Road Trip
A/N: I haven't decided whether this should stay a one-shot or if I should continue the story. */ , , {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} 1 {page:Section1;} --
The ringing of the telephone dragged Scully out of a deep sleep. She fumbled for the receiver before even considering opening her eyes.
"This is Scully," she croaked.
"Scully? What's the matter with you? You sound like a frog."
'Mulder,' she thought murderously. Scully opened her eyes and squinted at the clock next to the bed.
"Damn it, Mulder, this had better be important. It's 4:30 in the morning!"
"What, and you're not awake? How are you gonna catch the bad guys if you sleep your life away?"
"Mulder, so help me…" she threatened.
"Okay, okay. We've got a case. A 12-year-old girl wakes up screaming in the middle of the night. When her mother checks on her, she finds a weird tattoo on the girl's arm practically burning through her skin. Nobody knows how it got there."
"How's the girl?"
"She's in the hospital. I'll fill you in on the details when I pick you up. I'm about 10 minutes away."
"Ten minutes? Mulder!" Scully yelled.
"Yeah, see you in a few." The line went dead. He'd hung up!
*****
Scully settled into Mulder's car, drained her coffee in minutes, and sighed. She knew Mulder was waiting for her to start the conversation. He'd already filled his annoyance quota for the morning. She looked over at him, and damn if he wasn't holding back a smile!
"All right, Mulder, why are we interested in a tattoo?" She knew there had to be more to the story; there always was on the X-Files.
Definitely a smile now. Why did he have to be so juvenile? It made him entirely too boyishly adorable.
"Turns out our 12-year-old girl isn't the only one with a burning tattoo. Ten miles down the road, another 12-year-old girl woke up screaming at the same time. The girls don't even know each other."
"Or they say they don't know each other. They probably met somewhere, decided to do something stupid together, and ended up paying the price." As usual, the explanation seemed obvious to Scully. Of course, the explanation usually seemed obvious to Mulder too; they just always disagreed on the explanation.
"I don't think so, Scully. I think it's clear what's going on here."
"And what's that?" asked Scully, already suspecting that the answer he'd give would be something outlandish.
"Alien abduction. Those girls were taken, experimented on to who knows what extent, and then returned. So far the only visible sign is the tattoo, but I'm sure further testing will reveal a lot more."
Alien abduction. Of course Mulder would jump to that conclusion. And remembering that they were talking about pre-teen girls, she knew this case would be hitting close to home. Scully studied Mulder more closely; he wasn't smiling anymore and his hands gripped the steering wheel too tightly. Was he reliving what had happened to Samantha?
"Mulder, I realize this case might be difficult for you. But I honestly think we'll find a reasonable, scientific explanation for what's happening." Mulder had been there for her so many times; she could try to reassure him now.
"Scully, why do you always question outright what I propose for an explanation? Why can't you ever just say, 'Mulder, I think you're right. There is something strange going on here, something inexplicable by ordinary means. I believe you.' Why can't you say that? You know I always turn out to be right in the end."
That was different. Scully and Mulder often butted heads when discussing and even arguing cases. But she thought he relied on her skepticism as much as he relied on his own insight. He'd told her he valued that about her. Had he tired of the constant conflict? But she couldn't just snap her fingers and change who she was, not even for him. She didn't even think she should.
"What are you saying, Mulder? That you want me to just accept everything you say without question? You know I can't do that. I believe in provable hypotheses, in the most probable and scientific explanations. I can't just ignore that." Is that what he wanted from her? If he did, she might as well just ask Skinner for a reassignment today, much as the thought made her stomach suddenly feel hollow.
"Scully, the world isn't as ordered as you'd like to imagine. After all the cases we've investigated, how can you still think that?" He sounded frustrated. Did he really not understand her after all this time?
"Mulder, I believe in process, in cause and effect. How can you not? If I toss a coin ten times and it lands heads every time, when I toss the coin the eleventh time, there's still only a 50-50 chance that it will land heads or tails. There are scientific rules and constants."
"But that's a matter of probability. That's the problem, Scully. You see the world in terms of probability – probable cause, probable explanations. You should know by now that the cases we work on are the most improbable anyone ever sees. It's not always about probability. Sometimes it's about intuition and faith and the vastness of possibility."
Scully just stared at Mulder, dumbstruck. There was almost a zealous look in his eyes. What was he trying to prove? She knew about faith; she'd never denied it. But that didn't mean she had to give up trying to make sense of the world.
"Look, Mulder, maybe this isn't working anymore. Maybe it's time you found another partner."
Mulder turned to look at her so suddenly, he nearly swerved the car off the road.
"Mulder!"
He pulled over to the side of the road and stopped the car. For a long moment, he stared at his hands on the wheel, breathing deeply. Scully was so stunned, she said nothing. Finally, Mulder turned to her.
"Are you all right?" he asked softly.
"I'm fine. The question is, are you all right?" She didn't know what to think; Mulder was acting so strangely.
"Scully, I…Look, Scully. I don't want another partner. Just because I wish sometimes that you thought the same way I do, that doesn't mean I want a non-thinking automaton by my side. I need you, Scully. You challenge me in ways no one else ever has. It actually helps me define what I think and believe. I don't really want you to change. I want you the way you are." He put his hands on her shoulders and shook her gently, as though trying to shake the truth of his words into her.
He needed her, wanted her? If he were anyone else, she'd think…'Well, I'm better off not going there,' she thought. Even though Mulder was…'Stop it, Dana!'
"Well I don't want another partner either. These past two years have been the most extraordinary of my life. I want to see where else we go from here." There. He could take that any way he wanted. Let him think about the vastness of possibility if he wanted to.
Mulder blinked a few times, and then smiled. It was the warmest smile he'd ever given her.
"Well, then, let's get going."