Scully sat on the couch staring at the TV. This was a rare Saturday night alone, Mulder was out of town, and she had nowhere to be and nothing particular to do. So why wasn't she enjoying it? Why was she thinking about what Mulder was doing? When the phone rang, she jumped on it, and then was momentarily embarrassed. What was she, twelve? Waiting for a boy to call? "Hello?"
Hey Scully it's me." Why was she relieved to hear his voice?
"Mulder what are you doing?" she couldn't help being curious when he said he had some non-FBI observations to do. She had briefly wondered if he was meeting a woman, then scolded herself for the feeling of jealousy that flooded her.
"Just watching the lights, Scully. Reports of strange lights in the sky the past few nights, and I thought I'd take a look."
Scully was again embarrassed because she felt relieved. She told herself that if Mulder was meeting a woman, it was his own business, it wasn't like she had to monitor his every move. "UFOs again, Mulder?" she asked.
"I'm not sure, Scully." He paused as if he were going to say something else, then quickly said "I gotta go." Before she could respond she heard a beep as his cell phone cut off. She sighed.
Queequeg jumped up on the couch and laid down next to her with a yuff. She buried her hand in his silky fur and grimaced. "You need a bath, buster." she told him, and he whined. "Okay, you have an hour to be dirty. Then it's bathtime. It's flea season, we're not taking any chances."
Why was she so concerned with Mulder's whereabouts? Why did it matter so much to her? Was she so used to him dragging her around the world that she had forgotten how to be alone? She laughed a little to herself. She wasn't fooling anyone. It wasn't the constant off-hours UFO chasing, it wasn't that she didn't know how to relax. She was having a harder and harder time lying to herself lately. The truth was, she had come to truly enjoy his company.
Mulder was admittedly different from the men she was used to dating. Not that she had been doing much dating lately. The last date she went on, Mulder called and, well, she would rather die than admit to him that she was relieved by his interruption. Sighing, she got up off the couch, seeking some ice cream she knew was in the back of her freezer.
When Mulder called again in less than an hour, she was embarrassed to admit that she was really hoping he'd say she should come out, that he needed her input on this investigation. Was she nuts? She finally had an evening alone and she was wishing she was out chasing lights in the sky! Queequeg yuffed to go outside and she absently set down the empty ice cream carton and opened the door. While he was doing his business, she dug out a bottle of flea shampoo and a few old towels.
"What are you doing tonight Agent Scully, would you like to go get a drink?" She asked herself sarcastically, then responded "Oh no, I'm sorry, I have to give my DOG a bath." She laughed bitterly at her own little joke. Again, not like they were beating down the door to take her out.
She remembered a coffee date with a female coworker that she had enjoyed a few months ago. Elena was dating someone in the bureau and wanted no one to find out, but she couldn't resist telling somebody. "Dana I figured you of all people would understand." Elena said, testing her latte to see if it was cool enough to drink.
"Me? Why?" Scully had asked.
"Well, because of the longstanding relationship you have with Fox of course." Elena looked at her like she had sprouted a second head. "It's going on what, 4 years now?"
"Three and change." Scully replied. "But we aren't dating!" she said quickly.
"Bullshit!" Elena replied, laughing. "Come on Dana, I want some details. I just shared my story with you now you can spill to me!" Blushing, Scully set down her coffee cup.
"Elena, for real, we aren't dating." Taking a deep breath, she sighed "I kind of wish..." she trailed off. She had been about to say "I kind of wish we were." Then she stopped. Is that what she wished? She wasn't even sure herself anymore.
"Dana, hon, if you guys aren't dating, you should know that everyone in the office thinks you are. And that you guys have just been doing a great job of hiding it from the higher ups."
"If we're doing so good at hiding, how is it that everyone thinks we've got something going on?" Scully asked, her old logical self.
"Think about it, how well can you hide a 3 year relationship like that? Come on! You guys have great professional detachment in public, but for heaven's sake girl. You have to see how he looks at you, how he protects you. When that guy kidnapped you...we all thought he was going to worry himself to death. It just killed him to have you out there, without knowing that you were okay."
Scully swallowed hard. She had never thought about it like that. She started to feel a little tingly, like butterflies in her stomach. She hadn't felt that in years. The coffee date had ended with Elena still in disbelief at Scully's denial, and with Scully in a fog, trying to figure out how she felt about this new information.
Queequeg scratched at the door and squeaked, jarring her back to reality. "Coming Queequeg!" she called, and hurried to the door to let him in. "Gotcha". She caught him as he tried to bolt in the door, suspecting what she had in store for him. "Oh no my friend, you're not getting away that easily." She carried him in the kitchen and dumped him in the sink. "Sorry bud." she smiled at the pitiful expression he gave her. "This is just the way it has to be."