It was just one glance. That's what Scully repeated to herself mentally as she looked down at the floor of their basement office. It was just one glance, so why was her face red and her knees shaking? Mulder and Scully had exchanged thousands of glances before, so why did this one feel so different?
"You okay Scully?" Mulder asked without looking up from the files he was poring over.
"Yes. Yeah, I'm fine." Scully cleared her throat, determined to regain composure. Her effort wasn't helped by the electric feeling suddenly coursing through her toes and fingers as she lifted her eyes up to look at her partner.
"Anyway, as I was saying, this case is a real mess. The coroner's office didn't even do a proper autopsy on the body. No official cause of death has been listed, but I'll bet you anything there's something they're not reporting."
Scully leaned over to look at the file Mulder was holding up. "So, what do you want to do about it?"
"You ever been to the top of the space needle, Scully?" Mulder winked at her. A sudden jolt of excitement and electricity coursed through her with that one wink.
Mulder tossed the keys at her. "Pack your raincoat, we leave for Seattle in an hour. See you then." With that and the swinging of the door he was gone.
Scully stood alone in the cramped office trying to regain her thoughts. My god, what was wrong with her. I mean, she wasn't a nun, she had had her full share of crushes before, enough to recognize what was Mulder, though, really? All of all people….she sighed deeply and twirled the keys in her hand. There was no point in standing here feeling ridiculous. The car was waiting.
The car was silent on the way to the airport, apart from some faint old tune coming out of the radio. Scully was irritated to find that the strange sensation she had felt when Mulder had winked at her earlier was nothing compared to sitting next to him, listening to him hum along quietly to the radio, glancing over and suddenly noticing everything about him. Her eyes traced his jaw and she could feel her heart squirming…she sharply turned to look out the window.
"What's on your mind, Scully?" Mulder's voice suddenly filled the lull.
Scully laughed. "I'm just thinking about the space needle. Do you think we'll be able to see the crime scene from the top?" she teased, although inside she was tense, suddenly nervous around this man she'd grown so accustomed to.
Mulder grinned. "I'm sure. Really though, you just seem quiet. Anything I can do to help?" he glanced at her and she felt herself blushing in spite of herself. Blushing, really! She was an FBI agent, a doctor, she was Dana Scully, she didn't blush. She wasn't a blusher.
"I'll let you know. I'm fine though, honestly." Mulder shrugged and the soft silence resumed itself until they pulled into the airport.
Standing in line behind her partner at security with her bags in hand, Scully found herself feeling a slight trepidation at the thought of sitting elbow to elbow with Mulder on the plane. It was a position they had been in countless times, but now it seemed new, and a little bit exciting. She was really coming down with something.
"Hey, pass me the in-flight magazine, would you Scully?"
Scully was sandwiched in between her partner and a stern looking old woman who glared over at Mulder, who was talking loudly.
"When we get to Seattle I suggest we talk to this Dr. Eckles guy, see what his deal is. Then we can see if we can make a trip down to the morgue. Oh, and remind me to ask the stewardess for some of those little peanuts."
2 hours into the flight Scully was out cold. When she woke, she could feel the softness of fabric under her cheek and she smiled and sighed in comfort. It was then that she opened her eyes and realized the soft fabric belonged to the shoulder of a jacket worn by none other than Agent Mulder. Her breath hitched as she took in the closeness of their bodies, and the scent of him. She snuck a peak upwards to find him, awake, looking down at her with a slight smile on his face.
"Sleep well, Agent Scully?" He asked with a crooked smile. Scully turned read and snapped her head up off of his shoulder. "Uh, fine actually, thanks." She said sheepishly. "How long was I….?"
"Drooling on my shoulder? Last half an hour or so. I don't mind, honestly. You looked cute."
There was the electric shock again. She giggled a little without meaning to. "Um. Sorry, still I-" She was interrupted by the weight of a hand on her thigh. She looked down to see Mulder's hand massaging her. She lowered her voice. "Mulder, I-"
He moved in a bit closer to her. "What's up Dana? Do you want me to stop?" She took in the sound of his voice saying her first name, so close to her ear. She snuck a peek over at the woman to her right. The woman was fast asleep, with a sleep mask over her eyes.
"No, I don't want you to stop, I just-"
"What do you want, Scully?" his lips were practically touching her ear now, and she could feel breath becoming more shallow.
"You know I noticed that glance back there as much as you did. Did it make you feel the same way it made me feel, Dana?"
She took a deep breath and turned to look into her partner's eyes. And what eyes they were, a deeper green than she could ever remember them being.
"Yes, it did." Her voice was barely a whisper now. She was shaking with nervousness, and with excitement.
Mulder nodded and looked up at the ceiling, as if in deep thought. He leaned over then and planted a kiss on Scully's cheek. Her surprise was balanced by her excitement and she couldn't prevent a warm smile from spreading across her face. When she looked at Mulder, he was as unreadable as ever, gazing out the window at the clouds below. But his hand remained on her thigh for the rest of the flight.