The Cheater
By Trycee
TimeLine: After IWTB.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the X-Files. This is written for fun not profit.
Mulder sat back on the couch, his eyes carefully watched as another minute went by. He had been staring at the clock a lot lately. She'd been coming home later and later. And when she was home she was tired, often going straight to bed. There was a distance building between them lately and his mind was on overdrive. He was trying hard to tamp down his feelings of anger and fear. She was HIS Scully and it was unusual for her to come home late after being unresponsive to his numerous calls. But with every passing minute his anger was growing.
His stomach growled and he knew that he'd had to fix another peanut butter sandwich again, she was late and hadn't called. He picked up the phone and dialed the number again but it went straight to voice mail. 'What in the world is she doing?', he thought to himself. He heard the gate opening and he stood up and looked out the window, watching as she pulled up the long pebbled driveway. He sat back down and waited. The front door open and she walked in. Mulder was seated on the couch looking at her. "I called you several times...", he said, irritated.
Scully pulled out her phone from her pocket. "Oh sorry Mulder, I had it on silence. I forgot to take it off after work."
She placed her briefcase in the chair and quickly kissed his cheek before removing her coat.
"Where've you been?', his voice sharp, she noticed.
"Coffee...a bunch of us went for coffee after work. You know that little place on Main Street, by the hospital?"
Scully stepped towards the kitchen and looked over to the kitchen counter. There were very few dishes used which meant he hadn't tried to cook anything for himself or her, she noticed. She crossed her arms in front of her and then turned toward him seated on the couch. 'Waiting for me to cook, Mulder?', she thought to herself. She sighed. "Mulder, I'm tired. Can you fix something for yourself?', she said making her way towards the hallway toward their bedroom.
Mulder sat there a moment, his face tightening up. "Yeah sure, I can do that." he said under his breath.
Scully was showering when he entered their bedroom. She finished quickly and then walked out in a towel around her head and one loosely covering her body. Mulder was seated on her side of the bed, much to her surprise. She could tell something was on his mind but she side stepped him and dressed in her night-clothes as he watched, saying nothing. She could feel his eyes on her as she brushed out her long red hair and smoothed lotion over her body. Finally, she turned to him. "Is something wrong, Mulder?"
"Nothings wrong, " he huffed, standing up and slamming the bedroom door behind him as he retreated back towards the living room.
'What now?', Scully wondered, as she sat there stunned. She cut off the lamp next to her and slipped into bed, pulling the covers up to her shoulders.
Scully laid her head on her pillow as she listened to the sounds Mulder was making in the distance. She tossed and turned for awhile, waiting for Mulder to come to bed. Finally, she rose and walked through the small house until she found him with the television muted, stretched out and asleep on the couch. She placed a soft hand on his back. "Mulder, come to bed."
He stumbled behind her to the bed, slipping in and turning away from her. Scully stared at his back for a long time before turning away from him, a tear slipping down her cheek.
7 pm, the Next Day:
Mulder was watching the clock again. And with each minute his anger increased. 'This has gone on way too long', he thought to himself. 'What the hell am I doing sitting here waiting on her like this?', he asked, questioning himself. 'What the hell is she doing and who is she doing it WITH?", he said out-loud."I'm gonna find out!", he said jumping up and grabbing his coat and car keys, slamming the door shut.
The Coffeeshop was only slightly crowded with leftover hospital staff leaving for home. Scully sat across from Dr. Owens, a dark haired Italian man with gold rimmed glasses. She sipped on her cup of coffee as she studied her notes. Three other empty coffee cups were left on the table. Their colleagues had all gone home leaving her and Dr. Owens as the last ones of their group. She and her peers needed to go over the stacks of patient cases they had which often took hours. The coffee shop catered to the hospital staff and it was a much more comfortable environment than the boardroom. They could spread out their work and get endless refills with steaming hot coffee and stale donut or two. Dr. Owens, man fidgeted nervously as he sat alone with Dr. Scully who was absorbed in her notes, debating with himself . He had noticed there was no wedding ring though he couldn't be sure she was single. 'She was too pretty to be single', he reasoned.
Scully noticed him staring at her. "Is something wrong Dr. Owens?"
"Oh no, not at all, " he said, as his eyes darted back down his notes."It's getting pretty late."
Scully glanced at her watch. "It is," she sighed.
"I mean, if you're not in a rush, maybe we could...", he began. Just then he noticed a tall muscular man approaching them. Dr. Owens stared into Mulder's furrowed brow.
Scully followed his eyes and looked behind her. "Mulder?", Scully said, surprised.
"GET YOUR COAT RIGHT NOW!", he said firmly, his voice echoing in the small shop.
Scully sat there stunned. "Mul..."
"SCULLY, GET YOUR COAT RIGHT NOW!", he repeated.
She shot up out of her seat her eyes blazing. "Mulder, What are you doing?"
"SCULLY, I SAID GET YOUR COAT. I'M NOT ASKING YOU AGAIN!", he growled.
Scully with her mouth gaped open, looked towards Dr. Owens but he kept his eyes low. She could feel the stares from the other customers, most of them were from her hospital, her colleagues. "What in the world, Mulder?", she shot back.
"DID YOU HEAR ME, I SAID GET YOUR STUFF RIGHT NOW! I'M NOT REPEATING MYSELF AGAIN!", Mulder said, grabbing up her coat.
She snatched up her purse and her notes, heading for the door. She could feel her neck and face turning red as she avoided the stares of her colleagues and pushed open the door, stepping out into the brisk evening air. Mulder looked down at the doctor again. He said nothing but the look he gave Dr. Owens said it all. He turned and followed Scully out to the car. Scully was seated in the passenger seat, waiting, when Mulder sat down next to her.
"HOW DARE YOU embarrass me like that Mulder, what the hell is wrong with you?", she said, her blue eyes blazed with anger.
Mulder turned towards her his eyes equally blazing. "WHAT WERE YOU DOING WITH HIM?"
"Oh come on, Mulder. You can't be serious?", she said, buckling her seat belt. She noticed a few people in the parking lot staring in their direction. "You're acting like a madman!", she huffed.
"WHY ARE YOU HERE WITH HIM?"
Scully placed her fingers into her ears, trying to block his screams. "I'm not talking to you when your screaming at me like this!"
"ANSWER ME!", Mulder said, his jaw tightened and his eyes wild.
"I TOLD YOU, MULDER", she screamed back. "We all went out to coffee. We were having a meeting."
"I didn't see anyone else there.", he fumed.
"They went home!", she said, her face red and strained. "I can't believe you..."
"They went home, " he repeated. "But you weren't home, AGAIN!"
Scully grabbed up her phone and noticed he had called several times. "You're upset because I'm not home to fix dinner or do your laundry?"
"Damn it Scully! What were you DOING with him?," he said, highly irritated.
Scully was in shock as she stared at him. "How could you think I would cheat on you Mulder? I haven't been with anyone from the day I met you!"
Mulder hit his hand against the steering wheel. "ED JERSE!"
Scully looked confused. "Who?"
"ED JERSE! WHAT ABOUT HIM?"
"I didn't sleep with Ed Jerse, Mulder. We've gone over this! I slept in his bed and he slept on the couch. I didn't sleep with him!", she repeated. "I haven't slept with anyone since the day I met you," she said, slowly. "Can you say the same thing? I can't believe you'd bringing up Ed Jerse."
"You were there with him in his apartment in his bed!"
"Are you saying you don't believe me," she said, in disbelief. "I can't believe you. You can be an asshole sometimes."
"You were alone with Jerse!"
"Thats ancient history Mulder. I didn't sleep with him because I was in love with you even then. My God, that was a hundred years ago! What does that have to do with you walking in like a madman and screaming at me in front of my fellow doctors, Mulder?"
Mulder swung around to face her. "What were you doing with that guy when you are supposed to be home with me!", his voice low and angry.
Scully shook her head and opened the passenger door. "I'll take my own car and go to a hotel tonight, Mulder," she said, shaking her head.
"NO, you will not!", he said, starting the car. "CLOSE THAT DAMN DOOR!"
"Have you lost your mind?", she cried out as tears streamed down her face. "How can you accuse me of cheating on you when I'm sitting there with a fellow doctor trying to catch up on some notes. Are you that much of a child that you can't fix your own damn food Mulder?"
His face tightened even more. "Scully, I lived for years taking care of myself, I don't need you to take care of me so don't even say something like that..."
"Then what is going on?", she said. "I swear I don't know who you are right now!"
"You were out with another man, Scully. You were out with..."
"Dr. Owens, " she laughed. He glared at her and she stopped laughing. "You've lost your mind Mulder."
Mulder pulled off from the parking lot and headed towards their home. Scully opened her briefcase and pulled out a few tissues, wiping her eyes as the scenary changed from city to country. They remained in silence until Mulder pulled in front of their home.
Scully snatched up her things and pushed open the front door, and walked down the hall, headed straight for her office next to their bedroom. She slammed the door, tears streaming down her face. Mulder opened her office door. "GET OUT!", she screamed.
"I won't, " he said, folding his arms and standing defiantly.
"You've embarrassed me enough for today, don't you think?", she said, slumping down in her chair.
Mulder only shrugged.
"Out of all the things you could lose your mind over, you lose it over Dr. Owens?", she said, wiping her tears.
"I saw you sitting there with another man, what did you think I was gonna think? You don't come home on time. You don't call. You take a shower and go straight to bed."
"How about trust me!", she spat. Her face reddened and her blue eyes watery from tears. "After all these years, you can't trust me? "
Mulder crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head to the side. "Trust you? How can I trust you when you won't pick up a phone and call me and say, 'Hey, I'm staying after with my fellow doctors'. Instead, there's nothing. No call. No answer. What am I supposed to think, Scully?"
Scully shook her head. "I've been the one that's faithful Mulder...while you turned your head to every skirt that moved...like Diana!"
"Diana had been my wife at one point," he said. "I didn't love her any more, I loved you!"
"Yeah," she said, yanking off her doctor's coat, her blues ablazed. " You made sure to choose her over me when she was around, didn't you, Mulder?",she said, plopping back down at her desk and wiping her face with a tissue.
"Scully, she was my wife for a short time and then she LEFT me. I didn't choose her over you, I was in love with you from the moment I saw you. I was trying to respect her. I didn't think she'd betray me."
"So you think I'll betray you? Diana was your wife Mulder, but I am not! So that makes her more important than I am. You at least married HER!"
His arms dropped and he could feel the weight of her words.
"I thought we didn't need to be married? And Scully, Lets not speak of the dead..."
"Why not," she said throwing her arms into the air. "This relationship is dead!"
"Say what?", he said, alarmed.
"You heard what I said!", she said, glaring at him.
Scully pushed past him as Mulder followed behind her. Scully stopped at the doorway of their room and turned towards him. "Sleep in the guest bedroom! I don't want you in here tonight!"
"Its my house too, " he said, glaringly.
"Fine," she said, "Sleep in the guest bedroom of your house then!", she said, slamming the door. "Bastard..."
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