Title: Music and Passion (2/4)
Author: Dana E. Vassy
Rating: G
Category: Mulder angst, M/F marriage (references) MSR
Spoilers: Um, Je Souhaite? Not much really..
Disclaimer: Sometimes, I take musicals and songs and mix
them up with the X-Files. My therapist says it helps, so
Chris, Fox, 1013 don't deny me. You'll have them back
intact (unless you make a hash of season 8) The rights of
Rodgers & Hammerstein, and Barry Manilow are noted and
shamelessly monopolised. But don't make me set Hillary on
you...
Feedback: She sits there so refined, and drinks herself
half blind. Send thoughts to
scullys_no_slut@viceprez.fsnet.co.uk while I can still read
em..
Summary: Mulder needs a favour, which results in a theme
wedding, dancing and a realisation. Inpsired by the Barry
Manilow songs 'Copacbana' and 'Ready To Take A Chance Again'
Distribution: Yes to Gossamer/Legacy. Anyone else, please
ask first. I'll say yes, in all likelihood..


Saturday AM

Mulder knocked sharply on Scully's door to no response.
She was probably drying her hair, or something else that
made females dally for hours. He felt more than
stupid in his rich red costume, only just concealed by his
navy trenchcoat. The idiotic slippers were in his
overnight bag, replaced temporarily by his black high tops.
He was a fashion disaster and he knew it.

Growing impatient, he used his key to access Scully's
immaculate apartment. Only today, the floor was littered
with emptied bags and cosmetics. Picking up a discarded
tin of mousse, he followed the sounds of dance music
emanating from Scully's bedroom.

Finding the door ajar, he was greeted by a rather
incredible sight. There was Scully, dressed in jeans and
blouse, dancing discreetly to a familiar song. He coughed
politely, leaving her to be mortified upon discovering his
presence.

It took a moment before she sauntered over to stop the CD
in a nonchalant fashion. Turning on him, she had fully
recovered.

"You didn't get the hairstyle then?"

"What? No. It may have suited Yul Brynner, but not me.
You're not dressed."

"Mulder, I will not be driven 40 miles in a skirt that
big. I would suffocate in such a small space. I've done
my hair and make-up, I'll change when we get there."

Mulder cast an appreciative glance at her handiwork.
Scully could look beautiful covered in slime, but when she
made this effort, she was breathtaking. Her hair was swept
up in the style Mulder could never work out. It didn't
seem possible for hair to be twisted so differently, but it
was stunning. The little curls on the crown of her head
sparkled with tiny adornments, catching the light each time
she moved. Her make-up seemed darker, more pronounced.
His colour blindness made it difficult to be accurate, but
her face shone with a healthy glow. He could take her
dressed like that and she's still be the most looked at
woman in the room.

Putting impure thoughts aside, he lifted Scully's covered
dress and overnight case. The accommodation meant they
could relax and have a drink, without worrying about the
journey home. Separate rooms were compulsory, emphasising
the loneliness of Mulder's life. He was closing in on
forty, going to his old friend's wedding. He was taking
his colleague as his date, but who else was there to ask?

He hadn't had an actual girlfriend since is divorce in
1991. Nine long years, he had filled the gaps with one-
night stands and his work. She had broken his heart all
those years ago. He had forgiven her infidelity with one
of his co-workers, blamed himself for being engrossed in
his quest. Then she had ended it without warning, leaving
for Berlin. She had written just once, a month later, to
tell him she had aborted their baby. It was the first time
he had known she was pregnant.

For years, he had shut himself off. It was easier to play
the joker. A flippant remark and casual flirting meant no
one got close enough to hurt you. Sex was available, if
the sacrifice was the lack of love involved. Drunken
flings interspersed freely with a porn obsession for a
while. Then, even that got too heavy, when he started to
care for one of the many women. He wasn't prepared to take
the chance again. So he had been practically celibate for
eight years, purposefully after Scully had been assigned.
Romance in the workplace was a personal taboo; the FBI
standpoint hardly mattered.

Everyone assumed Mulder's misanthropy stemmed from the
covert disappearance of his sister. Scully and others
added the shadowy government forces to his reasoning. But
none of them knew his agony, why he couldn't physically
endure a repeat of the pain Diana had caused him. And no
one could appreciate the anguish that accompanied his
feelings for Scully. He had learned long ago that assuming
too much could only cause pain.