in the trash on his way out the door.
Another order of drinks awaited him when he got back to the table. He downed the scotch without thinking and gritted his teeth as he felt it burn down his throat.
Nester watched Mulder swallow the shot like it was water and marveled at his tolerance for the vile liquid. Nester twisted off the top of his beer and took a swallow. then leaned into the table to vocalize his thoughts on the break up. "Why do woman always want to get into a fight in public or in front of your mutual friends, at a time when it's impossible to defend yourself?"
"My thoughts exactly," Mulder said as he sat the shot glass on the table. "The Gunmen were my friends first … so what right did she have to pit them against me?"
"Are you listening to yourself?" Driscoll asked Mulder. "My friends first? Are you ten? Frohike probably orchestrated it. He's infatuated with Scully in his own warped way … so of course they would side with her. He is probably waiting in the wings to comfort her."
Mulder glanced from Driscoll to Nester quizzically. "Now you're reaching," he muttered.
"I don't think so … notice she didn't come running to either of us?" Nester countered.
Mulder sighed. "That's because you didn't get back from Iowa until yesterday."
"Oh, yeah …. Well, it still doesn't change the fact that the Gunmen's loyalties are split," Nester replied sheepishly.
"Or the fact that Scully is and always will be jealous of 'The Fowl' regardless of what your relationship is with the woman," Dris piped in.
"That's what I don't understand, Diana and I are strictly friends," Mulder mumbled.
"And you slept with her," Dris reminded him. "I told you before … jealousy is the beast that's fed from insecurity."
"Scully is not insecure. She is competent and professional. She knows that I love her," Mulder replied flatly, "…and that I trust her."
"I disagree with ya there, Mulder … she is a little insecure," Nester smirked and nodded slowly. "Remember, I did spend an entire day trapped in a mine shaft with her, and was forced to have meaningful conversation to pass the time. I see Scully a lot differently than I did before." Nester began as he rocked back on the chair. "She sees the connection you have with 'The Fowl' and she's intimidated by it. Diana walked out of your life over six years ago, and then out of the blue just showed up back here, and your connection with her still exists like she never left. While Scully, on the other hand, had to earn your trust over time and continues to struggle with the balance between her science background and your unconventional ideas. You openly accept Diana at face value, but argue with Scully at every crossroad."
"I don't argue with Scully … we banter about work," Mulder replied defensively.
"Are you sure that's how she sees it?" Nester challenged. "Mulder, I've watched the two of you at work. Most times it is just bantering, but other times you guys are downright arguing …. And sometimes she's offended by it."
"I don't mean to sound like we're ganging up on you, but I agree with Nester," Driscoll said as he watched Mulder's expression. "Love is blind sometimes … not only by who we fall in love with, but what our actions do to them in the process."
Mulder looked away from his friends and tried not to get defensive. They're just trying to be helpful, he thought. Judge and jury…Scully had a right to be pissed, I was defending Diana a little too much … but was that any reason to dump me?
"So … ahhh that's it? She dumped you and you just lay down and took it?" Driscoll prompted him with a smirk on his face. "There has to be more to that story."
"Hell no …. I did the next worst thing," Mulder retorted. He took a breath and shook his head. What the hell was I thinking that night??? Mulder thought as caught the server's attention. "I … ahhh… I found myself driving around D.C. aimlessly after about an hour. I tried calling Scully twice and it went straight to her voice mail. I even drove past her apartment a couple of times, but the lights were off and the car wasn't there. So against my better judgment …"
"You ran to the other woman?" Nester blurted out in amazement. "Thatta boy," he remarked with a sarcastic grin, slapping Mulder on the back.
Mulder smiled sheepishly and nodded his head. "Except that I didn't go over there to seek solace in her arms. I went there to look for evidence to prove Scully right. I wanted proof that her damn rational sensibilities weren't fueled only by her jealousy. It wasn't like this was the first argument we'd had about Diana, and knowing me, it wasn't going to be the last, either.
"I broke into Diana's apartment and after making a cursory search of her desk, dresser and closet, I encountered something I was completely unprepared for… Smoking Man. What he was actually doing there I guess I'll never know, but he fed me some song and dance that I fell for and then sucked me into his pitiful story about an alien invasion that had started and couldn't be stopped. Then he handed me a slip of paper and told me to save myself so I could see my sister again. After he left, I took up residence in a chair and contemplated my mortality for an hour.
"When Diana finally showed up, I half confronted her with my …er… Scully's suspicions, which she denied. Then I told her that there was nothing left to fight for and that we needed to go to the air base in order to survive. I think my exact words were …at some point you have to accept that only way the ones you love are going to survive is if you give up. Little did Diana know that I was really talking about Scully and how desperate I was to patch things up with her. The unexpected visit from Smoky was just a little too weird. The man is my arch enemy and he's in my former lover's apartment? Scully was right that I couldn't trust Diana …. I was just too blind to see it.
"Anyway, Diana interpreted the statement as if I loved her. She kissed me and tried to pull me into her little web, but I resisted…which, I'll admit, was a little difficult. I still have feelings for her. It was all I could do to shut down her advances. I told her that we needed to get moving and bolted for the door.
"Once in the hallway, I tried Scully again, and to my astonishment she answered on the second ring. Then she started rambling some mumbo-jumbo about how Agent Spender had asked for our help locating his mother at the Potomac Yards.
"I tried to argue with her about going there, and she yelled at me saying, 'I'm going there with you or without you!.' Okay, that got me. I was damn sure not going to let her risk her life without me being there to protect her. After I'd nearly lost her in Dubuque when she fell into that mine shaft, I had promised myself I would never 'not be there for her' again. So I cabbed to the office and she picked me up. We drove to the yards and in a moment of anxiety induced psychosis decided that parking our car on the tracks would be a great way to stop a moving train."
"You parked your car on the tracks thinking it would stop the train?" Nester laughed in his face. "Are you kidding? How'd that work out?"
Mulder shrugged his shoulders. "It didn't, of course …. The train hit the car and totally demolished it." Mulder shook his head with a frustrated smirk on his face.
"Hope that wasn't a fleet sedan," Driscoll muttered, and watched Mulder nod his head. "You keep that up and they'll take your driving privileges away."
"It wasn't signed out to me," Mulder remarked dryly.
"Oh … more ammunition for Scully to hold against you?" Nester chimed in.
"Yeah, it wasn't one of my smarter decisions. And needless to say it was a long cold wait for Skinner to get there and pick us up," Mulder replied. "In the end, going to the Air Base would have meant our deaths. Everyone that had gathered there had been killed in the attack, including Cassandra Spender. We arrived with Skinner sometime after the mass murder and were horrified by the sight."
"What about Diana? Was she…" Driscoll started.
"No, oddly enough. I had instructed Diana to head out to the base while I went with Scully. She contacted me later confirming that she hadn't been there, although she never gave me an explanation why," Mulder replied.
Driscoll nodded and drank some of his beer in silence. The bar room noise surrounded their table and the heat of the room loomed over them. "So does that change your feelings about Diana?"
"Now that I know she's connected to Smokey? Yeah, I know her loyalties aren't just to me anymore."
"Maybe they're sleeping together," Nester remarked. "Why else would he show up at the door?"
Mulder shuddered at the thought of Nester's comment. "I don't really want to speculate about that … I just know that I need to be careful around her now."
"And as for your love life?" Driscoll prompted. "You are going to work that out with Scully aren't you?"
Mulder sighed deeply. "Yeah, there'll be plenty of time for groveling and kissing her butt the next couple of weeks. Skinner just assigned us a murder investigation outside of San Diego. We're going undercover as prospective home buyers in a planned community."
"As in married?" Nester asked with that look on his face.
"Yes," Mulder mumbled.
"Oh, yeah," Dris smiled slyly. "There will be plenty of QT going on at that house."
"Yeah….well, getting Scully to understand that I do trust her is going to be a lot more difficult than getting her to admit she's in love with me."
"Never doubt the magic of co-habitation," Driscoll replied with a wink.
"Cheers to that," Nester replied as he held up his glass. The three men clicked their bottles and drank to the future.
The End