They sit in the living room of his house, enveloped in silence. They are both positioned on his couch. She sips a cup of tea, and he studies a series of pictures. They both pretend, momentarily that their lives are normal. The act as if these activities are normal for a Friday night, and they would be, if Mulder wasn't studying crime scene photos. Scully stares blankly at the wall, as she holds her mug of warm liquid. She wonders silently, how had this become normal? She puts the cup down, on a coaster that sits on the coffee table between them. She turns towards Mulder, and he feels her eyes hovering on him. He meets her glance, but she doesn't say a word. He takes the photos, and places them back into their manila folder. He tilts his head to the side.
"Scully, what's wrong?"
She exhales, "Do you think that it is possible just for one night for us not to be entangled in the web of the truth that may, or may not be out there?"
"You are suggesting a hiatus from this case? Scully we have been on hiatus for…"
She cuts him off, "We haven't made any progress in hours."
"Fair enough."
"You aren't going to argue?" She furrows her brow, in confusion.
"You're right. We have to be allowed to have some sense of normalcy from time to time. Also, we have been working on this case for three days straight. I am sure that it wouldn't hurt to start fresh tomorrow."
"Do you ever wonder what our lives would be like if they were normal?"
"Boring," he responds rather quickly.
"How can you be so certain?"
"If they were normal I never would have met you."
She rolls her eyes, "I should know better than to try to have serious conversations with you, when you are in this state."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Mulder it's like a psychosis," she explains, briefly.
He just grins, "Then how would you classify your obsession?"
"I am just along for the ride."
He smiles widely, "That gives me an excellent idea."
She groans, "I am not going to the blue lagoon, or Roswell…"
He cuts her off, mid-protest, "Just hear me out."
"Fine," she folds her arms across her chest.
"If you want normal, let's do something completely, and entirely normal."
"Without paranormal involvement?"
"I know that has been the basis of most of our interactions for the past twenty plus years, but I am, indeed suggesting something totally unrelated to the paranormal."
"What are you suggesting?"
"Let's just go for a drive. We will get in the car, and meander aimlessly for the rest of the night."
"Without any preselected location?"
"You can drive," he answers.
"You have to leave the case file where it is."
"Fair enough."
"You have to leave your copy, too."
"Fine, grab your bag."
"I thought you said we were just going to drive around for the night, as in a few hours."
"Scully you never know where we might end up."
"Okay," she agrees.
Ten minutes later she climbs into the driver's seat. Mulder is sitting beside her, as co-pilot, fastening his seatbelt. He places a cup in her cup holder, and she flashes him a disapproving look.
"It has a lid on it," he tells her.
"Is it tea?"
He shrugs, "It might be."
"You will have to stop and pee in an hour," she points out.
"You just finished your tea ten minutes ago," he rebuttles.
She turns the car on, "Would you like to select the radio station?"
"No radio," he shakes his head.
"We're just going to drive in silence?"
"I thought we could talk."
She pulls away from the house, "What is it that you would like to talk about, Mulder?"
"Along the way, if we happen to pass a twenty four hour diner that serves pie…"
"You just said no preselected destinations," she calls him out.
"That would really just be a pit stop."
She rolls her eyes, "I make no promises."
"Scully can I ask you a serious question?"
"I haven't known you to be capable of such a thing yet," she answers, with her voice dripping in sarcasm.
She pulls onto the road, and turns right, instead of their typical left turn. He ignores her sarcasm.
"What do you do for fun when I'm not around?"
"I read."
"Scully, I said fun," he repeats.
"I might do a crossword puzzle."
He sighs, "That's right, I forgot."
She looks over at him, "Forgot what?"
"You don't know how to have fun."
"What do you do for fun, when I'm not around?" She throws the question back in his face.
"I watch movies, and such."
"So, you don't know how to have fun, either?"
"Scully I am loads of fun."
She grips the steering wheel, and focuses on the road. He tilts the back of his seat backwards, and settles in for the drive. He closes his eyes, and quickly drifts back to sleep. He wakes up hours later, and finds himself tucked away in a parking spot. He finds Scully leaning against the hood of the car. He unbuckles his seatbelt, and exits the vehicle. He looks at the sky, and realizes that it is nearly sunrise. He glances over at Scully, and then follows her line of sight. He sees the ocean nearby.
"Scully how long was I asleep?"
"When did you get so old?"
"Excuse me?"
"You were snoring by ten o'clock, last night."
"How long was I asleep?"
"Quite some time, Mulder."
"Where are we?"
"Charleston."
"West Virginia? There is no beach in West Virginia."
"Mulder it is nearly sunrise. We are not in West Virginia. You know how I feel about West Virginia."
"Something treacherous happens every time we visit?"
"We are in South Carolina."
"Why are we in South Carolina?"
"I got tired of driving, and you were over there, sawing logs."
"Scully," he takes a step closer to her.
"Hmm?"
"Are you okay?"
"I'm just tired."
"You seem very distant lately," he makes a keen observation.
"The reopening of the X-files, just brings up a lot of things for me."
He grins, "Things you so skillfully tucked in a box, and put on a shelf, never to consider again?"
"Do you ever think about what we missed out on, because of the choices that we made?"
"Yeah," he nods, "I never should have let you go."
