Title: Nine minutes
Author: Catriona McKenna The Truth Beacon
Rating PG –13. Language and certain things are suggested (hint, hint)
Key words: UST, MSR
Summary: What do CNN news and Apollo 13 have to do with Skinner's phone number? Intrigued?
Spoilers: None (omg! A spoiler free story! )
Authors notes: If you can make any sense of this, then let me know. I don't even know where the idea came from, all I know is I had to write this.
Feedback: is the word of the century. Please send it to Scully1013_1121@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: I'm not Chris Carter. All together now – well d'uh! I don't own Mulder or Scully. Just borrowing them. They will be returned sometime soon with or without their memories. Don't sue. I spent all my money on X Files stuff.
Dedication: To Joey. Congrats on your exam results! J
**********************************************************************
This isn't my room.
I don't own a bed
Where the hell am I?
Where's my other arm?
Oh shit.
Forcing my eyes to stay open I manage to quietly turn my head to the right.
I've solved the mystery of the missing arm
It's wrapped around Scully
Oh shit
Check for hangover
No headache, no bleariness, nope, no hangover.
My eyes don't seem to want to stay open but I force them to check that I've got my clothes on.
Yes clothes intact and so are hers
Sigh of relief
Why?
Oh come on, you'd love it if you were both naked right now
Ok, maybe I would, but what the hell happened to my memory?
Next move – release arm
Muscles unresponsive
So what?
I'm going back to sleep
" Mulder, I know you're up."
Oh no
My eyes open slightly and look at her. My right arm is wrapped around her and her head is buried near my shoulder.
Take a deep breath
" Scully?"
Her eyes shoot open
" What the hell…???"
She's awake now
" Oh good, it's not just my memory," I reply somewhat relieved.
" No seriously Mulder, what the hell are you doing here?" she asks and pulls herself into a sitting position.
Oh god, she's even gorgeous when she just wakes up. Her hair's tossed and…. Think, think Skinner in a ballerina's outfit. Ok, I didn't say give yourself a heart attack. Think…
" Mulder, I mean it. What are you doing here?"
She gives me a look. Damn, I can't make it out. My little black book of ' Scully looks' is at home.
" What are you doing here?" I snap back.
Great answer, here it comes. She's gonna kill you.
" What am I doing here? It's my bloody bedroom. I don't believe this."
Think of last night.
Meeting
Huh?
Oh damn
" Scully, the meeting today at 3:00pm about team skills…"
" Oh shit."
Time
Where's my watch
On my arm
It's too bright to read it
Hold it up in air for Scully to read
" 9:00am."
Sigh of relief
But why are you here?
" Files."
Huh? What's she on about?
" Huh?"
" Mulder, you brought over some files last night on some case."
Ok, memory coming back
Rain
Lots of rain
" It was raining."
Now she looks confused.
I was soaking wet
Oh god, please say I'm wrong
Forcing my eyes to look reluctantly at my top and trousers I realise they aren't mine.
" Bill."
She looks at my clothes
" You were wet, so I gave you a spare pair of Bill clothes to change into as you wore home your spare set after the last case."
" Do you've a hangover Scully?"
She pauses for a minute and I can see her run all the medical symptoms through her brain
" No," she replies cautiously, " you?"
" No."
She slowly pulls herself to her feet and looks around then heads out to the kitchen
Pause
Should I follow?
Well you can't just lie here can you?
Need coffee
I manage to remember the leg movements needed to perform the action of standing and walking.
Slow walk into her living room
Coffee mugs scattered all over coffee table
Case notes dumped on a big pile on the floor
Apollo 13 video case lying under coffee table
My wet clothes on the radiator
No alcohol to be seen
Her jumper is on the couch
As is mine, I mean Bill's
Did I kiss her?
" Mulder??" she calls.
" Yeah," I call back still in a daze.
" Why is Skinner's phone number on the fridge?"
Oh god, not Skinner.
******************************
" Who's writing is it in?" I call back.
Silence
" Mine," she answers confused.
Good, it's her lost memory not mine
" Mulder, why is it on the fridge?"
How the hell should I know?
It's her memory, she can deal with it
Hang on, that's not fair
You're right
" I dunno, did he phone last night?" I call.
" Warning."
Huh, now I'm really confused.
" He called and warned us to come to the meeting or else," she yells.
I can hear her making coffee
Coffee
Coffee is good
" But why is it on the fridge?" I call.
Think, think
" Where you here when he called?" she yells
" Yeah."
" How do you know? You can't even remember why you were in my bedroom!"
" He asked about the case and told us to call him back…"
" Yeah, but why would I write down the phone number on the fridge?"
" It's definitely his number?"
" Yeah…"
I NEED that coffee
I wish I did have a hangover
Then at least I wouldn't have to figure this out – just put it down to alcohol
Ouch
Pain
Stubbed toe
Look down
Tom Hanks
That Apollo 13 video
Ouch
Note to world: Don't stub your toe on Apollo 13 video
It hurts
Memory
Oh shit
" We were watching Apollo 13," I call
" Huh?" she replies walking over to me and hanging me a coffee mug
" And Skinner rang and you told him you'd call him back."
" Go on."
" And he said he'll be at home all evening so you wrote down his home phone number to remind you to call him back."
" Did I call him back?"
" Don't think so, but he then asked why we were playing Apollo 13."
Oh god, just think of the rumours when that one gets around
Spooky and Scully watching videos together
Bet you the odds on us doing the wild thing went right up
" And what did we tell him?" he asks.
Oh god
Deep breath
Be calm
" I kind of told him we were * busy * right now and we'll call him back and then we kind of hung up on him and disconnected the phone."
She's gonna kill you
Oh well, at least the coffee's good
" Mulder…"
" Well what did you want me to tell him?"
She sinks down on to the couch
" And I put it on the fridge cause I went to get us more chocolate ice-cream."
I see the light go on in her head
Did I kiss her last night?
Why don't you ask her?
Yeah, that would be a brilliant idea
What the hell happened to our memory?
This coffee's good
Oh no
Coffee
Lots of coffee
Apollo 13
And lots of coffee
" Scully, do you remember watching Apollo 13 last night."
" Yeah…"
Good, cause I do and I also remember having my arm round you for the vast majority of it
She looks at me for a second then looks away
Oh shit
She remembers the arm thing
" Mulder…"
" Yeah."
She inhales sharply
She's not looking at me
" Did we * do * anything last night?"
Oh god
Look into the coffee
It's like an abyss
You can't see the bottom
" Em…"
" Mulder, why can't we remember anything?"
" I don't kno… Scully."
" Yeah?"
" What's that bottle half under the couch?"
She makes what looks like a heroic effort to bend down and pick it up.
She hands it to me
" Energy booster."
Turn and look at ingredients
Damn, why is the print so small
95% sugar
Jesus
" It's got 95% sugar in it. I think we had way to much sugar last night if you add all the sugar in the ice-cream and the coffee."
Ok, why the funny look?
" Are you suggesting that too much sugar induces a hangover like condition?"
Now she's raising the eyebrow
" It's a known fact that many teenagers can get ' high' on sugar." I retort
Silence
Up goes the eyebrow
" Mulder, even if that was true – does it really explain why we've lost our memory?"
Look into coffee again
" Scully…"
She looks at me
Her eyes
Clear
Blue
There's an invisible wall there, protecting her feelings from showing
" Only we could argue about sugar."
Smile tugging at her mouth
She sits back into the sofa and turns on the t.v.
CNN news
It's 9:30 according to the clock on the t.v
Hunch
Check watch
Oh shit
" Scully…"
" Uh huh?"
" Why does my watch read 9:21?"
Startled expression
Oh shit
Maybe it wasn't the sugar
" Don't even suggest it, Mulder"
Fake hurt
Try puppy dog eyes
It's not working
Fine
Desperate times call for desperate measures
Give her one of those ' looks'
Ok, it's working, she's looking sorry.
That's horrible, using your looks to beat her down
Oh shut up
" Well how do you explain the lost time Scully?" I question.
Ok, that was too sarcastic
Now she's looking at me like that
Does she do this on purpose?
Is she aware I'm getting high off her eyes?
I hold up my hand in apology
She smiles back
" Ok, forgetting aliens for the minute Mulder, what the hell did cause your watch to stop for nine minutes?"
" Aliens," I mutter quietly
She heard it
But she's grinning
Good sign
Maybe I did kiss her last night
Maybe she remembers and is just waiting to see if I do…
" The case notes."
Huh?
What did she say?
Case notes?
" They're on the floor," she points out.
So?
" Mulder, you came over around 8:00 pm, with case notes. You come in and we sit down and then we decide to watch Apollo 13, which you got me for Christmas. Then we know what happens, Skinner phoned."
She's waiting to see if I'm following
She missed out the part about my arm being round her
" Then when Apollo 13 is over, we've had way to much sugar and you begin to…"
" Do impressions of Skinner," I finish.
I do a mean Skinner impression
Well it made her laugh
I love making her laugh
I love seeing her happy
" And then we tried to find the video case and accidentally dropped your watch in the tub of ice-cream."
Ok, I remember that
But I also remember by this stage I was practically lying on top of her.
Hmm, I think she remembers judging my the way she's avoiding my gaze
Deep breath
" And my watch must have stopped and I didn't take it out till nine minutes later when you decided to put the ice-cream away."
That is so implausible
Honestly, have you heard a worse explanation in your life?
But, it's the truth
" Scully."
" Yeah."
I love you
I can't say that yet
" Do you mind me being here?"
Ok, she's searching my eyes
She's looking so deep into them
" No," she says quietly, " I don't."
Sense of déjà vu
Why?
Too early in the morning to think about this
This feels so right
The two of us sitting here in the morning
" Mulder?"
" Yeah?"
" I remember all of last night now."
She does?
Stay calm
Buy time
" Huh?"
" Mulder, I know you're playing for time. I saw the look on your face."
Damn
Her expressions neutral
" After you finished your Skinner impressions you went on to do Tom Colton…"
I remember that
Tom Colton
Full time jerk and loser
Whose head is so far up his superiors' asses it's coming out their mouths
" Mulder? You following?"
" Yeah."
Yeah, I am
Shit
Damn memory
I wish I didn't remember
" Ok, so after I'd done Tom Colton I realised that it was late."
I also remember being at the opposite end of the couch to you
Just looking at you
" And then you jumped me."
Ok, maybe that wasn't quite how it happened
Hell, it's not even close
Man, is she giving me a dirty look
Did I mention I get some kind of weird kick out of teasing her?
I love seeing the blush creep up her cheeks
" I jumped you?"
I swear the look is priceless
You know Mulder, sometimes you should consider why you flirt with her like that?
Oh shut up!
It's because you're hoping that one day she'll act on it cause you're too chicken.
Shut up!
Sometimes I hate the psychologist in me.
" Ok, so maybe I made that bit up."
Silence
" Why?"
Oh dear god
Now I'm blushing
She's getting a kick out of this all right.
Aware my cheeks are turning the colour of her hair
Ok, she asked for this
I didn't want to stoop this low
" Why wouldn't you jump me, Agent Scully?"
Ok, now she's looking like I just told her there is a flukeman under the couch
Her face bares amazement
But
But I can see fear
Fear of rejection
Fear of coming this close again only to let the opportunity go
Tick tock
The ticking of my watch is the only noise in the room
Focus on it
Tick
You can make an excuse and leave
Tock
Or you can stay and get this out in the open once and for all
Tick
Run
Tock
Stay
" Look at me," I say with more confidence than I feel
I'm staying
This is one time to many
One time too many of coming this close
I'm not going to go through the ' I should have told her before' debate again when something goes wrong
No, this is one time too many
She looks at me
Her eyes
Clear
" Last night after I did the Tom Colton impressions what happened?"
She's thinking
" I suggested you spend the night because it was raining to much for you to go home."
I know why the déjà vu this morning now
Last night I asked her if she minded me staying here
She didn't
" Then you went to get ready for bed and told me to get some sheets out of the cupboard. But you turned out the light and I kinda got lost and then I realised I was in your bedroom and against all better judgement I just collapsed there. The End."
" It doesn't sound quite so exciting or interesting as it did at the start? Doesn't it?" she grins back.
I lean back in to the couch and she gets up to get changed.
Suddenly I stand up and stand right behind
I feel her tense
I breathe slowly and wrap my arms around her
She relaxes into them
I sort of spin her round to face me
She looks up
I bring my face slowly down to meet hers
I meet her eyes
There's no wall there anymore
Our lips meet
My arms tighten around her small waist
Her arms snake up my back
Oh god this feels so right
Minutes stretch into eternity and finally we separate
Her eyes are dancing and I'm sure my face has this silly grin all over it
I look around
The coffee's mugs are empty
Skinner's phone number is still on the fridge without a proper explanation
Why my watch lost nine minutes is still up in the air
How the hell we even decided to watch Apollo 13 last night is blurry
But do you know what?
I don't give a damn
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