Saturday, March 25, 2000 Mulder's Apartment Alexandria, Virginia 11:00 a.m.
The light seeped through the curtains, casting an orange hue on the damp, tangled sheets. He slowly opened bleary eyes and immediately discovered that he was lying in his own, seldom-used bed. 'What in the hell? How did I end up here? I always sleep on the couch..' Suddenly, the stark realization struck him; he and Scully had finally given in to their feelings last night, and had done the deed. The sheet that seemed to be pulling off a decent teepee impression, wobbled suddenly with a previously unfulfilled contentment.
He groped a hand around over to the other side of the bed, but felt nothing but a cold empty space. He slid off the bed and dressed himself in the boxers, which had been hastily torn from him by her own eager hands last night, ones he would most likely now frame and mount for posterity! He smirked, while something south, twitched with nostalgia at the thought.
Looking around the room, he noticed her clothes were gone. His heart tapped out a panicked tattoo, as he wondered if she regretted what had happened between them last night. Moving from room to room, he was disappointed to find the entire apartment empty, hearing nothing but the hum of the fish tank filter in the background. He dumped himself down on the couch and sighed; he should have known it was not a wise decision, and that she would immediately regret the whole thing. As soon as the thought whispered nastily through his mind, the phone rang.
"Hello."
"Morning, Mulder," Her voice sounded all sunshine and flowers, ...and was that a whippoorwill he heard chirping in the background?
Not really knowing what to say to her, her name escaped his lips like a question. "Scully?"
She sensed strait away he felt hurt that she'd left in the middle of the night; it reached out at her through the phone connection like a plea for mercy. "Mulder, about last night. I had to meet my mother at 4:30 this morning, we had plans to go help the shelter downtown early this morning." Of course, anything was preferable to some naked spooning with him.
She winced inwardly hearing the disappointment in his voice.
"Oh, that's alright, Scully. You don't have to..." Little cracks were starting to run all over his heart like crows feet, his voice sounding braver than that kind of pain, allowed.
"Yes, Mulder, I do have to. We're finished for the day and I'm free. Mom had some friends she was going to meet and I have nothing to do. I'm coming over and I'll bring lunch. Chinese okay?"
"Sure," his mood sounding greatly improved.
"Okay, I'll stop at Wong's on the way in. Give me about 30 minutes. I gotta change first."
"Scully?" he whispered. The oxygen now cursing through his heart again, giving his voice a sudden husky quality.
She could swear she heard his voice drop an octave. "Yeah?"
"What are you wearing right now?"
"Mulder!" she warned, the cadence of his voice speaking directly to her recently re-awakened libido.
He smiled through the phone and laughed gently. "I'm kidding Scully. Come on over and I'll have the iced tea ready when you get here." The relief in his voice was palpable now, and she let her self relax.
He ended the call, and arose from the couch with a big grin, and an extra bounce in his step. Yes, life was great and he was one lucky son of a gun. He was spending his Saturday with her. He wondered what she might want to do after they'd done eating, and then leered at his body's immediate response to those thoughts. He could think of a lot of things they could do, but not all were outside activities, or as much fun, in his opinion, he was hoping the lure of bedroom aerobics might win through. Of course, it was such a nice sunny day in D.C, and she'd probably want to spend her time outside doing something instead.
He decided to clean the place up a bit before she arrived, and made his way through the entire apartment like a late august twister. Dirty clothes, check. Books, papers and other extraneous crap. Check. Suspect Green Alien fridge buddies, Check...tissues? Yuck..
Then he made a beeline to the bathroom to clean himself up. Good job he remembered deodorant, black trash sacks and budget air fresher, on one of his rare sorties to the local store.
Toilet seat down and he was ready for royalty.
A half an hour later, she knocked on the door, but he didn't answer, so she slipped the key in and turned the lock, doing a double take at the Martha Stewart makeover, his apartment had undergone in her brief absence. Umm-nice flowery smell, she thought idly as she made her way to the kitchen.
"Mulder, it's me."
"I'll be out in a second. I'm getting dressed.", she heard him mumble nervously through the bedroom door.
She proceeded to the kitchen and lined the items from Wongs on the counter. She rummaged through his cabinets until she found two surprisingly clean plates and placed equal amounts of the food on each one. True to his word, Mulder had made a tall pitcher of iced tea and placed it in the refrigerator. Once she had everything ready, she took the plates and sat them on the strangely spotless coffee table, then carried in the glasses of iced tea. Taking her shoes off, she tucked her feet underneath her and got comfortable in the middle of the couch.
Opening the bedroom door slowly, he approached the couch, smoldering testosterone mingling with potpourri, already wafting about the room. Never mind the Chinese, he looked good enough to eat.
"Did you find everything okay?" he asked.
"Yes, I found the plates with no problem." a gleaming smile radiating from her eyes. "I just hope Wong remembered the chop sticks this time," she groused, searching through the bag. She finally produced four chopsticks. "Eat up, I've got plans for you," she smiled enigmatically.
"So, Agent Scully, what have you got planned for me today?" If eyebrow waggling had been an Olympic event, Mulder would've come away with gold every time.
"Well, let's just say, it'll make you feel young again."
"Young?", he asked, his interest peaked, another part of him threatening to follow suit..
"Mulder, we're going to go do something I haven't done, and I know you haven't done since you were a little boy." 'Not the horizontal mambo then.'
"Why can't you tell me," he whined, and his bottom lip jutting out deliciously.
'Oh God, I hate it when he does that. I can't refuse him anything then'.
"Okay Mulder, we're going kite flying."
"What?!" he showed her a face that was a curious mixture of stunned bewilderment and incredulity.
"You heard me, mister. We're going kite flying, and no you're not getting out of it!"
'Oh Well, I do get to spend the day with Scully and that's cool, so I'll bite.'
"Sure, Scully. We can go fly kites. I know just the perfect place." Mulder's brilliant mind was clicking through its machinations, thoughtfully; 'Kite flying usually involved nice big meadows out of town somewhere; someplace where there were no crowds. This could get promising later.'
"Really?"
"Yeah, it will take us a bit to get there and we'll probably be too wiped to come back tonight. Let's stop by your place and get an overnight bag." 'I must not think about the black teddy...nestling inside it.'
"No, we can take my car. I've already got a bag there in the trunk."
"That'll work." he smiled, and reached down, touching her cheek in a soft caress. 'Must have been a girl scout and forgot to let me in on that tidbit.'
They finished their lunch, and then he packed while she cleaned the plates, hoping to make better time. He was soon sauntering out from the bedroom with a carry-on in his hand.
"So do we have to go buy these kites or what?"
"No Mulder, we're going to need to buy stuff for them. We are going to make them from scratch."
"You're kidding, right?" he mused, giving her a bemused but sultry look. She'd obviously been od-ing on her nephew's collection of Tweenies , Show me videos again. Sex with him had obviously had a profound effect on her.
"Nope, not kidding. Let's get moving. Time's wasting," she swatted him on the ass pleasantly, pushing him out the door, before locking it.
Saturday, March 25, 2000 Summer Home Qounochontaug, Rhode Island 3:30 p.m.
They made record time driving up to his childhood summer home. She slept peacefully in the seat beside him. 'I must have really done a number on her last night'; he mused with a sense of sheer satisfaction, mentally giving himself a gold star. It was so heady a feeling that it made him dizzy, or perhaps the Lo Mein noodles weren't sitting as well as he thought. He couldn't resist the urge to reach over and replace a wayward strand of hair that had fallen in her eyes.
Feeling his presence, she stirred beneath his touch, stretching herself from a wakeful sleep. A number of pleasant memories worked their way through her nerve endings and traveled south, creating a kilowatt smile and a delightful warm flush. She was starting to feel clammy.
"Are we there yet?"
"Yes, child, we are almost there," he teased.
She beamed over at him, grasping his resting hand and intertwined their fingers. 'Lil' Mulder stirred unbidden in his snug denim nest. One eye open.
"I wasn't sure what we needed to make these kites, so I figured we could stop and pick those items up once we reached the summer house." Mulder shot back a smile of his own, giving his teeth some fresh air. Her mind hadn't completely been on kite assembly research then. 'Dropped the ball there Scully...' The car purred with the sudden accelerator pressure from Mulder's foot, as he pondered the day ahead. There lay dragons, good ones, he hoped.
"Sounds good to me."
Fifteen minutes later, kite-building items in hand, they reached the summer home. The entered the house, and he cleared off the protective plastic from the furniture, finding her a place to sit. He chanced an expectant leer in her direction..
"So, I'm dying to see this great place where we get to fly these kites. Are you going to take me there before hand?" she asked thoughtfully. Somehow, Mulder's brain fugued out around the word, 'Take', languid hazel orbs flicking over the sensuous movement of her lips instead.
Sliding his hand down, he pulled her to her feet and up against his chest in a tight embrace, feeling his heart rate jump and sizzle around like water drops on a hotplate. He whispered with a grin against her hair and close to her ear.
"No, we can wait until we're done building them. It'll be dark soon and I want to see you flying a kite, Scully." Amazing how one a night of long overdue creative expression could make any innocuous phrase sound like a sexual euphemism. They'd have to get a move on with their kite project before 'lil' Mulder started agreeing with him again.
They proceeded with sorting the materials out, and had the kites made in less than 20 minutes. Scully had the most fun watching the dexterity of Mulder's nimble fingers, as he worked; her tongue absently slipping across her perspiring bottom lip.
Once the kites were ready, he grabbed both of them and his keys and ushered her out the door, returning the favor of her earlier playful ass swatting, with his large hand.
Saturday, March 25, 2000 Baseball Park Qounochontaug, Rhode Island 4:15 p.m.
"Mulder, I thought you said this place was close!"
"It is, I promise," he said maneuvering the car into the parking lot.
They got out and she took in the scenery slowly. It was a wide-open expanse of Green Park above the baseball diamond, perfect for kite flying.
"Oh Mulder, this is perfect!" throwing her arms around his neck and softly kissing his lips, her tongue delicately clashing with his teeth, sending shivers right through to his follicles.
Do you want to get these kites flown today, huh Scully?, keep that up and we're grounded, literally.
Dropping her arms, she turned away from him, killer smile and all, and reached into the back seat to get their kites.
"Come on, let's go!" She was tugging on his hand. He laughed at her childlike manner. Her eyes sparkled brightly at times like this. He wished he could see her in this relaxed, happy manner more often. Since last night, he'd noticed that difference in her. Of course, he knew that it was because they'd finally admitted a commitment to each other; not only in partnership, but body, mind and soul as well. 'Ch...rist!, he must have shrunk these jeans in that last wash...'.
When they reached the middle of the field, Scully tested the kite by letting out a little string at a time. After several failed attempts, the kite eventually reached a good altitude to pick up wind and send it soaring into the sky. She handed him the cord and watched him grin in amazement at how quickly she had accomplished her set goal.
"Here, give me that," she said, reaching for the other kite. She tried time and time again to get the kite up in the air, but her every attempt was futile. She turned to see him smother a giggle.
"What?" she asked, sounding exasperated.
"Nothing, Scully. Just fly your kite." he smirked. This was more fun than he though, although Scully watching was holding his interest much more than kite flying.
"Yeah, well, I'd like to see you get this up. That is, if you think you can do a better job than I did." she challenged, shooting him "The Look." Her use of certain words made him leer all the more.
Handing her the line to the kite he was currently flying, he took the other from her hands and a little jolt of electric rush skittered over their fingers at the contact. Their eyes locked for a long moment.
"Stand back and watch a pro, Scully. Flying a kite is like riding a bike. Once you learn, you never forget it," he boasted; certain other activities too, his brain reminded him happily.
Eventually, the kite began to fly, but he realized they had kept moving along with the kite that had been in the air.
"Oh shit!"
"What, Mulder? What is it?" panic lacing her voice.
"The damn thing got stuck in the tree. I gotta climb up and get it out."
Now it was her turn to smother a laugh as she watched him ascend up each branch, carefully testing it's strength, giving her a pleasing view of Mulder's denim clad ass in motion as he made his way up. She quickly brought down the kite she was flying and stood below watching him climb the tree. What a view!
"Almost there," he moaned. "Hey Scully, remember I once asked you if this boyish display of agility was turning you on at all?"
"Yeah", she grinned remembering the exact moment. She had gone weak- kneed at the time, but never told him so. Hell, she was going weak at the knees now as an unbidden image of his prowess and agility in other activities assaulted her.
"Well, you never did answer me, so...I'm gonna ask you again. Is this boyish display of agility turning you on at all?"
"Mulder, you know my weakness," she purred up towards him, eyes sizing up his delightfully tight ass muscles as they shifted gracefully in his jeans again.
Hearing her voice drop to a purring moan, he stumbled on the way down to the next branch and lost his footing. He landed with a resounding thud against the ground and lay deathly still.
"Mulder!" She dropped the kite and rushed toward him, carefully checking him for injuries. She was afraid to move him for fear he may have broken his neck. She reached for her cell phone in her pocket and called 911.
"911. What's your emergency?"
"Yeah, I have an agent down! I request immediate assistance!"
"Okay miss, who are you?"
In her panic, Scully realized she had forgot to tell the dispatcher her name and location.
"Sorry. My name is Dana Scully and my badge number is 2317-616. My partner and I are located at..." She looked around unable to remember the name of the park. Damn!
"Miss? Do you not know where you are?"
"I'm not from this area. My partner lived here as a child."
"What's your partner's name and what happened to him?"
"Agent Mulder. Agent, Fox Mulder. We were flying kites and he went to retrieve one and fell out of a tree, from a height of about 8 feet." She leaned over him almost breathless with fear, checking his pulse. He was still breathing, much to her relief; however, his pupils were dilated, he was unconscious and not responding to any stimuli.
Oh Mulder.
In ten minutes, the ambulance had arrived. The technicians went about their work quickly and quietly. They put the C-collar around his neck, placed him on the backboard, and loaded him onto the gurney. Once he was inside the ambulance, the technician started a saline IV drip. She hurriedly got into her car and followed them to the hospital, cursing herself for distracting him.
Saturday, March 25, 2000 Qounochontaug Mercy Hospital Qounochontaug, Rhode Island 5:15 p.m.
"Okay on my count people. One, two, three."
Scully stood hugging her arms to her body, in the doorway of the emergency area, watching as they worked on him. She would never forgive herself if anything terrible happened to him. She knew this had probably happened because she surprised him with her sultry tone. He seemed much happier since last night and she'd been glad. It was what they'd both needed for a long time. The need to quit denying each other this happiness that had long existed between the two of them, often causing some major tension, but that was in the past. He had to get better. He just had to be okay. She felt the tears well up in her eyes and spill slowly down her cheeks like raindrops, as she was ushered from the trauma cubical.
She called Skinner at home to tell him what had happened, and that she and Mulder, wouldn't be available on Monday for the meeting he had scheduled. He had been curious, sensing that they seemed a lot closer lately, and that a sea change was apparent within the relationship, but kept all questions to himself, reassuring her gently.
"I understand Agent Scully. Take good care of him. He needs you." Skinner disconnected before he heard her utter softly, "and I need him too," the tears flowing freely down her face now.
A few moments later, the doors opened and a man in blue scrubs introduced himself.
"Miss Scully?" She realized she was holding her breath..
"Yes."
"Hi, I'm Dr. Gruber. I just wanted to let you know that your partner is going to be fine. We did a CT scan on him and all the results came back negative. There was no subdural hematoma. We aren't sure what caused the lengthy time of unconsciousness. The labs also came back as negative. He should do just fine with a bit of observation overnight. You can take him home tomorrow." Scully almost cried again with relief.
"Thank you doctor. Can I see him now?"
"Yes, he's been awake and asking for you for the last 15 minutes. I wasn't quite thoroughly sure he'd passed all of his mental status exams. That was the reason for the delay. Oh, and Agent Scully, please tell your partner he's too old to be climbing trees," he grinned broadly, showing teeth, as he walked back towards the ER desk.
Scully rushed back to the room and opened the door. "Mulder, it's me. Are you awake?"
His beaming smile turned in her direction, looking none the worse for his ordeal. The sight of that gorgeous smile threatened to make her eyes well up all over again; somehow she managed to keep them at bay.
"Hey Scully, all these hospital visits are becoming a habit with us. We have to stop meeting like this," he teased, smoothing her hair back from her eyes, his own never leaving hers, inquiring. He could tell she'd been crying, and placed a finger under her quivering chin, his eyes continuing to travel over her face, flecks of green and gold within hazel always shifting with each emotion that passed through him.
"Scully, it's okay. I'm fine. I just have a little bump on the old noggin. Nothing a little lovin' won't fix," he smiled, waggling his brows.
"I thought something bad had happened to you because of me." She reached up and brushed another tear away, he leaned forward slowly, catching each tear with his lips against her cheeks as they began to spill again.
"Scully don't even think that! You are my world now, you have been from the start and I love you baby. Just promise me one thing." His thumbs pads were rubbing the soft skin under her eyes now in a way that just made her dissolve.
"What's that, Mulder?" loving how he called her 'baby,' and other terms of endearment, he'd used at various times the night before.
"Just don't let me display that boyish agility like that again." he chuckled.
Scooting him over gently on the bed; she slipped comfortably into his embrace and lay her ear over his steady heart beat, drinking in his warmth and life and the reassurance that beautiful sound gave her, a life that she could now share completely.
"Oh baby, I'm going make sure that I get to see that boyish agility all the time, just not with a kite and tree climbing anymore," she moaned against his chest. He sucked in a quick shallow breath. Other avenues of boyish agility seemed a lot safer, and more pleasurable. He smiled into her hair, breathing her in. He was one lucky son of a gun, and could hardly believe his good fortune. Scully was his and he was hers. Two halves of the same whole and he intended to explore that love every which way.
"Is that a promise, Agent Scully?"
"Why yes, Agent Mulder. And hear me when I say this. It's most definitely a promise I fully intend to keep."
"I hope so. I certainly hope so. Me too," she heard him whisper warmly against her hair as she drifted off to sleep in his arms.
The End
The light seeped through the curtains, casting an orange hue on the damp, tangled sheets. He slowly opened bleary eyes and immediately discovered that he was lying in his own, seldom-used bed. 'What in the hell? How did I end up here? I always sleep on the couch..' Suddenly, the stark realization struck him; he and Scully had finally given in to their feelings last night, and had done the deed. The sheet that seemed to be pulling off a decent teepee impression, wobbled suddenly with a previously unfulfilled contentment.
He groped a hand around over to the other side of the bed, but felt nothing but a cold empty space. He slid off the bed and dressed himself in the boxers, which had been hastily torn from him by her own eager hands last night, ones he would most likely now frame and mount for posterity! He smirked, while something south, twitched with nostalgia at the thought.
Looking around the room, he noticed her clothes were gone. His heart tapped out a panicked tattoo, as he wondered if she regretted what had happened between them last night. Moving from room to room, he was disappointed to find the entire apartment empty, hearing nothing but the hum of the fish tank filter in the background. He dumped himself down on the couch and sighed; he should have known it was not a wise decision, and that she would immediately regret the whole thing. As soon as the thought whispered nastily through his mind, the phone rang.
"Hello."
"Morning, Mulder," Her voice sounded all sunshine and flowers, ...and was that a whippoorwill he heard chirping in the background?
Not really knowing what to say to her, her name escaped his lips like a question. "Scully?"
She sensed strait away he felt hurt that she'd left in the middle of the night; it reached out at her through the phone connection like a plea for mercy. "Mulder, about last night. I had to meet my mother at 4:30 this morning, we had plans to go help the shelter downtown early this morning." Of course, anything was preferable to some naked spooning with him.
She winced inwardly hearing the disappointment in his voice.
"Oh, that's alright, Scully. You don't have to..." Little cracks were starting to run all over his heart like crows feet, his voice sounding braver than that kind of pain, allowed.
"Yes, Mulder, I do have to. We're finished for the day and I'm free. Mom had some friends she was going to meet and I have nothing to do. I'm coming over and I'll bring lunch. Chinese okay?"
"Sure," his mood sounding greatly improved.
"Okay, I'll stop at Wong's on the way in. Give me about 30 minutes. I gotta change first."
"Scully?" he whispered. The oxygen now cursing through his heart again, giving his voice a sudden husky quality.
She could swear she heard his voice drop an octave. "Yeah?"
"What are you wearing right now?"
"Mulder!" she warned, the cadence of his voice speaking directly to her recently re-awakened libido.
He smiled through the phone and laughed gently. "I'm kidding Scully. Come on over and I'll have the iced tea ready when you get here." The relief in his voice was palpable now, and she let her self relax.
He ended the call, and arose from the couch with a big grin, and an extra bounce in his step. Yes, life was great and he was one lucky son of a gun. He was spending his Saturday with her. He wondered what she might want to do after they'd done eating, and then leered at his body's immediate response to those thoughts. He could think of a lot of things they could do, but not all were outside activities, or as much fun, in his opinion, he was hoping the lure of bedroom aerobics might win through. Of course, it was such a nice sunny day in D.C, and she'd probably want to spend her time outside doing something instead.
He decided to clean the place up a bit before she arrived, and made his way through the entire apartment like a late august twister. Dirty clothes, check. Books, papers and other extraneous crap. Check. Suspect Green Alien fridge buddies, Check...tissues? Yuck..
Then he made a beeline to the bathroom to clean himself up. Good job he remembered deodorant, black trash sacks and budget air fresher, on one of his rare sorties to the local store.
Toilet seat down and he was ready for royalty.
A half an hour later, she knocked on the door, but he didn't answer, so she slipped the key in and turned the lock, doing a double take at the Martha Stewart makeover, his apartment had undergone in her brief absence. Umm-nice flowery smell, she thought idly as she made her way to the kitchen.
"Mulder, it's me."
"I'll be out in a second. I'm getting dressed.", she heard him mumble nervously through the bedroom door.
She proceeded to the kitchen and lined the items from Wongs on the counter. She rummaged through his cabinets until she found two surprisingly clean plates and placed equal amounts of the food on each one. True to his word, Mulder had made a tall pitcher of iced tea and placed it in the refrigerator. Once she had everything ready, she took the plates and sat them on the strangely spotless coffee table, then carried in the glasses of iced tea. Taking her shoes off, she tucked her feet underneath her and got comfortable in the middle of the couch.
Opening the bedroom door slowly, he approached the couch, smoldering testosterone mingling with potpourri, already wafting about the room. Never mind the Chinese, he looked good enough to eat.
"Did you find everything okay?" he asked.
"Yes, I found the plates with no problem." a gleaming smile radiating from her eyes. "I just hope Wong remembered the chop sticks this time," she groused, searching through the bag. She finally produced four chopsticks. "Eat up, I've got plans for you," she smiled enigmatically.
"So, Agent Scully, what have you got planned for me today?" If eyebrow waggling had been an Olympic event, Mulder would've come away with gold every time.
"Well, let's just say, it'll make you feel young again."
"Young?", he asked, his interest peaked, another part of him threatening to follow suit..
"Mulder, we're going to go do something I haven't done, and I know you haven't done since you were a little boy." 'Not the horizontal mambo then.'
"Why can't you tell me," he whined, and his bottom lip jutting out deliciously.
'Oh God, I hate it when he does that. I can't refuse him anything then'.
"Okay Mulder, we're going kite flying."
"What?!" he showed her a face that was a curious mixture of stunned bewilderment and incredulity.
"You heard me, mister. We're going kite flying, and no you're not getting out of it!"
'Oh Well, I do get to spend the day with Scully and that's cool, so I'll bite.'
"Sure, Scully. We can go fly kites. I know just the perfect place." Mulder's brilliant mind was clicking through its machinations, thoughtfully; 'Kite flying usually involved nice big meadows out of town somewhere; someplace where there were no crowds. This could get promising later.'
"Really?"
"Yeah, it will take us a bit to get there and we'll probably be too wiped to come back tonight. Let's stop by your place and get an overnight bag." 'I must not think about the black teddy...nestling inside it.'
"No, we can take my car. I've already got a bag there in the trunk."
"That'll work." he smiled, and reached down, touching her cheek in a soft caress. 'Must have been a girl scout and forgot to let me in on that tidbit.'
They finished their lunch, and then he packed while she cleaned the plates, hoping to make better time. He was soon sauntering out from the bedroom with a carry-on in his hand.
"So do we have to go buy these kites or what?"
"No Mulder, we're going to need to buy stuff for them. We are going to make them from scratch."
"You're kidding, right?" he mused, giving her a bemused but sultry look. She'd obviously been od-ing on her nephew's collection of Tweenies , Show me videos again. Sex with him had obviously had a profound effect on her.
"Nope, not kidding. Let's get moving. Time's wasting," she swatted him on the ass pleasantly, pushing him out the door, before locking it.
Saturday, March 25, 2000 Summer Home Qounochontaug, Rhode Island 3:30 p.m.
They made record time driving up to his childhood summer home. She slept peacefully in the seat beside him. 'I must have really done a number on her last night'; he mused with a sense of sheer satisfaction, mentally giving himself a gold star. It was so heady a feeling that it made him dizzy, or perhaps the Lo Mein noodles weren't sitting as well as he thought. He couldn't resist the urge to reach over and replace a wayward strand of hair that had fallen in her eyes.
Feeling his presence, she stirred beneath his touch, stretching herself from a wakeful sleep. A number of pleasant memories worked their way through her nerve endings and traveled south, creating a kilowatt smile and a delightful warm flush. She was starting to feel clammy.
"Are we there yet?"
"Yes, child, we are almost there," he teased.
She beamed over at him, grasping his resting hand and intertwined their fingers. 'Lil' Mulder stirred unbidden in his snug denim nest. One eye open.
"I wasn't sure what we needed to make these kites, so I figured we could stop and pick those items up once we reached the summer house." Mulder shot back a smile of his own, giving his teeth some fresh air. Her mind hadn't completely been on kite assembly research then. 'Dropped the ball there Scully...' The car purred with the sudden accelerator pressure from Mulder's foot, as he pondered the day ahead. There lay dragons, good ones, he hoped.
"Sounds good to me."
Fifteen minutes later, kite-building items in hand, they reached the summer home. The entered the house, and he cleared off the protective plastic from the furniture, finding her a place to sit. He chanced an expectant leer in her direction..
"So, I'm dying to see this great place where we get to fly these kites. Are you going to take me there before hand?" she asked thoughtfully. Somehow, Mulder's brain fugued out around the word, 'Take', languid hazel orbs flicking over the sensuous movement of her lips instead.
Sliding his hand down, he pulled her to her feet and up against his chest in a tight embrace, feeling his heart rate jump and sizzle around like water drops on a hotplate. He whispered with a grin against her hair and close to her ear.
"No, we can wait until we're done building them. It'll be dark soon and I want to see you flying a kite, Scully." Amazing how one a night of long overdue creative expression could make any innocuous phrase sound like a sexual euphemism. They'd have to get a move on with their kite project before 'lil' Mulder started agreeing with him again.
They proceeded with sorting the materials out, and had the kites made in less than 20 minutes. Scully had the most fun watching the dexterity of Mulder's nimble fingers, as he worked; her tongue absently slipping across her perspiring bottom lip.
Once the kites were ready, he grabbed both of them and his keys and ushered her out the door, returning the favor of her earlier playful ass swatting, with his large hand.
Saturday, March 25, 2000 Baseball Park Qounochontaug, Rhode Island 4:15 p.m.
"Mulder, I thought you said this place was close!"
"It is, I promise," he said maneuvering the car into the parking lot.
They got out and she took in the scenery slowly. It was a wide-open expanse of Green Park above the baseball diamond, perfect for kite flying.
"Oh Mulder, this is perfect!" throwing her arms around his neck and softly kissing his lips, her tongue delicately clashing with his teeth, sending shivers right through to his follicles.
Do you want to get these kites flown today, huh Scully?, keep that up and we're grounded, literally.
Dropping her arms, she turned away from him, killer smile and all, and reached into the back seat to get their kites.
"Come on, let's go!" She was tugging on his hand. He laughed at her childlike manner. Her eyes sparkled brightly at times like this. He wished he could see her in this relaxed, happy manner more often. Since last night, he'd noticed that difference in her. Of course, he knew that it was because they'd finally admitted a commitment to each other; not only in partnership, but body, mind and soul as well. 'Ch...rist!, he must have shrunk these jeans in that last wash...'.
When they reached the middle of the field, Scully tested the kite by letting out a little string at a time. After several failed attempts, the kite eventually reached a good altitude to pick up wind and send it soaring into the sky. She handed him the cord and watched him grin in amazement at how quickly she had accomplished her set goal.
"Here, give me that," she said, reaching for the other kite. She tried time and time again to get the kite up in the air, but her every attempt was futile. She turned to see him smother a giggle.
"What?" she asked, sounding exasperated.
"Nothing, Scully. Just fly your kite." he smirked. This was more fun than he though, although Scully watching was holding his interest much more than kite flying.
"Yeah, well, I'd like to see you get this up. That is, if you think you can do a better job than I did." she challenged, shooting him "The Look." Her use of certain words made him leer all the more.
Handing her the line to the kite he was currently flying, he took the other from her hands and a little jolt of electric rush skittered over their fingers at the contact. Their eyes locked for a long moment.
"Stand back and watch a pro, Scully. Flying a kite is like riding a bike. Once you learn, you never forget it," he boasted; certain other activities too, his brain reminded him happily.
Eventually, the kite began to fly, but he realized they had kept moving along with the kite that had been in the air.
"Oh shit!"
"What, Mulder? What is it?" panic lacing her voice.
"The damn thing got stuck in the tree. I gotta climb up and get it out."
Now it was her turn to smother a laugh as she watched him ascend up each branch, carefully testing it's strength, giving her a pleasing view of Mulder's denim clad ass in motion as he made his way up. She quickly brought down the kite she was flying and stood below watching him climb the tree. What a view!
"Almost there," he moaned. "Hey Scully, remember I once asked you if this boyish display of agility was turning you on at all?"
"Yeah", she grinned remembering the exact moment. She had gone weak- kneed at the time, but never told him so. Hell, she was going weak at the knees now as an unbidden image of his prowess and agility in other activities assaulted her.
"Well, you never did answer me, so...I'm gonna ask you again. Is this boyish display of agility turning you on at all?"
"Mulder, you know my weakness," she purred up towards him, eyes sizing up his delightfully tight ass muscles as they shifted gracefully in his jeans again.
Hearing her voice drop to a purring moan, he stumbled on the way down to the next branch and lost his footing. He landed with a resounding thud against the ground and lay deathly still.
"Mulder!" She dropped the kite and rushed toward him, carefully checking him for injuries. She was afraid to move him for fear he may have broken his neck. She reached for her cell phone in her pocket and called 911.
"911. What's your emergency?"
"Yeah, I have an agent down! I request immediate assistance!"
"Okay miss, who are you?"
In her panic, Scully realized she had forgot to tell the dispatcher her name and location.
"Sorry. My name is Dana Scully and my badge number is 2317-616. My partner and I are located at..." She looked around unable to remember the name of the park. Damn!
"Miss? Do you not know where you are?"
"I'm not from this area. My partner lived here as a child."
"What's your partner's name and what happened to him?"
"Agent Mulder. Agent, Fox Mulder. We were flying kites and he went to retrieve one and fell out of a tree, from a height of about 8 feet." She leaned over him almost breathless with fear, checking his pulse. He was still breathing, much to her relief; however, his pupils were dilated, he was unconscious and not responding to any stimuli.
Oh Mulder.
In ten minutes, the ambulance had arrived. The technicians went about their work quickly and quietly. They put the C-collar around his neck, placed him on the backboard, and loaded him onto the gurney. Once he was inside the ambulance, the technician started a saline IV drip. She hurriedly got into her car and followed them to the hospital, cursing herself for distracting him.
Saturday, March 25, 2000 Qounochontaug Mercy Hospital Qounochontaug, Rhode Island 5:15 p.m.
"Okay on my count people. One, two, three."
Scully stood hugging her arms to her body, in the doorway of the emergency area, watching as they worked on him. She would never forgive herself if anything terrible happened to him. She knew this had probably happened because she surprised him with her sultry tone. He seemed much happier since last night and she'd been glad. It was what they'd both needed for a long time. The need to quit denying each other this happiness that had long existed between the two of them, often causing some major tension, but that was in the past. He had to get better. He just had to be okay. She felt the tears well up in her eyes and spill slowly down her cheeks like raindrops, as she was ushered from the trauma cubical.
She called Skinner at home to tell him what had happened, and that she and Mulder, wouldn't be available on Monday for the meeting he had scheduled. He had been curious, sensing that they seemed a lot closer lately, and that a sea change was apparent within the relationship, but kept all questions to himself, reassuring her gently.
"I understand Agent Scully. Take good care of him. He needs you." Skinner disconnected before he heard her utter softly, "and I need him too," the tears flowing freely down her face now.
A few moments later, the doors opened and a man in blue scrubs introduced himself.
"Miss Scully?" She realized she was holding her breath..
"Yes."
"Hi, I'm Dr. Gruber. I just wanted to let you know that your partner is going to be fine. We did a CT scan on him and all the results came back negative. There was no subdural hematoma. We aren't sure what caused the lengthy time of unconsciousness. The labs also came back as negative. He should do just fine with a bit of observation overnight. You can take him home tomorrow." Scully almost cried again with relief.
"Thank you doctor. Can I see him now?"
"Yes, he's been awake and asking for you for the last 15 minutes. I wasn't quite thoroughly sure he'd passed all of his mental status exams. That was the reason for the delay. Oh, and Agent Scully, please tell your partner he's too old to be climbing trees," he grinned broadly, showing teeth, as he walked back towards the ER desk.
Scully rushed back to the room and opened the door. "Mulder, it's me. Are you awake?"
His beaming smile turned in her direction, looking none the worse for his ordeal. The sight of that gorgeous smile threatened to make her eyes well up all over again; somehow she managed to keep them at bay.
"Hey Scully, all these hospital visits are becoming a habit with us. We have to stop meeting like this," he teased, smoothing her hair back from her eyes, his own never leaving hers, inquiring. He could tell she'd been crying, and placed a finger under her quivering chin, his eyes continuing to travel over her face, flecks of green and gold within hazel always shifting with each emotion that passed through him.
"Scully, it's okay. I'm fine. I just have a little bump on the old noggin. Nothing a little lovin' won't fix," he smiled, waggling his brows.
"I thought something bad had happened to you because of me." She reached up and brushed another tear away, he leaned forward slowly, catching each tear with his lips against her cheeks as they began to spill again.
"Scully don't even think that! You are my world now, you have been from the start and I love you baby. Just promise me one thing." His thumbs pads were rubbing the soft skin under her eyes now in a way that just made her dissolve.
"What's that, Mulder?" loving how he called her 'baby,' and other terms of endearment, he'd used at various times the night before.
"Just don't let me display that boyish agility like that again." he chuckled.
Scooting him over gently on the bed; she slipped comfortably into his embrace and lay her ear over his steady heart beat, drinking in his warmth and life and the reassurance that beautiful sound gave her, a life that she could now share completely.
"Oh baby, I'm going make sure that I get to see that boyish agility all the time, just not with a kite and tree climbing anymore," she moaned against his chest. He sucked in a quick shallow breath. Other avenues of boyish agility seemed a lot safer, and more pleasurable. He smiled into her hair, breathing her in. He was one lucky son of a gun, and could hardly believe his good fortune. Scully was his and he was hers. Two halves of the same whole and he intended to explore that love every which way.
"Is that a promise, Agent Scully?"
"Why yes, Agent Mulder. And hear me when I say this. It's most definitely a promise I fully intend to keep."
"I hope so. I certainly hope so. Me too," she heard him whisper warmly against her hair as she drifted off to sleep in his arms.
The End