The crowded café buzzed with activity. Customers stood anxiously in line, shifting from one foot to another, clicking their tongues impatiently and repeatedly checking their watches to ensure they had enough time to grab a coffee before their lunch break was over and they were due back at work. Behind the counter, the employees were also in a state of frenzy, whisking from one customer to another to the espresso machine to the fridge and back again. Even the clock seemed to be in a hurry as its hands circled jaggedly around its face, perhaps at a faster speed than they normally would.

Dana Scully, however, was not troubled by any of this. She was in no rush. In fact, she felt as if she had all the time in the world. She sat alone at one of the mahogany tables, sipping her hot drink and joining the feeling of tranquility that came from feeling in control. It wasn't often she felt this way – in fact, she felt this way even less often, as of late – and she was determined to enjoy every moment of feeling this way.

The bell on the café door jingled cheerfully as a tall brunette entered the shop, adjusting her hair with gold-painted fingers and scanning the room with her eyes. Spotting Dana, her eyes brightened and she waved cheerfully, making her way over to her table.

Scully smiled as the woman sat down, gesturing to the steaming cup that remained untouched in front of her. "Bought you a coffee," she said, sipping her own drink and pushing the other toward the new arrival.

"Thanks, Dana," the woman grinned. She picked up the cup, took a long sip and sighed happily. "You have no idea what kind of addiction I've developed to this stuff lately! It's ridiculous!"

Scully shrugged. "Don't act so surprised, Bev. When you're working all-night shifts at the hospital, obviously you'd need a little extra boost to get you back on your feet the next day."

"Ha," Bev laughed sarcastically. "I'm sure you would know all about that, Miss FBI," she teased, gently nudging Scully with her foot under the table, "since you so definitely ended up on that path when you left med school!" The women laughed and Bev took another sip of her coffee. "You really lucked out on that front, I guess, choosing not to practice like I did. You must be much better rested."

"Yeah, right," said Scully, rolling her eyes. "Sometimes I wish I had decided to practice medicine after leaving med school with you. I'm up all night a lot, too, thanks to the stress this job piles on. Had I stayed in medicine, I could have at least saved some lives while I was not-sleeping."

Bev's eyes narrowed with concern. "What do you mean? Are things all right at work?"

"They're fine, fine …"

"Dana, we've been friends since we were teenagers. Come on. Spill."

Scully sighed heavily, giving in. "It's nothing, really. I just have this new partner and I don't know what to – "

"Hey, Scully!"

Scully looked up to see none other than her new partner standing beside her table. "Oh! I, um, hi!" she stuttered, surprised by his arrival.

"Aren't you supposed to be at work right now?" he asked, winking playfully at her.

Scully raised an eyebrow. "Yes. Aren't you?"

Mulder laughed once and cracked a smile. "Uh oh. Are my bad habits rubbing off on you already, Scully?"

"No," she retorted. "I just didn't see any point in showing up on time when you never do. I can't get much done by myself, you know. I'm still new to this unit." This, of course, was a lie. She and Mulder had been working together for a few weeks now. She could have handled things alone if she really wanted to, or at least shown up to review some old cases from one of the many filing cabinets filled to the brim in Mulder's office. Truth be told, Scully just didn't like being down in that basement alone. It was much less lonely to be hidden from the Bureau's view like that when Mulder was there to crack jokes and ramble on about some alien conspiracy or another.

"Don't underestimate yourself, Scully," Mulder continued. "Aren't you supposed to be Mrs. Spooky now? You can handle it."

Scully glared. "Mulder, if you call me 'Mrs. Spooky' one more time, the next autopsy I conduct is going to be on you."

Another laugh. "I'd like to see you try."

Bev watched this whole display with a bemused smile on her face, trying to make sense of her friend's words and tone. She coughed lightly, drawing attention her herself. "I don' think we've had the pleasure of meeting," she smiled, extending her hand to Mulder. "I'm Bev. I'm an old friend of Dana's."

"Bev and I went to med school together," Scully clarified.

Mulder smiled demurely and shook the brunette's hand. "Well, any friend of Scully's is a friend of mine," he said, shooting another wink at Scully who rolled her eyes in disgust. Mulder's grin widened. "Fox Mulder," he introduced himself to Bev. "Scully and I work together on the X-Files."

Bev shot a confused look at Scully. "X-Files? What are the X-Files?"

Mulder, too, shot Scully a confused look. "You haven't told her?" he asked, looking a tad hurt. "What, is your work too embarrassing for you to tell people about?"

"No," Scully said quickly, raising her hands in defense. "We haven't seen each other since I switched departments! I haven't had a chance to tell her about it yet."

Mulder cocked his head. "Then it sure is a good thing I'm here!" he said excitedly. He turned to Scully's friend, an eager grin playing on his face. "Just you wait, Bev. Have we got some stories to tell you!"

Scully sighed and was about to apologize for Mulder's behavior when Bev exclaimed, "That would be great! Please, join us!" Great, thought Scully. Another woman inexplicably wooed by Mulder's charms. Am I the only one who is more or less immune?

Mulder reached for his wallet. "I'm just gonna grab a coffee first, then we can get down to it." He turned to his partner. "Scully, you want anything?"

"No thanks, I'm fine," said Scully, raising her cup for him to see. She was still mildly dejected her reunion with her friend had been interrupted.

"Seriously? Come on, Scully. There must be something you want."

"Really, Mulder, I'm fine."

"Nah. I'm gonna buy you a doughnut."

Scully's eyes widened in alarm. "Mulder, no! Those things are so full of fat and sugar and I don't – "

But Mulder had already turned his back and was headed for the line of customers. "Come on, Scully, it's just a doughnut! Live a little!" he shouted over his shoulder.

Scully folded her arms on the table and scowled. Having a tall, dark haired and potentially crazy man joining her and Bev, not to mention practically force-feeding her sweets, was not what she had in mind when she asked her old friend to meet up with her today. The frown on her face grew deeper when she realized her earlier feelings of calm and control were gone, only to be replaced with the anxiety and frustration she always felt when Special Agent Fox Mulder was around.

"I like your new friend," Bev whispered from across the table.

"He's not my friend," growled Scully. "He's only my partner."

Hey everyone! LifelongObsessor here!

This was originally uploaded as one long fic, but I've gone back through and split it into chapters for easier reading. I apologize if you got a bunch of notications because of this! :(

My original author's note I wrote for the end of this fic will be found in the last chapter, so you shouldn't hear from me until then.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the fic! Review to tell me if you did or not? ;)

- LifelongObsessor