A/N: Don't own them. Got this idea from watching too many movies on a snowy day! And the episode of "The Field Where I Died." And, as always with my stories, the is definite MSR! :) I hate posting more than one story at a time because I don't want to get my Mulders and Scullys confused, but this one will probably be a long one, so I thought that it would be better to start early. :)
"I don't like this, Scully," Fox Mulder said for what seemed like the millionth time.
"I'm not especially excited about this either, Mulder, but they need our help, and I'm who they need to help catch this guy," Dana Scully told her partner.
"I know, but I don't like knowing that you're just being used as bait," he looked over at her from the driver's seat.
"We're the professionals, Mulder. We can help them. AND they called us. Someone must think that we do a good job," she smiled back at him.
"They only called us because they needed a redhead... This isn't even an x-file!" he argued.
"Well, it's kind of an x-file. All we know is that there is a man targeting redheaded women, but no one knows how he gets in and out of houses and buildings. Maybe he can walk through walls or something?" Scully said, trying to get Mulder to like going on this case, though she believed what she had said was ridiculous.
Mulder smiled at his partner, knowing that she was trying her best to get him to like the situation. Despite the fact that he hated that Scully was being used as bait, he was happy to go on another road trip with his favorite person in the world. His partner. His best friend.
He pulled into the little motel where they were going to be staying. They went into the office and gave the receptionist their names.
"Two, separate rooms," Scully told her.
"Next to each other, with a connecting door, if at all possible," Mulder added, smiling at Scully. She rolled her eyes.
"Hmm. It's our Fall Festival week," the girl informed them. "The best I can do is give you all a suite with one common area and two bedrooms. No extra charge since you work for our fine country!" she told them, smiling as she handed Scully a slightly old-fashioned brass key.
Mulder got their bags out of the truck of the car. Scully made a move to take hers.
"I got it. Just go unlock the door," he told her.
She sighed, rolling her eyes at his macho-ness, and did as he asked.
The inside of their room was lovely! It was pink. Pink carpet. Pink couch. Pink chairs. Pink table. Pink bedrooms. Pink lamps. Pink drawers. Pink bathroom. Pink everything!
"I hate pink..." Scully muttered to Mulder as he come into the door. They went to her room first so he could drop her bag off.
"It matches your hair," he teased her, patting her on the top of her head.
She slapped his hand away. "My hair is NOT pink!" She told him, then added, "I hate you."
He chuckled, ran over to the bed, and hurled himself onto it. "No you don't! You love me! Just admit it!"
For the millionth time that day, she rolled her eyes at him. "Mulder? Get off of my bed."
"You're no fun."
"I'm not here to be fun. I'm here to help catch a murderer. What about you?"
He sighed, "Okay. Let's go over the things we know." He patted the bed for her to sit next to him.
Mulder earned another eye roll, but Scully grabbed the case file out of her suitcase and joined him on the bed. He was still sprawled out, but she sat cross-legged on a Mulder-free area next to him.
"Tina Mattingly. 27. 3rd grade teacher. Attacked in her apartment 8 days ago. He strangled her to death with his bare hands," Scully read and passed Mulder the file. "Melanie Jones," she continued, "23. High school soccer coach. Attacked in the park 5 days ago. Cause of death was drowning, but he was nice enough to not leave her body in the pond that they found her next to." She handed him that file as well. "And Stacy Clark," she went on, "34. Sheriff's secretary and cousin. Attacked in her home 3 days ago. She was stabbed to death."
"See? This is why I'm uncomfortable with you being bait!" he said, placing all 3 files next to him without reading them.
She ignored him and went on with her profile of how he chooses his victims, "All women were between the ages of 20 and 35. They all also lived alone and were single."
"Another reason I don't like this," he told her, sitting up.
"Mulder, I'm not alone. I have you," she told him, resting a hand on his arm, trying to make him feel better.
"How are you not scared?!"
She shrugged, "Maybe because you're scared enough for the both of us!"
"I'm not scared. I'm uncomfortable. I don't want to find you strangled, drowned, stabbed to death, or in any other way dead!"
"Well then, you better do a good job protecting me!" She patted his leg and hopped off of the bed. "Let's go see the sheriff."
Mulder groaned and rolled off of the bed. Scully held the door open for him, and they left the safety of their room. They, of course, were in a small town, and they could actually walk everywhere, including the police station.
"Why does it seem that all of our cases are in small towns?" Scully asked as they made their way through the town square.
"Because small towns are the best place for citizens to keep secrets. Ever read Stephen King's 'Salem's lot?"
"No. Why?"
"Didn't think you would have. It's a vampire book, but it's really about a small town that is good at keeping dirty little secrets. And those secrets destroy the town," he explained.
"Oh. Now I feel better about doing this..." she told him sarcastically.
They walked into the police station and were immediately greeted by the sheriff.
"Sheriff Tom Clark," he introduced himself, shaking their hands warmly.
"Fox Mulder, and my partner, Dana Scully."
Sheriff Clark looked Scully up and down, which, of course, made Mulder feel uncomfortable.
"You'll be perfect," he told her.
Scully gave him a faint, acknowledging smile. Her nerves were starting to kick in. What she was doing, what she was risking, was becoming very real for her.
"You'll have all of the protection we have to offer," he told her, sensing her apprehension of the situation.
"And you have me," Mulder said, putting his hand on her back. He finally stopped trying to creep her out. He realized that she was afraid, but she was doing a better job at hiding it than he was. He decided to step up to the plate and be a good partner and friend and do what needed to be done. Even if he didn't like it.
Mulder definitely didn't like the next words that came out of the sheriff's mouth. "However, we do need to lure this guy out, so we will have to ask you to make yourself appear vulnerable. So, while you will have protection, we can't be with you all of the time. And your partner may need to back off a bit, as well."
"Absolutely not!" Mulder protested.
"Mulder, if it needs to be done-"
"No," he told her. "I'm not going to leave you alone. Anywhere."
"You know that I can take care of myself. If it needs to be done to lure this guy out, then I have to do it," she told him, looking intently into his eyes so he could see that she would not waiver on this.
Mulder shook his head but shut up. Scully knew that she had won that disagreement, but that did not comfort her.
"Okay. What do I have to do?" she asked Sheriff Clark and some of the other police officers that had joined him.
"Well, nothing specific. It's our Fall Festival. Just enjoy yourself. Walk around and be seen. That's all we can ask of you right now."
Scully took a deep breath and nodded. She and Mulder walked back out into the town square.
"I'm not leaving you," he told her.
"You don't have to. Trust me, I don't want you further than a foot away from me," she replied, looking around the town.
He took her shoulders and turned her to face him, he looked her in the eyes and said, "You don't have to do this."
"Yes. I do. It's to catch a murderer. There's not a better qualified redhead!" she tried to joke.
Mulder wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug.
"You're far braver than I could ever be," he said and kissed the top of her head.
"I'm sure that if our positions were reversed that you would be out there running around by yourself by now, and I would be a nervous wreck!"
He laughed, releasing her from their hug. "I think you're right."
"You know I'm right!" she corrected.
They made their way to the festival. Baskets of apples, tables of pumpkins, bundles of ears of corn, and home-made scarecrows were everywhere! There were many games and a few rides set up. It was like a little fair. Mulder and Scully looked at each.
"We're getting paid to play," he told her, grabbing her hand and dragging her over to a Ferris wheel.
The two of them enjoyed many other rides and games before heading back to their hotel room.
"I am so worn out!" Scully complained, flopping onto the pink couch. "You're like a child," she told him.
"What?! I was just trying to take advantage of the situation! Getting paid to have fun!" he defended himself. "And you were being 'seen,' just like the fine sheriff suggested."
Mulder took two glasses from the cupboard and filled them with ice. He ran them under the facet and filled them with water. He walked over to the couch and handed a glass to Scully before joining her on the couch.
"Thanks," she said, taking a long drink of the icy goodness. "You know, it's pretty hot out there for October!"
"Yep," he agreed.
"Hey, it's your birthday in 3 hours!" she remembered.
"It is," he confirmed.
"You're getting old," she teased him.
"37 is not old!" he exclaimed, sounding affronted.
"It's almost 40!" she laughed.
"Almost. Not quite," he retorted, poking her in the ribs.
"I'm not even in my upper 30s yet!" she bragged, laughing again as his poke tickled her slightly.
"You will be soon, though. The big 3-5! Get ready, it's nothing special," he teased her.
"What do you want for your birthday? A walker?" Scully's laughter was nearly uncontrollable at this point.
"Cut it out!" he laughed.
"Do I have to call you sir?"she continued.
Mulder stuck his hand in her glass of water and flicked some into her face.
"Hey!"
"Sorry to ruin your fun, but we need to get some sleep. We're up early tomorrow," he reminded her, setting his glass down on the coffee table. He stood up and pulled her to her feet.
"'Night, Birthday Boy," she told him, heading into her room.
"'Night, Scully," he called after her.
He sighed and went into his own room. They had a lot of fun tonight, and he was dreading tomorrow. Happy Birthday to me! Go let your best friend risk her life, he thought. He shook his head and settled into bed for, hopefully, a good night's sleep.