Mr Spooky and Ms Starbuck ch 2
...
You can't go the distance
With too much resistance
I know you have doubts
But for god's sake don't shut me out
~A Matter of Trust, Billy Joel
...
Woodrow Wilson High School
Washington DC
9.05am
One Year Later
"All right everyone settle down". Scully shouted from the top of the science lab to her class of sophomores, who were supposed to be in the midst of preparing for their usual end of the week exam.
Some of the more dedicated students in the first few rows were grumbling quietly about the noise in the room next door while the rest of the class was being infected by the laughter and boisterousness emitting from the psychology classroom across the hall.
Scully sighed, taking up her pen and tried to call the role all the while attempting to ignore the shenanigans of her students not to mention the laughter and jeering from the class adjacent to hers.
She was well aware that it wasn't just the student's fault; Mulder was just as much a culprit as any of the teenagers that either of them taught.
"Mulder". She yelled more than loud enough to be heard from the class next door. "Could you and your class please keep it down in there or do I have to come over there and do it myself".
The kids in front of her snickered. This was pretty run of the mill stuff. Scully always threatened to go over to straighten out Mulder and his class (even though she never did) while Mulder always came over to the lab for the most random of reasons during class time. (Which he did most days).
Their teachers were always bickering with each other although one was hardly ever seen without the other. So surely they must (at the very least) enjoy each other's company.
Half of the student body thought that they were dating; the other half knew it was just a matter of time. Some (the more imaginative ones) even went as far as believing the rumour that the two teachers were secretly married and would promptly try to convince anyone who told them otherwise.
The laughing subsided slightly in the psychology room. Mulder chuckled at his friend's outburst from the laboratory across the hall and signaled for his class to settle down.
"You got it G-Woman", he yelled back.
Mulder's class burst out laughing at the nickname given to their strict but fair science teacher by their easy-going, good-humoured, alien-loving psychology teacher who was more than a little spooky.
He grinned as he imagined Scully's face across the hall, and mixture of frustration, disapproval, embarrassment and even though she would never admit it to him, amusement.
"All right guys, settle down, or I'll be in the doghouse later".
This caused most of his class to smirk.
So married...
Mulder raised his voice again so the the next thing he would say could be heard through the wall by Scully.
"Sorry".
The response was blunt. "Sure. Fine. Whatever."
Both class grinned as they tucked back into their work, opening their textbooks. Could Mr. Mulder and Ms. Scully be any more obvious?
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Two hours later when it came to lunchtime, Mulder,as usual dismissed his class and made his way across the hall into Scully's lab.
He grinned softly, spotting her across the room where she was elbow-deep in a bunch of test papers and her glasses perched at the end of her watched for a minute or so ,not gazing (or so he told himself) before letting her know he was there.
"Hey Scully. You wanna come over this evening?".
Sighing in frustration ,Scully tossed the papers aside. Her students were bright on average even though some refused to do the work or put in the down, she hated having to fail students but she reassured herself that she had offered them extra help and they had turned her down.
She looked up taking in the sight of her colleague and closest friend, the man known to all the students as 'Mr. Spooky'.
His tie was slightly looser than it had been that morning and he had rolled the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows. She looked away to recollect her thoughts. She had been staring a bit too long at Mulder, something that has been happening quite a lot as of late.
She couldn't be attracted to him? Could she?
"Sure, What's on the agenda?", Scully asked, putting her previous thoughts quickly into the back of her mind.
" ,a six pack of beer and Silence of the Lambs".
"As long as it's not Plan 9 From Outer Space again", she replied teasingly.
Scully got up from her desk, putting away her glasses and joined Mulder by the door.
Unconsciously, his hand found the small of her back and together they made their way down the hall, up the stairs and toward the direction of the teacher's lounge for break.
"That really is a terrible movie", Mulder agreed.
"Says the guy who's watched it over forty times".
"Forty nine, actually but only because watching it helps the reasoning part of my brain to function better. I can think and watch Plan 9 at the same time, and I don't have to give it much of my attention thus it becomes like a background track to my thoughts that lets my mind wander elsewhere ".
"Should I be worried about you, Mulder?", Scully asked jokingly, feigning concern.
"You worry about me anyway, Scully". He joked as she nudged him in the side, rolling her eyes at his ridiculousness.
"Dream on, Buddy".
XXXXXXXXXXXX
They entered the teacher's lounge, sitting down in their regular spot a little bit away from the rest of the staff. Sometimes they were joined by Washington High's three most eccentric and paranoid computer studies teachers, but usually, Frohike, Langly and Byers were too engrossed in their devices and too glued to their crazy blog on international government conspiracies to come next door near the place.
"You bring in lunch again today, Scully". Mulder asked gesturing towards the plastic lunch box between them on the table. He had noticed that she had started doing so a few weeks ago rather than eating the school's food but he hadn't thought to bring it up until now.
"Yeah. It's a lot healthier than that school canteen trash". She said eyeing his lunch across from hers.
"And that's supposed to be the healthy option?". He questioned, gesturing toward the six ounce pot of yoghurt that she was stirring something from a separate container into.
"It's bee balm. It's actually very good for you and has plenty of health benefits".
"You're a scientist,Scully. I thought you should know better than to believe that". He joked.
She rolled her eyes."Suit yourself, Mulder".
He grinned deviously, making a face at her food before playfully stretching across the few remaining inches between them and stealing the yogurt off the spoon before it got as far as her mouth.
"Hey", she protested halfheartedly, hitting him on top of the nose with her spoon. "Eat your own food".
"The air inside my mouth tastes better than that crap." Mulder's face registered the disgust that he felt. "Why on earth would you inflict something like that on yourself?"
She shrugged. "I'm trying a new diet. My sister Melissa recommended it, it's actually quite good".
"And revolting ,too. A diet like that just keeps on ticking all the boxes", Mulder added,amused.
She sighed and groaned, resting her head on her palm, setting her food aside for now. Admittedly, Mulder did have a point; the stuff tasted like crap.
"Quit bugging me,Mulder. I'm tired!", Scully said irritably.
He smiled affectionately. "I plan on bugging you every single day for the foreseeable future,G-Woman".
Scully smiled despite herself. "I figured"
"Hey Scully, I was gonna go see if I could stake out The Gunmen. You know, see what they're up to. Wanna come?".
"I have extra homework to grade for my seniors next period".
"But you're my partner in crime". He pouted.
She chuckled patting him on the shoulder. 'God, he almost has me convinced and he hasn't even really tried yet'. She thought to herself, getting up from her seat to head back to her classroom.
"No can do, Mulder. I'll see you later, though".
"What should I order for us this evening: Pizza or Chinese?". Mulder asked.
She considered it for a second. "Pizza"
He laughed teasingly, "Someone's rebelling from her diet." He gave her a wink before he continued, "The usual, right? Half meat and half vegetarian?"
"Sounds good to me".
She walked out the door. He watched her go.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Several minutes later
Twenty minutes in and Scully was halfway through her stack of copies given to her by her senior physics students. The classroom was silent, save for the buzzing of the running projector at the back of the room and the distant chatter of the students outside.
Suddenly she heard the sound of footsteps nearing her door, it was probably Mulder back from the computer rooms upstairs. After all, she was expecting him back any minute now.
Scully looked up to see if her suspicions were correct and was met with the sight of her father.
"Hey Ahab, I wasn't expecting you" . She greeted cheerfully, not used to seeing her father show up her workplace.
William Scully just stared unflinchingly at his youngest daughter, not saying a word. His face was pale and sombre as if he had seen a ghost. He looked over Scully's left shoulder, mouth moving as though he was trying to speak to her but no words were coming out. His hands were joined lowly in front of him in an almost prayer-like fashion.
Scully got up off of her seat to move towards her father. "Dad, are you okay?", she asked concerned for his wellbeing.
That was when her phone rang. She looked down to check the caller ID. It was Washington General Hospital.
"Sorry Dad". She said. "I might have to take this"
"Hello. This is Dana Scully", she answered in her usual formal tone of voice, faltearing immediately when she heard the voice at the other end.
She could only hear hysterical weeping from the other end. "Mom?". She asked uncertainly. Her mother managed to gain composure long enough to choke out a few breathless and disjointed words. "Dana. It's. Your Father. He's gone". Scully looked up in disbelief to find herself alone.
"Mom. What happened?". She asked, desperately trying to hold back tears of her own.
"He had a heart attack and died almost instantly".
"I'll be there as soon as I can, Mom". She said before bidding Margaret Scully goodbye and hanging up, still choking back her own grief.
Just then she heard another set of footsteps approaching the door. Scully looked up from the phone only to find Mulder looking down at her with a mixture of worry and concern.
"What's the matter?". He asked gently as he approached her.
"It's my dad. He's dead". She felt tears well up in her eyes as the reality truly hit her. Her father, Captain Ahab, was gone. She felt her body begin to shake slightly at the effort of trying not to crying in front of Mulder.
Scully felt her eyes burn and her legs begin to wobble slightly as the first solitary tear slipped from her eyes. Ahab was gone.
She felt herself unconsciously gravitate towards Mulder until they were less than a foot apart.
"I'm so sorry, Dana". Mulder said, using her first name. It was the first time he had ever seen Scully cry. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, hoping that he could even attempt to slightly ease her pain.
Even though they were supposed to be just friends Mulder held her like he was freezing and she was fire.
Even though they were supposed to just be friends Scully laid her head on his chest, as his heart began to beat out a tune that soothed her soul.
...
Some love is just a lie of the heart
The cold remains of what began with a passionate start
And they may not want it to end
But it will it's just a question of when
I've lived long enough to have learned
The closer you get to the fire the more you get burned
But that won't happen to us
Cause it's always been a matter of trust
~ A Matter of Trust, Billy Joel.
...