Here's the first collaborative effort between us... so please be gentle, folks... ;-)Comments, complaints and just plain talk to sheryl_martin@tvo.org and mnantus@ryker.itech.cup.edu
Double Trouble Squaredby Sheryl Martinand Martin A. Nantus
Jackie St. George looked over Marty's shoulder at the couplesitting in the booth just to their left. She sighed, watching FoxMulder smile, probably at something Dana Scully had just said.
"What's up, love?" Her dance partner whispered into her ear. She grinned.
"Just watching to see if anything else develops tonight..."
Marty pulled her face forward, looking at her. "Hey, this issupposed to be a celebration - we've been engaged a whole threemonths and nothing bad has happened yet... not another of yourattempts to get Fox and Dana together."
"I know." She smiled sweetly. "But it's kinda like eating potatochips... you never get enough..."
"Tell me about it..." He groaned, feigning a back ache. Sheslapped him playfully.
"Cut it out... look, he's actually going to ask her to dance..."
************
"They look nice, don't they?" Fox gestured towards the pair onthe floor. Dana nodded, taking a sip of her white wine.
"My mother's going to be giving me hell pretty soon... when sheheard that Jackie was engaged I had a couple of frantic phonecalls asking me when I was going to take the plunge.."
"Don't you need a boyfriend first?" His eyes laughed. Shegrinned.
"That's the rumor I've heard..." She looked into his eyes. "Atleast, from what I remember... it's been a while..."
"Some things you don't forget, Scully..." Mulder got to his feet."Like dancing..." He extended his hand, pulling her gently fromthe booth.
***************
"Ah ha!" Jackie whispered into Marty's ear. "I knew he was goingto ask her to dance."
"I don't suppose that will satisfy your tendencies towardsmeddling tonight will it?" He asked hopefully.
"We'll see." Jackie looked over at the two dancing FBI agents."We'll see..."
The two couples listened to the soft music, moving around thedance floor slowly.
Dana took a deep breath, inhaling the soft musky smell of FoxMulder; the safety that it somehow gave to her... the strengthwhen she faltered. "See, I told you it would come back to you." Mulder smiled atScully, gently swaying with her to the music. "Just like riding a bike." She grinned. Fox closed his eyes, remembering the exact words Cancer Man had said... "That's why I had her returned to you." Not "returned". Not "brought back to the Bureau". It was "toyou". To him. To belong to him... and that knowledge that theyknew him better than he knew himself was frightening... He looked down and smiled at her. "You know, I haven't beendancing since..." "That week we were suspended." She finished for him. "Me either." Mulder looked at her, relishing the slight smile crossing herlips. "That was fun." "It was, even if we did lose pay." Her soft breath caressed hisface. Mulder chuckled as Scully smiled, then rested her head on hischest. They both swayed to the music, enjoying the closeness ofthe other. ***************** "There, they're dancing closer now. Are you satisfied?" Martywhispered to her. "No." Jackie said. "They're doing what they always do." Marty snuggled closer to Jackie, nuzzling her neck. "And thatis?" "Saying very little and then leaving each other with feelingsthat can be interpreted in several ways, confusing them both even more." Marty put his hand on Jackie's chin, raising her head so he couldlook into her eyes. "And you got your psychology degree when?" Jackie playfully thumped him on the chest. "I don't need one tosee that. Besides, I prefer biology studies." She smiled slyly. "Sounds like something that needs lots of lab work andexperimentation." He brushed her lips with his. "It sure does." She smiled. "But we'll investigate that later." He frowned. "You picked this music on purpose, didn't you?" Heranswering grin made him chuckle. "You are a very devious,conniving 'lil Dragon..." "Your point?" ***************** After the song had finished both couples stayed on the floor fora second, almost regretting that they had to return to the table.Sitting back down again, Jackie laughed as Fox extended his hand. "At least let me get one dance in before you start something, St. George..." "You know her that well, Mulder..." Marty snickered. "I'll watchyour back..." Jackie chuckled as she stepped onto the floor with her friend.She mentally stepped back for a second, eyeing her dance partner.Tall, lanky... very dark in appearance and mood... When they hadfirst met years ago at a MUFON conference in New York City, shehad almost laughed out loud at the number of women approachinghim; only to be rebuffed in the simplest of ways when he justdidn't pay attention. His focus had been aimed at the talks; thepanels on alien abduction and on the government coveruptheories... She had only really met him once, after a slide show. He easilyidentified himself as FBI; herself hiding her own identity morefor convenience sake than from embarrassment. It was one thing tobe an agent in your own country; another in a foreign one - evenwith Free Trade new on everyone's mind... And he had been politeto a fault; nodding to her and moving on to the next discussionwith his mind far from the crowd. His eyes held then the samething they still held - the darkness of the hunter who knows thatthe prey is out there... and the prices paid to get closer to thetruth. And she had her own secrets as well... Jackie asked herself mentally why she wasn't attracted to FoxMulder... Dana Scully had asked the same question, once... andthe answer came back - she just didn't consider him in that area.A good friend; a wonderful doctor who had helped her gain somedegree of control over her power... but nothing more. Nothingoffered, nothing wanted. And the first time she had seen him inthe airport, years later, the darkness in his eyes had beenchanged somewhat - he wasn't alone - and that strength hadcarried him through again and again... "Okay... let's hear your argument." He sighed. "I know most of it already..." She beamed up at Mulder. "Right... where to start.." ********************** Marty and Dana sat at the table watching them dance. They bothlooked at Mulder shaking his head and laughing at Jackie. "She must have already started then." Dana sighed. "She does this sort of thing often, doesn't she?" He asked. "As long as I've known her." She said. "Jackie thinks that Mulderand I would make a nice couple." "Well, I can't argue that." "Is this where you start working on me?" Dana asked, raising aneyebrow. "Oh no!" Marty protested. "The whole matchmaking thing isstrictly her idea. It's not my place to suggest you and Mulderwould make a nice couple." "That's a relief." Dana took another sip of her white wine,watching her friends dance. Marty sat watching her, thinking about what she said: "Jackiethinks Mulder and I would make a good couple." Oddly, theimpression he got the first time he saw them was that they WERE acouple. Although he had his attention clearly focused on Jackieat the time, from the way they walked and acted he'd assumed Danaand Fox were together. More than as the partnered FBI agents they were. Something aboutthe way both carried themselves suggested something more... or atleast the potential of it. The way they seemed to walk justslightly inside what would be considered the other's personalspace suggested more than a professional relationship. Not that Mulder could ever hope to do much better than DanaScully if he should decide to make things more professional. Dana was one of those women who didn't need to flaunt theirbeauty because she knew she was beautiful. She didn't need theattentions or flattery of others to bolster her self image. Andnot even she could argue that her outlook on their cases andMulder's didn't complement each other. Marty waited until Dana had taken a large sip from her drinkbefore he spoke again. "Even if you would." "Marty!" Dana sputtered and glared at him. "I thought you said itwasn't your place." "To suggest." He replied, raising his hands in a gesture oftruce. "I'm stating my opinion. In my opinion, you two wouldmake a nice couple." "You skirt the technicalities as much as Mulder." She smirked athim while he chuckled. Marty stood and extended his hand to Dana. "Well, I'm not goingto be outdone in the courtesies by Mulder. May I have thisdance?" Dana finished dabbing at the wine she'd somewhat spilled onto thetable when she'd flustered. "Always the gallant one hmm?" Shesmiled. "Of course you can." They danced for a bit, watching to make sure that neither Jackienor Mulder lost their temper during their discussion. "So, are you going to try and get me to start a relationship withMulder?" Dana asked. Marty looked surprised. "No. First off, you already have arelationship with Mulder. It's just not what Jackie would likethe two of you to have. Secondly, I've learned over the pastseveral months that you just can't get a redhead to do somethingthat she doesn't want to." Dana chuckled. "I see Jackie's taught you well." *********************** Mulder and St. George looked over at the laughing couple. Shesighed. "I don't want to know what they're talking about... Dana'salready got enough blackmail material as it is..." "Oh, really?" His eyes twinkled. "And do you have any on her?" "Lots, Mulder..." Jackie grinned. "And you'll never know..." The music ended and they made their way back to the table,through the now-crowded bar. Jackie looked at the bottom of herbeer glass with a sigh. "No more... want more..." She looked at Marty. "Get more?" "Hey..." He said softly. "I don't want to have to carry you home..." "Again..." Fox interjected. "I remember the last time..." "And as I recall, you were here as well." Dana jumped in with alaugh. "Don't incriminate yourself here, Mulder... I remembertaking you home so drunk that you couldn't stand..." "Well, if you had taken the cuffs off before I got back to your place..." "If you hadn't been such a nuisance that I had to use them to getyou out of here..." Jackie grinned, whispering to Marty. "Man, those cuffs are reallya great topic of conversation... I never figured Dana to be soopen to 'extreme possibilities'..." She chuckled. He nodded,looking to the two agents now arguing over how incapacitatedMulder actually was the last time they had been called toBrandy's to take them home. *********************** The four were so intent upon their conversation that they didn'tnotice the approach of the two men until they were standingbeside their table. "C'mon...let's dance." The blonde man said, grabbing Dana'swrist. "Yeah, you two can do better than these geeks." The other said,taking ahold of Jackie's arm. "I don't think so." Dana pulled her arm away from the mans grasp.Her hazel eyes were hard and steely. "I said let's dance." The man again grabbed Dana's arm. "Hey, the ladies are with us." Fox said, grabbing ahold of theblonde man's arm. "Look, why don't you just take it easy..." Heducked as the drunk swung a wide limp punch at him. The fistthudded into the red leather beside his head, and he slid out tograb the attacker's lapels. Dana quickly stepped out beside him,hoping that she wouldn't have to get her pistol from her purse... Jackie had pulled away from her overzealous admirer and hadstarted to raise her arm back to hit him. Marty moved betweenthe two, hoping to defuse the situation before Jackie was"accidentally" cut, and then "accidentally" ripped his head off.The tall broad man snorted. "Look, I just wanna dance with the lady..." He grinned, showinghis teeth. "But if you wanna make this hard on yourself..." The first punch landed on Marty's ribs; sending him to the sidewith a hollow grunt. Jackie grinned in response; snapping herelbow up to land in the center of his face with a satisfyingcrack. Marty came up behind her and quickly pushed her behind himwith a scowl on his face. "Don't you get..." He ducked again as the man let loose with awide-arced swing that missed him by a mile. Marty chuckled as hejabbed his attacker quickly in the torso twice, moving him back afew feet. With a smile St. George kicked the man soundly in thestomach, sending him careening across the room to land on anothertable... who was not impressed with the sudden delivery... Fox moved swiftly to the left, letting the drunk jab effortlesslyat thin air. Bringing his fist up quickly, he punched him hard;watching him drop back with a gasp and a groan. Suddenly anotherman appeared beside him, holding him by the shoulders. "What's up, Al?" The four of them looked at each other as afourth man appeared; then a fifth standing in front of them. Thedrunk staggered up from the broken remains of the far table;holding his nose. "They don't wanna dance." He mumbled through the blood. Dana lether breath out slowly. "Ah... we just want to go now..." She tried to sound calming andpeaceful; the way she had learnt in E.R. to deal with violentpatients. The brawl broke out in full force... *********************** Assistant Director Walter Skinner waited patiently for the guardto open the corridor door, then followed him down the hallway. Helooked sternly at the foursome inside the small jail cell. Dana was busy dabbing at Fox's bloody nose with his ownhandkerchief, swatting his hand away as he protested weakly thathe was fine. Jackie leaned against the wall, one eye purple andswollen, a grin on her face. Marty got up from the bunk, asheepish look on his face. "Agent Mulder! Agent Scully!" His sharp tone cut through theirdrunken haze like a knife. Dana gave the handkerchief back to Foxquickly, approaching Skinner as she adjusted her blood-stainedblouse. The only sign on her face that anything had happened wasa single bruise on her left cheekbone. "I would like you to know that I do not appreciate being calledto be told that two of my people are in jail for disturbing thepeace..." He turned his gaze to the chortling woman. "And yourbosses are not amused either..." Skinner returned to Dana, thenearest target. "So let's hear it." "Ah, 'twas a glorious battle..." Jackie chortled in a thickScottish accent, her eyes shining. Marty shushed her quickly asDana licked her lips before starting. "Well..." She took a deep breath. "We were celebrating Jackie'sand Marty's three-month anniversary, and some guys decided to...ah... hit on us..." A choked laugh came from the Canadian behindher. "Marty intervened to make sure that she didn't kill the guyby accident..." "And Agent Mulder decided to be chivalrous, I assume..." He drylysaid. She nodded. So did Mulder, tucking the handkerchief backinto his pocket now that the bleeding had stopped. "Agent Mulder... are you married to Agent Scully?" The questionanswered itself, of course. He shook his head. "Has she gonethrough Quantico? Did she requalify for her pistol, at a higherlevel, I might remind you, than yourself?" Fox's head keptbobbing up and down. "So what possessed you to play knight errantfor a woman who's perfectly capable of taking care of herself?" He lifted his face, a sly grin on his face. A small trace ofdried blood remained under his nose. "She's my partner, sir." Skinner threw up his hands. "I swear, I don't know what to do...Are any of you even halfway sober?" "Ah... I am..." Marty stuck up his hand. "Actually, I don'tdrink. At all." The AD stared at him in disbelief. "You. Were in the Air Force.In the Gulf. You don't drink." Skinner shook his head. "Ofcourse... why am I surprised at this... Another X File..." Hesighed. "Right... I'm temporarily declaring you FBI FieldSupervisor - your first job is to get the two of them out of herebefore the cops change their mind and press charges... and gether..." He jerked a thumb at Jackie. "Someplace safe...please..." "Yes, sir..." Marty grinned. "Oh, and Agent Mulder..." "Yes, sir?" Fox mumbled into his tie. "Since you enjoy protecting Scully so much, you can pay her shareof the damages you four caused to the bar... and Ed's thinkingseriously about banning all agents, Federal and otherwise fromBrandy's... maybe opening a nice country inn someplace quieter...like Kuwait." He turned to leave. "Hey, Walter..." Skinner froze. Slowly turning, he met Jackie'sgrinning face. "If this is the three month party, just wait for the one-year..." *************** Another hour passed before the paperwork for the release ofeveryone involved finally came through. In the interim, allthree of Marty's new charges were getting increasingly groggy. Despite his attempts, Mulder remained sitting on the bed,slouched against the wall. Dana had settled into the foldingchair in the corner, her head against the corner of the wall. The only one he could get half a response from was Jackie, and ifhe didn't act soon, she'd fall asleep on him too.. "C'mon love." Marty said, lightly shaking Jackie. "You've gottahelp me with these two." "Hmm?" Jackie stretched, rubbing her eyes. "Ouch...Bloodyswelling... Why don't you wake them up?" "I already tried." Marty picked Mulder up, throwing Fox's armover his shoulder so he could support him. "But after theadrenalin rush of the fight and getting chewed out by Skinnerwore off they pretty much collapsed." "Ok... Let's go Dana." Jackie similarly supported Scully as theyleft the holding cell. Jackie and Marty slowly dragged the two FBI agents to the frontdesk of the station to claim their personal effects. At leastMulder was beginning to become aware of what was happening, butno so much so he was being helpful in his movement. "Mulder's heavier than he looks." "You could carry Dana." "I didn't say he was that heavy." They made their way to the booking area, along with the otherswho'd been arrested in the brawl. The desk sergeant looked overtheir paperwork and handed over four large manilla envelopes. Marty started checking the watches and wallets that the officerhanded him. He spotted Jackie reaching for one particularenvelope. Realizing what she was about to reach for, Martygrabbed Jackie's hand. "Just what are you doing?" He asked her. "Um..Taking charge of the guns?" Jackie shrugged noncommittally. "Not until morning you're not." Marty said, taking the packetcontaining the agents guns. "Don't you trust me?" She smiled sweetly. "Oh yes, I do." He smiled back. "But I also see that they'reletting the guy who hit on you go now. I'm just trying to avoidhearing 'But officer, I was just putting the gun away when itwent off and hit him in the leg.'" "Ok... Spoilsport..." *************** They had less trouble getting Fox and Dana into the car than outof it when they arrived at Jackie's place. In their currentstate, neither Agent was being very helpful. "I think," Marty started, "that they have both beaten anyprevious standing on who needed more help." "Hey..." Mulder protested; swinging his arm around the man forsupport. "You wanna borrow some of my movies for the honeymoon?" "They are completely out of it." Jackie pulled the reluctantDana out of the car, draping a arm around her shoulder, leadingher towards the building. "I'm fine..." Scully protested weakly. "I just need to rest for abit... this looks okay." "Dana... that's the lawn." St. George turned to her partner."Should we have taken them to their own places?" She asked. "No." He answered. "Not in this condition. I'm just glad youdon't have a walk-up." After one hectic elevator ride of trying to keep the two of themfrom falling flat on their faces, they finally got Fox and Danainto Jackie's apartment. "Okay, sit them on the couch." Jackie said. "Now, where are wegoing to put them?" Marty took the cushions off of the chairs and laid them on thefloor in front of the couch. He looked up at the two FBI agentson the couch, Scully had put her head on Mulder's shoulder, andMulder's face rested against Dana's red hair. "Did you do that?" He asked. "Nope, it kind of just happened." She answered. "Don't they look cute?" "You're incorrigible." Marty smiled. "I'll put Mulder here onthese cushions. Dana can take the couch." Marty and Jackie disentangled the two from each other, lying Foxon his back on the floor, and stretching Dana out on the couch. "Do you think they'll be okay like that?" Jackie asked, leaningon Marty's shoulder. "Sure." He said. "They're both fast asleep, and if Dana rollsoff the couch, she'll just fall on Mulder...he'll cushion her fall." "Actually, I think he'd like that." She smiled at him warmly. "Probably. Now let's get you into bed." Marty started to leadJackie into the bedroom. "I was wondering when you'd get to that..." Marty closed the door silently behind them, neither seeing Dana'sarm slip off the couch, her fingertips brushing the back ofMulder's hand. Nor did anyone see Fox take her hand in his,holding it tight. ********************** "When a Woman Loves a Man" by Joe Cocker - Bull Durham soundtrack "If you will practice being fictional for a while, you will understand that fictional characters are sometimes more real than people with bodies and heartbeats."Richard Bach -- "Illusions"