Hey girl I wanna catch your wave
Hey girl I wanna drift away with you
Hey girl you've got an undertow
Hey girl, don't wanna let you go
-"Catch Your Wave", The Click Five
Chapter 2
Mulder clicked off his television and shrugged on his leather jacket. It was still wintertime in Washington and quite cold out.
He patted his pockets for his keys and came out unsuccessful. He went into the kitchen and checked the counter and table. No such luck.
Mulder walked back out to the middle of his living room and closed his eyes.
"Backtrack man, backtrack." he said aloud to himself. "Where did you last leave your keys?"
Suddenly, his cell phone rang loudly.
Where was it coming from? He couldn't find his phone either.
Mulder followed the sound of the ring until he found his phone, along with his keys, wedged in between his couch cushions.
"Damn I gotta get organized," he muttered, flicking the phone open.
"Mulder" he answered.
"What took you so long?" asked a familiar alto voice.
"My phone was stuck in between two couch cushions and I couldn't find it." he answered.
Scully chuckled softly. "Hard to believe you find anything in that apartment of yours Mulder."
"It's organized chaos Scully." Mulder said, defensively. "So you've called to reconsider your afternoon plans?"
There was silence on her end.
"No not exactly," she said finally. "I have some news."
Mulder furrowed his brow. What kind of news?
"What is it, Scully?" he said softly.
He could her take a breath. "Well, the other weekend I was at the mall and entered this drawing out of boredom. You know, like hey you never expect to win these things, but you know, whatever..." she babbled, uncomfortably.
Mulder was still perplexed by this, but relaxed a little when it didn't sound like earth-shattering news.
"So...?" he prompted.
"So I won a ten day trip to Maui, Mulder." she said finally.
Mulder smiled genuinely. Scully really needed a vacation, especially after the Padgett business. He could see that she didn't want him to be there for it, but he could see she was still screwed up about it all.
The only thing that got Mulder was that Padgett wrote that Scully was in love. Mulder wanted so badly for it to be him, but he never got that kind of luck in life. It was something he accepted six long years ago.
"Congrats, Scully," Mulder said genuinely. "You deserve a break after this last case. Don't worry, I'll hold down the fort while you're gone."
He was going to miss seeing the redhead around though. And he didn't even want to open Pandora's Box by thinking about Scully on the beach in a bikini.
"Well Mulder there's just one catch." said Scully uncomfortably.
"Oh is it one of those vacations where you have to go look at a time share before you can do anything fun?" he asked. "That's just like a mall to scam people like tha-"
"It's a trip for two Mulder." she interrupted.
His heart pounded. It all made perfect sense. Padgett said Scully was in love. She was taking another man on this trip. The guy she was in love with.
If there was someone else, Mulder didn't know about him. It's possible. She's been so secretive and distant since these past few weekends. Scully probably figured Padgett blew her cover and now she's just going to be open with this new guy.
He couldn't bear it. He felt almost sick.
"Scully, if you are taking another guy, that's not my business. You don't need my permission. Have a great trip," he said curtly.
And with that, he snapped the phone shut and dropped it on the couch as if it had burnt his hand.
He stared at the phone for what seemed like an eternity.
Then his phone beeped.
A text message.
Mulder didn't want to read it. He didn't want to deal with this.
He paced a few times and finally decided to grow a pair and read it. He was a man. He's had his heart broken. He could take whatever it was she had to say.
Mulder opened the phone to read the text message:
FROM: Scully
SUBJECT: Trip
MESSAGE: I want YOU to go with me to Hawaii.
He stared at it in disbelief, as if the text were written in Sanskrit.
She was so precious; he couldn't even deal with it.
And how was he to recover from this mini-blow up?
He had to call her back if he wanted to go to a romantic vacation with the woman he had been in love with for the past six years.
He re-dialed her number and she picked up on the first ring.
"Mulder?" she asked.
"Sorry Scully, I, uh, had another call." he lied.
"So you want to go?"
"I mean, if you want me to, of course." Mulder groveled.
"Well, you know, the trip is for two people," she said matter-of-factly. "And you deserve a vacation as much as I do, and hell it's free."
"So what are the details of the trip?" he asked. "When do we leave? What hotel?"
She cleared her throat. "Well, it's not a hotel; it's a private villa on a private beach. Apparently this corporation is trying to promote these little villas all over the island," she explained. "So they're like a chain with their own amenities, but it's also its own entity. And we leave
Wednesday."
Mulder could hardly believe this. 10 days on a secluded beach in a private villa with Scully. And Wednesday was incredibly soon.
"Sounds good Scully," he said. "I don't think I've ever taken vacation since I've been with the bureau. Skinner might have a heart attack."
"Me either." she responded. "But I need to get going; I have a few things I need to buy for the trip and I need to get started on my packing."
"Okay," he said. "I'll call you tomorrow and we'll square away the rest of the details?"
"Yes," Scully said. "Oh, and Mulder, I have one request."
God. Anything.
"What is it Scully?"
"While we're on vacation, we are on vacation." she said firmly. "This means no ghosts, no UFOs, no spooks, no conspiracies, and no work. Agreed?"
"Oh but Scully, Hawaii is known for having a history of paranormal activity in the volcanic regions. It would be great professional development to-" he started, jokingly,
"Can it, Mulder," she ordered. "And pack some sunscreen."
With that Scully hung up.
Mulder sat back down on his couch, reeling with excitement. Langly, Byers, and Frohike would have to wait. He had nothing to wear and basically nothing to bring. He wasn't even sure if he had luggage. He only had a few days to pack for a trip that could possibly make or break a personal relationship with Scully. He wanted everything to be perfect.