Title - Another Woman

Author - Nicky

Rating - G

Keywords - Scully Angst, Mulder/Scully Romance

Spoilers - Mind's Eye

Summary - Scully gets bitten by the jealousy bug

Disclaimer - The characters don't belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own therapeutic purposes. They will be returned relatively unharmed to Chris Carter, or whoever wants to borrow them next, when I'm done.

Notes - I never realized how much I enjoyed this episode until I saw it again the other day in preparation for writing this story. I loved Lili Taylor's portrayal of Marty Glenn. Unfortunately, she played it a bit too well and I noticed the serious connection between her character and Mulder. I was actually a bit disturbed by it so I figured that Scully must be as well and that's how this story came about. However, I like my ending much better :-) This starts off at the end of the episode when Mulder is at the prison with Marty . . .

Another Woman

by Nicky

The buzz he should be used to by now startles him when it rings. It always scares him even though he hears it several times a day from his assistant. He takes a moment to calm his breathing before pressing the intercom button.

"Yes, Kimberly."

"Assistant Director Skinner, Agent Scully is here as you requested," the tinny voice announces.

"Thank you. Send her in."

Skinner closes the folder he was previously reading, pushing it off to the side. He's a bit surprised to find himself skimming his fingers through his sparse hairs, as if they needed arranging, as if Scully would care if they were out of order. She doesn't seem to notice anyone except her partner anyway.

"Agent Scully," he says with a smile when she enters his office. "Have a seat. This won't take long."

"You wanted to see me, Sir?" she asks, getting right to the point.

"Yes, Agent Scully. I see that Agent Mulder has taken the morning off and that ten minutes ago, you decided to take the afternoon off. I hope there isn't anything wrong? Agent Mulder hasn't gotten himself into any trouble you have to go bail him out of, has he?"

"Sir, wherever Agent Mulder is, it's his business," she says harshly. "My leave is personal and has nothing to do with him. I'm just not feeling very well."

"Just checking," Skinner says with a nod. "You wouldn't happen to know where he went and when I can expect him back, do you?"

"Probably off visiting his little girlfriend," she mutters, half under her breath. But it's loud enough for him to hear anyway.

"Excuse me?" He watches her cheeks flush with color and tries to hide his amusement.

"Nothing, Sir," she says instead. "I'm not sure where he is. But he told me he'd be back after lunch."

"Very well, Agent. I'll see you on Monday. I hope you feel better."

She just nods and manages to give him a tight lipped smile before standing to leave.

Skinner finally lets out the chuckle he was barely able to contain after she's gone.

"Not feeling well, my eye," he mutters to himself, shaking his head in amused disbelief. If there's one thing he knows about Dana Scully, it's that she won't let 'not feeling well' get her down. No, there's something more going on with her. If he had to take a guess, he'd say she wasn't so much sick physically as she was heartsick. Her little remark about Mulder's 'girlfriend' gave that way. Doesn't she know that the only girlfriend Mulder is interested in having, just walked out that door? Of course, it's none of his business what they do. He just hopes Mulder can fix this little problem before it becomes something much bigger.

* * * * *

Mulder returns to the office, surprised to find it abandoned. The trip to the jail to see Marty took longer than he anticipated, but not so long that Scully should have deserted him. She promised him they could have lunch together. He checks around the office and finds a message on his desk from her. A short, handwritten note saying that she was going home for the rest of the day. He's instantly worried at her unusual action, picking up the phone to call her before he even sets down his things.

"Scully," she answers weakly. Or at least that's how it sounds in his panic striken ears.

"You okay?" he asks her hastily, unable to keep the concern from his voice.

"Oh, hey Mulder," she sighs. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit of a headache. There wasn't much going on so I decided to call it an early day."

"Oh. Okay," he says, trying to slow his pounding heart. "I just wanted to check on you. You weren't here when I got back from the prison."

"Visiting Marty again?"

"Yes. I just wanted to make sure they were treating her well," he explains.

"Mulder, it's a prison. She murdered a man in cold blood," Scully points out testily. "How well do you expect them to treat her?"

"She's a good kid, Scully. I just think . . . "

"Yeah, I know what you think," she interrupts him. "Listen, Mulder, I'm going back to bed now. I'll see you at work on Monday."

The silent click on the other end of the phone lets him know that she's hung up. And without even saying good-bye. Then again, they never really say good-bye to each other. But this time, she seemed kind of . . . He shakes his head to get rid of that thought. Nothing's wrong. He's just being paranoid. But for some reason, he can't shake the feeling that waiting until Monday to speak to Scully would be a big, big mistake.

* * * * *

The knock at the door annoys her. Not so much because it woke her from a not so peaceful nap, but because she knows exactly who it is. A look out the peephole confirms her suspicions.

"What do you want, Mulder?" she asks him after opening the door.

"Hello to you to, Scully," he smirks, that smug grin making her heart flutter. She hates that he has this effect on her.

She's tried to deny it, but she's come to the conclusion that denial isn't the answer. She finally had to admit to herself something that her heart has known for a long time. She loves him. She's head over heels in love with her partner. Which is why his little fascination with one Martelle Francis Glenn is hurting her so much. She used to think he cared about her as much as she cares about him. She didn't think it would be so easy to turn his head. Especially not by some murderer sitting in a women's correctional facility at this very moment.

"Are you going to invite me in or what?" he asks, the grin still adorning his face.

"Yeah, sure," she says, a little embarrassed that he's still standing out in the hallway. She moves out of the way and allows him to enter, closing the door behind him. "What are you doing here?"

"Just checking on you. I know you said earlier that you just had a little headache and was taking the rest of the day off. It must have been some headache, Scully. You usually just take some aspirin."

"I didn't feel like being in the office today," she shrugs. "Do you have a problem with that?"

She didn't mean to sound so pissed off at him, but she couldn't help it. She *IS* pissed off at him. But it's not his fault that she is. It isn't his fault that he'd rather spend his time with another woman.

"Sorry," he says, holding his hands up in fake surrender. "I didn't mean to . . . "

"No," she sighs. "You didn't do anything. It's me. *I'm* sorry."

"For what, Scully?" He has a confused look on his face that's just begging to be kissed off. But once again, she has to refrain from those kinds of actions. He has another woman to dream of kissing him now.

"For being like this," she tries to explain to him. "For acting like this when I should be happy that you're happy. You are happy, aren't you?"

"I'm sitting here with you on a Friday evening. Hopefully you won't kick me out too early," he smiles. "I don't think I could get much happier, Scully."

"Me? What about Marty?"

"Marty?" It's the confused look again. She has to stand up and walk over to the window to avoid looking at him. The tempation is getting harder and harder to resist.

"I know you care a lot about her, Mulder. But I care a lot about you. I don't want you getting hurt. She's in jail. Probably for life. I just don't think . . . "

"Hold on a second, Scully. You think I'm . . . interested in her? In Marty?"

"She's all you talk about, Mulder," Scully says, continuing to stare out the window. She can't bring herself to look at him just yet. "You went to her trial. You visit her in prison."

"Yes, but only because I was trying to convince her to let me talk to the judge on her behalf. She's a good kid and I don't want her spending the rest of her life in prison. She already spent the first part of it through her father's eyes."

"She's not a kid, Mulder. She's not that much younger than I am. I dated a man much older than you are now when I was younger than she is. I can understand how you could be attracted to her."

"No, I want to *help* her, Scully. Not because I'm attracted to her or because I pity her. But it's like I told her. I admire her. And I would like to see her get a fair shake. I believe her father would have killed her if she hadn't killed him first. That's all this is about."

She hears him walk across the room and can feel him stop just inches behind her. It takes everything in her not to lean back into him.

"Scully," he whispers, his warm breath tickling her neck. She closes her eyes and can't fight the shudder that runs down her spine. Her knees turn to jelly when his hands clasp her hips and turn her around to face him. She tries to look down, but one hand rises to her face and tilts her chin up to see him. "Why is this upsetting you so much?"

"Because she's not right for you, Mulder," she says breathlessly.

"Why? Because she's blind? Too young? In jail?"

"No," she shakes her head. "Because she's . . . "

"What, Scully. Just tell me," he pleads.

"Because she's not me."

The silence just about breaks her heart. It says a lot more than any of his words could have. But being this close to him is too much for her to resist. She can't let possibly her only chance at this slip away. With a burst of courage she never realized she had, she lifts herself on the tips of her toes and presses her lips to his, capturing the succulent bottom one between her teeth. She nibbles gently for a few moments before soothing it with her tongue and moving to the top on. A gasp of shock escapes her when she meets his tongue on the way, trying to work it's way into her mouth.

"I'm sorry," he says, pulling away abruptly at her gasp. "I thought that since you . . . I figured I . . . and you said that . . . oh, don't hate me, Scully."

She can't stop the giggles from rising up and soon finds herself laughing out loud. She couldn't help it. He seemed so embarrassed. She's the one that should be embarrassed.

"Mulder, why are you apologizing? I'm the one that kissed you. I was just surprised when you kissed me back."

"Scully, kissing you has been a dream of mine for a very long time," he say, gently stroking her cheek with the back of his hand. "There isn't another woman in my life. There hasn't been for a long time. And there won't be one ever again. You're it, Scully. You're the only one for me."

"Oh," she sighs, just before they meet for another kiss. Now that they can, neither of them seems to be able to resist anymore.

She wants to tell him how happy she is. She wants to tell him how she feels about him. But she can't seem to make herself stop kissing him. Oh well. They've always done better with the nonverbal communication anyway. And this seems like a much better use of their mouths than talking. She'll tell him later. However, based on the groan he just let out, she might not have to. Something tells her he already knows.

The end.