Disclaimer: The X-Files aren't mine. :(
A/N: This story is a very short one-shot for Ghost in the Machine.
Excellent Work, Mulder
Ever since I started working on the X-Files, and even before, when I was a teacher at the academy, I had heard of Mulder's reputation as "Spooky Mulder." Occasionally, hearing one of the nicknames given to him by other agents and academy students would make me wonder how I landed back in high school. Name-calling is an ego-boosting tactic for children, not mature and professional FBI-agents. Although Mulder doesn't seem to care about his reputation, I'll bet that he doesn't necissarily appreciate the name-calling, because Heaven knows I didn't feel so great after Tom Colton called me "Mrs. Spooky." I don't deny that based on what I heard about Mulder before I met him, I was like a lot of other in thinking that he might have been completely crazy, despite his brilliant mind. But when Chief Blevins assigned me to the X-Files, and I got to know him in person, I saw a side of him that rumors left out: he was driven by his work, passionate, faithful to his beliefs (however unusual they were), and he definitely had a caring side about him.
It isn't lost on anybody in the Bureau that fellow agents verbally debunk Mulder's work, probably for the lame attempt of making themselves feel more important, or to simply join the crowd in teasing the FBI's main target. I never thought, though, that an agent would go so low as to take advantage of Mulder's kindness for his own benefit, especially one of few who actually had some respect for him. When Jerry Lamana asked Mulder and I to come on board the Eurisko case, I didn't think Mulder would accept, since it apparently wasn't an X-File. Out of kindness, though, he agreed to help on the case for the sake of his desperate former partner, to help Jerry solve this case so he could get a bump on the ladder.
A few days into the investigation, we were due for a meeting to discuss updates on the case. Mulder had apparently misplaced the profile notes he had written on Drake's killer, and I thought it was a sad consequence of his mess and disorganization in the basement office. Since we were already late for the meeting, I handed him his coat and insisted we go. Believe me, I still think Mulder needs to do a better job of cleaning out his desk, but it didn't dawn on me until the conference, until I heard that we were looking for a sociopathic gameplayer, a recluse,that Mulder didn't lose his profile in the office. It was right there on the table, in Jerry's possession, being passed off as somebody else's work.
"Is that your profile?" I couldn't help but ask Mulder. He brushed it off, telling me to forget it, and in that moment my body numbed from anger and shock. I couldn't believe it! Jerry knew that Mulder would be too much of a gentleman to say anything as he openly plagarized the profile, and I couldn't help but feel disgust as he sat there, taking the praise that belonged to Mulder.
Excellent work, Agent Lamana. Hmmph. Sure.
After the meeting I took a phone call from the systems engineer at Eurisko, using it as an excuse for leaving Mulder alone to confront Jerry, who apparently had "apologized in his own way." At those words I frowned to myself, figuring that an apology didn't consist of "I'm sorry" or even "thank you for helping me." Mulder deserves so much more than that, but after a moment, I knew we weren't going to get anywhere discussing the stolen profile, so I changed the topic to the case, informing Mulder that Brad Wilczek was the main suspect in Drake's death, to which he replied suspecting him was too easy: "That just seems too obvious. To kill Drake would be so brazenly egomaniacal." He may have been right, but as we began to walk down the hallway in Headquarters, I added "And fully consistent with Jerry's excellent behavior profile."
Exiting the building,we made our way out to the car to go to Brad Wilczek's house. As usual, I seated myself in the passenger seat, and Mulder sat in the driver's seat, but just before he put the keys in the ignition, I put my hand on his, stopping him for a moment to capture his attention. Confused, he eyed me with a questioning look on his face, and I stared back into his hazel eyes.
"Excellent work, Mulder. You did a great job on the profile." I gave him a thin smile, assuring him I meant what I said, and after a second or two, he smiled back.
"Thank you, Scully." He replied as he started the car and drove us out of the FBI parking lot. As far as I was concerned, Mulder did the work, and as a friend, I was going to give him the credit he deserved, and acknowledge that if no one else would.