Disclaimer: Still not mine.
Author's Note: Like all of my work, this isn't beta'd so please be kind if you review.
Mulder hates to admit it but he kind of likes her. Scully's quick and headstrong and not quite what he was expecting. He told her about Samantha, about everything, and she just lay there and listened. Nobody has done that since Diana left and he thinks that it's nice to be heard.
She doesn't believe him or his theories (he never expected her to), and in reading her case report he finds her simply stating the facts. Mulder comes to see that she genuinely doesn't think of herself as a spy.
He tells the Lone Gunmen about her and they ask him if he trusts her.
"I want to."
*
A part of her wonders when she left the FBI and wound up back in high school.
Dana had always heard the stories people told behind his back; about aliens and conspiracies and all that goes bump in the night. She didn't give them much thought until she actually started working with him. She understands the stories and how they came to be, but now she understands Mulder too. As outlandish as some of his ideas are he can still be pretty spot on and she knows that fact can unnerve some people.
Now that she's working on the X-Files Dana knows who her real friends are – who's worth keeping and who's not worth much at all. In the end, she finds that it's not hard to let Tom Colton go. She knows that she would rather work with someone who's honest and crazy than someone who's underhanded and a prick.
In the end, she finds that she likes being Mrs. Spooky.
*
They're stuck in the middle of nowhere with two other people (and several dead bodies) and one of them is infected with a parasitic spine-sucking ice worm but they don't know who.
Mulder is the prime suspect. Of course, he thinks. They've locked him in a storage closet and Scully's terrified for the both of them. When she walks in he can see the fear in here eyes and she can see the frustration in his.
"We've found a way to kill it," she tells him. "Two worms in one host will kill each other."
"You give me one worm you'll infect me!"
"If that's true then why didn't you let us inspect you?"
"I would have but you put a gun on me!" he growls. "Now, I don't trust them. I want to trust you."
She lets his words sink in. "Okay. But they're not here."
A part of her is surprised when he turns around and offers his neck to her. Then, when Scully finds him uninfected she smiles and sighs in relief. She is just as surprised when Mulder pulls her back to him and runs his hands across the back of her neck. Seconds later she hears him murmur "Thank God" under his breath and she allows her self to lean into him for a moment.
This is their first lesson in trust.
*
Dana Scully is not jealous.
Mulder is her partner; therefore, she has absolutely no reason to be jealous of Phoebe Green. The heavy, achy feeling she has in her stomach is the result of too much coffee and not enough real food. The fact that it hit when she walked in on them kissing is completely coincidental. He is her partner and friend and nothing more.
However, Phoebe did break his heart and Scully believes that this fact does give her license to dislike her…a lot.
When she (finally) leaves, Scully feels a sense of relief for Mulder. She knows that that woman could cloud his judgment and she's glad that things can go back to the way they were before.
Dana Scully is never jealous.
*
Scully brought him a sandwich while he was on an unauthorized stakeout. It's the first time, in a long time, that someone has actually worried about him and he kind of likes it.
She worries about him, about his health, and about his career. At first he though it somewhat bothersome and amusing. Now, he finds that he feels grateful.
"Mulder, I wouldn't put myself on the line for anyone but you," she tells him and he can't help but be struck by her sincerity.
Later, she's lying for him without being asked. This is the moment Mulder comes to realize that Scully is no longer just a trusted partner but also a loyal friend.
He spends the rest of his life wondering what he has done to deserve her.