"I didn't notice," Scully said as her mom set down a plate of bacon, toast, and an omelet in front of them. Mulder immediately took a bite of the bacon.
"Very good, Mrs. Scully. I only wish Dana had the same talent as you!" Scully lightly punched him in the arm.
"I'm kidding!" Mulder said, laughing. Mrs. Scully sat down next to her daughter.
"So when have you had the chance to eat Dana's cooking?" she asked, curiously.
"I've been over her place when we were working on a case a few times. Usually, we order take-out, but sometimes she likes to cook."
"Oh," Mrs. Scully nodded knowingly. She smiled to herself. She wondered if those two knew how good they were together. She'd talked to Dana about it many times, to which her daughter had replied, "We're just friends." But, alas, a mother knows best. After all, Bill and her had been just friends, too...
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After breakfast, Mulder had insisted they leave. He didn't want to bug Mrs. Scully anymore. Reluctantly, she had let them go.
"Well, I have to admit I had a nice time. Will you join us again next year, Fox?" she asked.
"Maybe." He smiled.
"Oh, great!" Mrs. Scully said, walking forward to embrace him. He hugged her back, then stepped back so she could hug Dana.
"Well...let's go, Mulder!" Scully said, smiling. She unlocked the door with her key and they both climbed into the car. After buckling her seat belt, she put the key in the ignition and started the car.
"Bye!!" said Mrs. Scully, blowing a kiss to them. Mulder and Scully waved back, then started home.
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"I'm hungry, Scully."
"What?! Mulder, we just left!!" He gave her his infamous puppy dog look. She sighed.
"Fine. Where do you want to go?" Mulder smiled at his little triumph.
"Hardees."
"Well, we're going to have to go a little far to get there."
"Fine with me," Mulder said, grinning. Just then, a huge boom of thunder sounded nearby, startling them both. And then, the rain began to pour. HARD. Scully turned on her windshield wipers.
"Great. Just what we need," she said sarcastically.
"Can you see, Scully?"
"Yeah," she replied, not taking her eyes off the road. "Hey, Mulder?"
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Can you turn on the radio? I would, but I don't want to risk an accident." So he reached down and turned it on.
Soon, the rain began to let up a bit and was so soft, it was soothing. That, combined with the soft music coming from the stereo made for a nice mood. Then, they passed a sign that read '2 miles to rest stop,' and had a picture of Hardees right next to it.
"We're almost there, Mulder."
"How much longer?" he asked, "I'm starved!" As if on cue, his stomach growled.
"Two more miles...make that one."
And almost a minute later, they were there. But it was still raining. "Let's wait until it lets up," Scully said.
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5 minutes later...
"Um...let's wait 5 more minutes, Mulder..."
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5 minutes later...
"Let's just go, Scully. We're wasting time just sitting here!" So they both ran into the building, getting soaked by the rain. They stomped off their boots once they were inside and Scully wrang out her hair. Then, they waited in line for a table. Soon, they were seated.
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"You look like a drowned rat, Mulder." Mulder diverted his gaze from the windows to look at her.
"Well, you don't look too good yourself!" he said, taking a bite out of his roast beef sandwich. He then saw Scully, looking as if at any moment she'd pick up her plastic knife and stab him.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" Her face softened up. "You look fine." Then, against her will, she smiled at him. She could never stay mad at him. Then, without warning, he wolfed down the rest of his roast beef. Scully had barely taken 3 bites of hers and still had fries left to go.
"Jeez, Mulder! Didn't your mom ever tell you not to eat too fast?"
"Oh, sure. But do I ever listen to authority?" He snatched a fry off her tray.
"I always wondered why you never listened to me." She smiled. "Well, go ahead and help me eat the rest of this. I want to get home!"
So, in another fifteen minutes, the duo had finished eating and were ready for the second leg of their journey.
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"How long until we get home, Scully?" Mulder asked.
"Well, normally, it would take us about an hour. But I'd say with the storm, it might take us an hour and a half to two hours."
"Oh, great!" He then reached down and pulled a lever on the seat, making it recline. "I'm going to sleep. Wake me up when we get there!"
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The car slowed to a stop in front of Mulder's apartment building. Scully looked over at Mulder. He was still peacefully sleeping. She didn't want to wake him, but, of course, she knew she had to. She gently touched his face. He stirred and then opened his eyes.
"We're here?" he asked, blinking.
"Yup." Scully got out of the car, walked around, and opened the door for Mulder. He got out slowly, then stretched and yawned. Then, after Scully locked her car, they walked to the front door of the apartment building and took the elevator ride to Mulder's floor. He stuck his key in the door and unlocked it. But instead of walking in, he turned back to Scully and smiled.
"I just wanted to...thank you for..." he started, "Scully...that was the best Christmas I've ever had." She smiled and nodded her head.
"Me too." She walked forward and put her arms around him, not knowing what else to do. Smiling, he hugged her back and rested his chin atop her head. They stayed that way for a minute or two. Then, on tiptoe, Scully kissed Mulder's cheek lightly. He closed his eyes and smiled, concentrating on the feeling. And then, it was over. Scully reluctantly stepped out of his embrace and waved. "Bye, Mulder!" He waved back.
"Bye!" he smiled. He could still feel the warmth of her body on his. Even after she'd stepped on the elevator, walked out of the building, and driven off in her car...the warmth was still there. He was a part of it, and it was, essentially, a part of him, and he didn't think it would ever leave him. He was right. Smiling, he walked into his apartment, a new man.
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All done, bye bye!